Rival Watch

[The Royal Forester]

Stats (as usual) don't give the full picture; under Pauno the team had - bluntly - given up. Under PInce, they have grown to NOT give up - the last 2 games in particular.

Does anyone REALLY believe that under Pauno, with the exact same players, we would have got 4 points from Shef U and Swansea?

The team has far more fight now. We rarely saw the team fight back under Pauno.
Having said that the injuries under Pauno were ridiculous. Ince has been talking about the squad being at “bare bones” for the past few games but it’s relative riches to the options Pauno had.

Is there an argument that injuries were not well managed by Pauno? Lots injured under his regime, not always in matches and they did seem to take a long time to return. We have seen quicker returns recently. No Holmes or Ovie yesterday due to "small" injuries, but maybe this is better management?

Maybe the players are enjoying their football more now. If a player is not enjoying the game, surely he will take longer to recover, Whereas, if he is feeling happier in training and games, he will want to get back as soon as possible. It shows in the recent games the players are more committed in the games than a few months ago. Ince seems to have instilled belief throughout the team.

[Zip]

Stats (as usual) don't give the full picture; under Pauno the team had - bluntly - given up. Under PInce, they have grown to NOT give up - the last 2 games in particular.

Does anyone REALLY believe that under Pauno, with the exact same players, we would have got 4 points from Shef U and Swansea?

The team has far more fight now. We rarely saw the team fight back under Pauno.
Having said that the injuries under Pauno were ridiculous. Ince has been talking about the squad being at “bare bones” for the past few games but it’s relative riches to the options Pauno had.

Is there an argument that injuries were not well managed by Pauno? Lots injured under his regime, not always in matches and they did seem to take a long time to return. We have seen quicker returns recently. No Holmes or Ovie yesterday due to "small" injuries, but maybe this is better management?

I wonder if Pauno’s training regime was part of the problem. There were comments from some sources that he trained the players too hard at Chicago Fire. Perhaps the same happened with Reading.

[Ascotexgunner]

The Derby love in reaching new heights today

Don’t understand it. They cheated, spent loads of money they shouldn’t, dodgy stadium deal, didn’t submit accounts, pay for players etc, wouldn’t even have media darling Rooney if they weren’t cooking the books.

Of course it’s all Mel’s fault for putting them in admin now

Thoroughly bored if it

Agree. Rooney has lost 10 in a row away from home now yet he is being hailed as some kind of managerial guru.
21 points was more than achievable when you look at how rubbish Us, Peterbough and Barnsley have been....yet they are finishing way behind.
As far as blaming "Mel" goes, he would do well to note that it was "Mel" that bent all the rules to get him to play for Derby and be trusted to manage the club. Bit disrespectful.

[Stranded]

The Derby love in reaching new heights today

Don’t understand it. They cheated, spent loads of money they shouldn’t, dodgy stadium deal, didn’t submit accounts, pay for players etc, wouldn’t even have media darling Rooney if they weren’t cooking the books.

Of course it’s all Mel’s fault for putting them in admin now

Thoroughly bored if it

Agree. Rooney has lost 10 in a row away from home now yet he is being hailed as some kind of managerial guru.
21 points was more than achievable when you look at how rubbish Us, Peterbough and Barnsley have been....yet they are finishing way behind.
As far as blaming "Mel" goes, he would do well to note that it was "Mel" that bent all the rules to get him to play for Derby and be trusted to manage the club. Bit disrespectful.

It's not been 21 pts they've had to pull back on 3 clubs though is it, its 15 on us. They've managed 5.

They closed the gap by 7 on Brum who would otherwise have been the target. They've challenged well but apart from the 2 that will drop with them, they never really got close to pulling it off.

[genome]

Mild applause from the Fulham faithful.

[NathStPaul]

Fcuk off for a year Fulham. Pathetic tosspots.

[windermereROYAL]

I too am staggered by the Rooney praise, dear god 13 wins in 43, appalling away record, any other season he would surely be in danger of the chop, and now there is talk of him going to Burnley.
Truly baffling.

[windermereROYAL]

In other news, parachute payments win the league yet again.

[NathStPaul]

I too am staggered by the Rooney praise, dear god 13 wins in 43, appalling away record, any other season he would surely be in danger of the chop, and now there is talk of him going to Burnley.
Truly baffling.

