Have Derby County Been Bent To Breaking Point?

5 Comments

1. 

   Callum Annable on April 28, 2015 at 1:41 pm

   Our whole system revolves around Martin and Thorne/Eustace/Mascarell. They’ve all been injured and the system has fallen to pieces. Yes, you can say we should have acquired a forward in the mould of Martin, but I challenge you to name one. Then if you can think of one, ask yourself, would he be happy to play second fiddle to Martin?

   We couldn’t find another striker that suited the system that we could afford. Every alternative we tried; Best, Thomas and Sammon, just didn’t work out. They were anonymous. Signing Bent made total sense given the circumstances. Nobody is ever going to replace Martin, so lets at least get someone to cover his goals.

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2. 

   Paddy on April 28, 2015 at 2:04 pm

   Whilst I sort of agree with your point about style of football, Bent was brought in initially as an alternative to Chris Martin if we couldn’t break teams down.

   The reality is Bent is getting game time because Chris Martin is injured. Should McClaren have brought in a player in January with comparable attributes to Martin? Possibly. But I can’t justify having 4 strikers (Martin, Bent, Sammon [does he count?] and another player) plus two academy graduates (Bennett, Thomas) vying for one position in the first XI.

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3. 

   Oli on April 28, 2015 at 2:08 pm

   McClaren is already out of the door – you’re so right, he panicked. That’s all we’ve done since February – play it safe, go 3-1 down, then throw on some big players and claw it back.

   We blew it. I’d rather finish 7th and not face the embarrassment again.

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4. 

   Martin on April 28, 2015 at 3:06 pm

   Injuries forced that move, Our whole system revolved around having a solid DM and target man to bring the midfielders into play. We lost not one but THREE defensive midfield to injuries (Huge signing Thorne in pre season, replacement DM Mascarell, and seasoned pro Eustace) Then we lost our top scorer Martin and we had to adapt. We have been playing a totally different game ever since.

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5. 

   Max on April 28, 2015 at 6:41 pm

   Bent is an enigma. His stats bear comparison with any striker. He is a guarantee of goals yet he always seems to be a misfit wherever he goes. What’s the story?

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