England Ram

I was Warne out, and am still not convinced by the quality of football I’m having to watch.
But I can’t grumble with the results (besides letting the lead slip in the 96th minute) and being within touching distance of the top two.  
If he’s saying that’s the closest we’ve got to performing how he really wants us to then it’s a positive sign that the previous dross wasn’t his football at all. 
Hoping for at least 4 points from the next 2. 

I was Warne out, and am still not convinced by the quality of football I’m having to watch.
But I can’t grumble with the results (besides letting the lead slip in the 96th minute) and being within touching distance of the top two.  
If he’s saying that’s the closest we’ve got to performing how he really wants us to then it’s a positive sign that the previous dross wasn’t his football at all. 
Hoping for at least 4 points from the next 2. 

Premier League Thurs 21/12/2023
Crystal Palace 1 - 1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Attendance 24,171
 
EFL Sky Bet League One
Derby County 3 - 1 Lincoln City
Attendance 27,192
 
…………no further comment required. 👍🐏

Rivalry and banter aside...So sorry to hear this. B4 was a true fan who wore his heart on his sleeve.
Sending our condolences to his family and all his friends and those that knew him on here too.
You're all in our thoughts during this sad time.
Rest in peace B4.
From  the NFFC fans on the LTLF forum. 
 
 

I very rarely comment on here. I very rarely view here in fact, I don’t know why… perhaps it can be just a little depressing here at times. Maybe I’m too much Mr. Grumpy. But I saw the news on Twitter on Sunday and immediately looked for this thread. And reading all the tributes really made cry, because whether we posted here 10 times per day, or 10 times per decade, we still all knew of B4. I wasn’t even going to comment, but gosh, sometimes a person you didn’t even know really gets to you. Sometimes you just see the person you wish you could be, and I know that B4 was the first to commiserate when any other forum member had a loss, so I just wanted to join the chorus of forum members in thanking B4 for his wonderful contributions, his passion, his positivity, and his brilliant outlook on life. He has contributed to DCFC life in a way that few of us fans ever will. B4, you will be sorely missed by many many people. Rest well.

Not picking you out particularly with this, it's more of a general comment, but the bold bits get to the root of why I'm so opposed to Warne.
The way I see it, we have everything off-field ready for the Premier League - the fanbase size, the stadium, the training ground etc are all good enough.  Obviously we have no divine right to be in any league, but in theory there's no reason why we shouldn't be in the same group of clubs as the likes of Leicester/Burnley/Fulham/Brighton/Norwich etc who have spent at least as much time in the Prem as they have out of it in recent seasons.  I'm not saying we can win it like Leicester or be top 6 like Brighton or anything, but we absolutely have the potential to get there and stay there, but the onus is on us as a club to make it happen.
Obviously, one way that happens is that a new owner comes along and throws a lot of money at the club.  But there's no guarantee this happens, there's no guarantee it works if it does, and we all know what the potential fallout can be if it goes wrong.  It's certainly not an option we should be relying on.  Another way is just genuine luck, alignment of stars type stuff - you get the right manager at the right time, a bunch of signings all work out and you hit the jackpot.  We came close with Burley+Rasiak+Idiakez... and McClaren+Martin+Bryson... but ultimately fell short.  Again, that's not something you can rely on - you need a lot of things to all hit at once, and even then it might not work.  And it gets harder and harder as the championship gets dominated by clubs with parachute payments.
So IMO we should be doing the one thing that we have some degree of control over, and that's doing our level best to get the most we can out of the academy.  But that means fully committing to it.  When academy players are hitting 17/18/19/20 (it will be different for each players), they need to start being introduced to senior football.  If they aren't they won't progress.  If we take the approach that we can't play youth players now, we need to get promoted first, then you're basically writing off the current generation of academy players.  They won't get the first team exposure they need and won't kick on. 
So if we do get promoted what happens?  We can't afford to play academy players, we need to get stabilised in this league first.  And then?  We can't afford to play academy players, we need to kick on for the top 6 now.  And then?  We can't afford to play academy players, we need to get promoted to the prem first.  If your attitude is "we can't afford to play them now", then you won't be able to play them when they're good enough later, because they won't get good enough.
You can't just have an academy sat on the sidelines and hope it produces players now and then.  If you want to be like Southampton and have a steady stream of them, you have to gear the whole club up to make it happen.  You play similar styles of football across all age groups, you gear your transfer policy to not block promising players, you commit to giving youngsters first team chances when they're ready and if they take it you let them run with it.  And from what I can see, we can't do any of that with Warne in charge.  So we're just stuck hoping a youngster pops up, fully formed, once in a blue moon.  And that's one of the big advantages we could have over similar sized clubs that we are just choosing to throw away.
I have no idea if Weston is good enough, I've never seen him play.  But by all accounts he did well when he came on, and scored a good goal.  If you give him say 20 minutes against Barnsley and he scores again, then okay, maybe we've got something here.  If he then starts against Crewe and scores, then we've got a potential first team striker for nothing.  And if he doesn't do any of that then fine, he goes back to the U21s and maybe gets another shot in a month or 2.  But right now, we've just got a guy that scored a goal once and then never played again, which is no use to anyone.
Sorry everyone for the long post, but I genuinely think appointing Warne was a catastrophic mistake for a lot of reasons.  The ridiculous short-termism of "he was brought in to achieve promotion quickly" sums it up - it's like there's no thought as to what happens when we do get promoted.  And when I see fans almost actively celebrating it ("I don't care about academy players, we won 3-0" type stuff) I just find it a bit sad really.  I want the club to be in the premier league, I want the club to play good football, and I want to see academy players getting into the first team and doing well, and I want the club to be actively trying to make all that stuff happen, not just flailing around doing stuff at random and hoping that one day it might work.
(and breathe...)

