Ghost of Clough

Sibley has only ever had 1 red card in his professional career - against West Brom and it was rescinded. This was also in his debut season when Cocu was manager. Whilst I don't think Rooney wanted Sibley to be less agressive, I do think he drained every ounce of confidence he did have which resulted in him 'going backwards'. Rooney was even quoted in 2021 with "I want to get him back to that being aggressive... how he takes the ball, how he runs, how he takes a shot. I just feel he has come away from that a little bit". His confidence was drained by not being given a fair run in the side. He would score off the bench, then get 45 mins from the start before being subbed, followed by being an unused sub for a few games. A point demonstrated by never once having back to back starts in his favoured AM position under Rooney.

[I've moved the discussion to this chat as I think it's better suited at this point] At the moment, we have this team for next season: Vickers Nyambe Nelson Cashin Ward Fornah ??? Elder Mendez-Laing Washington Blackett-Taylor Subs: Rooney, Bradley, Wilson, Brown By extending just a few contracts (Thompson, Sibley, Collins) and making Adams permanent, we have a fairly reliable base to work from. My main concern would be signing good enough CMs. Even if we have a 2 man midfield, I would like to see us sign/extend 4 CMs for next season (5 if a 3 man midfield)

"There is also a high level medical presence at games. The days of a couple of St John Ambulance volunteers are long gone and now there are three doctors and a full paramedic team on hand for emergencies to the tune of almost £400,000."

His debut season was under Cocu when we finished midtable. A manager who could spot potential but also know the best way to integrate him into the first team - hence why he only got 2 league starts under him and averaged just 21 minutes in his 19 other league apps. Then Rooney became manager at the start of season 2. He got 4 sub apps under Rooney, the last of which saw him subbed off after being a 1st half sub. 1 month later he was sold.

We've only had him once - the Bristol Rovers game earlier this season which CM9 scored in, followed by a NML last minute winner assisted by Fornah. I think he's been one of the better refs we've had in League 1. However, he has given 3 red cards and 4 penalties in his 11 L1 games this season.

Refereed us twice - lost both. The reverse fixture against Stevenage, and the 2-0 defeat away to Loncoln when a fairly don't penalty was awarded against Knight.

To be honest, I've come to the conclusion that most signgings will struggle with injuries during their first season under Warne. If i'm proven correct, we'll finally see the best out of Ward, Elder, Blackett-Taylor, Washington, etc next season.

It goes to show some people are a better judge of player than others 😅 I've said all along Whittaker just needed time to adjust to the physicality and speed of play

Agree. There's no way Warne would risk throwing someone who just turned 17 in against a Steve Evans side, even if he is already a better keeper than Loach

Hopefully Collins playing on isn't the same as when Winnall did 😬 Elder is an odd one as he played the full game, and Hourihane looked fine when he came off. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more games like Exeter for the foreseeable (less pressing high up the pitch, but press in our defensive 3rd). Cashin only just returned to the squad after having a tight hammy, Adams is cramping up, etc

Warne 22/23* - £14m (3rd highest), placed 7th in the table 24/24* - £13m (1st highest), currently 2nd in the table Mac 1 13/14 - £16.4m (13th highest), placed 3rd in the table 14/15 - £21.8m (9th highest), placed 8th in the table Mac 2 16/17 - £34.6m (4th highest), 7th most points during his time as manager I wouldn't say Mac 'spectacuarly failed". 15/16 - 5th highest wage bill vs 5th in the league 17/18 - 8th highest wage bill vs 6th in the league 18/19* - 7th highest wage bill vs 6th in the league * estimated wage bills

"Years to come" could be 10 years from now. It doesn't contradict the 4 year plan previously mentioned. For full context, the full quote in Percy's interview is: At no point did he say "top-flight in no-time". Clowes and Pearce have mentioned steady progress, meaning Warne's brief over his 4 year contract is to make us a midtable Championship club. At a suitable point in time, the club will review the situation and either extend his contract (as they think he's capable of taking us further) or move on to the next maanger.

