Jourdan

Already spotted a few Rams in Exeter by the train station!
Looking forward to tomorrow! Wishing everyone a safe journey.
@S75 Ram and @Foreveram, any advice needed, just let me know!

Is this another player being binned off when he's barely got his feet under the table because the modern-day fan can't stop seeing conspiracies everywhere?
I'd say give it a bit longer before making wild assumptions, some of you have got a poor track record on that 😉

Only garbage, in your opinion. We win games and people still want to drag Warne and the players over the coals.
Are you still not pleased? We’ve gone from being 15 points off top to now potentially as little as three points if we win our game in hand. 
Which team at League 1 level will be without its faults or weaknesses? None. The key is finding a way to ensure your weaknesses are not regularly taken advantage of.
We have lost two in 17, compared with five in 14 earlier in the season. We have won 12, compared with just 6 in that same earlier spell. So clearly while we are not perfect, we are doing something right in that regard.
I go to as many games as I can. I watch as many games as I can. I’ll be there on Tuesday, for instance. I don’t feel depressed by the prospect. We might play badly and win. We might play well and lose. We might play badly and lose. We might play well and win. I couldn’t call it. It comes with the territory of supporting a team currently in League 1 and their typical limitations.
You say it’s depressing. Would you be happier being in Peterborough’s position, losing their grip on their place in the automatic promotion race? Playing better football but losing 5-2 to struggling Wycombe?

Only garbage, in your opinion. We win games and people still want to drag Warne and the players over the coals.
Are you still not pleased? We’ve gone from being 15 points off top to now potentially as little as three points if we win our game in hand. 
Which team at League 1 level will be without its faults or weaknesses? None. The key is finding a way to ensure your weaknesses are not regularly taken advantage of.
We have lost two in 17, compared with five in 14 earlier in the season. We have won 12, compared with just 6 in that same earlier spell. So clearly while we are not perfect, we are doing something right in that regard.
I go to as many games as I can. I watch as many games as I can. I’ll be there on Tuesday, for instance. I don’t feel depressed by the prospect. We might play badly and win. We might play well and lose. We might play badly and lose. We might play well and win. I couldn’t call it. It comes with the territory of supporting a team currently in League 1 and their typical limitations.
You say it’s depressing. Would you be happier being in Peterborough’s position, losing their grip on their place in the automatic promotion race? Playing better football but losing 5-2 to struggling Wycombe?

Only garbage, in your opinion. We win games and people still want to drag Warne and the players over the coals.
Are you still not pleased? We’ve gone from being 15 points off top to now potentially as little as three points if we win our game in hand. 
Which team at League 1 level will be without its faults or weaknesses? None. The key is finding a way to ensure your weaknesses are not regularly taken advantage of.
We have lost two in 17, compared with five in 14 earlier in the season. We have won 12, compared with just 6 in that same earlier spell. So clearly while we are not perfect, we are doing something right in that regard.
I go to as many games as I can. I watch as many games as I can. I’ll be there on Tuesday, for instance. I don’t feel depressed by the prospect. We might play badly and win. We might play well and lose. We might play badly and lose. We might play well and win. I couldn’t call it. It comes with the territory of supporting a team currently in League 1 and their typical limitations.
You say it’s depressing. Would you be happier being in Peterborough’s position, losing their grip on their place in the automatic promotion race? Playing better football but losing 5-2 to struggling Wycombe?

