Derby County v Brighton

[RiddingsRam]

1 hour ago, Animal is a Ram said:

Tough game to make any conclusions from that. Weimann and Forsyth the obvious big misses, and unfortunate.

Some harsh judgements on an out of position Baird, who did well enough defensively against a tricky player in Knockaert. Thought Johnson was poor, not entirely sure why he started on the left ahead of Russell. Maybe to give more protection from Knockaert? Think Russell would have done better on that front too, he's good defensively and gives more work rate - which Pearson loves. 

Game looked like one where both teams had first choice players missing. No flow. That said, I felt Brighton had more strong spells than we did. Agree with Pearson though, that was a game we'd have lost in previous seasons. Christie made some excellent last ditch clearances. Bent was unlucky not to have a goal, excellent save from Stockdale right at the death.

With the players we have, it has to be a diamond. Too many centre mids and not enough wide midfielders. If we had everyone fit - for me:

                                           Carson

                        Christie Keogh Shackell Forsyth

                                          Thorne
                                   Hughes Bryson

                                             Ince
                                      Martin Bent

It's horribly narrow, but its about putting round pegs in round holes. Martin providing flick ons for Bent to run on to, Ince being the link between the midfield and the forwards, and two full backs who can cover and attack in equal measure.

 

I agree with that shape , we looked so much better in a diamond in the second half . If we had an attacking left back on the pitch too yesterday then there's your width . Thorne would fit nicely into that role too at the base of a diamond , Ince at the tip and Hughes plus another . 

[DCFC4LIFE]

Totally agree about the diamond formation

[Pearson]

2 hours ago, Inglorius said:

I'm amazed by some of the reactions on here apropos Pearsons playing formation for yesterday's game surely the football aficionados on here must have realised Pearson loves playing a rigid 4 4 2 formation so why the surprise? Are these the same posters who lauded Pearson when he was recruited. 

If Ince had been fortunate early doors or Bent late on we would not be having this discussion.

We are all amateur managers and have our opinions and views. The majority have it in for Johnson and deem Hughes to be a God, so to that end, Pearson is deemed to be at fault for his selection and team performance. So wrong

We have appointed a manager who is a winner and prefers a hard working 4-4-2 system which is absolutely fine by me.

To his credit he has not gone out and spent and will/is giving each player the opportunity to earn his shirt. Pearson’s management style will take a period of time to bed in, but rest assured each and every player will have adopted his philosophy and work ethic at the end of it.

The future is bright despite the omission of our perceived star players or preferred formations.

[cannable]

1 minute ago, Pearson said:

If Ince had been fortunate early doors or Bent late on we would not be having this discussion.

We are all amateur managers and have our opinions and views. The majority have it in for Johnson and deem Hughes to be a God, so to that end, Pearson is deemed to be at fault for his selection and team performance. So wrong

We have appointed a manager who is a winner and prefers a hard working 4-4-2 system which is absolutely fine by me.

To his credit he has not gone out and spent and will/is giving each player the opportunity to earn his shirt. Pearson’s management style will take a period of time to bed in, but rest assured each and every player will have adopted his philosophy and work ethic at the end of it.

The future is bright despite the omission of our perceived star players or preferred formations.

This is what people are saying in the other thread though; Mel Morris set out a vision in which the club has an identity so that as each manager comes and goes we can still have an element of continuity and thus we can constantly improve. 

And we've appointed a manager who wants to take us in a completely different direction. He's changing us, fine, but doesn't this go against everything Mel sold to us? I mean, you've said it yourself, the players are having to adapt to HIS philosophy when the main reason Clement was sacked and Wassall was put in charge was because we wanted them to see THE CLUB'S philosophy.

This is the point that people are making.

[MuespachRam]

2 hours ago, Woodley Ram said:

Blackman and bent played well, did you go to the game or are you just trying to get. REACTION 

Blackman IS rubbish. He played ok for 25 minutes, he won't score double figures in his entire Derby career. He has never scored consistently, ever. 

