The Pearson Gameplan

[RoyMac5]

1 minute ago, toddy said:

Lets look what's happening on the pitch, I believe we are improving with each game and if the players took their chances last night, the pitch forks wouldn't be out today, but last night was again down to players not NP.

NP picked the players, playing his preferred system! If you think 'improving' is a squad of decent players taking 7 league games to score one goal I'm flabbergasted!

[Anon]

28 minutes ago, Tony Le Mesmer said:

I see what you're saying anon but maybe those players overachieved? Ranieri at Leicester overachieved and he's only lost Kante and yet they've started poorly and IMO won't be in the top 8 this season. It's the same players but that freak bubble of consistency and belief has been burst and it's difficult to get back.

New manager or same one, once you start a new season with most of the players who did so well the season before, it's harder and harder to keep replicating that and expecting the same results. Only the top teams with cash can drop jaded players and replace them with better ones to fit in seamlessly.

 I think Derby have done brilliantly to reach the play offs the last two seasons (or is it three - not sure) but to keep failing and then expecting the same core group of players to go at it again is a hard task. An overhaul of the playing squad this season and therefore transition and indifferent results can be expected and I think is necessary. I do agree with you though that this alarming set of circumstances is largely now due to Pearson and the fact that he wants his own players, he's tinkered and still not found any formula or concrete way of playing and he wants to do it his way or the highway. We also don't know who within the squad (if any) he has issues with which could also affect the team. Pearson comes across as a very calculated, single minded bloke and I can certainly understand if he rubs some up the wrong way.

I'm really disappointed with the performances and results though it has to be said. I expected a lot better than we've got but i'm confident that when it clicks into place then we can get some form together and try and sneak into the play offs.

They may have overachieved, but if so, the core of our squad have been overachieving consistently for three seasons under 3 different managers. I wouldn't actually put the blame for this all at the door of Pearson though. I thought Clement did a decent job coaching our team, but he (or whoever was in charge of the transfer policy) made bad signings on high wages and long contracts. It was frustrating that McClaren used so many loans, but that allowed his successor a great degree of flexibility in shaping the squad. Pearson hasn't quite been afforded that same luxury with players obviously having to be sold before new ones can be brought in.

[cannable]

1 hour ago, europia said:

The team may have finished 5th, but the dire performance in the home leg of the play off semi V Hull was, in itself, enough to indicate that  there is  a lot wrong within the squad.

Not like we were set-up to hoof or anything… mad how people can't see what was wrong that game.

[Bris Vegas]

5 minutes ago, toddy said:

We have had 3 years of failure with the squad NP inherited, I honestly think that the squad of 14/15 & 15/16 season peaked.

Peaked? What so you can't get better than this?

Southampton play 433, or at least they did under Ronald Koeman. So how do you get from Derby County -> Southampton?

It really isn't difficult. We had pretty much everything in place in terms of system and style. It was a case of now improving each position with the right profile needed.

Change Martin for Pelle. Change Thorne for Wanyama, Change Keogh for Van Dijk, Change Christie for Soares, Change Russell for Tadic. Change Hendrick for Romeu. Change Ince for Mane....

We needed a few tweaks, improvements in key areas.. 

Instead we've started all over again, throwing away the system, profile and playing style. All because Nigel Pearson got promoted with Leicester City. We're banking on him (without all his backroom staff at Leicester) to replicate his work which was no more impressive than Alex McLeish at Birmingham City.

Insanity!

 

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Fair points anon.

[Anon]

10 minutes ago, toddy said:

We have had 3 years of failure with the squad NP inherited, I honestly think that the squad of 14/15 & 15/16 season peaked.

We need a change and new blood injected into the squad and that's why NP is here, what ever happen in those 3 previous seasons, whether we played tippy tappy football and nice to watch , we failed....... in getting promotion.

Lets look what's happening on the pitch now we are not playing slow, pass, pass, slow, pass, pass, footie of old - I believe we are now improving with each game and if the players took their chances last night, the pitch forks wouldn't be out today, but last night was again down to players not NP.

I don't agree that 3rd, 8th, 5th is failure. I very much enjoyed each and every one of those seasons. I don't believe that I, as a supporter, or Derby, as a club, are entitled to Premier League football so remaining in the championship isn't the disaster that some people like to make out.

There is no logic in labelling those critical of Pearson as an impatient pitchfork wielding mob whilst insisting that consistently challenging for promotion for the last 3 years is some kind of catastrophic failure.

[toddy]

4 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

NP picked the players, playing his preferred system! If you think 'improving' is a squad of decent players taking 7 league games to score one goal I'm flabbergasted!

Unfortunately NP does play footie now so its not down to him for us not scoring last night.

He picked the team, he set up the system - the team created numerous chances to score out on the pitch but ultimately failed to put the ball away.

Once the manager picks his side and the players cross that white line the players have to take responsibility out on the pitch.

Last nights performance improved over the Toon one, the reason we still have not scored is the players...........

[Anag Ram]

19 minutes ago, europia said:

Pro footballers refer to playing as 'going to work',  so I guess they enjoy the rewards more than the job itself.

Beats welding though doesn't it?!☺

[sage]

1 hour ago, Anon said:

No he hasn't. He inherited a team that finished 5th. A team that a complete rookie with no first team management experience whatsoever managed to keep in the play off places. It didn't need to be a period of transition. The fact that we are a team in transition now is entirely down to choices made by Pearson.

