All eyes on tomorrow's team

[MackworthRamIsGod]

Every fan I spoke to on the way to the Villa had said they expected Nugent to start, as the consensus was he was the only positive from the Burton game. I only spoke to a handful of people but I am sure it was a view shared by many.

So, it was such a surprise to see we stuck with the same system and only swapped Anya for Russell.

Tomorrow is a big game for me, not just for the 3 points, but I want to see what MacLaren has up his sleeve.  

71% possession and all we had to show was a penalty decision which in all fairness could have given us a point. 

1. I would be happy to see Johnson return in place of Da Saart.

2. I can't see him switching to 2 up front, so this means dropping Bent and putting Nugent in.

3. After a short cameo from Bennett I saw enough to suggest he offers more than Russell at present, so I would put him on from the start. Even though Mac thought Russell was excellent on Saturday.

4. Shackell gets another chance at centre back.

5. Maybe a step too far here, but I would maybe put Baird back in for Christie, allowing Lowe to attack more than defend.

Regardless of all this, I am confident we will see some changes tomorrow, I just wonder what changes they will be.

3 points tomorrow night is an absolute must!

[OohMartWright]

I think your point 5 is perhaps the most important. For some reason, Baird and Ince works as a combination and Christie and Ince doesn't. Perhaps it is because Baird pays more attention to the impact of his own positioning on the space that his teammates get whereas Christie seems to adopt a headless chicken "just get forward and pump the ball into the box regardless of who is in there" approach. It is no coincidence that Ince's form has dropped a bit since Christie came back in.

[MackworthRamIsGod]

9 minutes ago, OohMartWright said:

I think your point 5 is perhaps the most important. For some reason, Baird and Ince works as a combination and Christie and Ince doesn't. Perhaps it is because Baird pays more attention to the impact of his own positioning on the space that his teammates get whereas Christie seems to adopt a headless chicken "just get forward and pump the ball into the box regardless of who is in there" approach. It is no coincidence that Ince's form has dropped a bit since Christie came back in.

It has been mentioned before a good few weeks ago, Baird is aware of what he can and cannot do in his senior years, when he gets the ball he looks to release it early with the odd killer through ball resulting in a goal.

Christie gets the ball and runs into blind alleys, there were times on Saturday where Christie and Ince were running side by side.

Christie would work more if Ince was playing in a front 2 and not playing along the wing.

[TroyDyer]

I agree some changes are needed. If he persists with the same, I will start to worry about SM's ability to adapt. 

Christie I don't rate paticularly and would rather see a defender in there, rather than a winger that defends a bit. 

[EnigmaRam]

1 hour ago, MackworthRamIsGod said:

Every fan I spoke to on the way to the Villa had said they expected Nugent to start, as the consensus was he was the only positive from the Burton game. I only spoke to a handful of people but I am sure it was a view shared by many.

So, it was such a surprise to see we stuck with the same system and only swapped Anya for Russell.

Tomorrow is a big game for me, not just for the 3 points, but I want to see what MacLaren has up his sleeve.  

71% possession and all we had to show was a penalty decision which in all fairness could have given us a point. 

1. I would be happy to see Johnson return in place of Da Saart.

2. I can't see him switching to 2 up front, so this means dropping Bent and putting Nugent in.

3. After a short cameo from Bennett I saw enough to suggest he offers more than Russell at present, so I would put him on from the start. Even though Mac thought Russell was excellent on Saturday.

4. Shackell gets another chance at centre back.

5. Maybe a step too far here, but I would maybe put Baird back in for Christie, allowing Lowe to attack more than defend.

Regardless of all this, I am confident we will see some changes tomorrow, I just wonder what changes they will be.

3 points tomorrow night is an absolute must!

Dear oh dear! You want to make 5 changes?! The team needs stability not being chopped and changed every game. The only change for me would be nugent in for Bent. Keep the rest as is as nobody had a bad game Saturday, just couldn't break them down and the performance didn't warrant wholesale changes. 

