| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 09:14 - Oct 28 with 2843 views | bosh67 |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 07:49 - Oct 28 by Paddyhoops |
Lampards done well . He’s got much better players than we do which helps. |
His general stats as a manager are pretty good apart from Everton, where he kept up a side that was a total basket case and then was caretaker at Chelsea during a period where the squad and ownership were total chaos. Apart from those two, and he kept Everton up, he's proving himself to be a decent manager, unlike most of his England team contemporaries. |  |
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| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 10:42 - Oct 28 with 2696 views | Malintabuk |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 09:14 - Oct 28 by bosh67 |
His general stats as a manager are pretty good apart from Everton, where he kept up a side that was a total basket case and then was caretaker at Chelsea during a period where the squad and ownership were total chaos. Apart from those two, and he kept Everton up, he's proving himself to be a decent manager, unlike most of his England team contemporaries. |
Pains me to say this... but I think you are spot on... he is becoming a very decent manager
OK there is a lot said about him inheriting the teams from Robbins, but no denying he has taken them to the next level.. which is pretty good in itself
If does help that he is a respected figure in the game, and it seems his team is buying into what he wants.. |  | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 11:59 - Oct 28 with 2577 views | Wegerles_Stairs |
You have to give Lampard credit. We've all seen how Rooney did in the Championship so it's very easy for great players to be completely useless managers. And I do agree with the comment about inculcating a winning culture - Clive, you said part of the reason Stephan was appointed was his ability to deal with three-game weeks yet here we are again with the same kind of half-arsed performance on Saturday. I still don't understand why he didn't use the likes of Esquerdinha, Morgan or Kolli if it's a problem with fitness. If it's not, then it must be more to do with the same losing mentality we've had for the last decade. Derby had to do very little to beat us - we've somehow got to break that cycle of throwing in performances like that regularly if we're going to progress. | | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 12:37 - Oct 28 with 2551 views | kensalriser |
Well if we have a losing mentality we've done quite well to win 5 games, which is more than we've lost or drawn. |  |
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| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 12:44 - Oct 28 with 2541 views | KensalT |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 12:37 - Oct 28 by kensalriser |
Well if we have a losing mentality we've done quite well to win 5 games, which is more than we've lost or drawn. |
Completely agree.
But we do have (on paper) a tough run of games coming up.
Once we've worked our way through that we should have a better idea of how we're doing overall. | | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 14:01 - Oct 28 with 2444 views | Wegerles_Stairs |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 12:37 - Oct 28 by kensalriser |
Well if we have a losing mentality we've done quite well to win 5 games, which is more than we've lost or drawn. |
It's more the losing mentality we've had over the last decade, exemplified by the way we fell away in Warburton's final season. I sincerely hope we are improving but performances like Saturday when we don't turn up do make you wonder. Also, we're the only team Sheffield Wednesday have got a point against at home, which again does suggest a mental frailty like when we lost to Peterboro three times in a season.
We've got a better squad than last season and had a relatively gentle start to the season fixture wise (though I appreciate this is the Championship so hard to judge), so let's hope we can continue winning more than we lose over the next few months. | | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 15:15 - Oct 28 with 2395 views | TheChef |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 11:59 - Oct 28 by Wegerles_Stairs |
You have to give Lampard credit. We've all seen how Rooney did in the Championship so it's very easy for great players to be completely useless managers. And I do agree with the comment about inculcating a winning culture - Clive, you said part of the reason Stephan was appointed was his ability to deal with three-game weeks yet here we are again with the same kind of half-arsed performance on Saturday. I still don't understand why he didn't use the likes of Esquerdinha, Morgan or Kolli if it's a problem with fitness. If it's not, then it must be more to do with the same losing mentality we've had for the last decade. Derby had to do very little to beat us - we've somehow got to break that cycle of throwing in performances like that regularly if we're going to progress. |
Well Lampard went to Brentwood school, so I assume he's vaguely intelligent.
At least say compared to the granny shagger. |  |
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| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 21:01 - Oct 28 with 2253 views | ManinBlack |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 07:44 - Oct 28 by Northernr |
I'm not sure Coventry are a fair comparison to anybody at the moment. |
Why because they are too good? The reality is they have played two sets of three games in a week and won all six. Credit where credit is due and I firmly believe having a manager used to playing three times in a week at the highest level holds them in good stead.
