Promotion or the nearly men!

[ramAnag]

I would agree, i think the error, looking at Swansea was getting rid of Clement, we pushed the button far too soon with him and now reap the effects of that decision - Pearson for me was going nowhere and McClaren is far too erratic in his tactics and team selection - I actually don't see is getting top 6 this year, teams have spent serious money and improved whilst we maintain that role as the nearly club, not expecting promotion anytime soon and think Mel will tire of spending millions and not getting anywhere.

Might just be a honeymoon period for Clement. Perhaps one of our problems is, since the removal of Clough Jnr, tacit acceptance and surprise at anything decent has been replaced by massive expectation. Since McClaren transformed performances in 2013-14 there has been huge expectation that 'this will be the season' from Derby's fans. Maybe support tempered by a little more realism might just prove more beneficial and place less of a burden on the players.

[DCFCArmy]

Look at Sheff Weds, have spent the money on areas they needed to improve on, they've got the likes of Hooper and McCmanaman on the bench, both are good players.

But their balance is much better than ours, they haven't overloaded in one position and neglected other areas, we look completely out of our depth in the full back area, and barring Ince the rest of our wingers are dreadful, we've got something ridiculous like 7 strikers on our books, Nuge, Bent, Russell, Vydra, Weimann (on loan) and Blackman are all strikers, and most of them need a man to play off, yet we stick most of them on the wing ffs.

Until there's a culling we're going nowhere, until we rid ourselves of the average players and start rebuilding in areas we desperately need we're going nowhere sadly.

And that 0-3 whine is spot on, there's nothing that gives a team more confidence than smashing some goals in, what purpose did that "don't do anything stupid and defend the lead, conserve energy" do by the way?,, we put in a shambolic first half against Newcastle, followed by resting players again Fester and getting dumped out,, no doubt tomorrow will be a f****** struggle, and that's because there's no momentum being built, no goals being scored...

[swaledale]

Might just be a honeymoon period for Clement. Perhaps one of our problems is, since the removal of Clough Jnr, tacit acceptance and surprise at anything decent has been replaced by massive expectation. Since McClaren transformed performances in 2013-14 there has been huge expectation that 'this will be the season' from Derby's fans. Maybe support tempered by a little more realism might just prove more beneficial and place less of a burden on the players.

The only burden the ****ing players carry is their ludicrously bloated wage packets which bonuses apart they pick up whatever kind of crap performance they give on the pitch!

I don't think it was McClaren who raised expectations, it was winning games and getting into the playoffs, then spending serious wonger on players, for that outlay one expects some return and really we haven't, if anything since we (or rather Mel) has pissed ver £30 million on players we have been poorer not better than the side which lost unluckily to QPR in the play off final.

Noy sure why you didn't want McClaren back...surely that *******s about moving to newcastle has been disproven now, even IF and its a big IF he was "disloyal" performance since then have shown it was **** all to do with McClaren being coy over moving on at the end of the season that led to the decline in that season - we should have stuck with Cement, he was grinding out results, we were 5th and we sacked the manager because he wasn't playing "the Derby way" ****ing ludicrous and I think Clement will show us what a poor decision that was at Swansea - McClaren won't get us promotion, not this season nor the next!

[ramAnag]

Well I've looked at Sheffield Wednesday, DCFCA (no quote Rog ) and, despite getting off to a much better start to the season than us they're now a whole six points ahead of us and we have a game in hand. Not perhaps the best of examples and I doubt they'll go up. I'd also dispute that we're out of our depth in the full back area. Prior to injury Christie was playing as well as he ever has for us. Baird has proved, against the odds, to be a true professional, Lowe looks a real talent and of course the loss of Forsyth was just unlucky. Our full backs seem to have been cursed by injury this season but that is nothing more than just misfortune.

I get how you feel about overpaid players failing to come up with the goods Swale but there is such a thing as the 'burden of expectation' and I do think it's relevant to Derby. I worry when the likes of you and KCG, normally very balanced and fair posters, begin
to sound negative.
You know why I didn't want McClaren back, I thought he was incredibly disloyal and, although I'll forgive if not forget, I can't see why you think anything has been 'disproven'. As for Clement, we have no more idea now than a year ago about why he was sacked but two or three wins don't make a season and we'll have to see how it works out at Swansea.
Confused by your last sentence. Always had you down, rightly or wrongly, as one of McClaren's most loyal supporters. You now seem to be describing him - 'not this season nor the next!' - as a no hoper.

[Manofpride]

[QUOTE=ramAnag;38431148

Always had you down, rightly or wrongly, as one of McClaren's most loyal supporters. You now seem to be describing him - 'not this season nor the next!' - as a no hoper.[/QUOTE]


I think we're all worn down from the great expectation!!!

