Jourdan

6 minutes ago, Foreveram said:

And lots of us just waited and didn’t comment until we saw something worth commenting on.

Absolutely true. Many of us were were willing to wait and see and many of us were optimistic, quietly or otherwise.

But the fact that even the manager caught wind of the mood of the fanbase perhaps shows that the impact of our words and our thoughts is more significant than we realise.

When the manager himself acknowledges that at least half of the fanbase didn’t want him and his team, that tells you all you need to know.

We were incredibly dismissive of Warne and unfairly so. A pound shop Rowett, some said. The next Jewell, some said. The next Pearson, some said. Taking a leaf out of the Mel Morris playbook, some said.

It was so bad that some respected posters have gone into complete hiding knowing they well and truly overreacted to his appointment.

Doing the bounce when we get promoted? If I were Warne, I would be doing laps of the pitch cupping my ears. It’d be what we deserve.

He’s doing a cracking job and it’s a shame it’s taken us going 14 games unbeaten for him and his team to get some credit.

Port Vale 0-2 Derby

Barkhuizen FRGS

Derby 2-1 Bolton

Mendez Laing FRGS

6 hours ago, Kokosnuss said:

That's a crock of s*** and you know it ?

I'm not describing "the support" (of which I am part, as are 99% of posters) for Warne as cultish, I'm describing the attitude (which you've very much contributed to) that anyone talking about what he's done so far in anything other than reverential terms is somehow a doubter, being negative and not getting on board.

It's utter b*******, but it's exactly the attitude you've pushed here. Your entrance into the thread was telling people what they should have thought, praising people for 'converting' into believers. Everything positive under Warne is put down solely to his influence. Brailsford has basically just called for a Utopian view. Very much religious / cult vibes!

Is it 'a bit much'? Maybe, but it's supposed to be, it's tongue in cheek, a bit of hyperbole... and yet somehow it's increasingly accurate!

Nobody anywhere has said it's wrong to be supportive of Warne, happy with our performances or positive about our form and future. Please stop trying to make out they have.

I support Warne, I'm positive he's the right man to get us back to the Championship and I think he's doing a good job (which I've said many times). I'm happy that the club is on the up again. I can only apologise if I and a few others are not displaying it in a manner which is enough for you.

I'm really sorry for taking a step back, putting our good form into context and not giddily joining the conga line. I'm sorry that you somehow see that as being negative and unsupportive rather than keeping a realistic view.

I promise for the next appointment that I'll just take whatever the popularist view is and run with that. I mean, it's a lot less hassle, as you've found out.

Let it be said, I think we have really good natured discussions and you always make really interesting and considered posts.

I apologise if I have made you or anyone else for that matter feel uncomfortable or as if your views were not valid or in some ways inferior. Perhaps my original post on the thread was more antagonistic than I first realised. Again, I apologise.

There’s nothing wrong with differing views or indeed a dash of realism here and there, but honestly I think most can see the reality of the situation.

Good times are on the way!

5 hours ago, Kokosnuss said:

Who are you referring to as doubters?

I really don't think you'll find anyone who doesn't think that Warne provides the best chance for us to get up this season or next and avoid the trap of being stuck in League One for multiple years. You may find 1 or 2 at a push who still actively don't want him as the manager, but they would massively be outliers.

That doesn't mean that anyone providing any sort of critique (which I must point out as I often do, is not the same as criticism) of his and the team's performances, or anyone puts them into a wider context - aside from the usual "well we're lucky to still have a club" whimpering - should effectively be told to shut the f*** up.

(I mean, we are lucky, but that stage is over and done with; we've been able to assemble a squad which has enough quality and nearly enough depth to stand a real chance of going straight back up)

This happened under Rooney too - the focus was so much on the position we found ourselves in that any real discussion about his future potential as a manager, any talk of his shortcomings was as welcome as the proverbial fart in a lift. When he left a fair few posters went on to let out their frustration - almost as if they didn't dare voice them earlier - which had the effect of making them look like hypocrites and turncoats.