@Andicis it’s not just you, but you are the most recent culprit. 
I don’t get this constant need to discredit the league and the teams within in it. It’s league football and each league every season is tough in its own way. A new season brings change, new opportunities, new variables and also new challenges.
You take it for what it is, surely? 46 games. 3 points for a win. You don’t get an extra special trophy for getting promoted one year over the other, do you?
Shall we forget the open top bus parade, the medals, and the ticker tape because we are playing Blackpool, Reading, Northampton and Orient rather than Ipswich, Wednesday, Morecambe and Forest Green?
Or shall we bow out of the promotion race altogether and wait to test ourselves against the might of QPR, Rotherham, Wednesday and Stockport? 
Eye test this, eye test that. The eye test will show some good and some bad, of course it will. We are currently League 1 level and everything points to that. Ultimately we are a work in progress. You may want to ignore it, you may want to qualify it, but there is progress nevertheless.
Look at this season itself. We’ve gone from getting 21 points from 14 games earlier in the season and looking barely like a top half team, compared to 39 points from 17 games most recently and now being amongst the main contenders for promotion.
Everyone wants to focus on the fact we are not Man City Lite. Everyone wants us to be more like Peterborough and Oxford (who are stuttering and seemingly slipping out of contention might I add).
No-one wants to give Warne and the players credit for finding the belief, character, and consistency to turn the season around and no-one wants to give Warne and the players any credit for showing even more character and toughness to dig in and continue getting results to keep us in the hunt while those much-fabled footballing sides begin to fade.
Yesterday could still be a very important point.

A lot of this is unfounded though. You may have a horrible feeling about going up this season, but what actually happens when we do could be drastically different.
There is no real rhyme or reason to what makes a club more likely to succeed in the Championship upon promotion, let’s be honest. Three teams go up and have the summer to lay the best possible groundwork. Some teams fight relegation, some teams stabilise and then some teams somehow find themselves battling for promotion. There are very rarely tell tale signs from the season before.
Why is it Ipswich are in the promotion places this season - why have they adapted so much better than Wednesday and Plymouth who were separated by five points the previous year?
Why is it Sunderland went from scraping their way up in the play-offs in League 1 in 2022 to finishing in the Championship top six in 2023?
Why is it Luton and Coventry were able to stabilise themselves in the Championship and then challenge for promotion (and in Luton’s case actually get promoted) where other clubs didn’t?
We all want long-term success for the club but it starts with short term success and taking an opportunity and not looking back. There is no perfect timing. We could sack Warne tomorrow, appoint a different manager, spend two years building the team in the fans’ vision and still go straight back down.
We’ll never get anywhere if we are paralysed by the fear of what might be ahead. If we go up this season, we have to grab the opportunity with both hands and see where it takes us.

Only garbage, in your opinion. We win games and people still want to drag Warne and the players over the coals.
Are you still not pleased? We’ve gone from being 15 points off top to now potentially as little as three points if we win our game in hand. 
Which team at League 1 level will be without its faults or weaknesses? None. The key is finding a way to ensure your weaknesses are not regularly taken advantage of.
We have lost two in 17, compared with five in 14 earlier in the season. We have won 12, compared with just 6 in that same earlier spell. So clearly while we are not perfect, we are doing something right in that regard.
I go to as many games as I can. I watch as many games as I can. I’ll be there on Tuesday, for instance. I don’t feel depressed by the prospect. We might play badly and win. We might play well and lose. We might play badly and lose. We might play well and win. I couldn’t call it. It comes with the territory of supporting a team currently in League 1 and their typical limitations.
You say it’s depressing. Would you be happier being in Peterborough’s position, losing their grip on their place in the automatic promotion race? Playing better football but losing 5-2 to struggling Wycombe?

Only garbage, in your opinion. We win games and people still want to drag Warne and the players over the coals.
Are you still not pleased? We’ve gone from being 15 points off top to now potentially as little as three points if we win our game in hand. 
Which team at League 1 level will be without its faults or weaknesses? None. The key is finding a way to ensure your weaknesses are not regularly taken advantage of.
We have lost two in 17, compared with five in 14 earlier in the season. We have won 12, compared with just 6 in that same earlier spell. So clearly while we are not perfect, we are doing something right in that regard.
I go to as many games as I can. I watch as many games as I can. I’ll be there on Tuesday, for instance. I don’t feel depressed by the prospect. We might play badly and win. We might play well and lose. We might play badly and lose. We might play well and win. I couldn’t call it. It comes with the territory of supporting a team currently in League 1 and their typical limitations.
You say it’s depressing. Would you be happier being in Peterborough’s position, losing their grip on their place in the automatic promotion race? Playing better football but losing 5-2 to struggling Wycombe?

