Impressed with doog?

The negative football wouldn't be as bad if it felt like teams hated coming to the Reebok. Nine times out of ten, visiting sides have had us on the back foot from the word go, they've played triangles round the midfield and defence, and generally made us look like the away team.
I've spoke to a lot of people who like that we've got a manager who's focused on keeping it tight defensively. Unfortunately, being focused on it, doesn't imply that you're gonna achieve it. For all that he's had us playing cautious, mind numbing football, we've come up short defensively for the majority of his time at the club.

There's a skill to making a team hard to beat. Dougie obviously thinks he's got it. Maybe he has and he just needs a side full of his own signings to show it. Personally, I have major doubts.

If we'd gone out to win every game last season we'd have finished higher up the table.

doffcocker wrote:The negative football wouldn't be as bad if it felt like teams hated coming to the Reebok. Nine times out of ten, visiting sides have had us on the back foot from the word go, they've played triangles round the midfield and defence, and generally made us look like the away team.
I've spoke to a lot of people who like that we've got a manager who's focused on keeping it tight defensively. Unfortunately, being focused on it, doesn't imply that you're gonna achieve it. For all that he's had us playing cautious, mind numbing football, we've come up short defensively for the majority of his time at the club.

There's a skill to making a team hard to beat. Dougie obviously thinks he's got it. Maybe he has and he just needs a side full of his own signings to show it. Personally, I have major doubts.

100% correct sir ....
Doog talks about possession football but for the most part we have less possession than even the visiting teams. So trying to play a system that doesn't suit the players you have doesn't make sense.  And of course negative tactics only ensure you lose or draw....neither good enough IMO.

This is an interesting debate with half of posters having a go at Dougie for not doing what Owen Coyle did.
As Bryan points out "Owen Coyle turned the club from a mid table Premiership side to a below average Championship side" by (as several people put it) "having a go at teams".


TBF to Coyle, it must have been entertaining for the neutral watching us vainly throwing on strikers and attacking midfielders in failed attempt after failed attempt to break down organised defences and still go for it even though we lost nearly every week and conceded a bucketload.


Does anyone really want that again? I don't - we've fallen far enough down the leagues for now.


So is there anything we can agree upon?


I think there may be. 
Despite conceding lots of possession, the one thing Dougie has achieved since the Reading match is an improved defensive record. In that period since mid January we scored 30 and conceded 16.


We almost held our own against the better teams losing by the odd goal or drawing (Burnley, Leicester, QPR and Derby) and if you take out our freak wins against Leeds and Rovers every other game was tight and close - Dougie has made us more competitive but not dominant.


So how do we have more of a go, with this squad without sacrificing this moderate improvement and going back to the Coyle era?

First of all, Coyle took over a side averaging a point a game. That's a long way off midtable material.

Secondly, there were a number of shortcomings to Coyles abilities as a manager. You can't put that he was a failure here all down to how he was too gung ho.

It's just nonsensical to say that because Coyle liked to "have a go" at teams and happened to be a failure, we should be happy with the shite Dougies had us playing which is the opposite extreme.

doffcocker wrote:
You can't put that he was a failure here all down to how he was too gung ho.

I just did.

Coyle's was a premiership team too which had loads of investment, comparatively.

However that's all water under the bridge now - the question I asked was how we attack more without compromising the marginally improved defence and without the resources to buy top quality attacking midfielders & strikers?

Coyle's failings were numerous, from his ridiculous recruitment, through to his one dimensional football, as soon as teams worked out Coyle's football we were fucked, same goal every week more or less, one, two round the fullback pull the ball back across the six yard box goal!!!!, Owen never learned. it sounds to me like he was Gartsides's yes man, he probably should have been saying, "fuck off Phil, you can't build a Premiership team buying below average Championship players", instead of, "ok boss"

Freedman, I can't work out whether he's  taking the piss out of supporters or he's just fucking thick!!!!!!

wanderlust wrote:the question I asked was how we attack more without compromising the marginally improved defence and without the resources to buy top quality attacking midfielders & strikers?

5-4-1 at home certainly isn't the answer.

doffcocker wrote:

wanderlust wrote:the question I asked was how we attack more without compromising the marginally improved defence and without the resources to buy top quality attacking midfielders & strikers?

5-4-1 at home certainly isn't the answer.

 

I'm not impressed with Doug at all. It seems he's not done anything other than (mainly) sign up the players we'd already borrowed and why he decided to keep Trotter utterly mystifies me. From what I can see he's either not got the money or simply hasn't got the nous to go after Juke when it was obvious to anyone with half a brain the man was enjoying his football here and easily our most potent attacking threat in the time he was with us. I'm trying to figure out what's happened with Mason as well. Can someone tell me if we're in for those two at all? 

As to the releases, well, so far all I can see is we let Mears, Knight and Eagles leave. That's not exactly a seismic shock but we don't seem to be moving the squad forward in terms of quality at all.

luckyPeterpiper wrote:From what I can see he's either not got the money or simply hasn't got the nous to go after Juke when it was obvious to anyone with half a brain the man was enjoying his football here and easily our most potent attacking threat in the time he was with us. 

I know you're just returning, but do me a favour LPP.

He's the one who had the nous to bring in Juke in the first place! There weren't any other teams in for him and half the fans thought he was mad, maybe it's time to trust his judgement in the transfer market a little more he's proved fans wrong time and time again.

I think he's just trying to get the price down for Juke, I doubt we have a million to spend freely so he's either waiting and hoping to sell someone or waiting for Boro to get desperate and lower the price, it's a gamble but we haven't got the finances to throw around.

Boro want to bring in Graham and possibly Grabban so I hear, Karanka doesn't rate Juke and will want to sell to raise funds. We'll be Juke's first choice as a club to go to, wait in the summer until Boro lower the price, they've come in pretty low if £1 million is to be believed but anyone who's done a deal knows if you want a bargain you don't accept their first price.

bwfc1874 wrote: he's proved fans wrong time and time again.

Bollocks.

Moritz, Medo, Spearing, Gregus, Hall & Baptiste have all been awful and that's off the top of my head.

He's had a few successes, but let's not make him out to be some great talent spotter.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Bollocks.

Moritz, Medo, Spearing, Gregus, Hall & Baptiste have all been awful and that's off the top of my head.

He's had a few successes, but let's not make him out to be some great talent spotter.

Utter, utter, utter, utter bullshit. 

Gregus was a youth team player so write him out of that straight away as he'll have cost a pittance. He'd probably have been signed if money wasn't so tight.

Medo's an excellent defensive midfielder at this level, as is Spearing on his day. Moritz on a free? 7 goals in 23 mainly off the bench, good impact player and Hall's probably our best prospect of breaking into the first team.

Danns, Juke, Mason, Feeney have all proved the fans wrong.