MadAmster

Play it out. Skipping 36 games renders a) my RamsTV subscription redundant and b) robs me of half a dozen weekends back home.

Win, lose or draw UTR!

34 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

 

JJ on the bench when fit to provide pace against tiring defences towards the end of games. Based on the Blackpool performance, who would you drop to fit Ward and/or Elder in the starting XI. IMO none of them deserve to lose the shirt although I suspect NML and Barks will continue their game of musical chairs. Barks starting this time, NML getting the last 25 to 30 minutes and starting in the following game.

We were justifiably relegated that season. I flew back for half a dozen of the home games, one of which was Chelsea. We went 1 up. Then, a Derby player was fouled around the centre circle. Ref gave Chelsea the free kick and, in the ensuing move, they scored. 1-1. Shortly afterwards, a Derby player was fouled around the centre circle.... wash, rinse repeat. 1-2 and Chelsea go home with 3 points.

There were more instances of such injustice during the season but we would still have finished bottom but may well have beaten Sunderland's 15, Huddersfield's 16 and Villa's 17 points tallies from previous seasons.

I'm pretty certain we played 4231 from the start at Blackpool...

Wildsmith

Nyambe Nelson Cashin Forsyth

Smith Fornah

Wilson Bird NML

Collins

Wilson was playing LWB, not in the back line

I also saw the same back 4 against Cambridge. He seems to have ditched the back 3 (352). Many fans have been calling for a 4. Nyambe seems to allow us to do that and we look better for it.

6 hours ago, Mucker1884 said:

I think the problem lies when folk come on to moan about the moaners.  By definition, they become moaners themselves... just moaning about something else! 
The result is pages and pages... threads and threads... full of tittle-tattle, to-and-fro jibes, and innuendo verging on personal abuse.

 

Personally I think it's highly entertaining!  Long may it continue.  😁 

 

 

Pot. Stir. 😉

An away performance out of the book. They had scored most of their goals this season in the first half of games. We took what they could throw for 20 to 25 minutes and defended very well. The crowd got frustrated and that got to their players and they started pumping the ball forward and we profited. Wilson could/should have had 2 and Collo was unfortunate not to get one as well.

They started the 2nd half well again but we held firm. Then 2 very good goals for us on the break. A reply from them from what the Dutch refer to as "Sunday shot" which took a deflection that saw it pass JW and into the net. They then hit the bar. Another very good move saw us get a 3rd and the 3 points.

10 games in and what can we take from the season so far? There's a marked difference between the home and the away form. Why? IMO it's because the players we have available are better suited to containing the opposition and hitting them on the break. At home, the oppo come to shut up shop and we have to make the play ourselves. That might actually be on with Bird in the #10 role. He took 15 to get into the game but after that he played well.

Wildsmith - dropped 1 high ball, not at fault for their goal. Solid the rest of the game.
Nyambe - I like the lad. Concentrates on his defensive role and occasionall joins the attack.
Nelson - getting better every game and forms a good partnership with Cashin
Cashin - after a very unCashin-like start to the season he's back to his best
Forsyth - Got done a couple of times for speed but their winger would do that to most left backs
Smith - we've seen flashes of a player in him. Yesterday he nailed it all game.
Fornah - what's not to like? Cracking addition to the squad although he did let Dougall drift off him for their goal... no-on'es perfect
Wilson - good going forward and good in defence. Only down was he really ought to have hit the target with both the header and the shot
Bird - 1st game back after injury, took time to get into the game but played some lovely balls
NML - I'm predicting him to be on the bench at Cheltenham and Barks starting. Rotation at its best
Collo - what a work rate. Another goal to his credit. Good performance

Apart from the NML/Barks rotation we seem to be seeing, I see no reason to change the starting XI for Saturday.

Hourihane. Who's place should he take? Smith and Fornah look like a great pairing at DM and I wouldn't change a thing. Bird? No way
Waggy. Scored again but shouldn't, barring injuries, replace Bird, Collo or one of the wide players
Washington. Will have to be patient as 3rd striker in a 1 striker system
Sibley. Came on very late and was again moved out wide. I'd love to see him get a run at #10 but on yesterday's display he's not going to dislodge Bird
Vickers. Will get the cup games and have to be patient waiting for JW to c*** up
Bradley. Back 4 will see him a permanent bench warmer. Back 3 might see him creep in but that would be harsh on Foz
Thompson. When fit, who's place would he take? Bench for him, I'm afraid
JJ, Elder, Ward, Robinson will all have to wait and hope although JJ might get some late cameos if the oppo has a defence susceptible to pace
Rooney. I don't expect he'll figure again this season, unfortunately with his injury.

