View from Derby

[terryr]

First pass at this. Quite a different tone to Boro....
I'll check back tomorrow and update as and when.

CLEMENT WILL PROBABLY BEING SACKED AFTER THE FULHAM GAME.
BET THAT'S WHAT SOME OF YOU WANT.
"isn't it?"

" it would encourage you to whinge even more then yes, I'd want him sacked regardless of the result. Yours tears sustain me."

" I don't want it to happen but it will. Nigel Pearson lives in Ilkeston so he would be the replacement."

" Betting has been suspended following this post."

" This was my vain attempt at a curtains-esque post. With top heavy subject/post ratio and very little content of value. "

"no I don't - I want him to fix it - tweak it....Van Gal is doing that - good coaches can do that - give him a chance"
If our performance again does not improve, would some complain if the axe fell?

"Played 29 - won 13, is that good enough?
Could be worse, we could have Gary Neville in charge."

"Will seem strange to sack him after a 3-0 away win."

"  I wouldn't care if Pearson lived on Pride Park. Not a suitable replacement.
All we are saaaaaying, is give Clem a chance."

"Look at some of the out of work managers out there and look past mourinho, Rodgers and Pearson, there is then a Long long line of the usual suspects who fail at every club they ever manage, that is the pool that we will be selecting from so be careful what you wish for ! "

"  Isn't Pearson the nutter who who was at Leicester? Didn't he strangle a player, then hold one by his shirt and wouldn't let him go?
He got Leicester up but he was a bit of a fruit cake.
Clement may be out of his depth, but at lease he is doing it in style."

" The only person I'd want is Laudrup but right now Clement has to be the man - we learned that the best way to get the club moving forward is to allow the manager time. Without wanting to reopen the topic but Clough was given time to build and the squad he left McLaren was a fantastic one of unity and togetherness. Ok so there have been some comings and goings since then but when you look at other clubs who sack managers nilly willy (a la Forest) it doesnt get you anywhere.
I've said it before and I'll say it again; If MM were so hell bent on promotion this season then why go with someone unproven with a minimal amount of knowledge of the league? It just doesn't make sense, especially when you consider MM saying PC 'could become Derby's Ferguson' we would have copious amounts of egg on our faces if he were sacked this season.
I would understand if we were languishing outside the playoffs and had been all season but a month ago we were top for Christs sake, and we're still in the play off places having not been out of them since we got there!  "

" No he needs to stay. Yes I'm disappointed with the results and I'm also getting a little disappointed with the recruitment.
£25m these days isn't much, players prices are over inflated and I'm annoyed that the media keep concentrating so much on the fact we spent £25m, yet fail to focus that some teams are paying over £10m for players and at this point aren't that much better than us or are actually worse off.
The recruitment disappoints me as I'm now no longer sure if some of these players are the right fit for our style of play. I don't blame PC for this as I wouldn't expect him to change his philosophy (Barker also talked about this) and I also imagine some of these deals were done before he came in. So I maybe we should look at whoever identified these players in the first instance?
However it is only the current run of form that makes me question the players and in 2015 and had confidence in them and thought the best is still to come, hopefully it is.
Is there I better coach out there. The football world would probably say you'd struggle to find one to come to Derby. We need to give him time to develop, time for him to develop the team and bring in a winning culture.
In the last 15 years Derby as a city does not have a winning culture, we are passionate but pessimistic (noticeable by how the mood changes so quickly in the stands) and this impacts all aspects of our city. We've now got an owner who knows how to succeed and he's surrounding himself with staff who know how to succeed but this is not going to instantly turn things around.
I'm hoping that this current run is just a slap of reality and that the next win (likely to be away from the negativity of our city) will start the ball rollin' again but when that does happen we as supporters need to stay grounded and not expect the current squad to win every game until now and the end of the season."

"We all need to take a deep breath  stay calm and hope to god we get a result at Fulham."

"  300 extra tickets. Up to 4,200 Rams there. Lets have a party. Forget the football."

"McCormack to tear us to shreds, can't wait! :012:"

"Whoever plays on the left whether it be Blackman, Russell or Camara give them a break by taking Warnock out of the side; he is so hard to play with. Also fine Shackell £1,000 for every unnecessary touch he takes on the ball. That should speed things up down the left. In the absence of any sign of a football brain with Christie, leave him out for Baird and let Ince get on with the job on the right. Sorted!! Wide men are not being restricted by dumb full backs and Shackell doesn't have 4 touches for Shackell and stops putting others under pressure. Unbeaten for the rest of the year"

" Carson

Baird Keogh Shackell Olsson

           Thorne

Butterfield   Bryson

Ince     Bent  Weimann    "

" 2-2 written all over this."

