SSD

Two of the usual back four being out, plus Cashin having his player of the month curse, feel sorry for Vickers. Let's see him with our full strength defence.

I think in years gone by I don't think it would have mattered what type of football you played to gain promotion to the Championship, it was more based on budgets and the quality of squad to keep you up. Of course, these points still matter. I believe with teams who go up, you have to try and focus on more control of the ball in possession and midfield is really instrumental in keeping the team ticking over.
Peterborough are a prime example of trying to go all guns blazing, works great in League One, every time they gain promotion it's straight back down the slide because it does not work in a better division. I know Rotherham have a small budget and it's mainly why they've struggled to go much further. You hear the feedback from their supporters when Warne was manager, they just did not adapt to a different level. If Warne does get us out of this absolute pit of a league, which I believe he will, he has got to start thinking of another way to keep us in the Championship. I appreciate he wants to do everything at 100mph and make the team monster running machines, it usually keeps the team in games at the end. When he is up against a half decent side in the Championship, the team will get picked off very quickly, even lesser League One sides can do it. It has happened to every single Rotherham side Warne took charge of.
I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to go wing backs again, he is that stubborn. I hope he reflects and realises to change it up, adapt to a higher standard of football. I just don't think he will. It's becoming more clear as time goes on that he will have that L1 Neil Warnock tag. I thought he was more intelligent enough to bring his winning formula but choose the right moments when to break, when to keep the ball. It's a shame I feel this way because he's a very honourable man. From watching his Derby side for nearly 18 months, grinding along every match is not a good platform for a promotion winning side.
 

I don't think Dutch managers have done that well in English football, the exception being Guus Hiddink.
Still feel bad for Cocu. COVID ruined the momentum we built, an empty pride park was awful and our home form dropped. Rooney packed up playing football during COVID and was overweight, essentially downed tools. He never had a proper crack (although he did think Mike Te Wierik was a good footballer)

If it is Ward who wants to leave, I think that says a lot about Sibley starting at the weekend at Left Back. I thought Warne said Wilson could play either side so you'd think Ward have gone to right back.
Or does Warne think Ward is a massive defensive liability and won't put him anywhere near a full back spot. Seems strange.

Fornah always gees up the crowd, he did it again yesterday too. I like him a bit more for it. Shows a bit of passion. He should be starting games for us. 

When people have a fixed opinion which is so strong, clear evidence which flies in the face of that is just ignored altogether.
We actually broke a 50+ year club record under Phillip Cocu in scoring at least once in over 20 consecutive games.
There is this great myth that we never looked like scoring under Cocu. Yet if that is the case, how do you explain the scoring record? 

A few random, semi-related points... 
We're also a playing against League 1 teams, with League 1 defenders etc.  We don't have to play exactly like Barcelona or anything, but we're absolutely capable of a much higher quality that what we're seeing.
Personally, I think we've probably got one of the top 2 squads in the League, and I think we've more than likely got one of the top 2 wage bills in the league.  There's just the overriding feeling that we aren't trying to make the most of what we do have.  For one, if you set your team up in such a way that you need Max Bird and Connor Hourihane to outrun a 3-man midfield to be successful, then you're setting yourself up for failure.  I'm not saying we have a God-given right to win the league or anything, but it almost feels like we're hamstringing ourselves and then when it doesn't work, shrugging our shoulders and carrying on doing it anyway.
There have been so many games we've not played very well at all, but we've got something out of the game because Hourihane has smashed one in out of nowhere (Burton) or NML blows past his fullback and crosses for Collins to half-volley in (Cheltenham).  I find it hard to give the manager too much credit when we've been borderline dysfunctional for big chunks of a game, but we won because we had better players and one of them did something.

21st Century to make it easier.
 
1. Steve McClaren
2. George Burley
3. Frank Lampard
3. King Billy
4. Paul Clement
5. Gary Rowett
6. Phillip Cocu
7. Wayne Rooney / Liam Rosenior
8. Nigel Clough
9. Paul Warne
10. John Gregory
11. Terry Westley
12. Phil Brown
13. Nigel Pearson
14. Paul Jewell

I don't think Dutch managers have done that well in English football, the exception being Guus Hiddink.
Still feel bad for Cocu. COVID ruined the momentum we built, an empty pride park was awful and our home form dropped. Rooney packed up playing football during COVID and was overweight, essentially downed tools. He never had a proper crack (although he did think Mike Te Wierik was a good footballer)

