[FM20] Derby County - Why manage the Rams? / How are you getting on?

[Luke6]

29 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

I don’t know anything about Zakaria Bakkali, @Luke6, but the others all look like very good signings to me. Welcome home, Will Hughes 😀

Good money for all three of them. Nicely done.

 Got your eye on anyone? Are you using the database where Mike te Wierik joins Derby on 1st July 2020?

I’m not even going to ask the obvious question here, but your reputation must be growing...

Good luck with Derby County for the rest of pre-season and the coming season!

Wow mate, I bet you were gutted that it wasnt you that took them up?! Who the bloody hell is Paul Hurst? Needs a medal I recon! Ha.

I went for the interview, not going to lie but during it I was giving such stupid answers knowing full well they wouldn't offer me the job as I want to continue my job with Derby. Wolves are circling now, my name is in the press apparently I've signed on the dotted line to be their new boss. No chance!

Yeah Te Wierik is in, but having sold Wisdom and looking to let Evan's leave, I could do with another. Strength in depth could be vital to be me staying up! Clyne has lowered his wage demands so I've offered him a deal at RB. 

[serg__23]

2 часа назад, Stuniverse сказал:

Derby bought player from Leeds, intresting)

[Stuniverse]

57 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Who the bloody hell is Paul Hurst? Needs a medal I recon! Ha.

Paul Hurst was most recently manager of Scunthorpe United, former manager of Grimsby Town, Shrewsbury Town and Ipswich Town. I’m not sure what his in-save record was before being appointed Rams manager, but I’ll check next time I’m playing that save.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hurst

57 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Wow mate, I bet you were gutted that it wasnt you that took them up?!

Not so much as I’d decided that save was probably going to be an England free one so, in my mind, I’m not looking to manage Derby or any English side on that save but, you never know, I could be tempted for the right project. Last season on FM19 my main save was a Derby County Director of Football Challenge with Igor Stimac as DoF so, initially, I wanted a bit of a break from managing the Rams.

Having said all that. Attending the games as a fan (I also attended the Playoff SF 1st leg, couldn’t attend the 2nd leg as it clashed with a game my team were playing), watching on Extended Highlights, was incredibly tense and exciting. If lockdown continues much longer with no live football, I may end up doing an FM save where I don’t manage any team, just to experience being a football supporter again.

57 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

went for the interview, not going to lie but during it I was giving such stupid answers knowing full well they wouldn't offer me the job as I want to continue my job with Derby. Wolves are circling now, my name is in the press apparently I've signed on the dotted line to be their new boss. No chance!

Good man, @Luke6. Where do the press get these stories from? He hehehehe.

57 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Yeah Te Wierik is in, but having sold Wisdom and looking to let Evan's leave, I could do with another. Strength in depth could be vital to be me staying up! Clyne has lowered his wage demands so I've offered him a deal at RB. 

Great news on Clyne. Who is Bakkali?

Edited May 8, 2020 by Stuniverse

[Luke6]

@Stuniverse Bakkali is a right winger, hes played for the likes of PSV, Valencia and is currently at Anderlecht. Hes been capped twice by Belgium too but not since 2015. Hes fallen off the radar a little but hes still only 24 and has scored in back to back pre season games. Only given him 45 minutes in each. 

I've resorted to watching highlights too. That and all the retros on sky sports! This lockdown sucks, dont know how I'd cope without FM right now!

[Stackalee]

In April now and I think I've just about settled on a formation! 4-1-2-1-2 narrow is looking increasingly likely as it lets me give good amounts of game time to the younger players I want to (Knight, Sibley, Whittaker, Bogle, Lowe and Bielik mainly). I briefly flirted with a flat 4-3-3 in February but felt that while it showed some promise there was something off about the midfield, which I suspect could have been fixed by going point deep but the system ends up looking weird in the tactics screen so I couldn't truck with it.

League table completely changed after December as Gordon Strachan's Leeds pretty much specialise in drawing games and Fulham never recovered from a poor run of form in December. Brentford pushed on and became the pace setters at the top, although after beating them in a head to head (the game which has me fairly convinced on the formation) my Derby side are only a point behind with a game in hand. David Raya, the Brentford keeper, really impressed me when we met - his distribution was quick efficient and intelligent, I think he started a counter just about every time he got his hands on the ball. Should perhaps have been who I looked at for that position.

