James Bailey waiting to learn what happens next

“Bailey has gone backwards form wise ,thats all.

He is a quality player that will come back better hopefully.”

“The side needs to be balanced and if Hughes plays down the left then we do not have any attacking threat because neither him nor Roberts are going to run past a player and cross from the byline. All our attacking threat then has to come from the right side and it tends to make us predictable and it becomes easier for the opposition to shut us down.
Hughes strength is passing the ball and so it makes sense that he plays inside so he can influence the game.
Personally I like Bailey and I thought that he was never afraid to have the ball and try to pass it and play football the right way.
IMO Bailey is unfortunate to be out in the cold because I think he contributes more than Jeff Hendrick and he would be an asset to the current squad.”

“You're both right and wrong there Stu.

We all know that Hughes is better in the centre - we've heard and seen it many, many times this season.

But, when Hendrick was in the side, Hughes would start those games out on the left. Hendrick has been dropped because he's struggling for form, Jacobs is in and that's why Hughes is now starting in the middle.

The simple fact is that if Hendrick was in form and still in the side, Hughes would still be starting out wide left (unless Bryson were unavailable)”

“Mista I think you'll find Jacobs is playing as Hughes as been moved into midfield where he is more effective.

Bailey is just a victim of the squad we have and the rising level of quality in it. This is a positive for the club and an unfortunate situation for the player.

I would like to know what kind of reviews he and Ball are getting at Coventry?”

“Clough did say though that Bailey being made available for loan wasn't a slight on his ability - just that Hendrick and Bryson together was proving to be an effective partnership.

Maybe if Bailey were here he'd be in the side as Hendrick is being 'rested', but instead Jacobs has stepped up, pushing Hughes into the middle.

It's quite an unfortunate situation for Bailey, but i don't think there's anything sinister in it. Maybe when Hughes leaves (hopefully in the summer rather than January) he'll be closer to the first team...or maybe not. That's football, i guess”

“How very wrong you are 60yeararamsfan.

Is somebody else posting in your stead...???”

“Clough knows exactly what he is doing. Bailey has found his level at Coventry and he isn't good enough to oust any of our midfield players. He isn't a great tackler, nor is he a particularly good passer of the ball. When he was available how many Championship clubs were beating at the door to sign him?

Clough supposedly shunned Maguire but he has turned out once for Sheffield Wednesday, proving that the manager was spot on with his assessment. Likewise he didn't select Cwyka who hasn't pulled up any trees since he left us.

No one is going to convince me that Clough leaves out good players because their faces don't fit, he leaves them out because they are not good enough (Maguire), they are over the top (Hulse) or they simply don't listen (Cwyka).”

“Unfortunately this happens to players in football these days too often where they are as good as being cut adrift by clubs. This is a situation that needs managing but NC appears not to know how to handle the issue. From a personal perspective I feel that James could be an asset to Rams as we do not have another holding midfielder in the club and a player of that calibre is required for away games in particular to break up the home team's pattern of play and therefore get possession. I thought that James learnt that style of play from Sav when he was here at PP and our away record suggests that we need that effective style of player if that record is to improve. All too often at PP we see players being shunned all because their faces don't apparently fit in with the management team and it is an area of concern that we seem unable to handle such situations properly.”