I don't think Dutch managers have done that well in English football, the exception being Guus Hiddink.
Still feel bad for Cocu. COVID ruined the momentum we built, an empty pride park was awful and our home form dropped. Rooney packed up playing football during COVID and was overweight, essentially downed tools. He never had a proper crack (although he did think Mike Te Wierik was a good footballer)

Yesterday proved to me that I don't think Warne will cut it in the Championship. I am confident he will get us out of this division. Regardless of how terrible the performances have been recently, he is still accumulating points and we can't argue it. I don't think it takes a tactical genius to get this team out of League One. Big budgets matter and DC clearly told Radio Derby we have a competitive budget for promotion. Warne has had money to spend and if he doesn't get promoted then I think he knows where the door is.
The big elephant in the room is I have never seen a fan base so divided over a manager when we're clearly challenging for promotion. This has to ring alarm bells. The South Stand is a big indicator for me how the fan base is feeling and there's not many chant for the manager. It's been very flat in the noisy stand. A feeling of fear challenging in the league above. Ipswich and Plymouth last season showed they could win matches in League One and continued to play well in Championship. 
Call me Captain Doom, if we continue to bundling along winning games, I don't see Derby landing any blows in the Championship.

I think I have finally found why I haven't warmed to Paul Warne as our manager. 
I know many of us think football is just a results business and any type of win is a win. You don't complain, points on the board, good job done. For me though this reason didn't make me fall in love Derby County. If I wanted good results every week I would jump on the wagon of whoever was winning the Premier League. Football is more than just results. It's the theatre, the drama, the excitement of watching your team playing brilliant football and creating memories.
I love a feel good story and I think this could have been on the card with Liam Rosenior. A rookie manager who wanted to play attractive possession based football, stuck through the club in those dark times, worked his arse off to bring in a core of side within a matter of weeks. In my view, he had every right to be the manager of this club and I don't care if was very inexperienced and didn't have a track record. It would have carried on that feel good factor within the club and I believe everyone would have got behind him. At this point we had nothing to lose. If he didn't work, go and find a Paul Warne type manager who can pick up results. 
The Paul Warne appointment was a very solid business decision and I cannot fault David Clowes because on paper it makes complete sense. But football doesn't work like that for me. It is a weird and wonderful sport which most of the time is bonkers. In the real world, why would you hire someone who no experience to lead a team of people. However, this is why I love football. And I'm still a bit disappointed we couldn't have had a cheesy, upbeat feel good story.
With Warne, we are just plodding along with very good players at this level doing what is expected of us. Like a excel spreadsheet formula that works. Very dull, really boring, it's clinical. I keep feeling I want more from this side and it has the potential to do more. I watched Ipswich destroy us last season and thought this is the standard we should aim for. Got the result but more importantly, had some flare and quality about the performance.
I'll never boo our manager, I will always get behind him. He doesn't excite me though. The side is missing a soul.

Yesterday proved to me that I don't think Warne will cut it in the Championship. I am confident he will get us out of this division. Regardless of how terrible the performances have been recently, he is still accumulating points and we can't argue it. I don't think it takes a tactical genius to get this team out of League One. Big budgets matter and DC clearly told Radio Derby we have a competitive budget for promotion. Warne has had money to spend and if he doesn't get promoted then I think he knows where the door is.
The big elephant in the room is I have never seen a fan base so divided over a manager when we're clearly challenging for promotion. This has to ring alarm bells. The South Stand is a big indicator for me how the fan base is feeling and there's not many chant for the manager. It's been very flat in the noisy stand. A feeling of fear challenging in the league above. Ipswich and Plymouth last season showed they could win matches in League One and continued to play well in Championship. 
Call me Captain Doom, if we continue to bundling along winning games, I don't see Derby landing any blows in the Championship.

Yesterday proved to me that I don't think Warne will cut it in the Championship. I am confident he will get us out of this division. Regardless of how terrible the performances have been recently, he is still accumulating points and we can't argue it. I don't think it takes a tactical genius to get this team out of League One. Big budgets matter and DC clearly told Radio Derby we have a competitive budget for promotion. Warne has had money to spend and if he doesn't get promoted then I think he knows where the door is.
The big elephant in the room is I have never seen a fan base so divided over a manager when we're clearly challenging for promotion. This has to ring alarm bells. The South Stand is a big indicator for me how the fan base is feeling and there's not many chant for the manager. It's been very flat in the noisy stand. A feeling of fear challenging in the league above. Ipswich and Plymouth last season showed they could win matches in League One and continued to play well in Championship. 
Call me Captain Doom, if we continue to bundling along winning games, I don't see Derby landing any blows in the Championship.

