duncanjwitham

Perhaps he's hearing voices 🙂
Sorry, just a tenuous link so I could play this classic.
 

And was probably the best player on the pitch second half.

Second half last night was what I was expecting this season to look like (early on anyway) - reasonably solid at the back, lots of running around, plenty of half-chances, but never really looking like scoring one of them.  I wouldn't exactly say it was good, but it was certainly miles better than the first half.  
And FWIW, Bird and Cashin (plus Forsyth and Waghorn), all played well and were probably our best players.

The thing is, there's been 3 of those under-hit back-passes in very recent memory while playing Warne's back 3 - Bradley v Wigan, Nelson v Sheff Utd and Curtis Davies v Sheff Wed.  All 3 from very experienced defenders.  If multiple players are all making the exact same uncharacteristic mistake, while playing in the same system, it suggests to me that the system is at least partially at fault.

The thing is, there's been 3 of those under-hit back-passes in very recent memory while playing Warne's back 3 - Bradley v Wigan, Nelson v Sheff Utd and Curtis Davies v Sheff Wed.  All 3 from very experienced defenders.  If multiple players are all making the exact same uncharacteristic mistake, while playing in the same system, it suggests to me that the system is at least partially at fault.

Second half last night was what I was expecting this season to look like (early on anyway) - reasonably solid at the back, lots of running around, plenty of half-chances, but never really looking like scoring one of them.  I wouldn't exactly say it was good, but it was certainly miles better than the first half.  
And FWIW, Bird and Cashin (plus Forsyth and Waghorn), all played well and were probably our best players.

I thought second half last night was probably the best he's played since before he got injured last season 🤷‍♂️

Second half last night was what I was expecting this season to look like (early on anyway) - reasonably solid at the back, lots of running around, plenty of half-chances, but never really looking like scoring one of them.  I wouldn't exactly say it was good, but it was certainly miles better than the first half.  
And FWIW, Bird and Cashin (plus Forsyth and Waghorn), all played well and were probably our best players.

Second half last night was what I was expecting this season to look like (early on anyway) - reasonably solid at the back, lots of running around, plenty of half-chances, but never really looking like scoring one of them.  I wouldn't exactly say it was good, but it was certainly miles better than the first half.  
And FWIW, Bird and Cashin (plus Forsyth and Waghorn), all played well and were probably our best players.

I thought second half last night was probably the best he's played since before he got injured last season 🤷‍♂️

Fozzy is a basically converted fullback, so he's used to dealing with direct runners at him.  Dealing with quick, tricky wingers is basically his day-job.
And I don't think Hourihane himself was the actual problem, it's more that the 3 in midfield were all too similar, too static.  We looked a lot more balanced with that second half lineup.  We kept the ball a lot better too, which helps relieve pressure on the defence too.
The big question is... does Warne actually understand why all that stuff happened, or does he think we just worked harder, or wanted it more, second half?  If he thinks the second, then we're just doomed to repeat the first half again.

It's a bit of both tbh.  You're right that we aren't stopping runners through midfield, but we also have defenders that can't deal with that direct running at them either.  If we had mobile, ball-playing centre halves, we'd be much happier dealing with that type of thing.  But we have big, strong, slow "kick-it and head-it" types.
It's a perfect storm of us basically engineering the types of situations that we're worst at defending, and that's why we're making so many mistakes.

Bradley didn't have all the time in the world. He was under pressure with a striker bearing down on him. He was hurried into making a decision. The more hurried a player is the more likely they are to make a mistake, I'm not sure what that concept seems so difficult to understand.
If you seriously want to pretend that the way a manager sets up his team doesn't have any influence on the positons a player finds himself in, the number of passing options available to them and the amount of pressure placed on them, then that's up to you.
We base our entire attacking strategy on it! Pressing as a team, applying pressure, forcing the opposition into mistakes... why even bother doing that if the way a team is set up has no influence?
Using that logic, I assume that Warne won't be praised for his tactics when we benefit from a mistake we've forced an opponent into?

The thing is, there's been 3 of those under-hit back-passes in very recent memory while playing Warne's back 3 - Bradley v Wigan, Nelson v Sheff Utd and Curtis Davies v Sheff Wed.  All 3 from very experienced defenders.  If multiple players are all making the exact same uncharacteristic mistake, while playing in the same system, it suggests to me that the system is at least partially at fault.

