v Bristol City (H) Match Thread

[AdamRam]

5 minutes ago, Taribo said:

Genuine question, and not one I pretend to know the answer to - how much of us being better with three at the back was down to Bristol sitting back on a two-goal lead? I thought Bristol were unspectatular, but at the same time extremely well organised and managed the game well.

Three at the back will be fun to watch though!

 

I thought it was more down to having two up top, first half BC we’re able to play high up the field and press which forced mistakes. Changing the formation meant that we were able to play balls into the channels, get players to support the front two and push the defence back, the wing backs were able to receive the ball and take a touch whereas the first half they were getting the ball under pressure, and the midfield were 10 yards further up the pitch.

We haven’t got a player who can play up top on his own, don’t give me Martin, the game has passed him by, and we are lacking players who are able to support and win that second ball when we try to turn the defence around. Doesn’t matter to be if it’s 352 or 442,  but we need two up top with our current personnel imo.

[angieram]

1 minute ago, BondJovi said:

Not as if there are alternatives. Just Bennett.

Personally think that Bennett is a better winger than Jozefzoon at the moment but we don't seem to be playing him as an out and out winger. We were very narrow when he was on the right.

And there's little point in playing traditional wingers when we haven't got a traditional centre forward. 

[BondJovi]

1 minute ago, angieram said:

This is very true. Funny how such players get their confidence back when they leave Derby and play elsewhere. Weimann for example! 

Pride Park - tough crowd.

And most other teams know that, crowd can turn very easily.

[Bubbles]

5 minutes ago, BondJovi said:

Not as if there are alternatives. Just Bennett.

Wouldn't say Bennett OR Paterson is much of an upgrade to be honest. Still in need of a winger.

COCU GET MARKEL SUSAETA HES FREE FGS

[Roots Manuva]

was it just me are was there large sections of the crowd booing Kasey Palmer when he came off? what has he done to merit that? didn't leave on bad terms did he...was disappointed Lampard didn't look to get him back in personally.. though quickly got over that when mount & Wilson arrived.

think I would feel more comfortable going forward with wing backs at least until we get Bogle back, Jozefzoon can't cross for toffee though he seemed to be seeing a lot more of the ball and was far more involved 2nd half, if we have no alternative zoon at RWB Lowe at LWB and take Malone out of the firing line.

I'm all for Bielik getting a run of the games in a deep midfield role though have to admit he looked more comfortable in the middle of a back 3...him & huddlestone didn't work well in the middle IMO. know he played for the U23's the other night though feel it doesn't bode well for Shinnie when we have Bielik, Huddlestone, Evans & Knight all getting minutes ahead of him.. still hoping he gets chance to prove himself.

[Raich Carter]

11 minutes ago, angieram said:

Personally think that Bennett is a better winger than Jozefzoon at the moment ...

Personally I think I'm a better winger than Jozefzoon. I'm mid-40's and carrying a few extra pounds than I ought to... ahem. 

[maxjam]

Disappointing result last night made worse having to change a flat tyre on my car before I could come home!

TBH every game has been underwhelming this season, we are desperately missing the winger and attacking midfielder we were supposedly in for on deadline day - which is going to cost us.

No complaints with the management though, I'm happy to have a transition season, blood some youth and allow Cocu to build a squad.  We were always going to struggle to replace Mount/Wilson and thats hurting us at the moment.

[Raich Carter]

5 minutes ago, Roots Manuva said:

was it just me are was there large sections of the crowd booing Kasey Palmer when he came off? what has he done to merit that? didn't leave on bad terms did he...was disappointed Lampard didn't look to get him back in personally.. though quickly got over that when mount & Wilson arrived.

It was because he walked extremely slowly. More time-wasting from them - it was very frustrating.

[secretsquirrel]

Long way to go getting strongest line up for Cocu but im sure may of you would have had a meltdown with these results at the start of last season and Norwich ended up champions.

 

1. Round04/08/201815:00A Birmingham City2:2

2. Round11/08/201815:00H West Bromwich Albion3:4 

3. Round18/08/201815:00A Sheffield United1:2 

4. Round22/08/201819:45H Preston North End2:0 

5. Round25/08/201815:00H Leeds United0:3 

6. Round02/09/201812:00A Ipswich Town1:1 

 

[RoyMac5]

7 hours ago, Ruda Harliss said:

What has he done?

What has had chance to do bar look good with Jack preseason, and play with kids?

