It's now more than halfway through the season and I'm getting concerned over our results. Jim had pleasantly surprised me with his attacking attitude at the start of the season, but we seem to be losing that fighting spirit as the campaign continues.

Is it a case of Jim's tactics being found out not unlike Ivano's before him, or is it the bigger worry that the players now don't feel the need to try as hard, since they feel their place is now secure under a new manager?

Which ever of the two it is the blame has to lay at the Managers door. I was willing to give Jim the time to settle in and find his feet which I have done. We are now well into the season and things are getting worse rather than better? I'm still hopeful Jim can turn things around but he must start quickly to change things before more and more fans start to get restless.

Jim's PR with the press is impeccable, but that doesn't win us games he has to start winning again and regulary to please the fans. The fans don't care if Jim has the press loving or hating him, they want victories. Jim the nice guy to the press only makes him appealing to others, I personally would rather he was hated for being successful than loved for being a nice guy.

I'm still undecided regarding Jim's second spell at Dens but the sword can swing either way and it's currently teetering towards the way of Cowboy and Jocky at the moment in my eyes.

Bob Laird
Site Editor

Bob,
After watching the Festive season defeats, whilst you were sensibly continuing with another course of Californication, I thought I would share a few thoughts with you and your guest book readers.

Dundee, the attacking team that can't score goals and the team with talented defenders who lose soft goals for fun!

Granted, injuries, suspensions and dubious refereeing have contributed to our plunge down the table, but I am firmly of the opinion that tactical naivety and poor coaching lie at the heart of the matter. Does J.D. not recognise the importance of shape, stability and an organised midfield.

So far this season, he has played an array of defenders and forwards in midfield positions.

Smith, Lovell, Novo, Sara, Mair, Mackay , etc., have all been asked to play in midfield and only Sara took pass marks, with Lovell and Novo, in particular, looking like fish out of water. Zurab, I'll excuse as he fulfils this role for the Georgian national side.

There is no balance to the sides which Jim puts out. If we attack down the left, sure as not, others players are drawn out of position, nobody plays the anchorman, or holding role, the wing backs have to chase back - too late a cross comes in and we lose a goal. So, of course Jim puts on another forward, we become even weaker in midfield, the backs are even further out of position and Wilkie is left to cover an exposed back line and gets sent off. Well, maybe not in that exact sequence, but you know the script.

We must play a system which provides flair, but with cover, organisation and an awareness of players as to where their colleagues are likely to be at any given time. When the wingbacks are up - two of the midfield should be available in a holding role. Forwards should not be asked to chase back lost causes when the midfield have deserted their posts ; this leaves them with a lack of pace when required in their attacking role.

When everybody's fit - here's the line up.

                                                                   SPERONI

                                           HERNANDEZ  WILKIE  HUTCH  SMITHY
                        
                                                       ZURAB    JABLONSKI
                                                         NEBSADZE  RAE

                                                             CABO   MILNE

                               BRADY, ROBB & LOVELL can be selectively used
from the bench and perhaps MACKAY AND NOVO to cover injuries.

Over to you Jim, or do you want to finish only three places above the Dabs in 9th?

                                                                   Andy (AB 1893) Boyack

Is Jim Duffy the right choice debate on this, the premier independent site.

I know there is opposition to Jim in various quarters and, certainly, there were shortcomings during his previous tenure ; however, being a successful manager under Ron Dicko could not have been easy.

Ivano and the board have assembled the best Dees squad since around 1974 and they still have the potential to be the best and most successful since it cost 1/6d at the boys gate to watch the likes of Gillie and Cookie.

Can Jim get the blend right and organise the flair and fancy footwork into a fighting unit ? Defensively, I think he can, and, if Artero can recapture his form, or we can lay our hands on a decent foraging wing back(maybe Baltatcha) - we can link up with the midfield unit and forwards. Also, if the key trio of Nemsadze, Ketsbaia and Cabo are fit and retained, then we can move forward with menace. Look out for wee Novo as well, he is a bit like a cross between Billy Campbell and Kenny Cameron and if Jim can additionally get the best out of Wilkie, Zurab, Rae, Beto and Milne - then we are on our way. Sara he can sell to balance the books ! So, it's a case of play the football in possession, work for each other and close down quickly when the other lot have the ball.

My Predictions specifically on Jim's first two seasons - expect the following -

1) A visit to a Hampden final
2) qualification for Europe (no not the intertoto)
3) Fewer disciplinary problems
4) A string of good youngsters breaking into the first team

Thanks Ivano for increasing the stature of the club over the last two years and best of luck in the future.

Andy Boyack ( The Dark Blue Dreamchaser)

To be perfectly honest I'm really disappointed in the appointment of Duffy, I thought that the Marrs would have tried something different. I would have thought that they would have kept the experiment going, I feel that there will be a t.v. deal sooner rather than later, and the money would have been there to keep it going.

Although not liking the appointment I will give him time like I did Ivano.

Douglas Black

Is Jim Duffy the man?

Well first off there is the point of the folk who were at the DSA doo when Jim pledged his future to "HIS"club after which we all know he flew off to Easter Road (quite literally), weigh this up against the fans who were still half micked explaining the reason they were home at 1.30am last night was the fact that Claudio Caniggia was pulling pints for them in the High Corner.

Result / The same lads who supported the Dees under Dixon are still here supporting the Dees under the Marrs. Loyalty is nowadays a fickle word but surely if you support the OWNERS should take a HUGE bow from the fans, often it was forgotten when Caniggia made a beeline dart and an inch perfect cross to the unmarked Sara who bullets home into the empty net, who actually had the foresight to appoint Bonetti ? sure it was a gamble, BUT what a gamble eh? hands up if you`d rather been an arab for the last 2 year? .

At the end of the day the buck stops at the chairman's door and Peter you sir (in my eyes at least) are a gent ;¬) Never mind the manager, Its the CLUB YOU SUPPORT!!

MON THE DEE
Dee-Licious @ dfc.2ya.com