Both overly reliant on the right wing 😂

Derby 1-3 Crewe Alexandra
As things stand, Derby are heading out of the FA Cup in the first round for the first time in their history...ever.

ATM
1Wildsmith - 7 - His save in the first half kept us in the game  worth 1 point above average just for that. 
24Nyambe - 7 - solid again as a right back. This guy Will give you a solid 6/7 out of 10 defensively every week. If you expect anything going forward on a regular basis you will be disapointed, but does his job as a defender very well. 
5Bradley - 6 - Did his job in limited time. 
35Nelson - 7.5 - This guy is starting to really impress me. Imperious yesterday. Even after taking that dodgy elbow.  
6Cashin - 7.5 - Getting back to his best defensively as well as causing a nuisance up front. Assist and almost an assist with those flick ons for Fozzy’s goal and the fozzy shot leading to Colin’s second.  
3Forsyth - 7.5 - Defensively OK. Started to get beat a bit towards the end but he’d been used as an outlet all match and also caused havock up front with his late arrivals and goal and assist so still scores the same as the other defenders for his overall contribution. 
4Hourihane - 6 - Did his job OK. Nothing special and set pieces struggled to clear the front man. 
7Barkhuizen -  6 - Battled well, was an outlet before he tired. Should have been subbed 10 mins before his 1v1 as he was already knackered. Needs a goal. 
17Sibley - 6 - Limited time but was still able to make the keeper make a good save on to the woodwork from a tight angle. More of a chance than two of the other front 3 managed to combine. 
12Smith - 5 - Still think he’s the weak link of our team. Made a few simple passes and a tackle or two. One good forward pass for Barks chance. Besides that he looks lost most of the time and gave the ball away a few times in promising positions due to his poor passing or control and gets bypassed easily due to his poor midfield positioning.  
8Bird 🦅 - 6 - Average game by Max’s standards but still very effective. Should have scored with that lovely passing move.  
11Méndez-Laing - 7 - Excellent in the first half until he got that knock. Got people off their seats and excited every time he got it. 
2Wiloson - 7 - Great replacement for Laing and also exciting to watch in his shorter time. 
9Collins - 8 - MOTM. His best overall forward performance for the club. When the ball sticks to him he’s a different player and help to the team. 
 
fans -8 best atmosphere of the season so far. 

The lad was so positive and so Derby County to the point it made people laugh at times, but that was just him. Unwavering in his love and belief in Derby.
Stark reminder for everyone, none more so than myself, to be a little bit more B4. 
Best wishes to his family. 

