Barnsley vs Derby County

[PodgeyRam]

Also, having heard that Bent had been injured quite early on into the match, why did Pearson wait until half time to replace him? Strikes me that even if he doesn't like Martin that a Darren Bent who can't run is no use to anyone. Baffling.

[ITSD]

The longer this wretched experiment with 442 goes on, the more I fear for us this season. That said, I don't think we'll be seeing the back of it any time soon- Pearson strikes me as being too proud and stubborn for that.

[ramsbottom]

8 hours ago, PodgeyRam said:

Don't think it's any of those things. The players were clearly trying, they were just being beaten to every ball by a well-drilled Barnsley team in which every player knew their role.

Contrast that to a Derby team with the entire midfield playing out of their favoured position with no striker to hold the ball up properly (in the first half at least). Normally having the extra man in midfield makes up for it, but Pearson obviously doesn't particularly like that idea. It's no wonder we were made to look slow and unfit even when the players aren't.

It was clear from 5 minutes in that once you've taken away that numerical advantage in the middle we really struggle to keep hold of the ball and use it properly.  It's also seemed to have a knock on effect to Christie as he looks tentative top get forward knowing there's nobody to cover for him.  Also without Thorne dropping deep to distribute it's left to Shackell to put passes into the channels when the fullbacks aren't on and he shanked at least half a dozen times on Sat.

It was a very average performance, not as wholly inept as the Hull first leg but pretty it was well on it's way.  A lot of hard work, patients & perhaps player turnover is needed before we get decent performances...

[cheron85]

9 hours ago, SaintRam said:

The players themselves have unanimously come out saying theyre fitter than they've been before at this stage. So either a) theyve been horrendously unfit at this stage of previous seasons in their career, b) there was a lack of effort or c) Dawes and Ramage were talking out of their arse.

Has anyone on here who went to the game said they thought the players looked unfit? That would rule out c, my moneys on b in that case. C otherwise.

But Pearson was also supposed to be the guy who could come in and give them that 'winning mentality... We seem to be going backwards from the tail end of last season at the moment...

8 hours ago, PodgeyRam said:

Don't think it's any of those things. The players were clearly trying, they were just being beaten to every ball by a well-drilled Barnsley team in which every player knew their role.

Contrast that to a Derby team with the entire midfield playing out of their favoured position with no striker to hold the ball up properly (in the first half at least). Normally having the extra man in midfield makes up for it, but Pearson obviously doesn't particularly like that idea. It's no wonder we were made to look slow and unfit even when the players aren't.

So yet another case of the formation which Pearson wants to play being completely unsuited to the players we have...

It amazes me that he's considered a good manager...

9 minutes ago, ramsbottom said:

It was a very average performance, not as wholly inept as the Hull first leg but pretty it was well on it's way.  A lot of hard work, patients & perhaps player turnover is needed before we get decent performances...

Or get rid of the manager and bring in someone who can get the best out of these players on a consistent basis?

[SaintRam]

16 minutes ago, cheron85 said:

But Pearson was also supposed to be the guy who could come in and give them that 'winning mentality... We seem to be going backwards from the tail end of last season at the moment...

 

Hey may well be, but anyone who thought that a "winning mentality" was something that could just be handed over by the right person is fooling themselves. You can't buy cans of "Instant Winning Mentality" anywhere, it will take time. 

[cheron85]

11 minutes ago, SaintRam said:

Hey may well be, but anyone who thought that a "winning mentality" was something that could just be handed over by the right person is fooling themselves. You can't buy cans of "Instant Winning Mentality" anywhere, it will take time. 

My approach would be:

"Hey guys... You remember the second leg against Hull? Let's play like that every week thanks"

And then show then Russell's screamer against Forest on a loop for 30 seconds before they leave the dressing room...

[Animal is a Ram]

I can stomach a loss if we show some signs that the players are understanding where Pearson is trying to go, or that Pearson is starting to understand what he has within the squad.

But I saw neither.

Butterfield at LM. Turned out he was one of the better players despite being horribly out of position. Thought he was really unfortunate to be booked for (what looked from the away end, not seen highlights) a very good ball winning challenge which they scored from the resultant free kick.

Not seeing what NP sees in Blackman. Especially on the right wing. Blackman himself says he's better in the middle.

Hughes not starting. That said, he was way below his usual high standards. Hendrick didn't look right from the first whistle, game, and first goal passed him by.

Long, high balls to Bent. No. Just. Stop. That's not his game. Don't think he won one header all game. Martin won more in his first 5 minutes.

Ince looking isolated, mostly because Hughes and Bryson were dropping so deep to get the ball that the latter was often further back than Keogh and Shackell.

