“No he should be sacked. The past three years Nigel has had to focus on getting players out, and keep us in the Championship on a very low budget. In that time we have flirted with the top six a few times, and have at times played some good football.

It's safe to say that all the dead wood has now gone, so next season the focus can be on bringing in the correct players to build on now a team that has been built by Nigel. If there is not much development then, it might be different.”

“sorry "He should NOT be sacked"”

“Of course he shouldn't. It's not even worth debating.”

“Absolutely not. We are in better financial shape than a lot of other teams and ready for the fair play rules next season, and we are in pretty stable league position.

I think given the circumstances he has done a fairly decent job, the defence is much improved with Shackell and Barker, and the team has improved since last season.

On the down side, sometimes he has made some baffling loan decisions, but by and large he has made some good choices.

And just wait until the fair play rules come in you'll see a lot of teams implode. Hopefully the Rams will stay above it.”

“Good question...
No - but he really should have gone after the Crawley disgrace”

“Part of me things he has had his hands tied behind his back with the financial restraints in place at the club, with a board who refuse to spend any money.

But then look at the tactics 4-5-1 at home to Reading, dire performances away from home, poor injury prone players; Tyson, Davies ect”

“Pathetic question.
No.”

“I was not at the game against Reading caus I live in US, but I did come back for the Forest game!!!! Yes gutted!

Regarding 4-5-1 formation, its not negative, or defensive if its set up properly. I would assume it was more 4-2-3-1? If that's the case then in possession we should really be attcking through the forward, attacking mid, and two wide players....its not negative at all. The problwm with it is that in particuat in attcking mid, and the forward they need to be effective, and that is the problem we are not in top six! becasue we are putting 'free' transfers in those positions, and not quality.”

“erm, no”

“Personally I think he should stay to the end of the season and then resign. I don't see the point in getting a new manager in this late into the season. Get someone new in at the end of the season and they will have the summer to get rid of the deadwood and hopefully get some new blood in.

I was one of the happy ones when Cloughie Jr was made manager but after 3 years I feel it is time for a change, the club seems to have stagnated during this period, results and performances have been patchy at best. It's all well and good to say "keep the faith we are getting there" but surely ater 3 years the players we have should be able to pass the ball to each other without the need to lump it forward at every available oportunity to our five foot nothing strikers.... And how many goals do Derby score from open play?? Very Few!! An awful lot of the goals seem to come from corners and freekicks (Wimbledon Style).

The biggest problem I can see is who do you get to replace him??? But I still think he should step down at the end of the season.”

“Three years and the club hasn't slipped down the league. Little money to spend so a fair effort.
That said, some movement toward the top of the Championship table should have been expected and some vision towards a return towards the Premiership even better. Not seeing that though.
If NC doesnt have this vision, then....”

“Absolutely he was never qualified for the job and would never have even got the job but for his surname. He is woefully out of his depth, lacks desire, passion and most importantly does not have the skill or acumen to take the club football. Clough should never have been appointed. He brings a dour and dull brand of football to the club is a poor man to man manager and has slowly but surely got rid of every flair player we had at the club.”

“Have we got ex-prem past it players? NO. Have we got a young (avg age 22) playing squad? Yes, Is our wage bill 1 of a middle Prem team? NO. Last time we were in the Premier league we got hammered week in week out. (No thanks to turn coat Billie). This team under MR.Clough + his backroom staff will florish.”

“There are 24 teams in the league. Regardless of a manager's worth, there will always be a top team, a bottom team and 22 teams in between. Should all managers whose team is not at the top be sacked?”

“Pavyg- has the league position improved whilst significantly cutting the wage bill? Yes, it has. I agree that the football isn't exactly scintillating but we are much harder to beat and a lot better off financially. Lets blow millions in a desperate attempt to get promoted again shall we? And then joint the queue behind Portsmouth, Rangers-and I should think a fair few other clubs. Nige is in no way to blame for the tepid football, he has worked miracles even staying in the division whilst the wages and debts had been reined in drastically. Patience will be rewarded, or shall we see if "king Billy" or Schteeve fancy a return to the club?”

“RICH06 who is not to blame for the tepid football again? Sorry but as i understand the manager picks the players, the Formation and tactics which at the minute is Fielding to boot it up the pitch as far as he can and Tyson to chase aimlessly. Yes money tight but that does not mean we can't try to play positive attacking football at home.”

