Comrade 86

Let's hope not eh, the failing bit, not the lighting it up thing, obvs!

The backstop date for Forest's appeal hearing is apparently May 24th but it's rumoured that the PL are to try to resolve this prior to season end. I've been trying to find the articles suggesting that Forest's belief that they had nothing to lose with what I view as a spurious appeal, is potentially a serious misunderstanding of the process and the link below is the the one I managed to find again. In a further twist, that really ought to set alarm bells ringing, the PL have stated that they retain the right to force a single arbitrator to make a final call should the appeal not go the way they would like. Bear in mind the 8 point penalty they originally sought. Perhaps I'm reading too much into that statement, but it suggests to me that they want to see the penalty increased and will challenge the appeal outcome if additional points are not deducted. I'm not sure who is advising the fat fella, but I think Forest appealing what was IMO, a ludicrously generous outcome given the size of their overspend and the underhand way they went about masking it, was essentially an act of flagrant self-harm, akin to accidentally shooting themselves in the foot, then shooting the other one too so they have a matching pair. https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/nottingham-forest-ffp-appeal-points-deduction-fail-2964272

@LeedsCityRam if this is the case then apologies as I thought your comment was in reference to the status quo and not Rosenior's reign. I too was massively frustrated when he was moved on as it struck me that we were just beginning to play some decent stuff. Did we not dismantle Wycombe in his last game? Irony overload, if so. I also seem to recall you and I, among others, being taken to task (most often by the forum's most prolific poster who now wants us to believe she was in favour of Rosenior staying!) for suggesting that the style of play we would see under Warne would not necessarily please the masses. How quickly some forget!

I've wavered on this as before we heard Collo had miraculously returned to training, I'd have said the same. The ideal world scenario though is that we get over the line by hook or crook without him and Dajaune shows the benefit of being left to continue to develop his game when he returns next season.

With the form he's shown since being given a starting slot, I'd imagine it was a shortlist of one! Not often a kid who only recently turned 18 comes in and dominates teams the way he has. Hopefully he doubles down, works even harder, continues to listen to his coaches and in doing so maintains his current arc. He's a seriously exciting prospect for one so young and will surely be in and around the senior squad next season.

Apologies if I've misunderstood your point, but surely a league table encompassing 46 games is THE most accurate measure of success. What other metric is less misleading? it frustrates me that when teams finish above us it's always because they deserved to over the course of the season, but somehow this same rationale does not apply to us. IMO, if we do secure an autos slot, it's absolutely because we deserved it and by the same token, if we don't, then we clearly won't have.

When you feel lucky, perhaps? 😂

I always try to strip away the dressing and focus on what I see. Had we taken any of the 3 or 4 gilt edged opportunities we carved out in the first 40, I think conversations on here would be rather different. As someone else said, fine margins. The second half I thought saw an emboldened Wycombe and I don't think that would have been the case were they 2 or 3 down. Likewise, when NML blasts the ball over the sticks, or CBT fumbles a sitter, can we seriously suggest that these are tactical or coaching deficiencies. With the amount of experienced players we had on the park, calmer heads should have prevailed IMO, though none of this negates the view that at times, PW has clearly got it wrong. I've not reiterated my sense of it recently, as a pet hate of mine is posters who relentlessly post the same material, but whilst I support Warne currently (likewise the playing roster), I opposed his appointment and can also see how we'd likely need a very different formula to prosper were we to secure promotion. I have enjoyed some performances, Pompey only a game back, I thought was a fantastic game between two sides playing good attacking football, despite the atrocious conditions, but I'm not blind to the occasions where we've looked all over the place either. My view though, is that we are just a L1 side after all, despite being 'massive' and perhaps these inconsistencies come with the territory.

