comment by FloridaRam (U7775)
posted 54 minutes ago
Not trying to be negative Nancy but the people in charge are clueless. We knew before December that if anything happened to Collins we were fvcked. We spend presumably December and January talking to clubs and strikers and we get no striker in. In fact, we let Brown go to Gateshead. I’ve already said that whilst Brown may not be the answer (and Warne has come out and said he’s not up for the task) but other clubs play their young players but we don’t. I make no bones about it, I think Warne is out of his depth and we will not get promotion this season.
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I think there's a fine line between playing a young player out of the Academy and getting the best out of them or destroying their confidence completely.

The fact Brown is at a club two ?) divisions below and getting game time as a sub only is a clear indication of his ability just now.

Style of play was clear on his appointment. Fans shouldn't have a God given right to demand a certain style given it's been several years of trying to pass our way around to achieving success.

The mandate is get promoted. Warne's done it his way , mistakes and bad luck on the way. I don't advocate his style but also the pretty triangular passes was tried and failed. I'd like to see the fans get behind the team and give them the push they need. It's going to be ugly, disgusting and dark right ridiculous but if we can achieve promotion we can then harp about Warne.

Get him sacked and have a squad that's equipped to play his style of football.

I'm really beginning to think we're second despite Warne rather than because of him.

This league is crap.

comment by Scouse (U9675)
posted about a minute ago
I'm really beginning to think we're second despite Warne rather than because of him.

This league is crap.
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Bang on Scouse. You watch how well Max Bird will do at Bristol next season when he’s actually allowed to play football instead of hoofball.

Derby have the players to play and they are capable of playing good football. I sometimes wonder if they don't fully understand the messages they are given in that they seem torn between proper football and hoofball.

Clearly every game from now on will be attritional and I don't think we are going to enjoy any of it if we expect to see games where we are fully in control. Not going to happen.

I have no doubt Bolton fans are feeling the same and if Barnsley fans are not then they should be as they were no great shakes agin us. Maybe Pompey are now past their wobbly stage so the best we can hope for is second. It should be achievable.

I agree with View. Lurch about sums it up. We are asking Bird to play head tennis. I have felt all season that top two was there for the taking with a bit of ambition and faith in the players’ ability. I think the truth is that Warne doesn’t really trust any of the players all that much and it’s very much percentage football.

But there is no changing it this season. Maybe we will grind it out and maybe we won’t. Warne doesn’t seem able to give the players confidence - they look jittery all over the pitch though there is no lack of effort. Tonight was very depressing and with this style of play I would not have much optimism for next season if we did go up.

Come on team … still work to do on this thread!

I've had insufficient sleep and am still fed up about last night. I heard Warne's interview and he said we lost the midfield battle in the second half. Why does it have to always be a battle? Frequently this season he has said he knows how the opposition tends to play and likes to match up against them. Why is it us doing the matching up? Aren't we supposed to be better than the opposition? Surely they should be more concerned about us?

He talked about how Charlton like to play and how he was pleased that we did not allow them a shot on target in the first half. Why is the emphasis on stopping the lowly opponent and not on imposing ourselves on the game? It's fearful football. By harping on about what the opposition might do, that induces a safety-first attitude when we go a goal up. Don't over-commit forward and if in doubt defensively, launch it. That encourages the opposition and makes fans and players more nervous. Fear of conceding becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Back the players. We have technically adept players but we ask them to play the opposition's game of fighting and scrapping for second balls. This is what they want. It brings us down to their level and they have players better at the ugly side than we do.

Of course we have to take some account of the enemy's strengths but it seems we are overly focused on this to the detriment of our own play. This might work if you are generally playing teams who are better than you are but that is surely not the case with Derby in League 1. Worry less. Boss more.

Totally agree Vidal, although we may be accused of being 'entitled'.
Did a bit of quick research about last season from Feb onwards, when we won 7 out of 18 games. Im expecting something similar as we've hardly improved in our performances and dont have the benefit of a Didzy to drag us through to the end.

comment by Chicagoram (U22653)
posted 9 hours, 51 minutes ago
Derby have the players to play and they are capable of playing good football. I sometimes wonder if they don't fully understand the messages they are given in that they seem torn between proper football and hoofball.