“No of course not. The real problem is that you cannot judge him on the last 3 years purely on the pitch results because he had been busy realigning the finances of the club with cheaper players. You could argue that had he spent loads, we'd already have been promoted and then done a Portsmouth later on. Therefore middle table may be a success story, but with the 12th most supported club in England (last time I looked) it feels nothing like a success especially after the last 5 years of disappointment.”

“What a VERY silly question .


N.C WILL BE HERE FOR A VERY LONG TIME AND
BUILD A SQUAD TO BE PROUD OF .

JUST TAKES TIME THATS ALL.

THOSE THAT WANT A QUICK FIX ...TOUGH/
CAPS STUCK ON ...not.”

“So for those who think he should go, who would replace him? A new manager would have to deal with the same financial restrictions as Clough is doing and therefore would have no money to bring in players, there would be a total change around in backroom staff costing the club even more money and then the new manager would want to bring in 'his' players costing the club even more.........Not a recipe for progress. I, like others, am not enjoying the football at times and find some decisions by the manager a little odd but the football that the team has played in small patches in the past suggest to me that ultimately Nigel would like us to knock the ball around and play attractive football but it's s results driven business. The cold hard facts show that we are financially better off than the likes of Portsmouth, not likely to go that way and are comfortably mid table clear of relegation which has been far from the case in the most of the last 10 seasons. So NO he should not be sacked.”

“If it was a school report it would read "should do better". When Clough was appointed the Derby owners played safe. Derby will never go down but neither will they ever be an ambitious promotion chasing club. Young Clough is nothing like his dad. More of a yes man would you ever have believed that but he is exactly the kind of man this board want. The Derby fans want and deserve more than what is happening now and last season and what will happen next.”

“Not enough real progress and certainly not fast enough. He's had 3 years and we don't seem to have moved on significantly. So does he have another 3? We've missed a Warnock, should have had an O'Neil a couple of years back and won't go for McCarthy but lets have someone that got a record of getting the club up.”

“No point in kicking the manager; he can't make a silk purse out of a pigs ear. There is only one sure way to produce a top team, and that's money.
If you are a poor team that manages to produce good players, then the wealthier teams attract them: Money.
Derby County is a mid-league team at the present. They have their moments when they look as if they have promotion potential, then they play as if they were aiming for relegation.
Somewhere in between is where they deserve to be, and no amount of switching managers and players around will rectify this. Money is the answer.”

“Similar comment to legsey 1 in that Clough was my choice as well three years ago but clearly time is up ! apart from the odd false dawn ie start of this season, and christmas,. but alas as i commented at chrismas as much as i hoped the good run would continue, i just knew it would all go pete tongue sooner than later, no improvement in 3 years tell me enough is enough were going no where under this manager or the yanks, and whilst some Clough lovers will say he has not been backed financially i honestly do not think it would have made a jot of diffrence if he'd had millions. Please Nigel go now Southampton just gone 4-0 up FANTASTIC !”

“In answer to your question (NO), although I'm not a fan of NC for many various reasons, I would like to see him have some money to spend and then see what he can do, as this board are tying his hands so financially tight behind his back, that he has done well enough without any money.”

“There's nothing to discuss really; supporters will just vote with their feet as they are doing.

RIP DCFC as we knew you.”

“People may consider the current run of form to be a blip, but it increasingly looks like the winning run around Christmas was actually the blip. Since November 24th we have won just 6 games. From the last 23 games (69 points or, if you prefer, half of the season), we've taken 24 points and half of that total came from the christmas fixtures. Most of the campaign has been relegation form and coupled with the fact that we now seem incapable of scoring, it's difficult to see how this latest slump is going to be stopped.

The people who criticise Clough aren't criticising him because we're not top of the league, no-one really expects the club to be. But in Clough's three years we have lost nearly half our games, won less than a third, been consistently dumped out of cup competitions by lower league sides and signed a number of players who Clough has decided are surplus to requirements almost straight away (Martin, Moxey, Maguire etc.) when we don't have the finances to get away with such mistakes. Clough consistently marginalises players over what seems to be petty grievances, has seemingly no understanding of how to use substitutes to change how a match is progressing, values graft over talent (which will only take you so far at this level), is too negative (particularly at home; you only have to look at the fact we have scored one solitary goal later than 75 minutes this season to show that he shuts up shop too early in matches) and, despite what the club thinks, we have not significantly progressed. A laughable interview on the official website this week stated "Since Clough took over in 2009, the Rams have risen from a relegation threatened side, to a team that is currently 17 points clear of the bottom three and within nine points of a play-off place." RISEN?!? From lower midtable to midtable. That constitutes progress after THREE YEARS?!? The lack of ambition would be frightening if it wasn't so funny.

