LeedsCityRam

Decent result & OK performance for me. Was reasonably enthused by the team lineup despite not wanting a back 3 pre-match. Sibley & Ward as wing backs are credible attacking outlets so making it more of a 3-4-3 and with a sharp front 3, putting Ward back in with his delivery made a lot of sense. Barkhuizen back in place of Wilson improved our attacking threat significantly too. Good to score early but was disappointed with the quality of our play for a lot of the first half. We did our usual trick of sitting back after scoring & the ball retention was frankly poor for a good 20 odd mins so allowing Port Vale to doninate territory as we kept on turning over possession. I'm glad Warne has acknowledged this in interviews since but this is a consequence of the sit back & hit on counter tactic we use plus our reluctance to slow the tempo by holding onto possession. This needs to change when we are leading in games, it is inviting unnecessary problems. The half finished well though with a great finish from Gayle (and delivery in)...he looks sharp already & this line up has the potential to provide him with plenty of service. Other than a Vale shot just wide at the start of the second half, Derby dominated thereafter & 3-0 was a fair reflection. I must say Port Vale were appalling & for those inclined to wail about lack of credit to our team, I would point to the Vale away end who angrily chanted 'you're not fit to wear the shirt' at the end. They look certain to go down on that evidence. Welcome 3 points but much bigger tests ahead. COYR

Not even Warne's disciples would pick Bradley looking at their line-ups - pretty telling. Anyroad, I'd just settle for getting some defenders off the park. Flat back 4 please, Korey Smith at RB if Nyambe is injured & let's actually play like a 2nd placed team at home against a relegation contender. Dominate the ball, dominate the territory. Hourihane, Blackett-Taylor & Waghorn to come on later in the game once their 'Cup Final' energy has subsided somewhat.

I wouldn't have thought location would be an issue & argument for saying Derby fans outside the local bubble might be an advantage in some ways (different perspective as an expat, knowing how their respective local clubs are run & positive ideas/insight they could bring to a discussion). In this day & age with Teams/Zoom, am sure meetings could be conducted as a hybrid of remote/in person anyway. Sounds like you definitely have the gravitas to operate at that level, hope you go for one of the positions 👍 Genuinely don't think this role would generate the type of social media moaning you've seen whenever supporter groups put out tweets. This role wouldn't be a social media mouthpiece for the fans or the club - its about providing quality advice, asking reasonable questions on behalf of fans (via the public facing email address) & suspect most conversations will be below the radar (element regarding finances would obviously have to be confidential for example)

Just to clarify, its not a similiar role to that of a comventional fan representative. Its about individuals bringing their work/life expertise to the Board & applying scrutiny to the running of the club - primarily the finances but also the values & strategic direction of the club. The independent members of the Board won't necessarily be casting for public opinion nor would I think they'd have much of a public profile. They will be working with the club and given the club's enthusiasm for this model, it could lead to some great opportunities to shape the club's direction with well positioned external advice. As @angieram rightly says, there are some posters who would clearly add value to the roles. A cursory read of the admin thread & the detail that certain individuals went into evidences this. I'd urge anyone who has an interest in the governance & strategic direction of the club to apply.

Derby 1 Tiny Stoke 1 FRGS Barkhuizen

To state the obvious because McGoldrick was by far our best player & leading scorer - Warne had access to him, Rosenior didn't. Despite that, Warne's points per game last season was only marginally better than Rosenior (1.7 PPG v 1.6 PPG) and of course Warne was unable to improve on the 7th position Rosenior left us in. Not exactly compelling either.

Guess that would be dependant on whether Clowes has changed his mind on Warne in the 17 months he's been here & whether he wanted to give him that length of contract in the first place - I suspect that was the price of Warne dropping a division. Clowes will be well aware of the red flags since Sep 2022 indicating Warne's poor in-game management, supporter unrest at the style of play (Stevenage & Shrewsbury stand out in that regard) & there is still the fundamental mismatch between Warne's ideal squad conditions (ready made experienced pros) & the sustainability Clowes is aiming for (youth graduates & players brought in to develop). It will be imperative not to go down if we do go up & hence I could see Clowes being as merciless with Warne post-promotion as he was with Rosenior post-purchase. To fully buy into a season with Warne at the level above means buying very specific players to suit his style & in the event of things going wrong, would severely limit the ability of an emergency replacement to keep us up (as they would be primarily honest, limited, hard working types). I'm not convinced Clowes would want to take that risk from the outset.

I would have to agree with this even though I would make a change irrespective of the final outcome come May. Reality is we are too deep into this promotion push & a change for the last 11 games is likely to cause so much upheaval as to totally derail our chances irrespective of how gifted any caretaker manager would be (I'm also struggling to think of anyone available who would galvanise us that quickly). Given the paucity of top 6 opposition, there is still a chance of going up & at this stage, I would take any sort of promotion even if inevitably we're going to need a complete overhaul should we go up. Financially it would clearly be very expensive & that doesn't strike me as wise until failure has been confirmed. I'd expect a full appraisal of the season & how Warne's managerial style fits with the long term plan of the club away from the emotional highs & lows of the season, before any action is taken.

