Derby County boss Nigel Clough says team spirit will get Rams back on track

“Everyone can see Hughes needs a rest, except the one person that needs to see it most, Mr N Clough”

“Don't drop Hughes to the bench send him on holiday for a week in Spain. Let him rest , get away, get hungry for the game again. Coutts I just don't see it, he can't beat people and he can't cross with accuracy. Sammons has to be there to hold the ball up and provide some high pressure, but not sure who in current squad can partner him. Ward and Bryson I prefer on the outside. Most of all I miss the consistency of Shackell at the back, and yearn for Barker's return. Selling Shackell is Nigel's ( or was it the board) biggest mistake so far.We are still missing a proven striker and a proven center half.We just don't seem to be consistent or going anywhere.”

“Tadders, it's back to that point about him being too close to see the obvious maybe?

Also, we might just be wrong of course! For all our conventional wisdom, it might actually be true that there's too much inexperience in the side for it to deliver a consistent performance week in week out.

Dunno to be honest, but it's certainly nice for us all to have a decent debate without falling out :-)”

“Pete - what I s worrying is that people like me and you don't much about football but our manager does, but we can see that his formations don't really work, not great.”

“Theo and Ward wouldn't be the answer for me either. Theo runs his socks off, and he has the habit of pinching a goal, but his ball control is truly awful. Every time it lands at his feet a move breaks down and we are under pressure, assuming he wasn't offside in the first place! Despite some failings Sammon does lead the line better han any other player in the squad. I am not 100% sure about Ward either, he can be very hit and miss, but he should definitely not be on the flank. Maybe its time to give Bennett his chance?”

“Some good comments & debate on here about formation & who should be in the team

As I see it part of the problem is the small squad size & lack of quality in key areas - up front & defence - this has been the case all season. Team spirit can help teams play above themselves for a while - but it's rarely sustainable. What's needed is an injection of quality - a Billy Sharp up front, a CB & LB

I'm hoping that Tyson's loan was to free up budget to help address these issues - otherwise we've just weakened the squad further”

“usual rubbish from nigel, a man who has the safest job in football
well done derby you have managed to lose 10,000 fans in record time

seems they are happy to be mid table in obscurity”

“I certainly agree with resting players who aren't fully fit or suffering from fatigue. It does indeed take a brave man to drop hughes to the bench. But opposition are going to train all week expecting to come against hughes to man mark out of the game. If we rest him and play Bryson in the middle, the player assigned with the task of man marking him will struggle to keep up with his energy.

I'm not so sure about moving Coutts into the centre of the field. His performances have been under par recently, but when he has performed to his best ability, he has been on the wing. He doesn't seem as comfortable in the middle (Scunthorpe being the best example! - despite it being so early in his rams career).

I think playing Theo and Ward up front together would be almost suicidal. Im not the biggest Sammon fan by any means but he does hassle defenders and he can hold up a ball better than any in our squad. If we play Theo and Wardy together we're going to be limited to shooting from far out all the time. Playing Theo alongside Sammon would work for me as a poacher considering the best thing about his game is his positioning.

Regarding the defence, is it time to start using Freeman at left back more often? Roberts doesn't seem able to last 90 mins any more. Also, he is always the target for long balls over the top considering his lack of height.”

“I agree with you Derwent -play 2 central strikers -my preference would be Ward & Robinson. 1 wide and 3 central midfield. AND give a breather to injured or fatigued players by rotating the squad. All 3 of Coutts, Jacobs & Davies can play wide or central so there are opportunities to rest Hughes, Bryson & Hendrick.

Problem for me is the defence, especially weakness in the air in central areas. We are never going to get the classic smash & grab, defend attack on the break 1-0 away win, because if we concede a lot of possession, we are going to concede at least 2 goals.”

“Quote: 'Everyone seems in agreement that we can't accommodate Hughes, Hendrick and Bryson.....'

The problem is that formation was at the heart of some very impressive home performances prior to the last two games. We have previously started with two in midfield, then had to switch to three because we weren't getting enough of the ball. I would argue that having three in midfield isn't the problem, having two of them in the side who are obviously jaded or injured is more likely to be the root cause of our dip in performances. Hughes is now the subject of some very tight man marking which he will learn to cope with over time.

In addition I am no fan of having Ward stuck out on the left flank because he contributes very little as a wide player. Jacobs and Davies were very unfortunate to be left out of the side to make way for him and it has upset the balance of the team. If we are going to play Ward let's start him alongside Sammon and then we can consider who needs a rest and how we can structure the side to win enough ball in the centre of the park.

I would say give Hughes a rest (as we did with Hendrick) but it will take a brave man to leave him out. Coutts can play in a central role and we have a choice of wide men to replace him on the flank. Maybe we should go with Jacobs, Coutts, Hendrick and Davies until Hughes and Bryson are rested and back on song, behind Ward and Sammon.”