| Niko and Ravel 11:03 - May 23 with 5602 views | PhilmyRs |
Niko and Ravel
Genuine consensus on team selection seems to be one or the other.
A one off, must win game, surely you get your best players on the pitch, and these 2 are that — match winners that could make the difference. Hoillet, Niko and Ravel behind Austin from the start would be a sign of our intentions, a sign that we are not going to keep it tight and hope Charlie can find the back of the net. It would be setting a side up to cause Derby problems and put them under pressure from the start. With Suk Yun hopefully left back we’d at least have an engine getting up and down that side as Nico or Ravel would clearly like to drift in field.
A Manager that achieved his objective of getting promoted at the first attempt, masterminding a successful playoff campaign in the process, or a guy that struggled to ignite a team of individuals and ultimately was out thought by the coaching specialist he employed. History will be the judge and getting the team selection right tomorrow will be key. Let’s see what you’re made of Harry.
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| Niko and Ravel on 15:27 - May 23 with 1230 views | ellersliehoop |
If they're assigning players to mark Niko then that means they're changing the way they play to deal with him.................which is good news | | | |
| Niko and Ravel on 15:30 - May 23 with 1224 views | ellersliehoop |
You're right, Doyle & Austin are not a good combination, but I fear that's what we'll see
Bobby Z & Charlie works much better | | | |
| Niko and Ravel on 15:44 - May 23 with 1205 views | QPunkR |
One thing; Bobby Zee cannot start - what has Clive taught us all season about 1 good cameo, 1 awful start?
And another; if fit Traore is an absolute must to start. Although both our wingers are hit and miss, Traore is far less 'miss' than Toilett. Gotta start the pair of 'em out wide - on their natural sides Arry you absolute dipstick! There's next to no point putting Traore on the right, he can barely use that foot and has to switch back to his left every time he wants to cross it. Wigan away was almost criminal how he kept him there all game!  |  |
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| Niko and Ravel on 15:50 - May 23 with 1188 views | WestbourneR |
No way would I play Traore in a game as big as this. He is a bottler and usually has little end product.
A long shot from Nico could make all the difference. And he gets around the pitch a lot better than his top heavy shape suggests.
So... will someone say whether they agree that playing Doyle in the 2nd leg was a totally non nonsensical mistake? |  |
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| Niko and Ravel on 15:50 - May 23 with 1181 views | Pommyhoop |
| Niko and Ravel on 15:09 - May 23 by Antti_Heinola |
I'm actually more upbeat at games than probably any fan on here, but when it comes to the forum I'm just being honest in my views.
I don't think that was a downbeat post particularly - but I do think Harry's selection is a huge concern. I don't buy all this stuff about experience counting - experienced players have usually experienced failure and are more likely to freeze than a youngster who feels bulletproof.
The semi v Wigan was amazing and the players were great, but let's not forget in all the euphoria that for 25 minutes we were all over the shop - defence at sixes and sevens, three of our 'experienced' defenders trying to clear the same ball and falling over each other, O'Neil using all his experience to continually give the ball away and playing an almost catastrophic back bass to Greeno. And yet the young kid Yun, when finally chucked into the melee, was one of the most composed players on the pitch.
As brilliant as we were that night, had Wigan scored a second - and they will know they should have - we probably wouldn't have come back from it. All ifs, buts and maybes, sure - but the reality is that Derby, with their style and their strength and their pace and their ability to get a lot of goals from different areas, are unlikely to pass up the kind of opportunity we afforded Wigan for the first half hour last week.
Now, don't get me wrong, I could not be more excited about tomorrow. I cannot effing wait and I even had a tear in my eye watching that bloody video message from the players! seeing us play at Wembley is something I've waited for all my life (I was unable to go in 86 and in 82 I was still a bit young). I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. I think we have a very good chance of winning - but I think Derby have an equally good chance. We are two very evenly matched sides.