Pic the ref had the balls and given the blatant penalty it may have been a different positive result, even 1-1 with 70 odd % possession would have been OK away to villa

[cornishramfan]

I think now that we no longer chasing a play-off place, we should use the rest of this season to give players a chance to fight for there Derby career and spot next season. 

Carson - Been a solid performer all season and one of the only players that can come out with some credit. Certainly a potential POTY.

Christie - Yes out of form, not match fit though having only played a handful of games since he broke his foot. Give him a chance to find form and show everyone why he deserves to stay next season. Baird for me has done well, but won't be here next season, with his age and contract due up at the end of the season.

Shackell - Solid defender on his day and great in the air. Struggled to find a spot in the team these last few months due to no fault of his own, just Pearce taking his chance when it came up. A few games now will also determine his future at the club.

Pearce - With Keogh being injured it has to be Pearce, been solid at the back since he took his chance. 

Lowe - Young and raw, showed on more than one occasion that he has a bright future at the club. A few games now will give him more experience to better compete with a fit Forsyth next season.

Johnson - Johnson has showed a lot of inconsistency since he signed last season. Playing the holding role is where we have got the best out of him. Give him a run of games to find his feet again, hopefully get some form back to show us all why he was signed. He clearly has the ability his record is there for all to see.

Hughes - Straight in the team, an instant started without a doubt. His form seems to have dropped off since his injury though. Needs to get back to what he does best and dictate tempo and control of the game.

Bryson - For me another one with a lot to prove. Not had a great couple of seasons due to injuries and lack of form. Showed in a couple games this season that the ability is still there. He needs to prove he can do it again on a more regular basis. If not then time we moved him on.

Ince - The only other player in my eyes to compete with Carson for POTY. He has scored and created goals in a toothless side this season. One of the first names on the team sheet.

Bennett - A player that was on the scene early but seemed to lose his way. Now he has a second chance after impressing in the U23's. A young player with bags of energy and pace. Lets give him a fair chance to show he can cut it in the first team next season. Lets be honest no other winger has showed they deserve the spot.

Nugent - Proven striker at this level. He needs a few games and goals to show us if he can still do it at his age and take it in to next season. If not prove that he was just another poor signing by us. I think with a few minutes under his belt, he could come good. 

That's my team for Blackburn.

[David]

?

[Topram]

1 hour ago, MackworthRamIsGod said:

Every fan I spoke to on the way to the Villa had said they expected Nugent to start, as the consensus was he was the only positive from the Burton game. I only spoke to a handful of people but I am sure it was a view shared by many.

So, it was such a surprise to see we stuck with the same system and only swapped Anya for Russell.

Tomorrow is a big game for me, not just for the 3 points, but I want to see what MacLaren has up his sleeve.  

71% possession and all we had to show was a penalty decision which in all fairness could have given us a point. 

1. I would be happy to see Johnson return in place of Da Saart.

2. I can't see him switching to 2 up front, so this means dropping Bent and putting Nugent in.

3. After a short cameo from Bennett I saw enough to suggest he offers more than Russell at present, so I would put him on from the start. Even though Mac thought Russell was excellent on Saturday.

4. Shackell gets another chance at centre back.

5. Maybe a step too far here, but I would maybe put Baird back in for Christie, allowing Lowe to attack more than defend.

Regardless of all this, I am confident we will see some changes tomorrow, I just wonder what changes they will be.

3 points tomorrow night is an absolute must!

Why is it a step to far when Baird has been better than Christie hasn't deserved to be dropped 

[MackworthRamIsGod]

15 minutes ago, EnigmaRam said:

Dear oh dear! You want to make 5 changes?! The team needs stability not being chopped and changed every game. The only change for me would be nugent in for Bent. Keep the rest as is as nobody had a bad game Saturday, just couldn't break them down and the performance didn't warrant wholesale changes. 

Pic the ref had the balls and given the blatant penalty it may have been a different positive result, even 1-1 with 70 odd % possession would have been OK away to villa

We have had a fair amount of consistency throughout out Feb, the system has remained the same, the players have remained almost the same barring injuries and Johnson falling out, we haven't done too well.

