Douglas

[Shed on tour]

Has triggered a 12 month extension to his contract and is delighted to be staying.

The question is are the fans?

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

Has triggered a 12 month extension to his contract and is delighted to be staying.

The question is are the fans?

This particular fan is not, for sure

[jaykay]

Has triggered a 12 month extension to his contract and is delighted to be staying.

The question is are the fans?

This particular fan is not, for sure

lol didnt tabby do the same for this year.he played over 30 games last year none this year.will the same fate happen to douglas next year

[hallamblue]

ITFC fast becoming a players retirement home on bloody good wages. Of course they are both delighted to have signed for Town. We're mugs..... Now there's a shock!

[Bluemike]

Don't have a problem with this to be honest. For me he is a decent player being played out of position every game, that is the problem not Douglas himself. It amuses me how for months now the masses are in full support of poor old Freddie Sears who is being played out of position every game and finding it tough but that is ok as it is Freddie, a crowd favourite, Douglas on the other hand who is a very good attacking Midfielder is played as a defensive Midfielder which is a totally different position with vastly different responsibilities is branded a villain who needs to be hung from the tallest Tree !!! Just another classic case of Town fans needing a scapegoat to blame and moan about. Yes JD had an awful game Tuesday night but he sure as hell aint alone. The guy has scored 3 goals from Defensive Midifield, he also gets into the box to support the defenders as his header which should have gone in against Charlton shows.

Luke "He is one of our own" Hyam offers f*ck all, never scores, creates nothing and doesn't know where the box is and yet doesn't get anything like the dogs abuse JD gets and why ?? Another crowd favourite that is why. Kevin Bru, scored a couple of goals but is as lightweight as I have ever seen in a tackle and seems to get injured every time someone touches him, but again another crowd favourite, at Least Douglas puts bloody tackels in hence the red card at Birmingham, I know what I would prefer. People go on about MM having his favourites but OMG the fans sure as hell do too, hypocrites.

[marko69]

Based purely on what I've witnessed on ITFC Sky TV performances, agree with all of the above ^^^, although haven't seen Hyam as much. I can however say that Hyam never gets good press, and I often wonder why he isn't slated more on here. Doesn't sound up to much at all.

[herforder]

Sorry, cannot agree that JD is anything more than an average player, whose best days are probably behind him. He is slow, seldom wins 50/50 battles, loses possssion far too easily and has made individual errors leading directly to goals against. Unlike Sears, whose energy levels never drop, or whose desire to affect the game is obvious, JD's contributions cannot be placed in the 'tireless worker, whose contributions go largely unnoticed' category. His contributions are not unnoticed; they are just not consistently good enough - irrespective of what role MM asks of him. In the main, it's Skuse who does the bulk defensive mid work. Supporters see this and react accordingly - nothing against Douglas personally.

That said, MM gave JD a very strong vote of confidence on Tuesday night. Much as he did in the past for Tabby!

[jaykay]

[quote="bluemike"]Don't have a problem with this to be honest. For me he is a decent player being played out of position every game, that is the problem not Douglas himself. It amuses me how for months now the masses are in full support of poor old Freddie Sears who is being played out of position every game and finding it tough but that is ok as it is Freddie, a crowd favourite, Douglas on the other hand who is a very good attacking Midfielder is played as a defensive Midfielder which is a totally different position with vastly different responsibilities is branded a villain who needs to be hung from the tallest Tree !!! Just another classic case of Town fans needing a scapegoat to blame and moan about. Yes JD had an awful game Tuesday night but he sure as hell aint alone. The guy has scored 3 goals from Defensive Midifield, he also gets into the box to support the defenders as his header which should have gone in against Charlton shows.

Luke "He is one of our own" Hyam offers f*ck all, never scores, creates nothing and doesn't know where the box is and yet doesn't get anything like the dogs abuse JD gets and why ?? Another crowd favourite that is why. Kevin Bru, scored a couple of goals but is as lightweight as I have ever seen in a tackle and seems to get injured every time someone touches him, but again another crowd favourite, at Least Douglas puts bloody tackels in hence the red card at Birmingham, I know what I would prefer. People go on about MM having his favourites but OMG the fans sure as hell do too, hypocrites.[/quote

all what you said about douglas was being said about a young lad called knudsen earlier in the season.not many were defending him then,some said he shouldnt be anywhere near the first team.fans will always have favorites ,managers like parents shouldnt
.

[Bluemike]

I was far from impressed with Knudsen for a large part of the season, but it is a different scenario to that of JD, a young lad coming into a new country and trying to follow in the footsteps of two very good LB who were here before him was a hard situation to deal with, I and many others wer probably too hard on him and yes he has improved at times, still a hell of a long way to go though, he is however being played in his natural position which helps him unlike Douglas.

I really don't like scapegoats being made and we have a terrible habit for it here and while Knudesn was being criticised it was never at the scapegoat stage, Matt Riochards was one that sprung to mind, Damien Delaney another who is now having the last laugh for sure, this is why I stick up for Gerken so much because the guy was being treated so badly and I think it is wrong. It does no good whatsoever to get on the baqcks of any Town player during a game but we never seem to learn.

[herforder]

Agree totally that targetting any player on the pitch for abuse is moronic and counter-productive. Players don't select themselves, neither do they deliberately set out to play badly. Understand, too,how supporters have become increasingly frustrated and angry at the quality of football being dished up at PR this season, and need to express those feelings. Whilst JD - who had a poor game on Tuesday night - did receive some moans and groans, the general mood was directed more at yet another below average performance - for which MM must assume a large measure of responsibility. (But , no - I don't want him to go).

