duncanjwitham

2 lads from Arsenal confirmed as loans to the academy.

2 lads from Arsenal confirmed as loans to the academy.

2 lads from Arsenal confirmed as loans to the academy.

2 lads from Arsenal confirmed as loans to the academy.

They’ve got 6 loan players and can only have 5 in the squad, so it sounds like he’s just been rested and therefore left out of the squad completely to not waste one of those spots.

They’ve got 6 loan players and can only have 5 in the squad, so it sounds like he’s just been rested and therefore left out of the squad completely to not waste one of those spots.

Unless he had a spare £50m+ burning a hole in his back pocket, I suspect not.  It was a matter of time until HMRC or MSD came calling for what we owe them.  And having the stadium and training ground repossessed by MSD possibly would have put us in a worse position.
In terms of the EFL, there's no doubt we were badly treated.  Having the ground valued by a guy that knew nothing about valuing sports stadiums.  The amortization charge off the back of an "expert" who literally did not know the rules he was supposedly an expert on. Points deductions for offences under rules that were subsequently changed to make sure other clubs didn't break them.  Various demands that the administrators break the law or they'd kick us out of the league.  Rewriting administration law on a whim to benefit the  parasite clubs.  An apparently harsher enforced business-plan than any other club has been forced under.  I could go on...

Unless he had a spare £50m+ burning a hole in his back pocket, I suspect not.  It was a matter of time until HMRC or MSD came calling for what we owe them.  And having the stadium and training ground repossessed by MSD possibly would have put us in a worse position.
In terms of the EFL, there's no doubt we were badly treated.  Having the ground valued by a guy that knew nothing about valuing sports stadiums.  The amortization charge off the back of an "expert" who literally did not know the rules he was supposedly an expert on. Points deductions for offences under rules that were subsequently changed to make sure other clubs didn't break them.  Various demands that the administrators break the law or they'd kick us out of the league.  Rewriting administration law on a whim to benefit the  parasite clubs.  An apparently harsher enforced business-plan than any other club has been forced under.  I could go on...

Unless he had a spare £50m+ burning a hole in his back pocket, I suspect not.  It was a matter of time until HMRC or MSD came calling for what we owe them.  And having the stadium and training ground repossessed by MSD possibly would have put us in a worse position.
In terms of the EFL, there's no doubt we were badly treated.  Having the ground valued by a guy that knew nothing about valuing sports stadiums.  The amortization charge off the back of an "expert" who literally did not know the rules he was supposedly an expert on. Points deductions for offences under rules that were subsequently changed to make sure other clubs didn't break them.  Various demands that the administrators break the law or they'd kick us out of the league.  Rewriting administration law on a whim to benefit the  parasite clubs.  An apparently harsher enforced business-plan than any other club has been forced under.  I could go on...

Unless he had a spare £50m+ burning a hole in his back pocket, I suspect not.  It was a matter of time until HMRC or MSD came calling for what we owe them.  And having the stadium and training ground repossessed by MSD possibly would have put us in a worse position.
In terms of the EFL, there's no doubt we were badly treated.  Having the ground valued by a guy that knew nothing about valuing sports stadiums.  The amortization charge off the back of an "expert" who literally did not know the rules he was supposedly an expert on. Points deductions for offences under rules that were subsequently changed to make sure other clubs didn't break them.  Various demands that the administrators break the law or they'd kick us out of the league.  Rewriting administration law on a whim to benefit the  parasite clubs.  An apparently harsher enforced business-plan than any other club has been forced under.  I could go on...

Unless he had a spare £50m+ burning a hole in his back pocket, I suspect not.  It was a matter of time until HMRC or MSD came calling for what we owe them.  And having the stadium and training ground repossessed by MSD possibly would have put us in a worse position.
In terms of the EFL, there's no doubt we were badly treated.  Having the ground valued by a guy that knew nothing about valuing sports stadiums.  The amortization charge off the back of an "expert" who literally did not know the rules he was supposedly an expert on. Points deductions for offences under rules that were subsequently changed to make sure other clubs didn't break them.  Various demands that the administrators break the law or they'd kick us out of the league.  Rewriting administration law on a whim to benefit the  parasite clubs.  An apparently harsher enforced business-plan than any other club has been forced under.  I could go on...

