Our Attacking Players

[wollatonram]

We have scored 1 (ONE) goal from open play all season. That is shocking. My opinion which may be unpopular is that every single one of them is overrated. We have so many players that can't finish, we have so many players that attacks just end everytime the ball is given to them. 

I think every club builds up players but Mel has left us this season with a squad unequiped for the championship, from attack to defence (the 'long term plan' has always been a cop out for not having to put any money into the club while he finds a buyer).

You can blame the managers, but like at the start of the season it was obvious to see. Our squad has been underfunded for too long. We have too many young players that are not proven and it will only end badly if no funding is provided for proven players in January.

I am seriously worried about the future of this club, you can employ any manager they will not get this club scoring goals without new players and investment.

 

[Ted McMinn Football Genius]

2 minutes ago, wollatonram said:

We have scored 1 (ONE) goal from open play all season. That is shocking. My opinion which may be unpopular is that every single one of them is overrated. We have so many players that can't finish, we have so many players that attacks just end everytime the ball is given to them. 

I think every club builds up players but Mel has left us this season with a squad unequiped for the championship, from attack to defence (the 'long term plan' has always been a cop out for not having to put any money into the club while he finds a buyer).

You can blame the managers, but like at the start of the season it was obvious to see. Our squad has been underfunded for too long. We have too many young players that are not proven and it will only end badly if no funding is provided for proven players in January.

I am seriously worried about the future of this club, you can employ any manager they will not get this club scoring goals without new players and investment.

 

No striker options and only one up front (one that isn’t a recognised striker/ CF/ target man or goal scorer) 

Nothing will change playing one up front unless they are an out and out striker/ goal scorer. 
The last 3 or 4 transfer windows have been our undoing. 
?????

[Alph]

The crossing in that game then was some of the worst you will see this season from anyone. 

Lawrence, Knight, Buchanan... man, I can't imagine how they could have hit worse crosses without them counting as clearances. 

I mean why didn't Waghorn get on the 2 90mph 15 ft high crosses delivered by Lawrence and Knight. Laziness. 

[IslandExile]

6 minutes ago, wollatonram said:

We have so many players that can't finish

Not creating chances to finish.

[wollatonram]

1 minute ago, IslandExile said:

Not creating chances to finish.

Because we play a slow boring style of football.

Every time we have the ball in our half, teams dont press us they sit back because they know a mistake is coming. and then from our point of view we have 10 players to get past because we cant counter attack properly or attack with speed. This possession style that evolves around rooney is a terrible way to play football.

[GrimsbyRam]

1 minute ago, IslandExile said:

Not creating chances to finish.

But today we pinged a number of balls across the box and on one occasions even our only striker wasn't there.

[jimbo jones]

We need a striker. Not just to score, but to offer a outlet, to hold the ball up, to bring other into the game. Until we get one, I don’t see much changing.

[LeedsCityRam]

10 games I make it now without a goal in open play. 900 minutes or 15 hours - well 15.5 hours really as we scored at Luton after about 60 mins.

For all the talk of a change of approach, the same themes that we've seen all season. Not enough numbers in the box, reluctance to cross (instead insisting on beating the man) or just atrocious quality & lack of purpose with the ball. No idea what they were working on in training this week that was so radically different on the evidence of today. Also no idea why Knight was on the wing (he's a CM) or Holmes at number 10 (he lacks quality).

These players are capable of delivering (played in the right positions) - we've seen it in previous seasons, we see it at international level. I do also accept a serious lack of confidence but the total incompetence shown is becoming humiliating. You could see Bristol ambling around in defence such was their lack of fear of us in their final third.

Its pretty desperate stuff. Derby remind me of a newly promoted team - playing 'well' but just not laying a glove on the opposition & then falling prey to the sucker punch. The conclusion to all this is inevitable.

We need fresh ideas, a fresh voice & one decision maker. We need a new manager, fast.

[hintonsboots]

Job application:

Manager required for basement team. Good project for the right candidate, must be able to teach crossing , shooting and other basic football skills.

Must speak fluent Spanish.

[wollatonram]

2 minutes ago, LeedsCityRam said:

10 games I make it now without a goal in open play. 900 minutes or 15 hours - well 15.5 hours really as we scored at Luton after about 60 mins.

For all the talk of a change of approach, the same themes that we've seen all season. Not enough numbers in the box, reluctance to cross (instead insisting on beating the man) or just atrocious quality & lack of purpose with the ball. No idea what they were working on in training this week that was so radically different on the evidence of today. Also no idea why Knight was on the wing (he's a CM) or Holmes at number 10 (he lacks quality).