The FA cup has gone much better than the league cup did. Wins against Gillingham, Leicester, Sunderland (extra time) and Arsenal took us to the semi-final where we met Manchester United. The game was going swimmingly, with United creating nothing at all until Mason Greenwood came on in the 60th minute and completely turned things around, scoring seconds after coming on then again in injury time. A Tony Martial goal from the spot thanks to a fairly senseless handball from the otherwise superb Jack Marriot saw the game go to extra time. Marriot popped up again with a typically blasted effort from 2 yards out giving Derby what proved to be the winner, taking them through to the FA cup final. The game stayed nervy for the remaining 6 minutes with two additional goals for United disallowed for offside after VAR review. Phew.

 

January signing Coniah Boyce-Clarke has been fine as first pick goalkeeper, not really any better or worse than Kelle Roos but he is still only 17 and already steadily improving. Hopefully he will improve quickly enough for the gamble on youth to pay off.

Edit - Oh yes and Jack Marriot while he still has a great goal return to his name saw a pretty clear drop off in performances right after being given a big new contract. Suspicious.

Further Edit - board just announced preliminary budget for season 2. £34m - pretty tidy, no idea what I'll do with it yet. Watford, Wolves and Newcastle are currently bottom of the PL so hopefully I can bully them for some decent kids on the cheap.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Stackalee

[Stuniverse]

4 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

In April now and I think I've just about settled on a formation! 4-1-2-1-2 narrow is looking increasingly likely as it lets me give good amounts of game time to the younger players I want to (Knight, Sibley, Whittaker, Bogle, Lowe and Bielik mainly).

Where does Whittaker play in that formation? And if you don’t mind, could you post a tactics screenshot please.

6 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

League table completely changed after December as Gordon Strachan's Leeds pretty much specialise in drawing games and Fulham never recovered from a poor run of form in December. Brentford pushed on and became the pace setters at the top, although after beating them in a head to head (the game which has me fairly convinced on the formation) my Derby side are only a point behind with a game in hand.

Wow! Your Derby County are very well placed with three games to go, a game more than your rivals for automatics. In fact, congratulations. If my maths is correct you’re already promoted, just a question of whether you go up as a Champions or not.

9 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

The FA cup has gone much better than the league cup did. Wins against Gillingham, Leicester, Sunderland (extra time) and Arsenal took us to the semi-final where we met Manchester United. The game was going swimmingly, with United creating nothing at all until Mason Greenwood came on in the 60th minute and completely turned things around, scoring seconds after coming on then again in injury time. A Tony Martial goal from the spot thanks to a fairly senseless handball from the otherwise superb Jack Marriot saw the game go to extra time. Marriot popped up again with a typically blasted effort from 2 yards out giving Derby what proved to be the winner, taking them through to the FA cup final. The game stayed nervy for the remaining 6 minutes with two additional goals for United disallowed for offside after VAR review. Phew.

And that’s amazing. Big congratulations. Who do you play in the FA Cup Final?

9 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

January signing Coniah Boyce-Clarke has been fine as first pick goalkeeper, not really any better or worse than Kelle Roos but he is still only 17 and already steadily improving. Hopefully he will improve quickly enough for the gamble on youth to pay off.

👍

10 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

Edit - Oh yes and Jack Marriot while he still has a great goal return to his name saw a pretty clear drop off in performances right after being given a big new contract. Suspicious.

Hmmmmn... he hehehehe.

Great job overall, @Stackalee.

[Stackalee]

Where does Whittaker play in that formation? And if you don’t mind, could you post a tactics screenshot please.

I've used him so far as a deep lying forward on support on the left hand side of the front two, I've also experimented with pressing forward I'll be nailing something down sometime. I've got him set to sitting wider and running wide with the ball, in the hope that he will make space for the onrushing midfielder(s). He got a fabulous assist on the counter for Marriot in the United game battering the ball in to the box from out on the left. 

I can indeed - roles are not final as I've only been messing with it for the last I think 5 matches but something along these lines.

 

And that’s amazing. Big congratulations. Who do you play in the FA Cup Final?

City again sadly. But still happy to get there.

[Stuniverse]

53 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

City again sadly. But still happy to get there.

You never know. You’ve beaten Arsenal and Man Utd already. Good luck 🍀

[Stackalee]

Beat Cardiff fairly easily, then drew with Leeds. The draw was probably my fault, I rested Marriot ready for last game of the season against Birmingham... 1-0 up at the moment through a Rooney penalty. If things stay like this Derby win the league.

Edit - an early reducer on Marriot, canny play from Birmingham. I'm leaving him on with the slight knock for now.