ATG 
1Wildsmith - 6  Nothing to do  
24Nyambe - 7 Really like this lads defensive stability. I’m sure he will continue to frustrate going forward but for the job he’s paid to do which is defend you can’t argue at all. 
23Ward - 6 Tried to get stuck in and get up to match speed. One brilliant cross, a few put in a bit early but a nice steady average performance for one coming back from such a long lay off. 
35Nelson - 7 Solid. Quietly going about having a very good season. 
5Bradley - 7 Solid as well. One errant pass but 3/4 others to really put us on the front foot and leading to a goal or tow to add to his strong defensive display. 
3Forsyth - 7 Lovely pass to set up Wash. Nice and solid defensively and an occasional outlet. Errant clearances that put us under pressure a couple of times, but made up for it with the rest of his contribution. 
4Hourihane - 6  Couple of great passes leading to a goal and an assist of an assist. Lots of his other play was mixed with poor short passes that put us under pressure giving the ball away and general play seemed to slow us down. I’m not as down on him as others are, especially when he puts a ball in like that for Birds second goal, but he is a clear step below Bird. 
22Fornah - 7 Did his job well and Rees the play around him well. Made himself available and never looked like losing the ball. More of that please. 
12Smith - 5 May seem harsh but he’s the weak point of out midfield. Even with Hourihanes weaknesses he still can pull out some sublime passes to bump his score up. Smith is limited and ineffectual most of the time and for playing further forward as he did for much of the night he doesn’t have the skill or guile to be effective there. He takes too long to decide what to do with the ball and constantly looks lost and out of position. And on the eye he seems to lose more challenges than win them and that puts us under more pressure.  
7Barkhuizen - 7 Some great attacking  play. Constant threat. Great assist and could have had a goal and another assist. 
8Bird 🦅 9 One of the best performances from him for a very long time. Play him there more often and we will be shooting up the league. Some majestic passes and control of midfield, brilliant positioning, eyes constantly up ready for the pass on. Two well taken goals. Let’s hope he signs a contract to extend his stay. 
39Brown 6 No time to impress. Although his movement up front was good. 
11Méndez-Laing 7.5 Same as Barks with a goal to add to his forward play. 
16Wilson 6 No time to impress more than average. 
14Washington 8 some great forward play. Played the role of the centre forward better than Waghorn on Tuesday and better than Collins has all season. Well taken goal, assist and general play. The fitter he gets after no pre season the better he will be. 
9Collins 5 Missed a sitter or two, as usual. Petulant when clearly fouling their players putting us under unnecessary pressure toward the end. One we definitely need to replace come January. 
 

Player ratings 
Wildsmith  6 - Average as nothing to do to stand out  
Nyambe    7 - Solid 
Nelson      7 - Also solid  
Cashin      6 - some poor passes put us under a little pressure first half but solid defensively. 
Foz           7.5 - Solid defensively besides one missed interception, but the pass for the first and second goals were good  
Bird          8.5 - This is the Max we need. His best game for a long while. Coincided with him playing in his best position. My motm. 
Hourihane 7 - Was slightly above average but that was enough to give them a few problems. 
Sibley       6 - Average. Nothing special but kept us ticking over. Although, he looks half the player he was when he burst on to the scene. Looks constantly knackered. 
NML        7.5 - Some great runs, pressure, passes and goal. When he plays like this he’s one of the best forward players in the league. 
Wlison     7 - Did some lovely forward play, missed most of his crosses but he was applying pressure constantly and wanting to be positive. 
Waggy     7 - Not a goal threat but much better at bringing others in to play than Colin’s has been. 
Washington  7 - scored and positionally very clever. 
Collins     3/4 - poor. Cameo but could have cost us a goal at our end for his poor passing into midfield and also lack of control as well as a criminal head down selfish striker moment (when supposedly in a play making role) when Barks was in acres of space. 
Smith       3/4 - poor as well. Did nothing in the middle except give the ball away. Positionally poor. 
Barks       6 - Shame he wasn’t played in but made some great positive runs in limited time. 

At the game. 

The 11 point record doesn't bother me. Any football fan you chat to will want to talk about it and listen to stories about it.
One fan I met couldn't believe that I had a season ticket and went to every game. He said after about 10 games he would have stopped going and probably never gone back the next season either.
Its a badge of honour for me among friends who support massive clubs and have seen them play maybe once or twice in the flesh that I kept going and still do.
Worst team in history? Yeah we were. The fans showed they were anything but and we should be eternally proud of that and own it as a club and a fan base.

Carlisle 0 - 4 Derby 
 
Sibo fgs 

It's difficult to tell from that post if you're pro,anti or merely accepting of songs with swear words, about players manhood, about non Derby players that have had injuries or about Forest.
For me personally, none of them really bother me except for those that are particularly offensive (I don't want to reopen the Billy Sharpe debate by the way) and most are just gap fillers between the various songs in support of the team or specific players.

