Derby County tonight!

Place your bets.

I'm going for a late win for DC of course. It's our fate

Preston have a decent defence but aren't anything special, could go either way

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Originally Posted by ToTaL ITK

Place your bets.

I'm going for a late win for DC of course. It's our fate

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They have been on a nice run of late so I’m hopeful that the international break came at the wrong time for them and has completely disrupted their rhythm.

But I suspect not :-(

Preston just missed sitter 2nd minute!

Goal disallowed for Preston, offside…….replays suggest otherwise according to BBC Sport.

Derby 1 - 0 Preston

Great start to the second half :facepalm:

Switched over to watch the game and Derby score, switched back over again

2 - 0

Ah FFS!
Been trying to steer clear of the score but heard it was 0-0 HT.
Bottom 3 beckons :cry:

Down with the Plymouth.

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Originally Posted by splott parker

Goal disallowed for Preston, offside…….replays suggest otherwise according to BBC Sport.

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Feckin conspiracy I tell thee! :angry:

Pne f@cking useless kents

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Originally Posted by Michael Morris

2 - 0

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Sleep walking to relegation. That is what this starting to feel like.

I don’t think it’s sleep walking

It’s a bloody charge to relegation

Preston just had a bit of a chance but otherwise it looks as though they’ve chucked the towel in.

Less than ideal

Ched Evans on for Preston, 36 year old Ched Evans, they’re going for it:facepalm:

Wonder if derby quality has improved or if its down to their manager?

I know lots here think we just don't have the players to be mid table but I wonder how derby would be doing with riza as their manager.

For me apart from the top 2 or 3 this season the rest is just about management and coaching. The players and squads are all the same.

Hence why Coventry were just outside relegation at Xmas now they are going up with a new manager. Same players.

Got to be a penalty for Preston there?

Ah well

All Eustace has asked Derby to do tonight is get the ball in the box and it's worked.
Riza on the other hand has us playing 4 different systems with 16 different players every game.

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Originally Posted by insider

All Eustace has asked Derby to do tonight is get the ball in the box and it's worked.
Riza on the other hand has us playing 4 different systems with 16 different players every game.

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Absolutely. Really winds me up people saying riza just doesn't have the players to work with. Bullshit.

I'm not saying they are good. Not at all. Just much of a muchness with derby Preston qpr milwall etc...... I just can't accept they all have much better players than us.

it's not defeatist to prepare for relegation, it's sensible, albeit not a certainty it's becoming increasingly likely..

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Originally Posted by Father Dougal

Absolutely. Really winds me up people saying riza just doesn't have the players to work with. Bullshit.

I'm not saying they are good. Not at all. Just much of a muchness with derby Preston qpr milwall etc...... I just can't accept they all have much better players than us.

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Like when we got relegated from the Premier league both times our lack of quality was embarrassing. It wouldn't have mattered who our manager was either time. No other teams would have wanted any of our players even our best ones.

This relegation though isn't about a lack of player quality.

I’m not sure why people are stressing over Derby, they won’t be in the bottom eight let alone the bottom three. John Eustace wouldn’t have gone there if he thought for one moment they were at risk of going down.

Saw most of first half. Derby are awful, as bad as us.
Guess what they've got is a decent experienced manager.
Riza is taking us down.

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Originally Posted by Father Dougal

Wonder if derby quality has improved or if its down to their manager?

I know lots here think we just don't have the players to be mid table but I wonder how derby would be doing with riza as their manager.

For me apart from the top 2 or 3 this season the rest is just about management and coaching. The players and squads are all the same.

Hence why Coventry were just outside relegation at Xmas now they are going up with a new manager. Same players.

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Quite. This is all on the manager and the people who appointed him.

The players are definitely good enough.

Which makes it all the more annoying especially when you consider how dreadful most of the teams are in this league.

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Originally Posted by Bobby Dandruff

Quite. This is all on the manager and the people who appointed him.

The players are definitely good enough.

Which makes it all the more annoying especially when you consider how dreadful most of the teams are in this league.

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Can you list the things which make these players “definitely good enough” please? I’ll help you on your way by saying that since we lost to Sheffield United just before Christmas, we’ve only failed to score in one league game, at Leeds. That.s impressive and should be the base on which an escape from the relegation zone could be based, but two clean sheets in league games since the only time we kept the opposition out in an away league games, West Brom in late October, renders that ability to score in nearly all of our matches next to useless.

I’ve always believed that you can base how good or bad a squad is on the number of 1-0 wins they get. Even the most fluent and attractive teams have a share of matches where they don’t play well, but a sound defence can help them to a win in such games via a scruffy goal. Our well dodgy defence has meant that the 1-0 win is virtually out of the equation for us - there’s been just two of them, Millwall and Hull, all season.

A team with a record like that cannot be “definitely good enough” to stay up in my opinion - this is a record which cries out relegation and just blaming a current bottom three placing on the manager and the people who appointed him is akin to an ostrich sticking its head in the sand.