60mins in to the last game of the season. Having taken that early knock Marriot has missed two sitters... now twisting, on comes Cosgrove.

83rd minute, the substitution is looking good, Cosgrove cushions a low cross from Wisdom, lays it off for Whittaker. Tap in. 2 - 0 Derby.

Cosgrove buries a strong header from Max Lowes swerving cross in the 90th minute.

Outrageous, Jérémie Bela chips the keeper from the side line 30 yards out! Surely too late for a comeback. 3 - 1 Derby.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Stackalee

[Stackalee]

Last game of the league season over, Derby County are the Champions! 

Same point tally as Brentford, win it on goal difference. We both conceded the same amount of goals so it's pretty much just a case of the most attacking side wins, that was us.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Stackalee

[Stackalee]

57 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

You never know. You’ve beaten Arsenal and Man Utd already. Good luck 🍀

They've started Claudio Bravo, so if his rating is anything like realistic I'm in with a shot here!

2-0 up in the 47th minute! It's on.

Nothing happening for City until the 89th minute, Mahrez remembers he's able to walk past my whole team with the ball at his feet and does so.

Tense 5 mins injury time but done and done. Double win for Derby. Hell of a season and I think I shall indeed be sticking with this formation for the foreseeable. 

Apologies for weird posting and probably too many posts there it would have been cleaner to just update the end of the season in full but I've been updating in real time haha.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Stackalee

[Stuniverse]

Our Carabao Cup dream continues...

After we went to The Emirates and won 3-1 in the 4th Round of the Carabao Cup, my comment on here was "Pinch me... I'm dreaming!" Well Manchester United have just visited Pride Park for the 5th Round of the Cup and I honestly can't believe what I witnessed...

I wasn't confident in my team selection as I went with cup goalkeeper Kelle Roos instead of Scott Carson, and Lee Buchanan played left-back because Max Lowe was jaded. Krystian Bielik was also jaded as well and was on the bench.

We rode our luck, I won't deny that, and Man Utd had so many attempts on goal but, for some reason, they didn't have their shooting boots on and put chance, after chance, after chance wide of the target. Martyn Waghorn (9) and Tom Lawrence (60) were our heroes, with both assists coming from Lee Buchanan crosses in from the left. 

Our reward is a semi-final against EPL strugglers Everton who are currently 16th. Arsenal are also struggling, for them, in 8th (they were 6th when we played them), but Man Utd are flying in 2nd. It will be just like Derby to go out to struggling Everton after knocking out Arsenal and Man Utd.

In the Championship, we've reached the halfway point (23 games), but our form has taken a dip as injuries have kicked-in and, after a streak of eight consecutive wins, we then took four points from the next possible 12 with a win, a draw, and two defeats, and we've fallen away from 2nd (behind runaway leaders Leeds) into 3rd (Brentford have overtaken us).

Edited May 9, 2020 by Stuniverse

[Stackalee]

14 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

runaway leaders Leeds

Have they kept hold of Bielsa in your save?

Edited May 9, 2020 by Stackalee

[Stuniverse]

3 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

Have they kept hold of Bielsa in your save?

Merry Christmas, @Stackalee.

Yes, as of Christmas Day, Marcelo Bielsa is still Leeds United manager.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Stuniverse

[Stackalee]

They're wise to, Strachan was a rubbish replacement in my game. And Bielsa got Wolves relegated.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Stackalee

[Stuniverse]

1 January 2020 - early transfer business

When I started this save, I'd planned to stick with the existing squad for the whole season but having started so well (we've dropped to 4th after struggling with injuries and fitness across the two festive season games - a 0-0 draw at Wigan, and a 1-1 draw at home to Charlton, where we got out of jail with a late equaliser), it doesn't feel right to sit still and do nothing for two consecutive transfer windows. So, as long as signings and sales fit with the Club Vision / Philosophies, Pride Park is open for business.

Three Out...

Two in...

On the hunt for a goalkeeper...

I'm keen to sign a new goalkeeper as Scott Carson has started to make a few mistakes and I don't particularly rate Kelle Roos. The goalie I'm very keen to sign is Wuilker Farinez and we've been able to agree a fee of £1.8M with a 20% sell-on clause for him with Millonarios, but the player won't enter into contract talks with us.

I was going to wait it out until the summer and see if we could sign him then... but my hand might be forced to look elsewhere as we've just accepted two bids from the MLS for Roos and it sounds like the player wants to leave. I can’t say I blame Kelle as I don’t see a future for him here either.