Clearly every game from now on will be attritional and I don't think we are going to enjoy any of it if we expect to see games where we are fully in control. Not going to happen.

I have no doubt Bolton fans are feeling the same and if Barnsley fans are not then they should be as they were no great shakes agin us. Maybe Pompey are now past their wobbly stage so the best we can hope for is second. It should be achievable.
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I always like your "take" on a game Chicago... its usually not far from reality. I like Warne and he's pretty honest with his post match interviews. For me he's the guy to take us up. For the life of me though I could not understand his subs last night. He said we lost midfield - which we did... and whilst Smith was tiring ... he was IMO still our best midfielder on the night... and to replace him with Barkhuisen seemed crazy ... he's not a midfielder...whereas Tommo and Fornah are... anyway we go again on Saturday...

When BC came in we finished lower in the division in his first season but fans who can remember that far back say that they could see what he was trying to do. Under Rowett we challenged at the top end of the Championship but it was turgid football that would not have given us a realistic chance of survival at the top level.

I can accept a lack of immediate success, given our recent tribulations, but I would like to see some evidence of an evolving style that would enable us to be competitive at Championship level, and by competitive I mean simply avoiding relegation. With Plymouth and Ipswich last season you could see a method of playing that would not need to be dismantled on promotion. They didn't engage in chaos-football every week as we seem to do. If we go up and try that we are going to get battered on a regular basis. This is what happened to Rotherham previously under Warne. Yes, we might be able to bring in a few better players, but they will not flourish if we persist in "battle" football.

I also don't think Warne looks happy in his job. Maybe he feels we are not supportive enough, and I agree there is a substantial entitled contingent in the fan base, but I would expect him to be more confident and to project more positivity rather than stressing how very tough it all is.

For perspective, Warne left Rotherham in the play off places …

He left towards the end of Sept having played 9 games. Not sure that the playoff places were particularly established by that time 🤔

Yes. They were actually 8th after 9 games, having won 3. They were 6 points away from the automatic promotion places but only 4 away from relegation. So can't read too much into that.

That doesn't mean that Warne should not be praised for what he did at Rotherham but the parameters of that job and this are different. To get to the Premiership is a realistic ultimate objective for us whereas that isn't the case for Rotherham. I can understand the desire to just get out of League 1 at all costs and to think about the rest once we get there but I don't agree. The risk of that is of becoming a yo-yo club between the second and third tiers, as is happening yet again for Rotherham. If Warne gets us up it would be unthinkable for Clowes to immediately replace him, so what happens next? I haven't seen anything to give me confidence of continued progress.

Second in the league and almost everyone is totally hacked-ioff

*hacked-off

comment by Scouse (U9675)
posted 9 minutes ago
*hacked-off
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I saw Sean barker's comments following the game last night...he reckoned that supporters of all the L1 promotion contenders would feel the same as us...so food for thought I guess...

comment by Scouse (U9675)
posted about 2 hours ago
*hacked-off
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We guessed.

comment by lastapostleofvidal (U1491)
posted about 2 hours ago
That doesn't mean that Warne should not be praised for what he did at Rotherham but the parameters of that job and this are different. To get to the Premiership is a realistic ultimate objective for us whereas that isn't the case for Rotherham. I can understand the desire to just get out of League 1 at all costs and to think about the rest once we get there but I don't agree. The risk of that is of becoming a yo-yo club between the second and third tiers, as is happening yet again for Rotherham. If Warne gets us up it would be unthinkable for Clowes to immediately replace him, so what happens next? I haven't seen anything to give me confidence of continued progress.
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Genuinely?
I thought the plan WAS to replace Warne if we got up

I'm asking myself if the obvious signs of distress on this Board are reflective of an overview of this season as a whole so far or of the fact that for the first time this season we have lost two league games on the bounce. That in itself is pause for thought. Looking at all the stats we are not doing that badly and PW must take some credit for that.