Some selection headaches of the right kind for PW

1 hour ago, Foreveram said:

No debate, their fans started it to goad us, we just took it up. Jump around if you’re going down, which we were. They ended up applauding us.

Home fans applauding the away fans at the end of the game. In 62 years of watching the Rams, I've never seen that before or since. I was over for the game and for the Blackpool Soul Weekender before travelling down to Derby for the Cardiff game.

14 minutes ago, Kokosnuss said:

Sorry but this constant guff about 'many fans' expecting is to win games on name alone, and "crying in their beer because we aren't clear at the top" really does you no favours. 

 

 

If you'd read my post properly you would have seen that I mentioned "social media". So not just this forum.

1Wildsmith 7.5

24Nyambe 8

35Nelson 7.5

6Cashin 7.5

3Forsyth 7.5

Wilson 6

12Smith 5

Bird 🦅 6

22Fornah 7.5

11Méndez-Laing 7

10Waghorn 5 

Washington 6

7Barkhuizen 7

17 Sibley 6

9Collins 5

TV

We're a point and a place behind Blackpool. Not going to be easy although SM is full of fans predicting an easy win there. They won at Barnsley at the weekend... 

Draw at best, I think.

2 hours ago, DavesaRam said:

Waghorn looked off the pace on Saturday because he was played in the wrong role and out of position. I am surprised that we haven’t seen Wildsmith as a centre forward yet. He’s tall and can jump a bit, so why not?

... and when he's fit, Tommo in goal. Love your thinking Dave. NML at centre half as well 😉

4 hours ago, McMuffin said:

You sound like that sort of person that buys a pack of jam doughnuts, bites into it and there’re no jam. But your content so carry on eating it, no need to take it back or complain.

I would never buy doughnuts of any kind 😉

Many expected us to hammer Cambridge for no other reason than we are Derby and they are Cambridge. Big gates v small gates. Rich history v poor history etc. They are only behind us on GD. I posted pre match it would be a difficult game. Now folk all over social media are saying we'll hammer Blackpool and they are 1 point and 1 place above us having beaten Barnsley away at the weekend. 

I was far more content with the 90 minutes football against Cambridge than I was that against Blackpool in the League Cup. That was dire. When it's dire, I'll say so. Cambridge defended very well and we helped them out with a poor final pass. The rest of our game was OK or better. 3rd clean sheet on the bounce.

Reverse the poor refereeing decisions against Wigan and Bolton (I know we can't but...) and we'd be 4 points better off and in 3rd place. There have been some poor games, some average ones a some good ones although most of the good ones were more good spells like the mad 20 odd minutes at Peterborough...

If I was the Head Coach I would be reasonably happy with Saturday's performance but looking how to improve that final ball. I like Collo's work rate but, as a centre forward, I'd want him in the box more often. If he can't manage that, I'd drop him to the bench. I'd love to give Sibs a run at #10, his best position rather than wide left or wide right or left back where he's been played for the past God knows how long. Sibs at 10, Waggy at 9. Good partnership in the offing there, IMO. It's not perfect. Far from it. However, it's nowhere near as dire as many on "social media" seem to think.

4 hours ago, Jubbs said:

Cambridge were absolutely bang average, we could easily get down both flanks yet their keeper only made 2 saves. Not at one point during the game did I think, ooo Cambridge are defending well here.

Final ball was the let down. Barks looking up to see who's where and then not finding them with the pass. All that while his namesake in the co-commentary seat is saying he shouldn't look up, just hit it...

Still our best 90 minutes this season.

Moderate transfer fees are permitted under the current business plan. At L1 level that's probably a max of £500K or thereabouts and you can't get much for that. Defence looking solid. Fornah looking the biz. Playing a back 4 that's doing as well as this one currently is, I think we could get along with just the one DM allowing us to go 4132. Barks, Sibs and NML as the 3 and then perm any 2 from 3 of Collo, Waggy and Wash up top. That would see Bird and Hourihane on the bench and Fornah as the DM. PW would have less of a problem dropping the captain compared to other Head Coaches because he didn't nominate the captain.

Best 90 minutes of football we've produced this season.

Fans seem to forget that there are 11 opposition players out there doing their level best to stop us. If they do their jobs well, and Cambridge were very well organised and disciplined in their game plan execution, any team is going to struggle to win.