" Fulham 0-6 Derby
Brendan Rodgers Barmy Army start a 10 match winning run."

" This is a MUST win with Brum vs Wednesday & Burnley vs Hull Saturday. No point suggesting a formation change as it will never happen so for me Bryson for Hendrick, Olson for Warnock, Weimann for Blackman. Bent back on the bench if were not winning give him a good half an hour minimum."

"  Maybe Clement is getting confused with the adage to get promotion win your home games and draw your away games so we will be going for all out attack......I think this is defeat to the odd goal though"

" get dicked 4-1  - McCormack score hat trick. lol"

"arson
christie Keogh shacks olssen Thorne  (c) Bryson Johnson Russell Ince BENT
4-4-1-1 (Bryson attacking mid Thorne holding Russell Johnson wide and Ince in the hole) reinstate Bent !"

" I am aware that I'm old and my memory is fading,but I am trying to remember when Bent
had a decent game."

" it takes a while to get a team like this back into the swing of things. Fully expect a win vs Fulham by 3 or more goals as we move into 2nd gear"

" On bent - Last time he scored and won the fa cup game for us in the 85th min.
... The time before he led the line and we scored 4. You do the maths. He's lightning fast and he can head the ball. He does get caught offside a ridiculous amount that's true.
There is something personal going on with him and PC because it's outlandish that he's been pushed aside for a nothing attack. Give him a full game at Fulham see what he and Ince can do "

" Christ. People are actually dropping Butterfield. It must be bad.."

" They are dropping Butterfield and Hendrick,sacking the manager and Bent is now
the chosen one. We are in panic mode and the natives are getting restless.God knows
what would happen if we dropped out of the top 6"

" Regular away day for us now. Love the atmosphere of the away crowd.  Long day but a good one I hope."

" Clement will have learnt a lesson and we will go positive and out four past them.
We will see plenty of attacking, plenty of goals & chubby middle class cockneys in their michael jackson scarves crying into their waitrose hummus because they've just been done over "

" Dream on, clement will play exact same strategy"

" Head:
Fulham 2 Derby 0.
The axe will likely fall.
Heart:
Fulham 0 Derby 3
Unbeaten until the end of the season.
Scrape 2nd on the final day. "

" Surely a loss here must raise serious question about PC? If it is like he says confidence then something needs to be done to restore this, whether this is a change in management to motivate the players to save any play off chance"

" I can see a win here. Bryson MUST start over Hendrick. Martin (if starting) seems to prefer Bryson as a link-up man and also as the man who is most likely to make a run beyond him.
I'm down in London on business so will be aiming for a seat in the mixed section next to our mob !
Failing that, I'll brave it in the home end (Again !)  "

" After losing to the Rams at the iPro on Boxing Day, Fulham beat Rotherham and then
lost four of their next five games in league and cup. A 1-1 draw with Huddersfield was
the high point of their recent run. They are 19th in the table with 28 points."

" 2-1 to Derby"

" They will be too hot for us, Cottagers 2 Backpassers 0."

" 1-3"

"Them 1-0 Us"

"  First trip to craven cottage so looking forward to travelling to it, meet few lads for Drink Drink then the game Afraid
A really must win game, I have no confidence in us scoring with the way we play and with them having one of the best strikers in this division. It all points to a loss, but I live in hope so its ........
1-2 to the rams, martin ince for us , we all know who will score for them "

" 0-0 and 90 minutes spent in the forum match day chatbox discussing DIY and Beer or basically anything that does not involve the dross we are listening to ."

" 0 - 0 bore draw between 2 very out of form sides"

" Derby v Fulham

This Saturday sees no-scoring Derby travel to free-scoring Fulham. This game for many of the superstitious out there, could be the turning point of our form, and there's reason I say this. Remember our incredible slump at the end of last season? It started at Fulham! Yes the 2-0 loss to Fulham was the first of 13 games which we picked up just two wins. Could it have the reverse affect this time round? It could very well be because there's more. Remember the slump that we suffered in 2015-16? Of course you do because we're in it right now! Well who was the last team we won against before this slump? That's right. Those ruddy Cottagers. It would seem Lady Luck does indeed have a season ticket at Craven Cottage.

