v West Brom (A) - Matchday Thread

[RadioactiveWaste]

44 minutes ago, oomarkwright said:

I take the away performance there last season. Sumptuous. 

One of the best Derby matches I've been able to attend in person. I'll always remember Tomori being livid we'd let one in.

[Richard246]

I think we need to tinker with the system and trying to give Rooney the ball.

We need steel in Midfield and players running at them which they don’t like so with the players at our disposal I think we should go with the following.

                  Hamer

Bogle.    Evans.  Clarke.   Lowe.    

                   Rooney     

            Bird.     Shinnie

                 Holmes

               Martin  Sibley 

 

 

     

[Remy the hare]

10 hours ago, Coconut said:

We've scored in each of our last 18 league games (longest run in the championship) so you'd hope that we can at least get a goal against a team who've managed to concede 2 to Hull.

However I have no idea how we're supposed to cope against their midfield and attack. Pace, power, movement and good passing in the middle; tricky direct wingers (Matheus Pereira's on 8 goals and 15 assists) and a striker who always seems to do well against us in Charlie Austin

We need someone combative in the middle to help get the ball off them, really our only only option is Shinnie, but that means either Bird has to make way or Rooney has to play in a more advanced position, which he hasn't looked at all capable of doing so far.

I can't see anything other than us being ran ragged and being dead on our feet by 60 minutes with no way of changing things from the bench, whilst they sub on players who can continue to play at high tempo.

Same goes for the Brentford game.

It's extremely wishful thinking to expect anything other than a routine defeat, and before anyone says 'look what we did last season, you weren't expecting that', we're a completely different team now and far less suited to dealing with pace.

 

Hmmm I agree completely and on paper both this one and Brentford look impossible to call as anything other than a painful defeat. However I am truly amazed with 5 games to go we are 7th and 3 points out of the playoffs.
I think to make the playoffs we need 4 wins, looking at how Cardiff are going and also we’ll have to stuff them in one of those wins. A really tall order but exciting prospect ?

[Parsnip]

11 hours ago, Richard246 said:

For me 3 in midfield and 3 up front.

What a statement that would be.

Just rock up to the Hawthorns with no keeper and no defenders. If we could win against one of the top teams in the league with a 0-3-3 formation then I reckon psychologically we'll have won every other game this season before we've even kicked a ball. 

Ballsy AF mate love it!

[ViewsFromTheMiddle]

West Brom are bang average, despite their league position. Definitely winnable but have to be much better than Saturday.

[Chester40]

Lots for Cocu to sort out. Really going to have pull something out of the bag. 

We looked tired and pretty lost on Sat. Daylight robbery of a point, can't recall being more shocked at a goal as we looked clueless until then, aside from a period before half time which still felt a little toothless.

Hamer really doesn't convince me. 

Evans really dropped off in performance and his passing which got him in ahead of Davies was poor. 

Bogle kept receiving the ball and just passing the ball sideways, wasn't driving on like he can. 

Knight really didnt offer much width or enterprise and Sibley was fairly quiet. 

Holmes was really poor again and Martin was anonymous. 

Waghorn and Lawrence out leaves us with very little opportunity to tinker. 

Cardiff should win tonight and if we lose, that's the play offs gone. 

This is where Cocu will really prove his experience I hope. We need a point at least. Such a tough run in, definitely still hoping we can do it but realistically its going to be very tough, lots resting on young heads and next year they will really benefit from the experience no matter what. 

[Van der MoodHoover]

I never expected to be as close as this. Its all a bonus. If we run out of steam and finish 8th or 9th its still been a successful season in terms of my expectations and the adversities Cocu has experienced. 

Good luck young rams, but win or lose well done for getting this far.

[Sparkle]

1 hour ago, Chester40 said:

Lots for Cocu to sort out. Really going to have pull something out of the bag. 

