A different challenge for Clough this season.

[uttoxram75]

Last nights line up at Oldham got me thinking about the squad as a whole and the manager's decisions over the coming months.

Over the last few years there have been a few puzzling team line ups and formations but generally, there's not been much to choose from. When fully fit the team has been very close to picking itself due to the true lack of competition.

 

Putting the defence to one side for now  there is a little strength in depth across midfield and up front.

 

Last night's team

 

Grant; Smith, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth; Coutts, Hendrick, Eustace, Davies; Sammon, Jacobs.

 

Subs: Legzdins, Freeman, Russell, Bennett, Hughes, Bryson, Martin

 

again, forget the defence for this topic, that's a strong bench, if you include Ward, thats 11 players for 6 positions.

 

Midfield

Hendrick

Hughes

Coutts

Bryson

Eustace

Davies

 

Strikers

Bennett

Russell

Ward

Sammon

Martin

 

Nigel has now got difficult decisions to make. He has decent options, including using Ward & Bennett as wide players, and will inevitably have to disappoint some when picking his team.

I believe the playing field has shifted now and he has to step up to the plate, rotate and mix it up a bit for a dozen or so games before deciding on his best team.

 

And that is the bloody hard bit - the best team may not always include the best players!

 

For me, Nige has done a steady job of cost-cutting while trying to rebuild and maintaining our league status. His achievements outweigh his faults, imo.

 

Now though, its a different ball game, there's genuine choice and major management skills needed to do whats best for DCFC.

 

Good luck Nige - you're gonna need it fella!

[davenportram]

Last nights line up at Oldham got me thinking about the squad as a whole and the manager's decisions over the coming months.

Over the last few years there have been a few puzzling team line ups and formations but generally, there's not been much to choose from. When fully fit the team has been very close to picking itself due to the true lack of competition.

Putting the defence to one side for now there is a little strength in depth across midfield and up front.

Last night's team

Grant; Smith, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth; Coutts, Hendrick, Eustace, Davies; Sammon, Jacobs.

Subs: Legzdins, Freeman, Russell, Bennett, Hughes, Bryson, Martin

again, forget the defence for this topic, that's a strong bench, if you include Ward, thats 11 players for 6 positions.

Midfield

Hendrick

Hughes

Coutts

Bryson

Eustace

Davies

Strikers

Bennett

Russell

Ward

Sammon

Martin

Nigel has now got difficult decisions to make. He has decent options, including using Ward & Bennett as wide players, and will inevitably have to disappoint some when picking his team.

I believe the playing field has shifted now and he has to step up to the plate, rotate and mix it up a bit for a dozen or so games before deciding on his best team.

And that is the bloody hard bit - the best team may not always include the best players!

For me, Nige has done a steady job of cost-cutting while trying to rebuild and maintaining our league status. His achievements outweigh his faults, imo.

Now though, its a different ball game, there's genuine choice and major management skills needed to do whats best for DCFC.

Good luck Nige - you're gonna need it fella!

In his interview last night he as good as said he knows his first team and what he saw won't change that. Think Saturday will be the same team as Sunday was.

[Alph]

Thought this on Sunday. Our bench now looks to me as strong as you can hope for at this level unless your mega bucks Leicester and Co.

With everyone in natural positions he will have one of Hendrick or Bryson on the bench (assuming Coutts is to be considered a RM. we need to assume that because its not a position Nigel has looked to buy)

Then that bench has the either Chris Martin or Connor Sammon on it. Not a fan of Sammon but I don't expect we can have too much better sat on the bench?

You look at players like Bailey and Theo who were starting not long ago are now free to search out other clubs. So we've outgrown those players who were keeping us ticking over and these players we've bought in Nigel sees as better.

I don't see him or any other manager having a stronger squad at Derby. This is pretty much the quality we are going to have to fight for promotion with no matter who's in charge.

So if Nigel can't put in a season where you think to yourself (yeah I think this could be our year) then maybe he's not up to the job.

It's not an easy job. Leicester job is easy. But that's the job.

The defence worry me now. But that's his defence. The defence he wanted. Maybe not in his dreams.

This season I don't know about the rest of you folks who remain neutral (or rate Nigel) but I'm going to judge him much more harshly.

On Sunday I thought certain players let him down. But over a season it'll be on his head to finish in a good position. It's his team now.

Can't say anymore "the board need to invest more".

This is it. This is what we have to work with. Somebody needs to make it work on the pitch. Unless we accept we're stuck here for the foreseeable future.

Never said "Clough Out" before. But this year it seems likely i'll be for or against.

[Rams-R-us]

Agree with all that's been said. But the gripe I have ( and 1 which many fans have ) is that while we do have a strong squad with the exception of the defence, clough seems hell bent on playing quality players out of position which stifles our own performances. I felt greeny was a quality player but being played at RB and RM was wrong. Playing hendrick there or Bryson is simply wrong as well. I disagree with coutts playing there as well but am used to It now.

