Jourdan

I was on course to win £200 from a 75p accumulator and then I realised I had bet on Portsmouth! 😆 There’s a long way to go in the season and I am sure Portsmouth will bounce back, but I fully expect Bolton, Peterborough, Barnsley and ourselves to be the teams that finish strongly. We were the strongest teams to not get promoted last season after all and Portsmouth and Oxford, despite being deservedly in the mix, set a surprising and unsustainable pace.

Out of interest, what would you like to see? What would make you happy?

I think the drop off in quality and reliability between our first choice XI and the squad players is a genuine concern. It might only take one or two major absentees to have a massive impact on our fortunes. You can see why Warne has previously depended on our first XI to the point where they are running on less than empty. Players on the fringe are just not seizing their opportunities.

In fairness, I don’t think many would be bothered if it was a one off, or a freak result e.g their goalkeeper has the game of their life. However it isn’t and it doesn’t inspire confidence whatsoever for the run-in. In a situation like tonight’s, you would want to see your players up for it and with a point to prove. What are we going to do when the schedule piles up? If any of our key starters - Wildsmith, Cashin, Nelson, Forsyth, Bird, Hourihane, Mendez Laing, Wilson or Collins - get injured or suspended, I’d be very concerned.

Derby 0-1 Bradford and Derby 1-3 Crewe within a few short months of each other? What a disgrace! It’s at times like these I wish I had grown up middle class and watched Rosemary and Thyme for entertainment.

An interesting move by us and NML. It looks sensible for both parties. We don’t want to lose NML in the same way we lost McGoldrick. If NML attracts serious interest, we are protected by the contract length and will receive a fee. If NML is happy and settled at the club, we have a player who has served us well thus far and can still be an important asset moving forward irrespective of future developments e.g Warne being poached by Real Madrid.

I think this idea that Warne doesn’t like technical players is a myth, to be honest. Over his time here, he has shown he will play players who earn his trust and the more technical players have usually been the ones to do that. He plays Bird and Hourihane in midfield at every opportunity for starters and neither player could ever be considered a ‘runner’. Players like Mendez Laing and Wilson are favoured over less technical players like Ward and Barkhuizen. Forsyth and Nelson are preferred to Elder and Bradley because they are better technically. McGoldrick was our best player last season and played at every opportunity under Warne too. Warne values pressing, running and the fitness of his players, absolutely. But clearly he also appreciates that you need good, technical footballers to reap the rewards of that.

I don’t think there has been huge change in the overall style of play. I think we try to dominate possession and produce nice build up when we can. How dominant we are to me depends on the ability of the midfield, in particular Bird and Hourihane, to impose themselves on the game. In some games, their quality shows and they have time and space to operate in. In other games, they are bulldozed or outworked. If we had more of a balance in midfield, we would see more controlled football more often. We still feel like a team that relies on moments and at the moment, that’s fine because the decisive moments are going our way. At times, we can feel a little one dimensional. If Mendez Laing or Wilson don’t move a defence around or Hourihane doesn’t deliver that moment of quality, you start to wonder where a goal will come from. Are we a team that is going to dominate from minute 1 to minute 90? No, but that’s only really disappointing if you are oblivious to the limitations of the group. For me, I always expect us to be on our guard against anyone, but equally the opposition will have to pay us the same respect especially when Wilson, NML and others are in the mood.

I agree. I find it hard to warm to Barkhuizen. I think Wilson is a much more exciting player and would favour him over Barkhuizen or Ward every time. Wilson’s not the finished article by any means and his end product can (and will) improve but the intent he brings is the difference. He might try things that don’t always come off but he is always demanding the ball and in the thick of it. In a year to 18 months, we could have a really accomplished player on our hands.

We are three games away from Wembley. At this stage, the club should look at the positives. It’s an opportunity for people to play their way into the manager’s thoughts. We have Vickers, Bradley, Elder, Ward, Fornah, Sibley, Thompson, Barkhuizen, John Jules, Smith and Waghorn who could all do with some much-needed game time and then we have the likes of Robinson, Allen, Fapetu and Brown who could get first team exposure. The problem we will have is if we get to the final, then who does the manager favour?

