A wake up call

Sorry, but this clown we have in charge does not have a bloody clue. We knew before a ball was kicked today that the team selection was wrong. When the game got going our tactics were all over the place. We showed them way too much respect first half. Second half, Vydra and Munari came on, who both should of started and we played it better. We then did our usual thing after we scored and sat back and let them back in to score the winner. We don't look a team. We've just a few good attack minded players, the rest are pants.
Why have none of the coaches under the Pozzos had a clue about defending? I'd love to see a coach come in and just sort us out defensively. I'd sooner see us win 1-0 at home and grind out a 0-0 away than watch what we're doing now. Sad to say, we ain't that good and the way I see it, we ain't going to get better under the current coach

 

We'll finish mid-table if drastic changes aren't made.

 

Cue the hysteria

 

Well, we lost to the best team in the division, because of two wonder strikes from outside the area.

We had some good chances, possibly better than they did.

Hardly a disaster, in my view.

 

The wake up call came with the team selection for the Birmingham game and subsequent result. The 2 defeats since merely prove he has learnt nothing from it.

 

Not hysteria but something is not right at present and that's not based on todays result.

 

Agreed. Awful team selection and awful formation. No balance and Doyley still runs like he's **** himself.

Why is it Derby can field their internationals after a break yet we can't?

Three losses on the trot?! Cardiff are on the up, Reading will beat us and Wigan have a new lease of life. Season finishes here.

 

That's not how I saw it.

Interesting selection admittedly, but we held our own more or less up until their first. Heads dropped a bit up to HT.

Started the 2nd half much brighter. Joka brought Munari on and he scored immediately. Andrews had done OK up until then, but at last one of our flick ons came off and Munari loves to blast those in.

Suddenly we looked much more dangerous and a second for us looked by far the most likely. Derby are decent though and they didn't fold and they didn't sit back for a point. Fair play to 'em. Super goal to win it and then they closed out the game very professionally.

Disappointing defeat, but we played OK. Fessi as ever, worked so hard. Did you see that one where he lost the ball right up in their area and then put his head down and charged all the way back and just got a foot in as their striker was about to shoot from about 2 yards out? I thought he had a good claim for a pen in the 1st half where two of their defenders absolutely flattened him just as he got the ball under control and was about to pull the trigger. Had to be a pen. They just ran full pelt straight through the back of him.

Dyer did nothing and his farting about on the edge of the box gives me palpitations. Juan Carlos Paredes with his locks flying and his speed looks a demon of a player, but he makes some terrible decisions sometimes and some awful passes which leave him way out of position.

Bond played a blinder and must be gutted to have let two in. His first half tip on to the post, the one he put over the bar and the one where he saved when 1 on 1 with their CF were all memorable - although their forward ought to have scored there.

Derby - very decent side. Best I've seen us play this season. 8, 11 and 19 were all dangerous - the latter especially. He does a great job for them.

 

It's easy to make out like what he's saying is knee-jerk but look at our next five fixtures, performing like we've been well be lucky to get any points...

 

2nd half was certainly a lot better but first half we never got going and Derby could have been out of sight by half time.

 

The ironic thing is the reason they apparently got rid of McKinlay was a worry he wouldn't be able to correct a slump if we hit a losing run.

So now his replacement has presided over a (mini) slump with 3 straight defeats.

It remains my belief that the Pozzos have been terrific news for our club...in a financial sense. But their handling of footballing matters over the past 6 months or so has been awful.

So now, having delayed in making a decision over Sannino until the pre-season was behind us, and badly mismanaging the appointment and firing of McKinlay, they now once again think they know best about finding us a Head Coach for the Championship and make what at best can be described as a 'leftfield' appointment. 2 wins in 7 so far.

And our squad? Maybe soon we'll be forced to admit some of the tools in the box need changing, rather than repeatedly changing the guy holding the box. We like to think our squad is brilliant, but then we get the wobbles when we see a starting line-up like today's!

Stability still counts for something, even in this crazy league we're in. But we've chopped and changed so much on and off the field in the last two years. We still seem in flux. We never seem to field a settled side, and we all know how much the Head Coaches change.

Financially stable, for which we should all be eternally thankful, but maybe we're starting to pay for too much unstability elsewhere.

 

Every poor team gets their 20 minutes of possession. That's all we got today.

 

Did you all watch this on a stream? Were any of the above posters actually at the game today?

 

I was there. What were your thoughts then? A magical and intelligent performance was it?

 

What does it matter?

 

We scored and had a couple of chances in a 15/20 minute window and somehow, to some, that translates to a good performance.

The game I saw was a dominant Derby for 70/75 minutes us devoid of ideas and class with our best players left on the bench.

 

One of those scratching your head days as soon as the team was announced, again.

Have to say the pozzos can spot a player, have spent good money on the club but the message is that standards are very high and they expect promotion and then pull managers out of nowhere and expect them to know a very difficult division with no experience of it.

We are bringing this on ourselves imo.

This guy might get it right in time or he might be a lemon. My question is why gamble and not go for someone who knows the division.

