Gabby'sThighs

Well, the first stage was signing enough free transfers just to survive, mostly done by Rosenior. That was, predictably, a mixed bag, and we just missed out on the play-offs last season, with a thin squad running out of steam. Then PW signed enough decent free transfers to challenge, and we're currently 2nd in the table and on course to get more wins & points than last season. Getting promoted would be part of the building process, but we'll see if that happens. Signings like Wilson, Nyambe, Fornah, and Blackett-Taylor point towards the future, and Cashin's contract extension at least secures a decent fee when he does go. NML renewing means retaining arguably our best attacker, and the players we shed this summer (Smith, Hourihane, Waghorn) should free up enough wages to allow us to go for younger replacements. I'd argue that giving more playing time to some U21s would be an encouraging sign of building for the future, but the academy have at least been getting new players in. There are some green shoots, surely?

We're 2nd, 6 points off top with a game in hand on Portsmouth, who have shown they're liable to drop points. Everyone from Barnsley down would happily swap places with Derby. Importantly, Peterborough are in danger of dropping out of contention if they don't beat Vale tomorrow, which would leave a top 4 pack. BUT they still have Portsmouth and Bolton at home, Bolton being on the last day of the season, so they could do a job for us. There are so many big games between Derby, Portsmouth, Bolton, Barnsley, and Peterborough, plus Stevenage & Oxford, a lot could change between now and 27th April. All-in-all, the last 15 games look set to be very exciting, even if the football is pretty crap to watch. We just have to back the players. Warne is not going to be sacked before 27th April so you may as well enjoy the run-in as much as you can.

It was a disappointing result but I agree with the hundred previous posters who have pointed out that we're tactically naive. We started defensively against a team who had scored 6 away goals. We should have got stuck in from the first second. Too often this season the first 45 minutes is simply wasted, and then we're chasing the game in the second half after an adjustment. I read the Guardian's report on the Leverkusen-Bayern game, and an observation there stuck out to me: "But what distinguishes this Leverkusen team is how little they rely on moments of individual quality. They defend and attack as a unit..." We rely almost entirely on moments of individual quality! In recent games particularly, it has been flashes from Bird, NML, Hourihane, or Collins to pull a result out of the bag. With a coherent system, we have good enough players, and a deep enough squad, to demolish most teams. I don't think any individual had a bad game yesterday - in fact, I thought Sibley, Bird, Nyambe, Adams, and Nelson played very well - but they're being asked to set up in seemingly random, incoherent, and ineffective ways, from game to game. Second half was a good performance, and I was impressed by how they kept going and nearly snatched a winner through Nelson & Barks, but it should have been all over by then. Shrewsbury were pretty crap, and we let them off. Still, 15 games to go, all to play for, and enough rubbish sides in this league that I still think we can struggle our way to an automatic spot!

If only that boy could head the ball downwards, he'd be on double figures this season....

2-1 Exeter...

I'd say top 6 is pretty much guaranteed at this point, there's nice gap between 7th and 8th. I think we'll get 2nd spot with Bolton top. Based on the grit of the last performance, the squad strength, and that our run-in is preferable to Portsmouth, Bolton or Peterborough. Barnsley are out of the running if they don't A lot will come down to the head-to-heads with Pompey & Bolton. The squad depth is very strong atm with Bradley, Ward, and Sibley looking good lately, Nyambe coming back in, and Forsyth & Washington getting fit for March, Bird in a role better suited to his ability. We have multiple options in each position, or at least we should do soon enough. (opinion subject to change if Bolton & Peterborough both win away tonight)

It's great that Bradley performed well against Charlton, and I hope it continues until June. On a human level, I have felt bad for him as he was clearly struggling after being out injured for a long time, and his confidence has been shot for months. It must have been a crap time for him. Well done to him and Warne for managing his way back into the team but I still think we should probably boot him in the summer, definitely if we're in the Championship next season. Signings like Bradley - I assume he's a top earner - should justify themselves by consistently performing to a high standard. Obviously, once a club in Derby's position have invested in a player like Bradley you are obliged to work your nuts off to get him back up to standard, but I really wish we'd seen this level of time invested in a young CB. Giving someone like Bartley ten or twenty minutes every week could reveal a quality player, whereas we now have a wobbly 32-year-old who is probably going to be gone in summer 2025 either way. p.s. he didn't get fouled for those penalty shouts, he just grabbed a defender and yanked them over

Furthermore, from a practical squad management angle, players like Collins, NML, Hourihane, and Korey Smith are all over 30, have played a huge number of minutes this season, often playing whole matches, and could have done with some more rotation. We've certainly seen fatigue and injury as a result. Smith played the full 90 on 13 occasions before he got a knee injury.

