Steve McClaren

[Stottie]

Derby played attacking football, don't really see the need to deny that. So did his Twente team.

 

Yeah, I don't know why people keep saying this. In the two seasons McClaren was there, Derby were second top scorers at home (94 in 46 games) and fifth top scorers away (75 in 46 games) in the top four divisions. There is no way that happens with a "negative" manager. It was their goals against column and bad luck in the playoff loss to QPR that stopped them getting promoted. In 2013-14, they were top scorers in the division and managed only 6 less than we did when we won the Championship. Their promotion push last season was also marked by a defensive collapse in the second half of the season.

 

Given our record last year, it might be more appropriate to question why a defensively hapless club hired a defensively suspect manager. Even McClaren's most famous moment, the wally with the brolly, was a 3-2 defeat. It wasn't the kind of 0-1 sit back and create nothing borefest we would later see from England under Capello.

[Stottie]

Getting back to yesterday's game but we were set up well. I thought Fabregas looked back to form and Chelsea were much better with Oscar last week against Arsenal, even before the sending off, but we handled them easily for the first 60 odd minutes. Once we tired, McClaren could have been a bit more proactive in trying to keep the ball at the other end, but I'll give him a pass given the shite we've had in the past four or five games. He has to build on this result though. I though Ayoze looked comfortable at #10 against Man U and it was a bad move not to keep him there against Arsenal and West Ham.

[Vinny Green Balls]

Though it was a much improved performance, this was a 'free match' in that we were expected to lose. And despite playing really well, we still couldn't win. Even Pardew was able to motivate the players against these at SJP, so it's not exactly unprecedented.

 

I sincerely hope the coaching staff can use the positives from this game to help us win the matches against the lesser teams to come, because s*** teams that get relegated often put in surprisingly good performances against the leading clubs and the 'if we can just play like that every week...' rhetoric never comes to fruition.

 

We're still in big trouble IMO.

 

Game of two half's for me very good in the first, playing exactly how you should against the better teas but second we played exactly how you shouldn't and allowed Chelsea onto us and too much space. We need a manager who will when winning actually continue to try and win the match and not just hold on if we do actually score first - we had nearly five year of it under Pardew and it certainly won't change under this bloke either.

 

Why won't it change under "this bloke"? I've heard more to the contrary from people that have seen his teams play over the last few years.

 

Have you seen his teams play over the years are you kidding me he is one of the most negative managers going lol

 

I call bullshit. My best mate is a Derby fan, and whilst McClaren may not have achieved what was expected of them, he's been anything but negative.

 

Biggest s*** I've read on here and that's saying something - I don't need an alleged best mate to tell me what I can see with my own eyes.

 

Other than that it being clear you've made your mind up about McClaren based on an initial desire to not like him, the use of 'alleged' really cracked me up. What a f***ing fraud I am - Lenny is isn't even my real name.

 

Ask yourself why I made my mind up about McClaren it's not rocket science - the fact that you need a so called friend to try and establish a point makes you pretty sad when anyone watching could see over the years he has and always will be a negative manager. You carry on believing though.

 

Anyone using so-called in such a manner is just asking to be outed as an utter nob.

[buzza]

We were playing a narrow 4411 system all game with overlapping fullbacks and one of jack or anita sitting when the fullbacks went forward. Ayoze had complete freedom of the pitch whilst attacking but dropped and defended really quickly when we lost the ball which leads people to think it was 4231.

Much more effective in this formation, the main contributing factor is that we had a number nine who could hold the bal up and play it to our oncoming players, mitro was immense in his battle against two defenders everytime he got the ball, he didn't lose many either.

[buzza]

Only negative for mclaren was that he brought his subs on too late, we needed freshening after 60 but he obviously didn't see that until we were well under the cosh. We just need that pressure on them when they brought the bak out, it was too easy for their defense to stroll into our half and pick their passes as Mitro and Ayoze were walking by then...

[54]

Though it was a much improved performance, this was a 'free match' in that we were expected to lose. And despite playing really well, we still couldn't win. Even Pardew was able to motivate the players against these at SJP, so it's not exactly unprecedented.

 

I sincerely hope the coaching staff can use the positives from this game to help us win the matches against the lesser teams to come, because s*** teams that get relegated often put in surprisingly good performances against the leading clubs and the 'if we can just play like that every week...' rhetoric never comes to fruition.

 

We're still in big trouble IMO.

 

Game of two half's for me very good in the first, playing exactly how you should against the better teas but second we played exactly how you shouldn't and allowed Chelsea onto us and too much space. We need a manager who will when winning actually continue to try and win the match and not just hold on if we do actually score first - we had nearly five year of it under Pardew and it certainly won't change under this bloke either.

 

Why won't it change under "this bloke"? I've heard more to the contrary from people that have seen his teams play over the last few years.

 

Have you seen his teams play over the years are you kidding me he is one of the most negative managers going lol

 

I call bullshit. My best mate is a Derby fan, and whilst McClaren may not have achieved what was expected of them, he's been anything but negative.

 

Biggest s*** I've read on here and that's saying something - I don't need an alleged best mate to tell me what I can see with my own eyes.

