Dethorn

It's very easy to say players were not worth the money after the event when you actually have hindsight to play with.
Bielik could have been a sensational signing, we could have got promoted under Cocu, and no one would have been complaining.
For every Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins, there is a Bielik agreed - and I don't disagree that we haven't had the best strategy on purchasing either - but its very easy to criticise down the line.
 

Sibley and Rooney

Giles Barnes. Didn't go on to light up the world, but that kid had talent which could have. His Derby career ended in a damp squib. Shame. 

I only disagree with one thing here. Stead shouldn't be in that list. He was fantastic in his loan spell with us and we'd have walked automatic promotion that year if we'd been able to sign him permanently.

Think this is a classic case of the work experience kid didn't know what to do with all these names LOL

Warne! Huh! What is he good for?
Absolutely nothing. Say it again.

Well that's annoying.
Long old season and lets not get too down about this one. For saying that though, burn all the players!!!!

? what a man 

I know someone who loves a bit of bad grammar every now and again.

How sad it is to hear George Thorne as the pundit on Radio Derby. 
In a parallel universe, he should have left us a few seasons ago, after playing his part in consecutive top 10 PL finishes, to secure his World Cup spot ahead Qatar this winter.

So I'm putting this post together because since the start of the season there have been question marks on Knight starting at RB which have ranged from mildly questioning to outright ridiculing. 
But very frequently what gets missed is why Knight is starting there, why he's good at it and why it actually relies on his skillset. So I'm going to play devil's advocate and argue for Knight should start there.
Tactics
I think that Rosenior identified that a few things going into the season; we have talent in midfield, we likely have technical superiority and teams are likely going to sit back and try to counter or press and try to counter. And so he's built tactically from that point.You can see this in how our flanks are set up.
Wingers play high and wide and are both fast, phsyical and good 1v1. A compact opposition has to stretch or leave a man free. A team that presses always has to be wary of that threat in behind if they overcommit. Also it helps provide space in the centre for our midfield to take advantage of.
Meanwhile our fullbacks essentially play as midfielders when we have the ball. They tuck right into the middle operating from a much more central postion and given the responsibilities of a deep midfielder in getting the play going and supporting the play. This provides extra functional bodies in the build up play making it theoretically easier to pass through a press and it allows other midfielders to go take up dangerous positions further up field as they don't have to worry so much about the build up. Same applies to the wingers who can play high and wide because the fullbacks are functionally midfielders.
This isn't something revolutionary that Rosenior has done. In fact it's almost identical to what Guardiola has done in the past (who often would play midfielders like Delph at fullback).
Inverted fullback
The demands on this role are different that was is typically called for. They need to very comfortable on the ball in central areas, their passing needs to be good, they need to know what to do positionally when they are in midfield and they need that high energy to cover ground, support the attack and quickly get back into position. Functionally it operates a lot more like a wide midfield role on the ball.
Why Knight ? 
Simply put he excels at all of the above qualities is the primary reason whilst being sound defensively. There is a good reason why most our success in attacking has happened down the right. Playing him there essentially allows us to cheat and play another midfielder
The second reason is with a decent number of midfielders going into pre-season but no right back in sight with restricted dealings in the window. It made sense to coach someone into the role and Knight ticked the most boxes.
Why not X instead of Knight ? 
Odurah - Seems a decent prospect but looked a touch raw and shaky in pre-season. Likely isn't ready just yet.
Smith - This could work but Knight has more energy and crucially Smith hasn't had the same coaching time to coach him into the role.
Thompson - isn't as phsyical as Knight which could get exposed defensively and would need coaching into the role.
Stearman - This is a joke right ? He looks too awkward at CB on the ball never mind in midfield areas and would get exposed for pace.
Roberts - The role benefits from someone playing on their stronger side so they can open their body easier. Also needed at LB as Fozzy can't really play that role reliably.
New Right Back - Well yeah... but that's increasingly unlikely to happen but it won't be for a lack of trying.
Should he play midfield anyway ? 
Now that's a tricky question. Because we have a balance problem in midfield (at least some of the time) that you can point to Knight as a fix. And Id agree with that to a large degree that Knight as one of the three would help. The two counterarguments I might make are that problem might be better solved by playing either Sibley or a fit McGoldrick and by moving Knight from there you might be just shifting a problem rather than fixing it overall.
TLDR; The way we play calls for someone comfortable in midfield at right back. And Knight is likely the best at it we have.
(PS you may be able to tell I'm bored because I'm ill at home) 

Dominant for the most-part but...midfield doesn't advance enough when attacking and no coordination of play in the final third. We need midfield working the ball into the box but we are starting to be so predictable and "stereotyped" when attacking. 

Lovely little aside on commentary 
. "QPR beating Boro 3-0".  "Wonder who's fault that is?" Excellent

Apologies as I couldn’t find Collins’ previous thread on here so started a new one. Please merge is necessary!
Anyway after watching Hourihane’s goal for the 178th time quite casually on Twitter, for the first time I spotted what Collins did and it’s importance. Just for all the naysayers out there really.
Anyway first phase is show in image one:

 
Collins sits neatly in between the two defenders although one isn’t on screen. As the ball gets passed to Hourihane and the defender directly in front of Collins’ moves to the ball, of which I don’t think he has a choice, what does Collins do?

As shown in image 2, Collins moves behind the second defender, meaning D2 has to stay wide and this leaves the gap for Hourihane to have a clear strike on goal. Simple movement as it’s effectively two steps left. Hourihane gets the plaudits but never under estimate how a good strikers positioning can impact a goal. Reckon we will see a lot of this over the season, many will whinge about his scoring stats if it’s he’s not banging them in every game but strikers play a valuable attacking role in many different ways
 

???

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/free-live-stream-derby-county-7368656

Rosenior has made Bird vice-captain. He's going nowhere.

What money???

Yes to all of that. I found it particularly tough to deal with as the timing mirrored my dads sudden decline with dementia. The day we went into admin was the first "come now please" urgent call from my mum. Derby was mine and dad's thing together and unbelievably bad Derby news usually coincided with bad dementia days. Dad is now stable, settled and as happy as he will be in lovely residential care right near us and he still loves to chat Derby although often muddled. He has told the care staff some horrendous tall stories about it all! Attendance obviously reduced a lot last year in the circumstances (hence my total annoyance at those making comments about part-time fans - just count your blessings you can attend when you want) but was so happy to get season tickets on the first day of sale. Really excited about the season ahead.

I've so missed the matchday thread, it's like sliding back into an old pair of slippers, relaxing in a comfy chair in the corner of the care home and watching all the demented gibberish unfold

We all know that a win in the first preseason friendly means promotion certain by Xmas ????????

I agree. We should launch an all out assault to win the Papa Johns Trophy.
Sunderland and Rotherham have both won it in the last two years and look where they are now!
Coincidence? I don’t think so.

100% agree, if you’re committed to the cause then welcome if not F### OFF

Is it too soon to talk about expanding PP for when we get in the Prem 

To be fair I think if the takeover was done weeks ago, even months ago like it should have been, Rooney wouldn't have walked and most of the players would have signed new contracts I'm absolutely certain of it