The club have previously talked about a 4 year plan, and Pearce spoke about 'phases' on Tuesday. It aligns withthe 4 year contract Warne was given too. If we take years to be phases then we have: 1. Challenge for the Playoffs (we finished 1 point off 6th) 2. Challenge for automatics (we're currently 2nd on pts, 3rd on ppg) 3. Avoid relegation from the Championship 4. Midtable in the Championship Based on Warne's primary objective, he'll be meeting expectations. You can judge him on other objectives if you want (such as youth progression, style of play, etc), but the primary objective is king. Exceeding in those secondary objectives would likely buy a maanger more time if struggling with the primary, but that appears to be the risk Warne wants to take.

Whoscored says FG played 3412 44 times, 3421 once, and 352 once in their promotion season - Wilson startin 45 of those games at RWB However, at his previous clubs, he did predominantly play as a RB in a back 4, with occasional apearances at RWB - West Brom youth, Exeter, Walsall and Tranmere

Sacking a manager who gives us promotion would counter "stability, integrity, progress". Upon promotion, the manager will be given a chance to prove themselves.

Norwich, Preston, Bristol City all have less than 50% possession and are top half.

Wildsmith Wilson Nelson Cashin Elder Bird Adams Hourihane Mendez-Laing Collins Barkhuizen Subs: JThompson, Bradley, Ward, Sibley, Smith, Thompson, Blackett-Taylor

You've missed the point completely. It is never wing ugly vs lose pretty. Would I rather be 2nd playing Warneball or 13th watching Exeter? Warnebsll wins. However, would I rather be Exeter or a more route 1 type side such as Northampton or Wycombe and be in roughly the same spot? Another clear winner.

Only 2 goals all season and no assists. Seems to put the odd very good performance in (usually against the top sides) but poor most of the time. This is how he compares with other L1 mids:

You've underestimated a lot. For example, back in 2019, Boro paid £3.7m in rates, VAT, utilities and insurance. We also know utility rates have sky rocketted since then - add another £1m minimum to that figure. We're basicallly talking £5m, where your estimate is just £1m! You also missed off matchday doctors/paramedics - another £400k There's another £2m+ on maintenance and cleanign of the stadium and training ground.

2 draws in 17 away games so far and 6 in 32 overall suggests to me we wont draw another 5 away games. To only win 1 away game out of 6 is odd too - 4 of those being Bristol Rovers, Cambridge, Wycombe, and Northampton

He hadn't played at this level since his half season at Coventry in 2012 (16 goals in 22 games). That was after 3 seasons of struggling at Forest who signed him as a 22 year old. The season before joining us, he contributed to 6 goals in 969 Championship minutes (1 every 162 mins) and 9 in 2402 PL minutes the season before (1 every 267 mins). His increased mins per contrubtition following another drop down in level was to be expected (1 ever 99 mins). However, credit must be given to the staff for keeping him fit enough to play in 39 league games.

To get us started... GK - Radek Vitek (Accrington, on loan from Man Utd). 3 clean sheets in 4 games since he joined them on loan. Good on the ball as you'd expect from a Man Utd keeper bit also a very good shot stopper. A 6'5" giant. DM - Ebou Adams. No justification required DM - Nohan Kennah (Shrewsbury, on loan from Hibs). Young cover for Adams and very similar in style of play - both are two of the best defensive DMs in the league. Came through at Leeds when Bielsa was manager so will be used to a high intensity style of play. CM - Herbie Kane (Barnsley). A very good all round CM, possibly the best in the league and also a good set peice taker. Will fill the Hourihane shaped hole well. Will be availabe on a free in the summer. RW - Tyrhys Dolan (Blackburn). Only 22 and out of contract in the summer (Blackburn have a 1 year option). He's been used as a squad option since breaking into their first team, so may not feature in their longer term plans. Can also cover CF. LW - P. Płacheta (Swansea, on loan from Norwich). Missed all of last season due to a rare shin injury.It's someone I would take a risk on, knowing we will have Mendez-Laing and Blackett-Taylor who can both play in this position. Still only 25 and avaialbe on a free in the summer.

At what point is the league a fair indicator? Do we have to wait until the last game has been played? 10 games in, Port Vale were 6th bit now they're 4th bottom. After 20 games, Reading were bottom 4, but would now be 14th without a points deduction. Leyton Orient have shot up from 16th to 9th in the same period of time.

Summer suggestion since no one will start the thread... GK - Radek Vitek (Accrington, on loan from Man Utd). 3 clean sheets in 4 games since he joined them on loan. Good on the ball as you'd expect from a Man Utd keeper bit also a very good shot stopper. A 6'5" giant.