Only garbage, in your opinion. We win games and people still want to drag Warne and the players over the coals.
Are you still not pleased? We’ve gone from being 15 points off top to now potentially as little as three points if we win our game in hand. 
Which team at League 1 level will be without its faults or weaknesses? None. The key is finding a way to ensure your weaknesses are not regularly taken advantage of.
We have lost two in 17, compared with five in 14 earlier in the season. We have won 12, compared with just 6 in that same earlier spell. So clearly while we are not perfect, we are doing something right in that regard.
I go to as many games as I can. I watch as many games as I can. I’ll be there on Tuesday, for instance. I don’t feel depressed by the prospect. We might play badly and win. We might play well and lose. We might play badly and lose. We might play well and win. I couldn’t call it. It comes with the territory of supporting a team currently in League 1 and their typical limitations.
You say it’s depressing. Would you be happier being in Peterborough’s position, losing their grip on their place in the automatic promotion race? Playing better football but losing 5-2 to struggling Wycombe?

Isn’t helpful especially in this topic? What does that mean?
As in, it’s not helpful because this is a topic in which people want to argue for sacking the manager and pointing out that the club (despite some very poor performances) are still at the right end of the table doesn’t support that one perspective?
Surely on a forum in which views and opinions are meant to be shared and discussed (ideally with some respect to opposing ideas) it’s entirely helpful to discuss that we are well positioned in the league despite our lacklustre performances at times, and therefore there’s still room for optimism and it doesn’t all need to be doom and gloom. 
 
I realise now why I took a week off, I’m just going to stick to matchday threads I think. 

OK, how about "we're one place off top spot"?

A lot of red ink there. Not entirely sure what significance it has ? I do see some of your points but too much is based on your premis that “Warne doesn’t want his team to retain the ball” honestly mate that’s garbage. All managers want their team to retain the ball and Warne is no different. Sure Cocu wanted possession at all costs with sidey backwards at the back. Nice idea but if the quality isn’t there it doesn’t work. 
 
We’ve got some good players but “good” is relative and we are in league one. Many of our better players are past their peak. 
I cannot think of a manager that would get us; with our current squad, with the restrictions we are under, in the league we are in ….. suddenly playing total football and getting points. 
 
Players have to pass accurately, predict a runners next move, read a bounce, time a tackle or simply have the pace, skill and confidence to beat a man. I contend that If we did that regularly then Warne’s football would no be as bad as you suggest 

@Andicis it’s not just you, but you are the most recent culprit. 
I don’t get this constant need to discredit the league and the teams within in it. It’s league football and each league every season is tough in its own way. A new season brings change, new opportunities, new variables and also new challenges.
You take it for what it is, surely? 46 games. 3 points for a win. You don’t get an extra special trophy for getting promoted one year over the other, do you?
Shall we forget the open top bus parade, the medals, and the ticker tape because we are playing Blackpool, Reading, Northampton and Orient rather than Ipswich, Wednesday, Morecambe and Forest Green?
Or shall we bow out of the promotion race altogether and wait to test ourselves against the might of QPR, Rotherham, Wednesday and Stockport? 
Eye test this, eye test that. The eye test will show some good and some bad, of course it will. We are currently League 1 level and everything points to that. Ultimately we are a work in progress. You may want to ignore it, you may want to qualify it, but there is progress nevertheless.
Look at this season itself. We’ve gone from getting 21 points from 14 games earlier in the season and looking barely like a top half team, compared to 39 points from 17 games most recently and now being amongst the main contenders for promotion.
Everyone wants to focus on the fact we are not Man City Lite. Everyone wants us to be more like Peterborough and Oxford (who are stuttering and seemingly slipping out of contention might I add).
No-one wants to give Warne and the players credit for finding the belief, character, and consistency to turn the season around and no-one wants to give Warne and the players any credit for showing even more character and toughness to dig in and continue getting results to keep us in the hunt while those much-fabled footballing sides begin to fade.
Yesterday could still be a very important point.