This whole thread (actually that's not fair, it's only after a certain point) seems to be designed to shame anyone who isn't singing Warne-centric hymns at full-voice with the rest of the choir, whether they believe in him or not.

It's all a bit cultish, or one letter off that.

If you are not convinced by Warne, that is fair enough. He still has work to do and plenty to prove.

Describing the support for him as verging on a cult and suggesting people are being shamed for not falling in line seems a bit much, mind you.

By comparison, those who doubted (or as you put it, critiqued) Rooney, Rosenior and Cocu and were arguably right in doing so were on the receiving end of much worse than we’ve seen in this thread.

I think even those very much in favour of Warne can see that he is not infallible and his management style is not without its faults or limitations and that his work here is very much one that is in progress. In many ways given where the majority of fans think we should be and how we should be playing, you could argue his work has not even really started.

That said, what’s wrong with enjoying the club being on the up, getting behind a manager who has an encouraging track record in this division, and a group of players who are obviously responding to his methods?

If we can’t be positive when we haven’t lost a game for almost a quarter of a year, when is the time?

We have effectively had two pre-seasons and you could probably count as many as 15 points lost due to the subsequent hiccups and slow starts under both Rosenior and Warne.

It has taken us time to build consistency, a team spirit and structure, and confidence. The top three have been consistent from the off and deserve credit for that.

We have to accept we are where we are and we should be content with a strong finish, a play-off position, and going into them playing with confidence.

Top two is too big an ask, but it’s a good target for Warne and the players to set themselves internally. We’d much rather aim for 2nd and finish 3rd than aim for 5th and finish 7th.

An exciting signing because he’s a complete unknown and will play his first consistent minutes of senior football here.

Unlike the more established players in the squad, he could spring a surprise on the opposition.

Something that is also reassuring is that Norwich’s youth set up and talent ID has been pretty good in recent years.

I am guessing he has been brought in to provide competition in the wide areas, either as a winger or a converted full back. So hopefully he’ll add depth and not upset the balance too much. You would expect his wages will fall well within the business plan too.

Potentially a very clever move.

16 minutes ago, Kokosnuss said:

17 games undefeated says that's true, but honestly there's a difference between being tough to beat and coming up against opposition utterly incapable of exploiting your weaknesses and taking advantage of your mistakes, which has often been the case in this league.

We still give away plenty of chances. If a better team than Cheltenham (lowest scorers in the league and we gave them 2 goals) took the same approach as Cheltenham did against us we'd have problems. But they don't. You could almost call some of our games in this run uncontested such has been the lack of threat posed by many of the opposition we've faced.

Defensively, it's amazing the number of teams who simply can't cope with someone running at them.

It's probably a bit of both with us, because you can't fluke it for that many games, but the main thing is we score enough (the actual quality we possess is above League One standard) and work hard enough (not always a given) to cover most shortcomings.

We've been very fortunate with the fixture scheduling, never really had a tough 3-4 game run, enabling us to build up a rather useful amount of confidence and momentum, which hopefully will see us take the next step up to beat other top 6 contenders in league matches.

I think you do Warne and the players a disservice here.

In every league, there will be differences in quality and the haves and the have nots.

Yes, we are fortunate to be amongst the two or three biggest clubs in the division and that brings us a degree of competitive advantage. You’re right in suggesting that.

At the end of the day though, you still have to go out there, be professional, be switched on, and let your quality show.

The fact we’ve gone 12 games unbeaten in the league suggests to me the manager is doing a very astute job and has got the players laser-focused. It’s a testament to the manager.

If it was that straightforward and that simple, why have so many big clubs over the years struggled to get back out of the division again? How many teams went to Elland Road, the City Ground, Bramall Lane, the Stadium of Light and got the scalp they were looking for?

Even looking at the season, why did we slip up at Lincoln and Charlton earlier on in the season and why have we managed to draw so many games under Warne?

Yes, there are numerous teams that can’t match us for quality, but we still have to apply ourselves correctly to get the desired results. I think Warne deserves a lot of credit for that. There are trip hazards everywhere you look in this league.