We looked tired and pretty lost on Sat. Daylight robbery of a point, can't recall being more shocked at a goal as we looked clueless until then, aside from a period before half time which still felt a little toothless.

Hamer really doesn't convince me. 

Evans really dropped off in performance and his passing which got him in ahead of Davies was poor. 

Bogle kept receiving the ball and just passing the ball sideways, wasn't driving on like he can. 

Knight really didnt offer much width or enterprise and Sibley was fairly quiet. 

Holmes was really poor again and Martin was anonymous. 

Waghorn and Lawrence out leaves us with very little opportunity to tinker. 

Cardiff should win tonight and if we lose, that's the play offs gone. 

This is where Cocu will really prove his experience I hope. We need a point at least. Such a tough run in, definitely still hoping we can do it but realistically its going to be very tough, lots resting on young heads and next year they will really benefit from the experience no matter what. 

Yep missing Waghorn Lawrence and wisdom are big losses Hamer - is bang average Evans is no more than a squad player and shouldn’t be a starting centre back Bogle generally received the ball from behind him so played safe and knight couldn’t get involved and Holmes has proved to have quality only when running  at the opponent in the opposition half but he is fairly invisible when not doing that and Martin is never going to be running around and always needs midfielders who are moving but I thought sibley did well against forest 

[DcfcMatt]

8 minutes ago, Sparkle said:

Yep missing Waghorn Lawrence and wisdom are big losses Hamer - is bang average Evans is no more than a squad player and shouldn’t be a starting centre back Bogle generally received the ball from behind him so played safe and knight couldn’t get involved and Holmes has proved to have quality only when running  at the opponent in the opposition half but he is fairly invisible when not doing that and Martin is never going to be running around and always needs midfielders who are moving but I thought sibley did well against forest 

Hey mate, you dropped these: .,,,,...,,!

[DCFC27]

Need a good win tomorrow. Hopefully Cardiff slip up and it’ll give us a boost (but knowing Derby it may do the opposite) 

Josefzoon will probably have to start because... well who else? Lacked a bit of speed on Saturday and him and Whittaker injected a bit. 

[Marriot Ram99]

This is the team I would go for:

            Roos- Hamer has  been crap of late and is worse than Roos for me

Bogle  Evans Clarke Lowe- for extra pace and mobility

         Rooney Shinnie

  Holmes Sibley Jozefoon

                  Martin

Harsh on Bird to be dropped , but  I think we will need Shinnies ball winning ability and ability to drive forward , we looked too pedestrian on Saturday and I think it it is time for him to start a game.  I would go for Jozefoon over Knight , as Knight isn't a winger and was poor on Saturday , I think it is time Jozefoon is given a chance we need his pace to support Martin and ask questions of defences in behind. I reckon it will be an unchanged line up unfortunately apart from maybe Jozefoon for Knight.

[Animal is a Ram]

 

[TheresOnlyWanChope]

12 hours ago, ViewsFromTheMiddle said:

West Brom are bang average, despite their league position. Definitely winnable but have to be much better than Saturday.

Can a team in second be average ? 

[Sparkle]

6 hours ago, DcfcMatt said:

Hey mate, you dropped these: .,,,,...,,!

Oh bother !

[brady1993]

15 hours ago, Remy the hare said:

Hmmm I agree completely and on paper both this one and Brentford look impossible to call as anything other than a painful defeat. However I am truly amazed with 5 games to go we are 7th and 3 points out of the playoffs.
I think to make the playoffs we need 4 wins, looking at how Cardiff are going and also we’ll have to stuff them in one of those wins. A really tall order but exciting prospect ?

I feel this is an overly pessimistic take. West Brom aren't in great form and will give us space to play, we largely the better side earlier in the season and we were a poorer team then than now. Brentford is tricky but they aren't unstoppable and again will give us space to play. 

Two difficult games for sure and under normal circumstances 2-3 points from the pair of games would be a good return. 