As for Bent...well, he is Dean Sturridge without the pace....and that is definitely no compliment  

I didn't go to the game, no, unfortunately it's a bit of a trek for me but I got to watch the 90 minutes on the tv, so I am not just writing it for a "reaction" 

[Woodley Ram]

12 minutes ago, MuespachRam said:

Blackman IS rubbish. He played ok for 25 minutes, he won't score double figures in his entire Derby career. He has never scored consistently, ever. 

As for Bent...well, he is Dean Sturridge without the pace....and that is definitely no compliment  

I didn't go to the game, no, unfortunately it's a bit of a trek for me but I got to watch the 90 minutes on the tv, so I am not just writing it for a "reaction" 

3 hours (each way) and an overnight stay for me as well. I went to the game. Blackman was ill all week and was one of the better players in the first half until understandably he run out of steam. Bent played well and was one of the Better players. Bent is so bad he played for England and some how got clubs to pay millions on him. I think you are being harsh on both players.

you see a lot of other things when you are there

[Sexydadbod]

21 minutes ago, MuespachRam said:

Blackman IS rubbish. He played ok for 25 minutes, he won't score double figures in his entire Derby career. He has never scored consistently, ever. 

As for Bent...well, he is Dean Sturridge without the pace....and that is definitely no compliment  

I didn't go to the game, no, unfortunately it's a bit of a trek for me but I got to watch the 90 minutes on the tv, so I am not just writing it for a "reaction" 

Blackman was one of our best players at the start but faded.No surprise with him being ill

[Day]

12 minutes ago, McLovin said:

Blackman was one of our best players at the start but faded.No surprise with him being ill

Saw this today, raises the question why start him with a fit Johnny Russell on the bench.

Fair enough if he sees Blackmanas a first team starter but if he's ill, give the guy a game off.

[MuespachRam]

18 minutes ago, Woodley Ram said:

3 hours (each way) and an overnight stay for me as well. I went to the game. Blackman was ill all week and was one of the better players in the first half until understandably he run out of steam. Bent played well and was one of the Better players. Bent is so bad he played for England and some how got clubs to pay millions on him. I think you are being harsh on both players.

you see a lot of other things when you are there

Just a hour in the car, a 2 hour wait, a 9.5 hour flight and a 4.5 hour car ride for me, each way, so I don't go so much. (Especially as I can see them all on tv live) 

maybe being a bit harsh on Bent, he has obviously been a decent player at some point in his career but Blackman never has and never will be any good. 

I would also argue that you miss just as much as you see when at the game live. 

[CumbrianRam]

28 minutes ago, McLovin said:

Blackman was one of our best players at the start but faded.No surprise with him being ill

Makes a mockery of the  "fittest 11 play" don't it

[TheresOnlyWanChope]

Good point against a quality team. 

[wingfieldram]

19 hours ago, PodgeyRam said:

If I'm honest I'm not very happy with what I saw today. I understand that things such as births and injuries can't be helped but I don't think Pearson did himself any favours today with his team selection in response to that.

We had no width on the left side, needed Russell playing instead of Johnson. Hughes should have started and in the middle of the park, not on the left like Pearson had him to begin with when he came on. We missed a controlling presence in the centre of the park.

Blackman, Ince and Bent played well when we actually got the ball to them which was nowhere near enough. Still, early days so lets hope he sorts it out. I give it 5 matches before we're back to 4-3-3 with Martin up front. Whether that'll be a good thing or not I'm not sure.

I've done some more thoughts over here if you're interested:

http://viewfromtheweststand.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/derby-county-0-brighton-0.html

Good blog Podgeyram

[Day]

Brighton Podcast.

[cheron85]

On 07/08/2016 at 01:55, PodgeyRam said:

If I'm honest I'm not very happy with what I saw today. I understand that things such as births and injuries can't be helped but I don't think Pearson did himself any favours today with his team selection in response to that.

We had no width on the left side, needed Russell playing instead of Johnson. Hughes should have started and in the middle of the park, not on the left like Pearson had him to begin with when he came on. We missed a controlling presence in the centre of the park.