@Andicis it’s not just you, but you are the most recent culprit. 
I don’t get this constant need to discredit the league and the teams within in it. It’s league football and each league every season is tough in its own way. A new season brings change, new opportunities, new variables and also new challenges.
You take it for what it is, surely? 46 games. 3 points for a win. You don’t get an extra special trophy for getting promoted one year over the other, do you?
Shall we forget the open top bus parade, the medals, and the ticker tape because we are playing Blackpool, Reading, Northampton and Orient rather than Ipswich, Wednesday, Morecambe and Forest Green?
Or shall we bow out of the promotion race altogether and wait to test ourselves against the might of QPR, Rotherham, Wednesday and Stockport? 
Eye test this, eye test that. The eye test will show some good and some bad, of course it will. We are currently League 1 level and everything points to that. Ultimately we are a work in progress. You may want to ignore it, you may want to qualify it, but there is progress nevertheless.
Look at this season itself. We’ve gone from getting 21 points from 14 games earlier in the season and looking barely like a top half team, compared to 39 points from 17 games most recently and now being amongst the main contenders for promotion.
Everyone wants to focus on the fact we are not Man City Lite. Everyone wants us to be more like Peterborough and Oxford (who are stuttering and seemingly slipping out of contention might I add).
No-one wants to give Warne and the players credit for finding the belief, character, and consistency to turn the season around and no-one wants to give Warne and the players any credit for showing even more character and toughness to dig in and continue getting results to keep us in the hunt while those much-fabled footballing sides begin to fade.
Yesterday could still be a very important point.

Judging by the reaction to this result, I think I’ll be all alone in the away end on Tuesday.
It’s disappointing to drop two points, but as we have seen that’s the norm for sides in our position. Why some people think we should be above it is beyond me.
Some people just fail to take any kind of perspective from the game. Look at the outpouring of anger after a draw. Can you imagine the reaction if we were getting hammered at home by Orient like Pompey were a few short weeks ago? Or getting whipped by Wycombe and conceding five like Peterborough today? I dread to think what it would be like if that was us.
Every game is a potential trip hazard at this stage and teams will do their very best to disrupt us which it sounds like Shrewsbury did very well, similar to Cheltenham before them.
Every team in the run in will look to do the same. Exeter on Tuesday will look to do a job on us too and it will be another tricky game to negotiate. We will do well to win.
Every team in the mix will have games where they contrive to take a poor result from a winnable game. This time it was us. We have 15 games to play and there will be highs and lows, twists and turns, good performances and bad, good results and bad, but we have to stick by the team.

Like Arteta stood next to Pep, Steve stood next to Arteta. 
Get him in, I say. Local guy, with previous ties to our club. 

As progression I remember a number of posters on here calling us flat track bullies last season as we would roll over weaker teams at home but lose against better ones.
This season that accusation has died off probably due to the fact that we are beating the better teams both home and away and in fact our away record is very, very good which again demonstrates some enhanced mental fortitude within the team but definitely not luck. 
We won nothing under McClaren but played the best football I can remember. We're in League 1 so if the football is pragmatic at times then so be it. Am sure the same detractors would complain if we were playing free flowing football but were midtable. That's life. 

The kiss of death for any football manager is poor performances AND poor results. 
Even the most narrow minded supporter of the club has to begrudgingly admit that second in the table is a good position to be in.
If we were hovering around midtable then my stance might be different however as we're not then it's a moot point.

I'd add that I saw plenty of games like yesterday last time we were promoted (narrowly) from the third tier - and that team had Gregory, Davison, Hindmarch, Micklewhite and Williams, who equally struggled to overcome an obdurate away team that, on paper, weren't fit to lace our boots. 
The only teams in the top 7 who got the result they needed were Pompey and Barnsley, both by narrow margins . That's how the run in is going to be, so those of a wishy-washy disposition had best get used to it.