Of course, this isn't solely Clough's fault - he has not had significant tools to work with (though personally I question whether he has used the tools he has had effectively). Derby County are not a football club under GSE. They are a business venture. As a business the club is being run sensibly and competitively. However, football doesn't reward sensible business strategy. The club has probably not lacked ambition and purpose to this extend since the mid 60s when it was happy bumbling along as a non-mark second tier club before Brian Clough came and lit a fire under it. GSE have no interest in reaching the Premiership, its sole interest is in conning the support into giving it money, doing so under false pretenses with claims about how it aims to do this or that "next season"; it's always "next season" with GSE regardless of the fact the fans are paying for THIS season. GSE are the primary reason the club is in a such a no man's land at present. Should Clough go? Probably. In all honesty, he should never have been appointed in the first place - it was a nostalgic appointment made purely to appease fans and his name is being used as the club know a good portion of supporters will never dare to criticise a Clough, making him bulletproof regardless of his incompetence. But what would be the point in sacking him? His replacement would only have the same counter productive restrictions places on him and achieve nothing, with the added bonus of the excellent work Clough has put into youth production probably going to waste. I think Clough should go but unless GSE and their "investors" go too, it won't achieve anything. The only hope for positive change will be for the fans to vote with their feet and who that GSE's lack of investment will be matched by a supporter's lack of investment.”

“I think sacking Nigel at this moment in time won't help the club move forward any faster.
You might get someone else in and they will have the same restriants as nigel.
The board and Glick are the problem as far as i see it.
Derby fans don't want the board to throw money at the manager like it going out of fashion we just want a couple of quality players who can motivate and change a game.
I for want love the rams and have seen them threw thick and thin.
Prices at pride park have now forced me to see only a few games a season
, and i don't think i shall be at the ground again this season.
A lot of fans are now getting fed up to there high teeth of this board and the running of our club.Every club needs fans i say vote on your feet and see how the board react.”

“Sack him, why? He has done exactly what his bosses have told him to do - massively reduce the wage bill and keep us in the Championship.

If your boss told you to reduce numbers in your department by getting rid of the best and most experienced staff whilst maintaining output you'd think he was daft and tell him that it couldn't be done. Well, Nigel has done just that and has actually managed to improve our position/points total, albeit very slightly.

That is a remarkable achievement.

I do believe, however, that Nigel does lack a bit of flair in his style and some tactical nous. I wonder if this is because he knows how frail we can be and is more scared of losing than 'gambling' on a victory with a thoughtful double-substitution or change of tactics.”

“IF YOU LOOK AT THE STATS OVER THE LAST 3 YEARS THERE IS NO ARGUMENT WHETHER YOU ARE PRO N/C OR NOT.YOU HAVE GO TO BE DELUDED OR EASILY PLEASED IF YOU ARE HAPPY WITH THE SITUATION AT PRESENT WHETHER WE ARE FINANCIALLY STABLE OR NOT.SOUTHAMPTON HAVE RISEN FROM DIVISION 1 AND THROUGH ADMINISTRATION IN THE 3 YEARS THAT N/C HAS BEEN AT DERBY INCLUDING SELLING THEIR BEST PLAYERS SUCH AS BALE AND WALCOTT AND AN EX PHYSIO AS MANAGER HAS FAR MORE TACTICAL AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE THAN N/C.WE HAVE STAGNATED AND WILL BE LUCKY TO FINISH ANY HIGHER THAN LAST SEASON.I KNOW YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR AND THE FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS ARE OBVIOUSLY A PROBLEM BUT WHEN WE HAVE SPENT MONEY IT HAS BEEN WASTED ON PLAYERS SUCH AS DAVE MARTIN AND CHRIS MAGUIRE SO IS IT ANY WONDER THAT GSE WILL NOT OPEN THEIR CHEQUE BOOK.DCFC IS JUST A HOBBY AND NOT A SERIOUS CONCERN OF THEIRS(IT MIGHT BE DIFFERENT IF WE WERE A BASKET BALL TEAM OR ICE HOCKEY TEAM).
LOOK AT WHAT MARTIN O'NEIL HAS DONE AT SUNDERLAND OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS OR SO.STEVE BRUCE SPENT £14 MILLION LAST SUMMER AND O'NEILL HAS TAKEN THE SAME SQUAD AND TRANSFORMED THEM INTO A TEAM CAPABLE OF BEATING ARSENAL IN THE FA CUP YESTERDAY.I HATE TO SAY IT BUT I THINK THAT NEIL WARNOCK WILL PERHAPS DO THE SAME AT LEEDS ALSO.CERTAINLY IF BIRMINGHAM ARE DISTRACTED BY THE FA CUP THEY COULD CHALLENGE THE TOP TWO.IF N/C CONSIDERS THE SITUATION HE SHOULD CONSIDER RESIGNING (HE MAY HAVE HIS DADS GENES BUT NOT HIS GENIUS!)
LOOKING AT EARLIER COMMENTS ON THIS QUESTION 'IBEIEVEIDO' MUST BE ON 'HAPPY TABLETS' AND IF THEY ARE LEGAL MAYBE THEY SHOULD HAND THEM OUT AT THE TURNSTILES OR GIVEN AS A FREE GIFT WITH EACH SEASON TICKET.AFTER 13/3/12 IT MIGHT NOT BE A BAD IDEA AS FOREST SEEM TO BE ON THE UP AT THE MOMENT.ON THE
SUBJECT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT REMEMBER THAT DARREN WASSALL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT AND NOT N/C.GOOD LUCK TO THE TEAM ON THURSDAY AND LET'S HOPE FOR A BETTER RESULT THAN IN THE AWAY GAME.”