Blackman, Ince and Bent played well when we actually got the ball to them which was nowhere near enough. Still, early days so lets hope he sorts it out. I give it 5 matches before we're back to 4-3-3 with Martin up front. Whether that'll be a good thing or not I'm not sure.

I've done some more thoughts over here if you're interested:

http://viewfromtheweststand.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/derby-county-0-brighton-0.html

THIS... ALL OF THIS... YES...

Sorry... got a bit carried away there...

Thought Blackman was excellent today... Several times his runs were curtailed by Christie running into his space (Christie seemed to enjoy running 2 yrds ahead of him 2 yrds to the right)... and once Brighton realised there was zero threat from our LHS they just doubled up on Blackman...

Bent was fine... He looked sharp and was unlucky with a couple of half chances... No problem with him continuing...

And actually... I have no problem with the formation(s) either... I thought 4-4-1-1 at first makes use of our wingers well and allows for 2 forwards in the box to be on the end of balls... The Ince effort early on was a great example when Blackman cut inside and picked him out... And later on with Hendrick dropped into the hole and Hughes and Bryson in the narrow diamond was fine...

HOWEVER... The mistakes...

1) Not playing Hughes

2) Not playing Hughes

3) Not playing Hughes (this could go on for a while) - There was NOTHING which Hendrick offered which Hughes doesn't and Bryson was hamstrung by being asked to play in a 2 man midfield... He just hung around the middle of the pitch instead of bombing up and down...

4) The suggestion was the we lost Weimann and Fozzy after the line up was decided... So judgement call on Baird vs Lowe and Russell vs Johnson... And he got it totally wrong... I admit bringing in Lowe would have been a BIG call... But our of the 2 on the left you needed at least one quick/skillful/attacking player... instead we had none... Lowe with Johnson could have worked... As could Baird and Russell (I think?) but not Baird and Johnson...

5) Not playing Hughes

[bcnram]

1 hour ago, cheron85 said:

 

On 07/08/2016 at 01:55, PodgeyRam said:

If I'm honest I'm not very happy with what I saw today. I understand that things such as births and injuries can't be helped but I don't think Pearson did himself any favours today with his team selection in response to that.

We had no width on the left side, needed Russell playing instead of Johnson. Hughes should have started and in the middle of the park, not on the left like Pearson had him to begin with when he came on. We missed a controlling presence in the centre of the park.

Blackman, Ince and Bent played well when we actually got the ball to them which was nowhere near enough. Still, early days so lets hope he sorts it out. I give it 5 matches before we're back to 4-3-3 with Martin up front. Whether that'll be a good thing or not I'm not sure.

I've done some more thoughts over here if you're interested:

http://viewfromtheweststand.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/derby-county-0-brighton-0.html

THIS... ALL OF THIS... YES...

Sorry... got a bit carried away there...

Thought Blackman was excellent today... Several times his runs were curtailed by Christie running into his space (Christie seemed to enjoy running 2 yrds ahead of him 2 yrds to the right)... and once Brighton realised there was zero threat from our LHS they just doubled up on Blackman...

Bent was fine... He looked sharp and was unlucky with a couple of half chances... No problem with him continuing...

And actually... I have no problem with the formation(s) either... I thought 4-4-1-1 at first makes use of our wingers well and allows for 2 forwards in the box to be on the end of balls... The Ince effort early on was a great example when Blackman cut inside and picked him out... And later on with Hendrick dropped into the hole and Hughes and Bryson in the narrow diamond was fine...

HOWEVER... The mistakes...

1) Not playing Hughes

2) Not playing Hughes

3) Not playing Hughes (this could go on for a while) - There was NOTHING which Hendrick offered which Hughes doesn't and Bryson was hamstrung by being asked to play in a 2 man midfield... He just hung around the middle of the pitch instead of bombing up and down...

4) The suggestion was the we lost Weimann and Fozzy after the line up was decided... So judgement call on Baird vs Lowe and Russell vs Johnson... And he got it totally wrong... I admit bringing in Lowe would have been a BIG call... But our of the 2 on the left you needed at least one quick/skillful/attacking player... instead we had none... Lowe with Johnson could have worked... As could Baird and Russell (I think?) but not Baird and Johnson...