If he plays against his old club today, I hope JD has a cracking game and makes an outstanding contribution to the team's performance.

[hallamblue]

Don't have a problem with this to be honest. For me he is a decent player being played out of position every game, that is the problem not Douglas himself. It amuses me how for months now the masses are in full support of poor old Freddie Sears who is being played out of position every game and finding it tough but that is ok as it is Freddie, a crowd favourite, Douglas on the other hand who is a very good attacking Midfielder is played as a defensive Midfielder which is a totally different position with vastly different responsibilities is branded a villain who needs to be hung from the tallest Tree !!! Just another classic case of Town fans needing a scapegoat to blame and moan about. Yes JD had an awful game Tuesday night but he sure as hell aint alone. The guy has scored 3 goals from Defensive Midifield, he also gets into the box to support the defenders as his header which should have gone in against Charlton shows.

Luke "He is one of our own" Hyam offers f*ck all, never scores, creates nothing and doesn't know where the box is and yet doesn't get anything like the dogs abuse JD gets and why ?? Another crowd favourite that is why. Kevin Bru, scored a couple of goals but is as lightweight as I have ever seen in a tackle and seems to get injured every time someone touches him, but again another crowd favourite, at Least Douglas puts bloody tackels in hence the red card at Birmingham, I know what I would prefer. People go on about MM having his favourites but OMG the fans sure as hell do too, hypocrites.

Hyams role is a holding midfielder, not a creative , attacking one. The problem yet again is MM's persistance of playing players OUT OF POSITION/ ROLE

[Bluemike]

Exactly !!! Same applies to Douglas who still gets goals from that role and assists, it is not his natural position either, Hyam has to the best of my knowledge never been played out of position.

[hallamblue]

Probably cos he's been injured for so long. He haxnt played much since that Lansbury hacked him do2n at Forest a couple of seasons ago.

[herforder]

I think too much weight is sometimes given - excusing lack of quality - to individuals being played out of position. If it's a striker asked to become a GK; or a CB asked to be a winger, then fair dos. But if experienced players are asked to adopt different tactical roles within their areas of so called expertise, eg attacking or defensive midfield, then it shouldn't present difficulties so great as to make them ineffective or liabilities. They are professional footballers ffs!

In the case of both Hyam and Douglas, whilst both put in decent shifts, neither are of sufficient quality to push us on to the next level. Why some individuals are singled out for abuse, or go in and out of 'fashion', is often down to that old phenomenon - fickle fans! It quite often starts with one or two individuals moaning and groaning, and then gets contagious. Sometimes justified, often not; but not likely to improve performances when hurled at players during matches.

[Bluemike]

If some thought it was bad news Jonathon Douglas having another year extension I have just read that Giles Coke does too !!! FFS

[Shed on tour]

If some thought it was bad news Jonathon Douglas having another year extension I have just read that Giles Coke does too !!! FFS

That's the midfield nearly sorted for next season then!

[herforder]

If some thought it was bad news Jonathon Douglas having another year extension I have just read that Giles Coke does too !!! FFS

Oh sh1t! That's ME's modest budget increase blown - very modestly!

[Shed on tour]

MM has often said that he will only sign players who will improve the squad.
Well if players of the calibre of Coke are improving the squad then the future does look bleak. As we all are aware our financial position is a concern to say the least yet this season we have had players on the books such as Tabb, Toure, Coke to name a few who really haven't contributed anything at all as well as paying other players contracts up early.
People will say that these players wages are relatively small but at the end of the day it all adds up and in our financial position every pound would appear to be crucial.

[WBBlue]

A work collegue who is a Brentford supporter told me the other week (I didn't know until then he supported Brentford - he works in a different office, in West London) that their fans were all wondering if we were getting the "original" Douglas who was box to box and supported the front men (but was not prolific apart from one spell) or the Douglas that coincidently, after signing a new contract, suddenly looked legging and slow and would not track back and seemend to be quite happy walking round the pitch. He told me that having read various reports on him during the season, we got the latter and their fans are pleased that the decision to off load him was right. He also said that at the time, it was reported locally that Douglas had been told that he would not get games and he was going to leave to go somewhere he would get to play (which based on last seaon, they thought would be league one). The fact that he turned up at another play-off team caught them off guard and they were worried the had made a mistake. A question here is, having only had 3 sub appearances this season which is less than only Skuse in MF, was he offered soemthing that says if he is match fit is is in the team?

On another note, re the budget for new players with Dougls (and Coke?) extending contracts, it was reported out wage bill has gone up by 25% in the last two years. How can that have happened? Do we have 25% more players? No - the total number is the same (if not one or two less). are the players 25% better than 2 years ago? No - the results say they are the same. Who have we actually bought into the club in the last 2 seasons that is expensive? Sears (possibly), Douglas, Pitman. anyone else jump out? Loans are the same now as they were in fact maybe not so expensive as a couple in the past. Therefore we must have given some hefty contract rises circa 20% to people who have either not been performing, or had "blip" and managed to win massive pay increases on the back of a short term performances (which they would have been paid for in the form of bonuses anyway). Sort of suggests we have our approach a bit wrong?

[hallamblue]

...and havdnt they played like they are all warm, cosy and safe on a fair wedge each week!

This approach has obviously been to try and attract players here. Problem is, the wages are not going to players in their early or mid twenties, but late twenties and early 30's. We now have an ageing squad on high wages, who I doubt we'll be abke go offload them easily.