mozo

The great thing is now that opposition players will be told that they can't make contact with him because he buys fouls, which in turn gives him space. They can't win.

He did defend well at times but his passing was abysmal. He's capable of much better

Yeah, love your comments there ?

Could be that!

I think, surprisingly, you're the only one who has mentioned this! Derby had a bizarre insistence on playing the ball out from the keeper instead of going long. And when the kept failing to break the lines and consistently lost the ball to our good pressing, they kept persisting with the tactic. Weird. That, by the way, is why the possession stats are in their favour; they were fannying around in their own box, trying to play it out.

Whilst Scott would undoubtedly prefer a position further forward and central, I think this experience will be a very productive learning process for him. His defensive nous and tactical understanding will be much improved.

I did notice though that on a few occasions, Martin got a flick on and Semenyo was nowhere near him. They need to work on that.

I thought the kid was clearly Derby's best outlet. For some reason after getting Pring booked and winning a dangerous free kick, and almost a penalty, he resisted taking on Pring late in the game and just passed the ball infield each time. Big potential though.

A massive well done to Alex Scott for not only being the only one of our forward minded players to take his chance, but also loads of good touches and even tackles and interceptions that helped us on our way. I also though Semenyo was a menace throughout. I know our young players were criticised for Sheff U debacle and so well worth praising their output v Derby. Well done lads!

In fairness to the original moan, I think both Weimann and Martin (and Vyner) had numerous irritating moments where they got their touch or pass or shot wrong.

The big question though is...if we beat Derby, are we certain to not finish bottom?! It's 50/50, no?

Really good point. But would Jacki have been any different now!? ?

That really explains your knowledge of football ?

Britton and Martin as two up front is an interesting concept ?

Martin and Britton being different players doesn't necessarily mean they aren't the most convenient pairing to be interchangeable in our side. I'd say they are in terms of presence, physicality and aggression.

Yeah great kit ?

Could Nige not be tempted to play Vyner at right back and Pring at least back in a 4? If Simpson were a legitimate contender we'd have seen more of him by now.

I think you're being daft. I'd play O'Leary in goal alongside Bentley.

I always look forward to City games and always have that daft hope that the next one could be the turning point!

I think Bakinson is a talented bloke but very inconsistent and lacking hunger. Watching him on Sunday was like playing Fifa but someone has disabled the tackle button. You could see him think about challenges and just go nahhhhh....

I will make absolutely no effort to watch this. Even a month after the fight when they air it on regular Sky Sports, Amir would have to come to my rig, pick up the remote and put the channel on, whilst Kell pours my beer. That's the most effort I'd make.

I thought [a back] three is the magic number?

I actually think that Nige's kitchen sink policy is a bit daft. Fair enough it provokes enough change to make the opposition have to think, but we just end up with half our players playing unfamiliar roles and looking more disjointed than before. I personally would prefer subtle changes. Subs can even be like for like if they have specific instructions.

Exactly my thoughts Dave. A random question for you... you've said on here a few times that fans are naive to think that attacking formations or throwing on attacking players is the way to be a more attacking team. Interestingly, this is Nige's strategy for the last 15 minutes of any game we're losing. When he does his kitchen sink strategy do you wince and think, 'subtlety Nige!', or do you think that's the correct way to turn a game around.

I think some people are letting themselves get too enraged. I know I foolishly anticipated that we would steal a draw, but hey, Wells only had to square the ball and we had a different game. We were outplayed by a better squad of players. We quite clearly were going to struggle without any fit senior midfielders and it was very brave for us to give players like Scott and Benarous the opportunity. But it might pay off in the long run as they learn more lessons. The weather was atrocious, the referee was appalling and our players weren't at their best. But let's not get too upset. These games will happen. If we reach 25+ points before Christmas then we are well on track to avoid a dogfight.