Coppinger

[StocksArmy]

When will we learn to perform without him? That 1st half was a shambles. 2nd half we make the change and how have we not scored?? Thought team selection was way off tonight. Playing against a big physical team and no disrespect but what did GM expect from Smith tonight? Also what has Blair done wrong? So annoyed with that. Massive chance to open up the gap with some more than tough fixtures coming up. Bad night at the office.

[philsky]

When will we learn to perform without him? That 1st half was a shambles. 2nd half we make the change and how have we not scored?? Thought team selection was way off tonight. Playing against a big physical team and no disrespect but what did GM expect from Smith tonight? Also what has Blair done wrong? So annoyed with that. Massive chance to open up the gap with some more than tough fixtures coming up. Bad night at the office.

I said to my son that this is Fleetwood 2

We need craft.

We started with pace but no thought.

Copps made the difference.

[Retdon1]

Totally agree... Smith is wastered playing out wide. Copps was very good second half as was Rowe and whiteman... Crawford and Andrew very poor tonight

[PDX_Rover]

Agree. Having said that, there have been games in the last few months when Copps hasn’t played and we’ve been very good. But he does bring so much to the team doesn’t he? Different team second half tonight.

[steve@dcfd]

Copps is a very good player. He plays in the front three but really is an expansive midfield player. So what do we do tonight replace with the least experience young striker against a strong physical side. We needed to replace him with a midfield player.

Could have played Crawford or Sadlier there yes both are not as good but they are midfield players with attacking attributes.

We could then have played Blair in midfield definitely not as good as Kane but better than Crawford in that postion imo.

So we gave them the first half we then bring on Copps as a necessity not choice and the game changes. Unfortunately John is going through one of his spells where he seems to be under pressure instead of calm and collected.

So Copps does make a difference even bigger one when Kane does not play. But the first half was down to a team selection that was to open.

[StocksArmy]

Yes agreed. When we have played well without Copps its been when Kane is in the team. Thats how good they both are, we just arent the same side without any of them. I have woken up still really frustrated. Id love to hear him explain why he went with Smith?? For the life of me O cant see the logic in that. Theres the age thing and Copps has played a lot of football but, for me you cant leave him out when we dont have Kane. I honestly think that is why we lost the game. On a more positive note Downing was immense. Would be brilliant to get him on a permanent.

[jonnydog]

It’s a given that Coppinger rarely has a bad game but nearly ALWAYS consistently performs, changes games, and so on and so forth... the mans a legend and can do no wrong in all our opinions.

My biggest fear, nowadays, is that as he is in the winter years of his playing career. How are we going to plug that gap when the awful day comes when he hangs up his boots. I really don’t think we’ll find another player of his calibre and I fear this will have a massive negative impact on our team for quite some time.

Let’s hope he continues drinking Egg Chen’s magic potion and plays until his 50 odd 👍🏻

[Bentley Bullet]

 Ten years ago Copps was ONE OF our best players in a midfield that included the likes of Stock and Wellens.

Copps is now our BEST player TEN years after, at the age of 38!

I'm concerned about the quality of the team now compared to then.

[RoversAlias]

10 years ago we were a division higher than this.

[Bentley Bullet]

Yes, so what? All three got us promoted from league one though.

[RoversAlias]

Well we're a side battling for a League One Play-Off place now, whereas 10 years ago we were upwardly mobile in the Championship. I don't see why it should concern you that our current midfield around Copps is not as good as that because we aren't at the same level, and that was one of the best line-ups we've ever had by all accounts.

[Bentley Bullet]

RA. OK then, Copps was one of the best players we had 11 years ago, and he's still the best player we've got now!

When we won the play-off final at Wembley we were promoted from league one to the Championship. Our play-off winning team that day included Stock, Wellens and Copps. Now, my perception of that is the team was far superior to the team we have now.

[NickDRFC]

I’m not sure it’s a fair comparison. Firstly, we were challenging for 2nd for most of the season so we were clearly stronger relative to the other sides in the division than we are now. O’Driscoll had been building for a year on a side that was on the fringes of the playoffs as it was, and signed some big name (for League One) players - don’t want to bring up the budget again but I’d say he had more to work with. This team is a work in progress and building from a significantly worse base than the 2007/08 vintage had been.

You’re also just focusing on the strongest area of that team - the midfield. Full backs aside, there are areas that this team is arguably stronger - Joe Wright or Sam Hird? John Marquis or Jason Price? Malik Wilks or Mark McCammon? And Herbie Kane would most definitely have found a way into that team somewhere. Saying that SOD’s team was “far superior” is doing this one a disservice.

[Bentley Bullet]

I was focusing on the midfield because Copps is a midfielder, no other reason. But to compare the entire team to today's is in my view even more convincing that it was far superior back then. Hypothetically speaking, perhaps two or three of today's players would have got in that team back then.

GK   1   Neil Sullivan
DF   2   James O'Connor
DF   21   Sam Hird
DF   22   Matt Mills
DF   3   Gareth Roberts
MF   20   Paul Green      
MF   8   Brian Stock
MF   19   Richie Wellens      
MF   26   James Coppinger      
FW   23   Jason Price      
FW   12   James Hayter

[RoversAlias]

I guess my real point, BB, was why does it matter that the team of ten years was better than the one now, in relation to Coppinger? As Nick has said, we are coming from a totally different place at the moment, not too long since back up from League Two. SOD was building on years of great progress whereas McCann has come in at a totally different juncture, one of flux and many changes to the club.

Coppinger's continued importance to the team proves how good he is, not how crap we are.

[drfchound]

During our recent season in L2, some posters were suggesting that Copps was only standing out as a good player because we were playing in the fourth tier and that he wouldn’t still be able to do the business back in L1.

[i_ateallthepies]

Too right, hound and he remains our single most influential player.

[sedwardsdrfc]

I was focusing on the midfield because Copps is a midfielder, no other reason. But to compare the entire team to today's is in my view even more convincing that it was far superior back then. Hypothetically speaking, perhaps two or three of today's players would have got in that team back then.

GK   1   Neil Sullivan
DF   2   James O'Connor
DF   21   Sam Hird
DF   22   Matt Mills
DF   3   Gareth Roberts
MF   20   Paul Green      
MF   8   Brian Stock
MF   19   Richie Wellens      
MF   26   James Coppinger      
FW   23   Jason Price      
FW   12   James Hayter

We underachieved with that team should of been automatic promotion all day long when you look at it now. But there's signs of us getting back to that level of squad imo certainly better strikers in the side now