Since Christmas we have played 9 league games, we have failed to score in 5 of those, one being against Burton, we have lost 5 of those, won only 2.

So while I am all for stability, if we stick with what we have we are in for a long hard end to the season.

The changes I have suggested are not too far fetched.

[YouRams]

Nugent has to start his movement in the middle has been better in his cameos than any player that has played the full 90. Id like us to start how we've finished the past few with him in behind Bent. We need fresh ideas 433 isn't working again. 

[EnigmaRam]

8 minutes ago, MackworthRamIsGod said:

We have had a fair amount of consistency throughout out Feb, the system has remained the same, the players have remained almost the same barring injuries and Johnson falling out, we haven't done too well.

Since Christmas we have played 9 league games, we have failed to score in 5 of those, one being against Burton, we have lost 5 of those, won only 2.

So while I am all for stability, if we stick with what we have we are in for a long hard end to the season.

The changes I have suggested are not too far fetched.

Not really, only the last 2 games we've had a bit of stability with the change from Anya to Russell. All the changes you've made above are defensive biased yes we've conceded 1 goal in 2 games and that was from a set piece. Baird, shackell, Johnson are all negative changes and bent our top scorer is beeping changed too (I can see the merit in that one) to bring the midfield into it more.

putting Bennett in would be the fourth LW change in 4 games, no wonder we can't score, there's no understanding.

[MackworthRamIsGod]

3 minutes ago, EnigmaRam said:

Not really, only the last 2 games we've had a bit of stability with the change from Anya to Russell. All the changes you've made above are defensive biased yes we've conceded 1 goal in 2 games and that was from a set piece. Baird, shackell, Johnson are all negative changes and bent our top scorer is beeping changed too (I can see the merit in that one) to bring the midfield into it more.

putting Bennett in would be the fourth LW change in 4 games, no wonder we can't score, there's no understanding.

I just remembered I had a 6th change, get Bryson in for Butterfield when he is finally ready ?

[Tamworthram]

2 hours ago, MackworthRamIsGod said:

Every fan I spoke to on the way to the Villa had said they expected Nugent to start, as the consensus was he was the only positive from the Burton game. I only spoke to a handful of people but I am sure it was a view shared by many.

So, it was such a surprise to see we stuck with the same system and only swapped Anya for Russell.

Tomorrow is a big game for me, not just for the 3 points, but I want to see what MacLaren has up his sleeve.  

71% possession and all we had to show was a penalty decision which in all fairness could have given us a point. 

1. I would be happy to see Johnson return in place of Da Saart.

2. I can't see him switching to 2 up front, so this means dropping Bent and putting Nugent in.

3. After a short cameo from Bennett I saw enough to suggest he offers more than Russell at present, so I would put him on from the start. Even though Mac thought Russell was excellent on Saturday.

4. Shackell gets another chance at centre back.

5. Maybe a step too far here, but I would maybe put Baird back in for Christie, allowing Lowe to attack more than defend.

Regardless of all this, I am confident we will see some changes tomorrow, I just wonder what changes they will be.

3 points tomorrow night is an absolute must!

Maybe a little defeatist but I've pretty much given up on the play offs now so I don't see 3 points as an absolute must anymore. For me the critical objectives have to be:

1) a performance full of passion and belief

2) A good number of genuine goal scoring chances/shots on target created

3) well organised and calm defence (no more passes to opposition players please Mr Carson)

If we get those three right then we'll probably pick up 3 points anyway. 

[Animal is a Ram]

Ince (11) is Derby's league top scorer, not Bent (9). Joint if you include cups (12/12), however.

We're not winning games. No win in 5 league games now. So something has to change, no?

Baird for Keogh might be an enforced change, if he's not fit in time. Shackell was out with a back problem against Villa. Can't do much about that.

Unless Mac has the spuds to try something different formation wise, midfield 3 will stay the same, as will Bent and Ince. The only question mark is that cursed LW spot. Probably see Russell in there again, with Bennett coming on again.

[MackworthRamIsGod]

I didn't realise Shacks was out injured.