Burton Albion vs Derby County

[Stripperg-ram]

It's odd to me how so many of you see this as an error/fault on the part of the players.

Sure, some of them need a kick up the arse or a kick out the door.

But this team has proven that it can compete with the best in the league. 

This is a monumental fall from grace that has to be directed at the coaching staff.

we're all willing to deal with a period of transition - Maybe lose some of the 'talent' of the last few seasons, in a bid to start again, rebuild, refashion and take the league by storm.

But what we've seen so far this season is a fundamental break down in communication and planning. I can tolerate being average for a short term period, but so far we've not been average , we've been nothing.....absolutely nothing.

no idea, no style, no plan, no formation, no cutting edge and absolutely not using our best players to their best abilities. 

Hughes, Martin, Shackell; to name just 3, don't just become **** overnight.

And it's not just down to 20 something players misunderstanding the 4-4-2 formation!!

Pearson has to get a grip of this.

I'm starting to doubt him already. 

So far, Wassall at his worst, is better than Pearson at his best!!

[Ninos]

It's only depressing because it's burton and zero points and we can't score. Big I know for now but when you step back, really we have no more problems other than these:

a) a bloated and therefore toxic squad (sell please)

b) some flash in the pan players who really aren't very good at all and are being exposed : Russell Martin Blackman bent Butterfield Tom Ince are the main ones. But there are others : weimann Baird Pearce, possibly Johnson (but I think he will come good if motivated). Jury still out on Camara. We need some lethal strikers, and sadly that was a rather inauspicious debut from Wilson.

C) a losing mentality that was created ironically by mclaren playing pretty but vulnerable possession football and bottling it at every key moment / a trait common to his coaching cv. It's almost as if we choke whenever a game means something.

It's early days and I'm not fussed yet. This is labor pains as Pearson gives birth to a promotion winning side. He will move out players, he will fix the striking problem and restore the proper winning mentality.

I didn't like the result today but we were the better side in spite of our back line Hughes and Bryson having to carry the rest of the team. His substitutions were timely and shrewd but they didn't produce the goals you'd expect. His strong defence and his post match interview gives reason for optimism because he's not pulling punches and he sees what's happening.

And exactly what Kevin Phillips does with the strikers heaven knows because they are totally devoid of attacking ideas. 

[1977 Ram Raider]

It's just so boring and predictable. Keogh to Shackell, Shackell back to Keogh, Keogh to Olson, Olson back to Keogh, Keogh 40 yarder, lose possession.

[ronnieronalde]

Poor performance from Derby, very disjointed.

Surprised to see Hughes and Bryson (especially) behind Butterfield. There is no way on gods earth Bryson should be used in that role, it takes away all of his qualities.

I rate Pearson highly but there is clearly something wrong, gone is the speed, gone is the one touch passing, gone is the ruthless counter attacking style. Players arguing with each other and not looking like they trust their mates any more. It was actually quite tough to see. I'm an NC follower therefore a Burton Albion fan but I've still lot a lot of feelings for the likes of Martin, Hughes, Bryson and it's not easy to see them struggle the way they are.

Having said that, I don't think there is enough credit being given to Burton here, their players fought for every ball, won almost all of the 50-50's picked up most of the second balls, won most of the headers and actually played the more incisive football of the two sides.

O'Grady was immense and Akins caused problems all evening but the big surprise for me came in midfield with Matty Palmer looking tidier than will Hughes and with Tom Naylor and Jackson Irvine steamrolling the midfield.

Turner was a colossus at the back and MacFadzean and Brayford both very solid indeed.

I know Derby were poor, but Burton did a job on them, tactically spot on.

It' going to sound corny but the best part of the night by a country mile was seeing Barker playing league football again and competing for headers on the edge of his own box.

That's one of the reasons I like NC so much, you can say what you want about him but when he's loyal, he's loyal and there aren't many managers who would have taken a punt on Shaun after the history he's had recently.

Very emotional to see him get on the pitch in a competitive game and hope it's the first of many.

 

[Rev]

1 minute ago, ronnieronalde said:

Poor performance from Derby, very disjointed.

Surprised to see Hughes and Bryson (especially) behind Butterfield. There is no way on gods earth Bryson should be used in that role, it takes away all of his qualities.

I rate Pearson highly but there is clearly something wrong, gone is the speed, gone is the one touch passing, gone is the ruthless counter attacking style. Players arguing with each other and not looking like they trust their mates any more. It was actually quite tough to see. I'm an NC follower therefore a Burton Albion fan but I've still lot a lot of feelings for the likes of Martin, Hughes, Bryson and it's not easy to see them struggle the way they are.

