Jourdan

It was the same at Exeter away in midweek. I guess people feel shielded by being in a crowd, but some of the chants and behaviour was just completely unnecessary and I am not sure what people get out of it. A bit of shock value, a bit of laughter, I guess. People were more interested in baiting a steward than watching the game. I just don’t get it.

In recent posts, you talk about problematic individuals, the division on the forum, bullying, and horrible stuff being said towards those with doubts about Warne. Yet in the past, you have called me an AI chatbot, a slick PR mastermind, a potential contestant on the Traitors, a fraud, a fictional character. And that’s only publicly. Maybe you should reflect on your own posting style too?

One thing that was particularly great about today’s win was the contribution of Smith, Bradley and Sibley. It’s great to see players who had been written off in some quarters play an important role in an important win. As we’ve seen with all of the injuries, we are going to need everyone to play their part.

In the here and now, you say? Yet the original conversation stemmed from your comment about Warne’s past in the Championship and how you ‘daren’t mention it’… OK, yes, in the here and now, we are 2nd and on a run where we have won more than 70% of our games. Is that not enough for you? What advantages do we have over the two other main contenders Portsmouth and Bolton? Do you think we should be finishing above them and if we don’t, is that a failure in your eyes?

I don’t think that this ‘extreme’ pro-Warne camp exists. I don’t think any blind faith exists either. People are daring to be optimistic, back the manager and hoping things work out. But most people can also call a situation as it is. Back in October we got well beaten by Stevenage and had won just six in 14. Most expected that Warne’s days were numbered short of an incredible turnaround. We’re 2nd. We’ve won 14 in 19. Is it surprising that people want to enjoy that?

What insane hype? The way I carry on is that I think we have a manager who can get us out of League 1 and I back him to do that. Any ‘hype’ is probably very much tongue in cheek. The derision however is not. Hand on heart, I honestly don’t know how we will do under him in the Championship. It’s a 50-50 case. We could fall into the same cycle as Rotherham, Peterborough and the likes or we could do better. There is no compelling case for either when the Championship is as unpredictable as it is and it has teams who overachieve, underachieve, surge and sink from nowhere almost every season. It’s a case of wait and see. But what I don’t want to do is write him off before the champagne bottles have even been popped and I certainly don’t want his experience at a different club in different circumstances with a different level of potential to muddy everything. For you, Warne is limited and won’t ever change. Now if Warne had failed in the Championship with various clubs of various sizes and in various states, your stance would make complete sense. The way I see it is if I go into a Ferrari showroom three times with £75,000, is it surprising that I come back with just a fridge magnet each time? Rotherham have perennially struggled and almost exclusively battled relegation in the Championship irrespective of the manager in charge. Derby have the potential to do more. Will Warne rise to that challenge? Why not wait and see?

You can mention his past all you want, but it’s just one experience at one club at the end of the day. Just because he couldn’t establish Rotherham in the Championship doesn’t necessarily mean he will automatically fail here. In the same way look at Chris Wilder and Nathan Jones. They had great success in the Championship at one club but couldn’t replicate it elsewhere. We’re not a replica of Rotherham. I think being in the Championship with a club with greater potential and backing could produce very different results for Warne but equally he could struggle. We have to wait and see. The way you carry on though, we might as well throw in the towel the moment we get promoted.

I am making the most of it because I enjoy my team winning football matches. The same will apply next season too.

Perhaps Warne anticipated exactly the kind of game that transpired? Stevenage have been in the top 6-10 for the majority of the season. They have made life difficult for many superior teams across this season. They are clearly well versed at stifling and limiting better teams. The only team to comfortably beat them so far is Blackpool and they have made Portsmouth, Bolton, Peterborough amongst others all work hard for wins. You say we have the best players in the league playing like underdogs? That’s your opinion. In others’ opinion, we have a good group of players and a good manager showing tactical flexibility and finding a way to get results.

You take home the embarrassment, the rest of us are taking home the three points (again).

Four wins in five and could have been five in five if we hadn’t lost concentration late on v Shrewsbury. A fantastic response since Reading away, especially with injuries mounting up. It also means it’s 14 wins in 19 games since the end of October. Yes, we’re giving Warne and the players credit for keeping their heads, digging in and finding different ways to win, which is what we struggled with last season. We know that you won’t say anything positive until we are top of the Championship in 12 months’ time. But why should that stop everyone else?

10 points ahead of that Peterborough super team who ‘looked levels above us’ recently. Is Paul Warne actually overachieving?

Can everyone please keep @GeneralRam in your thoughts at this difficult time?

Don’t worry, everyone. Mendez Laing is going to step up, win us the game, shamelessly flirt with the mayor of Stevenage’s wife during the post match hospitality, and get home in time for the 1% Club. What a season he is having.

