OoooMarkWright

Getting the balance right will be really hard with this squad. I’m not a Warne guy, I’ll be honest, but I think he’s been dealt a bit of a dud hand. We recruited a team of players last summer who were all really good technically for Liam, and then went and got Warne after 11 games with no money to spend for minimum 3 windows. If we really wanted him, we should have got him straight away. 
Warne wants us to condense the middle of the pitch with high energy to win the ball back, then get it out wide to a wingback who puts an early ball into the box. The problem is we have lost the midfielder most suited to the system. We now have 3 technical players who Warne wants to go sprinting around and getting stuck in for 90 minutes combined with a winger who is out of position. Our summer business never seems to have attempted to address this. 
The other issue I see is the back three. They are simply too slow and not athletic enough to play as high as they are and also overlap when needed. It leaves us really exposed to any kind of pace or movement in behind and can open up a big gap between defenders and midfield, as seen for Wigan’s first when Bradley could only really go backwards and woefully under hit the pass. It’s the third goal that we’ve conceded in this manner so far this season when pre season is included so it’s clearly an issue. 
The result is we can’t win the ball back as quickly as we would like, leaving us exposed through the middle, and when we do win it back and get it into the box, our striker is on his own vs three or four because the midfield isn’t dynamic enough to chase in, or have dropped deeper to cover the defenders. I know it’s only been one game of the season, but a lot of these problems were evident last season when our unbeaten run came to an end. 
Finally, we are bringing in predominantly older players and have a paper thin squad. It’s a symptom of our situation, but it really hinders our ability to play ‘gas out football’ to any serious level. Warne says he wants another 2 players, but I think we are really 4/5 short. With the new added time rules we are essentially playing an extra 7 games over a league season in terms of minutes and that will hit us harder than any promotion rivals. The small squad also makes it really hard to change a game tactically. We can make five subs, but we only really have 4 or 5 serious options from the bench when the squad is fully fit. I think this season will be really tough for us, and I believe a combination of the recruitment not matching what the manager ideally wants and the manager’s inability to play any other system are the major reasons for this. 

It isn’t just about resale value though. An ageing team gets tired and cannot all play 2 games in a few days as is the case in this league. With a small squad and lots of 30+ aged players it’s not a good mix. As Warne highlighted last season, hence the reasoning behind changing that this season.

It isn’t just about resale value though. An ageing team gets tired and cannot all play 2 games in a few days as is the case in this league. With a small squad and lots of 30+ aged players it’s not a good mix. As Warne highlighted last season, hence the reasoning behind changing that this season.

yes, a perfect situation to build a squad from scratch.
 
my frustration is we are no better off than we were then as we will be in the exact same situation next summer unless we go up
 
i would just like to see us build a long term squad instead of throw one together thatll be dismantled at the end of every season

He’s not exactly being vilified by thousands on a Saturday. It’s a few on here who are critical.
I like Bird, I think he’s very talented. He does suit a slightly more advanced position, but not a ‘10’. He wasn’t as good as I thought he’d be last season and needs to do better as he has the talent. But we’ve said that with a few players. It’s time they performed. It could be the manager to blame, teammates etc. but if Birds as good as I think he is, he’ll overcome that and be our best player. Time will tell if he’s capable. 

He’s not exactly being vilified by thousands on a Saturday. It’s a few on here who are critical.
I like Bird, I think he’s very talented. He does suit a slightly more advanced position, but not a ‘10’. He wasn’t as good as I thought he’d be last season and needs to do better as he has the talent. But we’ve said that with a few players. It’s time they performed. It could be the manager to blame, teammates etc. but if Birds as good as I think he is, he’ll overcome that and be our best player. Time will tell if he’s capable. 

Waghorn at the match today

No chance of Bannan. I don’t believe that rumour at all. I wouldn’t describe him as a battler either, a very good footballer. Rubbish rumour.
Smith - he’d be a great signing. 
 
 

No chance of Bannan. I don’t believe that rumour at all. I wouldn’t describe him as a battler either, a very good footballer. Rubbish rumour.
Smith - he’d be a great signing. 
 
