The Scarlet Pimpernel

Unfortunately the EFL have sold their soul for Sky TV cash, in order to keep their heads above the water in the financial chaos of football. If the clubs stopped paying out the ridiculous levels of wages to players then this would not be necessary. 😞 Who do we complain about Sky TV for working to the contract the EFL have signed, or the clubs and the EFL for signing it?
I'd suggest halving the EFL wage bill in every division would be a good start?

David Squires on … Mark Clattenburg, sliding bores and the drop ball furore
https://www.theguardian.com/football/picture/2024/mar/05/david-squires-on-mark-clattenburg-nottingham-forest-dropped-ball-furore

It’s looking like Forest might have a season or 10 in the Champ to look forward to. Are they prepared?
”Forest ready”
 

Damn. That’s my summer holiday finance plans ruined. 

Agree. My biggest issue with Sibley has been a heavy touch & inability to protect the ball well enough...two traits which really limit his ability to play in what many would deem his favoured number 10 position. By contrast at LWB, he is coming onto the ball so touch isn't quite as vital as if he were surrounded by defenders & he still gets plenty of opportunities to join the attack (both in counter attack & when we're dominating territory and possession). As you rightly say, his defensive work has improved a lot since start of last season.
Although yesterday wasn't the sternest test, I thought the balance of the entire team looked good & that this formation could work equally well home or away. Sibley & Ward can be potent attacking weapons when we're making the running in games and our front 3 are well marshalled but are solid enough defensively to turn us into an effective 5-2-3 if we're under the pump & punish teams on the counter. My biggest criticism of previous iterations has been the use of Nyambe & Elder at wingback who offered little to no cutting edge going forward.
If Warne is adamant about keeping 3 at the back, I reckon he should keep with this first XI to build cohesion & partnerships around the field for these last 10 games. I'd love this to be the spell Sibley finally clicks again (leading to a contract extension), there is definitely a player there & it would be sad for him to depart with his peak being his first 10 games in 2020.

Meant to say also, Ward's brilliant control of the ball when receiving long, high passes was particularly noticeable today. Top notch.

He’s had plenty of starts after good sub appearances. Today was the first time he’s taken his chance.

Nice round of applause from the faithful when Ward was announced as Man of the Match. He’s been good today 

Would agree with this sentiment if we weren't pushing for promotion, but we are - should be playing our best players regardless of their futures

We have the second-best defence in the league, going by goals conceded, and Wildsmith has played in 29/36 league games. He's a very good L1 goalkeeper, and he doesn't have to make world-class saves for that to be true. If he was a great goalie, he'd be in the Prem.

Not that I know anything, but it looks to me like Warne wanted to get Vickers in at sooner or later and/or there's a contractual disagreement between Wildsmith and the club. In the same way Warne has foisted Bradley into the team, it feels like he wanted to make Vickers #1. Either way, JW's unsettled. He's gone from a reliable 7/10 keeper to making silly decisions, but outside of his 2 stupid penalties gaffs, he hasn't done too much wrong.

I saw JW on Ben Foster's podcast and he came across as very switched on, seemed to take his career & training seriously. I can't help thinking he's being pushed out and it's affecting his game. It's a stupid mistake, even putting everything else to one side, as he's a saleable asset who will probably be allowed to leave for nothing.

I'd do away with parachute payments altogether!

I would like to see some stats on which keeper hoofed every free kick around the half way line into the opposition box . What happened to a quick free kick and keeping the ball moving ? As for the head-tennis , our players had plenty of opportunity to bring the ball down on their chests . Both teams were as bad as each other . I would be suprised if the ball was in-play for more than 35 mins.

Here's my problem with it, and this has been the problem more or less all season:
Win or lose, 9 times out of 10, it is just awful to watch.
I think if we don't go up, he has to go. I'm not even convinced I'd like to see him manage us in the Championship, but he'll have earned the right to have a go at least, if we get there.
 