12 minutes ago, DB83 said:

It was hostile because he was replacing an already good, and young, manager. Hull are well up the league since Rosenior joined them, only one loss since he arrived in October. Remember, Warne has signed no-one yet. All of our current "success" (and we're still miles behind automatic promotion, btw) is due to the squad assembled by LR.

Rosenior was completely unproven. If he was ‘already good’, why didn’t he get the job permanently?

Hull are ‘well up the league’? They were 20th and now they’re 16th. He’s meeting the brief but let’s not over-egg it. He’s doing a respectable job. Nothing more, nothing less.

All of our success is due to the squad Rosenior assembled? What a great way to undermine the job our current manager is doing!

People said Warne would have to rip the squad up to get them ‘playing how he wants’. This has proved to be untrue. People said the football would be a turn off and attendances would drop to 12k. Again, it’s untrue.

We have signed no-one and gone on an unbeaten run stretching back to October. We have played with a left back at centre back, a central midfielder at right back and an attacking midfielder at left back, and we’re 12 games unbeaten in the league. Even many of Rosenior’s signings have performed better since he left.

But of course none of that is down to the current manager, is it?

7 minutes ago, David said:

Name me one manager that hasn't.

It's also very early days in Warne's tenure, things are great now but ultimately he has to take us up. 

Not suggesting we shouldn't enjoy the moment, I'd say we deserve it after everything we've been through. Just not sure it's time to start the "I told you so's", which you haven't said granted word for word, that's how it will come across though.

I'm sure Warne won't have had many sleepless nights over what us lot were saying on here when he arrived. He knows the game and has the support now which is all that matters.

Yes, most managers have something to prove to an extent.

It is early days indeed. Yes, he does have to take us up and also keep us up, so I am sure it won’t be long before he is back under the microscope.

I am not even in a position to say I told you so. I never said in the beginning that Warne would be amazing. I just felt that the appointment looked logical and sensible and had the potential to be very shrewd. It was something worth getting behind.

I didn’t defend Warne in the early days because I wanted to be right, but because I could see the club’s intent with this move. There were no guarantees.

If you read back the threads around the time of his appointment and his first 4-5 games, you’ll understand what I mean. People were on his back very unnecessarily.

17 minutes ago, David said:

From what I recall, there was never any loud voices that were questioning his track record, it was his style of football and you must know what a divisive topic that can be.

If we were to replace Warne with Simeone in the summer, this place would erupt!

Whether it was his track record or his perceived style of play, it is fair to say there were many Warne sceptics for one reason or another.

It would take too much time to trawl through the archives and pick out specifics.

No-one knew for certain how things would transpire, but personally I did find it disappointing that Warne basically started the job on the back-foot having to win people over.

16 minutes ago, David said:

Very rare any managerial appointment will be universally welcomed. Same with player signings.

If you criticise people for not backing Warne from day 1, you must have a squeaky clean track record for backing every manager appointed and signing made.

I don't think any of us have one of those.

Having doubts over Warne's style of football and Rooney's experience for example really isn't any different. 

Doubts are doubts, nothing wrong with having doubts. 

You’re right in saying that no manager will ever please everyone.

But some of the comments on Warne did seem unjust given his track record, and there were even criticisms of the man who saved us, David Clowes.

It’s not about getting it right every time. None of us do.

Funnily enough, if you look at our managerial appointments over the last 5-6 years, Warne was probably the least questionable one of all. He ticked so many boxes for the situation we’re in.

18 minutes ago, uttoxram75 said:

Our fans were behind Rosenoir and they are behind Warne.

Of course people are behind Warne now.

Why wouldn’t you be when we are comfortably in the top six and unbeaten for months?

The mood and the reaction to his appointment in the early stages was quite hostile in some quarters, let’s not pretend otherwise.

It’s nice to see that Warne is converting people from sceptics to believers.

But let’s be honest, our fanbase should have been right behind him from the very beginning.

