Our Season is Collapsing Fast — Notes for Derby Monday, 30th Sep 2013 12:00 by HarryFromBath HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Tuesday's game by delving into their forum. "We are in no way going to compete with our threadbare squad unless they allow Clough to strengthen it." This was the only remark made by any Derby supporter in their chatroom about Nigel Clough after the final whistle sounded on their defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Derby supporters did not see the dismissal of Nigel Clough coming. The mood amongst fans since the news broke has ranged from anger to a minority welcoming a change. The overwhelming sense is one of sadness. Nigel Clough"Even though I wasn't totally convinced of Nigel's ability to take us up - I could see some progress and undoubtedly would have given him the rest of this season to get it right. I'm still adamant we're not far away." "It's surprised me how sad I've felt at hearing the news of his sacking. I was absolutely stunned last night. I've never been his biggest fan, as I don't rate his tactics and his obsession with certain players. Ultimately, like me, he's a fan of this football club and only wanted what's best for it." "Clough understood that the ridiculous position he inherited was thanks to Paul Jewell, and he has been prepared to make the most of a pretty thankless task." Steve McClarenAt the time of putting these notes together, former Rams coach Steve McClaren's name has been linked with the now vacant post on the BBC, and this has been picked up by Derby supporters. The majority of Rams are optimistic about this potential appointment, albeit with some reservations.
"I always thought Steve did well at Derby although it was under Jim Smith. When he left we did nothing but slide", "I thought McClaren did well at Derby too, but as a coach, not a manager. I really don't think he has the credentials to be a good manager as his patchy track record shows." "Smith hadn't a clue when McClaren left to join United, absolutely clueless", "I expect to see our young players to really kick on under McClaren's coaching. Look at West Brom's philosophy - they've had head coaches for years and they're not doing too bad." "He won't ignore the academy if that's anything to go by", "He must surely have a huge list of contacts around the globe, which can only be a good thing. Look at the players he brought into the Middlesbrough first team." There were some dissenters. "I've had a rotten week, one way or another, and now this. God help us", "Oh God, I hope not. He's a great coach, but a poor manager." "It just feels a bit like we've kicked our wife out for Anne Widdicombe." With Clough's management team on gardening leave, academy manager Darren Wassall will take charge of Tuesday night's home game at Pride Park against Town and will be assisted by senior professional development coach Lee Glover and academy coach Pat Lyons. Reasons for Leaving"You have to look at the team when they come on the pitch to see that we are lightweight. If you bang some big burly defenders, midfielders and strikers on the pitch, we will be outmuscled. Although our team has improved, so have most of the other teams around us." Three criticisms have been consistently levelled at Nigel Clough. The team has lacked a physical presence and he has done nothing to address this. He has also been too slow to react to tactical changes during the course of games, and he has been too loyal to poor performing players. "We played well in the first half at Leicester (in the Capital One Cup last Tuesday) and led with some lovely attacking football. Pearson makes three changes, and it becomes their attack versus our defence." "We were now on the back foot and Clough did nothing to try and change things. It was down to the manager to alter things and Clough did f*** all. When Leicester took the lead, Clough sat there and sulked with his head in his hands." "Clough berates the team for mistakes, but then picks the players who make them over and over again. If he can't see that we need at least two defenders, then he deserves to go." Poor Home Form"Teams come to Pride Park to park the bus and to stop us playing our build-from-the-back passing game. They expect us to do nothing else." With one point from four home games, the Rams have struggled when denied the space which teams give them on their travels. Their use of a narrow midfield diamond is seen as part of the problem. "Does anyone else want to go back to an orthodox 4-4-2? Teams come to Pride Park and pack out our midfield. "We compound it by having four men through the middle, and they cannot play because there's no room. Then the opposition attack down the flanks and guess what? We don't have anyone covering there." Defence"We need players with more steel instead of being the Derby side full of nice guys that play good football. I especially think we need this type of player at the heart of defence." Rams have been most critical of the poor quality of their defenders: "At the back, we look like a collection of individuals. When we are playing against a well organised team, we are too open", "If Clough does not being in a centre-back, he is making potentially the worst decision of his managerial career (a comment made last Thursday)." "Lee Grant seems to be nervous playing at home", "He is making silly mistakes and unfortunately keepers' errors cost goals", "Too many superman punches into thin air", "He comes out flapping at anything." However, the former Burnley keeper was Derby's man of the match against Forest at the weekend, making an important penalty save: "Grant kept the score respectable", "That was another great Grant save", "That was a proper save as the Forest penalty wasn't half bad."  Richard Keogh The warning signs were there, from comments made before the Forest game: "Keogh is dreadful. He goes into every tackle like it is last ditch, and ends up getting turned every time", "We need someone to replace Keogh who has become Captain Titanic." "Buxton and Keogh should be fighting for the same place in the team and not playing together. They know they won't be dropped no matter what performance they put in", "Jake Buxton deserves a lot of credit for his attitude, but the reality is that he is only just adequate at this level." The former Burton player "is willing to give 100%. He's committed and passionate, but technically lacking. This is well and good if you are playing alongside someone who makes up for your deficiencies at centre-half. If you're not, then all it does is highlight them". "Everyone talks about our centre-halves, but what about our full-backs? Forsyth is having a dreadful season and Smith and Freeman have been fairly inconsistent", "The three are getting over-exposed on the sides, because there's no one to help then when opposition full-backs attack." "Adam Smith looks like he can attack with all of the flair and creativity Brayford has, yet against Reading (in their 3-1 home defeat) he was left to run the whole right side on his own against two or three of their players." The 20-year-old Spurs loanee "could only cross from very deep, or send it back left as Reading were waiting for us. We were very unbalanced", "Smith needs help in front of him at times, and Will Hughes struggles with that part of his game when they are in partnership." "Freeman is also very young, but is making a lot of mistakes which have proved to be costly." Former Forest player Kieron Freeman, a close friend of his Wales U21 team-mate Elliott Hewitt, is the alternative right-back, but the 21-year-old is behind Smith in the pecking order. In a similar way to how the right-backs are suddenly looking dodgy, the left-back is expected to do far too much work." "Forest's goal was Forsyth's fault, but comes from having one mismatch at corners and freekicks as we are a small team." "As a passing team, we often concede when a player gets mismatched on a set-piece", "We just can't defend them, can we?" Midfield"We need to play with wingers at home instead of the diamond formation, or whatever it was supposed to be." "The passing at home has not been quick enough to play through teams. Neither full-back is getting forward enough to give us more of an outlet." "The countless times we have central midfielders on the wing. It's not a formation I like, and not one that suits us", "We're passing the ball for the sake of it", "Our crossing was a dud as we were doing it from too deep."