Perhaps one of the reasons why we never win an away game on Boxing Day is it's usually the first of three games in a week and we just can't cope with that sort of schedule. My personal advice to the excellent away fans is to give Portsmouth a miss and enjoy Christmas with your families. We can't possibly win with us now seemingly playing away every Boxing Day like the EFL have stitched us up. |  | | |
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| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 11:09 - Oct 29 with 2120 views | francisbowles |
Before we all go overboard with the 'losing mentality' we did, just two weeks back, win at Bristol at the end of a three game week. | | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 11:41 - Oct 29 with 2051 views | BrianMcCarthy |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 11:09 - Oct 29 by francisbowles |
Before we all go overboard with the 'losing mentality' we did, just two weeks back, win at Bristol at the end of a three game week. |
Fair point. |  |
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| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 16:38 - Oct 29 with 1935 views | Burnleyhoop |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 11:09 - Oct 29 by francisbowles |
Before we all go overboard with the 'losing mentality' we did, just two weeks back, win at Bristol at the end of a three game week. |
All games (well, most) are won or lost on fine margins.
Our belief in the ascension or demise of the clubs fortunes, tend to follow suit.
Win a few, we are world beaters destined for promotion, lose a few and we are relegation fodder.
Fans are nothing if not fickle. | | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 17:27 - Oct 29 with 1889 views | stowmarketrange |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 11:09 - Oct 29 by francisbowles |
Before we all go overboard with the 'losing mentality' we did, just two weeks back, win at Bristol at the end of a three game week. |
But that was a better 3 game week than last week’s.We were away,home and then away,which is the way it should always be.Last week we were home followed by two longish road trips,including a late finish on Wednesday with little time to train before hitting the road again to Derby.
Some teams have more of these ‘perfect’ 3 game weeks than others,which is unfair in my opinion.We have the same next month with a Wednesday trek back from Blackburn and then a trip to Norwich,with little time to recover and train. |  | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 20:21 - Oct 29 with 1742 views | stainrods_elbow |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 16:38 - Oct 29 by Burnleyhoop |
All games (well, most) are won or lost on fine margins.
Our belief in the ascension or demise of the clubs fortunes, tend to follow suit.
Win a few, we are world beaters destined for promotion, lose a few and we are relegation fodder.
Fans are nothing if not fickle. |
I don't thnk fans are fickle at all - we're fans!
It's clubs/teams that are fickle and let the fans down, as our beloved/benighted Rs accomplish time and again, from Norwich 1976 to Wembley 1986 to Derby 2025. |  |
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| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 20:30 - Oct 29 with 1739 views | ManinBlack |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 11:09 - Oct 29 by francisbowles |
Before we all go overboard with the 'losing mentality' we did, just two weeks back, win at Bristol at the end of a three game week. |
To be honest I am talking about the last 10 years of mental weakness not just because we lost at Derby. It is really something that it was around 1971 when we last won an away game on Boxing Day which clearly shows we have problems with three game weeks going back over 50 years.
I see comments that it is unfair playing two consecutive away games in a three game week and contributed to a bad performance at Derby. However, I can't get my head round why we had less shots in 90 minutes than Swansea managed in the final moments against us.
This jaded stuff is baffling as it was Swansea who played with 10 for 65 minutes not us. It is this fact and the inability to shoot in a game all about putting the ball in the net that has me doubting their mental capabilities. We looked fairly content to keep the score down. At least Swansea had a go at us to try and save a point but where was our urgency at Derby to save the game?
Have fellow fans forgotten in January that we won at Plymouth and a few days later had to travel to Hull where we also won? That was a lot of travelling but the boys did well. Typically when no travel was required we lost the third game in the week at home to Sheffield Wednesday. Looks like the Owls have got inside our players heads as we can't beat them no matter how bad they are. | | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 21:19 - Oct 29 with 1689 views | BrianMcCarthy |
To be honest, I'm not having this two-match week as an excuse. It's a factor, sure. But an excuse? I don't see it. And all this talk of a three-game week by our club, our managers, our players and our fans over the years is undoubtedly mental weakness.
As I said on the day, it's not as if we tired as the game went on, we were crap from the off. [Post edited 29 Oct 21:21]
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| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 21:56 - Oct 29 with 1652 views | stowmarketrange |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 21:19 - Oct 29 by BrianMcCarthy |
To be honest, I'm not having this two-match week as an excuse. It's a factor, sure. But an excuse? I don't see it. And all this talk of a three-game week by our club, our managers, our players and our fans over the years is undoubtedly mental weakness.
As I said on the day, it's not as if we tired as the game went on, we were crap from the off. [Post edited 29 Oct 21:21]
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Sorry Brian but I have to disagree with you.Derby players were tucked up in their beds on Tuesday night while our players still had virtually a whole day before they even played.They probably didn’t get home again until the early hours of Thursday morning,which would’ve lead to a disturbed sleep pattern.I don’t know if we travelled on Friday afternoon or early Saturday morning,but Derby had 3 1/2 days at home while our team spent no more than 24 at home.
Assuming they normally have a light training session on the day after a game,or a rest day in some cases,when would they be able to work on a game plan or tactics for Saturday’s game?