5) Not playing Hughes

 

How Hughes played when he came on showed the madness of leaving him out. That said there were some poor performances but I think the worst of the lot by far was the manager. We have a beautiful flat pitch that should be a dream to play on, and for some reason he has our defenders sticking the ball 30 metres into the sky, almost all immediately went into the oppositions possession. We have players who love to pass the ball on the grass, we have grass that is perfect for the ball - let's have them meeting a little more often eh Nige?

[cheron85]

3 minutes ago, bcnram said:

How Hughes played when he came on showed the madness of leaving him out. That said there were some poor performances but I think the worst of the lot by far was the manager. We have a beautiful flat pitch that should be a dream to play on, and for some reason he has our defenders sticking the ball 30 metres into the sky, almost all immediately went into the oppositions possession. We have players who love to pass the ball on the grass, we have grass that is perfect for the ball - let's have them meeting a little more often eh Nige?

The biggest issue for me was the lack of transition between defence and attack... Taking the ball off the defence and moving it into midfield to set up an attacking play... It's what Thorne does so well... and Hughes and Butterfield do too... Even Johnson can do it to an extent when playing in the middle...

On Saturday we had no-one doing it in the midfield... I love Bryson but he'd not that kind of player... The only person we had doing it was Keogh! (runs from back and occasional pass forward to Ince)

It was noticeable that towards the end of the first half Ince was dropping back into the hole behind the midfield to try and pick up the ball from the defence...

[Kennington Ram]

Not a terrible start.

Worth remembering that a year ago, we lost our two best midfielders and failed to win against a team that imploded about two weeks later entirely.

By contrast, it was a closely fought game between two promotion chasers, with our first choice left back out and, hopefully, a clear sign that Hughes should start games going forwards or we need to consider how to get more from Hendrick/Bryson.

 

[Pearson]

On 07/08/2016 at 17:13, cannable said:

This is what people are saying in the other thread though; Mel Morris set out a vision in which the club has an identity so that as each manager comes and goes we can still have an element of continuity and thus we can constantly improve. 

And we've appointed a manager who wants to take us in a completely different direction. He's changing us, fine, but doesn't this go against everything Mel sold to us? I mean, you've said it yourself, the players are having to adapt to HIS philosophy when the main reason Clement was sacked and Wassall was put in charge was because we wanted them to see THE CLUB'S philosophy.

This is the point that people are making.

There is no template or a “Derby Way” that any future manger can pick up and run with, despite what Mel Morris may think.

Every successful manager has his own vision, playing style, motivational techniques and ability to formulate a winning side based on his selections.

The only way we will improve is by winning games on a consistent basis which will shortly happen under the stewardship of Pearson

[Van der MoodHoover]

9 hours ago, Kennington Ram said:

Not a terrible start.

Worth remembering that a year ago, we lost our two best midfielders and failed to win against a team that imploded about two weeks later entirely.

By contrast, it was a closely fought game between two promotion chasers, with our first choice left back out and, hopefully, a clear sign that Hughes should start games going forwards or we need to consider how to get more from Hendrick/Bryson.

 

Was thinking along exactly similar lines. 

We are at least up and running and intact. We'll see how good a point it actually is once the season unfolds.

To sound cautionary,  Brighton had a great season last season but have not consistently been a top side. They also seemed to have so much play and chances that the point sounds "fortunate" rather than "good". This is only an opinion formed by a combination of observations on this forum,  comment from reports and watching highlights. Overall seems much improvement is needed. 

[cannable]

42 minutes ago, Pearson said:

There is no template or a “Derby Way” that any future manger can pick up and run with, despite what Mel Morris may think.

Every successful manager has his own vision, playing style, motivational techniques and ability to formulate a winning side based on his selections.

The only way we will improve is by winning games on a consistent basis which will shortly happen under the stewardship of Pearson

But the core ideas that were supposedly behind why we sacked Clement have seemingly been abandoned if Pearson's interviews are anything to go by. This isn't just style of play.