The first time Rams have finished 10th in any league since 1897!

[Albert]

A few saying Nigel's tactics need improving. Can't argue about home form, but why the gulf from away form? I wonder if this is due to personnel or purely due to tactics. I can't recall a point where Clough has gone all out to win a game, the old triple substitution? Did he not once take off a striker to put Buxton up top..but bring on a defender?

 

I actually think had Clough shown a bit more attacking desire or willingness to change his plans we would done far better away from home. I am not sure how much any new signings will change that. We may have been the better team in a few of these...but Clough sticks and waits. Needs to gamble.

 

How the league has finished is proof that no one in this league should have been feared and it is massively frustrating when we do so well at home to shoot ourselves in the foot by being crap away.

 

10th might sound good but to me it is a disappointing finish.

We have the least clean sheets for any team not playing in League One next year, that speaks volumes about why we were so poor away. We just don't have it at the back, and whilst we can play better football than we could, if we are soft at the back, and concede too often, it's pretty damn clear what's going to happen. "Being more positive" isn't going to fix that.

[eddie]

Is this a missed opportunity with teams in the division getting worse than before?

Or is it a case of most teams improving and being more competitive in general and us doing well by improving on last years position in a division of improved teams.

 

If teams are getting worse than before, then surely our Premiership 'record' won't last for long - but that doesn't seem to be the case. Sides coming up do seem to make a better fist of things without making wholesale changes - an injection of 'quality' does not necessarily mean ripping the entire side apart and starting afresh the following season.

[RamNut]

We have the least clean sheets for any team not playing in League One next year, that speaks volumes about why we were so poor away. We just don't have it at the back, and whilst we can play better football than we could, if we are soft at the back, and concede too often, it's pretty damn clear what's going to happen. "Being more positive" isn't going to fix that.

......but failing to score at home against Brighton, Ipswich, palace, and wolves - when we dominated - obviously cost us points.

If we'd conceded one goal less in every away game we'd have had 19 more points.

But If we'd scored one more in every away game then we would also have had 19 more points.

.....and when we scored 2 away we always got something....three wins, two draws.

At home if we'd scored one more per game then we'd have had 18 more points.

If we'd conceded one less per game then we'd have had 15 more points.

So bizarrely scoring more would have been more effective than conceding less.

[Albert]

......but failing to score at home against Brighton, Ipswich, palace, and wolves - when we dominated - obviously cost us points.

If we'd conceded one goal less in every away game we'd have had 19 more points.

But If we'd scored one more in every away game then we would also have had 19 more points.

.....and when we scored 2 away we always got something....three wins, two draws.

At home if we'd scored one more per game then we'd have had 18 more points.

If we'd conceded one less per game then we'd have had 15 more points.

So bizarrely scoring more would have been more effective than conceding less.

There are games that have cost every team points, that's the whole thing about a league season. Hull's failure to score at home against Palace, Watford, Burnley, Bristol and Leicester cost them points. Cardiff's failure to score against Brighton, Charlton and Ipswich cost them points as well, it happens to the best of them.

While we're at out of context facts by the way, when we conceded that second away goal this season, we lost all but twice, and that was 14 games this season! You know what else is a funny stat? If I'm not mistaken, if Peterborough had scored one more goal a game they'd have won the league!

Also, just in case you're wondering, in football games are decided by who scores the most goals. Now, fun bit of trivia here, conceding cancels out scoring, and the reverse of course. So I find it odd that you find it surprising that scoring one more, or conceding one less wouldn't give the same result for the most part. Of course, in this case it's equivalent as both clean sheets came in games we won... Don't let that stop you whipping out silly comparisons though.

[RamNut]

There are games that have cost every team points, that's the whole thing about a league season. Hull's failure to score at home against Palace, Watford, Burnley, Bristol and Leicester cost them points. Cardiff's failure to score against Brighton, Charlton and Ipswich cost them points as well, it happens to the best of them.While we're at out of context facts by the way, when we conceded that second away goal this season, we lost all but twice, and that was 14 games this season! You know what else is a funny stat? If I'm not mistaken, if Peterborough had scored one more goal a game they'd have won the league!Also, just in case you're wondering, in football games are decided by who scores the most goals. Now, fun bit of trivia here, conceding cancels out scoring, and the reverse of course. So I find it odd that you find it surprising that scoring one more, or conceding one less wouldn't give the same result for the most part. Of course, in this case it's equivalent as both clean sheets came in games we won... Don't let that stop you whipping out silly comparisons though.

I see you are in one of your arrsey moods again.....

I just happen to think that our approach play is decent, and our possession is good, but our strikers are quite ordinary.

Put two good players up front and we would be transformed.

More goals scored, AND fewer goals conceded.

There have been times in the past when a decent striker or strikers have transformed an ordinary side.....

When Dean Saunders arrived.....

Biley and Swindlehurst........

This team is ripe for that kind of improvement.

[Albert]

I see you are in one of your arrsey moods again.....

I just happen to think that our approach play is decent, and our possession is good, but our strikers are quite ordinary.

Put two good players up front and we would be transformed.

More goals scored, AND fewer goals conceded.

There have been times in the past when a decent striker or strikers have transformed an ordinary side.....

When Dean Saunders arrived.....

Biley and Swindlehurst........

