Jourdan

We could lose v Peterborough and Bolton and then win the next four.
We could beat Peterborough and Bolton but then lose the next four.
What would we learn?
Fixating on these games is meaningless when Cambridge are top and Stevenage are in the top six.
Warne will earn his wage by what he and the team does in the next 42 games, not two.
Whatever happens in the next two, these early results underline how important it is to stay calm.

Didn't need to check the score to see that we were winning.
Just scrolled through the last few pages to see the usual suspects posts missing to know it. 

I think Warne will get the whole season to make his mark, unless we see absolutely no signs of improvement and we look in complete free fall.
I believe we have four home games in seven before the end of September, so as disappointing as recent results have been, the opportunities to put things right will come thick and fast. After ten games, for example, we need to be sitting on somewhere between 15 and 20 points and be showing signs of life.
One win in three league games and three losses in four competitively is terminal to our optimism levels, but in real terms it isn’t terminal to our season and it isn’t enough of a sample to make the call that Warne can not retrieve the situation. So there is definitely an element of having to accept our position, be rational, and let things play out.
However the messaging internally has to be loud and clear - we have time to turn it around but things have to change. Not just for Warne, but for all the football staff, and Clowes too.
We are stuttering and each and every one of them needs to step up and pull together for the benefit of the club. Warne needs to show flexibility with his approach. The recruitment team need to present Warne with viable targets that will actually solve problems, not create them. Clowes needs to green light as many signings as permissible.

I feel Hourihane is a luxury, one we can’t really afford when the midfield isn’t functioning well and we’re getting bossed in games. How many games does he end up being anonymous in?
Yet he is our captain and quite possibly our highest paid player, so it puts us in a difficult position.
Granted he does chip in with goals and assists, but if he is unable to help us control games from midfield and as a result take the pressure off the defence, he will cost us goals and results just as frequently.
The Idiakez comparison doesn’t really hold weight. Idiakez was at the heart of everything we did well for a time. Hourihane has nowhere near the same level of impact.

That young chap at Hull is doing ok 😊

Idiakez joined us in the 2004-05 season. Osman played for us on loan in 2003-04. They never played in the same Derby team.
So maybe your memory is playing tricks on you.
Idiakez finished up player of the year that year and was sorely and decisively missed v Preston away in the play-offs too.
That said it was a lovely team to watch and everyone played their part. I’d agree with you there.
But Idiakez v Hourihane at this stage of his career? It’s no contest in terms of influence.

Idiakez joined us in the 2004-05 season. Osman played for us on loan in 2003-04. They never played in the same Derby team.
So maybe your memory is playing tricks on you.
Idiakez finished up player of the year that year and was sorely and decisively missed v Preston away in the play-offs too.
That said it was a lovely team to watch and everyone played their part. I’d agree with you there.
But Idiakez v Hourihane at this stage of his career? It’s no contest in terms of influence.

I feel Hourihane is a luxury, one we can’t really afford when the midfield isn’t functioning well and we’re getting bossed in games. How many games does he end up being anonymous in?
Yet he is our captain and quite possibly our highest paid player, so it puts us in a difficult position.
Granted he does chip in with goals and assists, but if he is unable to help us control games from midfield and as a result take the pressure off the defence, he will cost us goals and results just as frequently.
The Idiakez comparison doesn’t really hold weight. Idiakez was at the heart of everything we did well for a time. Hourihane has nowhere near the same level of impact.

He looked like the weakest link v Wigan and that seems to be a continuing trend in the games that have followed.
The system doesn’t play to his strengths, but equally we don’t have the players in the squad to cancel out his shortcomings. We don’t even know if a new system will completely remedy his issues.
What I struggle with is that he was our big summer signing and with that, he probably came with certain expectations and certain guarantees. How can he start at the moment?
Personally, Cashin and Forsyth would be my starting centre backs. Given we have signed several new ones whom were playing at a higher level previously, it doesn’t reflect well on the recruitment team whatsoever.

I think Warne will get the whole season to make his mark, unless we see absolutely no signs of improvement and we look in complete free fall.
I believe we have four home games in seven before the end of September, so as disappointing as recent results have been, the opportunities to put things right will come thick and fast. After ten games, for example, we need to be sitting on somewhere between 15 and 20 points and be showing signs of life.
One win in three league games and three losses in four competitively is terminal to our optimism levels, but in real terms it isn’t terminal to our season and it isn’t enough of a sample to make the call that Warne can not retrieve the situation. So there is definitely an element of having to accept our position, be rational, and let things play out.
However the messaging internally has to be loud and clear - we have time to turn it around but things have to change. Not just for Warne, but for all the football staff, and Clowes too.
We are stuttering and each and every one of them needs to step up and pull together for the benefit of the club. Warne needs to show flexibility with his approach. The recruitment team need to present Warne with viable targets that will actually solve problems, not create them. Clowes needs to green light as many signings as permissible.