12 hours ago, Jourdan said:

I have never said it is acceptable. I have said we are a work in progress and things will improve given some time and with some fine tuning.

You have an affinity for Nigel Clough. Did people expect him to have everything figured out in 08-09 or 09-10? The frustrations only really started to kick in the following season when we slumped from 4th to 19th and lost to Crawley in the FA Cup.

Warne has only just had his first proper transfer window and his first proper attempt at bringing in his own players. He has had 11 competitive games with his own group, a group which has also been heavily hit by injuries.

We have won 5 and lost 4 and we are still very much in touching distance of the top 6.

If we win the next two v Blackpool and Cheltenham, we are right back in the pack of top 6 contenders alongside Bolton, Barnsley and Peterborough where you would expect us to be.

Is it really appalling? For someone who has watched us for 50 plus years, it is a strong statement to make.

What is really appalling is the level of refs in L1. Folk all over social media complaining about the team when we've just played our best 90 minutes of the season so far. They are crying in their beer because we aren't clear at the top. New players not gelling yet. New players getting injured again. 2 of them needing surgery. New players, 4 or 5 of whom missed huge chunks of last season with serious injuries. 1 of whom has not performed well at all for us so far. Attacking players who blow hot and cold. Sibley got a start, wide left again rather than in the #10 role. Had a reasonable game and got dropped to the bench. When will he get a run of games at #10?  I'd have Waggy up top and Collo on the bench.

Looking back at games earlier this season. Disallow Wyke's winner for Wigan and it should have been. Give us the other 2 penalties we should have had at Bolton and give them a free kick for the foul outside the box instead of the penalty they got given. That would probably have seen us 4 points better off and in 3rd place. Had that happened there would be very few "Warne out" comments flying about. It really is all about the fine margins and, given a fair shake against Wigan and Bolton we'd be right up there. Saturday's game might be a signal that we're getting close to where we would like to be.

Blackpool away tomorrow. they are a point and a place above us. They won 0-1 at Barnsley on Saturday. Yoo many Rams fans thinking it's a walkover. It's not. Cheltenham away on Saturday. A big win on paper but they have just the one point and no goals so far. That looks like the typical DCFC banana skin waiting to happen, especially with them having Curt to score from a corner..... Having said that, less than 3 points from the 2 games would be poor, 4 points very good and 6 points excellent. UTR.

When not in possession, get in position. That's moving into space so you can receive a pass when we have the ball and it's getting back into your defensive role/position when they have the ball.

I want to see much more of it.

Decent enough performance until we got to the final pass. They hardly ever reached a white shirt. 12 shots to their 4. 2 on target to their 1. Very frustrating afternoon. Had we got one, I feel we would have got a few but we didn't get that all important 1st goal. IMO our best 90 minutes of the season. Really need to find our touch in the final third.

2-1. Cashin and Barks

I'm expecting a tight game. They've scored 10 so far, 4 less than us but we should not forget they have only conceded 7, 2 less than us. 

2-1 is my guess.

Thoroughly decent chap, no doubt about it. Decent enough manager at Rotherham. 

At Derby he has had a lot to deal with. He has made mistakes. I'm still not convinced though, that he's the wrong man for the job in hand. Had that great run last season which stopped when Bird got injured. After that we weren't much cop to the end of the season. Lost half the squad in the summer. Replaced them with players most fans thought to be good signings on paper. We are now finding out that the game is much harder on grass. There's the 352 business most don't like. I was of the opinion he would stick to a back 3 like a stamp to a letter. He's gone back 4. Will he stay that way or will he go for horses and utilise whatever formation he thinks best for the opposition on any given day? Time will tell.

One thing I am certain of is he won't be a good manager at Derby... he's the Head Coach 😉

1 minute ago, Kokosnuss said:

Still paying our contribution to his wages until January though.

If that's what's in the contract, yes, we will. s*** happens. Unfortunately, it always seems to happen at Derby. Light training session and he tears his quad taking his 4th practice corner... the Derby Way.

Title says it all, just about. Feel for the lad. Just back from a serious ankle injury which kept him out for months and now he needs surgery on his injured thigh which will be another lengthy layoff. I wish him a full and speedy recovery.

If it's off I'll have to rearrange my flight. 24th for Exeter is currently twice what I paid so I'd have to cough up the difference plus whatever the "change your flight" costs are these days. 31st for Northampton is about the same so just the change costs. That or a Saturday in November. All a bit of a sod any road up.

Last week, Sibs came on, took 2 dead balls, both good deliveries and then Embleton took over. I'd love an explanation on that one...