We weren’t very good at Swansea either,but nor were we helped by the schedule imposed by the EFL. | | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 21:59 - Oct 29 with 1647 views | Northernr |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 21:19 - Oct 29 by BrianMcCarthy |
To be honest, I'm not having this two-match week as an excuse. It's a factor, sure. But an excuse? I don't see it. And all this talk of a three-game week by our club, our managers, our players and our fans over the years is undoubtedly mental weakness.
As I said on the day, it's not as if we tired as the game went on, we were crap from the off. [Post edited 29 Oct 21:21]
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It can be both.
There are plenty of stats that show when you're playing game three of a three game week, and it's 'away fatigued' i.e. you were away Tuesday/Wednesday in game two and then you're away again in game three your chances of winning drop by orders of magnitude below what your normal chance of winning that game are.
However, when you look at the Championship over the last ten years and exclude lockdown, QPR's declines stupidly. More than any other team. And therefore yeh, might be an excuse, might be a mental thing. Personally I think it's basically we're not very good, every win we do get feels like shtting a snooker table out, we never really beat anybody 3-0, 4-0 and have a nice time, so when we dip slightly below our level we get beaten. But for it to be quite as stark as it is, versus several other not very good teams as well, it is probably fair to conclude it's in our heads to a certain extent. |  | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 22:17 - Oct 29 with 1606 views | Myke |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 21:59 - Oct 29 by Northernr |
It can be both.
There are plenty of stats that show when you're playing game three of a three game week, and it's 'away fatigued' i.e. you were away Tuesday/Wednesday in game two and then you're away again in game three your chances of winning drop by orders of magnitude below what your normal chance of winning that game are.
However, when you look at the Championship over the last ten years and exclude lockdown, QPR's declines stupidly. More than any other team. And therefore yeh, might be an excuse, might be a mental thing. Personally I think it's basically we're not very good, every win we do get feels like shtting a snooker table out, we never really beat anybody 3-0, 4-0 and have a nice time, so when we dip slightly below our level we get beaten. But for it to be quite as stark as it is, versus several other not very good teams as well, it is probably fair to conclude it's in our heads to a certain extent. |
Yeah, it's mostly mental I would say. If you hear something often enough, it becomes self-prophesying. Said this more than once, you know inside the first 5 minutes how we are going to play and Derby was a classic example of that. And it seems no amount of tinkering with formations or personnel will change it. We could be challenging (seriously challenging ) for the play-offs if we could be arsed ALL the time - sadly, we can't. | | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 22:33 - Oct 29 with 1573 views | Northernr |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 22:17 - Oct 29 by Myke |
Yeah, it's mostly mental I would say. If you hear something often enough, it becomes self-prophesying. Said this more than once, you know inside the first 5 minutes how we are going to play and Derby was a classic example of that. And it seems no amount of tinkering with formations or personnel will change it. We could be challenging (seriously challenging ) for the play-offs if we could be arsed ALL the time - sadly, we can't. |
I do agree with you about that first 5 minutes thing. Watford away was a good example of that. Could have gone back to the White Lion with the time in single figures. | | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 23:32 - Oct 29 with 1524 views | kensalriser |
So are we arguing this mental weakness is so pervasive and seemingly viral it's persisted through multiple player, manager and key executive changes.
But its origin also coincides with our being skewered over blowing up FFP and having to drastically reduce playing budgets while at the same time failing to generate income from player sales compared with many of our peers.
I think I'm going where the evidence leads rather than with nebulous postulation. | |
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| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 00:01 - Oct 30 with 1499 views | BrianMcCarthy |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 21:56 - Oct 29 by stowmarketrange |
Sorry Brian but I have to disagree with you.Derby players were tucked up in their beds on Tuesday night while our players still had virtually a whole day before they even played.They probably didn’t get home again until the early hours of Thursday morning,which would’ve lead to a disturbed sleep pattern.I don’t know if we travelled on Friday afternoon or early Saturday morning,but Derby had 3 1/2 days at home while our team spent no more than 24 at home.
Assuming they normally have a light training session on the day after a game,or a rest day in some cases,when would they be able to work on a game plan or tactics for Saturday’s game?
We weren’t very good at Swansea either,but nor were we helped by the schedule imposed by the EFL. |
Agreed, Stow - that's whay I said it could be a factor.
But not an excuse for that display. | |
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| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 00:08 - Oct 30 with 1471 views | BrianMcCarthy |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 23:32 - Oct 29 by kensalriser |
So are we arguing this mental weakness is so pervasive and seemingly viral it's persisted through multiple player, manager and key executive changes.
But its origin also coincides with our being skewered over blowing up FFP and having to drastically reduce playing budgets while at the same time failing to generate income from player sales compared with many of our peers.
I think I'm going where the evidence leads rather than with nebulous postulation. |
I'd go further back than that, kensal.