We always seem to end up with the similar internal arguments about the atmosphere.  

Many don’t want to sing songs with swear words or about someone’s manhood but they continue to be the mainstay of the newly created ones or old ones still in use.
If you don’t like it you are prude or some like is normally the response. 
 
Many find it pointless and living far in the past to sing about an injured player from another team that was playing when most people singing the song may not have been born. 
It’s funny and you have no sense of humour is often the response. 
 
Singing about Forest and not about our current team when they need an uplift is seen as a waste of time by many, because they really are not watching right now, just laughing at our situation. 
You are not a true supporter if you don’t sing about them some are told. 
 
Well ‘you start the chants then’ is sometimes a reply to feedback. Well, some don’t have the confidence to start them, some are sat in areas where you get moaned at for doing so, some have tried only to be shot down. 

Like it or not the ground relies on the south stand (and historically occasionally the East stand until they decimated it) to get the whole ground going. Even when the football is dire.  
 
 

 
 
 

We always seem to end up with the similar internal arguments about the atmosphere.  

Many don’t want to sing songs with swear words or about someone’s manhood but they continue to be the mainstay of the newly created ones or old ones still in use.
If you don’t like it you are prude or some like is normally the response. 
 
Many find it pointless and living far in the past to sing about an injured player from another team that was playing when most people singing the song may not have been born. 
It’s funny and you have no sense of humour is often the response. 
 
Singing about Forest and not about our current team when they need an uplift is seen as a waste of time by many, because they really are not watching right now, just laughing at our situation. 
You are not a true supporter if you don’t sing about them some are told. 
 
Well ‘you start the chants then’ is sometimes a reply to feedback. Well, some don’t have the confidence to start them, some are sat in areas where you get moaned at for doing so, some have tried only to be shot down. 

Like it or not the ground relies on the south stand (and historically occasionally the East stand until they decimated it) to get the whole ground going. Even when the football is dire.  
 
 

 
 
 

They have tried to rip out most of the atmosphere in the East stand near the away fans so you will rarely get anything from that area close to what it was before. 
This has a few affects on overall atmosphere as in one less area of real noise and also one less area that the South stand can bounce off and ‘compete’ with in a very small but friendly way. 

Would be interesting to hear the clubs perspective and desire moving forward.
 
Are they happy that they have received fewer letters of complaint about people standing in the East stand areas?
I’m sure they are.
They are continuing to not sell tickets so must be happy with the status quo.
and if they are they can’t moan about the overall change in noise levels from that area.  

Where’s the South Stand safe standing? (I know the stand anyway). Maybe they could introduce safe standing to a block all the way down the east stand from top to bottom next to the away fans? 🤷🏽‍♂️

They have tried to rip out most of the atmosphere in the East stand near the away fans so you will rarely get anything from that area close to what it was before. 
This has a few affects on overall atmosphere as in one less area of real noise and also one less area that the South stand can bounce off and ‘compete’ with in a very small but friendly way. 

Would be interesting to hear the clubs perspective and desire moving forward.
 
Are they happy that they have received fewer letters of complaint about people standing in the East stand areas?
I’m sure they are.
They are continuing to not sell tickets so must be happy with the status quo.
and if they are they can’t moan about the overall change in noise levels from that area.  

They have tried to rip out most of the atmosphere in the East stand near the away fans so you will rarely get anything from that area close to what it was before. 
This has a few affects on overall atmosphere as in one less area of real noise and also one less area that the South stand can bounce off and ‘compete’ with in a very small but friendly way. 

Would be interesting to hear the clubs perspective and desire moving forward.
 
Are they happy that they have received fewer letters of complaint about people standing in the East stand areas?
I’m sure they are.
They are continuing to not sell tickets so must be happy with the status quo.
and if they are they can’t moan about the overall change in noise levels from that area.  

East stand next to the away fans has been effectively destroyed

James Collins: Hold my beer. 

Mods.
Please could we have a separate, pinned "Big Trav Says" thread with only his proclamations allowed - where he unfailingly raises the hopes of the masses and no-one has a pop even if said proclamations don't come to pass........a sort of e-pulpit.
Never met him, no idea who he is but he's brightened up my summer.

My personal opinion is not to criticise clowes.
Hes the reason we have a club. Hes running it sustainably so we dont have this threat again.
Sure the decisions hes made may not pay off but thats normal in life and business.