Mr Tibbs

A comfortable 1-0 if there ever has been such a thing. 

Roberts is our best player at the moment, churning out some consistent performances and doing all the basics which are lacking in other positions still. 

Whisper it quietly... 3 at the back is 5 unbeaten.

I came away last night thinking that was a pretty good away performance but you wouldn't think so reading this thread. For a team struggling for form I thought the formation, changes and performance were more than deserving of the three points. Quite liked having Sibley and NML more central, gave us the opportunity to run at them inside instead of whacking aimless balls down the flanks (which there were still too many - Fozzy especially, just brain dead football). Davies was colossal, Knight had his work cut out at RB with a pair of tricky left wing backs and the rest of the team were generally tidy and competed. 

The only disappointment was JW dropping one in the net - the last 10 shouldn't have been that tight but we do like to make things hard for ourselves. Felt like Dobbin had a chance to seal it but maybe from our angle it wasn't as bigger chance as it felt at the time.

On JW's antics - didn't mind it (proper under the cosh) but don't want to see too much of it if we can help. The fiasco with the Exeter player was laughable but I'm not sure you can hammer JW for it. Idiotic on their players part when chasing the game, probably the most naive thing I've seen since Collins slapped that Port Vale player in the face. Only themselves to blame. He left a bit on JW second time around so would have been more than happy for JW to milk it again to be honest.

Exeter looked a bit disjointed, similar to how we have looked recently. Too many sloppy passes going out of play/straight through to JW but to be fair we pressed ok, especially second half. Never felt that threatened all game but they did have a great chance first half where JW has dug us out. Tidy enough team though.  

Whisper it quietly, 3 at the back is unbeaten in 4...

5 hours ago, Anag Ram said:

We now seem to have different starters, formations and tactics every week.

 

Is this the case? Sounds like he's taken the scattergun approach and I don't think it could be further from the truth. 

It appears that after the 3 losses in a row (where we have played 4-2-3-1 consistently since the turn of the year?) Warne tried to change things up. He left out Fozzy and went back to the 3-5-2. Since then, we've played 3-5-2 with pretty much the same 11 (exact same eleven in Saturday's case). Interestingly (with the outcry for the return of the 4-2-3-1), we're unbeaten since the change back to his preferred formation, with a points tally that should be more than 5 from 9 given our performances. I don't really like the 3-5-2 but there's a few positives getting lost in the weeds because they don't apply to certain arguments/preferences.  

11 minutes ago, jameso said:

I take your point about length of contract but how easily would we have persuaded him to leave Rotherham (doing pretty well in the Championship at the time) without a contract of that length?

Yeah it's more than likely that it was a prerequisite for his move here and it seems that DC was very keen on PW so the 4years may have got it over the line. I'm not holding that against him, as DC was just a fan until his takeover. He's gone with his gut and has promised nothing as far as I can see in the press. No "Derby Way", no style requirements - just a coach and his team who have done well in this division before. 

11 hours ago, DanS1992 said:

I watch football to be entertained. Warne is not entertaining me with the current "spectacle" on offer, as a matter of fact, it's mind numbing. 
 

I was exited when Warne was first appointed. I honestly thought that he would get us playing some decent stuff. Now I am not so sure about him.

Genuine question, why did you choose Derby County if you watch football to be entertained? How many pure entertaining seasons have we had in your lifetime that you've witnessed? 2? 3? I have no doubt you'll remember some seasons as entertaining based on League finish (making the play offs or in and around), something that will no doubt not be afforded to PW. 

Were you not entertained vs MK Dons? Were you entertained during the 16 game unbeaten run? The last 10 games or so, minus a couple of good halves and the MK performance has been below par no doubt, but is that the only sample you're willing to discuss? I know as fans we're very reactionary to what we've just seen but there's got to be some context. 

That aside, I don't think it would sit right with me sacking a manager and having to pay him off, barely months after we have just shafted the tax man. Maybe it was irresponsible of DC to give out such a long contract but I'm happy to sit tight and see how it plays out for a fair bit yet. 

All the bedwetters are out I see. 

Disappointing performance but Bristol Rovers were very good on the day - deserved point. Never got a foothold in the game as the midfield just didn't get a grip. Same old sorry performances from the likes of Collins, Knight and NML. A good game to fail at getting tickets...

Exeter on Tuesday it is, we go again! Hopefully they make the journey a bit more worthwhile than that. 

Fozzy moving like a prime Joe Biden out there. 

Another let off. 

Why is our striker trying back heels in our own half when we're under the cosh. It's suicide. 

2 minutes ago, Caerphilly Ram said:

And yet on Monday we played plenty of passes on the floor and had a load of chances playing “Warne football”. This is a nervy away performance…

No, don't add balance! 😡

Ok first half away from home but we need a better second to get the result. Very nervous performance, when we've tried to play football we've given it straight back and almost blew the lead looking to play out. Don't mind the long stuff whilst they're playing like this. PW touched on it in his pre-match, they're playing like they don't believe that they're a good team. 