 

1 hour ago, Inglorius said:

Yes the point you overlook is that in my humble opinion Pearson totally unnecessarily instigated this painful transition you allude to which would appear illogical but acceptable if the results had been ok but seems totally crass given they are not.

Both of you nailed it. 

We have just finished 3rd, 8th and 5th.We have the best training facility, a sizable squad and the 3rd best attendance average (guessing Villa and Newcastle above us) and with a local owner who is happy to back managers. He inherited a great position.    

[europia]

5 minutes ago, Anon said:

 

There is no logic in labelling those critical of Pearson as an impatient pitchfork wielding mob whilst insisting that consistently challenging for promotion for the last 3 years is some kind of catastrophic failure.

Others may have used the term 'catastrophic failure', but I haven't. For me, it's a case that the team failed to gain promotion when good opportunities presented themselves, on three occasions. I don't have any scientific evidence, but I suspect the players involved are somewhat battle weary, psychologically.

Its going to be a lot harder to go up now, since the teams relegated from the PL don't really need to offload players.

[rynny]

16 minutes ago, toddy said:

Unfortunately NP does play footie now so its not down to him for us not scoring last night.

He picked the team, he set up the system - the team created numerous chances to score out on the pitch but ultimately failed to put the ball away.

Once the manager picks his side and the players cross that white line the players have to take responsibility out on the pitch.

Last nights performance improved over the Toon one, the reason we still have not scored is the players...........

Makes loaning out the clubs top scorer for the last 3 years seem even worse.

[Alph]

toddy you're a massive hypocrit.

I bet it was Wassall's fault when we were missing chances though. 

Chances in the penalty area!!!!

[RoyMac5]

17 minutes ago, toddy said:

Once the manager picks his side and the players cross that white line the players have to take responsibility out on the pitch.

Last nights performance improved over the Toon one, the reason we still have not scored is the players...........

If you pick Blackman then it's no surprise, barn door at 10 yards... Pearson thinks he's striker, that's not the players fault.

[RoyMac5]

2 minutes ago, rynny said:

Makes loaning out the clubs top scorer for the last 3 years seem even worse.

Yep. No excuse for that. End of.

[lrm14]

God there are some really self entitled Derby fans around. To label the past few years as failures is nothing short of lunacy, maybe they'd prefer to go back to the days of Phil Brown and have the likes of Khalilou Fadiga or Blessing Kaku playing for us? That was failure, we went from playoffs the season before to near relegation material the season after. The past few years have been the most enjoyable I've ever had in my life as a Derby fan, with those of George Burley only coming close (At 24 I'm not really old enough to properly remember Jim Smith). We're not entitled to the premier league and not getting promotion is not complete failure. It's always nice to have something to strive for as a club but maybe some people need to stop and think about what we actually had, and what we're trading it for before they start describing the past few years as 'failures needing change'.

 

[nottingram]

30 minutes ago, Alpha said:

toddy you're a massive hypocrit.

I bet it was Wassall's fault when we were missing chances though. 

Chances in the penalty area!!!!

I think the general hypocrisy amongst Derby fans at the minute is my favourite part about all of what's going on.

Imagine the reaction on here if Wassall had played 4-4-2 with Bryson as our deepest midfielder

[Alph]

1 hour ago, nottingram said:

I think the general hypocrisy amongst Derby fans at the minute is my favourite part about all of what's going on.

Imagine the reaction on here if Wassall had played 4-4-2 with Bryson as our deepest midfielder

This is the thing for me nottingram. 

I've been having a pretty good time over the last few years and some people have done their very, very best to pick out every single fault. To the point where if we won then it was "here's why we wouldn't survive the PL". 

The 3-3 at St Andrews, the 3-3 at Rotherham, the 4-1 v Bolton. These weren't great comebacks full of great attitude or the 4-1 (that followed a 4-0 v Hull) a sign that our manager has potential. These were abysmal draws and points dropped and "it was only Bolton. The jury is still out" 

They don't like it back do they? 

Am I being a bit of a dick stuck in the past? Yeah.

But at least I'm moaning when there's stuff to moan about rather than when we should be having fun. And at least I can judge each manager fairly by the same standard. 

Wassall wasn't allowed excuses. McClaren "failed". Let's roll with that level of performance then. Pearson is waaaaay under it

[Millenniumram]

Pearsons game plan is pretty much stick the players who run the most on the pitch, it doesn't matter what formation or style of play we go with- just shove em out there, tell them to run around a bit and we'll win the game...

[cannable]

Just now, Millenniumram said:

Pearsons game plan is pretty much stick the players who run the most on the pitch, it doesn't matter what formation or style of play we go with- just shove em out there, tell them to run around a bit and we'll win the game...

I know you're taking the piss to some extent - but Fozzy literally said during pre-season I believe that the fittest XI would get picked.

[Millenniumram]

2 minutes ago, cannable said:

I know you're taking the piss to some extent - but Fozzy literally said during pre-season I believe that the fittest XI would get picked.

It does literally at times seem like that's all there is to it. It's all well and good getting energetic players, fast paced counter attacking with those style of players is my favourite style of football. But without any sort of game plan we may as well have a load of dogs out there, they'd run enough for him!