BUT we simply cannot afford to play it safe and pick 7 or 8 over 30s with no pace in the side and expect to compete effectively with Derby's fluid passing, movement and speed that they have. We simply can't. And unfortunately Harry's team selections over the last season do not fill me with confidence that he will make the bold decisions necessary tomorrow. Maybe he will, I hope he will, but the fact is not a single person at LR the other week would have predicted that team he picked, and it was so wrong he had to change it after 25 mins and in the end we were left with 4 defenders and 6 attackers on the pitch because his initial selection was so very badly thought out that even 3 subs wasn't enough to really undo the damage he'd done.
So - forgive me for being both very excited and very concerned! |
Great post Antti.
If H picks Clint at LB I think we will be tonked by half time and it will be all over. |  |
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| Niko and Ravel (n/t) on 15:59 - May 23 with 1159 views | Pommyhoop |
[Post edited 23 May 2014 16:30]
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| Niko and Ravel on 16:00 - May 23 with 1163 views | ingeminate |
| Niko and Ravel on 15:50 - May 23 by WestbourneR |
No way would I play Traore in a game as big as this. He is a bottler and usually has little end product.
A long shot from Nico could make all the difference. And he gets around the pitch a lot better than his top heavy shape suggests.
So... will someone say whether they agree that playing Doyle in the 2nd leg was a totally non nonsensical mistake? |
Put in a pretty decent cross for Mackie at the Etihad and that was a pretty big game.
I'd play Traore and bring on Hoilett ass an impact sub - when he comes on he's nailed on to storm through midfield and get a shot away in the first 5 minutes - 9/10 (generous) that shot will go nowhere, but what it does do is scare defences, put them on the back foot, make them play deeper and create more space.
When he starts i'm no fan of Hoilettt - he won the penalty but did precious little else and continues to run the ball out of play too often like tony scully's ghost. |  |
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| Niko and Ravel on 16:02 - May 23 with 1162 views | DANRANGER |
| Niko and Ravel on 15:09 - May 23 by Antti_Heinola |
I'm actually more upbeat at games than probably any fan on here, but when it comes to the forum I'm just being honest in my views.
I don't think that was a downbeat post particularly - but I do think Harry's selection is a huge concern. I don't buy all this stuff about experience counting - experienced players have usually experienced failure and are more likely to freeze than a youngster who feels bulletproof.
The semi v Wigan was amazing and the players were great, but let's not forget in all the euphoria that for 25 minutes we were all over the shop - defence at sixes and sevens, three of our 'experienced' defenders trying to clear the same ball and falling over each other, O'Neil using all his experience to continually give the ball away and playing an almost catastrophic back bass to Greeno. And yet the young kid Yun, when finally chucked into the melee, was one of the most composed players on the pitch.
As brilliant as we were that night, had Wigan scored a second - and they will know they should have - we probably wouldn't have come back from it. All ifs, buts and maybes, sure - but the reality is that Derby, with their style and their strength and their pace and their ability to get a lot of goals from different areas, are unlikely to pass up the kind of opportunity we afforded Wigan for the first half hour last week.
Now, don't get me wrong, I could not be more excited about tomorrow. I cannot effing wait and I even had a tear in my eye watching that bloody video message from the players! seeing us play at Wembley is something I've waited for all my life (I was unable to go in 86 and in 82 I was still a bit young). I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. I think we have a very good chance of winning - but I think Derby have an equally good chance. We are two very evenly matched sides.
BUT we simply cannot afford to play it safe and pick 7 or 8 over 30s with no pace in the side and expect to compete effectively with Derby's fluid passing, movement and speed that they have. We simply can't. And unfortunately Harry's team selections over the last season do not fill me with confidence that he will make the bold decisions necessary tomorrow. Maybe he will, I hope he will, but the fact is not a single person at LR the other week would have predicted that team he picked, and it was so wrong he had to change it after 25 mins and in the end we were left with 4 defenders and 6 attackers on the pitch because his initial selection was so very badly thought out that even 3 subs wasn't enough to really undo the damage he'd done.