 

Other than that it being clear you've made your mind up about McClaren based on an initial desire to not like him, the use of 'alleged' really cracked me up. What a f***ing fraud I am - Lenny is isn't even my real name.

 

Ask yourself why I made my mind up about McClaren it's not rocket science - the fact that you need a so called friend to try and establish a point makes you pretty sad when anyone watching could see over the years he has and always will be a negative manager. You carry on believing though.

So you're telling me your opinion on "the bloke" is more valid then someone who watched Derby play for 2 years before he came here?

 

Oh and btw Lennys "so-called" friend is actually a very knowledgable football fan.

[Lenny]

Though it was a much improved performance, this was a 'free match' in that we were expected to lose. And despite playing really well, we still couldn't win. Even Pardew was able to motivate the players against these at SJP, so it's not exactly unprecedented.

 

I sincerely hope the coaching staff can use the positives from this game to help us win the matches against the lesser teams to come, because s*** teams that get relegated often put in surprisingly good performances against the leading clubs and the 'if we can just play like that every week...' rhetoric never comes to fruition.

 

We're still in big trouble IMO.

 

Game of two half's for me very good in the first, playing exactly how you should against the better teas but second we played exactly how you shouldn't and allowed Chelsea onto us and too much space. We need a manager who will when winning actually continue to try and win the match and not just hold on if we do actually score first - we had nearly five year of it under Pardew and it certainly won't change under this bloke either.

 

Why won't it change under "this bloke"? I've heard more to the contrary from people that have seen his teams play over the last few years.

 

Have you seen his teams play over the years are you kidding me he is one of the most negative managers going lol

 

I call bullshit. My best mate is a Derby fan, and whilst McClaren may not have achieved what was expected of them, he's been anything but negative.

 

Biggest s*** I've read on here and that's saying something - I don't need an alleged best mate to tell me what I can see with my own eyes.

 

Other than that it being clear you've made your mind up about McClaren based on an initial desire to not like him, the use of 'alleged' really cracked me up. What a f***ing fraud I am - Lenny is isn't even my real name.

 

Ask yourself why I made my mind up about McClaren it's not rocket science - the fact that you need a so called friend to try and establish a point makes you pretty sad when anyone watching could see over the years he has and always will be a negative manager. You carry on believing though.

So you're telling me your opinion on "the bloke" is more valid then someone who watched Derby play for 2 years before he came here?

 

Oh and btw Lennys "so-called" friend is actually a very knowledgable football fan.

 

My point was that because I have a mate that supports them it's meant that I've seen a fair bit of Derby for myself over the last couple of years, not that I'm blindly accepting the opinion of someone else as fact.

 

Based on other people's comments above it looks like I'm not in the minority, so I'll leave him to 'carry on believing' and get back to my 'so called' mate.

[Altamullan]

Getting back to yesterday's game but we were set up well. I thought Fabregas looked back to form and Chelsea were much better with Oscar last week against Arsenal, even before the sending off, but we handled them easily for the first 60 odd minutes. Once we tired, McClaren could have been a bit more proactive in trying to keep the ball at the other end, but I'll give him a pass given the s**** we've had in the past four or five games. He has to build on this result though. I though Ayoze looked comfortable at #10 against Man U and it was a bad move not to keep him there against Arsenal and West Ham.

Great post: voice of reason.

[Guest ElCid]

Though it was a much improved performance, this was a 'free match' in that we were expected to lose. And despite playing really well, we still couldn't win. Even Pardew was able to motivate the players against these at SJP, so it's not exactly unprecedented.

 

I sincerely hope the coaching staff can use the positives from this game to help us win the matches against the lesser teams to come, because s*** teams that get relegated often put in surprisingly good performances against the leading clubs and the 'if we can just play like that every week...' rhetoric never comes to fruition.

 

We're still in big trouble IMO.

 

Game of two half's for me very good in the first, playing exactly how you should against the better teas but second we played exactly how you shouldn't and allowed Chelsea onto us and too much space. We need a manager who will when winning actually continue to try and win the match and not just hold on if we do actually score first - we had nearly five year of it under Pardew and it certainly won't change under this bloke either.

 

Why won't it change under "this bloke"? I've heard more to the contrary from people that have seen his teams play over the last few years.

 

Have you seen his teams play over the years are you kidding me he is one of the most negative managers going lol

 

I call bullshit. My best mate is a Derby fan, and whilst McClaren may not have achieved what was expected of them, he's been anything but negative.

 

Biggest s*** I've read on here and that's saying something - I don't need an alleged best mate to tell me what I can see with my own eyes.

 

Other than that it being clear you've made your mind up about McClaren based on an initial desire to not like him, the use of 'alleged' really cracked me up. What a f***ing fraud I am - Lenny is isn't even my real name.

 

Ask yourself why I made my mind up about McClaren it's not rocket science - the fact that you need a so called friend to try and establish a point makes you pretty sad when anyone watching could see over the years he has and always will be a negative manager. You carry on believing though.

So you're telling me your opinion on "the bloke" is more valid then someone who watched Derby play for 2 years before he came here?

