Who will lead the line against Watford?

[ramAnag]

I think the difference with a Lampard was it was pretty clear he was ‘going for it’ and having seen too many half decent Derby sides just fail I’d have taken it any way he dished it up and bugger the following season. He (like McLaren, like eventually Smith) made me want to get to the Stadium.

Did he. Really? Or is that just the rose coloured tint from Old Trafford and Elland Road? There were good results and performances, as there have been at times under Cocu, but there was also some real dross from Lampard including ‘spankings’ from Villa and Leeds and home defeats to the likes of Millwall if I remember rightly. I don’t remember him handling Johnson or Marriott well when the going got tough, and we had our traditional New Year collapse when I really don’t remember many being desperate to go to the Stadium. Certainly you can’t begin to compare the football under Lampard with the genuine excitement produced by Jim Smith, post Stimac’s arrival, and McClaren Mk1.

Can’t argue with GP’s first paragraph and as mista suggests we could argue pointlessly for ever over the relative merits of Cocu and Lampard.
I’m just not sure that Frank is all he’s cracked up to be and I certainly think that, despite his undeniable failings, Cocu seems to have been dogged by rank bad luck ever since he arrived.

Questions are I suppose...without entering into malicious character assassination...a) is he going to stay? b) do we want him to?...and maybe after Friday...c) who do we want instead?

[MadAmster]

Cocu seems to have been dogged by rank bad luck ever since he arrived.

As proved yet again by Rooney's Corona isolation.

He must have run over a black cat.......

[ramAnag]

As proved yet again by Rooney's Corona isolation.

He must have run over a black cat.......

More than one, methinks MA. God knows who makes these things up, but there appear to be three collective nouns for cats...’clowder, pounce and glaring’. I reckon Cocu has had a terminal encounter with all three.

[swaledale]

More than one, methinks MA. God knows who makes these things up, but there appear to be three collective nouns for cats...’clowder, pounce and glaring’. I reckon Cocu has had a terminal encounter with all three.

So its bad luck that he has to date brought in pretty much dross - other than...wait for it a loan player in Clarke? I'll wait a while before getting excited about Byrn and the others.


Unlike the others you give Cocu a lot of excuses, now correct me if I'm wrong but other managers have to cope with injuries to key players, corona virus, budget constraints and the rest. So I don't buy that excuse of "luck" it certainly doesn't excuse his banal strange after match talks to the press, when one wonders if he was watching the same game!

Still I guess we are now only losing by the odd goal now so thats an improvement!

The football is ****e, the tactics unfathomable and we are league 1 bound at this rate. Unfortunately Mel has presided over a decline for this club, despite or even because of the money he has spent.

Oh and losing Rooney didn't seem to be that big an issue so was that bad luck for Cocu?

[Andy_Faber]

Did he. Really? Or is that just the rose coloured tint from Old Trafford and Elland Road? There were good results and performances, as there have been at times under Cocu, but there was also some real dross from Lampard including ‘spankings’ from Villa and Leeds and home defeats to the likes of Millwall if I remember rightly. I don’t remember him handling Johnson or Marriott well when the going got tough, and we had our traditional New Year collapse when I really don’t remember many being desperate to go to the Stadium. Certainly you can’t begin to compare the football under Lampard with the genuine excitement produced by Jim Smith, post Stimac’s arrival, and McClaren Mk1.

Can’t argue with GP’s first paragraph and as mista suggests we could argue pointlessly for ever over the relative merits of Cocu and Lampard.
I’m just not sure that Frank is all he’s cracked up to be and I certainly think that, despite his undeniable failings, Cocu seems to have been dogged by rank bad luck ever since he arrived.

Questions are I suppose...without entering into malicious character assassination...a) is he going to stay? b) do we want him to?...and maybe after Friday...c) who do we want instead?

It was just the impression I got, not saying he was as successful match by match as I’d hoped. But every home game (That I could get to) I still rocked up with hope.i have none now, especially after listening to Cocu’s after match interview, he’s talking incremental improvements and we are just way off. To answer your questions it depends on Friday. Defeat means no, no and if he’s available, Pulis. Any other result and we’ll just have to wait and see