So - forgive me for being both very excited and very concerned! |
Lots of great points here and totally understand how you feel. To be honest we haven't a clue what Harry will do but I just feel he will be cautious. I'd rather see us go for them but not sure we have the legs in midfield for an end to end battle.
From the way he picks his team I'm sure LTC is due a game so who knows what to expect. Our most attacking team for me is :
Green
Simpson/Nedum/Hill/Yun
Barton/LTC
Hoilett/Morrison/Kranjcar
Austin
On the flip side you have this :
Green
Simpson/Nedum/Dunne/Hill
Barton/O neill
Doyle/NIko/Hoilett
Austin |  | | |
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| Niko and Ravel on 16:06 - May 23 with 1149 views | Antti_Heinola |
| Niko and Ravel on 15:50 - May 23 by Pommyhoop |
Great post Antti.
If H picks Clint at LB I think we will be tonked by half time and it will be all over. |
agree 100% |  |
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| Niko and Ravel on 16:07 - May 23 with 1145 views | WestbourneR |
| Niko and Ravel on 16:00 - May 23 by ingeminate |
Put in a pretty decent cross for Mackie at the Etihad and that was a pretty big game.
I'd play Traore and bring on Hoilett ass an impact sub - when he comes on he's nailed on to storm through midfield and get a shot away in the first 5 minutes - 9/10 (generous) that shot will go nowhere, but what it does do is scare defences, put them on the back foot, make them play deeper and create more space.
When he starts i'm no fan of Hoilettt - he won the penalty but did precious little else and continues to run the ball out of play too often like tony scully's ghost. |
That's definitely focusing on the exception of his time on the pitch for key games for Rangers. And despite the cross he was totally absent the rest of the game, a game we ultimately lost. | |
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| Niko and Ravel on 16:10 - May 23 with 1138 views | ellersliehoop |
It's actually quite telling that given we've played over 50 games this season none of us can agree on more than about 5/6 of our starting 11 | | | |
| Niko and Ravel on 16:22 - May 23 with 1118 views | PinnerPaul |
| Niko and Ravel on 15:14 - May 23 by simmo |
Good post mate, I agree completely. If we do give it a fckin good go but still get beat, I could take it. |
Hmmmm - won't be saying that if we have "given it a good go" and we're 2 down after 10! | | | |
| Niko and Ravel on 16:22 - May 23 with 1117 views | 08olesen |
I may be on my own with this view, but i think its important to be solid first.
If we go out an attack it could be all over before half time. We have far better subs than they do. Bringing on Bobby, Ravel and Niko could really turn a game once they are tired.
We just cant afford to let in easy goals early on. I dont think the Derby defense is anything special and i expect that we can get a couple even if they do score 1, but if they have 2 or 3 by half time, it could be curtains. We need to be in touching distance of the lead, and then...... that is when experience will count in the final 25. |  |
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| Niko and Ravel on 16:26 - May 23 with 1112 views | ellersliehoop |
Agreed, the longer we are in it the more I fancy our chances, if we go 2 goals down we're done for
I just hope we havent used up all our "get out of jail cards" already........we've won a lot of games 2-1 having gone behind | | | |
| Niko and Ravel on 16:30 - May 23 with 1108 views | PinnerPaul |
| Niko and Ravel on 16:22 - May 23 by 08olesen |
I may be on my own with this view, but i think its important to be solid first.
If we go out an attack it could be all over before half time. We have far better subs than they do. Bringing on Bobby, Ravel and Niko could really turn a game once they are tired.
We just cant afford to let in easy goals early on. I dont think the Derby defense is anything special and i expect that we can get a couple even if they do score 1, but if they have 2 or 3 by half time, it could be curtains. We need to be in touching distance of the lead, and then...... that is when experience will count in the final 25. |
You're not on your own!
In my dreams we have it won by h/t as Derby freeze - but its not going to happen that way! | | | |
| Niko and Ravel on 16:39 - May 23 with 1040 views | Antti_Heinola |
| Niko and Ravel on 16:22 - May 23 by 08olesen |
I may be on my own with this view, but i think its important to be solid first.
