Derry City v Drogheda United Match Thread

[brandyball]

Don't want to hear people slagging the pich any more. The number of times we gave The ball away especially rolling it out of play over the Mark Farren stand side,, are they underestimating the width of the pitch? Begiining to think Higgins may be found out this season. Doesn't seem to have much of a plan B.

With Rovers revival well and truly underway we'd need to get things sorted A.S.AP.. I know we have a lot of important players missing but constantly playing one up front is criminal.

[Keyser Soze]

That was shocking tonight.

For 2nd game in a row, we didn't look like the team with an extra man.

Our home form is going to be our undoing again this season. And it's not all on the pitch. Guys are getting played out of position, the leagues best player in a month is dropped to the bench, we pass and pass and pass to death. Players seem afraid to be positive. All that has to be on the tactics of the manager.

Massive game on Monday night now.

[jimd]

I said it last week and got stick, some old same old 2night again things need to change, tactics so predictable

[dcfc_jp_1989]

When they went down to 10 men we had a chance to go for the jugular but chose not to. Drogheda had no interest in passing the half way line but we still felt the need to play with a back 4 or at least push Ben further forward.

I feel sorry for Graydon as he has no support whatsoever down the right, when he gets the ball he has to do it alone as our right back is left footed & doesn't overlap. Not enough men in the box when the ball goes in there & certain players seem undroppable or unsubstitutionable when not performing at the levels required to be a title challenging team.

Our set pieces are too predictable when it's the same person taking them over & over again, would be great to see someone else on them. People can choose to keep blaming the pitch but that tonight was not the pitch

[brandyball]

The Manager's view

https://www.facebook.com/groups/derryci ... 511624628/

[Nige92]

Based on the performances of the first 9 games, this is not a title winning team. Same difficulties as last season yet nothing seems to have changed. The players we have find it difficult to break down a set defence. Our most dangerous player sits around the centre of the pitch, where opposition teams would prefer him.
Have to start looking towards management / coaching at this point. Underperforming based on the playing talent we have.

[brandyball]

Based on the performances of the first 9 games, this is not a title winning team. Same difficulties as last season yet nothing seems to have changed. The players we have find it difficult to break down a set defence. Our most dangerous player sits around the centre of the pitch, where opposition teams would prefer him.
Have to start looking towards management / coaching at this point. Underperforming based on the playing talent we have.

Nail on head.

[Keyser Soze]

I rarely listen to post match interviews, or pre match ones either, but is the manager being asked by sports interviewers about his tactics?

[Greengo]

First defeat of the season guys... We wont win every game...

It was a poor watch last night and no harm their goal was fortuitous... What Cian Kavanagh was doing heading it across the 6 yard box is anyones guess...

Their sending off was never a red... Our sending off was down to Gary Deegan giving off to the ref who eventually produced a yellow card but I think Deegan then reminded him he was already on a yellow and had to produce the red... Really inept refereeing and hard to stomach...
And it WAS a handball inside the area and we should have had a penalty... The replay we had showed it clearly...

I can understand both managers frustration... The reaction of some of our fans to Kevin Doherty in the press area was to be honest embarassing... He was sitting close to Dee & Felix so he'd have certainly heard it...

We move on to Monday... Beat Bohs and all this will be forgotten about... We'll be ahead on goal difference and will need to keep momentum going... Higgins did mention last night that some of the injured players are making good progress so hopefully it wont be too long before we are at full strength...

I do expect Rovers to go on a run now though

[brandyball]

First defeat of the season guys... We wont win every game...

It was a poor watch last night and no harm their goal was fortuitous... What Cian Kavanagh was doing heading it across the 6 yard box is anyones guess...

Their sending off was never a red... Our sending off was down to Gary Deegan giving off to the ref who eventually produced a yellow card but I think Deegan then reminded him he was already on a yellow and had to produce the red... Really inept refereeing and hard to stomach...
And it WAS a handball inside the area and we should have had a penalty... The replay we had showed it clearly...