It certainly seems like a mountain to climb, but the West (or the sympathisers therein) can't give up now. We can't just throw our hands in the air and say, 'it's too hard' as in some ways that lack of determination is what empowers Netanyahu. It's also not lost on me that the assassinations on Iranian soil might be another twisted device to curry favour with the US at a time where relations are more strained than at any time I can recall. The enemy of my enemy etc. I'm not convinced either that any Palestinian state would immediately look to attack Israel again. I think the Palestinians will feel they have suffered enough for their allegiance to Hamas, but I concede that the Israelis could quite easily instigate further conflict.

Excellent stuff. Do they provide this type of analysis for every race? It's actually way better than the F1.com equivalent.

In fairness and unlike some, you've been entirely consistent in your observations over the course of the season, but taking Wycombe as an example, what was wrong with the team selection? Was it not another occasion where he actually got it right, which I concede, he hasn't always, but was let down by a forward line who lacked composure?

Try reading what I actually posted again. S-L-O-W-L-Y.

Alexander (2004) - I don't recall why I didn't watch this at time of release as typically, I like Oliver Stone's movies, but OMFG this film should have been aborted, or at best strangled at birth. A bleached out Colin Farrell sounding for all money like he's just dropped in from Dublin, had me twitching only minutes into the film and inside a quarter of an hour I was done. The illegitimate lovechild of Mikkel beck and Abdul Camara / 10 Code: Feckin awful!

Hope so or I'm hearing voices in my head. About 1500 odd 😂

Is it really so bad? Scott seems very well cast and the only artifice I can see is that it's rather needlessly filmed in B & W, which detracts rather than adding anything. You guys have me debating whether to go on now! 😂

About that cake though... 😜

But where are these charts RAW!?! We keep hinting... 😋

Not sure the addition of Bradley and Hourihane will 'freshen it up', or much else to be honest. Dropping Smith for the latter in particular, seems akin to an act of self-harm. We've looked ok defensively, having reverted to a back 4 and I'd fear a complete meltdown amongst the fans if we bring in the two slowest players on the roster for a game we absolutely need to be winning.

Sorry, last two the wrong way around. The songs are Inside and My Favourite Mutiny, the shows Dark and Winning Time 🤪

Done. A lovely idea Claire.

They sounded epic on the telly 😔

The Chain - F1 TV coverage Fighting For - Top Boy The Dirty South - The Dirty South Dark - Inside Winning Time - My Favourite Mutiny

Funnily enough... The 12 history books written on the club by its historian Neilson N. Kaufman between 1974 and 2015 suggest that the choice of the name Orient came about at the behest of a player, Jack R Dearing, who was an employee of the Orient Steam Navigation Company, later part of P&O – Peninsular & Oriental.

