Derek's back

[Andy D]

buzzing i feel confident about staying up now.


i wonder where this leaves Martin Foyle our head of recruitment?

[Little Shrimp]

I have a few question marks over how it will work out, but I'd absolutely love it to obviously! What a story it would be if he keeps us up.

On AOC - I think it's a bit unclear as to who exactly did the releasing at Bradford and whether AOC went of his own accord. He was apparently on good money there so they may have wanted to just clear the wage bill a bit.

I've seen it pointed out on Twitter that he was actually offered a contract at Plymouth just after DA took over there, but turned it down to move to Burton Albion in the league above.

AOC seems quite a big and strong character, but also seems to share a similarly determined and focused mindset to DA.

[black morse]

I was thinking the same thing about AOC and any players he is not keen on will he isolate them like he did with Kev?

Good to hear him say in his interview that we will go after Ipswich on the front foot so maybe not too defensive then.

Kev was great for us in the past under Jim but he would rub someone like Derek up the wrong way from the off. He would have been a disruptive influence in the dressing room and isolation was probably the only way Derek could stop that.

[vvm]

Delighted with this appointment. The board have done brilliantly here, none of us can say if this will be a success or not but it seems like our best chance and absolutely the right decision so if we stay up or go down I can't fault them at all for their actions.

Could also be a blessing in disguise. I didn't want Robbo to leave but the fact that he wasn't prepared to see out the job probably suggests he didn't think he could keep us up. We did look to be improving a bit recently but 16 points out of a possible 66 since the beginning of October is quite concerning. I was prepared to stick by him but wasn't confident at all that he had what it takes to keep us up and he's proved that by giving up before he got found out.

Nobody can say for certain if Derek will keep us up but I think we've got a better chance with him than with Judas.

[P/T Indie]

I have a few question marks over how it will work out, but I'd absolutely love it to obviously! What a story it would be if he keeps us up.

On AOC - I think it's a bit unclear as to who exactly did the releasing at Bradford and whether AOC went of his own accord. He was apparently on good money there so they may have wanted to just clear the wage bill a bit.

I've seen it pointed out on Twitter that he was actually offered a contract at Plymouth just after DA took over there, but turned it down to move to Burton Albion in the league above.

AOC seems quite a big and strong character, but also seems to share a similarly determined and focused mindset to DA.

I also wonder if Derek would prefer a big lump of a CB instead, take Knight Percivil for example not the best player and I think Sam made him look better than he was but he got his head most things.

However Derek will have to find a way to make it work for this season at least as he can't bring anyone in.

I also wonder if he would prefer Gibson to Greg as Gibson is more defensive minded.

[vvm]

Can we still sign free agents? Not that I know any I'd particularly want but could be an idea.

[lancs]

Alex Kenyon is currently a free agent.

[Wild Bill]

I was thinking the same thing about AOC and any players he is not keen on will he isolate them like he did with Kev?

Good to hear him say in his interview that we will go after Ipswich on the front foot so maybe not too defensive then.

Kev was great for us in the past under Jim but he would rub someone like Derek up the wrong way from the off. He would have been a disruptive influence in the dressing room and isolation was probably the only way Derek could stop that.

I think Derek runs a tight ship and is a bit like an old fashioned school master. Kev was used to a more relaxed approach under Bentley and could get away with playful heckles in team meetings etc. Under Derek though this was a big no-no. I believe Kev also refused to train on the 3G pitch. Ultimately, he no longer fitted in to the culture Derek wanted to create. Coupled with the fact he was far past his best and also decided to take to social media to express his frustrations of being dropped Derek decided to freeze him out.

With the squad we now have, I'd expect most players to buy into his philosophy and anyone who makes the team will be there purely on merit.

[KenH]

Even better news that John McMahon's back too!

[marky No.1]

He may wave a magic wand and get Wes Mcdonald off the sofa

[KenH]

He may wave a magic wand and get Wes Mcdonald off the sofa

I was thinking the same. Wes reminds me a bit of Carlos when he first arrived as he clearly had skills but didn't really know how to use them as part of a team. I wonder if Derek will try to work the same magic, or whether Wes is too old to ramp up his game.

[BerlinWaller]

The right choice, the only choice. Very positive interviews from everyone and loved the way the club announced it. The King is indeed back.

I think the defence will love Dereks no nonscence tactics. No more dicking about with it, just simply defend your goal. Wildig and Phillips were misused by Robinson, they sat far too deep and had very little impact on the game. Simple tactics and well trained footballers will see us stay up.

[redrobo]

He may wave a magic wand and get Wes Mcdonald off the sofa

Can't see it somehow. He loves that sofa too much and he gets a wage for being on it as well....

[marky No.1]

He may wave a magic wand and get Wes Mcdonald off the sofa

Can't see it somehow. He loves that sofa too much and he gets a wage for being on it as well....

Ha ha, point taken, but how many times have you been wrong recently, in fact not just recently .

Derek will get much better use out of Aaron and Adam, he's got the materials, just need to shape them together, he won't take any bull from those that are lazy and don't care.

I recall him getting the squad much fitter than they were under previous management, maybe we will get 78 minutes out of them instead of 38

[Phoenix Shrimp 2017]

Can’t see the king of the stepovers being a DA type of player really. I think Wes could do a job somewhere, just not here. Can see him moving on in the summer because DA will not mess around and will no doubt use the KE style of management if required!

[Keith]

Can’t see the king of the stepovers being a DA type of player really.

I'm not sure. It may be that he needs a manager like Derek to give him the discipline and direction he needs? He's only 24yrs old, so still young. Could he develop in the Carlos style?

Perhaps, perhaps not, maybe it just isn't in him? But as long as he's given the opportunity, then it rests with him.

[Gone_Shrimping]

Can we still sign free agents? Not that I know any I'd particularly want but could be an idea.

Yes , free agents are always available.

Anyone know how long Songo'o signed on for at Valley Parade ? If it was 1 year then that might be a Summer signing.

[red shrimp]

Anyone know how long Songo'o signed on for at Valley Parade ? If it was 1 year then that might be a Summer signing.

Would love to have him back, Bratford fans don't seem to rate him at all.

[Phoenix Shrimp 2017]

They never seem to rate anyone at Bratfud! The owner, CEO, managers and players all get dissed. I’ll give Sparky 3 months before he walks.

[BerlinWaller]

If Sparky doesn't fancy Yann then they might pay his contract up and we pick him up on a free.

[halfwayprawn]

I think Obika could be a great asset in an Adams side.

[jbc.shrimp]

Can we still sign free agents? Not that I know any I'd particularly want but could be an idea.

Yes , free agents are always available.

Anyone know how long Songo'o signed on for at Valley Parade ? If it was 1 year then that might be a Summer signing.

I was wondering about Yann. A big defender, and he was a D.A signing originally.

[jbc.shrimp]

Can we still sign free agents? Not that I know any I'd particularly want but could be an idea.

Yes , free agents are always available.

Anyone know how long Songo'o signed on for at Valley Parade ? If it was 1 year then that might be a Summer signing.

Songo'o signed for 2 years according to Google, so money would be involved somewhere. I wonder if Phillips may start playing to his full potential again under D.A. He never wanted to come back under Robbo.

[euston rd shrimp]

think we have found a new soongo in fane...brilliant game yesterday

[Gone_Shrimping]

I think if Derek had been here all season we wouldn't have scored as many goals as we have but we surely wouldn't have let over 60 goals in. IMHO we would have been around Accrington's position in the league and safe.