But let us have a general look at the op**** (EDIT: apparently oppo-sition is a naughty word?)

Form: 1-1-4
Goals for: 3rd/24
Goals against: 22nd/24

Fulham are a bit top heavy. Is that fair to say? With their transfer embargo meaning they couldn't sign anyone on a permanent deal, it meant that they could spend more time making sure their two star strikers, Moussa Dembele (not the Spurs midfielder) and Ross McCormack, stay put.
Good news for them.
Not good news for our shaky defence.
And when I say shaky defence, I mean we're as shaky as Michael J Fox holding a pneumatic drill. But that's not to say Fulham aren't as shaky, so it could be down to who's attack is on form on the day. Something our forwards haven't been recently. The recent addition of Michael Madl (no, me either) and the recall of Fernando Amorebieta from Boro might mean their defence is slightly stronger, but does it really matter? At the end of the day if our attackers are on form they could pierce through any defence. I'm yet to witness a game this season where all of our front three have been on song.

Probable team selection:

Carson
Christie - Keogh - Shackell - Olsson
Butterfield - Thorne - Johnson
Ince - Martin - Blackman

Let me make it clear, that's what I think Clement will pick. Not what I would pick. I wouldn't be surprised if Olsson was given his debut in this game because it's going to happen sooner or later, but I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't picked. I expect Johnson to come back in. I thought JB and JH did a very good job against Preston but I reckon Johnson is coming back to add a bit of steel to the midfield. Finally the front three is pretty much a case of it's not working but we haven't got many alternatives. If it was up to me then I'd swap Blackman and Ince around. Blackman scored all his goals on the right for Reading and looks like a baby giraffe on LSD on the left. Whereas Ince is too predictable on the right. Russell hasn't had a good game since the black death, Camara might be a bit too green still, and Andi Weimann could easily be mistaken for being Lord Lucan.

Prediction: 3-2 Derby

I say we're going to win every game but that's because I just know it's coming. Something will click sooner or later and could it be against a messy Fulham side? I hope. Our attackers need to know where the net is in this game because I can see it being a high scorer.

Questions:
1) Score prediction?
2) Olsson or Warnock?
3) Which two wingers do you want to see play?
4) If we lost and results went against us then we could drop out of the playoffs for the first time since October. If this were the case, how long would you give Clement to turn it around (if at all)?
5) If you have a female in your life, then you might have heard of these 'pandora/charm bracelets' before. Is it just me or is £25 for a piece of metal that is about as big as my little fingernail an absolute waste of money?

"  Questions:
1) 3-1 Fulham
2) Warnock. He deserves to keep his place unlike some others.
3) Russell and Blackman?
4) The remainder of the season
5) £25 is cheap, my daughter buys Pandora charms at £50+"

"1. 5-0 Derby win, just think a bit of confidence and a hammering will happen.
2. Warnock, he's on form and offers more calm than Keogh & Shackle currently do. Not good time to throw in Olsen.
3. Ince (we have no other option here), Camara
4. None, if we can't beat Fulham heads will drop and we need someone to pull us together.
5. My wife has other methods to spend my living. But yes, they may as well have a "Saw you coming" sign above the door.

"1. Being optimistic a 1-1 grind
2. Olsson, we need to go for wins and get back to attacking from wide areas. I hear Olsson can do this.
3. Camara & Russel - nothing at all coming from Blackman and Ince, may as well let the others have a go.
4. We will scrape into the play offs so at least until the end of the season. Longer if things start to pick up.
5. Not really interested in Jewellery and fortunately nor is the lovely mrs VdLH. Sounds like someone's being ripped off though...."

"Questions:
1) Score prediction?
2-1
2) Olsson or Warnock?
Olsson
3) Which two wingers do you want to see play?
Ince and Camar
4) If we lost and results went against us then we could drop out of the playoffs for the first time since October. If this were the case, how long would you give Clement to turn it around (if at all)?
Not too long, the team is there, either get a coach who knows what he's doing
5) If you have a female in your life, then you might have heard of these 'pandora/charm bracelets' before. Is it just me or is £25 for a piece of metal that is about as big as my little fingernail an absolute waste of money?
Well where do i start! friggin charm bracelets, bane of my life. Wifey was given one by her Gran, we/ive spent hours searching for the right charms to go on it. I spent...wait for it nearly £30 on a f****n charm which i think was pomegranite! And you know the worse part, she doesnt where the bloody thing...ever!"