A well-deserved new contract...

My staff recommended offering Tom Huddlestone a new contract as a reward for his fine form. Tom remains the player with our highest average rating (7.28) and our low-tempo, control possession tactic, suits him down to the ground. Both Graeme Shinnie and Louie Sibley have had opportunities to make the midfield place next to Wayne Rooney theirs and failed to capitalise. I agreed and asked my DoF Phillip Cocu to offer a new contract. Tom signed so we have our former Academy Graduate signed up for another season and he's taken a £2K p.w. cut in wages.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Stuniverse

[Luke6]

@Stuniverse Wuilker Farinez is a great shout but you may have to wait ti see if you go up first. I managed to get him after we got promoted. Maybe try Jack Butland. He leaves for 900k in my second season. Hes valued at 4 but could you not loan him first? I had him in my Newcastle save before this and he kept Dubravka out of the team.

Everton at anytime is difficult! Especially over 2 legs. But if you've beaten the other 2 what's to say you cant make it a hat trick? Where did you get Adam Idah from, I recognise the name but cant put a face to him. Hows Marriott getting on for you? I feel like he bags in goals for everyone else but I cant get him to score at all. Hes missed 2 pens in pre season aswell! 

[Luke6]

@Stuniverse also if he hasn't already been signed by another club as it is January, maybe look at Viviano? I got him on a free at the start of last season and he was brilliant. Took a lot of persuading though. Alot of promises and his agent wanted the world and more! 

[serg__23]

Little update on my save: it's over. Yesterday I pressed save button and closed laptop during saving process. And my save file corrupted. I have automatic save file, but it's before Championship playoffs and I don't like it.

[Stackalee]

On 07/05/2020 at 12:13, Stuniverse said:

How has everybody else found owner / chairman Mel Morris on FM20?

He's a madman!

[Stuniverse]

39 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Wuilker Farinez is a great shout but you may have to wait ti see if you go up first.

Thanks, @Luke6. That's kind of what I'm thinking. I did wonder if Wuilker would be more receptive once the January transfer window opened up but that doesn't appear to be the case.

39 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Maybe try Jack Butland. He leaves for 900k in my second season. Hes valued at 4 but could you not loan him first? I had him in my Newcastle save before this and he kept Dubravka out of the team.

That's a great shout on Jack Butland. He's a former Ram too having played for us in the 2014/15 season on loan. I've just prioritised his scouting with our Recruitment and Scouting team and made an initial loan enquiry (valued at £5M). Stoke haven't ruled it out, but they are 'reluctant ' to let him leave on loan. It may take a loan fee on top of his wages and that might not be a good use of money.

I am starting to think a goalkeeper in on loan for half a season, possibly with an option to buy, would keep my GK options open and see where we are then at the end of the season.

39 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Where did you get Adam Idah from, I recognise the name but cant put a face to him.

Adam Idah was signed from Norwich City.

39 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Hows Marriott getting on for you? I feel like he bags in goals for everyone else but I cant get him to score at all. Hes missed 2 pens in pre season aswell! 

Really well, thank you. Jack Mariott has 11 goals, 4 assists, average 7.03 from 23 (4) appearances across all competitions. He's our top goalscorer, having joined training into the season following injury and has seen off Maryn Waghorn, Chris Martin and Morgan Whittaker to lead our line. 

I'm playing Marriott as a PF - At in this system:

Edited May 9, 2020 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

7 minutes ago, serg__23 said:

Little update on my save: it's over. Yesterday I pressed save button and closed laptop during saving process. And my save file corrupted. I have automatic save file, but it's before Championship playoffs and I don't like it.

Oh no, @serg__23. That's terrible news...

What next for you on FM20?

[Stuniverse]

26 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

@Stuniverse also if he hasn't already been signed by another club as it is January, maybe look at Viviano? I got him on a free at the start of last season and he was brilliant. Took a lot of persuading though. Alot of promises and his agent wanted the world and more! 

Thanks for the tip, @Luke6.Missed the boat on Emiliano Viviano as he's playing in Saudi Arabia, signed for Al-Ahli in the summer. His scouting report looks good but his club do not want to sell and he has zero interest in leaving the hot, sandy Saudi Arabian desert for the cold, wet East Midlands.

[serg__23]

18 минут назад, Stuniverse сказал:

What next for you on FM20?