Warne's midfield will always fail with Hourihane in the side as he cannot press. You could have Kante or Makelele in there with Hourihane and you'll still have a dysfunctional midfield. The tactics have to change to get the best out of the whole team. It won't improve by changing 1 player in a broken system.
With regards to Bird, for someone who is as bad as you think, the team certainly performs better with him in the side in terms of points per game and win percentage.
19/20
With Bird: 10W, 5D, 7L (1.59 ppg, 45 W%)
Without Bird: 7W, 8D, 9L (1.21 ppg, 29% W%)
20/21
With Bird: 9W, 5D, 19L (0.96 ppg, 26 W%)
Without Bird: 2W, 6D, 5L (0.92 ppg, 15 W%)
20/21
With Bird: 13W, 13D, 16L (1.24 ppg, 31 W%)
Without Bird: 1W, 0D, 3L (0.92 ppg, 25 W%)
20/21
With Bird: 18W, 11D, 9L (1.71 ppg, 47 W%)
Without Bird: 3W, 2D, 3L (1.38 ppg, 38 W%)

I think was more of a “don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing” tbh.  Nobody knowing whether to hold their position or close down.  Epitomised by the second goal, where at least 3 Derby players all went to close their right wingback at the same time, and one simple pass took them all out of the game and they’re breaking down our left.

I think was more of a “don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing” tbh.  Nobody knowing whether to hold their position or close down.  Epitomised by the second goal, where at least 3 Derby players all went to close their right wingback at the same time, and one simple pass took them all out of the game and they’re breaking down our left.

We also moved the ball out of defence so much quicker with Forsyth in there, and that played a big part in Bird coming to life.  He was getting the ball so much earlier, in so much more space, that he’s got time to turn and pick people out in front of him.

We did it quite well at times last season, when we had a front four of like McGoldrick + NML, Knight, Barkhuizen (all reasonably mobile, at least fairly hard working etc).  This system we’e playing now gives us less bodies up there to press, and several of them are less mobile than the other lot on top of that.

I think was more of a “don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing” tbh.  Nobody knowing whether to hold their position or close down.  Epitomised by the second goal, where at least 3 Derby players all went to close their right wingback at the same time, and one simple pass took them all out of the game and they’re breaking down our left.

Bird was also better because he was sat deeper in a 2 with Tommo ahead of him and Smith. 
A big part of our problem today was in the first half, 2 or 3 of their players were round Bird as soon as he got it. When Ward was on, they put 2 on him to stop the crosses, giving the rest some space.
Also, Elder is a full back, not a wing back which means everything goes down the right and we become predictable.   

I think was more of a “don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing” tbh.  Nobody knowing whether to hold their position or close down.  Epitomised by the second goal, where at least 3 Derby players all went to close their right wingback at the same time, and one simple pass took them all out of the game and they’re breaking down our left.

We also moved the ball out of defence so much quicker with Forsyth in there, and that played a big part in Bird coming to life.  He was getting the ball so much earlier, in so much more space, that he’s got time to turn and pick people out in front of him.

What an utter shambles that first half was tonight. I don't think it was so much lack of effort that did for us, but the system. 
Someone commented that Blackpool also play three at the back and made it look easy, but actually they had a five man defensive unit across the pitch and a solid midfield in front of them.
This isn't helped by our painfully slow build up play. It takes us an age to play out from the back because neither Nelson nor Bradley are comfortable on the ball. So the Blackpool defence was set, and coped easily with our balls in to two attackers who don't look match-fit.
Blackpool in contrast just got the ball forward quickly and because we were only playing three at the back -at best - often two as Nelson and Cashin are being encouraged to play forwards - we were caught flat-footed on numerous occasions and there could have been a few more goals against us than there were. 
Wilson plays so far forward that he might as well be a winger. Except Mendez-Laing is a much better winger, if we want someone to play that high. (I know he's injured tonight, but just making that general point.) 
Why was Hourihane on the left wing getting in Elder's way? The whole set-up was bizarre.
Second half we could have made more subs but Tommo and Fozzy made a big difference. Tommo because he moved about looking for the ball and played it quickly. Bird came to life with him at the side of him. Fozzy because he is far more assured in defence, Cashin immediately relaxed and he too had a better second half. Ward was much better than Wilson, not least because he can defend a bit, too! 
I could put up with slow centrebacks if they were doing their jobs but they aren't at the moment. And they aren't much of a threat from set pieces either, I don't think we got a head on any of those first half. Fozzy is also pretty slow, but his positioning and reading of the game is just so superior to Bradley's so far that his lack of pace isn't the same issue.
I would have liked to see Collins and Brown on at half time too, as Wash and Waggy were tiring and not able to take advantage of our increased momentum in the early part of the second half. As it was, we huffed and puffed but didn't create a lot. At least we looked more solid at the back. 
I didn't enjoy Warne's post match interview on Radio Derby. If he wants to throw players under the bus, then he'll need to take responsibility for finding some better ones. Even if we don't know for certain who they are, the players will and that might be the final push they need to decide to walk away. On his track record so far, I'm not sure what sort of quality we're going to get in to replace them. 
Disappointed. 

I think was more of a “don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing” tbh.  Nobody knowing whether to hold their position or close down.  Epitomised by the second goal, where at least 3 Derby players all went to close their right wingback at the same time, and one simple pass took them all out of the game and they’re breaking down our left.