"John Eustace is effective and can be noisy in his leadership and encouragement of the team", "He can give the ball away and get bypassed a bit", "Sometimes his positioning can be poor", "Eustace was the weak link on the pitch. He wasn't committed to the tackle for one of Bolton's goals." The 33-year-old former Watford player has played as the defensive midfielder in Derby's diamond. Many Rams expect him to replace Keogh in their back four on Tuesday. "That will mean no pace at the back." "Craig Bryson is hard-working and gets around the park, but he can't tackle and struggles in a two-man midfield." The former Kilmarnock player has operated on the left of the diamond. "He gets a few goals, but he's hardly a creative playmaker", "He offers energy and simple effective passing." "Bryson is good against weaker opposition when given time and space, but he struggles when the opposition has a decent midfield who can string passes together". The 26-year-old's passing "can be misplaced, and he doesn't always give us an extra option in midfield". "Jamie Ward grafts for the team, but he lost the ball a lot and didn't offer much as the game progressed". The former Blade and Northern Irish international "has a cracking work ethic", "His freekicks anywhere inside the other team's half are turning into real goal threats." The 27-year-old has played at the front of the diamond. "The only time we got into the box (against Reading) was when Ward went behind their right-back from out wide." Many Rams expect to see a conventional 4-4-2 for our game, with Ward on the right flank. "Michael Jacobs is an exciting creative player. For every positive thing he does, he does something stupid that costs us", "At least he is positive." The 21-year-old former Northampton man "has had plenty of chances off the bench, but I don't see the point of playing a left winger who can't cross". Will Hughes"Hughes's second half performance at the Den was nothing short of incredible. His passing, movement and interaction were sublime, and allowed others to come into the game and play off his ability on the ball."
"Will Hughes beats players with skill, movement and intelligence with the ball." The 18-year-old has been playing on the right of Derby's midfield diamond. "He was popping up all over midfield looking for the ball, and all of his passes connected." He ran riot when given time and space against ten-man Millwall in the Rams 5-1 away victory, although several Rams have commented on how both he and Craig Bryson disappear from games when denied time and space by more street-wise opponents. "Forest have targeted Hughes", "He lost the ball more times against Leicester than I remember a Derby player doing in recent history", "Hughes lost the ball a lot against Reading, and got caught in possession a few times. Things just didn't come off for him." Attack"The strikers have all been of a very high quality this season. Martin and Russell have both been outstanding, Sammon has had two in two games and Bennett has looked dangerous when he has had a chance."
Former Budgie Chris Martin "can be clever in his movement, but he sometimes doesn't put the yards in", "He holds the ball up and lays it off ever so well", "His freekick-winning is brilliant." "Decent as Martin is, the service is best to him on the floor or to his chest. He lost a lot of battles against Bolton's centre halves, as he struggles to compete in the air." "Johnny Russell has intelligent running, positioning, reading the game and the resolve to get in where it hurts and steal a goal." Signed from Dundee United this summer, the 23-year-old, "looks better as a sharp and talented attacking midfielder." "Russell's pace and movement have been excellent. His link-up play is strong and gives us another dimension", "He's been our top scorer, shown he can get into scoring positions, take chances and show good link up play with Martin." "Sammon should be starting up front every week." The former Wigan and Republic of Ireland International "doesn't give defenders a second." He has been used as an impact substitute this year. Rams have praised his ability to break up defences, but have been frustrated by his finishing. "Mason Bennett has just done his GCSEs. He'll be used sparingly until they feel he's ready to cope with the league week in, week out", "He's strong, quick and powerful, like a little Didier Drogba." The 17-year-old scored his first goal in the Millwall victory, and Rams are excited by his potential. Rams' Views on ITFC and the GameUnderstandably, there has been little to report on Tuesday's game thus far. I will update the forum on Tuesday afternoon if there is any opinion about us worth mentioning. WebsitesThe biggest message board is RamsTalk and there are some informed articles worth reading on RamZone .
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Steve McClaren
John Eustace and Reading's Pavel Pogrebnyak
Will Hughes
Conor Sammon