However, I now await your list of things which make this squad “definitely good enough” - perhaps you’ll be able to change my mind on the subject?

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Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

Can you list the things which make these players “definitely good enough” please? I’ll help you on your way by saying that since we lost to Sheffield United just before Christmas, we’ve only failed to score in one league game, at Leeds. That.s impressive and should be the base on which an escape from the relegation zone could be based, but two clean sheets in league games since the only time we kept the opposition out in an away league games, West Brom in late October, renders that ability to score in nearly all of our matches next to useless.

I’ve always believed that you can base how good or bad a squad is on the number of 1-0 wins they get. Even the most fluent and attractive teams have a share of matches where they don’t play well, but a sound defence can help them to a win in such games via a scruffy goal. Our well dodgy defence has meant that the 1-0 win is virtually out of the equation for us - there’s been just two of them, Millwall and Hull, all season.

A team with a record like that cannot be “definitely good enough” to stay up in my opinion - this is a record which cries out relegation and just blaming a current bottom three placing on the manager and the people who appointed him is akin to an ostrich sticking its head in the sand.

However, I now await your list of things which make this squad “definitely good enough” - perhaps you’ll be able to change my mind on the subject?

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I think a settled back four team selection and stronger defensive/set piece coaching would help to improve any defence - surely these 2 points are on the manager and people who appointed him?

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Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

Can you list the things which make these players “definitely good enough” please? I’ll help you on your way by saying that since we lost to Sheffield United just before Christmas, we’ve only failed to score in one league game, at Leeds. That.s impressive and should be the base on which an escape from the relegation zone could be based, but two clean sheets in league games since the only time we kept the opposition out in an away league games, West Brom in late October, renders that ability to score in nearly all of our matches next to useless.

I’ve always believed that you can base how good or bad a squad is on the number of 1-0 wins they get. Even the most fluent and attractive teams have a share of matches where they don’t play well, but a sound defence can help them to a win in such games via a scruffy goal. Our well dodgy defence has meant that the 1-0 win is virtually out of the equation for us - there’s been just two of them, Millwall and Hull, all season.

A team with a record like that cannot be “definitely good enough” to stay up in my opinion - this is a record which cries out relegation and just blaming a current bottom three placing on the manager and the people who appointed him is akin to an ostrich sticking its head in the sand.

However, I now await your list of things which make this squad “definitely good enough” - perhaps you’ll be able to change my mind on the subject?

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Ok, well firstly this team (or a similar one at least) was good enough to finish mid table last year.

Secondly they were good enough to go on a mini run of decent results as soon as Bulut left.

Thirdly, so many Championship teams that I have seen this year are absolutely terrible, with worse players than ours.

And fourthly, we have got rid of the real rubbish (see Kanga for Salech etc). Whereas we still have some passenger (I’ll leave that to you to decide who) we have a starting XI easily capable of mid table.

Whereas the players aren’t world beaters there are enough players who are good enough for mid table but the manager isn’t and directionless leadership is responsible for not maximising the potential of the players.

The players of course are culpable too but I think that ignoring the fact that we have a very inexperienced manager who has regularly made poor in game decisions that most people can spot straight away is akin to an ostrich sticking its head in the sand.

There you go.

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Originally Posted by Bobby Dandruff

Ok, well firstly this team (or a similar one at least) was good enough to finish mid table last year.

Secondly they were good enough to go on a mini run of decent results as soon as Bulut left.

Thirdly, so many Championship teams that I have seen this year are absolutely terrible, with worse players than ours.

And fourthly, we have got rid of the real rubbish (see Kanga for Salech etc). Whereas we still have some passenger (I’ll leave that to you to decide who) we have a starting XI easily capable of mid table.

Whereas the players aren’t world beaters there are enough players who are good enough for mid table but the manager isn’t and directionless leadership is responsible for not maximising the potential of the players.

The players of course are culpable too but I think that ignoring the fact that we have a very inexperienced manager who has regularly made poor in game decisions that most people can spot straight away is akin to an ostrich sticking its head in the sand.

There you go.

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Sorry one last point: whereas I have no axe to grind with Riza personally as he seems like a decent chap, I suspect that nearly every fan would agree that if we had appointed a more experienced or proven manager when Bulut left, then we would not be in this mess.

See Eustace at Derby and Rowett at Oxford. We’d likely be clear of trouble.

For me we are about where we should be, I don't think this is a particularly better than relegation squad at all.

Last season there were large patches where we were awful, early form and bloody brilliant set pieces were the difference.

I also can't argue that with a different manager there would be enough gains to not be in this situation. The league for a lot of teams is much of a muchness and a few small changes could have changed our season.

But we have been here on and off for a few years now, and for that we can only blame the owner and his board.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bobby Dandruff

Ok, well firstly this team (or a similar one at least) was good enough to finish mid table last year.

Secondly they were good enough to go on a mini run of decent results as soon as Bulut left.