Pride Park Stadium – KO: 15.00 After a chastening visit to Wycombe Wanderers, next up, the Rams play host to Leyton Orient. I know the whole, ‘must win game’ is horribly overused cliche in sport, but sadly, it actually applies on this occasion, as it will do for all of our remaining games. On the basis of ability and potential, you’d fancy our chances strongly, but as has been the case through a good deal of the season, the team remains somewhat Jekyll and Hyde and it’s anyone’s guess which Derby will turn up on Saturday. Having been concerned about the Wycombe game being a potential banana skin, I’m less so for this match, but it’d taker a braver man than I to be dogmatic about the outcome. Leyton Orient: Founded in 1881 as the Glyn Cricket Club, they began playing football as Orient in 1888 and joined the London League in 1896 after success in the Clapton & District League. The club adopted the name Clapton Orient two years later and were elected into the Football League in 1905. Most recently and under current manager Richie Wellens, the club was crowned champions of League Two in the 2022–23 campaign and sit mid-table in this current season. Form Guide: In the corresponding away fixture, we rode our luck a little early on, but having scored 1st, the game turned on a somewhat controversial sending off, with Brandon Cooper dismissed for a foul on Max Bird. Derby ultimately ran out comfortable 3-0 winners and this with Collo spurning a brace of golden opportunities, but even then, I felt the scoreline flattered us a little - Please see the match highlights link below. FWIW, my view is that Orient are a tidy enough side for the grade and should not be taken lightly. Much like Wycombe, they will be able to relax a little more than our lads and we need to be controlled and alert throughout the 90 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zPSKzMlFGE&ab_channel=DerbyCountyFootballClub Most recently, Orient’s form has been decent enough, with a 1-0 victory away to Stevenage followed by two losses by the odd goal only to Lincoln and Peterborough. Their last two matches, both at home, yielded a 3-1 victory against Cheltenham, followed by a 2-2 draw against Exeter. The most obvious dangerman would seem to be the ever-present Ruel Sotiriou with 11 goals and 5 assists across 42 games played. Shaquai Forde is next best with 9 goals and 5 assists, with Oliver O'Neil chipping in with 5 goals and 4 assists. Their preferred formation is seemingly a 4-2-3-1, but perhaps someone who has actually watched them regularly can confirm, as my research yielded conflicting data. Head 2 Head: Historically, Derby have the edge and perhaps more significantly, we have not lost at home to Leyton since 1981, with 5 home losses in total since the clubs first met way back in 1907 in what was then the 2nd division. Games won: 23 Games drawn: 8 Games lost: 18 Team News: Warne again has some worries to address. Our own @Caerphilly Ram has battled manfully to keep us all informed against an ever-changing background and his latest summary suggests the something akin to the following scenario for Saturday: Joe Ward – was said to be out for 2 weeks at time of injury – 50:50 for this match is perhaps mildly optimistic Max Bird – was mooted as a possible for the Wycombe game – may well figure from the bench Dwight Gayle – not expected to play this weekend, but may be available for the last 2 games Craig Forsyth - not expected to play this weekend, but may be available before season end Callum Elder – groin injury, status unknown Ryan Nyambe – out for the season Tyreece John-Jules – most likely out for the season Jake Rooney - most likely out for the season, but has been ‘back on the grass’ we’re told. No jokes please! I do have some sympathy for Warne as it seems every time he has the lads playing well, injuries to key players undermine any momentum, but that said, we’re not alone in that regard and we’ll need to make do as best we can. Line-Up: I think PW will start with a very similar line up to the last game. I’m going to suggest a slightly controversial tweak (assuming Ward is s recovered) and a change from the MF 2 we seem to favour, to variant of an undeniably old fashioned 4-4-2 – yeah, I know, straws...clutching...much… If Ward is indeed fit, he comes in for Nate, who looks like a man in need of freshening up – perhaps he and Max might be best deployed as ‘finishers’ off the bench when legs tire and the game is more stretched, assuming we’re not winning comfortably. Likewise Barks, who could also play on the right if Ward remains out. That said, if Max is healthy enough to start, I'd be sorely tempted to switch to a 4-3-3 with he and Corey either side of Ebou and Washington dropping to the bench. Irrespective, we must control the game better than we did in the 2nd half at Wycombe, where we repeatedly left a yawning chasm in front of our back 4, for their midfielders to play into. The front two and CM remain unchanged for me; despite both Wash and Collo looking understandably short of match sharpness, IMO, they remain our best current options. Once again, the back 4 pick themselves, as do Corey and Ebou in at CM. Joe keeps his slot, having done well enough since his return to the fold. The Match: Honestly, I’ve no idea which Derby will turn up. After Wycombe, some will want wholesale changes, but my take on what was an admittedly hugely disappointing result, is that Wycombe should have been dead and buried inside 40 minutes. I’m not sure that the subsequent slaughtering of Warne for what was to my eye, the profligacy of his forward line, is entirely fair, but each to their own. He remains the incumbent, for better or worse and whatever might happen next year, it seems a long way off right now. As such, the focus for yours truly remains the next 3 games and nothing else. A last word, as I’ve avoided reading all bar the last couple of pages of the last thread, would be that despite the stuttering effort against Wycombe, the travelling Rams faithful were magnificent in their support for the team. It’d be grand if we could mirror that at home and all try to channel our inner B4 and help carry the lads over the line. At least remember that Warne and his players are trying their best and are just people, like all of us and hurtful appraisals will only serve to undermine their confidence further. Enjoy the game one and all. COYR BE MORE B4