Another non-PL team with good youth players like in Derby. Maybe you know few (League 1 and 2 acceptable)? If I struggle to find another team, maybe I will start new save with Derby, because I fell my business is unfinished here)

[Stuniverse]

16 minutes ago, serg__23 said:

Another non-PL team with good youth players like in Derby. Maybe you know few (League 1 and 2 acceptable)? If I struggle to find another team, maybe I will start new save with Derby, because I fell my business is unfinished here)

Good luck 🍀 and thanks for sharing your updates on here.

Unfinished business indeed... If you do decide to manage the Mighty Rams again, please do come back and let us know how you get on...

Edited May 9, 2020 by Stuniverse

[smplfc123]

So i've finally found the time to get this save loaded up, i'm not the quickest player and I like to look for uncommon signings, so these updates could be slow in coming.

Anyway i'm a couple of days in and for now i've decided to take the slow building process in terms of how I want the club set up. That means i'm giving the staff a chance to impress and only bringing in new faces where there are places available. Similarly on the playing front, I don't intend to ship too many out to begin with. Only those where I have enough cover will be surplus to requirments and i'm only looking to strengthen in areas I think we'll be short for the way I want to play. With that in mind, i'm looking for the following:

RB - Short term cover
CB - Back up option to Clarke, Bielik and Davies
WGR - Right winger as I don't trust Jozafoon to be good enough as first choice all season

A couple may find themselves being pushed out of the door when the injuries clear up (Forsyth, Anya etc.) but that depends on how sucessful I am in bringing in the players I want. Again this first season is a foundation laying one for me, the bigger/ more impactful changes will be next summer (If i'm not sacked by then).

[Stuniverse]

20 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

So i've finally found the time to get this save loaded up

Great stuff, @smplfc123. I look forward to your updates.

21 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

Anyway i'm a couple of days in and for now i've decided to take the slow building process in terms of how I want the club set up. That means i'm giving the staff a chance to impress and only bringing in new faces where there are places available. Similarly on the playing front, I don't intend to ship too many out to begin with. Only those where I have enough cover will be surplus to requirments and i'm only looking to strengthen in areas I think we'll be short for the way I want to play.

That sounds like a good plan. To be honest, I’m doing a very similar save right now and there’s a lot of scope and potential with the Rams squad you’ll inherit at the start of the save.

Out of interest, are you using the FM20 release database or the Winter Update one? Or, put another way, is Rooney with you from Day 1 or is he due to join in January?
 

24 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

With that in mind, i'm looking for the following:

RB - Short term cover
CB - Back up option to Clarke, Bielik and Davies
WGR - Right winger as I don't trust Jozafoon to be good enough as first choice all season

I wouldn’t argue with that. A right-winger was the area Phillip Cocu is keen to strengthen in real-life.

Are you happy with your goalkeepers?

25 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

A couple may find themselves being pushed out of the door when the injuries clear up (Forsyth, Anya etc.) but that depends on how sucessful I am in bringing in the players I want. Again this first season is a foundation laying one for me, the bigger/ more impactful changes will be next summer (If i'm not sacked by then).

Good luck 🍀

Come on you, 🐏s.

[Stackalee]

Rooney's form has dropped off a cliff for me second half of 20/21 season. He's lost a little pace but surely that isn't the issue - it's not like he was mobile anyway.

[Luke6]

3 games into my 2nd season, 1st in the prem. Mixed emotions so far..

Man City away first up. Dybala starting after his move from Juve (or Zebre 😂) and well.. as youd expect. 26 shots to 6 but we held our own. Even got back to 1-1 before they swept us away in the second half and won 3-1. 

Bournemouth at Pride Park.. had a good feeling about this one and it seemed to rub off on the players too as we scored 3 without reply! 1 more win and weve beaten the amount of wins we did the last time we were in the prem! 

And that should have been in the next match away at Burnley. 2-0 up and cruising before the break. Wood scored in 1st half stoppage time before a free kick from virtually their own box managed to evade my defence and wood got his second. My assistant said I should congratulate my teams performance. I did the exact opposite! 

Carabao cup next before Leicester at home! They are on the back of a 5-0 win over West Brom. 

[smplfc123]

5 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Out of interest, are you using the FM20 release database or the Winter Update one? Or, put another way, is Rooney with you from Day 1 or is he due to join in January?
 

Are you happy with your goalkeepers?

 

Winter update, so Rooney is straight in. 

As for GK's, it's on the maybe pile. I think for where i'm aiming to be at the end of season 1, Hamer and Roos can just about do the job between them. However, if I find one i'm really keen to move on and i've strengthened the areas I want to do most, then I may make a move this summer.