Thirdly, so many Championship teams that I have seen this year are absolutely terrible, with worse players than ours.

And fourthly, we have got rid of the real rubbish (see Kanga for Salech etc). Whereas we still have some passenger (I’ll leave that to you to decide who) we have a starting XI easily capable of mid table.

Whereas the players aren’t world beaters there are enough players who are good enough for mid table but the manager isn’t and directionless leadership is responsible for not maximising the potential of the players.

The players of course are culpable too but I think that ignoring the fact that we have a very inexperienced manager who has regularly made poor in game decisions that most people can spot straight away is akin to an ostrich sticking its head in the sand.

There you go.

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The last two managers have been a disaster, probably the last five in fact, you can’t go on like that. I think we have some decent players but we lack the most basic need of a solid spine….

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Originally Posted by insider

All Eustace has asked Derby to do tonight is get the ball in the box and it's worked.
Riza on the other hand has us playing 4 different systems with 16 different players every game.

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I can't help but think that Riza lacks the pragmatism of an experienced manager when setting up City for games. It all seems to be lots of inter-passing in midfield, the occasional overlapping full back, and then long periods of chasing the the ball. I don't rate our squad as high some do, but I'm coming round to the view that Riza wasn't the man to keep us up..

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Originally Posted by Bobby Dandruff

Sorry one last point: whereas I have no axe to grind with Riza personally as he seems like a decent chap, I suspect that nearly every fan would agree that if we had appointed a more experienced or proven manager when Bulut left, then we would not be in this mess.

See Eustace at Derby and Rowett at Oxford. We’d likely be clear of trouble.

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Rowatt will be in trouble because he has a shit team, if Riza was there and Rowatt was there we would be safe by now and they would be relegated already.

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Originally Posted by goats

The last two managers have been a disaster, probably the last five in fact, you can’t go on like that. I think we have some decent players but we lack the most basic need of a solid spine….

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Bulut had us twelfth with a weaker squad, Riza has fecked us right up, he doesn't know his best back four.

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Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

Can you list the things which make these players “definitely good enough” please? I’ll help you on your way by saying that since we lost to Sheffield United just before Christmas, we’ve only failed to score in one league game, at Leeds. That.s impressive and should be the base on which an escape from the relegation zone could be based, but two clean sheets in league games since the only time we kept the opposition out in an away league games, West Brom in late October, renders that ability to score in nearly all of our matches next to useless.

I’ve always believed that you can base how good or bad a squad is on the number of 1-0 wins they get. Even the most fluent and attractive teams have a share of matches where they don’t play well, but a sound defence can help them to a win in such games via a scruffy goal. Our well dodgy defence has meant that the 1-0 win is virtually out of the equation for us - there’s been just two of them, Millwall and Hull, all season.

A team with a record like that cannot be “definitely good enough” to stay up in my opinion - this is a record which cries out relegation and just blaming a current bottom three placing on the manager and the people who appointed him is akin to an ostrich sticking its head in the sand.

However, I now await your list of things which make this squad “definitely good enough” - perhaps you’ll be able to change my mind on the subject?

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An experienced Manager stabilises the best back four, tries to get the games to noil for the opposition, then works on set play goals and gradually builds up to more goals from open play. That way, you get lots of one-nil wins.

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Originally Posted by Father Dougal

Wonder if derby quality has improved or if its down to their manager?

I know lots here think we just don't have the players to be mid table but I wonder how derby would be doing with riza as their manager.

For me apart from the top 2 or 3 this season the rest is just about management and coaching. The players and squads are all the same.

Hence why Coventry were just outside relegation at Xmas now they are going up with a new manager. Same players.

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Derby has massively improved, while Blackburn are in freefall; of course, it's down to the Manager.

We haven't even got one, we've given the job to a newly appointed coach from Watford, who's seen so many Managers come in and out, that he's not sure which one was the best to try and copy.

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Originally Posted by Bobby Dandruff

Quite. This is all on the manager and the people who appointed him.

The players are definitely good enough.

Which makes it all the more annoying especially when you consider how dreadful most of the teams are in this league.

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It's a decent squad, and should be mid-table plus, but we leak goals like a sieve and Riza and Purse haven't got the first clue who their best back four is and how to organise them into a Championship defence.

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Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish

I can't help but think that Riza lacks the pragmatism of an experienced manager when setting up City for games. It all seems to be lots of inter-passing in midfield, the occasional overlapping full back, and then long periods of chasing the the ball. I don't rate our squad as high some do, but I'm coming round to the view that Riza wasn't the man to keep us up..

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To be honest, I haven't seen many on here rating the squad "high".
What some are saying is they are capable of better, I tend to agree with that.
No one could say that Riza is getting the best out of his players, in the same way Eustace is doing at Derby for example.

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Originally Posted by DJ-Q

I think a settled back four team selection and stronger defensive/set piece coaching would help to improve any defence - surely these 2 points are on the manager and people who appointed him?

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The manager inherited almost all the coaching staff