' Joe Ralls and Craig Bryson '

' Joe Ralls and Craig Bryson '

Every team needs one, and you will always get people who want 11 flair players even some want silky defenders but football don't work like that. My opening words are every team needs one!

They are very similar and not knocking NW yesterday at all but having two players of this ilk is not a great combination. Opinions?

When you put Gunnar in with that pair there is balance. With Bamba its not. We need a genuine defensive midfielder to push or cover Gunnar.

The Bamba trick should be used sparingly when a man marking job is required.

When you put Gunnar in with that pair there is balance. With Bamba its not. We need a genuine defensive midfielder to push or cover Gunnar.

The Bamba trick should be used sparingly when a man marking job is required.

Got to agree

When you put Gunnar in with that pair there is balance. With Bamba its not. We need a genuine defensive midfielder to push or cover Gunnar.

The Bamba trick should be used sparingly when a man marking job is required.

id have liked to see Bamba and Manga swap tbh...but like yourself would ideally like Gunner back..

When you put Gunnar in with that pair there is balance. With Bamba its not. We need a genuine defensive midfielder to push or cover Gunnar.

The Bamba trick should be used sparingly when a man marking job is required.

Totally agree and I'm sure Gunnar will be back in after the break

When you put Gunnar in with that pair there is balance. With Bamba its not. We need a genuine defensive midfielder to push or cover Gunnar.

The Bamba trick should be used sparingly when a man marking job is required.

Totally agree and I'm sure Gunnar will be back in after the break

I'm not sure its about balance. Apart from few Beckenbaur touches against Leeds he's just not a midfielder, holding or otherwise. In fact the 2 behind look petrified and all 3 look like they've got a calamity in them.

I fear we've let a top quality defensive midfielder slip through our hands. Derby are conceding nearly 2 goals game in the 9 games Joe Ledley hasn't played in and just 0.5 goals a games in the 6 that he has played. That means not losing and getting14 out of 18 points even though they're scoring rate has remained the same. We haven't got a cat in hells chance of signing him at Xmas.

From what I've seen I've been very disappointed with Bryson. I think Warnock could have kept faith with Tomlin and tried to win the game. I agree about Bamba, but Damour is a good all-round midfielder and much better tackler than Bryson.

From what I've seen I've been very disappointed with Bryson. I think Warnock could have kept faith with Tomlin and tried to win the game. I agree about Bamba, but Damour is a good all-round midfielder and much better tackler than Bryson.

I agree with you. There seems a lack of quality in his play. doesn't really tackle well, doesn't run with the ball and bang-average passing ability. Damour is much better.

Bryson is a championship Ramsey. He is there to run beyond the striker and link up play in the top third. He isn't a out and out old fashioned CM and definitely not a DM. He is an attacking midfielder.

The question for me is where Damours future lies. To me he looked like a destructive "10" similar to where occasionally Malky and Ole sometimes played Gunnarson, there to break up play if the opposition had a Whitts type deep playmaker.
It looks as though Warnock hasn't gained that much trust in him to play in a tradition CM or DM position.

We must remember Damour is also only 16 games into a definitely different more physically demanding type of football, so he might easily slip into that role.

When Gunnar returns he and Ralls gives us a decent platform to play :-

A- Attacking Tomlin
B -Default Bryson
C- Defensive Damour

We just proved we need back up, so a genuine defensively minded midfielder is required. Whether we can afford Ledley and if he is mobile enough would surprise me. Warnock is also building us a future, so i would expect someone we've never heard of.

When you put Gunnar in with that pair there is balance. With Bamba its not. We need a genuine defensive midfielder to push or cover Gunnar.

The Bamba trick should be used sparingly when a man marking job is required.

Totally agree and I'm sure Gunnar will be back in after the break

I'm not sure its about balance. Apart from few Beckenbaur touches against Leeds he's just not a midfielder, holding or otherwise. In fact the 2 behind look petrified and all 3 look like they've got a calamity in them.