" Olsson has pace and he's a good defender.
A quality player according to Blackburn fans, so let's get him in and see what he can do."

" Do we have a god given right to be winning the league? No! Do we have a god given right for all the players to perform excellently at all times? No
Mis-placed passes are not the fault of the manager, poor decision making is not the fault of the manager or the owner. Why is it time to say enough is enough already. We are fourth in the league at the minute, with several players being out of form and still 17 games to go! What is good enough? top of the league with a clear margin, like last season?

The only player I can see as playing out position is possibly Blackman, however more importantly than the position he is playing in is the fact that up until the start of this season he has hardly been a prolific striker and was on something of a purple patch at the start of the season. A lot has also been said of Johnson being played out of position too, having played on the left for Norwich, he didn't...we was the left of a midfield diamond, similar to where we are playing him not wide left.
Ince for me is the issue, he is being double marked in some games and teams know that he is a big player and a big part of how we play, I have heard shouts this season, from fans of "give it to Ince" everytime we go forward, if the fans know what we are going to do then opposition managers will surely know.
As I understand it MM has visited the dressing room on several occasions this season, but when we are doing well its not mentioned, suddenly a couple of defeats and bad performances and it is because he went in after one game, on that logic he should get the praise for the run of good form we had when he was doing it then.
Yes there are issues with the team at the moment, mainly, I believe down to confidence. All we need is a scrappy win to get us going again, a last minute shinned winner in the next game will have a massive impact.
PC is aware that last season we had a problem defending, he is trying to get the balance right, we are just not breaking fast enough or with enough accuracy, but it will come. He has been doing the job for 6 months only, give him time."

" Spot on.. For the record, although I think it was ill advised, I don't really hold Mel going into the dressing room against him. Again it shows his passion but there are negatives and positives that come with that.
Misplaced passes on the field are not down to PC, the players need to look at themselves for that. 100% agree. Like I said, I am still in the keep PC brigade, it is still early days. Having said that, it cannot be blind faith.

We have no devine right to go up of course. However with the team we have and a team that we know is more than capable, there should be high expectation. What is good enough when I come to work? In the current climate, nothing is good enough, employers always want more. Better performance, better results.. Footballers of the world, welcome to our world.... Suck it up and get on with it.

As I said on a different thread, I am a little at the crossroads with football and DCFC in general.
Would I want us to sneak promotion this year (papering over some obvious cracks) and get battered on a regular basis next year.. No. I would rather stay down and get things right in this division and go up strong and confident. I would rather go up this year but have a feeling that in the long run that might be a bad thing."

" A Little Story

Once upon a time their was a group of musicians. The violinists could make their violins sing, the cellists could play a heart rendering tune, the trumpeters could make a sound that would send shivers down your spine, the drummers a beat that would get anyone's feet taping. In fact all the musicians in the group could play their instruments perfectly, when they played on their own. They were that good they decided to form an orchestra so that asked a music teacher to be the conductor. No matter how much they practised and how much they tried when they played an orchestral piece conducted by the teacher they sounded awful. The musicians got very disenchanted and started falling out amongst themselves, some even left to play elsewhere. Then one day someone said to the leader why don't you get another conductor, someone who is trained and experienced in bringing in each musician when the time is right for them to play their piece, someone who know when the whole orchestra should join together, someone who can get them all to play as a team. The leader said but the music teacher knows about music he will learn in time. Meanwhile, came the reply, the musicians will give up, some may even forget how to play and no one will want to come and listen to the row they are playing. So in the end the leader decided to bring in an experienced proven conductor and within a very short time the orchestra were playing to packed houses everyone wanted to go and listen to them."

"Maybe we should sign Phil Harmonic ........."

" Fulham
Anyone going? The Angry clan is hitting Covent Garden early doors.
:016:
Remember no mushy peas, or gravy on chips down here.
:012:
Fill up early."

"Covent garden Hey! You posho."

" One does ones best, I will wear my tweed jacket and dear stalker headwear."

" Will be in Covent garden by lunch. Was there last season. There are two pubs opposite each other as you head from the tube to the market. Can't remember the names but both were full of derby inside and out. Great atmosphere. Singing songs to each other. You could hear it as soon as you left he tube. Not sure what the tourists and shoppers made of it."

" We seem to get a good turn out at Fulham."