Having said that, I don't think there is enough credit being given to Burton here, their players fought for every ball, won almost all of the 50-50's picked up most of the second balls, won most of the headers and actually played the more incisive football of the two sides.

O'Grady was immense and Akins caused problems all evening but the big surprise for me came in midfield with Matty Palmer looking tidier than will Hughes and with Tom Naylor and Jackson Irvine steamrolling the midfield.

Turner was a colossus at the back and MacFadzean and Brayford both very solid indeed.

I know Derby were poor, but Burton did a job on them, tactically spot on.

 

Spot on analysis. Both teams got exactly what they deserved.

[ramit]

 

[Jourdan]

31 minutes ago, HantsRam said:

I personally think that the answer to this is that we are not used to new managers starting and seeing performances decline week on week.

Also whilst you are correct about very poor runs of form they have usually happened after strong runs so there is an element of forgiveness - in my opinion. Nigel pearson has not yet got us going and so hasn't earned himself a breathing space.

Breathing space? Forgiveness?

Why on earth is he under pressure after FIVE games? Why should he need the fans' forgiveness after FIVE games? We're not Real Madrid!

He has been in the job for a matter of months. We are very much in transition. That's the reality of the situation.

If we come back after the international break and embark on an unbeaten run of any kind, people will soon put the pitchforks away. Nature of the beast, it must be said.

[TopRam]

Did Pearson say anything about signings afterwards?

[Ninos]

12 minutes ago, 1977 Ram Raider said:

It's just so boring and predictable. Keogh to Shackell, Shackell back to Keogh, Keogh to Olson, Olson back to Keogh, Keogh 40 yarder, lose possession.

Some truth here but compounded by the fact that we were losing! infuriating for me was the Butterfield looping back pass to Carson from beyond the half way line was the most frustrating mind boggling negative ball I've seen in a long time. It was the one where Carson flapped and Keogh slipped. You could see Hughes crying for Butterfield to show for the ball too. Not surprised by his removal from the game - I'd have yanked him just for that - so negative at a time we were losing already. 

[Animal is a Ram]

I'm usually incredibly patient when it comes to football, but it's quickly running out with the current crop. 

Pearson has had time enough, he's been with the majority of the squad since July, to know what players he has, what they can and can't do. I can't imagine he went in with his eyes shut either, surely he must have looked back on the last few seasons to do his homework? Even if he hasn't both Kevin Philips and Pascal Zuberbuhler have been here nearly a year. Have they learnt nothing, or is Pearson ignoring them? You could make a decent 5 a side team from the coaching staff we have, and they appear to be having no positive impact.

So why are we still seeing square pegs in round holes? To put Hughes as a holding midfielder was silly enough, to put Hughes AND Bryson in that position, madness. Especially when we have Hanson, or even Baird at a stretch who can play there. We saw last season that Ince can work as a winger in a 3, and previous clubs he's been awful in a 4. I was sat in a pub in Mickleover and was closer to Martin than any other white shirt on the pitch.

I've seen no evidence thus far to suggest that Pearson has learnt anything about what he has in front of him.

Tactical deficiencies aside - oh the irony of calling Clough tactically inept - when those players cross that white line, the onus is on them to be committed. I hate accusing players of not trying. But the application isn't there. We simply haven't been working hard enough. Do the players not understand what is being asked of them? Do they not want to play under Pearson? Do they not have the minerals?

At risk of repeating what I said post-Barnsley, I can stomach losses if there is some hint of the direction of travel. It might have been the wrong way, but you could at least see what Clement was trying to do at Derby. He learnt from the poor games. There was a response to the loss at home to Leeds. We stormed to the top of the league by Christmas. 

I could even understand this poor start if we were trying to clear out and rebuild, but we aren't. Whether that's by design from the ownership, or if Pearson genuinely was happy with what he had, we'll never know for sure.

I'd love to be behind the scenes at DCFC - I'd love to know what's really going on in the players' heads, what's going on in Pearson's head, and what's going on in Morris' head. Just so I know who to put my faith and confidence in. At the moment, I don't have any of either, in any of them.

I hope, probably in vain, that the international break is used wisely. Bring a few in, get a few out, dish out hugs, dish out b*llockings, whatever it takes to get happy players, and happy management, in turn getting happy fans. Because we currently have none of those.