[swaledale]

Well I've looked at Sheffield Wednesday, DCFCA (no quote Rog ) and, despite getting off to a much better start to the season than us they're now a whole six points ahead of us and we have a game in hand. Not perhaps the best of examples and I doubt they'll go up. I'd also dispute that we're out of our depth in the full back area. Prior to injury Christie was playing as well as he ever has for us. Baird has proved, against the odds, to be a true professional, Lowe looks a real talent and of course the loss of Forsyth was just unlucky. Our full backs seem to have been cursed by injury this season but that is nothing more than just misfortune.

I get how you feel about overpaid players failing to come up with the goods Swale but there is such a thing as the 'burden of expectation' and I do think it's relevant to Derby. I worry when the likes of you and KCG, normally very balanced and fair posters, begin
to sound negative.
You know why I didn't want McClaren back, I thought he was incredibly disloyal and, although I'll forgive if not forget, I can't see why you think anything has been 'disproven'. As for Clement, we have no more idea now than a year ago about why he was sacked but two or three wins don't make a season and we'll have to see how it works out at Swansea.
Confused by your last sentence. Always had you down, rightly or wrongly, as one of McClaren's most loyal supporters. You now seem to be describing him - 'not this season nor the next!' - as a no hoper.

I will pass on the disloyal remark, because I know your an "old school" guy who remembers when players and managers had loyalty, but thats not been the case for many years now and anyone who takes without a huge truckload of salt, the utterings of any player or manager when they join a club is clearly either e hopeless nostalgic romantic or deluded!

Quite how McClaren was disloyal for even thinking of leaving derby for another club, yet stated he had a contract at Derby AND stayed to the end of the season is beyond me, but hey I like to go on facts not whats been made up based on media prattle and fans assumptions - at the very least McClaren admitted he had handled it wrongly..end of as far as I'm concerned.

I meant disprove. in that the weight of ill informed opinion was that Newcastle's flirtation with McClaren or vice versa was the reason our form slumped that season, since when we have had similar runs under Clement, Wassall,Pearson with weak performances and inconsistency.

Mm I think McClaren's a good coach, and have supported him against the ill informed and inaccurate abuse, but based on whatI've seen in his two tenures, I'm not confident he has what it takes to get us up, hope I'm wrong.

[DCFCArmy]

Pearson would have had us firing this season, a slow start under him was inevitable, but we'd have done better in the 2nd half of the season imo, once he'd have had the January transfer window and 2 or 3 more of his own players in we'd have seen a massive improvement, we'd have kicked on next season and might not have gone up but the 3rd season was always going to be the season we'd go up (IF we did go up) under him imo.

Mel sacked him and we had a quick resurgence under Mac, which is great in the short term but ultimately it will peta out slightly, Mel hasn't got the patience sadly. I still think we got rid of the best man we could have got in Pearson, a team builder who does it on a stricter budget.

Clement despite being unfairly sacked was a dull individual tbh, he bored me to sleep with his interviews, a good coach but a motivator and team builder? I think not.

[DCFCArmy]

How's that resting the team going Mac???

Utter joke

[DCFCArmy]

Sorry to keep ranting/moaning but these players are on 30k a week? and can't play 3 times a week?

Shearer might be many things but he's spot on when he said todays modern footballers are poor, can't play 3 times a week on 30/50k a week in todays "scientific age", and we're talking 2nd tier players.. Bristol City have to play the same 11 every match ffs.

Its not the manager or the head coach, its these f****** players, no bottle or fight whatsoever. rebuild please Mel, if we have to take 2 or 3 years rebuilding then so be it ffs...

0-3 down at home to f****** BRISTOL CITY... haha

Case closed

[ramAnag]

Sorry to keep ranting/moaning but these players are on 30k a week? and can't play 3 times a week?

Shearer might be many things but he's spot on when he said todays modern footballers are poor, can't play 3 times a week on 30/50k a week in todays "scientific age", and we're talking 2nd tier players.. Bristol City have to play the same 11 every match ffs.

Its not the manager or the head coach, its these f****** players, no bottle or fight whatsoever. rebuild please Mel, if we have to take 2 or 3 years rebuilding then so be it ffs...

0-3 down at home to f****** BRISTOL CITY... haha

Case closed

Not quite 'case closed' it would seem.
Takes some bottle to come back from 0-3 down. Shouldn't have been in that situation I know and it's still two crucial points dropped, but you don't half over react and seem to take so much pleasure in our misfortune.
At the end of the day we came back well but six points from Cardiff and Burton now seems even more important.