Thierry Ennui Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I think with the whole Newcastle fiasco it's easy to forget just how good we were for much of McClaren's tenure. In my view McClaren's stint was largely flawless, until the second half of last season when his issues with the squad were: - Leaky defence - Dodgy goalkeeper - Lack of depth in central midfield - Lack of an able deputy to an injured Martin (and his specific role) - Lack of depth on the wings due to injury (Ward), personal issues (Dawkins), leaving (Ibe) I reckon the top three have been solved with new signings, the fourth hasn't been an issue (ignoring Martin's loss of form which in my opinion is more down to our slow, lacklustre play) and the fifth is debatable. If Newcastle had gone elsewhere I think we'd be sitting pretty right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North East Ram Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 You could be right but at the same rate that the tide receded on McLarens lonely island of hair, his interest in other jobs increased. If not Newcastle, then another club would eventually would've turned his head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shang Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I agree with this. If Newcastle didn't tap Steve up, and if Clement didn't become available (I don't think Steve would have been sacked otherwise and I don't think Newcastle would have went for him unless he was free) we would be playing more attractive football on a very good base of defence. McClaren was brilliant for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 The only head coach/manager we've had that I would consider sticking his poster on my bedroom ceiling to wake up to each morning since Jim Smith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRam Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I miss him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsdubs Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Miss that football that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyMac5 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Miss Simmo too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramos Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I miss steele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncanjwitham Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 The way McClaren set us up suited almost every single player in the squad - Bryson benefited from Martin feeding him the ball, and Martin benefited from Bryson making runs past him. Eustace or Thorne sitting gave Bryson license to get forward and Hughes the chance to roam around and find space, while the sitter's lack of mobility wasn't getting exposed. Dominating possession suited Keogh and Buxton, allowing them to get on the ball and pass while minimising the amount of defending they had to do. And so on and so on. What's interesting is whether McClaren looked at the squad and decided that he wanted to play this way to get the best out of the squad, or whether it was a happy coincidence that the two matched up so well. I suspect it's probably a bit of both, but he certainly did a far better job of getting the most out of the squad he had than Clement did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale The Ram Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I do agree to an extent but would it could be that McClaren improved a team with no expectations and Clement managed a team with expectations. Teams have definitely sat back against us under Clement, whether this was due to his possession type style of play or maybe teams knew Derby can attack. I think we need to stop comparing managers and appreciate that these 2 managers may have laid the foundations for a future premier league team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanish Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 would have been great if he hadn't fallen asleep at the wheel for the last few months of the season. Culminating in last game of season it was and is unforgivable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannable Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 30 minutes ago, Dale The Ram said: I do agree to an extent but would it could be that McClaren improved a team with no expectations and Clement managed a team with expectations. Teams have definitely sat back against us under Clement, whether this was due to his possession type style of play or maybe teams knew Derby can attack. I think we need to stop comparing managers and appreciate that these 2 managers may have laid the foundations for a future premier league team Unfair. We were many people's favourites last season. For this reason we were more controlling than attacking. We had to do this because teams were aware of us, how we played and our danger men. As a result of this we weren't getting as much space. The football wasn't quite as breathtaking as 13/14 because of this but it was still easy on the eye, we still committed players forward and we still scored for fun. On the few occasions we did find some space we scored some absolutely gorgeous team goals (Hendrick's first against Bolton, Hendrick's second against Wolves, Russell's against Brighton, for example) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sheriff Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Prefer Clement to Mclaren He will change things where Mclaren had plan a only. He also failed to even make the top 6 with a team that should of been top 2 IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaffsRam Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 4 minutes ago, Simsy said: He will change things where Mclaren had plan a only. Did Clement even have a plan A? Bore the opposition into submission? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
top 6 finish Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 If anything it shows how good Clement is. He had to pick up the pieces left by McLaren,get us sorted,and then took us on a run of 19 matches with only 1 defeat and took us to top,goes on a blip like all the other teams,yet still only 6 points from top 2 and still in playoff positions. Then gets sacked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Kevin Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 3 minutes ago, StaffsRam said: Did Clement even have a plan A? Bore the opposition into submission? Well it worked on me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaffsRam Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 It'll be interesting to see where Clement surfaces next. Probably Bayern, with Carlo. In terms of a Management role I think he's probably better suited to Manage abroad than England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CumbrianRam Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 7 minutes ago, StaffsRam said: Did Clement even have a plan A? Bore the opposition into submission? Plan A, B, C, D, E,F G and Z.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thierry Ennui Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 3 minutes ago, top 6 finish said: If anything it shows how good Clement is. He had to pick up the pieces left by McLaren,get us sorted,and then took us on a run of 19 matches with only 1 defeat and took us to top,goes on a blip like all the other teams,yet still only 6 points from top 2 and still in playoff positions. Then gets sacked. McClaren took a team that was mid-table for years to a playoff final in half a season. Spending no money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wixman1884 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 3 minutes ago, Penelope Pendrex said: McClaren took a team that was mid-table for years to a playoff final in half a season. Spending no money. And playing spectacular football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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