Jourdan

4 hours ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said:

The team should do exactly as you state and I'm sure they will but us fans can speculate surely? 

Of course we can and I am sure we will.

Personally though, especially after last season, I am taking it one game at a time because so much can change in one half, never mind across 90 minutes or 2-3, 4-5, 6-7 games.

I look back to last season and we beat Exeter away and we all left the ground thinking it was job done. Soon after, we dropped out of the play-offs completely.

I am of the mindset that Barnsley will be a very good test and it will be interesting to see how we measure up but I think it’s sensible to look no further than that.

The best thing we can do is take things one game at a time.

There’s no use concerning ourselves with Bolton and Portsmouth.

Bolton’s ‘tough’ run-in will be meaningless if we don’t do the business ourselves.

Our only focus should be Barnsley away and grinding out another 3 points and taking one step closer to the magic 92 points mark.

17 hours ago, VulcanRam said:

There’s a section of the south stand high up towards the away fans who seem more obsessed singing songs slagging other Derby fans off than they do supporting the team. It’s something that’s emerged this season.

Any slight lull and it’s “silence as usual”, “south stand’s a library’ or yesterday’s joy, “support your team or f-off home”. Been going on a few games now, finally other supporters started giving them some back and then an argument ensued.

So yesterday, as has been the way recently, the atmosphere in that stand hasn’t been good, made worse by some fans doing the old trick of “we’re better fans because we sing more” routine. It’s just arrogant and divisive, and for that matter wrong. Fortunately the team turned up second half just before it started getting ugly. 

Then in response to the manager’s excellent subs and shift in players, we got right on top of Stevenage, we played some good football, the supporters responded and the rest has been well covered in this thread regards the atmosphere. 

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.

43 minutes ago, May Contain Nuts said:

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.

8 minutes ago, May Contain Nuts said:

Well that's wrong. I've never I want him sacked or that I'm not open to the idea of him improving.

I've seen and noted signs of progress, some of them he's regressesd on, some not. I've given out credit where I feel it's appropriate. What I do believe (based on what I've seen) is that said progress and the understanding of how it's happened seem to have taken a rather long amount of time come to fruition, I think he's learning but he's a slow learner.

My biggest mistake has been calling out posters for their attitudes toward others, which people have taken to mean I'm part of some Warne hating faction. I don't like people being bullied and rounded on for how they feel aout a football manager and I find many of the comments on here to come across as bullying and often behind a fgacade of humourous gfs. The reality is that I find him a frustrating and contradictory figure, and i'm not sold on the idea that he's as open and honest as he seems. The divisive b******* on this forum really tires me out, and the labelling always seem t cto come from one direction.

I'm sorry but If you don't know what hype I'm referencing I'm not sure you've been paying attention. He's bigged up at every opportunity. If he hadn't been bigged up to a certain degree I'd have a far more favorable opinion of him. I hold him to the standard he's been allocated by those talking of his stature.

The talk of Ferrari showrooms and comparisons to Rotherham's budget just does nothing for me. We are in the here and now, and he has many advantages over most managers at this level either by experience or budget.

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?

4 minutes ago, Caerphilly Ram said:

There’s been an accelerated shift in your tone on this matter, where I know you once looked to be balanced and had your concerns it does seem the more extreme pro-Warne posters have got to you. That’s the second time today I’ve seen you use a phrase saying Warne has fans wrapped around his little finger, which carries all kinds of connotation around manipulation on Warne’s part and a lack of choice/independent thought by those who do back him to blind faith extremes.

You and others don’t like Warne’s football, don’t think he’s right long term for the club for a number of reasons well articulated mostly by yourself and others with a few more extreme and less rational posters, and some think he is right for the club and express their views. It’s all opinions, I say this as someone who for the most part I respect their posts and views even if I don’t always share them, try not to get so wound up by it. 
If he’s not the man long term he’ll be found out and that’ll be that. For now he’s what we’ve got and it doesn’t appear to be changing, so discuss what’s pants and what could be better but don’t get dragged down by it as it doesn’t appear to be changing at the moment 

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?

40 minutes ago, May Contain Nuts said:

It's not one experience at one club, it's three.

Look at other clubs who's manager could only find success managing that club? Errrrm, OK? I wouldn't particularly back Jones or Wilder either, just as I wouldn't want us to appoint Aidy Boothroyd even though his achievements are bigger than Warne's. Phil Brown has  more to his CV than Warne but nobody would put him forward as the next DCFC manager

We're not a replica of Rotherham but.. we're hardly dissimilar, and this is just another "well what if things turn out better, even though I have no evidence they will" style post. There's nothing to suggest Warne will have greater backing in the Championship either. It's all just blind faith because we're doing well where Warne is comfortable.

The way YOU carry on we've appointed a complete unknown who we should have no expectation of, but the hype around the bloke has been insane, and the standards he has to live up to will naturally follow.

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?

6 minutes ago, May Contain Nuts said:

He's a good Lague One manager with serious limitations which stop him being anything more than a League One manager, unless he proves otherwise.

At ths point though, if you dare mention his past at Championship level you're a Warne-hating outcast.

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.

1 hour ago, Chris_Martin said:

Well make the most of it then, because we certainly wont be next season

I am making the most of it because I enjoy my team winning football matches.

The same will apply next season too.

1 hour ago, Chris_Martin said:

 I'm aware of the results thanks.

My problem is why do we play so negative. Why when we have the best players in the league are we always playing as though we're the underdogs?

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. 

1 minute ago, Chris_Martin said:

Why not credit him????

Because he set us up like that. 2 shots on goal all game is embarrassing.

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

2 minutes ago, Chris_Martin said:

He was forced to was he ?

I suppose he was forced to play 8 defensive minded outfielders too ?

2 shots on goal all game, playing stevenage, at pride park, in the 3rd division. And your crediting warne ?

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?

44 minutes ago, Chris_Martin said:

 

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.

16 minutes ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said:

It is too early to judge but if it were me I'd be busting a gut to impress..... On that basis I'm more than slightly worried with the two brief appearances we've seen. 

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.

7 hours ago, Chris_Martin said:

thats very unspecific

what are all these variables then? I'm pretty sure the no.1 thing that determines how well we do, will be how we play football.

 

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.

9 minutes ago, Van der MoodHoover said:

Didn't we spend most of January chasing CBT?

It's a thorough process that Warne puts prospective signings through.......not easy to reach the required standard of "good-eggness"

Only of course to discover our marque signing doesn't do defence, was looking un (or dis) interested before being hooked on Tuesday and might be injured now.

Time well spent....

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

1 hour ago, Bris Vegas said:

Paul Warne is an inferior Gary Rowett.

And Gary Rowett’s team was a horrible watch, despite having top six Championship players.

Now imagine Warneball with a bottom eight Championship squad. It’s going to be grim, worse than what Sheffield Wednesday fans have endured this season. That is, of course, if we get promoted this season which I think we will.

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.

1 hour ago, inter politics said:

We knew TJJ had a poor injury record. We knew Waghorn and Washington were/are injured and are older players with histories of muscle injuries. We loaned Browne out...

It isn't unfortunate. It's either poor planning or lack of implementation. I'm all for praising our great club when deserved but this was a big error from the club. Can't change it now but don't pretend it wasn't a mistake (not you, the club themselves).

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.