"I last went to Craven Cottage when we beat them 5-2 last season.
At one point we sang "I want to go home, Fulham's a s*** hole, I want to go home" And when we finished singing a bloke a couple of rows behind shouted "yeah I can't wait to leave West London and get back to Spondon."

I pray Saturday won't be a replay of this: :016:
" Right now watching Derby County is a little like arriving at a cafe, the only one in town, just before they are about to close.
You scan the counter and all that's left is a solitary cheese sandwich. You're hungry, you need sustenance. You hum and arr. You take the sandwich, a cup of tea, pay for the privilege. Taking your seat you prepare to eat.
The wrappings' off, bread edges curling, crust dry as French toast and the cheese sweating. It's unappetising in the extreme, it has no appeal. Yet you are starving, you bite down and swallow. It's a bitter pill.
A similar bitter pill, not a single shot on target, the closest we come to scoring is a cross from Butterfield which almost grazes the post. Almost.
Almost the same side that played in the cup against Man U, just Hendrick in for Johnson.
We start strongly, first impressions are good, a four star hygiene statement on the door if you like. We relax expecting if not a goal feast then at least wholesome fare.
What we get is possession, forward runs by Hendrick and the man masquerading as Nathan Tyson. They're not found by Warnock and like sugar cubes left out in the open they clump together, two runs not a single pass possible, no options, the ball goes backwards or is lumped hopefully into the centre.
In the centre, Martin runs around and chases, he throws himself like a punch drunk boxer, never getting close to the target. The blue and yellow armed Preston Shirts have the clearer chances.
We drag the game on like a patron using the tearoom just to keep warm, we are down to the dregs of the cup yet still we cling on hoping for a free refill or at least some refreshing satisfaction.
It never comes.
Carson comes to the Rams rescue, tipping a fierce drive over the bar for a corner while corner after corner for our lot comes to nowt.
Nowt happening footy wise, the players show fight. Amongst themselves, Christie, Thorne in separate instances. A melee, feet flying, fists flowing, the referee more interested in a player on the floor. Two cautions later and the game recommences.
Camara replaces the Tyson clone, Bryson and Russell relieve Hendrick and Ince and we shuffle nervously around the iPro.
Preston manage a couple more shots on target. We don't.
Three minutes of injury time later and the final whistle leaves boos echoing round the stadium.
We traipse out, warm up in our stationary cars and listen to Clement on the radio, he understood the crowd reaction, he praised the South Stand for continuing to support the team. By definition therefore the rest of us presumably aren't worthy. Thanks Boss.
Returning to the cafe analogy if we were actually in a restaurant we would never go back if we were served such poor fodder time after time.
Time for Derby County to find some new recipes methinks...
Or a new chef.

"Must win, and fast becoming a career saving game for Clement.
No wins in 7 has to result in a change, Clement knows that, Morris knows that."

That's it for today....they're a glum bunch aren't they?

Updated Below

" I  can see a win here. Bryson MUST start over Hendrick. Martin (if starting) seems to prefer Bryson as a link-up man and also as the man who is most likely to make a run beyond him."

" Personally, I don't think there's too much difference between Hendrick and Bryson, they both get up alongside Martin and that's what matters.  Hendrick was probably the most effective starting midfielder against Preston, so I don't have a problem sticking with him.  What will really annoy me is if Clement goes back to Johnson, thinking it's an away game against a free-scoring side and we need to keep things tight."

" So Bent and Weimann are back in the squad?
I agree about Bent 100%. If we are putting crosses in the box. Thats where he comes alive.
Not too fussed if Weimann is there or not.
But this does mean that 2 other players are going to miss out of the squad.
Who does everyone think will miss out?
I think Russell might be one.
Then I really do not know. Baird? Blackman? Ince? Olsson? Hendrick? Johnson? Bryson?"

" Thank heavens he's made peace with Bent. He should have a good talk to him and Start him too in front of Ince ... none of this cameo off the bench rubbish. The whole attack needs a revamp meaning Martin out and Ince to his normal position. If you play Blackman play him centrally, and probably same for weimann too. "

" Lets go back to the diamond, Bent and Weimann/Blackman upfront sounds great.
Ince behind picking out passes for the front 2, Bent finding space and haggling defenders and Weimann/Blackman using their pace to get past defenders and getting on the end of the chances."