Forsyth has seemingly lost his crossing ability. Hope that's down to lack of minutes. 

I can usually find some positives, but it was really difficult. 

Russell and Martin made some impact when they came on. Showed some urgency, desire and brain. With Martin on the pitch we were starting to knit a few passes together, winning some free kicks in dangerous positions. 

Good to see Olsson back training after his concussion.

 

[SaintRam]

19 minutes ago, cheron85 said:

My approach would be:

"Hey guys... You remember the second leg against Hull? Let's play like that every week thanks"

And then show then Russell's screamer against Forest on a loop for 30 seconds before they leave the dressing room...

And then first game of the season Russell lines up a shot but skews it wide and the whole squads confidence crumbles.

[ramsbottom]

50 minutes ago, cheron85 said:

Or get rid of the manager and bring in someone who can get the best out of these players on a consistent basis?

Are you f**kin mental??? After THREE games you want to piss an entire pre-season up the wall?!?!?!??!?!  You're Uncle Fawaz and I claim my £5...

[duncanjwitham]

8 minutes ago, ramsbottom said:

Are you f**kin mental??? After THREE games you want to piss an entire pre-season up the wall?!?!?!??!?!  You're Uncle Fawaz and I claim my £5...

The preseason is already 'pissed up the wall'.  It's clear that this bunch of players can't play in the style that Pearson wants, so we either change the style to suit the players, or change the players to suit the style.  But either way, whatever was done in preseason was an utter waste of time.

[cheron85]

11 minutes ago, ramsbottom said:

Are you f**kin mental??? After THREE games you want to piss an entire pre-season up the wall?!?!?!??!?!  You're Uncle Fawaz and I claim my £5...

No... I wouldn't have appointed him in the first place... And if a mistake is made it's best to correct it sooner rather than persisting with it...

[SaintRam]

7 minutes ago, Animal is a Ram said:

I can stomach a loss if we show some signs that the players are understanding where Pearson is trying to go, or that Pearson is starting to understand what he has within the squad.

But I saw neither.

Butterfield at LM. Turned out he was one of the better players despite being horribly out of position. Thought he was really unfortunate to be booked for (what looked from the away end, not seen highlights) a very good ball winning challenge which they scored from the resultant free kick.

Not seeing what NP sees in Blackman. Especially on the right wing. Blackman himself says he's better in the middle.

Hughes not starting. That said, he was way below his usual high standards. Hendrick didn't look right from the first whistle, game, and first goal passed him by.

Long, high balls to Bent. No. Just. Stop. That's not his game. Don't think he won one header all game. Martin won more in his first 5 minutes.

Ince looking isolated, mostly because Hughes and Bryson were dropping so deep to get the ball that the latter was often further back than Keogh and Shackell.

Forsyth has seemingly lost his crossing ability. Hope that's down to lack of minutes. 

I can usually find some positives, but it was really difficult. 

Russell and Martin made some impact when they came on. Showed some urgency, desire and brain. With Martin on the pitch we were starting to knit a few passes together, winning some free kicks in dangerous positions. 

Good to see Olsson back training after his concussion.

 

In fairness, Butterfield was put at LM because he played there against Grimsby and looked as comfortable as anything, and was one of our best players on the pitch while he was on. 

Blackman may say he's better in the middle but his stats don't back that statement up. I agree with you though that I don't see what NP sees. NPs the pro though. He said Blackman has "untapped potential", so I'm hoping this gametime is just him trying to kickstart Blackman into tapping into that talent that NP (and I imagine, his staff) sees, this sort of thing is on a time limit. Either it works and we're all delighted that Blackman's now a quality player, or he reaches that time limit and gets dropped.

Bent usually wins a lot of aerial battles, not sure what's up with him in that regard to be honest.

I'm with you on the positive front though, it was a pretty poor showing. Still, we were told this was going to happen by Leicester fans. We were told that if we could cope with this period we'll be happier for it. Asking a lot of Derby fans though, to cope. 

[ramsbottom]

1 hour ago, cheron85 said:

No... I wouldn't have appointed him in the first place... And if a mistake is made it's best to correct it sooner rather than persisting with it...

He wasn't my preferred choice either, I'd have thrown a lot of cash at Rangers for Warburton, but the fact is he's here now and Uncle Mel won't risk making the entire club look like those divs up the road by sacking him after three games... He's shown what it takes to get out of this league, yes it's not tika-taka pretty at times but his Leicester side steam-rolled us on the way to the title.  He needs time and new players to make it work...

