I'm also surprised that Gold is happy to surrender this sort of information to the opposition, enabling them to plan in advance. Warnock exploded when a QPR blogger revealed that DJ Campbell was injured, arguing this was giving away his team selection a day earlier than was necessary. Gold is sharing confidential information with Clough and Derby three days in advance of the match. Doctor Evil may not be happy!
Leaving that aside this appears great news, but as Cole proved last year and Taylor this, you shoot yourself in the foot if you rush a player back too early. Personally, I would rather have Baldock in the team for the Coventry game rather than the match at Derby. We desperately need Faye and Taylor, however!
Still, resting players over the Christmas period isn't proving the usual problem is it? Nolan, Faubert, Collison, and McCartney will all presumably return fresh for the Coventry game - providing they haven't got too pissed at their New Year's Eve parties!
3 comments:
It could all be a cunning plan to make Derby think a strong side will be turning up.
You see breaking them mentally is 50% of the battle won.
In fact what will happen is we will turn up with another shit side, get an early goal, sit back and watch them get back into the game.
DOH! I've just given the game plan away!
Gold is not a stupid man. He wants bums on seats and if saying Baldock will play then that just might put a few more bums in place. As for the ''careless talk costs lives'' - what a load of codswallop. Picture the scene - BFS and Gold huddled around a table in the local cafe whispering the possible selection and how best to bamboozal the opposition with 'mind games'.
Gold says '' If we let them know that we know that they know Baldock is playing - but then don't play him - it'll be ''we know that they don't know that we know that they don't know''.
BFS syas ''Want another cup of tea mr Gold?''
The 1-1 draw at Birmingham was a night of frustration for me because our performance in the first half meant we should have had the game sewn up by half-time. We got in front through a great early goal by Carlton Cole and should have had more.
At some stage when you are playing away from home the opposition are going to put you under some pressure.
We end up in a 1-1 situation and hanging on towards the end rather than being comfortable in possession and seeing the game out. It was a great shame after all the great play and chances we produced.
What counts in this game is what happens in both boxes and all we had to do was defend a corner properly and we didn't. They scored and technically we have allowed the opposition back in the game just by not having our man where he should have been.
The other side of things is creating chances and not taking them. If we had gone two-nil up they would have had the spirit knocked out of them and we would have been more likely to end up 3-0 rather than 2-1 because they get more desperate and take more chances.
We were in control of the game but what we didn’t do well enough was keep the ball and work our way up the pitch, we didn’t need to rush it or keep hitting it long.
The game had opened up and we should have played through midfield and out from the back, switched the play to our wide men and taken a nice steady build-up. We had to keep possession from the opposition and they would have had to chase to get the ball back
Instead we had to do some desperate defending because we didn’t use the ball in the right way and keep it.
I am happy overall but not with the last four games. We have only taken four points which is nonsense compared to what we have done and it tells you we have to go and win three or four on the trot now.
We have got to put a run of wins together to get back in touch with Southampton and not let the gap get too big. Also the gap to the chasing teams has been whittled down.
I have been pretty critical to a patched-up team which has been patched up for a long time now. We have got a 17-year-old at left-back away from home for the first time while George McCartney was playing centre-half.
They did a good job overall but there is just the element of concentration at key times that makes us ruthless. That makes you win the game instead of drawing and we have to put that right.
The loss of four players to suspension for Derby on New Year’s Eve is a massive blow. We have to see who we might have to come back in. Abdoulaye Faye and Sam Baldock could back but we will see what we do at the training ground this week.
Come on you Irons!
BS
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