"                    Carson
Christie Keogh Shackell Olsson
                   Thorne
           Butterfield Bryson
Weimann                         Johnson
                   Martin

Grant, Baird, Hendrick, Russell, Ince, Bent, Blackman

Perhaps harsh on Camara and Warnock losing their place on the bench, but Baird can cover the back 4 and Camara hasn't looked the part so far. I'd really like to see Johnson and Weimann play in familiar positions for once - let's see what they can do!

OR
                   Carson
Christie Keogh Shackell Olsson
                   Thorne
           Butterfield Hendrick
                  Bryson
            Martin Weimann
Grant, Baird, Johnson, Russell, Ince, Bent, Blackman

Go back to the narrow diamond, the formation he intended to play to begin with - we have the players to suit it now at least. His possession based tactics might just not work in a 4-3-3 as well as they do in a narrow diamond."

" I'd be tempted to go 4 -1 - 3 - 2 where the 3 are Ince in between Bryson and hendrick/Johnson/Butterfield (choose one) with Blackman and bent up top. Bent and Blackman will stretch the defence and poach and connect on crosses. Ince plays central where he's at his best, while Bryson and one of the others wreaks creative havoc in attacking midfield. You could even play Johnson on the left of midfield where he had most success at Norwich. "

" Whilst I have no great sympathy for PC in respect of his team selection/formation dilemmas, as this is after all his prime responsibility, I feel we should all have some appreciation of the difficulties. 
Based not only on this thread, but also a couple of others I have just caught up on, the only players "we" can all agree on are Carson and Thorne - with just a couple of dissenters re. Shackell because his passing is the standard of a Championship centre back ?
If he were to consult "us" it would seem we would offer 3 names, and then say pick the other 8 from 19 'out of a hat'."

" Heard today from v good source that Carson doubtful with ankle injury "

" Won't even try to predict what lineup PC will go with for this one; just hopefully Rams come out ready for this one and show some enthusiasm.
On Bein Sports Connect as well,so solid chance a stream will be found."

" Does anyone think Bent and Martin up front together would work?"

" No, both are strikers that rely on service and don't actively search for the ball. Partnerships work with one doing the hardwork and one finishing the chances, like Watford with Ighalo and Deeney."

" For what it's worth I'd go with;

                   Carson

Christie   Keogh  Shackell   Olsson

                   Thorne

    Hendrick               Butterfield

                     Ince

     Martin                  Blackman

Subs

Baird, Warnock, Bent, Johnson, Bryson, Weimann, Grant.

Ince needs a performance, or he can take a break from the team. Would probably have Baird instead of Christie but don't want to change both full backs at the same time?!

I like Johnny Russell but I think Clement will leave him out this weekend especially after saying that Bent & Weimann will be in the squad?!"

" We must play with 2 up top..............."

Fulham leaks goals. We have to hit them early and hard"

" If we had beaten Reading, Brum and PNE at home - we would be top of the league. Case Closed"

"That looks like a very very big if when you look this:

http://www.soccerstats.com/formtable.asp?league=england2    "

" "It just shows how tight  the league is. I really do wish we had won those games."

" But we got more points than we probably deserved!""

" It looks glaringly bad when you see those tables,.  I can think of ten formations but none that I can say will win this match. In fairness all ten could win, draw or lose this game. "

" 47 years since we last won there in the league!"

" Oh eck!......It will feel good for everyone, the day we win there.
Let's all pretend it's a cup game tomorrow."

" Time to buck the trend and finally win a league match at the cottage then."

"  I can think of TEN formations but none that I can say will win this match. In fairness all ten could win, draw or lose this game. therein lies the problem"

" Me, my lad and missus' lad going! Any family friendly away pubs/beer gardens near ground anyone know??"

" If you get the Tube to Hammersmith, either District or Picadilly lines, then head south down Fulham Palace Road after a while you see Crabtree Lane on your right. Go down there and at the end is the Crabtree Pub.
Good mix of fans, good food and beer, and a beer garden overlooking the Thames.
Its a nice 15 minute walk down the side of the river to the ground.

"I'll go for a morale boosting 1-0 win.
In my opinion Fulham away last season was where the rot set in so it would be nice to do the reverse and kick start our season there this year"

" Come on folks there will be 3 pts for us at Fulham

And those 3pts are.

1. We are not very good
2. We are not very good having spent a lot of money.
3. Not all doom and gloom cause the chairman is at every game and surely he can only take so much."