[brady1993]

3 hours ago, Marriott Ram99 said:

This is the team I would go for:

            Roos- Hamer has  been crap of late and is worse than Roos for me

Bogle  Evans Clarke Lowe- for extra pace and mobility

         Rooney Shinnie

  Holmes Sibley Jozefoon

                  Martin

Harsh on Bird to be dropped , but  I think we will need Shinnies ball winning ability and ability to drive forward , we looked too pedestrian on Saturday and I think it it is time for him to start a game.  I would go for Jozefoon over Knight , as Knight isn't a winger and was poor on Saturday , I think it is time Jozefoon is given a chance we need his pace to support Martin and ask questions of defences in behind. I reckon it will be an unchanged line up unfortunately apart from maybe Jozefoon for Knight.

I've seen a few people suggesting dropping Bird but I can't feel that's anything but a mistake. Honestly he's one of the first names on the team sheet for me and he's one of the few midfielders we have a drifting between the lines and linking up play.

[Ghost of Clough]

8 minutes ago, brady1993 said:

I've seen a few people suggesting dropping Bird but I can't feel that's anything but a mistake. Honestly he's one of the first names on the team sheet for me and he's one of the few midfielders we have a drifting between the lines and linking up play.

I think people are trying to get Shinnie in the team to add some dynamism to the team. Rooney's apparently undroppable so they take Bird out instead, or some baffling choices of putting him in at LW or AM.

I'm with you though... Bird's in the starting lineup unless it's fitness/injury related.

[Birdyabroad]

49 minutes ago, brady1993 said:

I've seen a few people suggesting dropping Bird but I can't feel that's anything but a mistake. Honestly he's one of the first names on the team sheet for me and he's one of the few midfielders we have a drifting between the lines and linking up play.

Anyone suggesting that we drop Bird needs their head examined.

Him and Clarke were the only two who did well last Saturday.

Bird was repeatedly given the ball in very difficult situations and I can’t remember a time where he didn’t find a Derby shirt.

Yes, he passed backwards and sideways a few times, but the vast majority of championship level players would have lost the ball more than once.

Anyway, if he didn’t have the forward pass, then maybe we should blame the players in front for not giving him the option or concede that Forest were working their socks off.

You build a team around Max Bird, you don’t drop him.

If people want to see Shinnie for a bit of industry in midfield, maybe we give Rooney a rest?

Don’t get me wrong, Rooney has been magnificent, but maybe he needs a breather, recharge the old battery for the game after?

Who knows, Cocu will go and drop bird now after I’ve said all this! ?

[Ghost of Clough]

1 minute ago, Birdyabroad said:

Anyone suggesting that we drop Bird needs their head examined.

Him and Clarke were the only two who did well last Saturday.

Bird was repeatedly given the ball in very difficult situations and I can’t remember a time where he didn’t find a Derby shirt.

Yes, he passed backwards and sideways a few times, but the vast majority of championship level players would have lost the ball more than once.

Anyway, if he didn’t have the forward pass, then maybe we should blame the players in front for not giving him the option or concede that Forest were working their socks off.

You build a team around Max Bird, you don’t drop him.

If people want to see Shinnie for a bit of industry in midfield, maybe we give Rooney a rest?

Don’t get me wrong, Rooney has been magnificent, but maybe he needs a breather, recharge the old battery for the game after?

Who knows, Cocu will go and drop bird now after I’ve said all this! ?

Bird attempted 80 passes, of which 75 found the target (94% accuracy). 3 of those 5 bad passes we long balls.
Those who only made a few of passes (such as Lowe's 100% accurate 6 passes), only Bogle was more accurate then Bird (97.5% of 40 passes). He never lost the ball and was only tackled once.

It's a common theme for Bird, especially since resuming from the break. Since resuming, his lowest was 92.4% (79 attempted passes) against Millwall. He's becoming one of the most reliable passers in the league.

[MuespachRam]

Hamer + Roos

both need to play to give us any chance.