[sage]

What i found most bizarre was we were on top and had created a couple of half chances from 35 to 55 minutes and then we switched to 442 when we were already struggling in CM. Might as well switched the TV off at that point.

What was interesting was having Wassall as a pundit when he is a senior employee of DCFC. Never seen that before. Maybe an injured player but the Head of the Academy, I thought he tried his best to be diplomatic, but at one point he clearly alluded to my above point, very keen to point out that that was when we played best. 

[Leicester Ram]

I could have been a Leicester fan

[Seth's left foot]

GRRR, what a big steaming pile of poo that was.

The players might as well have worn slippers tonight, Thorne is badly missed.

Pearson, what are you thinking with this midfield?! The next selection will be interesting. 

GRRR 

[bigbadbob]

3 hours ago, ronnieronalde said:

Poor performance from Derby, very disjointed.

Surprised to see Hughes and Bryson (especially) behind Butterfield. There is no way on gods earth Bryson should be used in that role, it takes away all of his qualities.

I rate Pearson highly but there is clearly something wrong, gone is the speed, gone is the one touch passing, gone is the ruthless counter attacking style. Players arguing with each other and not looking like they trust their mates any more. It was actually quite tough to see. I'm an NC follower therefore a Burton Albion fan but I've still lot a lot of feelings for the likes of Martin, Hughes, Bryson and it's not easy to see them struggle the way they are.

Having said that, I don't think there is enough credit being given to Burton here, their players fought for every ball, won almost all of the 50-50's picked up most of the second balls, won most of the headers and actually played the more incisive football of the two sides.

O'Grady was immense and Akins caused problems all evening but the big surprise for me came in midfield with Matty Palmer looking tidier than will Hughes and with Tom Naylor and Jackson Irvine steamrolling the midfield.

Turner was a colossus at the back and MacFadzean and Brayford both very solid indeed.

I know Derby were poor, but Burton did a job on them, tactically spot on.

It' going to sound corny but the best part of the night by a country mile was seeing Barker playing league football again and competing for headers on the edge of his own box.

That's one of the reasons I like NC so much, you can say what you want about him but when he's loyal, he's loyal and there aren't many managers who would have taken a punt on Shaun after the history he's had recently.

Very emotional to see him get on the pitch in a competitive game and hope it's the first of many.

 

Another chapter for your book 

[Alph]

5 hours ago, 86 points said:

Perplexed by your posts recently Alpha.  I'll ask you the same question I asked @JaguarRam. Do you think the lads matched the effort of the Burton boys tonight? Or against Barnsley?  If fact have you seen anyone running themselves silly this season bar maybe Razza? I know I haven't.  And before you post the same argument again, I'm not saying that they've chucked the towel in, but when things are not going well they should work harder and not simply 'look soooo frustrated'.

Pearson's got a job on his hands, there's no denying that and with every poor performance the pressure will crank up a notch, but as well as a clear directive to the team, it'd be good to see the team busting a gut for the club and the fans. Tonight I didn't see that happen.  We were outfought, outthought and outplayed by Burton, simple as!

I don't measure effort by running. I don't expect a player like Martin to run himself into the ground and I don't expect Shackell to play his way out of danger. All I expect is players to do what they are good at. 

Ive played with lads that don't want to come back and defend. Never thought of them as lazy because if you give them the ball then **** happened. They would attack all day and night. I know a few  lads that have played at this level and they take it serious. Bed time early, serious diets, pre match routine... They dropped down through the divisions and one has certainly been accused of having a bad attitude. But he hasn't. He has away from football. But in football he's professional. And trust me, the guy is a tit. But go on a pitch and not care? He's lived football since he could walk. These lads tend to care. The vast majority care. About the badge? Not too often. About the fans? Depends. About winning? Certainly. That's how they became professional athletes.

People often mistake low confidence for lack of effort. A player with low confidence becomes reserved. 

But you can't measure effort on running. Chris Martin expects the ball played into him. It's not too much to ask. Do that and he'll battle all day. Kick it past him and he loses interest. That's not effort. That's a player that believes in his ability to contribute to the team and feels pissed off if others can't help him do his job

Same as you and I would. If i'm your labourer then you expect me to provide you with the tools to do your job. It's not arrogance. It's team work

Every team needs runners. But not 11 of them. 

I'm much more concerned that there's a huge huge gap between our defensive midfield and Martin. Occasionally it gets a visit but not often. And usually by a "100% every game" player like Russell who runs all over the place like a dog with a stick. Or sometimes by Martin. And do any of our team press on? Nope, they back up the play. All 10 of them. All behind the play. 