It’s not like he fluked one promotion. He’s won three. He’s a very good coach at this level and exactly what we needed.

I think Cooper and Forest deserve some credit actually.

When you think back to where they were in October, they were rock bottom and had lost 7 in 10. They looked dead certs to go down, if we’re being honest. They could have easily spiralled.

Since then, they have lost just two league games in nine and picked up 15 points, including four against Chelsea and Liverpool.

They’ve given themselves a fighting chance of staying up.

But Europe still looks a long way off, so I guess they’re underachieving! ?

7:45pm on a Monday on ITV4?

It’s good for the club to get more TV income, but terrible for the paying fan.

Monday is a working day so there will be countless people having to miss out, or having to take time off work during a cost of living crisis.

Is there any reason why this couldn’t have been scheduled for Saturday lunchtime or Sunday evening? Not perfect either, but probably less of a hassle for the majority of match-going fans.

Cheltenham 1-2 Derby

Hourihane FRGS

45 minutes ago, Gee SCREAMER !! said:

Davis and Chester don't have the fitness, Stearman has looked stretched and is really a desperation only measure and Forsyth is one bad  stretch from an ACL and is 35? .  No need to tinker at the minute but I feel someone extra will be needed.  Similiar with McGoldrick.  He has some slight problem every 3 or 4 games and would be a bugger if we went into playoffs or be pushing for autos in a few months and it happened then.  Collins will not have the legs or firepower to keep us in the top 6 should we lose McGoldrick and is getting games as we have no one else to alternate instead at the moment whose better.  Osula didn't get in as he is a League 2 standard striker at the moment and seemed to find it impossible to pass. 

I do understand where you are coming from. There is an element of risk to sticking with the squad, but in fairness also to changing things up. 

You’re right in saying that Davies, Chester, Forsyth and Stearman are all ageing, at risk of injury or fitness issues, and we can’t build around them in the long term, but surely with Roberts and at a push Jake Rooney also able to play CB, we have enough options to see us through the remainder of the season?

Similarly, yes, McGoldrick is a fitness risk and Collins is inconsistent, but that’s exactly why we were able to sign them in the first place. If there is anyone of comparable or better quality out there ready to join considering the level we’re at and the restrictions we are under, the club will have hit a home run.

I’m not sure you can plan a whole window around what ifs and worst case scenarios. Personally I think we’d be smart to see the season out and reassess.

If we are in the Championship, that’ll be the time to get some new recruits.

14 minutes ago, Gee SCREAMER !! said:

A natural striker with pace would be nice and a centre half with a bit .  Both will be needed in some games.  I Imagine the striker may be an issue as they'll be in demand and come with a loan fee which we can't do.  

Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think we need another striker at this point. Osula was recalled because he couldn’t get in front of McGoldrick, Collins, Dobbin, NML and Barkhuizen. Surely any new signing would have the same problem unless they were Ivan Toney 2.0?

I don’t think we need a centre half either. Forsyth and Cashin have developed an excellent partnership and it would be reckless to interrupt it, and when they’re fit, we will have Davies, Chester and Stearman to call upon and contribute.

If we’re pushed to strengthen anywhere, surely it’s full back and possibly midfield if clubs come in for Bird or Knight?

I am quite relaxed about making new signings. January is always a difficult time to get a good deal over the line.

With the way we are playing, the run we’ve been on, and how the players have stepped up and dispelled the myth Warne would have to rip up the squad and start again, surely the less disruption and the less change the better. 

Can we improve on the team? Yes. Is there a pressing need to? At this moment, no. We can compete with anyone in the division on our day and so far Warne has proven to be the shrewd appointment many suggested he would be.

We already have good (sometimes excellent) players for this level and where we lack something, Warne has found and will likely continue to find solutions within the squad.

We should stick with what we’ve got, unless a major player leaves and needs replacing or in the unlikely event there’s a deal that’s too good to walk away from.

Ultimately, team spirit, organisation, momentum and confidence is all with us - why rock the boat?

Both Plymouth and Exeter away in midweek?