Having said all this I want clough to succeed. And feel that the players will work hard for him to help us get to where we want to get. I just hope he realises what works and does not. If not then we need to part ways......

[RodleyRam]

I would agree with all this, I think a lot of us have been forgiving of some of his faults in team selection and tactics in the last five years because a) he's had little to work with and b) the bigger picture is looking good, academy, improved league positions etc.

 

However, with a lot of the ground work in place (for which he deserves huge credit) I think he's now got a largely decent squad with a variety of options. He's going to have to start making that count with more consistency overall and improvements away from home if he's going to keep those of us that like him on board. I'm not necessarily expecting top 6 this year but a proper good go at it, if we're in the mix with a month to go I'll be pretty pleased and would hope that we can finish the season strongly, even if we miss out.

 

I think Uttox is absolutely right, his best team might well have to miss out one of Hughes, Bryson and Hendrick, for me it's Bryson. Alternatively he's going to have to find an alternative to 4-4-2 that actually allows us to attack freely and score goals, I think there are enough options to make something work, it just depends whether he's got the balls to try something out and stick with it for more than 45 minutes. I don't think 4-5-1 with Sammon or Martin isolated is the answer personally but I wouldn't be surprised if this is the side for Saturday.

 

Grant

 

Smith     Keogh     Bucko     Forsyth

 

Russell    Hendrick    Bryson     Hughes    Ward

 

Martin

 

It's not necessarily a huge problem if the wide players and Hughes and Hendrick can get on the ball and support Martin but we've seen with this a lot of times that the gap between midfield and attack is too great and we can't retain the ball.

 

Time will tell how he copes with this new challenge, I hope he can get some momentum going and have faith in his convictions to keep us moving forward.

[nfb]

Ive always been on the fence with NC, i think he has been learning on the job, i know someone who interviewed him and said he felt he was an inteligent man, who understood the game, but i still feel his stuborness can let him down, and lead to man management issues,which of late haven't been on display..... so maybe he is learning !

That said he has done his masters bidding, and kept us in this league, and now seems to be moving onwards and upwards, although you ask to put the defense to one side, i for one think its our weakest link this season, so i find it hard in this discussion to ignore it,as do others it seems. I hope that i'm wrong, but i feel as the Brayford money may not be spent on a new CB, so for NC's sake i hope that Barks is the players he was when he returns cos atm we seem to have Bucko/Keogh, if theres a problem with them i dont know what will happen Gjok doesn't appear on the bench, so what happens ? we move forsyth there Smith to RB Freeman to LB ?  or Eustace (let him do his job, defending the back 4 ! we've wanted one for ages now we have him leave him ?) God help them if they do a bad job there, they could end up like some others and hated/sidelined !

So, good luck Nige, and good luck Bucko/Keogh... FFS dont get injured !!  Its the only place we dont have propper options   

[weedram]

(Clough) Can't say anymore "the board need to invest more".

 

 

Well he could say that if the Prem is worth over a hundred million & we have among the highest attendance but are being outspent by  half the division.

If we challenge for promotion on this budget it will be a good job, if we get promoted it will be a great job - ffs 3 of our 4 signings this season have been freebies.

[Asanovic]

This is the season I'm judging him on. So much has gone on in the previous four seasons that it's difficult to measure his performance against the objective of finishing in the top six, because it's never been realistic.

 

Until now.

 

Alpha's right - this is his team now. If he wants Hendrick on the right, that's up to him, but he has Jacobs on the bench. He can't say that he's shy of options anymore, because it's not true.

 

BUT - I don't think he will come out with that. He knows he'll live and die by his decisions this season, and he's got integrity. You'll not find him doing a Billy if we're not doing well by Christmas. 'The board won't spend' - none of that b*llocks.

 

I'm looking at this positively, rather than 'this is it for Nigel'. The way I see it, he finally has a squad of depth, good enough of at least making a push for the top six. I hope, and I think, that as a minimum we'll be right in the mix with 2 games to go. If that happens, it's an enormous improvement on the previous years he has been here. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what this team can do.

 

I'm backing him - I think we can do it. I'll worry about calling for his head at the end of the season if it's gone badly.

[hector10]

A thread with consensus!

 

Not surprising really because any regular can see that Clough's problem is accommodating his best players in a formation that works and in positions that suit them.

 

None of the options are really palatable because he's going to have to do one of the following:

• Drop one of Hughes, Hendrick or Bryson
• Play one of them out of position
• Play 4-5-1 with Russell on the left

He started with 4-4-2 in both games and then changed to 4-5-1 (he called it 4-3-3 but we know better.....).  He is quoted as saying he wants to start 4-4-2 "most game" and change if necessary.  My money's on him starting 4-5-1 on Saturday (option 3 then) and in plenty of other away games.