Didzy has been poor bar the goal (which was great). Below par from Hourihane, Knight, NML and Collins too IMO. Think the defence has done ok. 

Got to score. 

They're playing some really good stuff tbf. Need to up it. 

Great start - let's keep it going! 

A lot of ex United ones. 

Burke, Ravel, Macheda...

Callum Ball always seemed to score tons in the kids/ressies and looked capable at times in the first team, just couldn't quite get to grips with senior football. From that West Ham goal to dropping off the face of the earth. 

I used to watch Saul Deeney at Basford and thought he was way too far down the football pyramid for his age and ability.

1 hour ago, Curtains said:

I never mentioned lazy anywhere in any of my posts on this subject.

All the players tried their best but it wasn’t enough .

For what my opinion is worth I think Warne will take us to the playoffs despite Saturdays result as Posh still have Ipswich and Barnsley to play .

Warne is our manager and has a 4 year contract.

I will back Warne  

Lazy narrative as in the subs/timings are a problem, when in this game in particular, they weren't IMO - far from it. 

We're in the same boat with the rest of the post. 

53 minutes ago, Curtains said:

I haven’t called out the subs .

I am asking the question are the substitutions too late in games when a reaction is needed .

Warne is the manager and is his own man .

I don’t think Hourihane  was happy at being substituted and was playing well .

Tactically were Warnes substitutions right on the day .

There was an obvious reaction so that's where I'm missing the whole point really and goes back to my original question. Do we jump on the sub bandwagon every time we don't win regardless of what we see in the performance? We all watched the same game and saw those subs (where 3 of the 4 had almost a third of a football match worth of minutes) carve out those chances so I'm a bit bemused. 

31 minutes ago, Curtains said:

Of course it was complete dominance except for 10 minutes when they scored as the guy got down the flank past NML

Collins scoring and not hitting post and NML scoring 1 on 1s .

Unfortunately football is all about ifs and buts. 
 

Sibley scores 2 against Oxford and then is out after one half against Fleetwood.

I would give the lad a chance earlier in games and not on 80 minutes down the middle .

I have criticized Sibley for his record on bookings but he’s sorted that out to his credit and I’m confident he can win games for us now if given a run with either McGoldrick or Collins .

My point is 80 minutes is ridiculous time to bring the lad on. 

I would like to see more of Sibley for sure but it wasn't why we lost this game. All the subs that came on almost either scored or created the winner. White corner for Knights free header, Birds ball for Didzys back post sitter and Dobbins chance 10 yards out... game should have been won.

If this was a Sibley thread I wouldn't be far off agreeing - but you've called out all the subs he made (who had 29 mins!) and a formation that "worked ok" in one of the most one sided games I've seen in ages - I just can't agree with any of that for this game. A lazy narrative that has been valid for some games, just not this one iMO. 

3 minutes ago, Curtains said:

Like Fleetwood , Shrewsbury etc 

Two games where I completely agree about subs. 

This game - not a chance IMO. Complete dominance. 

11 minutes ago, Curtains said:

Goals win games .

Jimmy Greaves  chipped goalkeepers when 1 on 1 and made it look easy .

We don’t score enough goals 

Nice comparison to Collo there. 

5 hours ago, Curtains said:

IMO Warne left it too late to get Sibley and White on etc. 

Cashin ,,Rooney and Roberts worked ok but Barks and Nat not wing backs IMO 

Is this based on the result or the performance? 

If replayed, 9 times out of 10 we win that game (ok maybe 8 with Collins' and Dobbin's finishing). Seems a bit of a lazy summary considering how the game played out in real time. "worked ok" - we absolutely battered them. 

Average players playing exactly that. Bar the NML leave for their goal I can't really grumble as there wasn't a lack of effort. Just bad decisions and ability on the ball shown more often than not. 

Hopefully we can mix it up in the next two away from home. It's not over until it's over. 

2 minutes ago, Black ('n' White) Sheep said:

Controversial opinion from me... but if we cheated more and won more I really wouldn't care! Enough other teams do it. Haha

Each to their own init. Not for me though. 

Rather see him sort his first touch out and produce something to win us the game rather than flooring it every time he's in a situation like that. 

1 minute ago, Andicis said:

It's an obvious foul. Going down easily isn't against the rules and nor does it minimise the contact. It's a clear penalty and poor officiating. 

We should nip this in the bud now then because I think you couldn't be further from the mark. There's no middle ground to be found in between stonewaller and cheat. 

Just now, Andicis said:

Have someone run into you and push you in the back at full speed and try stay standing. It's an obvious foul. 

 

He's trying to buy a foul that isn't there. Think if you take off your Derby tinted sunnies you'd probably see it. 

Really wish Knight would cut out the diving. Should be booked. 

This first half has been a couple of good final passes away from an absolute battering.