Yesterday proved to me that I don't think Warne will cut it in the Championship. I am confident he will get us out of this division. Regardless of how terrible the performances have been recently, he is still accumulating points and we can't argue it. I don't think it takes a tactical genius to get this team out of League One. Big budgets matter and DC clearly told Radio Derby we have a competitive budget for promotion. Warne has had money to spend and if he doesn't get promoted then I think he knows where the door is.
The big elephant in the room is I have never seen a fan base so divided over a manager when we're clearly challenging for promotion. This has to ring alarm bells. The South Stand is a big indicator for me how the fan base is feeling and there's not many chant for the manager. It's been very flat in the noisy stand. A feeling of fear challenging in the league above. Ipswich and Plymouth last season showed they could win matches in League One and continued to play well in Championship. 
Call me Captain Doom, if we continue to bundling along winning games, I don't see Derby landing any blows in the Championship.

I've argued that Warne is not the right man for us consistently for quite some time now, and in that time Ive tried to condense my argument down in to something as concise as possible in an effort to make it simple to understand.
I think it's as simple as this, do I enjoy watching Derby County play and do I feel like the personnel we have in place are suitable for the short, medium and long term ambitions of the club?
I currently do not enjoy watching Derby play. The performance levels are among the worst I've seen in my life outside of the 11 point season. In terms of our ambitions I will concede that in the short term Warne might get us promoted from L1, I believe that would be in spite of him not because of him. In the medium/long term I have absolutely no faith in his ability to take us beyond being a lower end, relegation threatened Championship team and we surely want more than that?

If you aren't going to matches every week and just checking the scores then yes results are all that matter.
For people with season tickets and/or regular away supporters it's bloody hard work watching this teams performances for the majority of games.
 

There might be a time when Collins gets injured this season(I bloody hope not)and those who are primed to have a pop at him will see how much he contributes to this team, It's not just the goals it's his all-round effort to either get the ball back or harass the opposition, The honourable "workhorse" ☺️  

I'll drop my opinions about Warne and how garbage the performance was for 70 minutes of that match.
Collo's goal was superb. He had zero service the entire game, ran his nuts into the ground yet again. One good cross and he got that brilliant volley in. What a player. I thought he'd be a broken man by now with that constant chasing down and battling. He got his rewards. Superb striker. 

I'll drop my opinions about Warne and how garbage the performance was for 70 minutes of that match.
Collo's goal was superb. He had zero service the entire game, ran his nuts into the ground yet again. One good cross and he got that brilliant volley in. What a player. I thought he'd be a broken man by now with that constant chasing down and battling. He got his rewards. Superb striker. 

I'll drop my opinions about Warne and how garbage the performance was for 70 minutes of that match.
Collo's goal was superb. He had zero service the entire game, ran his nuts into the ground yet again. One good cross and he got that brilliant volley in. What a player. I thought he'd be a broken man by now with that constant chasing down and battling. He got his rewards. Superb striker. 

I'll drop my opinions about Warne and how garbage the performance was for 70 minutes of that match.
Collo's goal was superb. He had zero service the entire game, ran his nuts into the ground yet again. One good cross and he got that brilliant volley in. What a player. I thought he'd be a broken man by now with that constant chasing down and battling. He got his rewards. Superb striker. 

I'll drop my opinions about Warne and how garbage the performance was for 70 minutes of that match.
Collo's goal was superb. He had zero service the entire game, ran his nuts into the ground yet again. One good cross and he got that brilliant volley in. What a player. I thought he'd be a broken man by now with that constant chasing down and battling. He got his rewards. Superb striker. 

I'll drop my opinions about Warne and how garbage the performance was for 70 minutes of that match.
Collo's goal was superb. He had zero service the entire game, ran his nuts into the ground yet again. One good cross and he got that brilliant volley in. What a player. I thought he'd be a broken man by now with that constant chasing down and battling. He got his rewards. Superb striker. 

I'll drop my opinions about Warne and how garbage the performance was for 70 minutes of that match.
Collo's goal was superb. He had zero service the entire game, ran his nuts into the ground yet again. One good cross and he got that brilliant volley in. What a player. I thought he'd be a broken man by now with that constant chasing down and battling. He got his rewards. Superb striker.