I think Warne will get the whole season to make his mark, unless we see absolutely no signs of improvement and we look in complete free fall.
I believe we have four home games in seven before the end of September, so as disappointing as recent results have been, the opportunities to put things right will come thick and fast. After ten games, for example, we need to be sitting on somewhere between 15 and 20 points and be showing signs of life.
One win in three league games and three losses in four competitively is terminal to our optimism levels, but in real terms it isn’t terminal to our season and it isn’t enough of a sample to make the call that Warne can not retrieve the situation. So there is definitely an element of having to accept our position, be rational, and let things play out.
However the messaging internally has to be loud and clear - we have time to turn it around but things have to change. Not just for Warne, but for all the football staff, and Clowes too.
We are stuttering and each and every one of them needs to step up and pull together for the benefit of the club. Warne needs to show flexibility with his approach. The recruitment team need to present Warne with viable targets that will actually solve problems, not create them. Clowes needs to green light as many signings as permissible.

Idiakez joined us in the 2004-05 season. Osman played for us on loan in 2003-04. They never played in the same Derby team.
So maybe your memory is playing tricks on you.
Idiakez finished up player of the year that year and was sorely and decisively missed v Preston away in the play-offs too.
That said it was a lovely team to watch and everyone played their part. I’d agree with you there.
But Idiakez v Hourihane at this stage of his career? It’s no contest in terms of influence.

I think Warne will get the whole season to make his mark, unless we see absolutely no signs of improvement and we look in complete free fall.
I believe we have four home games in seven before the end of September, so as disappointing as recent results have been, the opportunities to put things right will come thick and fast. After ten games, for example, we need to be sitting on somewhere between 15 and 20 points and be showing signs of life.
One win in three league games and three losses in four competitively is terminal to our optimism levels, but in real terms it isn’t terminal to our season and it isn’t enough of a sample to make the call that Warne can not retrieve the situation. So there is definitely an element of having to accept our position, be rational, and let things play out.
However the messaging internally has to be loud and clear - we have time to turn it around but things have to change. Not just for Warne, but for all the football staff, and Clowes too.
We are stuttering and each and every one of them needs to step up and pull together for the benefit of the club. Warne needs to show flexibility with his approach. The recruitment team need to present Warne with viable targets that will actually solve problems, not create them. Clowes needs to green light as many signings as permissible.

I think Warne will get the whole season to make his mark, unless we see absolutely no signs of improvement and we look in complete free fall.
I believe we have four home games in seven before the end of September, so as disappointing as recent results have been, the opportunities to put things right will come thick and fast. After ten games, for example, we need to be sitting on somewhere between 15 and 20 points and be showing signs of life.
One win in three league games and three losses in four competitively is terminal to our optimism levels, but in real terms it isn’t terminal to our season and it isn’t enough of a sample to make the call that Warne can not retrieve the situation. So there is definitely an element of having to accept our position, be rational, and let things play out.
However the messaging internally has to be loud and clear - we have time to turn it around but things have to change. Not just for Warne, but for all the football staff, and Clowes too.
We are stuttering and each and every one of them needs to step up and pull together for the benefit of the club. Warne needs to show flexibility with his approach. The recruitment team need to present Warne with viable targets that will actually solve problems, not create them. Clowes needs to green light as many signings as permissible.

Our circumstances - trying to rehabilitate after being in financial ruin - dictate the level of patience though, and let’s be honest, we’re in no position to be rash.
Ripping up Warne’s contract will cost money. Dismissing his backroom staff will cost money. Appointing a new manager and his coaching team will cost money. Paying compensation if they are contracted will cost money. Bringing in players for the new manager will cost money.
Money we seemingly don’t have or if we do, we are either not prepared or not permitted to spend it. So which managers would be queuing up to replace Warne in any case?
Warne has been in the job for less than 12 months. He has three years left on a four year contract. He is not getting it right at the moment, that’s plain to see, but surely Clowes will be thinking: maybe things will look different in 20-30 games?
We have to stay calm and Warne has to step up and show what he can do. It’s a 46 game season, not a 4 game season, after all.

Another performance and result that is impossible to defend.
Warne can have success here but he has to help himself and make the job less difficult than it needs to be. He has tried three at the back in three separate spells and each time it has been clear that it is not the optimal set up for the players available.
I really hope he assesses the opening games and understands that being intent on imposing a style of play and a system will only hamper his chances of being successful here.
Three at the back can work. Plymouth, Ipswich, Wednesday all succeeded with it last season. However they also had the freedom and flexibility in the transfer market to make it work and bring in the right profile of player to tweak it and evolve it - players with a mix of presence, pace, power and dynamism - and over time achieve the right balance.
This is a luxury we simply don’t have. We are still under restrictions and still under a business plan, so sadly our transfer business at this point looks painfully inadequate and incomplete.
If our budget is limited and our squad is small and there is little to no scope to improve it, Warne has to be wise to that and make the necessary changes and get the players in a system that might not be perfect but is at least workable.
Persisting with the current set up will only see support desert him from all directions.
 

