Well done again lads. Yet another big result. Result should have been more comfortable, but Derby nowhere near us.
Half decent performance, really important win but lots of room to improve. I thought defensively we were very good tonight, the back 3 were to a man all superb and Burns grew into the game and looked like in moments how he did last season, in part due to only playing 1 no. 10 with Chaplin not taking space from him on that right hand side. I also thought Jackson made some great runs particularly when he went more central, we don't have many players who do that in this team and it stretched their defence and opened up space. I would've brought Edwards on for John-Jules and played Jackson centrally as we were opening them up and creating space we just made some poor passes. I also thought even if a little over run Evans and Morsey were superb, Evans looks a completely different player to last season and Ball came on as a calm head. Areas for improvement are probably consistent throughout the McKenna era, I'm still not convinced in the balance of the front players, too many Forest Gumps and not enough guile. Could it also the be the amount of chopping and changing? Seeing McGoldrick tonight whilst I found him extremely frustrating in a Mick McCarthy team would suit playing a no.10 in this team brilliantly. I thought Harness was very poor tonight although off the ball he works very hard. I thought our press first half wasn't great and Ladapo appeared to forget what pressing was when he came on. Derby seemed well versed in our favoured cut back routine and cut it off everytime tonight, with the cut back rarely on it meant the better option would be to put the ball in across the box when behind the defence but because the favoured cut back was never on we always were too slow getting the ball into the box. As I've said before sometimes I think we just need to take a chance and stick the ball into dangerous areas quickly, sometimes we look for the perfect goal that relies on training ground moves rather than players instincts and could do with more of a mix. The distance between the midfield 2 and the front players was also too big. Great win though, restricted Derby to very little ahead of a few winnable fixtures before a very challenging looking December
I reckon the room for improvement is just really in the quality of player. Especially with our striking. Top players would pick out the corner, chip the keeper, know when to take a touch and when to lash it and be more aware of when a square pass is on. Teams know if they put loads of bodies in the way they’ve a chance of keeping us out. I don’t think there’s a lot more to get out of the players we’ve got. Each transfer window just signing that little bit more quality. At the back we’re generally very good but our defending set pieces is a big weakness for teams to exploit. Every game between now and Christmas is winnable so we have an opportunity to put a run together. Then in January, perhaps we can sign a goalscoring hero. All credit to Jackson - he can’t be working any harder - but we need a deadly striker who will finish off all these chances we’re creating.
You did!! You said ffs hurry up and do a match day thread before that silly old pisser gaffer does one, coz he is a jinx!!!
I think you're right to a point and I think we've actually reduced the quality in our front line since last season particularly with the loss of Bonne and Norwood in terms of their movement both in the box and on the shoulder of the last defender. Harness also doesn't have the same quality on the ball as Celina. Ladapo does have qualities in terms of hold up play which we lacked however and Harness off the ball makes our press and positioning much more effective. We also have Ahadme to come back who was in form this season in a struggling Burton team and in the game he played against us looked the perfect fit for that lone striker role in our team. How McKenna likes us to set up it does seem that the lone striker makes alot of sacrifices for the team. I also think McKenna has not got the front line as fluid and balanced as say our backline which appears to have brought out the best of our players there. I get a feeling most of the front 3/4 are playing in roles they are not 100% suited to and the chopping and changing doesn't help. Sometimes I think as I've said many times we over manufacture our play, sometimes always looking for the cutback when getting it quickly in the box would be more dangerous and put the opposing team on the back foot. Our play is so intricate but often also means we have to find the perfect piece of play to open teams up (which we are capable of) but often also gives opposing defences the opportunity to get set apart, we rarely run opposing defences ragged, we might dominate teams but we play like a game of chess. But this season certainly feels different for the first time in about 20 years it feels we've got a good enough squad should we get injuries to maintain form (that will be tested on Tuesday)
As strikers i actually think Ladapo and Jackass are poor, very poor in fact. I was looking forward to seeing Gas but obviously his injury is holding things up on that front. I don't necessarily think you need a 20 goal striker but you need your striker to at least hit 12/13 which, at the moment doesn't look like happening for us. Personally think this is a Marcus Stewart moment, need to invest in a much better striker in Jan for that final push!
As always I think we'd be much more dangerous with a 2 upfront with Ladapo as the target man and Jackson or Chaplin as the no.9. I think Ahadme could play either. You mention Marcus Stewart, what a player, clever intelligent but he would not be the type of player who would get in this team and we certainly wouldn't play to his strengths, so the conclusions is, would there be much point in signing him? The position in our team requires a Heskey not an Owen. I do think we need a little more guile in the no.10 position feel we've got alot of players who are bit head down and run, a McGoldrick type player would be ideal there to hold onto the ball and play the right pass to the runner around him
Statement win that, especially with our Sky record. We looked in control for large spells against a well-organised, in-form team. Delighted with the three points. We just look like one of those strong sides that could rack up a load of points and establish ourselves in the top two. I don’t care if we finish as champions or second place - if we get guaranteed automatic promotion, it’ll be a brilliant achievement (considering 9th is the highest we’ve finished in this division over the last few years). I think we just want to get out of this division and back into the Championship!
Huh??? I never said sign a similar player to Marcus Stewart, i said it's a Marcus Stewart moment, in other words.....we are top two, now let's reinforce to get us over the line. Like we did when we signed Marcus Stewart!!
I don't get all the love for Didz, a total waste of space for us imo! Funny how, when he left, he got over all his injury problems. He got the arse ache when we didn't sell him and i think held that grudge!! Tbh, I'm gutted we never sold him too!!
Jackson is very clearly a confidence player. His injury last season came at a terrible time when he was really on a role. He’s very good with his feet, he’s so fast and makes great runs in behind. But then the penalty was nervous. That sums up his game perfectly. I think if we had a great striker we would see the best of Jackson. I don’t think he is that player that can be the star man, he doesn’t thrive with that kind of pressure.
At his peak we’d take him now but that’s in the third tier. In the list of all the great strikers we’ve had at this club I’m not sure McGoldrick makes the top thirty, does he? Somewhere just behind Jason Scotland in the high double digits.
My point was more if we're going to spend big bucks on a goal scoring striker what would be the point if our team is set up in a way which requires the main striker to make alot of sacrifices for the rest of the team. What type of striker would you go for in January?
To be fair he wasn't my cup of tea in that team. Held onto the ball for too long, too static and tried too many Hollywood passes. Didn't get in the box enough as a striker. But I think he'd be great in this team with lots of runners and movement around him, we don't keep the ball enough in forward positions we're abit head down/gung-ho he'd be the type of player who'd hold onto the ball better and have lots of runners around him to pick out. Definitely should have sold him for £10million when we had the chance