“No brainer. No!”

“People like IbelieveIdo shouldn't comment on forums like this. What they think goes it's ridiculous. Back to Clough... He's tactically challenged and I've never seen a manager like it. He has no idea how to change things on the pitch and he falls out with players off it. We have a decent squad of players ( as seen at some points of the season when we've actually played well)... Clough just doesn't know what to do with them. Yes we've sorted out our finances, but that's the board. Not clough. He's bought players over the last 3 years and only 50% of them have been worth while. Shackell, Barker, Ward =brilliant. Cywka, B Davies, Maguire, Buxton, Green... They've either been garbage, not given a chance or pushed out the door. People who defend him no matter what are dillusional. Mick McCarthy all day but they'll never sack Clough.”

“Wait till the director of football arrives, I think he will walk!!!”

“,”

“CT Ram - No - the dead wood hasn't all gone.

We should wait until the end of the season. That is the time to judge, not during a good or bad run.

The aim was year on year improvement so we must wait.

For me he has done well by slashing the wage bill and keeping us in the Championship but if we finish in the bottom half this season it is time for him to go.

My biggest disappointment this season has been the recent persistence with Carroll - WHY???????
Is it coincidence or not we've really struggled and look frail in midfield since he came. Surely loans should be for our advantage, not to blood players for other teams.

I think most of us can see the problems - no pace at the back, no physical strength in midfield, no compusure up front - result if we concede early we lose.”

“So, here we are again, just after the transfer deadline, and again with a team that is playing probably the worst football ive seen since the days of Glenn Skivington. The football club is now using the financial fair play as an excuse for non investment. What are our attendances?, 2,500/10,000/15,000, no, we average over 25,000, with a team that is consistantly churning out absolute dross,with average players,and players that basically are very lucky to be playing championship football.
i got my letter of renewal last week, i wont be.
Conned springs to mind, and it will not happen again, i was one of the many thousands who,after being persuaded by the american 'freindly fire,' renewed at the start of the season with promises of signings to come. We got the signings,and wow, wernt they good.
The star signing of the flag waving reject from our mates from notts f., great!, a star signing with the goalscoring feats of a full-back
A non scoring striker from scotland , wheres he gone?
a wide , midfield, stiker *** headless chicken from sheffield, who occasionally does have a good 10 minutes
another headless chicken, from millwall this time, what did Tommy Docherty say? "he can trap a ball further than most people can kick it"
goalie ok
centre half good signing
lightweight midfielder from scotland, i call him houdini, can you guess why?
the winger from notts, wheres he gone?, more assists than anyone in the league at one stage, whats up? was he doing too well, ok, he was having a rough patch, but what about the little one from sheffield,is he too good to be dropped
basically a group of very very average and below players bought to derby on a shoestring to play in front of 25,000 odd supporters every week
Where does the money go? Glick must have been pretty peed off when he couldnt do his usual selling off of one of our better players in the last transfer window, no bids for green, but apparently a bid for james boy,but to be honest who'd fancy Wigan anyway.
So, no money raised, so lets send the gullable fans a nice letter .
Renew and get a free derby county shirt that we cant sell anyway GO AWAY.
I will never have a season ticket again until these americans are out of our club, tell me wheres the money going, or gone. can anybody say that with our attendances,we cant afford better players?
I was a big fan of nige, but ive got to say now, its time he left too, we need a fresh start with a new manager and SIR PETER GADSBY to return.
Nige has lost the plot, for one example of this, can anybody tell me why that centre half from Burton is prefered to Miles Addison,come on its a joke.
disjointed and badly run, from top to bottom, from the boardroom down to the pitch, we re being conned left right and centre. NO AMBITION, NO DIRECTION,NO CHANCE.
Dont point to the fact that weve improved position and points wise this season, dont.
Weve had a bit more luck this season and weve won games we should have easily lost, and a few of them as well, some of the worst performances i have ever seen have brought us 3 points this season, but i honestly think our lucks run out
I ll go to the forest game, but thats about it, no interest in this team anymore, heartless, talentless(as a team) and rudderless, feel sorry for Barker, Shackell,Brayford and Green, oh, and probably the goalie, but thats it, the rest are just not consistantly good enough, and a few that have been playing lately never will be, i didnt buy a season ticket to watch a player at centre forward,after all the pre season promises, who basically has the potential to be an average player at conferance level. Then you listen to radio derby and they say hes done well!!
Ive left a few games at half time this season, i hate doing it, i love derby county, but i hate what im seeing, i hate it, but on the way home listening to radio derby its telling me how well theve played, its beyond belief, Roger, respect for the seventies, but please tell it how it is
AND ITS BA”