Unless he had a spare £50m+ burning a hole in his back pocket, I suspect not.  It was a matter of time until HMRC or MSD came calling for what we owe them.  And having the stadium and training ground repossessed by MSD possibly would have put us in a worse position.
In terms of the EFL, there's no doubt we were badly treated.  Having the ground valued by a guy that knew nothing about valuing sports stadiums.  The amortization charge off the back of an "expert" who literally did not know the rules he was supposedly an expert on. Points deductions for offences under rules that were subsequently changed to make sure other clubs didn't break them.  Various demands that the administrators break the law or they'd kick us out of the league.  Rewriting administration law on a whim to benefit the  parasite clubs.  An apparently harsher enforced business-plan than any other club has been forced under.  I could go on...

Unless he had a spare £50m+ burning a hole in his back pocket, I suspect not.  It was a matter of time until HMRC or MSD came calling for what we owe them.  And having the stadium and training ground repossessed by MSD possibly would have put us in a worse position.
In terms of the EFL, there's no doubt we were badly treated.  Having the ground valued by a guy that knew nothing about valuing sports stadiums.  The amortization charge off the back of an "expert" who literally did not know the rules he was supposedly an expert on. Points deductions for offences under rules that were subsequently changed to make sure other clubs didn't break them.  Various demands that the administrators break the law or they'd kick us out of the league.  Rewriting administration law on a whim to benefit the  parasite clubs.  An apparently harsher enforced business-plan than any other club has been forced under.  I could go on...

Unless he had a spare £50m+ burning a hole in his back pocket, I suspect not.  It was a matter of time until HMRC or MSD came calling for what we owe them.  And having the stadium and training ground repossessed by MSD possibly would have put us in a worse position.
In terms of the EFL, there's no doubt we were badly treated.  Having the ground valued by a guy that knew nothing about valuing sports stadiums.  The amortization charge off the back of an "expert" who literally did not know the rules he was supposedly an expert on. Points deductions for offences under rules that were subsequently changed to make sure other clubs didn't break them.  Various demands that the administrators break the law or they'd kick us out of the league.  Rewriting administration law on a whim to benefit the  parasite clubs.  An apparently harsher enforced business-plan than any other club has been forced under.  I could go on...

Unless he had a spare £50m+ burning a hole in his back pocket, I suspect not.  It was a matter of time until HMRC or MSD came calling for what we owe them.  And having the stadium and training ground repossessed by MSD possibly would have put us in a worse position.
In terms of the EFL, there's no doubt we were badly treated.  Having the ground valued by a guy that knew nothing about valuing sports stadiums.  The amortization charge off the back of an "expert" who literally did not know the rules he was supposedly an expert on. Points deductions for offences under rules that were subsequently changed to make sure other clubs didn't break them.  Various demands that the administrators break the law or they'd kick us out of the league.  Rewriting administration law on a whim to benefit the  parasite clubs.  An apparently harsher enforced business-plan than any other club has been forced under.  I could go on...

Unless he had a spare £50m+ burning a hole in his back pocket, I suspect not.  It was a matter of time until HMRC or MSD came calling for what we owe them.  And having the stadium and training ground repossessed by MSD possibly would have put us in a worse position.
In terms of the EFL, there's no doubt we were badly treated.  Having the ground valued by a guy that knew nothing about valuing sports stadiums.  The amortization charge off the back of an "expert" who literally did not know the rules he was supposedly an expert on. Points deductions for offences under rules that were subsequently changed to make sure other clubs didn't break them.  Various demands that the administrators break the law or they'd kick us out of the league.  Rewriting administration law on a whim to benefit the  parasite clubs.  An apparently harsher enforced business-plan than any other club has been forced under.  I could go on...

Not to mention, we’d just appointed a manager who’d recently been involved in the coaching setups at Real Madrid, PSG and Chelsea. We should have gone straight to those clubs and pretty much guaranteed 40-odd championship starts for whichever youth-team midfielders they thought were ready for a loan.