[Stackalee]

My scouts are telling me that Mason Mount would cost less than £30m which I should comfortably be able to afford. I see he's in favoured personnel so I assume this would be a welcome move with Derby fans?

[Stuniverse]

7 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

My scouts are telling me that Mason Mount would cost less than £30m which I should comfortably be able to afford. I see he's in favoured personnel so I assume this would be a welcome move with Derby fans?

Rams fans would be ecstatic if Derby County were able to bring Mason Mount back to Pride Park. Mount was on loan at Derby last season, along with his Chelsea teammate Fikayo Tomori and Liverpool’s Harry Wilson. All more than played their part in a fantastic season under Frank Lampard and Jody Morris. 

All three players were superb, and would be welcomed back to Pride Park with open arms, but Mount was the pick of the bunch by far. Mount missed a month in January / February and the team really struggled without him, picking up again when Mount returned. His incredible goal in the playoff semi-final second-leg at Elland Road, somehow getting in a shot whilst off-balance and falling, was a moment of sheer brilliance from a quality player.

I think the only thing that would delight Rams fans more than Mount returning, would be the return of Watford’s Will Hughes.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

2 hours ago, smplfc123 said:

Winter update, so Rooney is straight in. 

As for GK's, it's on the maybe pile. I think for where i'm aiming to be at the end of season 1, Hamer and Roos can just about do the job between them. However, if I find one i'm really keen to move on and i've strengthened the areas I want to do most, then I may make a move this summer.

With Rooney in from the start you have the best opportunity to succeed. I understand what you’re saying about Hamer and Roos. For my money, both are Championship back-up, and not #1s. At some point in the summer window, I forget exactly when (as it’s greyed out at the start of the save), you do get the option (via Contract > Terminate Loan, maybe once the window officially opens) to recall Carson from Man City which is what I did on my save.

Good luck 🍀

Edited May 9, 2020 by Stuniverse

[Stackalee]

1 minute ago, Stuniverse said:

I think the only thing that would delight Rams fans more than Mount returning, would be the return of Watford’s Will Hughes.

Ahh thanks for that (the whole post) but this bit alarms me, I could have easilly brought him back as Watford were relegated but I felt like he would just be a downgrade on Louie Sibley! 

[Stuniverse]

9 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

Ahh thanks for that (the whole post) but this bit alarms me, I could have easilly brought him back as Watford were relegated but I felt like he would just be a downgrade on Louie Sibley! 

Don’t get me wrong, Mason Mount is, and will be, a better player than Will Hughes, but Will is the ultimate ‘one of our own’. Will came through the Derby Academy and was a first-team regular at an early age. Will never asked to leave Derby and he always said he wanted to play in the EPL but he wanted to do that with Derby. He was prepared to wait for the Rams to get promoted. Then Gary Rowett came in, with his negative tactics, and Hughes never got a look in after that. When Watford made their bid, I guess he thought well I’m not playing for Derby any more, the manager doesn’t want me, so I might as well move to Watford.

Hughes is absolutely loved and idolised by Rams fans.

Another Derby Academy graduate Jeff Hendrick broke into the Derby first-team around the same time as Hughes. He’s another one Rams fans would like to see back at Pride Park.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Stuniverse

[Stackalee]

So what I'm learning is that Derby always bring through a left footed English midfielder and a right footed Irish midfielder at the same time!

Hendrick is another I could probably get pretty easily as Burnley are going down but again he looks worse than (the excellent) Knight at this point - we're making new heroes.

[Stuniverse]

2 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

So what I'm learning is that Derby always bring through a left footed English midfielder and a right footed Irish midfielder at the same time!

Hendrick is another I could probably get pretty easily as Burnley are going down but again he looks worse than (the excellent) Knight at this point - we're making new heroes.

Don’t ask me why, but throw-in Tom Huddlestone as well and Derby have a much better track record of developing central midfielders through their Academy into the first-team than any other position.

[Stuniverse]

On 08/05/2020 at 11:17, Luke6 said:

Who the bloody hell is Paul Hurst? Needs a medal I recon! Ha.

Sorry for the delay, @Luke6. I've now been into my main save (where I've managed in Scotland for five years) and here's the details on Paul Hurst.