If we go out an attack it could be all over before half time. We have far better subs than they do. Bringing on Bobby, Ravel and Niko could really turn a game once they are tired.
We just cant afford to let in easy goals early on. I dont think the Derby defense is anything special and i expect that we can get a couple even if they do score 1, but if they have 2 or 3 by half time, it could be curtains. We need to be in touching distance of the lead, and then...... that is when experience will count in the final 25. |
of course we should be solid. what team doesn't want to be solid?
But at the same time we should have ambition and a willingness to go out and win.
We had a very, very 'solid' line up v Wigan and they mullered us for 25 minutes.
Tell you what, if Derby see a team sheet with all our pace and excitement on the bench they'll be delighted. | |
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| Niko and Ravel on 16:46 - May 23 with 1022 views | PinnerPaul |
| Niko and Ravel on 16:39 - May 23 by Antti_Heinola |
of course we should be solid. what team doesn't want to be solid?
But at the same time we should have ambition and a willingness to go out and win.
We had a very, very 'solid' line up v Wigan and they mullered us for 25 minutes.
Tell you what, if Derby see a team sheet with all our pace and excitement on the bench they'll be delighted. |
25 minutes?! - Hmmmmmm not sure about that! | | | |
| Niko and Ravel on 17:01 - May 23 with 1011 views | PhilmyRs |
| Niko and Ravel on 16:22 - May 23 by 08olesen |
I may be on my own with this view, but i think its important to be solid first.
If we go out an attack it could be all over before half time. We have far better subs than they do. Bringing on Bobby, Ravel and Niko could really turn a game once they are tired.
We just cant afford to let in easy goals early on. I dont think the Derby defense is anything special and i expect that we can get a couple even if they do score 1, but if they have 2 or 3 by half time, it could be curtains. We need to be in touching distance of the lead, and then...... that is when experience will count in the final 25. |
Good points.
Can see where you’re coming from and Wigan certainly showed having a quality bench can make difference. If it’s level with 30 to go, Ravel and Bobby Z would be excellent additions. But I think you can have attacking players on the pitch, yet still be difficult to beat. Hoillet didn’t stop running against Wigan, and even Morrison was putting a shift in. Assume Niko is your only luxury because of his fitness, you still have a fair share of players that will get in the oppos faces, starting with Austin. Clearly if Morrison and Niko started we’d go narrow, but with attacking full backs you can still have some width. Clint couldn’t play.
My issue with setting your team up not to concede and be difficult to beat — e.g. Gary O’Neill wide right, Henry in the middle, Clint left back, and no Morrison — is that one early mistake, and your whole game plan can be ripped up. At least if the worst happened and you shipped an early goal, with attacking players on the pitch you’d still feel you could get something from the game. This isn’t a game where a second leg will be played, or it’s a difficult away match at a hostile ground, it’s a one off winner takes all, we need to strike the right balance for sure, but make sure we have some guy’s on the pitch that can make something happen. | | | |
| Niko and Ravel on 17:11 - May 23 with 1004 views | 08olesen |
| Niko and Ravel on 16:39 - May 23 by Antti_Heinola |
of course we should be solid. what team doesn't want to be solid?
But at the same time we should have ambition and a willingness to go out and win.
We had a very, very 'solid' line up v Wigan and they mullered us for 25 minutes.
Tell you what, if Derby see a team sheet with all our pace and excitement on the bench they'll be delighted. |
Its not a case of being solid vs not solid. Its that being solid at the back comes before open expansive football at the front IMO.
But tbh i really dont care how we play as long as we win. This is the most lost i have felt about a team selection or style of play all season and i just hope arry gets it all sorted so we dont need to panic after 20 mins like we did in the Wigan game.
I think they will press right from the off and with a soaked pitch and heavy rain, mistakes could occur and be costly.
Still optimistic though (sort of)
U Rsss! | |
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