Just to get us back on topic, having had a good sleep, I would like to say I am still not completely sold on Paul Warne.
I can’t knock what is being achieved in terms of recent momentum, nor the fact that he (and his team lest we forget) has obviously galvanised the dressing room. The latter in itself does however make me think there is much more to him than I first thought, as to get ‘Liam’s Squad’ onboard so swiftly could have been difficult - although giving credit to Liam he signed up some good professionals.
l think I am also warming to Paul on the basis that I have stopped listening to him for a few months. This technique has also worked well in a long marriage.
My reservation remains style of football. I don’t watch as much as most on here, so my sample size is low comparatively. But just taking Tuesday as an example, perhaps a classic example, we had a team on paper miles better than the team we were playing, but still chose to  take them on in a game of kick and rush. Yes I know the weather and pitch evened things out a bit, but we won in the end not because of 90 minutes of huff and puff, but because of a couple of moments of quality from a wideman involving holding the ball, beating a man or two, and delivering a decent cross. McG and NML took their chances well, reflecting again that they remain Championship quality forward players.
I still wonder if Paul can get us playing what I call attractive football, passing the ball consistently up through the channels. I don’t doubt he will get us up, in fact I am sure I will be cheering him on at Wembley come the end of the season. Time will tell I guess. In the meantime I will keep posting any reservations I have on here, and saving up all my positivity for when I can get my arse off the sofa to go to a match. Perhaps that shouldn’t be too long (what do you think @Boycie?).

Ah, the witch-hunt continues ?
I suspect those of us who had doubts about Warne haven't got much to argue about given the team is going well & probably don't have the inclination to engage with Warne obsessives seeking to either belittle the previous manager's contribution to this squad, or desperately seek self-validation. You crack on lads, got better things to do with my time ?
P.s. Not in the slightest bit interested whether Warne was aware some Derby fans didn't want him. I absolutely stand by what I said about him back in September & whilst I acknowledge results have been good recently, I continue to have reservations about him long term & especially at a higher level - which lets face it, is where we want to be successful in coming years.
Doesn't mean that we can't enjoy the team doing well at the minute. Which is exactly what I'm planning on doing if that's OK with you & @Jourdan - many thanks in advance ?

Cocu and Rooney both managed us in two of the most bizarre seasons in recent history. Rosenior was picking up the pieces of what was left.
Cocu had Keogh/Bennett/Lawrence, takeover collapses, embargoes, Covid, etc... Even in that season, he showed promise when we made an unsuccessful late push for the playoffs. 
Rooney had administration, 21 points deducted, started the season with just a handful of players, a squad ripped apart in January, failed exits from administration.
Even Rosenior started the season with just 5 contracted players. He had a steady start whilst players were starting to build up fitness (no pre season) and getting to know each other. We lost just 3 games in his 10 games in charge. Rosenior ceteinly showed a lot of potential, still does, and will forever be what Clough was to the 13/14 Mac season.

Was I far wrong?
"His highest finish was 22nd (relegated).
He's spent 6 seasons teaching his side to play an aggressive, direct, long ball game. Is he going to change his style to suit the player we have, who have a possession based game drilled into them for an even longer period of time? Are the players going to be able to adapt?"
It took a mini injury crisis in defence to force him away from his favoured 5 at the back. For what ever reason, it clearly wasn't working. We won 2, drew 1 and lost 4. We haven't lost a single game since he reluctantly switched to 4 at the back.
The quality of football for large periods of most games under Warne has been poor. Fortunately, there have been some excellent spells, and the frequency of those good spells continues to increase.
No need to dig up the Pearson posts. I have no shame in admitting to it. However, you may have ignored the context. At the time of my post, his record as manager was as bad as Pearson's.
A few games in to his reign, I also stated it was a stick or twist point. Warne wasn't getting the best out of the players in those early games. A lot of the players looked confused and gave statements suggesting they had no idea what Warne wanted them to do, or Warne had no idea how to use them to their potential. There was a significant risk this wouldn't improve with the currnet crop of player, hence "stick or twist". Stick, and see the long term project through and get the players in he needed, or twist and get amanager in who could get more out of them.
Credit to Warne turning it around and  getting a lot more out of the players than most could have imagined.

We had a pacey option down the centre (Osula), and we never really used him, because he couldn't do anything else that a modern striker needs to do. He was quick, and he could dribble and finish, and that was about it.
We mainly are playing 1 up front, and even when we play Collins and McGoldrick together, they're far from a traditional front 2.  So any striker we bring in has to be able to play as a lone striker, which means they have to be able to do at least a few out of: being a physical presence up front, occupying defenders, holding the ball up, linking the play, winning headers etc.  Otherwise you're basically toothless up front and your entire system doesn't work.  There's a reason why small, quick strikers (think Michael Owen, Jermaine Defoe types) barely exist in modern football (as regular starters anyway) - they can't play up front on their own, and if you play a front 2, you get outnumbered somewhere else. 
So if we want a pacey option, we're looking at Ivan Toney types - big, strong, physical and quick at the same time.  And good luck finding one of those for free in January.  Any player that's big, strong and quick and can score goals is going to be playing regular football somewhere already.
And for what it's worth, we have bags of pace in the team already - 4 quick wingers, and the likes of Knight and Sibley breaking from deeper.  What we need is craft in the final third (i.e. someone to actually play passes or create opportunities for those guys).  We only really have McGoldrick, plus Bird and Hourihane from deeper.  A striker that can either hold the ball up, or drop off and play passes, would make a much bigger difference than another guy that can run quickly.