On 08/05/2020 at 12:14, Stuniverse said:

Paul Hurst was most recently manager of Scunthorpe United, former manager of Grimsby Town, Shrewsbury Town and Ipswich Town. I’m not sure what his in-save record was before being appointed Rams manager, but I’ll check next time I’m playing that save.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hurst

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by Stuniverse

[smplfc123]

@Stuniverse Yes I do see what you mean about the GK's, neither are definitely long term first choice for me, but i'm also concious of making too many personnel changes within the squad. Carson's recall is deintiely an option i'll consider.

Out of interest, as a Liverpool fan, who was more liked by the Derby fans, Mount or Wilson? I watched a few of your games last season on Sky and it seems that Mount is the better player, but Wilson pops up with some invaluable goals, as he did at Hull in his previous loan.

[Stuniverse]

22 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

Out of interest, as a Liverpool fan, who was more liked by the Derby fans, Mount or Wilson? I watched a few of your games last season on Sky and it seems that Mount is the better player, but Wilson pops up with some invaluable goals, as he did at Hull in his previous loan.

What a good question, @smplfc123. As I mentioned in an earlier post on here, all three of the loanees last season were loved by Rams fans and any, or all, of Harry Wilson, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori would be welcomed back to Pride Park with open arms.

Harry Wilson was a special player with his long-range shooting both from free-kicks and open play. His goals were worldies and two in particular stand out for me: his free-kick at Old Trafford that helped us knock Man Utd out of the Carabao Cup, but the one I remember most was his penalty against Leeds at Elland Road in the second-leg of the playoff semi-final to put us ahead for the first time in the tie. Wilson’s calmness under pressure in the intimidating cauldron of Elland Road was impressive for a young man as he calmly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and put his shot right in the corner.

But Mason Mount, I’d say, was the better, all-round player and was the lynch-pin of our side. We realised that in January/February when Mount was out for around four weeks with an injury and the team struggled for performances and results without him and, as soon as Mount returned, our form improved too. Wilson, in particular, struggled during that period and wasn’t the same player without Mount in the side.

So, not much in it, but if you’re asking me who was the player last season, Mount would narrowly shade it over Wilson.

Boy do I miss last season and those three players in particular.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Stuniverse

[smplfc123]

@Stuniverse Funnily enough those are the 2 Wilson goals that stand out for me too. Again as a Liverpool fan (and being Welsh too) that goal at Old Trafford and the 5-times celebration he whipped out mimiking Torres was a thing of beauty. As for that penalty, I remember watching it and texting a fellow Liverpool fan and we were both amazed with the calmness under pressure he showed to slot it away. When he played for us in pre-season, he was a strange one to grasp. I want to love him and I want him to suceed, but for the majority of his time on the pitch, he offered nothing, then out of nowhere, he picks the ball up 30 yards and smacks it in to the top corner. He's proven he can score goals from out wide in all 3 of his loan spells now, but as you said when Mount went missing, I think you have to feed him a lot for him to have an impact. 

[Stuniverse]

24 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

He's proven he can score goals from out wide in all 3 of his loan spells now, but as you said when Mount went missing, I think you have to feed him a lot for him to have an impact. 

Exactly, @smplfc123. To be fair to Harry Wilson, he was played in more of a central position when Mason Mount was injured and that’s not really his position. Wilson was much better out wide, cutting inside and either playing / crossing the ball in or taking a shot. Sometimes when he went on his dribbles, he was unstoppable, other than by being taken out which is where quite a few of his free-kicks came from.

Mason Mount was a marked man in the Championship, clearly identified by the opposition as the player who made us tick and, to Mount’s credit, once he came to terms with how to deal with that he continued to dominate and influence games. I think the attention Mount got, and the intelligent off-the-ball runs he made, created space for Wilson to exploit.
 

Fun Trivia #1: Mount and Wilson shared a house during their time in Derby and became good friends. They lived next door to Richard Keogh and the story goes that Mrs Keogh would make them meals and pass them over the garden fence.

Fun Trivia #2: Keogh doesn’t drive and Mount was his chauffeur to and from training. There’s an interview with Mount somewhere that tells of the unlikely friendship he and Keogh struck up.

Future save: when I get bored of my current Derby save, I’m going to do a boom or bust save where I use the pre-game Editor to bring Wilson, Mount and Tomori back on loan for the season on 100% wages and see if I can get the Rams promoted before the club goes bust.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Stuniverse

[smplfc123]

Not being able to drive landed Keogh in the worst place possible didn't it? Although none of them should have been driving after what they had consumed!