I fear we've let a top quality defensive midfielder slip through our hands. Derby are conceding nearly 2 goals game in the 9 games Joe Ledley hasn't played in and just 0.5 goals a games in the 6 that he has played. That means not losing and getting14 out of 18 points even though they're scoring rate has remained the same. We haven't got a cat in hells chance of signing him at Xmas.

Totally agree with this.

I would like a play maker e.g Tomlin and a donkey along side, not two donkeys

I don't think Ralls and Bryson playing together are the problem. I think Bamba in midfield is the problem. Our play is much less fluid with Bamba in our midfield instead of Gunnarsson and Damour. Damour can easily play the role of a holding midfielder in my opinion, he played there at Taffs Well and he played there for his old club. He must be sat on the bench wondering what's going on.

Bamba is very static in the middle, which is what you would expect from a big centre back being asked to play as a holding midfielder. Gunnarsson or Damour can move from side to side, cut off options and cover ground. Bamba can't really do that. Gunnarsson and Damour are also much better on the ball than Bamba, they can receive the ball and shift it quicker which allows us to play at a quicker tempo and this helps Ralls and Bryson out.

I thought Manga was woeful in the first half yesterday. We started the better team and all the play was up their end until Manga tried to be flashy by turning their striker instead of passing it back to Etheridge. That led to Bristol City's first attack and shot against us and that gave them the momentum to score the first goal. Later in the first half, they almost broke through again when Manga lost a 70/30 challenge in his favour. At his best, Manga is a top half Prmeiership centre back. The problem is, Manga is way too casual at times and there are games where his head doesn't seem right and he isn't up for the physical battle.

The point I'm making mentioning Manga is I think our midfield is fine with whatever combination of players when Bamba isn't in there. Manga should be dropped and our centre backs should be Bamba and Morrison at the moment. Our midfield 3 with whatever players are selected will function much better without Bamba in there. Hopefully, Gunnarsson will return and then we have Ralls, Bryson, Tomlin and Damour to choose from.

I don't think Ralls and Bryson playing together are the problem. I think Bamba in midfield is the problem. Our play is much less fluid with Bamba in our midfield instead of Gunnarsson and Damour. Damour can easily play the role of a holding midfielder in my opinion, he played there at Taffs Well and he played there for his old club. He must be sat on the bench wondering what's going on.

Bamba is very static in the middle, which is what you would expect from a big centre back being asked to play as a holding midfielder. Gunnarsson or Damour can move from side to side, cut off options and cover ground. Bamba can't really do that. Gunnarsson and Damour are also much better on the ball than Bamba, they can receive the ball and shift it quicker which allows us to play at a quicker tempo and this helps Ralls and Bryson out.

I thought Manga was woeful in the first half yesterday. We started the better team and all the play was up their end until Manga tried to be flashy by turning their striker instead of passing it back to Etheridge. That led to Bristol City's first attack and shot against us and that gave them the momentum to score the first goal. Later in the first half, they almost broke through again when Manga lost a 70/30 challenge in his favour. At his best, Manga is a top half Prmeiership centre back. The problem is, Manga is way too casual at times and there are games where his head doesn't seem right and he isn't up for the physical battle.

The point I'm making mentioning Manga is I think our midfield is fine with whatever combination of players when Bamba isn't in there. Manga should be dropped and our centre backs should be Bamba and Morrison at the moment. Our midfield 3 with whatever players are selected will function much better without Bamba in there. Hopefully, Gunnarsson will return and then we have Ralls, Bryson, Tomlin and Damour to choose from.

Didn’t Manga average highest out of our defenders in October?

Our midfield has looked at its best with Ralls, Gunnar and Damour this season, time to go back to that v Brentford.

Our midfield has looked at its best with Ralls, Gunnar and Damour this season, time to go back to that v Brentford.

That was the three that overcome wolves