This team is ripe for that kind of improvement.

I'm actually in quite a good mood today, I'm just baffled by the response to the end of the season, it's absolutely bizarre.

As for the team, what we need is to fix that defence. Yes, a true natural born goalscorer who could add something to the team would be dreamy and all, but what we really need to a tighter defence. Defences win trophies, defences win promotion, not strikers.

Last 5 years of top 3 Championship goal scorers by team finish:

12-13:

1. 5th

2. 17th

3. 11th

11-12:

1. 2nd

2. 21st*

3. 24th*

*Moved to another club midseason

10-11:

1. 14th

2. 2nd

3. 5th

09-10:

1. 4tb

2. 10th

3. 20th

08-09:

1. 1st

2. 7th

3. 8th

Now compare this to best 3 defensive records over the same period:

12-13:

1. 4th

2. 1st

3. 6th

11-12:

1. 1st

2. 8th

3. 2nd

10-11:

1. 1st

2. 3rd

3. 9th

09-10:

1. 1st

2. 7th

3. 3rd

08-09:

1. 2nd

2. 3rd

3. 4th

There are better ways of demonstrating this, but the point remains that having a strong defence (something that we clearly don't have) is far more valuable than a top end goalscorer. We're scoring, and we're scoring plenty and in most games, and the stats reflect this. Whilst a top goalscorer would be fantastic, to ignore more pressing matters would be a huge mistake and almost certainly only lead to another season outside the top 6.

[Mostyn6]

I think it's fair to say that those people who predicted a level playing field when the financial bubble burst at this level a few years ago have been proven right.

 

Even relegated teams (from the Premier League) with their parachute payments have no real advantage as this covers the wages they are committed to paying. Maybe the new parachute payment structure will provide an advantage in the final payment as you'd expired contracts of higher earners to have expired, thus freeing up money.

 

I predict the league to be even tighter next year.

[DesertRam]

We have the least clean sheets for any team not playing in League One next year, that speaks volumes about why we were so poor away. We just don't have it at the back, and whilst we can play better football than we could, if we are soft at the back, and concede too often, it's pretty damn clear what's going to happen. "Being more positive" isn't going to fix that.

I wonder how many times we were hit on the break - because the CBs  were up for corners, might also help if

we had some forwards who could head the ball more accurately.

[notts_ram]

We have the least clean sheets for any team not playing in League One next year, that speaks volumes about why we were so poor away. We just don't have it at the back, and whilst we can play better football than we could, if we are soft at the back, and concede too often, it's pretty damn clear what's going to happen. "Being more positive" isn't going to fix that.

What I would like people's opinion on it how come we score so freely and home and concede relatively fewer goals compared to our away record? 

[RamNut]

dunno but we concede alot of goals away in the last 15 minutes..... 

[Hans]

What's the point in that statistic, no offence haha,

[RamNut]

blackpool A - concede in 90th minute - cost 1 point

birmingham A - concede 2 goals in the last 15 minutes - cost 1 point

cardiff A - concede in 82 min - cost 2 points

hull A - concede in 87th minute - cost 1 point

peterboro A - 2 goals conceded in the last 4 mins

middlkesbro A - conceded in 81 min - could have cost 2 points

 

there's the 7 points everyone is looking for.

[Hans]

Still can't beleive we only got 7 points away from home.

[RamNut]

Still can't beleive we only got 7 points away from home.

 

 

yes.... its true......

 

 

.......and hull only scored 41.

 

 

How did they get promoted....?

[Hans]

yes.... its true......

 

 

.......and hull only scored 41.

 

 

How did they get promoted....?

Exactly, it beggars belief how a team could get promoted and only score 41 goals, that's only 0.89 goals per game, but they have also conceded less than us, we have so red a lot of goals but also conceded an equal amount, if we didnt concede so late on in games we could have picked up points, Im thinking games like Ipswich at home etc, teams which we should have buried.

[RamNut]

perhaps if we scored less?

 

........that must be where we are going wrong.

[notts_ram]

Exactly, it beggars belief how a team could get promoted and only score 41 goals, that's only 0.89 goals per game, but they have also conceded less than us, we have so red a lot of goals but also conceded an equal amount, if we didnt concede so late on in games we could have picked up points, Im thinking games like Ipswich at home etc, teams which we should have buried.

Still not sure why you can't get your head around a team getting promoted and only scoring 41 goals, what's so hard to comprehend about that

[Hans]

I didn't say we should score less, I said we should concede less.

[DCFCfranco]

You are aware hull have scored 61 goals this season?

[eddie]

I see you are in one of your arrsey moods again.....

I just happen to think that our approach play is decent, and our possession is good, but our strikers are quite ordinary.

Put two good players up front and we would be transformed.

More goals scored, AND fewer goals conceded.

There have been times in the past when a decent striker or strikers have transformed an ordinary side.....

When Dean Saunders arrived.....

Biley and Swindlehurst........

This team is ripe for that kind of improvement.

 

I'm sorry, but Biley and Swindlehurst didn't transform anything - they were our strike-force in 1980 when we went down. Biley stayed a season, Swindlehurst for 2 and a half and left before we tumbled into the third (remember Peter Taylor with 'my mum could keep this lot up'?)

 

If they transformed us, then all I can say is "We'll be back in '81".