Well it's not though is it? Had to cobble a team together at the last minute and rely on a lot of youth team players all season. Would have stayed up comfortably without the points deduction. He clearly could get a lot out of what was an average squad, similar to what a manager would have to do at Burnley.

[Mr Angry]

I too am staggered by the Rooney praise, dear god 13 wins in 43, appalling away record, any other season he would surely be in danger of the chop, and now there is talk of him going to Burnley.
Truly baffling.

Well it's not though is it? Had to cobble a team together at the last minute and rely on a lot of youth team players all season. Would have stayed up comfortably without the points deduction. He clearly could get a lot out of what was an average squad, similar to what a manager would have to do at Burnley.

Except of course had they not purchased players they never paid for, had they not cooked their books and tried to hide it, had they not been forced into administration through spectacular mis management and borderline fraudulent behaviour and thus avoided the points deduction, would they have been safe?

Also, they rejected a number of 7 figure offers for Lawrence in January - that money could have gone towards paying off their debt - so I would argue that the point deduction is a fair reflection for how they cheated and acted as a handicap to compensate for that cheating.

Looked at like that, then Derby have ended up exactly where they deserved, though possibly a season later than they should have done.

[Snowflake Royal]

Stats (as usual) don't give the full picture; under Pauno the team had - bluntly - given up. Under PInce, they have grown to NOT give up - the last 2 games in particular.

Does anyone REALLY believe that under Pauno, with the exact same players, we would have got 4 points from Shef U and Swansea?

The team has far more fight now. We rarely saw the team fight back under Pauno.
Having said that the injuries under Pauno were ridiculous. Ince has been talking about the squad being at “bare bones” for the past few games but it’s relative riches to the options Pauno had.

Is there an argument that injuries were not well managed by Pauno? Lots injured under his regime, not always in matches and they did seem to take a long time to return. We have seen quicker returns recently. No Holmes or Ovie yesterday due to "small" injuries, but maybe this is better management?

Yes. There's no doubt his training regime and approach to throwing certain players back in contributed to our awful injury record.


Does anyone seriously think a Paunovic side would be capable of clawing back a 1-4 deficit and scoring in the 95th minute to equalise?

They were dead on their feet by minute 75 in almost every game.

[Brogue]

[Zip]

Just how well has Nathan Jones done at Luton
Shocking from Stoke
The Wayne Rooney BS needs to end. He had a much better squad than he was prepared to admit.

[Hound]

Who cost money in our squad?

Joao 5
Puscas 8 (debatable)
Ejaria 3
Moore 1

I’m struggling to make 24m

[From Despair To Where?]

Just how well has Nathan Jones done at Luton
Shocking from Stoke
The Wayne Rooney BS needs to end. He had a much better squad than he was prepared to admit.

If its taken on what the clubs have actually coughed up, the Derby figure is actually 74p.

Still, considering Stoke and Derby haven't had parachute payments, their figures are shocking.

[SCIAG]

Who cost money in our squad?

Joao 5
Puscas 8 (debatable)
Ejaria 3
Moore 1

I’m struggling to make 24m

Do the most recent set of accounts include Aluko and Baldock? Those two plus Rafael would probably do it.

[SCIAG]

… and looking at Stoke’s numbers, only way I can see them getting so high is by including a few of their expensive flops from the PL who left in the summer - Ndiaye, Vokes, etc.

[Hound]

Who cost money in our squad?

Joao 5
Puscas 8 (debatable)
Ejaria 3
Moore 1

I’m struggling to make 24m

Do the most recent set of accounts include Aluko and Baldock? Those two plus Rafael would probably do it.

Yeah. Guessing it’s a season out of date. Our side is basically a bunch of frees, academies and Ejaria and Joao nowadays

[Brogue]

Who cost money in our squad?

Joao 5
Puscas 8 (debatable)
Ejaria 3
Moore 1

I’m struggling to make 24m

Do the most recent set of accounts include Aluko and Baldock? Those two plus Rafael would probably do it.

Yes McNulty too, and would Gunter and mccleary be on these sets of accounts?

[Zip]

Just how well has Nathan Jones done at Luton
Shocking from Stoke
The Wayne Rooney BS needs to end. He had a much better squad than he was prepared to admit.

Does the figure include loan fees?