That's not effort. That's negative garbage. 

And I don't really care who's fault it is. It's just not down to effort. 

People are clearly blaming players effort. Are the players just putting enough effort in not to get battered then? Because we've defended quite well. Seems an odd choice that they can be arsed to defend

[Van der MoodHoover]

4 hours ago, Jourdan said:

Breathing space? Forgiveness?

Why on earth is he under pressure after FIVE games? Why should he need the fans' forgiveness after FIVE games? We're not Real Madrid!

He has been in the job for a matter of months. We are very much in transition. That's the reality of the situation.

If we come back after the international break and embark on an unbeaten run of any kind, people will soon put the pitchforks away. Nature of the beast, it must be said.

Perhaps you misunderstood. I was offering a view as to why previous managers had got some level of leeway from fans - which I termed "forgiveness ".

Think about it. ...

Maclaren meltdown. ...after a season and a half of scintillating football. We allowed time.

Clement - slow results at start but the performances were  building and there was a mitigating factor of lots of new players. Pretty quickly there was a run of good results. This bought some time when things went south.

Wassail - patchy but got enough good performances early on to hang on to what was only a temporary job.

Now Pearson - he's the first of the crop who is starting out having said he thought only "tweaking" was needed and he was going to build on what was there. He's had 3 months,  7 competitive games plus friendlies and both performances and results are not building in any positive sense. So for him there is nothing with this group of players to show what he can achieve nor are there any signs for immediate optimism. That is of course not to say that he cannot turn the tide but the immediate outlook  does look a bit bleak at present. 

[davenportram]

6 hours ago, TopRam said:

Did Pearson say anything about signings afterwards?

Yes, we have tried to do business, not materialised but not a time to try and rush it through.

 

 

[satty atwal]

Got our club do damage your health.... woke up with the biggest headache/hangover ive had for ages. Luckily the memory of that dross has been slightly wiped out. Maybe it was a bad dream 

[Justa]

4 hours ago, Alpha said:

I don't measure effort by running. I don't expect a player like Martin to run himself into the ground and I don't expect Shackell to play his way out of danger. All I expect is players to do what they are good at. 

Ive played with lads that don't want to come back and defend. Never thought of them as lazy because if you give them the ball then **** happened. They would attack all day and night. I know a few  lads that have played at this level and they take it serious. Bed time early, serious diets, pre match routine... They dropped down through the divisions and one has certainly been accused of having a bad attitude. But he hasn't. He has away from football. But in football he's professional. And trust me, the guy is a tit. But go on a pitch and not care? He's lived football since he could walk. These lads tend to care. The vast majority care. About the badge? Not too often. About the fans? Depends. About winning? Certainly. That's how they became professional athletes.

People often mistake low confidence for lack of effort. A player with low confidence becomes reserved. 

But you can't measure effort on running. Chris Martin expects the ball played into him. It's not too much to ask. Do that and he'll battle all day. Kick it past him and he loses interest. That's not effort. That's a player that believes in his ability to contribute to the team and feels pissed off if others can't help him do his job

Same as you and I would. If i'm your labourer then you expect me to provide you with the tools to do your job. It's not arrogance. It's team work

Every team needs runners. But not 11 of them. 

I'm much more concerned that there's a huge huge gap between our defensive midfield and Martin. Occasionally it gets a visit but not often. And usually by a "100% every game" player like Russell who runs all over the place like a dog with a stick. Or sometimes by Martin. And do any of our team press on? Nope, they back up the play. All 10 of them. All behind the play. 

That's not effort. That's negative garbage. 

And I don't really care who's fault it is. It's just not down to effort. 

People are clearly blaming players effort. Are the players just putting enough effort in not to get battered then? Because we've defended quite well. Seems an odd choice that they can be arsed to defend

 

Good post but one thing missing ? What about fitness ? To me we look lacking...

[GenBr]

8 hours ago, caymanram said:

It's a truism that these players CAN score goals- and by the hatful. They just need to play in a system that suits them.

It's said earlier in this thread and it's true- NP just needs to look back at some of our games over the last 2-3 yrs and see how you get the most from our (strong) squad.

I don't know why it is that our players just don't work with a straight 442, but they don't. And it's been proven by three managers. NP seems to want to reinvent the wheel. This isn't and wasn't the time for wholesale change.

We played 4-2-3-1 for most of last night until Bent came on - not massively different to 4-3-3, but we were crap st that as well. The main problem for me is that he is playing people out of position - Hughes and Bryson should never ever be playing as defensive mids.