These players are capable of delivering (played in the right positions) - we've seen it in previous seasons, we see it at international level. I do also accept a serious lack of confidence but the total incompetence shown is becoming humiliating. You could see Bristol ambling around in defence such was their lack of fear of us in their final third.

Its pretty desperate stuff. Derby remind me of a newly promoted team - playing 'well' but just not laying a glove on the opposition & then falling prey to the sucker punch. The conclusion to all this is inevitable.

We need fresh ideas, a fresh voice & one decision maker. We need a new manager, fast.

It is like they have spent the last year doing passing drills and not bothering with defending or attacking.

[Day]

27 minutes ago, wollatonram said:

Our squad has been underfunded for too long.

Pardon?

We’ve pushed FFP to the limit, so far the stadium was moved to a different company which triggered Steve Gibson.

Out of all the criticisms anyone could make, underfunded we have not been.

[Rammeister]

20 minutes ago, jimbo jones said:

We need a striker. Not just to score, but to offer a outlet, to hold the ball up, to bring other into the game. Until we get one, I don’t see much changing.

Totally right- And, as we keep losing, I’d have no problem starting with a Stretton, a Duncan, a Trialist etc, because the worse case scenario is we still don’t score, and at least we’d know - as fans- that these lads aren’t ready yet.

But, what if?

[Abu Derby]

Where was Colin Kolin Richard?

[Dean (hick) Saunders]

Are these players capable though (of scoring many goals)?

Not convinced it is coaching/tactical decisions. We were not much better last season even with some better wardrobe shape options.

[Stockyram92]

There were plenty of people before saying we did the right thing during the transfer window to not pay the money for serdar dursun because we'd get him cheaper in January...  seems ridiculous now, by January we'll be well adrift and its going to end up costing us far more, its embarrassing 

[Angry Ram]

21 minutes ago, Abu Derby said:

Where was Colin Kolin Richard?

Abu Dhabi sorting out his image rights. 48 hours and it will be announced. 

[Millenniumram]

Don’t think they’re quite as bad as they look at the moment, certainly not relegation quality on paper, but they are definitely below the standard we needed to make progress on last season. Waghorn is a bang average championship striker. Lawrence has some magic moments in him, but all too often flatters to deceive. Both Knight and Holmes are decent, hard working players, but neither are particularly incisive in the final third. It’s no great surprise that we struggled to score goals with that attacking lineup. 

For what it’s worth, I do think you’re right to direct blame higher up than the managers. It was blatantly obvious to pretty much everyone that we desperately needed a new striker this summer once Martin left, and that was even before we got shot of Marriott! As I’ve said before, to end that window having only signed Kazim-Richards is an absolute joke. Once again our poor recruitment has left us in a massive mess. Everything is falling apart right now because we don’t have a striker to link the play up, and put the chances away. You can blame Cocu all you want (and he certainly should have done better), but no manager would get a team with our attacking options into the playoffs. They’re simply not good enough. 

And this is where I feel for Cocu a bit. All the time he was here, the board were saying the aim is top six. But they never backed him enough to give him a chance of achieving that goal. So, for me, the ultimate blame for the mess we are currently in lies on the shoulders of Mel Morris. Years of poor running of the club have been leading to this moment. Disastrously bad recruitment, appointing managers with vastly different playing styles, it’s all contributed to us getting worse and worse every year he’s been in charge. I mean look at the squad we’ve got now compared to 14/15 ffs! I said a while back that we’d get relegated before we got promoted under MM, and sadly, I fear I’m going to be proven right. 

[AndyinLiverpool]

Waghorn is poo.

There, I finally said it after all this time and I feel so much better for it.

[Half Fan Half Biscuit]

Just now, AndyinLiverpool said:

Waghorn is poo.

There, I finally said it after all this time and I feel so much better for it.

Always feels better after a good poo.

[Ramchop]

16 minutes ago, Stockyram92 said:

There were plenty of people before saying we did the right thing during the transfer window to not pay the money for serdar dursun because we'd get him cheaper in January...  seems ridiculous now, by January we'll be well adrift and its going to end up costing us far more, its embarrassing 

Plus, he's crap. We need a poacher, someone who plays off the shoulder of the last defender. Makes runs into the box to get on the end of things. There's that guy at Wednesday MacJarriott or something like that ?