I can understand both managers frustration... The reaction of some of our fans to Kevin Doherty in the press area was to be honest embarassing... He was sitting close to Dee & Felix so he'd have certainly heard it...

We move on to Monday... Beat Bohs and all this will be forgotten about... We'll be ahead on goal difference and will need to keep momentum going... Higgins did mention last night that some of the injured players are making good progress so hopefully it wont be too long before we are at full strength...

I do expect Rovers to go on a run now though

Beating Bohs is easier said than done the way we're currently playing.

[Keyser Soze]

Greengo,

Appreciate you are trying to see the positives, but its not like last night was a blip. A home defeat was coming based on our form this season, and there'll be plenty more if we continue to play like that.

We have also been poor in some of the victories too. Away to Shels with an extra man, we were poor too.

We did play well v Rovers, but there has been more bad than good this season. And it's worrying a lot of fans. The sooner we get Duffy, Dummigan and Whelan in, the better.

[TenaciousDee]

Can someone explain this notion to me that seems very common with supporters, how will Whelan change things? If Whelan comes in, what is to say he won't be as isolated as McGonigle and Kavanagh? Is this fella the next Messi or something because from what I see Jamie has a better scoring record in this division than him. Let's not forget too he is fresh off an ACL injury.

In my opinion, Whelan will make no difference to our game unless we change our system at home. That will involve a quicker transition from the midfield to the forward/wingers, quicking the tempo of our passing, putting more pressure on our opposition and becoming more unpredictable because we are so easy to defend against. I will give you an example of how easy it is. All our wingers last night (barring Graydon) play on sides that is opposite to their favoured foot. O'Neill and Brandon Kavanagh march down the wing until they get to the wing back they'll never take the wing back on moving to the outside because they know if they do they can't deliver a strong ball into the box on their weaker foot (not that they can on their strong foot most of the time). Defenders just show them out and they eventually pass the ball backwards, making them ineffective. Coll has the same issue on the right side. The defenders know he will use his left foot. Put him under pressure and he will make a mistake and he made plenty last night because he did what came instinctively to him. If I can see that from the stands or at home, so can opposition managers and scouts.

[paul60]

First defeat of the season guys... We wont win every game...

It was a poor watch last night and no harm their goal was fortuitous... What Cian Kavanagh was doing heading it across the 6 yard box is anyones guess...

Their sending off was never a red... Our sending off was down to Gary Deegan giving off to the ref who eventually produced a yellow card but I think Deegan then reminded him he was already on a yellow and had to produce the red... Really inept refereeing and hard to stomach...
And it WAS a handball inside the area and we should have had a penalty... The replay we had showed it clearly...

I can understand both managers frustration... The reaction of some of our fans to Kevin Doherty in the press area was to be honest embarassing... He was sitting close to Dee & Felix so he'd have certainly heard it...

We move on to Monday... Beat Bohs and all this will be forgotten about... We'll be ahead on goal difference and will need to keep momentum going... Higgins did mention last night that some of the injured players are making good progress so hopefully it wont be too long before we are at full strength...

I do expect Rovers to go on a run now though

I go along with your analysis but feel that for Whelan to be added to the front will require a play maker to be sacrificed and the one likely to score from set pieces is the one who remains. Loud mouthed supporters have always been a problem to my ears but countering them with our own opinions is a must. I don’t believe we should be winning every match but penetrating football is entertainment to me.

[Keyser Soze]

We are getting so many fundamental things wrong, it makes you wonder what the manager is thinking.

We have an U21 international RB, but instead he plays a LB out of position, and he doesn't look comfortable there at all.

We have a player in Fats who can cut open defences, shoot from range with either foot, control a game. He was one of the main attackers in the great Dundalk era, yet for us he plays in front of the defence, influencing very little.

