Gamst

Sherwood and Davies rightly stating how the players are clearly playing for the badge and for Val. Despite all the nonsense in the boardroom, you cannot question the effort of the players. Limited squad having sold the core of the team and already picking up multiple injuries to key players. All things considered they are doing pretty well.

I think we absolutely need his experience. He’s having a solid season and he seems to have found a good run of staying injury free. I’m certainly glad we still have him.

We have 12 championship fixtures before we can realistically expect a new CB to be signed in Jan. Surely we need to find a free agent like Craig Dawson ASAP. Our season trajectory will be determined by this congested period and responsible owners and management would be moving mountains to make this happen.

It’s pretty easy to answer. He is coaching another team and thinks the players we are willing to sell or let their contracts run down would help the team he’s now coaching. They’d have gone somewhere else if not Derby. If we’d paid players the going rate then they’d probably still be here!

Depends what the objective is. I would suggest avoiding relegation by any means possible would be a reasonable target for the season given the fairly pitiful squad our management have contrived to assemble. Based on that level of expectation VI is just about hitting his target and doing okay. Considering we spent the lions share of last season in promotion contention, survival being the realistic objective a few short months later is a damning indictment on Rudy/Pasha/Venkys and ‘the project’.

In other words, his decision to jump ship to a team marooned in a relegation scrap has been completely vindicated. I don’t blame folk for feeling bitter, it’s a tough pill to swallow, but if you’re honest with yourself he’s not a Rovers supporter and clearly made the right call.

Not backing Eustace really was criminal. Even more criminal than the failure to back JDT before him. I doubt he expected a war chest either! Modest investment and new contracts for key players would have been sufficient. An excellent man manager who is also tactically able. Stumbling into finding the perfect manager to give us the best chance of defying the odds and getting promoted and then rapidly pissing him off to the extent that he leaves whilst the team are in the the playoffs for a team in the relegation zone is embarrassing. Eustace winning at Ewood today with the same robust no nonsense winning football he had us playing this time last year is humiliating. I hate losing as much as anyone, but it’s hard not to appreciate the poetic justice that has been served up to Rudy and Pasha. A husk of the club we once were in every single facet.

A bridge too far for us today. Removing Tronstad, Wharton and Toth from the lineup was too much for us to handle. Tuesday night came at a cost, but at least we actually held out for the 3 points which may end up being priceless. Due to our neglectful owners we do not have the depth to absorb such losses and we are only in early November! Selling Hyam without a replacement was simple greed. I don’t believe VI is a bad manager though and despite our obvious deficiencies we have a decent chance of staying up. Someone like Eustace would be perfect for the job though…. To be honest I think we’ve done okay to have as many points as we do given how poor the squad is. Due to the Ipswich debacle we are unlucky not to have another 3 points too. International break comes at a good time to hopefully get some rest and some bodies back.

Unfortunately, the main attribute they will look for in any replacement is complicity. I don’t think they’d make the same mistake of hiring someone ambitious and headstrong for a third time! It feels like we are just circling the drain now.

How did Henriksson play today? I’m only vaguely interested to know really and I sense my apathy is shared by many as I’ve seldom seen such a quiet match thread.

I don’t mind Val generally. I quite like his honesty and feel he comes across pretty well. My biggest issue with him is how he drinks the club kool-aid and this makes him complicit. I don’t think many managers would be able to perform under these restrictions and Val is either extremely confident in his own ability or just happy to accept a very decent salary. Somehow the club actually did manage to find two managers who were able to perform minor miracles despite the situation, but of course they soon wanted out when they worked out how rotten the club is. Val doesn’t appear to have what it takes, but that’s not really a big criticism as few could. Our squad is also a lot worse than what JDT and JE had to work with. Sacking him would only be rearranging the deck chairs on the HMS Venky.

That escalated quickly! More hard luck stories incoming no doubt. In fairness it will be interesting to see Frank’s assessment as I think every other team has been battered and Norwich rode their luck massively to get a point at Coventry. You do get the distinct feeling that nothing is going for us this season which is often how a relegation season plays out. You reap what you sow.

Did Cov announce their team 15mins early too? Given our lineup reveals an important tactical change going 3 at the back. I don’t know how these things work but maybe the opposition can make a late lineup change given this information? Not that it makes a big difference today like.

Have a strange feeling we might surprise a few today and only lose by 1 or 2 goals.

Good fight back against a strong Stoke team. Expected us to roll over and concede a couple more after their first goal and that certainly didn’t happen. Only a point but it stops the losing run at home and provides a little more hope than the previous 2 matches. The sheff wed draw at home was the spark for a good run last season. It’s nice not to lose or have a late abandonment to ruin the weekend for once!