“I think next season should be decisive. If we cannot make a push for the play offs then sorry but NC hast to go.

Next season he wont have to do any book balancing. It will be all his players and no excuses. I can honestly see us losing 2000 off the average gates and it will be a struggle to get them back under the present regime.

I for one would love Mick McCarthy at our club. They say a team plays like it's manager. Well our team plays dull, drab, uninspiring football, enough said!!”

“No. He needs a couple of years of building, not wage bill cutting. I think he is doing a great job under difficult circumstances. Our club is being run the right way by those who value its future. Patience will be rewarded!”

“Got to thinking the other day why i dislike clough so much apart from his obvious destruction of a great club.

What came to mind was he is not very good at his job.We have all met them in industry , offices, shops etc. but in these places they can hide, people cover for them, make excuses ,so on and so on.
In football you cannot hide , it is a results business, his supporters quote mitigating circumstances, lack of money , injuries, referee decisions,unsupportive board (all factors that every manager has to deal with) ,but on the park we see mediocre hyped up players *( now HIS players), unfathomable tactics, players played out of position, etc.etc. which has resulted in three years of mediocre league positions, early exits from every cup and more and more loanees, below standard signings coming and going greeted with the usual clough and media hype.
Gone he should have gone eighteen months ago and the longer he remains the further down he will take this once great club.”

“Will give him till the Forest game, if we loose badly then for me that is the last straw.

And for all those moaning about he has no money to spend... how much money have the likes of Reading, Hull, Barnsley, Birmingham and Leeds spent? And look at what Swansea and Norwich did last season... all the rubbish about GSE not backing Clough is nonsense. And with a 1 in 3 success rate with transfers can understand why they don't back him!!! A good motivator with tactical nouse would sort this current squad out with very little investment. Someone needs to come in with a clean sheet - then lets have a look at Maguire, Miles, Naylor etc and give them all a go as O'neil did at Sunderland.

Of those available Mick McCarthy for me...”

“no”

“canot see why the forest game should be a yardstick they are a poor side and to beat them at home would prove nothing.
As you say there is some decent players and with some modicum of tactical knowhow, motivation, awareness even basically playing players in their proper positions ie.proper management”

“GET MARTIN ALLEN IN”

“BENDIBUS 4 NIGEL”

“Sacked? Who would sack him? I doubt that GSE even know or give a damn who he is!
My dream ticket would be a Stimac and Asanovic double ticket to rebuild Fortress Pride Park”

“Where in the league should the Rams be expected to be, given their players, management, etc?
Of course they would be higher up the league if they had a better team, that's a no-brainer.
Regardless of the quality of the teams in a given season, all 24 positions will be filled. Derby County does not exist in a vacuum; there are other teams who expect to do better than they are doing. What if all the teams sack their managers and improve their performance? Where should Derby be then? Derby are exactly where they should be based on their performance, just as are all the other teams.”

“Derby Stu - "They say a team plays like it's manager. Well our team plays dull, drab, uninspiring football" - got to be the best post of the week - made me laugh..”