[Roots Manuva]

5 minutes ago, Raich Van Carter said:

It was because he walked extremely slowly. More time-wasting from them - it was very frustrating.

 

ah ok, I stand corrected. thought for me, Bentley was the worst culprit for the time wasting. did think with their injury 2nd half along with the time wasting should've been more than 5 mins injury time, oh well.

[RoyMac5]

53 minutes ago, Squid said:

I feel as if we massively improved once going 3 at the back...

How?

They were two up and sat back whilst our back three strolled about. We still didn't look a threat until Jack came on, and then his goal was 'out of the blue'.

[RoyMac5]

31 minutes ago, angieram said:

Knight, Mitchell-Lawson, Sibley, Shinnie, Holmes. Only one of those is injured. We need some energy in midfield. 

'Even' Whittaker would have been better than FloJo!

[ossieram]

29 minutes ago, BondJovi said:

And most other teams know that, crowd can turn very easily.

Did the crowd turn last night?

I thought we got right behind the team and were probably louder at 2-0 than at 0-0.

[ossieram]

23 minutes ago, Roots Manuva said:

was it just me are was there large sections of the crowd booing Kasey Palmer when he came off? what has he done to merit that? didn't leave on bad terms did he...was disappointed Lampard didn't look to get him back in personally.. though quickly got over that when mount & Wilson arrived.

The booing was because the ref didn't make him leave the pitch by the East stand which was closer than the west stand and he then just had a gentle stroll off.

[Jimbo Ram]

I don't think Cocu knows yet his best team or formation and so no surprise that the team look a bit out of sorts. What was clear last night was the total lack of pace and movement in the team that we saw at Huddersfield and also no cutting edge. The passing was also the poorest I have seen in quite a while. If we do that on Saturday and give the ball away in dangerous positions we could be in for a hiding against a decent looking West Brom team. Thought Keogh did well. Very early days and too soon to panic.

[Jimbo Ram]

6 minutes ago, ossieram said:

Did the crowd turn last night?

I thought we got right behind the team and were probably louder at 2-0 than at 0-0.

Talking of the crowd, I presume that the 25,000 included all season ticket holders whether they were there or not? Couldn't have been much more than 20,000 actually there surely?

[ossieram]

Just now, Jimbo Ram said:

Talking of the crowd, I presume that the 25,000 included all season ticket holders whether they were there or not? Couldn't have been much more than 20,000 actually there surely?

Didn't Mel say that they only count those that actually attend the game nowadays?

[Jourdan]

The trouble for Cocu is that we are not a particularly patient fan base. It’s August and already people are starting to crack.

We look at Leeds and a coach like Bielsa and remember how quickly their players bought into his methods and how he was able to elevate a previously average group of players and wish that was us. I know that I was positive throughout pre season (despite some worrying signs) thinking Cocu could have the same effect.

For me, we have to remember we are Derby County. It’s never as straightforward as that.

The expectation is crippling. You can guarantee that if we lose on Saturday and don’t perform well, Cocu will already be under pressure. Sad but true.

I think Cocu simply needs time. We can’t be too harsh on him. He is not a miracle worker. We can’t be too harsh on the club either. Lampard left us in a difficult spot.

That said, I think it is fair to say that the club didn’t really prepare very well for the eventuality of his departure and putting contingency plans in place for a new manager.

Having had a summer of real upheaval, I always felt less would have been more on the recruitment front. If you have a clear, measured, well thought out plan and have identified the right players, go for it. But appointing a new manager 4-5 weeks out from the start of the season, how likely was that ever going to be?

In the absence of good planning, we should have just let Cocu drum his ideas into the existing group. Instead, we fell into the trap of feeling obliged to do business.  The way it looks to me is Cocu put his trust in the recruitment team to handle it and our lack of planning and foresight has now been exposed.

The more we struggle, the more we are going to see people look at the Rooney signing and question whether it was wise to invest all of our efforts into getting him here, when we could have spent the time, money and energy bringing in a player or two who could help the team right away.

Bielik and Clarke look the right kind of signings on paper, but we have to remember that they are young and inexperienced at this level, so the desired impact could be weeks or months away.

The rest? You have to wonder why we even bothered.

[Smyth_18]

On 20/08/2019 at 09:00, Smyth_18 said:

Not been on the forum for a while. This coincides with me being pretty content at the moment.

I feel Cocu is doing all the right things and we will only get better.

I spoke too soon.

I can think of a thousand things i wasn't content with last night.