We had a pacey option down the centre (Osula), and we never really used him, because he couldn't do anything else that a modern striker needs to do. He was quick, and he could dribble and finish, and that was about it.
We mainly are playing 1 up front, and even when we play Collins and McGoldrick together, they're far from a traditional front 2.  So any striker we bring in has to be able to play as a lone striker, which means they have to be able to do at least a few out of: being a physical presence up front, occupying defenders, holding the ball up, linking the play, winning headers etc.  Otherwise you're basically toothless up front and your entire system doesn't work.  There's a reason why small, quick strikers (think Michael Owen, Jermaine Defoe types) barely exist in modern football (as regular starters anyway) - they can't play up front on their own, and if you play a front 2, you get outnumbered somewhere else. 
So if we want a pacey option, we're looking at Ivan Toney types - big, strong, physical and quick at the same time.  And good luck finding one of those for free in January.  Any player that's big, strong and quick and can score goals is going to be playing regular football somewhere already.
And for what it's worth, we have bags of pace in the team already - 4 quick wingers, and the likes of Knight and Sibley breaking from deeper.  What we need is craft in the final third (i.e. someone to actually play passes or create opportunities for those guys).  We only really have McGoldrick, plus Bird and Hourihane from deeper.  A striker that can either hold the ball up, or drop off and play passes, would make a much bigger difference than another guy that can run quickly.

We had a pacey option down the centre (Osula), and we never really used him, because he couldn't do anything else that a modern striker needs to do. He was quick, and he could dribble and finish, and that was about it.
We mainly are playing 1 up front, and even when we play Collins and McGoldrick together, they're far from a traditional front 2.  So any striker we bring in has to be able to play as a lone striker, which means they have to be able to do at least a few out of: being a physical presence up front, occupying defenders, holding the ball up, linking the play, winning headers etc.  Otherwise you're basically toothless up front and your entire system doesn't work.  There's a reason why small, quick strikers (think Michael Owen, Jermaine Defoe types) barely exist in modern football (as regular starters anyway) - they can't play up front on their own, and if you play a front 2, you get outnumbered somewhere else. 
So if we want a pacey option, we're looking at Ivan Toney types - big, strong, physical and quick at the same time.  And good luck finding one of those for free in January.  Any player that's big, strong and quick and can score goals is going to be playing regular football somewhere already.
And for what it's worth, we have bags of pace in the team already - 4 quick wingers, and the likes of Knight and Sibley breaking from deeper.  What we need is craft in the final third (i.e. someone to actually play passes or create opportunities for those guys).  We only really have McGoldrick, plus Bird and Hourihane from deeper.  A striker that can either hold the ball up, or drop off and play passes, would make a much bigger difference than another guy that can run quickly.

We had a pacey option down the centre (Osula), and we never really used him, because he couldn't do anything else that a modern striker needs to do. He was quick, and he could dribble and finish, and that was about it.
We mainly are playing 1 up front, and even when we play Collins and McGoldrick together, they're far from a traditional front 2.  So any striker we bring in has to be able to play as a lone striker, which means they have to be able to do at least a few out of: being a physical presence up front, occupying defenders, holding the ball up, linking the play, winning headers etc.  Otherwise you're basically toothless up front and your entire system doesn't work.  There's a reason why small, quick strikers (think Michael Owen, Jermaine Defoe types) barely exist in modern football (as regular starters anyway) - they can't play up front on their own, and if you play a front 2, you get outnumbered somewhere else. 
So if we want a pacey option, we're looking at Ivan Toney types - big, strong, physical and quick at the same time.  And good luck finding one of those for free in January.  Any player that's big, strong and quick and can score goals is going to be playing regular football somewhere already.
And for what it's worth, we have bags of pace in the team already - 4 quick wingers, and the likes of Knight and Sibley breaking from deeper.  What we need is craft in the final third (i.e. someone to actually play passes or create opportunities for those guys).  We only really have McGoldrick, plus Bird and Hourihane from deeper.  A striker that can either hold the ball up, or drop off and play passes, would make a much bigger difference than another guy that can run quickly.