Big shame Oscar had his health scare but his back room team are still there and I wouldn't put it past the owners to go back to him soon if we lose 4 on the trot.

 

We lost to the best team in the league
We created plenty of chances that we didn't take
We really are not as good as some think we are
First half formation didn't help but most of us probably know more about the players abilities than our manager who is playing catch up
We will finish in the play offs

All IMHO

 

I stated on these boards when Zola left that we should have gone for Eddie Howe. Oh well..

 

I said Guardiola, now who's laughing?

 

I said Mancini, but was laughed out of town.

 

Dunno I agree with this. I think we have a squad of 13/14 players that when fit is good enough to get promoted from this league. Once we get past those 13/14 players the depth really isnt that good in terms of quality. The other thing is that we have a team that was assembled to play in a certain way in a particular formation, but since Beppe let we havent done that. The formation's changed several times since Huddersfield, we've become more direct and increasingly the likes of Deeney & Vydra (when picked) are having to rely on lumps up the field.

 

If we lose with our 'best' team out (barring injuries) playing our usual formation then fine, Derby are the better team blah blah blah.

To leave out, in my opinion, our best two players this season whilst leaving our supposedly fit best defender on the bench with an alien formation against the league leaders is pretty stupid and falls at the managers feet.

This wasn't a game against Birmingham where a few changes went wrong, this was a chance to win a game against one of the best in the division and lay down a marker for the rest of the season. I said in the week to someone that this game could be a 'season defining game'. Let's hope I was wrong.

 

have we noticed how spectacularly dull top managers with experience of the championship are: Steve McClaren sends me to sleep, Dyche looks like a history teacher, I can't even remember Leciester Managers name. Flamboyant ones come to a sticky end, Malky, racist, Red****, tax-evader...blah.

 

Those three managers might be dull, but I'd have them here in a flash.

 

Did you take your history lessons in a medium security prison?

 

The Pozzos should stop messing about and appoint Ally McCoist as Watford manager.

He will get us promoted and is a top bloke.

 

We lost to the best team in the league - Derby are an above average Championship side nowhere near at good as Leicester last season.

We created plenty of chances that we didn't take - we were encamped in our own half for much of the first half and most of the chances only came when we were fielding the team we should have started with.

We really are not as good as some think we are - we have some superb players and a squad as good as any in this division.

First half formation didn't help but most of us probably know more about the players abilities than our manager who is playing catch up - FFS he sees them virtually every day in training and it is his job to know his players, that is what is is paid for.

We will finish in the play offs - with the right management we could win this league.

 

Nah, we don't want no more foreigners.

 

Agreed. Some people are lauding Derby as some all conquering unbeatable side. Brentford beat them. Wigan beat them. Because they believed they could.

 

So you basically do agree. You need a decent squad for a long hard season and we haven't got that

What we do have is 4/5 players who are top quality
3/4 players who are top quality on their day but far too erratic
2/3 players who really aren't as good as they think they are
The rest are mid table Championship players at best
A manager who is yet to get to grips with the players/Championship/formation
Some fans who seem to be more vocal on a forum than they are in the ground

Job no 1 was to get financial stability
Job no 2 was to build a squad that had a fighting chance of promotion
Job no 3 was to build new stand

All on track..

 

The point is, Pozzos work with "head coaches"...all the potential "experienced British managers with knowledge of the Championship" you may wish to be considered will not want that role....

 

The point is, Pozzos work with "head coaches"...all the potential "experienced British managers with knowledge of the Championship" you may wish to be considered will not want that role....

I think both these are spot on. A number of clubs (including Spurs) have a director of football choosing the players and the head coach has to work with what he is given-that what Zola and Sannino had. One nearly got us up-the other stopped a bad run and got us winning at home (bar Huddersfield last game) but not away last season.

This season as others have said the Pozzos made two mistakes in leaving Sannino in until Garcia was about and then in indecent haste appointed McGinley. Who knows if Dyche or Warnock etc would want to work under the Pozzo style.

Of course as fans we pay our money and can complain about three defeats on the bounce-we can implore the Pozzos to change the manager again because we all want promotion apparently. Well I'm not bothered if we go up or not. I support my club and yes I will moan but stepping back, what the above posts say to me is we are work in progress and I am happy with that-a happy clapper well I think not but although we were outplayed in the first half yesterday by a good side we could have snatched a draw in the end.

No one is saying the owners walk on water but we are just over a third into the season and sit just outside the playoffs-we have lost three matches -wow-it happens so lets have some perspective

 

3 or 4 weeks ago Derby lost 2 on the bounce and we were on a long unbeaten run. Things can change again.
If we start with our best players and imo revert to 352 we can start to overwhelm teams again. 352 cost us 1 defeat this season in a game where we had 10 men from the 2nd minute.
Whatever set up is used we have to play our best players and not rotate unless injury or a drastic loss of form dictates otherwise.

 

It's all well and good banging on about 352, but if the manager doesn't know how or want to play it, he won't. We booed the manager who played 352 out of the club and even Sannino whilst looking for his face on the pitch realised that these players couldn't learn a new formation.

352 is done. Get used to it.