So my need for a wide player has increased. Chris Martin has just been ruled out for up to 6 months. This means that Waghorn and Whittaker who I had earmarked to cover attacking wide spots are now also going to need to cover up top for when Marriott is back. 

[Stuniverse]

6 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

Not being able to drive landed Keogh in the worst place possible didn't it? Although none of them should have been driving after what they had consumed!

We’d need to use direct message on here to discuss that... but I do feel sorry for Keogh. He was a brilliant player for Derby, over many seasons.

6 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

So my need for a wide player has increased. Chris Martin has just been ruled out for up to 6 months. This means that Waghorn and Whittaker who I had earmarked to cover attacking wide spots are now also going to need to cover up top for when Marriott is back. 

Ouch! That’s a terrible piece of bad luck. Sorry, just to be clear, is Martin or Marriott injured?

Edited May 10, 2020 by Stuniverse

[Stackalee]

 

Just finished my second season with Derby (first in EPL). It went really well, finishing 5th in the league reaching the semi of the FA Cup (to be dumped out by Newcastle) and winning the Carabao and Euro cups. My team stayed largely the same as the one I settled on in season 1, with the major changes being Troy Deeney replacing Morgan Whittaker and Morgan Gibbs-White replacing Rooney. Nobody lost their place off the bat, Whittaker lost out to Deeney after around 10 games in the EPL, where he was just proving completely ineffective and Rooney gradually lost his place in the starting 11 over the season, being largely ignored by March.

Overall, a really really good season - competed strongly in all competitions, we're very much a cup side though and struggled for early consistency in the league. This improved a lot in the second half of the season with some tactical changes, the biggest probably being a change to marking. In games against teams playing a 4-2-3-1 our narrow system was great at scoring goals, but really struggling to cope with the impact of opposition wide players - essentially I was asking too much of Bogle and Lowe. Taking a leaf out of Louie Van Gaal's book I started asking my central midfielders to do a marking job on opposing wide players and we saw our game really become a lot more complete. Probably the most pleasing examples of this were games against Bayern Munich in the second knockout stage of the Europa, a terrifying prospect for Derby. Both games ended 1-0 to Derby with Bayern not having a sniff, their wide men (Coutinho and Thomas Müller) completely nullified by the efforts of Sibley and Knight.

So over the season players have improved, tactics have improved and performances have improved. The downside, and I guess this was inevitable, is that Wayne Rooney has bucked that trend and following on from a really good start to the campaign became god awful from around the midpoint of the season. This is something I had already addressed in the summer, with the signing of Morgan Gibbs-White, from Bielsa's relegated Wolves side. This is the first 11 by the end of the season:

For the next window, after the really helpful feedback from @Stuniverse my major target will I think be Mason Mount, who I have so far struggled in negotiations with as I don't really want to pay anybody what he's asking. I may also start thinking about replacing Marriot, simply because he annoyed me by missing 3 absolute sitters in the Euro cup final (although he also scored twice so maybe I'm being harsh) and I'm concerned about him in big games in general. Parrot came in on loan for the second half of the season so might be an option, though I suspect dealing with Levy will be a nightmare, so maybe I'll just start giving Danny Loader (who I signed from relegated Reading) more chances to impress.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Stackalee
spelling!

[Stuniverse]

6 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

For the next window, after the really helpful feedback from @Stuniverse my major target will I think be Mason Mount, who I have so far struggled in negotiations with as I don't really want to pay anybody what he's asking.

Glad I could help, @Stackalee.

[Stackalee]

Oh also screenshots of development for some Derby youngsters I've been using, just in case anybody is interested. Knight and Sibley have probably been my favourites.

 

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by Stackalee

[smplfc123]

1 hour ago, Stuniverse said:

Ouch! That’s a terrible piece of bad luck. Sorry, just to be clear, is Martin or Marriott injured?

Martin is out for 6 months with a broken leg and Marriott is still recovering from the injury he was out with when I loaded the game. He should be back in the next 10 days though thankfully. 

[Stuniverse]

1 minute ago, smplfc123 said:

Martin is out for 6 months with a broken leg and Marriott is still recovering from the injury he was out with when I loaded the game. He should be back in the next 10 days though thankfully. 

Yes, of course. That makes sense now, @smplfc123. Thanks for clarifying.

[smplfc123]

That and the fact that it's nearing the end of July and I'm still nowhere near to finding anyone I'm remotely interested in signing that's also willing to come, has led me to recalling Mason Bennett from his loan spell. I'm hoping that his performances will be better than his technical and mental attributes suggest they will be.