We're a soft club. Have been for the vast majority of my 55 years.
Lovable. But soft. | |
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| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 01:46 - Oct 30 with 1365 views | stainrods_elbow |
It's naive merely to speak of mental weakness. It's systemically/culturally managed lowered expectations, with fan buy-in, that makes the space for it. Players and managers in the 70s and 80s and 90s never trotted out this kind of guff. Now they do, and too many supporters swallow it hook, line, and sinker. There's no comeback for players who don't put in a shift, financially or otherwise, and so it goes on and on.
Chat GPT helpfully came up this synopsis, and it's no surprise to learn that it 'top' managers like Wenger, Ferguson, Klopp and Pep, who led with the whining, mainly on 'entitled' commercial grounds. Now it's f*cking endemic.
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Managers have always sometimes had to cope with jammed schedules, but public, frequent complaints about “fixture congestion”, “playing every three days” and the physical/mental fatigue it causes only became common and politically salient from the late 1990s → 2000s onward, and then intensified through the 2010s as Champions League/TV/commercial pressures and sports science awareness grew. Earlier eras had congested calendars (Easter bank-holiday pileups, desperate end-of-season runs) but few recorded public protests.
Key moments & evidence
• 1960s — congested calendars but little public moaning.
The Guardian notes that every Easter in the early 1960s could mean three full days of league football in four days, but “I don't recall anyone moaning about fixture congestion then.” That suggests congestion is old, public complaint is not.
The Guardian
• 1990s → early 2000s — the culture shifts.
As the Premier League, European club competitions and TV money expanded, managers began to air grievances more often in public. By the early 2000s Wenger and Ferguson were sparring with governing bodies and the FA about replays, midweek matches and re-scheduling. (Arsène Wenger had argued for scrapping replays in 2003; both he and Ferguson voiced schedule complaints repeatedly thereafter.)
The Independent
• Mid/late-2000s — regular public complaints from top managers.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger repeatedly criticised the timing between Champions League and league fixtures (2008–2009 coverage). These comments became a regular theme of pre- and post-match interviews.
The Guardian
• 2010–2013 — loud, frequent public language (“one game every three days”, “mentally and physically fatigued”).
Managers such as Arsène Wenger, Roberto Mancini and Rafael Benítez publicly blamed fatigue for poor performances and pleaded for fixture relief. Mancini explicitly used the “one game every three days” phrasing in 2013.
The Guardian
• Late-2010s — modern crescendo (Guardiola, Klopp, etc.).
Pep Guardiola used blunt language — calling the calendar “crazy” and warning it would “kill” players (2018–2019 coverage). Sports science, rotation policies and squad management all became part of the public argument.
Sportsnet.ca
• 2020 (COVID) and after — acute spotlight on congestion.
The pandemic-compressed seasons made fixture congestion and recovery a research topic and a political issue; studies and institutional debate about player welfare and injury risk multiplied.
University of Huddersfield
Why the change happened
More competitions + richer schedules — Champions League group stages, more international fixtures, club friendlies and global tours.
TV and commercial imperatives — midweek matches, Boxing Day/NY windows and re-scheduling to suit broadcasters.
Media & PR culture — managers learned public pressure on governing bodies can influence scheduling; press conferences are a platform.
Sports science awareness — managers and clubs now cite measurable fatigue/injury risk rather than simply “we’re tired”.
Bigger squads but also higher intensity — rotation helps, but top teams still feel the impact of playing many high-intensity matches in short periods. | |
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| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 06:25 - Oct 30 with 1287 views | stowmarketrange |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 00:01 - Oct 30 by BrianMcCarthy |
Agreed, Stow - that's whay I said it could be a factor.
But not an excuse for that display. |
Maybe the Derby result is on Julien?Both Madsen and Saito were limping on Wednesday after the Swansea game,so why did he start both players again less than 70 hours later?How much worse could it have been to give the bench a start at Derby instead of flogging the same players?
We can only guess at their fitness levels on the Saturday morning,but the manager sees them up close and must know whether they’re fit to play or not. | | | |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 15:47 - Oct 30 with 1108 views | kensalriser |
| Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report on 00:08 - Oct 30 by BrianMcCarthy |
I'd go further back than that, kensal.
We're a soft club. Have been for the vast majority of my 55 years.
Lovable. But soft. |
Soft?
No, we're just rather mediocre. Lots of other clubs are, too. It's the nature of it - there are many losers and few winners, and the winners tend to keep winning.
We're not a big club, not even in the second tier. We've had a few moments, more than some, less than others. Given our limited resources we need to be smarter and better than our peers, something we achieved for long spells from the 60s to the 90s and not so much since.
Many big clubs don't do much either. When was the last time Everton or Aston Villa won anything? | |
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