" He might only be able to take so much, but he appointed PC in the first place! The same contact that said the players are at fault said what is needed is Nigel Pearson so you heard it here first."

" Well I'd be happy, but it seems many wouldn't...which I just don't get. When Leicester went up they played exciting, fast flowing, attacking football. If Pearson can get us to that place in eighteen months then I'd be ecstatic. Lots of people saying that Pearson would be a bad choice because he'd be no good in the PL, which is just silly. Leicester started slowly in that league, but after Christmas he had them in Europa League form. He got sacked because he fell out with the Chairman and the foundations he laid are certainly paying dividends now. In truth though, even if Pearson is rubbish at PL level, let's worry about that when that time comes.

Clement might still turn this around. We're still only 4th and probably only a win away from gaining some confidence. However, I don't think that Clement will ever quite manage to produce the attacking football which keeps me fully entertained. Sacking Clement because of current results makes no sense - sacking him because he's a boring bugger is fine with me though."

" Its not the players
an average manager or coach would get auto promotion with our squad IMHO
time for any of Pearson, Warnock, McLeish etc
I dont rate any of them but they would sort out a side to finish in the top 2"

" Lets not forget
Before everyone writes this season off, Brighton had shot their bolt and were destined for midtable obscurity a few weeks ago, but they regrouped and have come again. There is still plenty of time left this season, so let's not give up hope just yet."

" The Eternal optimist ;-)
The funny thing about football is that "it will" get better at some stage, it always does...for any team...BUT... will it be when the opportunity has gone and all they do is give us a little bit of hope for the following Season.
Let's Not Forget where this Team is at the present moment and "Where" it should be!!!
There is more than enough talent in this squad for even us to eek out much better performances on the field than they have been delivering in the past few months. This begs the question.. Are the players buying into the Coach's Philosophy? and if not WHY!"

" Not given up hope, we only 6pts behind leaders effs.
But things have to change ( don't necessarily mean the manager) because this year we have been terrible and sinking with out a fight."

" Last season after 29 games -
1st Bournemouth 57 pts
2nd Derby 57
3rd Boro 56
4th Brentford 52
5th Ipswich 51
6th Watford 50 (finished 2nd)
7th Norwich 47 (finished 3rd and won the playoffs)

Both Watford and Norwich had been in the automatic places earlier in the season.
In mid-March Watford got back into 2nd after 37 games and Norwich reached
their final position (3rd) in early April after 40 games. The league positions aren't
usually set in stone in the first week of February."

" I think the entire problem is that we don't have players capable of playing the way the Manager wants the side to play with any sort of effectiveness.
It works at Barca because they have Messi, Suarez and Neymar up top.
It works at Real because they have Benzema, Bale and The Portuguese Powder Puff up top.
We can perm any three from Coldplay, Ince. JR, Weimann, Bent, Camara and Blackman.
So, my dear Mr Clement, can you now see why this slow, slow, medium, slow approach won't work with the current DCFC squad? I sure as hell hope so or the season is down the pan!! "

" I watched the Chelsea game last night, they have exactly the same problem as us with them not being able to break teams down. They have a forward line worth over £100 million including Hazard, Costa & Oscar, therefore it must be the system thats not working or teams have worked out how to play against 4-3-3, or both.
Is it to late to play 4-4-2 and have we the players for that system? "

" The Rams' recent form has been very troubling.

Confidence seems incredibly low and there is a bad atmosphere around supporters, with some calling for Paul Clement to be sacked and general infighting on social media about whose fault this and that is. I'd like to think that we are just one win away from kick-starting the season again but I'm really not sure. Something, or a combination of things, is going wrong.
Was the squad really strengthened over January? If pressed, some will say getting Ryan Shotton out on loan was the best piece of January business! In attack now there are many, many options but not many seem to be working and not all of the options have been exhausted. The competition and cover should be very healthy but keeping so many players happy must be impossible and a lack of confidence filters beyond the 11 that played the last match.
Some people have said that the 2013/14, the season Steve McClaren joined, was a better squad and I think that is right. On paper this squad should be much better, you only have to look at the money spent to come to that conclusion. Yet that year it felt like more of a team, the balance was right in the regular starting 11 and the signings seemed to fit from day one. Andre Wisdom was a phenomenal loan signing and a machine of a player in the defence and when George Thorne arrived and finally played his first game after being at the club over a month he looked like a perfect fit. And that's just the loan signings (don't forget Chris Martin on a FREE transfer!).
A big difference from this year to that wonderful season is of course the big expectation and huge amount of pressure. At the start of the season I predicted promotion, didn't everyone?
I think in many ways this bad run of form is a reminder of the reality that you can't walk a league or roll teams over every week, no matter how much you spend, and that you can't expect everything to tick overnight for a manager in his first job as a manager. But despite all of that things shouldn't be as bad as they are at the moment, surely? Football's a funny old game, clearly it is much more than the 11 vs 11 on the day. What's going on in the dressing room? Is there a healthy team spirit? Is the manager doing everything tactically but the players not delivering? Are the players working for the manager?
The reports of the chairman and owner going into the changing room after a game last month weren't nice to come out. In my view a chairman employs a manager to do the talking in the changing room, however with all that money spent it must be tempting to say something at some point or another.
Tomorrow Derby go to Fulham backed by a good travelling support to Craven Cottage. I'm predicting a narrow 1-0 Rams win. Let's keep the faith, it's a long season with plenty more to happen.
Come on you Rams!"