[cheron85]

Just now, ramsbottom said:

He wasn't my preferred choice either, I'd have thrown a lot of cash at Rangers for Warburton, but the fact is he's here now and Uncle Mel won't risk making the entire club look like those divs up the road by sacking him after three games... He's shown what it takes to get out of this league, yes it's not tika-taka pretty at times but his Leicester side steam-rolled us on the way to the title.  He needs time and new players to make it work...

I'm trying to keep my negativity confined to just one place... So I'll just state that I have made points about most of these things in the following thread:

[DEL]

2 hours ago, Animal is a Ram said:

I can stomach a loss if we show some signs that the players are understanding where Pearson is trying to go, or that Pearson is starting to understand what he has within the squad.

But I saw neither.

Butterfield at LM. Turned out he was one of the better players despite being horribly out of position. Thought he was really unfortunate to be booked for (what looked from the away end, not seen highlights) a very good ball winning challenge which they scored from the resultant free kick.

Not seeing what NP sees in Blackman. Especially on the right wing. Blackman himself says he's better in the middle.

Hughes not starting. That said, he was way below his usual high standards. Hendrick didn't look right from the first whistle, game, and first goal passed him by.

Long, high balls to Bent. No. Just. Stop. That's not his game. Don't think he won one header all game. Martin won more in his first 5 minutes.

Ince looking isolated, mostly because Hughes and Bryson were dropping so deep to get the ball that the latter was often further back than Keogh and Shackell.

Forsyth has seemingly lost his crossing ability. Hope that's down to lack of minutes. 

I can usually find some positives, but it was really difficult. 

Russell and Martin made some impact when they came on. Showed some urgency, desire and brain. With Martin on the pitch we were starting to knit a few passes together, winning some free kicks in dangerous positions. 

Good to see Olsson back training after his concussion.

 

Bent only won the header was last minute against Brighton and that chance against Grimsby that it I think. 

 

[ramsbottom]

2 hours ago, cheron85 said:

I'm trying to keep my negativity confined to just one place... So I'll just state that I have made points about most of these things in the following thread:

Lazy ****

[CapeTownRams]

Early days yet and it always takes a bit of time. But what it's worrying that we are back trying 442 and variations of the same with the same players with whom it hasn't worked before. In some ways I thought Bradley Johnson was gonna be the heavy midfielder we needed to make 442 work and give us some steel. But look how that worked out.

Seems like every manager has to learn the hard way and then revert to 433. Surprised at Pearson in that regard - almost like he hasn't spoken to anyone or viewed any of the videos from the last four yrs.

 

[Alph]

19 hours ago, Animal is a Ram said:

I can stomach a loss if we show some signs that the players are understanding where Pearson is trying to go, or that Pearson is starting to understand what he has within the squad.

But I saw neither.

Butterfield at LM. Turned out he was one of the better players despite being horribly out of position. Thought he was really unfortunate to be booked for (what looked from the away end, not seen highlights) a very good ball winning challenge which they scored from the resultant free kick.

Not seeing what NP sees in Blackman. Especially on the right wing. Blackman himself says he's better in the middle.

Hughes not starting. That said, he was way below his usual high standards. Hendrick didn't look right from the first whistle, game, and first goal passed him by.

Long, high balls to Bent. No. Just. Stop. That's not his game. Don't think he won one header all game. Martin won more in his first 5 minutes.

Ince looking isolated, mostly because Hughes and Bryson were dropping so deep to get the ball that the latter was often further back than Keogh and Shackell.

Forsyth has seemingly lost his crossing ability. Hope that's down to lack of minutes. 

I can usually find some positives, but it was really difficult. 

Russell and Martin made some impact when they came on. Showed some urgency, desire and brain. With Martin on the pitch we were starting to knit a few passes together, winning some free kicks in dangerous positions. 

Good to see Olsson back training after his concussion.

 

Love this post. 

My issue with Pearson isn't the results or the performances as such. It's that I can't see what he's trying to do. I can see what's not working and it's easy to sit there usually and say what should be happening. Watching Derby so far I can't even figure out what should be happening. Apart from Ince is supposed to be keeping within range of the center mids and not holding his position regardless of how deep they're pushed back.

But he doesn't do it. Because he's not used to that role. 

And down on a pitch at full speed it's not easy to play any role.

[angieram]

I see Conor Hourihane,  who bossed this game against us, has just been voted EFL Championship player for August.

Well deserved, if that performance was anything to go by.

[cannable]

Just now, angieram said:

I see Conor Hourihane,  who bossed this game against us, has just been voted EFL Championship player for August.

Well deserved, if that performance was anything to go by.

Funnily enough - he's who Huddersfield were lining up to replace Butterfield.