We also have a near identical type of player beside him, who slows the game down everytime he takes possession. And to complete the midfield we have a guy who 99% of the time looks to go backwards.

Up front We have a lone striker who rarely gets fed good balls from midfield. When he gets a sub brought on to help him up top, like on Friday night, he gets moved out to play left wing!

We badly need a driving midfielder who arrives in the box supporting the forward(s). Or a forward who can hold possession.

[davybhoy]

We are getting so many fundamental things wrong, it makes you wonder what the manager is thinking.

We have an U21 international RB, but instead he plays a LB out of position, and he doesn't look comfortable there at all.

We have a player in Fats who can cut open defences, shoot from range with either foot, control a game. He was one of the main attackers in the great Dundalk era, yet for us he plays in front of the defence, influencing very little.

We also have a near identical type of player beside him, who slows the game down everytime he takes possession. And to complete the midfield we have a guy who 99% of the time looks to go backwards.

Up front We have a lone striker who rarely gets fed good balls from midfield. When he gets a sub brought on to help him up top, like on Friday night, he gets moved out to play left wing!

We badly need a driving midfielder who arrives in the box supporting the forward(s). Or a forward who can hold possession.

Don't disagree with this at all. Higgins needs to formulate a plan B as there certainly doesn't look to be one and start playing the best players in their correct positions. If everyone I chat to can see the plan isn't working out at home the past 18 months how come the manager who's job it is to know can't see it- baffling.

[stevebradley]

We played one up front at home against a poor Drogheda side who will be worried about the relegation zone all season. That for me speaks volumes about where our problems lie (and it's not the pitch or even the referees).

Higgins needs to revisit how he prepares the team for games and how we're set up at home, as it's currently far too timid and far too predictable.

We also desperately need 2 new players IMO - an aggressive central midfielder who isn't afraid to press forward and run at defenders to open them up and pull them out of position (a bit like Fats used to be, but is either too old for now or isn't allowed to be under Higgins). And we also need a 'natural' goalscorer. A jammy fecker who will get 20+ goals a season by always seeming to be in the right place at the right time (the boys that cost most in any team).

Of all the players out with injuries currently, I think having Duffy back on the wing will make the most difference to how we play - but it won't be enough on its own. We've genuinely no idea what Whelan will be like, as he's not played a minute for us yet. Beyond that - as others have said we have the same problems this year that we did last year. Nothing has fundamentally changed. We're still a team that has all the possession in the world, but which can't covert that into solid chances and goals. We lack aggression, urgency and hunger.

On the plus side, we tend to lift our performances against the better teams (and then struggle against weaker ones). So hopefully tomorrow we'll be a completely different animal than we were on Friday. Because by that performance we'll be lucky to qualify for Euroope again, nevermind winning a league.

[Marty]

Beggers believe that people are complaining about 1 upfront in this day and age. There are no successful teams globally playing 4-4-2.

[davybhoy]

Beggers believe that people are complaining about 1 upfront in this day and age. There are no successful teams globally playing 4-4-2.

There's a big difference in playing one lone striker if that striker is being supported from midfield or the two wide players contribute to the goals or the assists..the way the team is structured everyone can see a lone striker in this set up doesn't work. If ur trying to break teams like Drogheda down why not go three at the back with another striker up top. If it's not working fix it- don't persist with something that's obviously not the solution to the problem.

[stevebradley]

Beggers believe that people are complaining about 1 upfront in this day and age. There are no successful teams globally playing 4-4-2.

4-4-2 is a magazine, not a system that any football team sticks rigidly to.

You obviously alter how you're set up depending upon your opponents. There will be some games where playing a loan man up front makes sese. But when it comes to teams like Drogheda or UCD at home, it would be a complete farce for Derry to only play a single striker.

You're supposed to change your shape depending upon your opponemts - both before and during games if required. We don't.

[Marty]

Just say it Dave Bassett, you want to play 4-4-2?

If not 4-4-2, what formation do you want that gets two men up front.