Judging by the reaction to this result, I think I’ll be all alone in the away end on Tuesday.
It’s disappointing to drop two points, but as we have seen that’s the norm for sides in our position. Why some people think we should be above it is beyond me.
Some people just fail to take any kind of perspective from the game. Look at the outpouring of anger after a draw. Can you imagine the reaction if we were getting hammered at home by Orient like Pompey were a few short weeks ago? Or getting whipped by Wycombe and conceding five like Peterborough today? I dread to think what it would be like if that was us.
Every game is a potential trip hazard at this stage and teams will do their very best to disrupt us which it sounds like Shrewsbury did very well, similar to Cheltenham before them.
Every team in the run in will look to do the same. Exeter on Tuesday will look to do a job on us too and it will be another tricky game to negotiate. We will do well to win.
Every team in the mix will have games where they contrive to take a poor result from a winnable game. This time it was us. We have 15 games to play and there will be highs and lows, twists and turns, good performances and bad, good results and bad, but we have to stick by the team.

With comfortably the lowest budget in the league each time. Got them looking reasonable before we took him, they stayed up in some way due to the wins he got early season, they’re now marooned at the bottom their normal position in the championship. 
 
I’ve said I’m not convinced he’s the man to take us forward in the championship but in case we need reminding - we’re not in the championship are we? 

Judging by the reaction to this result, I think I’ll be all alone in the away end on Tuesday.
It’s disappointing to drop two points, but as we have seen that’s the norm for sides in our position. Why some people think we should be above it is beyond me.
Some people just fail to take any kind of perspective from the game. Look at the outpouring of anger after a draw. Can you imagine the reaction if we were getting hammered at home by Orient like Pompey were a few short weeks ago? Or getting whipped by Wycombe and conceding five like Peterborough today? I dread to think what it would be like if that was us.
Every game is a potential trip hazard at this stage and teams will do their very best to disrupt us which it sounds like Shrewsbury did very well, similar to Cheltenham before them.
Every team in the run in will look to do the same. Exeter on Tuesday will look to do a job on us too and it will be another tricky game to negotiate. We will do well to win.
Every team in the mix will have games where they contrive to take a poor result from a winnable game. This time it was us. We have 15 games to play and there will be highs and lows, twists and turns, good performances and bad, good results and bad, but we have to stick by the team.

Judging by the reaction to this result, I think I’ll be all alone in the away end on Tuesday.
It’s disappointing to drop two points, but as we have seen that’s the norm for sides in our position. Why some people think we should be above it is beyond me.
Some people just fail to take any kind of perspective from the game. Look at the outpouring of anger after a draw. Can you imagine the reaction if we were getting hammered at home by Orient like Pompey were a few short weeks ago? Or getting whipped by Wycombe and conceding five like Peterborough today? I dread to think what it would be like if that was us.
Every game is a potential trip hazard at this stage and teams will do their very best to disrupt us which it sounds like Shrewsbury did very well, similar to Cheltenham before them.
Every team in the run in will look to do the same. Exeter on Tuesday will look to do a job on us too and it will be another tricky game to negotiate. We will do well to win.
Every team in the mix will have games where they contrive to take a poor result from a winnable game. This time it was us. We have 15 games to play and there will be highs and lows, twists and turns, good performances and bad, good results and bad, but we have to stick by the team.

Judging by the reaction to this result, I think I’ll be all alone in the away end on Tuesday.
It’s disappointing to drop two points, but as we have seen that’s the norm for sides in our position. Why some people think we should be above it is beyond me.
Some people just fail to take any kind of perspective from the game. Look at the outpouring of anger after a draw. Can you imagine the reaction if we were getting hammered at home by Orient like Pompey were a few short weeks ago? Or getting whipped by Wycombe and conceding five like Peterborough today? I dread to think what it would be like if that was us.
Every game is a potential trip hazard at this stage and teams will do their very best to disrupt us which it sounds like Shrewsbury did very well, similar to Cheltenham before them.
Every team in the run in will look to do the same. Exeter on Tuesday will look to do a job on us too and it will be another tricky game to negotiate. We will do well to win.
Every team in the mix will have games where they contrive to take a poor result from a winnable game. This time it was us. We have 15 games to play and there will be highs and lows, twists and turns, good performances and bad, good results and bad, but we have to stick by the team.