Pride Park - The home of hoofball.

Why do you think managers would not want to come to Derby..?
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Well, you could turn that question on it's head for starters. Why would they? Big debt and loss making. Owners that obviously don't have the will (if not the ability) to invest. Why would you bother? Under the Derby regime, the only hope is exactly the kind of recruitement policy NLN has adopted. Surely, if you are going to have a pop at anyone, it has to be the owners first.

And as for Nigels tactics, he is probably aware that if you want to stop Forest playing, you need to swamp the mid-field. When we've come unstuck this season, it's generally by teams that done that same thing.

sph
For what's it worth, I think you ask interesting questions and make good points.

We were linked with Dean Saunders four years ago. Now he has got his opportunity at a Championship club. What's the first thing he does? Tell fans that it'll take two years to sort out the mess. Talk about anti-climax. Maybe Clough should have done that because that's what he had to do.

Expecatations are big at Derby, but they are not matched by resources.

How many clubs are debt-free and post profits, do you think..?

The owners determine the resources: Clough's job is to get the best out of what he has, and in my opinion he does that too infrequently. Some of that can be attributed to the impetuous nature of the youngsters we have, but mostly it's down to Clough insisting on tactics that do not work, even playing players out of position to do so. How can this team form vital partnerships when Clough plays different people in different roles in different formations so regularly?

there are many times when you can point to a confusing selection or decision by Clough as contributing to losing points. You can never point to resources losing points, unless you equally attribute winning of points to it.

I predicted a couple of weeks ago, when someone made a gloating post, that Clough is likely to make some bizarre tactical decision and cost us points, then low and behold, two consecutive games, two stupid selections, 5 lost points.

I'm sorry, I don't agree with either of you. I think teams with larger squads (resources) eventually win out over the season and this is beginning to show. For a start, we don't have like for like replacements to draw on, which means occasionally experimenting/trying something different.

I said around Christmas that we could have been doing with a loan, because of tiredness and injury, the heavy pitches and quick succession of games over the festive period. I remember seeing us in winter 2010 during our good run and being shocked at how lethargic we looked. It's not like we can go out and bring in players or draw on a pool of players.

And then the lack of experience, which costs. Look at the relative age of the team, Hendrick & Hughes (21 soon & 17).

I don't think Clough cost us 5pts. Brighton was always going to be difficult, a first minute goal didn't help (see Poyet's comments about how it settled their nerves) & we did well to hang on for a point against Forest. They passed the ball better on the day, nothing to do with tactics.

Wolves have the biggest squad, Blackburn have a big squad, Leicester have a big squad.

Palace have a small squad, Watford have a small squad, Cardiff have a small squad, Peterborough have a small squad.

There are no hard and fast rules, just myths and misconceptions. We didnt look tired, as much as disorganised and demotivated on Saturday. Comments were made after Boro and Tranmere that Derby look fitter than at anytime in recent memory.

The bit about Clough costing us points is obviously subjective, and hypothetical. But I don't feel like I'm clutching at straws by saying we might've done better keeping things unchanged from the previous two games.

You're right, Mostyn, it is subjective. As regards Saturday, Bryson has admitted he wasn't fully fit. Football is about fine margins. If someone is 75% fit, that is going to show esp in a game where you need everyone 100%.

Watford & Cardiff do not have small squads, Watford are owned by the guys who own Udinese & Granada and can lend/sell players between them, a bit like Maxwell nicking Saunders from Oxford for us (!)

I know I eulogised over Palace when they beat us 3-0 but I thought they had peaked early. They have off the pace and both Cardiff & Leicester have begun to break away. Both have also bought to bolster their ranks in January. We can't even bring in a loan. It's all about shifting people out (Tyson, Bailey) or deferring wages (Croft now, we extended his deal over two years).

typo
they have drifted off the pace

Looking at the table I see half a dozen teams above us that are better than either Derby or Forest, although I can't believe Cardiff are so far ahead, when we played them we took them apart and should have won by a lot more than 3-1.

If either of us get into the playoffs we'll need a massive amount of luck to win. Maybe next season is a more realistic proposition for red and white ends of the A52.