A really solid win in what was an attritional game. It’s the kind of game where you have to dig in and find a way to win and we did. Fleetwood worked hard and battled away. On another day, they may have scored two or three. The change of shape and personnel left us looking less and less assured and riding our luck somewhat. The difference between the two teams for me was that in a game of limited chances and quality, we were clinical. Bird and Hourihane never controlled the game but popped up with flashes of quality to decide the game. Mendez Laing and Wilson always posed a threat as expected being our most dangerous players. But for me, the biggest applause goes to Collins. He doesn’t have the technique of a McGoldrick, but he puts his body on the line for the cause, sets the tone for the rest of the team, and you can see his confidence is soaring at the moment and his instincts in the box are really shining through. Really professional win. Another v Bradford, please.

It’s a cliche but the best approach to take things one game at a time. The first step is bouncing back quickly and getting a positive result v Fleetwood to consolidate our position in the top six. We can’t take that for granted in itself. There is no point focusing on other teams and getting wrapped up in chasing them down. They are not going to be worrying about us. Portsmouth, Bolton and Peterborough will simply be looking to win the next game and maintain their own pace. Barnsley, Oxford and Stevenage will be pushing hard too. We have to focus on ourselves and get the small wins and things will snowball. If we can stay laser focused and routinely win the games we would be expected to, it puts less pressure on the games v the top 6/7.

Fleetwood 1-2 Derby Collins

I think Peterborough do well bringing through and recruiting young players, but they also benefit from a lack of pressure. They can operate as this breeding ground for young, lower league talent because there is little expectation on the club to progress and as a club, they understand their position in the pecking order. I look at their team today. Mason-Clark, Poku, Jones, Randall, Collins, Burrows, Edwards - all young players that either came through their academy or were picked up as rising talents from clubs lower down the pecking order (Barnet, Orient, Exeter) I just don’t think we are in a position to take so many risks and allow so many young players to develop all at once because usually there is a premium attached if we target players of a similar ilk.

Granted I missed the first 15 minutes due to streaming issues, but from what I saw, it was a good contest. We all know midfield can be a problem area and Bird and Hourihane are not the long term answer but at the moment, they are our most reliable options. Naturally they cannot match such a midfield for pace, energy and intensity. NML and Wilson provided our pace, trickery and movement. The problem was that they couldn’t play for 90 minutes and their replacements were not as effective. I am not saying Peterborough weren’t good, but in my view, it was a tight game decided on mistakes. Look at two of the three goals conceded. One from a short corner that Cashin and Nelson would ordinarily deal with 9 times out of 10. Similarly, with the winner, a situation that one of Wildsmith, Cashin or Nelson deals with. Maybe a cameo from Bradley was missed. I don’t feel like Peterborough blew us away. They kept the ball well and played in the right way. They had spells on top, but so did we.

A good contest between two well matched sides, but we let ourselves down in the last 15 minutes. It was desperately disappointing. Peterborough are a good team - good in possession, plenty of dynamism, athleticism, pace, power and movement - and they acquitted themselves well. They deserve credit as their heads never dropped and they kept pushing us. However we gifted them the three points with two uncharacteristically poor moments in defence. If you go 2-1 up and get to the 80 minute mark in a winning position, defend well and force the opposition to do something special to get back into the game. Instead we conceded two goals of the poorest quality and that will sting for a while. It’s not a time to be too hard on Warne or the players. 8 wins in 10 shows they are giving everything they can. All we can do now is bounce back quickly and win on Saturday. Anything less and Portsmouth, Peterborough and Bolton will soon be out of sight.

Just admit you were wrong and join us on the Pro-Warne Express. We all make mistakes.

Lighten up, mate. You know how this forum works.

Just joking. On a serious note, I think Warne actually enjoys the love-hate relationship with the fans. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him cupping his ears on the open top bus in May.

I don’t blame him. @Caerphilly Ram has been gunning for him for months now. It’s bound to take its toll.

Warne reading all of our posts after 20 minutes:

A predictable outcome. We were due an off day. We’ll bounce back on Monday.

Mendez-Laing is on track for the most productive season of his career, so it’s inevitable there’ll be January interest. I think the club will be open to a deal - it would free up some wages and we could possibly use any proceeds to invest in a longer term option in the mould of Kane Wilson. Of course he would be a loss as no-one wants to lose their most productive player mid-season, however you can see why the club might entertain it. Mendez-Laing is having a great season but he is the kind of player that could be red hot for 20 games and then go 15-20 games with far lesser output.

I have a horrible feeling that this could be another Stevenage. I am expecting a really tough game and it will be a job well done to get a point and keep momentum rolling. However if we win it would be a massive statement of intent and I think it would be the first time in the past 18 months in League One that you could reasonably argue we look like a credible automatic promotion contender. Fingers crossed.

Oxford 2-0 Derby Rodrigues