Yes, this is infuriating me also - Warne seems utterly determined to keep Bradley in the side & to make our best CB move way is unfathomable. I get the sense he has a pre-determined agenda irrespective of the evidence on the park & the evidence thus far is that Bradley has at best been a disappointing signing & is lacking in a couple of key areas (technically & pace/movement). My guess is Warne seems him as his answer to Richard Wood - a relatively prolific big CB that scored plenty for Warne's Rotherham & as Warne has relatively few other tactical ploys, he is hammering this one until it works. There are other highly questionable selections - Kane Wilson seems to be getting a free pass in this team but Barkhuizen (despite having far the superior goals/assists record) is constantly benched. I also can't understand why Liam Thompson is being underused - his form pre-injury was fantastic & even away at Oxford, he changed the game. Instead Warne seems hell bent on keeping more pedestrian midfielders in the team & then we all wonder why we're getting overrun in there. I'm also concerned about the start Blackett-Taylor has made at the club - a negligible impact so far for a marquee signing & although some may cite injury, I feel there's something going on there. Re season ticket - I'm in a similar place. The quality of football is so far removed from what I enjoy watching, there seems little sign of progression/evolution & even the victories are so devoid of joy, it feels like a box tickling exercise. Granted I'm still fuming from last night but am increasingly questioning the wisdom of committing to 150 mile round trips every other week if this continues.

Awful result. Awful performance. Awful starting line up. This result has been coming for a while. We simply do not create enough chamces/shots on target & the appalling ball retention is to blame. I'm gobsmacked some folk thought we played well first half...we really didn't. It was a series of aimless hoofs & misplaced passes, Charlton played much the better stuff. We look to have regressed technically & its a concern. Still can't believe how few attack minded players we started with tonight. The blunt reality is Kane Wilson isn't very effective in the final 3rd so when it was apparent Mendez-Laing was having a quiet game, our attacking threat was reduced to very little. We are 2nd in the table & at home..we should be looking to dominate a team 5th from bottom with their poor form. What happened to this so called 'gung ho' Warne style? Looks like reheated Billy Davies 'snatch & hold on for dear life' to me. Massive improvement needed from here.

Well done, you must have got in same time as me (Nov 2020?) - Ethers were $500 at the time too I'm still sceptical we'll see the price acceleration of previous halvings because of the ETF - corporate America likes big profits but not the massive retracements we sometimes see with crypto. Steady price rises as inflation remains stubbornly high is my guess. Am also keeping a close eye on El Salvador - they adopted BTC as legal tender end of 2021, have ridden out the crypto winter & look well placed with sizeable BTC reserves. Nayib Bukele seems to be aiming for a Latin American version of Singapore & investment is growing in that country (some similarities in attitude to crime/human rights too). I'd imagine there are a few inflation ridden/highly USD dependant countries in that region that are keeping tabs what happens. Could be another game changer in terms of adoption & ultimately BTC price.

Derby 1 Addicks 1 FRGS Mendez-Laing

I love Adidas retro gear but their previous time with us (2007-2011?) was characterised by really lazy tops - basically training gear with the Ram slapped on. The Puma tops I've seen recently for other clubs have been very sharp & as others mention, the kits they did with us from 1995 to 2000 (?) were some of the finest tops we've had the modern era.

You are solely looking at the results angle & everything about Paul Warne is pure short term focus leaving little else to justify his tenure here. What you're overlooking is his long term unsuitability & that also has to be factored into conversations about whether he stays or not. The quality of football is poor & a sizeable section of the fanbase do not enjoy watching it (with potential knock on effect for future PP crowd numbers), he doesn't particularly improve players, there is a misalignment with Academy pathway (refusing to even use EFL Trophy matches to give youngsters game time) & preferred transfer strategy in order for the club to achieve sustainability. Warne wants the likes of Sonny Bradley & Conor Washington to secure his promotion (and Michael Smith given half a chance)...the club will struggle to be sustainable with these types of signings. We brought in Mark Thomas last year to identify cheap, develop & sell high...Warne is not suited to this model. Clowes appointed Warne to get us a quick promotion & that was the expectation of everyone when he was appointed (and why Rosenior was let go). To take your most extreme hypothetical scenario, as the pure remit for Warne being here is a short term focus of promotion, then defeat at Wembley would still be complete failure with no guarantee of promotion the next year & need to continue down the highly paid experienced pro with no resale value route that Warne prefers. I suspect Clowes will be considering how much longer he can tolerate that misalignment with the long term DCFC strategy come May should we faill to go up.

Not entirely sure why but Stephen Pearce was outside the away stand today as we all left at full time. Was talking to couple of folk but fair to say, the days of public enemy number 1 seem long gone. I suspect like a lot, if David Clowes deems him fit to stay at the club I'm content to trust that judgement.