 

Oh and btw Lennys "so-called" friend is actually a very knowledgable football fan.

I'm saying I will go on my opinion and I'm quite happy to do that and let's see who is proven right.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I can't wait to find out.

[Guest ElCid]

Though it was a much improved performance, this was a 'free match' in that we were expected to lose. And despite playing really well, we still couldn't win. Even Pardew was able to motivate the players against these at SJP, so it's not exactly unprecedented.

 

I sincerely hope the coaching staff can use the positives from this game to help us win the matches against the lesser teams to come, because s*** teams that get relegated often put in surprisingly good performances against the leading clubs and the 'if we can just play like that every week...' rhetoric never comes to fruition.

 

We're still in big trouble IMO.

 

Game of two half's for me very good in the first, playing exactly how you should against the better teas but second we played exactly how you shouldn't and allowed Chelsea onto us and too much space. We need a manager who will when winning actually continue to try and win the match and not just hold on if we do actually score first - we had nearly five year of it under Pardew and it certainly won't change under this bloke either.

 

Why won't it change under "this bloke"? I've heard more to the contrary from people that have seen his teams play over the last few years.

 

Have you seen his teams play over the years are you kidding me he is one of the most negative managers going lol

 

I call bullshit. My best mate is a Derby fan, and whilst McClaren may not have achieved what was expected of them, he's been anything but negative.

 

Biggest s*** I've read on here and that's saying something - I don't need an alleged best mate to tell me what I can see with my own eyes.

 

Other than that it being clear you've made your mind up about McClaren based on an initial desire to not like him, the use of 'alleged' really cracked me up. What a f***ing fraud I am - Lenny is isn't even my real name.

 

Ask yourself why I made my mind up about McClaren it's not rocket science - the fact that you need a so called friend to try and establish a point makes you pretty sad when anyone watching could see over the years he has and always will be a negative manager. You carry on believing though.

So you're telling me your opinion on "the bloke" is more valid then someone who watched Derby play for 2 years before he came here?

 

Oh and btw Lennys "so-called" friend is actually a very knowledgable football fan.

 

My point was that because I have a mate that supports them it's meant that I've seen a fair bit of Derby for myself over the last couple of years, not that I'm blindly accepting the opinion of someone else as fact.

 

Based on other people's comments above it looks like I'm not in the minority, so I'll leave him to 'carry on believing' and get back to my 'so called' mate.

 

I'm saying I will go on my opinion and I'm quite happy to do that and let's see who is proven right. As for the majority are you kidding - unreal but as I said crack on.

[Lenny]

I can't wait to find out.

 

[Guest chicken little]

Oh and btw Lennys "so-called" friend is actually a very knowledgable football fan.

 

never would have had carl carlson pegged as derby tho like

[Optimistic Nut]

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/512/amz/vivo/live/images/2015/9/26/137a7223-e93c-4681-b5a7-0e11dc48bfe9.jpg

 

[Tsunami]

I thought the performance confirmed that McClaren has little influence over the team. As much as we played well and put a shift in, it brought even more focus on the dire performances we've had.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I thought the performance confirmed that McClaren has little influence over the team. As much as we played well and put a shift in, it brought even more focus on the dire performances we've had.

 

Strange conclusion, why not that he had loads of influence and got them performing?

[STM]

Because it suits an agenda.

[Elliottman]

I thought the performance confirmed that McClaren has little influence over the team. As much as we played well and put a shift in, it brought even more focus on the dire performances we've had.

 

Strange conclusion, why not that he had loads of influence and got them performing?

 

Very strange.

[Dave]

I thought the performance confirmed that McClaren has little influence over the team. As much as we played well and put a shift in, it brought even more focus on the dire performances we've had.

 

Strange conclusion, why not that he had loads of influence and got them performing?

 

Probably because with the exception of Northampton Town at SJP(!), the decent performances we've put in have all been against 'top teams'. Every winnable match we've been utterly pathetic.

 

It's substantially easier to motivate footballers against better teams, that's why the FA Cup retains its interest.

 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Fair point I suppose. I really think our only terrible performances have come over the last couple of games, from West Ham onwards. Before that I was quite encouraged, despite no wins.

[Gallowgate Toon]

Southampton was decent as well, tbf. Although, to be fair to McClaren, even good motivational managers need the right blend of characters. Don't think Mitrovic's effort can be underestimated, his desire made sure everyone else had to play the same way. It's not like we've exclusively played well with this core of players against big sides, either, plenty of times they've just not shown up (Liverpool, Man U and Spurs home games all come to mind as being utterly abject)

[STM]

I don't see any real correlation, it's been a mixed bag performance wise.

 

Hopefully, with the front 2 partnership, we have turned a corner.

[Hanshithispantz]

Our worst performance of the season was Swansea imo. Don't know what it's down too tbh.

 

[STM]

Swansea are a good side. Not that we shouldn't be looking to win everywhere but it was never going to be easy.

[Guest neesy111]

Swansea are a good side. Not that we shouldn't be looking to win everywhere but it was never going to be easy.

 

It was never going to be easy, but starting off like we did was almost criminal.  Took us around 12 minutes to even string 4-5 passes together.