"Derby last year and our hordes of fans"

Same again this year, but this was the game when it all started to fall apart.
we were woeful......and for a team 4 points clear and top of the league - the demise was astounding.
NOW we are in the reverse position.
4,000 odd supporters deserve better.
they are either mad, stupidly loyal, or have nothing better to do, or all 3 !
I cant see a positive result until BENT and WEIMAN are restored to the team,. BENT especially.
I wish the fans well.
but as I said before - a 3-1 reverse is likely."

" They're all gonna get stuck when the Tube staff strike"

" I am really really sorry folks.....I have had one of my dreams...a LOSS
which often come to pass.
We lose 3-1 on Saturday and PC is given 3 games to save his job.
he then needs two wins out of 3 which he doesn't get....
The rest is history.
Tim Sherwood is brought in."

" I will not go to another game this season if we get Tim Sherwood."

" Stop eating cheese before bed time!!"

" We win 1 - 3 on Saturday and PC is given a new 5 year contract and saves his job.
He then wins 6 out of 6 which puts us back at the top and our run begins again!
The rest is history.
Tim Sherwood is still out of a job
This is a dream, you were talking nightmares!!!"

" Keep the faith.... 3pts tomorrow"

" I don't think we will lose. Team selection could be interesting though. I guess PC is wrestling with concerns over sticking with a settled side which isn't playing well, or making significant change and being criticized for too much tinkering."

Thats the last update for this week.
For a team within striking distance of promotion this group of fans doesn't half moan and compalin!
I'd give my left arm to be sitting in the table where they are, bad recent run of form or not.
I'll be at the Cottage with my lovely Brazilian wife ( we have a beauty and the beast thing) along with a lot of you on this forum.
Lets hope tomorrow marks the turning point and we go on a decent run.
COYW's 049:gif

[Logicalman]

 ha ha, good job Terry.

We have a Derby fan over on saturday for the game, should be an interesting 90 minutes methinks (though he will be outnumbered 2-1)  :005:

[BedsFFC]

So, they are going to the Punch & Judy and that other pub in Covent Garden. If the Golden Lion morphed into a west end pub, it would be the Punch & judy.

With so many places to go in London, how can a northern football fan end up in the Punch & Judy?

[brightster]

So, they are going to the Punch & Judy and that other pub in Covent Garden. If the Golden Lion morphed into a west end pub, it would be the Punch & judy.

With so many places to go in London, how can a northern football fan end up in the Punch & Judy?

They won't like the prices in the Punch and Judy, £6.50 a pint and then it is poured into a plastic cup in the bar at the balcony bar!

[HatterDon]

damn, you must have worn your fingerprints off cutting and pasting all that.

Thanks so much, once again, for going to the trouble every week for us.  082.gif

[Mince n Tatties]

Yes well done Terry.
All is not well with their side at moment,lets hope
we can send these fans of theirs home miserable come
Saturday evening...

[HV71]

I absolutely love this feature - it is fantastic on so many levels . Thank you so much Terry for all your hard work and for the entertainment your piece always brings to the forum

[terryr]

updated

[Carborundum]

Great stuff.  Was amazed that one of their number couldn't remember when Darren Bent last had a good game.  Amazed he's had one at all.

Chris Baird however will merit one heck of a cheer from me and Carborundum jnr.

[FFCpmd]

Great stuff Terry - cheers mate!