Exactly this. They were poor but we switched off at 2 key moments despiite being marginally better but below our best. Love Max Bird but his passing was very shaky today & delivery from wide wasn't consistent enough (Wilson at one point beating 3 men & then shanking it into touch!?!) Their fans who I spoke to after match were surprised we sat back after scoring...becoming a very Derby trait this. All about not wanting to control of the game...week in, week out. At least Bolton got beat badly, big 2 weeks ahead (4 games) which will tell us a lot about our true chances of top 2. No.

Around $35k but of course it got to around $65k back end of 2021. I do think that was based on retail money rather than the institutional interest it now seems to be attracting Still can't make my mind up if the ETF is a good thing or not & how it will ultimately reflect on the Bitcoin bull run - certainly the gold ETF seems to be used by 'actors' to artificially suppress the price with 'paper gold' & my concern is the same thing might happen with BTC, Will also be interesting to see the effect of the halving, seeing some wild price predictions out there based on previous price hikes but I think the asset is intrinsically different now to 2020, 2016 etc, Anyroad, HODL to the moon 👍

Kes 2 Derby 0 FGS Bobby Madley

My preferred line up for Saturday below - I would start Gayle irrespective of lack of match time at Stoke. If we go with the final third options from last Saturday, Barnsley will box us in & eventually overwhelm us - we need that out ball & someone for Barkhuizen & Mendez-Laing to play off. I don't expect Gayle to be able to give more than 60 mins but at that point, there should be more space for us to exploit. I would also revert to a flat back 4 in anticipation of a tough first 45 mins with Bradley dropping out & Nyambe coming in at RB (if fit). Energy on Saturday is going to be crucial also & hence I would look to start Liam Thompson to rat for the ball higher up the park & make runs in support of that front 3. So wouid I.....so long as you get beat at Blackpool 😉

So relieved we've got Gayle signed up - Saturday was all the evidence needed to prove this side will struggle without a conventional forward option. Irrespective of lack of match sharpness, he has to start at Barnsley to stretch the pitch or we're going to struggle to get out of our half - if he can give us 60 mins, they will likely have tired enough by then for us to be able to escape the press. Am not particularly concerned about his spell at Stoke - that club is a graveyard for decent managers & players and given the sheer squad size they have, must be difficult to get consistency in selection & therefore performance. Looking at the highlights reel from last few months he still has plenty of attributes that I believe will make him a success here - quick feet, great decision making, vision/awareness of other players in the final 3rd and a decent finish. Being a stocky type with a low centre of gravity, I'd also like to think he could hold the ball up reasonably well & am looking forward to seeing how he links up with Mendez-Laing & Barkhuizen. Warne will no doubt want him pressing like Collins but that might be a couple of games down the track once he is up to match fitness.

That'll just lead to the kind of echo chambers we see in wider social media - people just agreeing with like minded people & progressively getting more extreme in their opinions & more intolerant of opposite views. We're a football club, a mass of people with one shared ambition. Reality is there are less than 5 posters I can think of across both sides who look to troll - best to block them if they're upsetting you so much. To close your mind off to well argued contrarian opinion is always a mistake IMO. I am adamant that Warne isn't the right long term manager for Derby but I'll be damned if I can't express my short term joy at results with fellow Rams (some of whom are very supportive of him) & discuss differences of opinion in terms of his long term suitability. It may be there are points that I haven't considered that other posters are using to justify their faith in Warne - recently read some comparing to Klopp & his record in German football which was interesting to read (even if I don't particularly agree) You've never going to avoid opinions you don't like at the game itself either so don't see the value in restricting it here.

Yeah me too, was buzzing last night & woke up in a right good mood 🐏 Re other points about atmosphere yesterday, that second half was the best PP has been since start of last season - the crowd realised we were struggling without a recognised forward but were determined to get behind them. The true measure of a fanbase is how it rallies when things go against them & Derby have few equals in this country. Accept the comparison won't be that popular but Steve Evans compared it to Elland Road in his post match presser & it did feel like the rabid 'lets get this lot over the line' togetherness you see from them - of course, the main difference is Derby stand by their team in numbers no matter what division whereas Leeds' crowd numbers plummeted when they were in League One, just like Forest.

Massive 3 points that, felt a bit pivotal dare i say. Had resigned myself to a goalless draw & it was a hard watch for most of it...the team line up just didnt work with too many defenders on the park & lack of a forward out ball. We desperately need a forward option from the free agent ranks if Collins is out for the foreseeable, we just didnt look a threat at all during large swathes of the game. Credit to the team for digging that result out though & shout out also to South Stand second half who woke up & changed the feel of the place. Intensity of our play definitely improved with crowd behind us & joyous scenes at the end. Another massive test next week, onto Barnsley...COYR 💪

I reckon Paul Clement was the last one who got us there around Christmas 2015 - remember us playing at Leeds just after Christmas & we were top then. So just over 8 years since we could last sing that Don't believe Rowett ever had us top but sure McClaren did in 14/15 before the collapse. Previous to that, Billy Davies had us top for a period in 06/07 before Sunderland & Small Heath overtook us late on. Jim Smith also had us top for a lot of 95/96 before Sunderland again pipped us

Sounds good to me, got ourselves a bet 🍻 I'll PM you to agree the amount 👍