I am not worried personally. I don’t think we have yet seen anywhere close to what CBT can do and can bring to the table. If he is perhaps not fit and perhaps not totally adjusted, he will likely play within himself as many others would. The biggest thing I saw on Tuesday and v Reading is it being a case of CBT and the rest of the team having to build up an understanding of how they can help one another. Look at goals two and three on Tuesday. NML was on to Bird’s pass in a flash because they have a good understanding. Similarly Barkhuizen knew exactly where to be to support NML on the breakaway for the third goal. They have been teammates for almost two years, not four weeks. I think there was one brief moment on Tuesday where CBT and the team looked on the same wavelength. NML as I recall tried to send him clear into space but didn’t get enough purchase on the pass and it was cut out. If we get CBT in those positions more often, we’ll see his threat. Everyone is raving about Adams and rightly so, but equally he’s only had three games and I feel it is much easier to impact the game as an all-action midfielder in a counter-attacking side that do a lot of defending and spend a lot of time out of possession than a winger who relies on receiving the ball in areas where he can affect the game. For much of that first half, CBT didn’t receive the ball and when he did, it was in areas where he was crowded out.

Style of play isn’t everything. Our fate in the Championship will depend on so much more. It starts at the top with a committed owner who will strike a balance between financial control and ambition. Then it trickles down to the football staff. Switched on recruitment with good scouting and good squad building with a good balance between youth and experience and an understanding of where each player fits will be important. Then of course you have what the manager, the coaches and the support staff can instil - a good atmosphere and ethos around the club that aids player integration, good team spirit, good organisation, good preparation and fitness, and good man management. Then don’t forget how the mental and psychological side of the game can take hold - how often do we see promoted sides carry confidence, belief and momentum through from one season to the next? If all of these moving parts can work well together and we can put our best foot forward, then there is no reason to approach a season in the Championship with trepidation. In the end, it might be a bridge too far and we might go back down. That is a possibility. We would be ignorant to not anticipate that possibility, but I think we have to at least give it 10-15 games at that level to see how we match up before we consider it such a certainty as others are doing.

CBT was apparently a target last summer but we didn’t have room in the budget to complete the deal without selling someone first. He has played the equivalent of 1.5 games so far, it’s way too soon to judge.

Derby 2-1 Stevenage Mendez Laing

Surely you realise that nothing is set in stone in football? If we get promoted, there will be so many variables at play that will dictate how well or how badly we do, not just the style of play. At this stage, there are far too many unknowns. Saying ‘it’s going to be grim’ and ‘worse than Wednesday have endured’ in February when this season is not even over and pre-season for next season is five months away just seems needless. It might be your gut feeling, but there is enough evidence to suggest that football is too unpredictable and too nuanced to be so dismissive of our chances of improving and adapting to life in the Championship purely on your distaste for the manager.

I think people at the club do things in good faith that can end up being mistakes in hindsight. Some are easier to see ahead of time, some less so. Would I have extended John Jules’ loan? No. Would I have signed someone that has gone to another L1 club just for the sake of having more bodies in the squad but not necessarily more quality? Also no. The club really can’t win. Collins could have stayed fit for the rest of the season and then the ‘back up striker’ gets about 150-300 minutes of football and the club are questioned for wasting precious resources. Ultimately the club can only be prepared for so many eventualities.

CBT will be fine. He has played 1.5 games in four weeks so he is obviously not fully fit nor up to speed. It’s a shame he has not hit the ground running but there is no point in writing him off. Mendez Laing, Barkhuizen and Wilson have all had spells in the team where things haven’t clicked but they have bounced back and performed. I am pretty confident he will come good.

It is a worry if Collins is out for any length of time. But having four forwards (Collins, John Jules, Waghorn, Washington) out at one time as well as multiple other players in the squad just says we have been very unfortunate. Let’s see if we can pick up a free agent. Let’s see where Washington is with his recovery. Let’s see if we can recall Brown. Let’s see if we can go with a fluid front three of NML, CBT and Barkhuizen. All we can do is regroup and make the best out of a bad situation.

Yes, we had all of January to sign a striker and no doubt we tried for the entire month to secure a deal. But it is not straightforward. Clearly we want players who will add something to the squad and we want someone who will improve us in some way. It’s not a case of taking absolutely anyone. Better players are usually more difficult to sign, and clubs and even players will use whatever tactic they can to get the best deal and move possible. Moves you think are close often break down because of this. If Collins is out for any length of time, it’s just really unfortunate.

Got what they deserved? You make it sound like Warne and the team didn’t want a striker and were happy with the outcome? There’s a difference between what we wanted and what we got and clearly Warne had to suck it up and accept the situation for what it was.