True, his interview was anything but humble.
However I am thinking from the standpoint of having experienced players who have probably signed contracts and joined us in this division with a certain level of entitlement, an element of being untouchable irrespective of performance.
Take Hourihane and Bradley, for example. Two players who came in with big fanfare. Right now, it is hard not to look at them as anything but two of the biggest weak links in the team. Yet one is captain and the other came in as a marquee signing and a supposed leading figure both on and off the pitch.
How do we improve the team if the core of the team is dysfunctional? What do we do when the central figures in the team are standing in the way of progression?

Our circumstances - trying to rehabilitate after being in financial ruin - dictate the level of patience though, and let’s be honest, we’re in no position to be rash.
Ripping up Warne’s contract will cost money. Dismissing his backroom staff will cost money. Appointing a new manager and his coaching team will cost money. Paying compensation if they are contracted will cost money. Bringing in players for the new manager will cost money.
Money we seemingly don’t have or if we do, we are either not prepared or not permitted to spend it. So which managers would be queuing up to replace Warne in any case?
Warne has been in the job for less than 12 months. He has three years left on a four year contract. He is not getting it right at the moment, that’s plain to see, but surely Clowes will be thinking: maybe things will look different in 20-30 games?
We have to stay calm and Warne has to step up and show what he can do. It’s a 46 game season, not a 4 game season, after all.

True, his interview was anything but humble.
However I am thinking from the standpoint of having experienced players who have probably signed contracts and joined us in this division with a certain level of entitlement, an element of being untouchable irrespective of performance.
Take Hourihane and Bradley, for example. Two players who came in with big fanfare. Right now, it is hard not to look at them as anything but two of the biggest weak links in the team. Yet one is captain and the other came in as a marquee signing and a supposed leading figure both on and off the pitch.
How do we improve the team if the core of the team is dysfunctional? What do we do when the central figures in the team are standing in the way of progression?

Idiakez joined us in the 2004-05 season. Osman played for us on loan in 2003-04. They never played in the same Derby team.
So maybe your memory is playing tricks on you.
Idiakez finished up player of the year that year and was sorely and decisively missed v Preston away in the play-offs too.
That said it was a lovely team to watch and everyone played their part. I’d agree with you there.
But Idiakez v Hourihane at this stage of his career? It’s no contest in terms of influence.

I feel Hourihane is a luxury, one we can’t really afford when the midfield isn’t functioning well and we’re getting bossed in games. How many games does he end up being anonymous in?
Yet he is our captain and quite possibly our highest paid player, so it puts us in a difficult position.
Granted he does chip in with goals and assists, but if he is unable to help us control games from midfield and as a result take the pressure off the defence, he will cost us goals and results just as frequently.
The Idiakez comparison doesn’t really hold weight. Idiakez was at the heart of everything we did well for a time. Hourihane has nowhere near the same level of impact.

Can't see how we can afford to sack him - so for the next three years, I'm going to be sticking pins in my eyes just to take the pain away from watching the worst Derby County side in the last 57 years (that's how long ago my first season ticket was - I can't go back further than that). Christ, even Docherty's side, Billy Caskey, Vic Moreland and all, was better than this shower.
Come back Phil Brown, all is forg......
ok, forget the last bit.

True, his interview was anything but humble.
However I am thinking from the standpoint of having experienced players who have probably signed contracts and joined us in this division with a certain level of entitlement, an element of being untouchable irrespective of performance.
Take Hourihane and Bradley, for example. Two players who came in with big fanfare. Right now, it is hard not to look at them as anything but two of the biggest weak links in the team. Yet one is captain and the other came in as a marquee signing and a supposed leading figure both on and off the pitch.
How do we improve the team if the core of the team is dysfunctional? What do we do when the central figures in the team are standing in the way of progression?

Concerned about how we've started this season but not ready to get the knives out yet. 
I want to see some players brought in over the next couple of weeks.
I also want to know what happened to the football we were playing from November to February last season. In that run of games unbeaten we looked good. Where has that gone?

Another performance and result that is impossible to defend.
Warne can have success here but he has to help himself and make the job less difficult than it needs to be. He has tried three at the back in three separate spells and each time it has been clear that it is not the optimal set up for the players available.
I really hope he assesses the opening games and understands that being intent on imposing a style of play and a system will only hamper his chances of being successful here.
Three at the back can work. Plymouth, Ipswich, Wednesday all succeeded with it last season. However they also had the freedom and flexibility in the transfer market to make it work and bring in the right profile of player to tweak it and evolve it - players with a mix of presence, pace, power and dynamism - and over time achieve the right balance.
This is a luxury we simply don’t have. We are still under restrictions and still under a business plan, so sadly our transfer business at this point looks painfully inadequate and incomplete.
If our budget is limited and our squad is small and there is little to no scope to improve it, Warne has to be wise to that and make the necessary changes and get the players in a system that might not be perfect but is at least workable.
Persisting with the current set up will only see support desert him from all directions.