Anag Ram

TV 31Vickers 6 35Nelson 6 5Bradley 5.5 6Cashin 7 2Wilson 6.5 8Bird 7 4Hourihane 6 22Fornah 5.5 3Forsyth 6 20Elder 6 19John-Jules 5.5 7Barkhuizen 6 11Méndez-Laing 7.5 9Collins 7 16Thompson 6

I think our issue is the blend isn’t quite right. NML, Collins and Wilson all deserve to start. We also want a more skilful forward so are trying to shoehorn in TJJ or a newbie. Often Bird and Hourihane are the only true midfielders and they get swamped. I think Hourihane is wasted in the deep positions he takes up. The guy can shoot. We hoped Fornah would be the answer but not so far. I would allow Sibley and Smith to go. Even Thompson, though I love his attitude. Nothing against any of those players. It’s just we’ve had a number of seasons where we’ve supported players who are familiar to us without success. Sometimes the next step is to refresh. We didn’t do it last season and it cost us. I guess I’m a sucker for a new player 😊

Did you not see how easily Peterborough’s midfield ran round ours? Or at Stevenage? We have to be more mobile and aggressive there. Even yesterday there was a spell when we looked vulnerable through the middle. We have numbers but not the variety we need. We have players that are okay but not top two. If we’re ambitious, we’ll strengthen.

Yep. There’s no doubting his effort but I’ve always seen him as ineffective as a goal threat. Playing with NML and Wilson seems to have transformed him. Bravo James!

If we can afford to keep him and get young reinforcements in midfield I think we’d see the best from him. ATM he’s torn because he has to cover for Hourihane’s lack of mobility and also the lack of creativity from our other midfield options.

Dele Alli is where I go for all my cold meats and pickles.

Think Bird just needs quicker players around him. Peterborough showed the benefit of youth. Would love to see us strengthen the middle of the park. Would be so important to the run in.

Amazing that with three centre halves no one got within three yards of the centre forward for that cross

Great that we’re 2-0 up but surely Warne can see that even against Fleetwood three at the back looks vulnerable. All season Nelson and Cashin have looked solid together. Introducing Bradley stops their natural positioning. Also Bradley should win every defensive header but really struggles. Hope he can use the lead to relax a bit and get his mojo back.

This is the type of sloppy start I feared. Stockley winning everything in the air for them by avoiding Bradley and Nelson. Need bravery on the ball to play round this shower.

As a rams fan, I’m hoping Bradley plays a blinder. We need him to be the dominant defender he has been in the past.

If there’s a month designed for drinking it’s January!

If Barkhuisen plays, he’d better put more effort in than he did on Monday. His jogs back into defence put us under pressure. He likes to cruise through games. Need more from him. I’d rather see Sibley on the left in your line up and give TJJ the chance to show what he can do.

Photos please!

Think we should have an away day breakfast feature. Pictures of rams fans enjoying a pre-match nosh 😉

Match day and there’s very little discussion about the game. Hope the team doesn’t take the game this lightly!

I’d rather have this guy than Savage.

Is that why we overhit every cross?

Is it me or is the pitch narrower than before? Certainly looks a wider gap between the touch lines and the advertising boards.

I pay to watch professional entertainers not members of the public. You can stick your reality TV where the sun don’t shine as far as I’m concerned. So many programmes now where adults have to be beastly to each other in the name of entertainment. And as a nation we lap it up! No wonder standards of behaviour are so poor in schools and in the workplace.

Midfield. Classy player

He’s quite quick over a few yards to block shots which Nelson and Bradley aren’t. That’s one of the reasons we would miss him if he left.

Already very close.

The type of player to counter the opposition midfield well. A win it and give it player. Not a creative midfielder by all accounts but an effective one. Rotherham seemed quite impressed.

TJJ is a talented young player who is rebuilding his career. Yes, he gets bundled over. Yes, he’s had a poor injury record. But so has Waghorn, Washington etc and they’re not going to get any better as players whereas this guy will. He fashions chances with his touch and awareness. We haven’t seen him start, yet he’s already scored a couple and had other efforts well saved like on Saturday (he looked devastated not to score). In a squad devoid of good finishers, he is a valuable asset. He’s exactly the type of ‘gamble’ we should take.