Exactly. Here we are in need of a forward and Brown has played a grand total of 13 minutes in L1 and is now out on loan. Korey Smith, Hourihane, Collins, Barkhuizen, Sibley are all likely to leave this summer, and what have we seen of Weston, D Robinson, Fapetu, Lindsay, Cruz Allen, etc.? It's great that Cashin has signed a new deal but a big offer would take him out, Bradley is 32 and obviously not up to it, Elder & Ward have struggled. Maybe Bartley, Radcliffe, Cox, or Bardell could step up and follow in Cashin's footsteps. Maybe we'll never find out if these lads are good enough. It's so bloody short-sighted!

This Bird has flown... Exactly my thoughts. He stayed during relegation when he didn't have to, and has plodded through 1 1/2 seasons being utilised quite badly in what must be a frustrating tactic for him to play. He's not going to develop his game at Derby, let's face facts. It speaks volumes that he's been constantly slated this season by some but he'll be at a Championship club next season on bigger wages, and with more chance of being spotted by a top division club.

I'd rather keep him, but maybe that's the romantic side of me! I think Adams/3 in midfield could really improve Bird's performance. He a decent footballer and gets a lot of unwarranted criticism. If we get a fee, at least we can plan for next season. Plus, Sibley could shift up, or Weston could get a shout.

Ebou's Wiki page said he signed a three-year deal in July 2022, so he's free in July 2025, presumably. The defensive stats posted above are very encouraging. Hopefully he'll add the steel to midfield we need, play all 17 games, we'll go up, then sign him for a song in the summer. He seems like a lovely, smiley character too, a good guy to have around. And by the sounds of his regular Nando's order, the Market Place branch are going to have to hire some extra staff.

Ha, those idiots! Not me. I wasn't panicking about today being the last day...👀

I stand corrected! A huge profit on Rogers. Same principle though - invest in and trust young players. Then reinvest when you sell.

Just looking at Middlesbrough & Blackburn each about to sell an academy player for around £20m then considering how little time our young players have had to show their value. Imagine actually giving our youngsters some minutes in the first team and getting a £20m bid... 😕

Or 4-3-3, obviously, with Bradley on the bench.

Warne doesn't want a holding DM, he'd judge it to be a waste of a player. Maybe he'd use a box-to-box DM, in the mould of Kante, but there aren't too many of them around. The midfield of Bird, Thompson, and Fornah looked much better to me than Bird/Hourihane. If Thommo & Fornah snap and bustle around while Bird plays in a more attacking role, which he's more suited to. I think it would firm us up. Although we'd then have to rely on Bradley in a back three...

Just for completeness, this ticket is now sold.

I'm not sure if this is the right place but I have a spare Charlton ticket going, in the singing section. Adult £24. DM me.

I'd ask Warne why he signed Fornah, and what role does he want Fornah to play on the pitch? I'd also want to know why he's neglected to give game time to Brown, Weston, Fapetu, etc. and if those players are wasting their time staying at Derby?

Bird is doing his job - scrap around for the ball in a midfield two next to a really slow guy, try and bang it out wide as quickly as possible, it's fine if you lose the ball a lot. That's what Warne is telling him to do.

Hourihane has 5 goals and 7 assists so far this season, 7 and 10 last season... His set pieces are very inconsistent though, terrible corners in the last few games.

Warne said something to this effect, in the promo for the Lincoln game. Along the lines of "Mendez can take a player on 10 times and lose it 3 times, that's fine. Same with Tom, same with Birdy" So he accepts the limitations of the tactic, and that our front 4 will lose the ball quite a bit, but what is he doing about counter-attacks? In the same interview he laments the lack of control the team often has. Well, yeah. He's not asking those players to retain the ball, and they don't.

Maybe he'll fly the nest before we ever find out.

Warne must have looked at the tactical impact of the great DMs - Keane, Vieira, Makélélé, Davids, Kante, Busquets - and gone - "Nah, just play two standard centre mids and boot the ball over their heads".