But there are "buts" and for me perhaps the biggest relates to our home form and home performances. Just my personal opinion of course but I'm trying hard to remember if we've seen a really good display at home in the league so far. Maybe one - agin Northampton. Home form is the crux of a season for most supporters as more of them attend the home games and are entitled to expect something better. Those fabulous away supporters are not necessarily expecting free-flowing football and a win, however achieved, is all that's hoped for. PW seems to have an approach to away games which works. (Barnsley result was unfortunate.) But I'm baffled at times by our hit or miss approach to home games. Charlton deserved to win last night, not because they are a good side but because they knew how to play on our weaknesses and how to minimise our strengths by shutting down on NML and Bird. But we helped them no end by not having enough confidence to play football whenever possible. I got tired of the times C were ballooning the ball above our midfield or defence and our players under the ball having loads of time to kill it and play a thoughtful pass along the ground but instead, hoofing it aimlessly back into C's half. I cannot believe PW advocates this type of play as a constant. OK there are times when a booted clearance is sensible but players should be capable of thinking about what to do and when to do it.

We can all bemoan the lack of the sort of attractive football LR espoused but it did not produce goals and very often caused gut-wrenching worries over risks taken at the back. Look at Hull's goals for and against this season - not very impressive. A higher level of course but I'm not convinced we would be any better off under LR.

I also worry that if we do go up then PW may well be incapable of a good enough level of performance to keep us up. But he was given a four year contract and we are not in a position to sack him and his staff.

I was hoping to see us play four at the back with three in midfield and a front three of Collo, NML and CBT (now Gayle instead of Collo). I would think oppo defences would be terrified of having to cope with both of NML and CBT. But it could be Nyambe will be out for some time which will mean three at the back unless Smith plays at RB which I would advocate. I just don't feel that Ward or Wilson is good enough defensively and that having NML and CBT in a team playing with WBs would be a proper use of resources.

So yes, I'm as depressed as you all seem to be but still hopeful PW and Co can pull it around.

comment by lastapostleofvidal (U1491)
posted 6 hours ago
I've had insufficient sleep and am still fed up about last night. I heard Warne's interview and he said we lost the midfield battle in the second half. Why does it have to always be a battle? Frequently this season he has said he knows how the opposition tends to play and likes to match up against them. Why is it us doing the matching up? Aren't we supposed to be better than the opposition? Surely they should be more concerned about us?

He talked about how Charlton like to play and how he was pleased that we did not allow them a shot on target in the first half. Why is the emphasis on stopping the lowly opponent and not on imposing ourselves on the game? It's fearful football. By harping on about what the opposition might do, that induces a safety-first attitude when we go a goal up. Don't over-commit forward and if in doubt defensively, launch it. That encourages the opposition and makes fans and players more nervous. Fear of conceding becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Back the players. We have technically adept players but we ask them to play the opposition's game of fighting and scrapping for second balls. This is what they want. It brings us down to their level and they have players better at the ugly side than we do.

Of course we have to take some account of the enemy's strengths but it seems we are overly focused on this to the detriment of our own play. This might work if you are generally playing teams who are better than you are but that is surely not the case with Derby in League 1. Worry less. Boss more.
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Agree Vidal, it’s the fact that we worry about the opposition more than we play to our own strengths that frustrates me. In almost every game this season, we sit back after we go one or two goals up. A prime example was Burton at home 2-0 up. Yes it was individual mistakes that led to Burtons goals and we got away with it in the end, but why sit back?

comment by Scouse (U9675)
posted about 3 hours ago
Second in the league and almost everyone is totally hacked-ioff
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I'm not but I suffer from rose tinted spectacles apparently.

It seems that the ones who are most hacked off are the ones who go to the games. If you are just looking at the league table or the highlights I can see why you might think that any criticism is over the top. It's only opinion of course. Ultimately we all want the team to do well. I just can't help the doubts though.

Heb, so it’s ok for you to call me out last night as per below. Yet it would seem that you don’t appreciate me saying “you wear rose tinted specs”. I am far from the only one who calls it for what it is.

“Florida, with respect, this has been your mantra all season. We are third for goodness sake. Could be better but we aren't out of it yet, although I hate playoffs.

Don't ever apply for a job as a motivational speaker!”

I went last night and agree with mst of the posts above. One thing I remarked on was the lack of any apparent team spirit. On one occasion when a player was receiving treatment, the players just stood around with their hands on their hips.

Funny how we have gone off the rails since Sonny has been in the team, we don't push up like we used to. He is good in the air, but vulnerable on the turf.

I wish we'd kept Liam.