For many years now, we have not had anything resembling a "flowing" midfield, instead, we have had "sitters" and ball winners in Marv, Cisse and and to a lesser degree Cole but Hartley aside, nothing creative worth speaking of since 2006.... Energy and motivation in midfield covered up the shortcomings of our average defence and kept us going for many seasons, but as the energy has waned, the shortcomings of the defence has become more and more exposed. We NEED a brain in midfield... DM is culpable to the extent that he has perhaps over estimated the ability of our current midfield however I really fail to see how what is clearly nothing short of a refusal of some of the players to put in a decent shift is the managers "fault" especially as we know the players CAN do it as we saw it at the end of last season. DM stated in the summer that he will be looking to sign players who he trusts to do the job for him however clearly some of the old regime players are letting him down. Derek, the gloves have to to come off now, its time for you to stop being "nice" as your job is on the line so freeze out those who are clearly letting you down. Likewise, whilst it is not generally considered a good idea, I would have absolutely no problem with the owner stepping in and kicking some butt. You need to play only those who will give you 100% and suggest you look no further than some of our youngsters who whilst not experienced, will bust a gut for you on the field to try and become a fixture in the first team... If I were the manager in this situation, I would expect a queue of players knocking down my door in the morning telling me how they were going to help me out of this mess. Anyone not in that queue would not be required to turn up for work again... As for the "he's only from a Scottish backwater" this is an idiotic coment, the ability to manage and players are the same the world over - nationality or location has nothing to do with it....
Completely agree with all the above. Whatever happens it aint gonna be any easier with Skuse out for possibly 8 weeks and McMannus gone for the season too.. the injuries are getting ridiculous.
Not idiotic at all. Scottish football has been on a downward curve over the last ten years. Once the standard drops, it's easier to make an ordinary team look good.......that's exactly what Del did. It's the managers job to motivate and get 100% from his players along with selecting his best players in their right positions. Sorry but Del seems to have failed in all departments. I'm afraid that is down to lack of experience at this level. That's why I felt it was a MASSIVE gamble appointing him. I believe, we will see just what he's made of over the next few weeks. He needs to turn it around quickly, otherwise he will be following Millens footsteps.
Ive never known a season like this for injuries and they are disproportionate to the rest of the division. Are the players training too hard, or too little ?? Either way the board need to provide funds to bring in some quality loan players NOW as this could be a slope from which we dont recover unless something is done about it now.
The side this season has lacked organisation mate. That is the managers role along with his numerous coaches. ****e sides can still be disciplined and committed and this one has not. the shape of the team nobody seems to know wehat it is, best XI nobody knows that, tracking back etc they dont, pressing crosses they often don't, that is down to the manager not the lacl of a player of abilty to spray pases around. City cannot do the basic defending front to back as ateam. the back four have got coated off all season but many could see the problem is the lack of organisation. That is down to the manager he has thirty players spent money and brought in enough to put hs ideas into place.
So, you are telling me that PROFESSIONAL footballers who are paid thousands and possibility tens of thousands of £'s a week are too stupid to know what to do on a football pitch and have to be told, REALLY...???? Sorry, don't buy it - the fault is firmly at the feet of the players and, EVEN IF some are playing out of position, football is not complicated, it's not rocket science requiring a 1st class degree to play and if the players haven't got the ability to adapt, then they don't deserve to be paid. Sadly, when players consistantly fail the manager, there is usually only one party who suffers so that party has to act now to secure his future by binning those who are letting him down...
That is why we have managers for god sake.....that's not rocket science either. Yes some elite players can think for themselves i.e Messi..................but when I last looked we don't have players like him. Are you also saying, it was all down to the players under Millen? Most are different players. You can have the best work force in the world, but they would still need managing.....they need to know their role. Sorry Prem, I know you were happy when Del was appointed, but even you must question the situation we're in.....and it's not just down to the players.
Not what I was meaning by any stretch, just that if you offered that to Del now he'd probably bite your hand off
Yes players whether they are at Bath Bristol City or Almondsbury [know the coach] get told how to set and what defensive lines to take. They will also have defensive shape drilled into them on the training pitch with games involving defense v forwards, 4 v 5, 4 v 6 and more. Do it enough and it becomes second nature. You get told what to do, play to orders and if it ****s up it is still down to the manager and coaches to shuffle the players around to make what is best of what they have. As people keep saying even poor sides can get organised and get goal side.