 

His other related problem is that I am not sure that Hughes performs best in a central midfield 2.  Assuming that he's not going to drop our best player or play him out position (tried that, didn't work) then that reduces options further.

 

Sort of a nice problem to have.  Better than the opposite one!

[Derry Ram]

I am a big believer in building from the back and unfortunately the back line is where Derby will falter this year. Chances are too Clough will end up getting at least one defender on loan in the short term but to be honest I think the club needs a long term solution as opposed to getting a championship bit part player to fill the slot temporarily.

 

The rest of the squad looks promising. I know a lot of fans stick the boot into Sammon and Davies but they are great impact subs to come off the bench. Sammon is there to link up the play and Davies last year came on and even played at wing back in a few games and gave Derby a great attacking edge. The Bolton midweek game is an example. Also I am a big fan of Jacobs, looks like he will be shunt from the starting 11 for a while but I think he is a great prospect. 

 

If the squad can stay fit, a playoff challenge is a definite.

[hector10]

• Play 4-5-1 with Russell on the left

 

 

Russell on the right, of course!

 

Interestingly Clough tends to go for left footers on the right (Russell) and visa versa (Ward)

[LeedsCityRam]

Some good posts on this thread - I'd like them all but I dont want to devalue it 

 

The strength of the squad is something Clough should definitely take credit for - its been a slow job, plenty of wheeling & dealing in the bargain basket with mixed results & we've maybe had to blood youngsters a little earlier than we would have liked at the time but its paid dividends. Clough himself said recently that he thought the squad was now worth £20m - I'm inclined to think it might be worth even more than that because of the youth & potential of a lot of the squad. Certainly a stark difference from the shower that crashed out of the Prem in 2008.

 

It may therefore seem a little harsh on Clough to raise the expectations based on this fact. I would say not though because of the patience that the majority of us have shown in him to date & the sense that as a club we should be looking to challenge to get into the top flight, based on our historical level. I also think the fanbase is craving some excitement - its been a pretty turgid near 5 years & the reduced gates are a symptom of that.

 

Its also a reflection of the strength of the squad that we're not seeing enraged posts screaming for the proceeds of the Brayford money to be spent. You would assume that if Clough feels he needs reinforcements, he can & will get them. Therefore, this is the season to watch & to judge if he is capable of moulding the talent in the squad into a winning team. I can't wait to see how it pans out.

[hector10]

In all likelihood an injury will come along and solve the selection problem by accident.  It might be that which forces his hand at centre back.  I predict loan option after transfer window shuts.

[ChaddesdenRam]

Russell on the right, of course!

Interestingly Clough tends to go for left footers on the right (Russell) and visa versa (Ward)

Like Mourinho

[ChaddesdenRam]

An injury at CB could force our hand and be a good thing.

[sheeponacid]

Well he could say that if the Prem is worth over a hundred million & we have among the highest attendance but are being outspent by  half the division.

If we challenge for promotion on this budget it will be a good job, if we get promoted it will be a great job - ffs 3 of our 4 signings this season have been freebies.

Totally agree...investment? Net spend off?....proven goal scorer at this level signed?? Quality defenders needed for a top six push signed?? If Nigel gets us out of this division with the hand dealt him he will have done an amazing job

[rammieib]

I'd he starts with Hendrick on the right for every game, then we will revert to 4-5-1 after fifteen minutes in every game. He is not a wide player and never will be.

Then after we change, we will be awful. We haven't scored in two games when the formation has been 4-5-1 have we yet? Bet that will continue tomorrow.

[hector10]

Russell on the right, of course!

 

Interestingly Clough tends to go for left footers on the right (Russell) and visa versa (Ward)

 

Like Mourinho

Clough / Mourinho - has anyone seen them in the same room?

 

Now what would Mourinho do when 1-0 up with 10 minutes to go?   Actually there might be something in this.........

[MrsRam]

Sounds like Nigel's 'last chance saloon' this season then.

5-6 seasons. Time to **** or get off the pot.

I don't think we're being unreasonable to want improvements.

[ChaddesdenRam]

I think the new Ward rotation system could have benefits to the squad rotation problem because Jacobs (who I think is a class act) will get more game time. He had 29 apps last season but 2/3 must have been coming off the bench.

I think his shambolic defending at times meant Clough was more inclined to leave him out at LM. However I think that side of his game has improved due to him being played CM a few times for the under 21s last season and also he is very good in the air, hit the crossbar vs Oldham from a corner.

But yeah the squad rotation will be a problem but hopefully a good problem. For example i dont know about anyone else but Sammon looks fired up and as though he might score. Also he competed for headers against Oldham and won more than he lost.