Had time to calm down a bit now after yesterday to give my honest opinion.
First 20 minutes of the first half, I thought we looked good. It was all us, but we didn't create any chances at all. Scored from a corner. 
We go in at half time and you just think come out and get the second goal. But we started so poorly. Despite us being poor, we were still ok and Charlton did not look dangerous at all. 
Then Wildsmith decides to give the most ludicrous penalty away you will see (exactly the same as Oxford away) unforgiveable. Clearly not learnt his lesson. You cannot legislate for that at all. As soon as Vickers is fit, he would be going back in. Then i'd be looking for a new number 1 in the summer. 
Then it just gave them hope, when they had none. Another mistake and another goal.
I was ok after the Barnsley game, thought it was tight, neither team created a lot. Both scored a set piece. The difference was they scored a really great finish, Neither keeper had anything to do. Draw would have been fair.
But last night, we are playing against a team that has not won for 18 games. Regardless of the fact that they have good players and are underperforming. I cannot remember their keeper making a save or us testing him at all. At no point did I think we would score in open play, we could still be out there now and not scored. Which against a team 20th in the league is unacceptable. 
Warne comes out after every game saying we moved the ball to slow, we weren't brave enough on the ball. Yet every game we do it again.
I am not a fan of Warne or the football. You can forgive the football if we win games. But last night was hideous and inexcusable.
I saw people moaning he took Smith off. But Smith was blowing out his arse and was done after 50 odd minutes. Not sure why Thompson didn't get on to replace the energy vacated by Smith. Really not sure why Cashin was left back either. 
We simply have to win the next 3 games. All winnable. But my biggest concern is that we just are not creating any chances at all. 2 games in a row now I can't remember the opposition keeper having to make a save. Even last night if their keeper had made save after save and we were creating chances. You would have come out thinking, its one of them days, Gave 2 poor goals away but we are creating chances so carry on like that and we will be fine. 
The best I have seen us play this season was the second half at Oxford. We were on the front foot, brilliant. That's what we need.
We have nothing to lose now, I want to see us come out, create chances and put teams to bed.
Sitting on a 1-0 lead at home is criminal and has cost us so many points this season. 3 last night, 2 against Wycombe, 2 against Shrewsbury. 
We aren't sacking Warne now. So we have just got to get behind them and hope we can do enough to get up. 
 
 

I think the whole Bradley thing sort of sums PW up totally

Last night unfortunately exposed all of Paul Warne's flaws as a manager. Even before Wildsmith's kamikaze moment, the lack of ball retention after going 1-0 up was appalling. Sunday morning rushing to get the ball forward which caused so many unforced errors. What has the manager got against keeping the ball for 10-15 minutes? I know it's dull and boring, we have got to be smarter in certain games. Charlton were a terrible team and we somehow gifted them a win.
Derby had most of the control in the first half. We got the goal, beautiful header by Cashin and another assist for NML. Came out in the 2nd half and kept giving the ball away by forcing it forward. Charlton's press was very aggressive in the 2nd half. Instead of playing it around Charlton and exposing them, we kept pumping the ball forward. In a game where patience and calm was required, we absolutely fell apart.
Making our lives more difficult sums up this season. Even though we've been accumulating a really healthy points total, it has been a proper slog to get points on the board. I hope this is just a small blip and we will get back to form on Saturday! 

It's quite simple 
 
Barkhuizen      Gayle           NML
                          Bird
             Smith              Adams
Elder       Cashin        Nelson    Nyambe 
                         Wildsmith
 
Sibley, Wilson, Bradley, Hourihane and Waghorn to sub on 

Honestly, I think that a lot of the performances this season haven't really looked all that different to last night.  The only difference being that in those games we didn't make those silly mistakes, and NML/Hourihane/Collins etc pulled a goal or 2 out of nowhere and we ended up winning fairly comfortably.  And that's why a lot of people have been so frustrated, even when we've won, because it doesn't feel sustainable.  We aren't going to go the entire season without making silly mistakes, and without those key matchwinners getting injuries or getting tired or losing form, yet with the way we set up, it feels like we're going to have to.  And that's compounded because we know with the way we play, that players are going to pick up knocks, and that older players are going to get tired etc, and that's when the mistakes creep in and performances start to drift off.

That was really bad. The ball was in the air far too much for which both sides were to blame. 
Unfortunately we are not very good. Living some distance away there is no way I will travel to watch our football. It's tv only for me I'm afraid and that saddens me. 

Yes, we were terrible tonight. 
We were absolutely dire for 60 minutes. 
Nobody is asking for total football, but we're getting the worst brand of football I've seen at Derby. It's crap. There is no entertainment. We aren't bringing through youth, we are building towards a style and getting better, we're all over the place. 
Being second is not a compliment to Warne, and more a criticism to every other side. We're not a good team. 

That was really bad. The ball was in the air far too much for which both sides were to blame. 
Unfortunately we are not very good. Living some distance away there is no way I will travel to watch our football. It's tv only for me I'm afraid and that saddens me. 

This.
I've been clinging on to "We can't be that bad, we're second, yeah" but now it's more "I can't believe we're getting away with this for so long".  Latest case in point being Bolton losing at Wigan.
I can only recall one home game all season where I've sat feeling comfortable, confident, and for the most part, entertained.
My biggest plus from last night was that something came up, and I completely missed this game.  (Lucky me!)  I only have these pages to go on, but it ain't good reading!
I'm just glad I renewed on Monday, otherwise my little joke about changing my mind might well have come to fruition!
Not particularly looking forward to Saturday, but I'll trundle over, more in blind hope than expectation.  That's not how it should be.

We have been poor for about 12 months now...apart from about 6 games. 18 months in and 3 transfer windows we are worse than when he took over. Dont let being 2nd fool you. Does anybody really fancy the Championship under Warne??? Its utter tosh. 

That was really bad. The ball was in the air far too much for which both sides were to blame. 
Unfortunately we are not very good. Living some distance away there is no way I will travel to watch our football. It's tv only for me I'm afraid and that saddens me.