 

It’s a bit farcical that Waghorn plays in a testimonial and then Derby realise he might be worth a punt. He’s been a free agent for weeks. Why didn’t we invite him in then? It’s no secret what he offers as a player. I thought Warne/recruitment had a list and went through the list one by one. For me, it’s not a great sign for our recruitment team. 
I’m not against Waghorn signing, but the process seems bizarre and without much planning. 

It’s a bit farcical that Waghorn plays in a testimonial and then Derby realise he might be worth a punt. He’s been a free agent for weeks. Why didn’t we invite him in then? It’s no secret what he offers as a player. I thought Warne/recruitment had a list and went through the list one by one. For me, it’s not a great sign for our recruitment team. 
I’m not against Waghorn signing, but the process seems bizarre and without much planning. 

You can listen to the interview and still ask those questions.  
Does seem a bit chaotic and disorganised if we end up signing someone cos they turned up to play a testimonial for their mate and were the best option available to us.
Like others have said though we could do a lot worse as 4th choice.

It’s a bit farcical that Waghorn plays in a testimonial and then Derby realise he might be worth a punt. He’s been a free agent for weeks. Why didn’t we invite him in then? It’s no secret what he offers as a player. I thought Warne/recruitment had a list and went through the list one by one. For me, it’s not a great sign for our recruitment team. 
I’m not against Waghorn signing, but the process seems bizarre and without much planning. 

It’s a bit farcical that Waghorn plays in a testimonial and then Derby realise he might be worth a punt. He’s been a free agent for weeks. Why didn’t we invite him in then? It’s no secret what he offers as a player. I thought Warne/recruitment had a list and went through the list one by one. For me, it’s not a great sign for our recruitment team. 
I’m not against Waghorn signing, but the process seems bizarre and without much planning. 

Obviously. But until that happens, all we can comment on is how the window has gone so far. It’s clear we’ve had difficulty bringing in a forward and, for me, filling that position is key to our top 2 hopes. We didn’t score enough last year, Collins was average and we’ve only added Washington to the mix. Goals will hopefully be more spread out, but we need a quality addition up top in my opinion. 

The fans being delighted is not really relevant to Warne to be fair. If the season starts and we are winning games the fans will soon forget about whatever happened in the transfer window. That's the bit Warne cares about.

We had the 4th best defensive record in the league. Yes it was makeshift but we kept loads of clean sheets and generally were solid, despite the issues we faced with no right back etc. It went a bit south towards the end, but that was down to fitness. Over the season we didn’t concede many. Not doubting we’re stronger now though. 
We need to get out of this league this year. No excuses. Are we much stronger overall than the end of last year, marginally maybe. I expected more. That’s why these next couple of signings will be key to our success and not sure, if it’s Waghorn, that would be enough. As someone said earlier, if you’d offered Washington, Colin’s and Waghorn as our top 3 options at the start of the summer I can’t see many fans being delighted with that. 

Very true but he’s just one of many strikers who I’d rather us have gone for. I don’t hate Waghorn as a fourth choice in fact I welcome him with open arms. But not as third choice.

I really like Waghorn, liked him during his time here a lot, think he seems like a really nice bloke, too
But if this is what we’ve come to after a summer of trying to bring in a forward then we must be desperate 

If we can get Waghorn in for so cheap that he doesn’t eat in to the budget and we can still sign 3 other players then I’m all for it. But if he’s our 3rd and final striker or the final winger/supporting attacker that Warne wants then it’s a no from me. He’s the cherry on top of the cake but certainly not the icing or sponge.

I appreciate Warne’s honesty here. But, if I was a prospective new signing, I’m not sure I’d appreciate hearing that your potential new manager may not be convinced you’re good enough. 
It does point to Rhodes or someone similar. Not convinced he’ll be that good for us. I also would prioritise a 10 over a left wing back, unless Elder is crocked for a while.
We have to make use of the loan market. It’s key to any promotion. Time for Thomas et al to earn their crust. It’s not sounding overly promising if we’re so far down our striker list that Warne’s not convinced they’re good enough. Big few weeks ahead. Currently I don’t think we’re quite there. 

I appreciate Warne’s honesty here. But, if I was a prospective new signing, I’m not sure I’d appreciate hearing that your potential new manager may not be convinced you’re good enough. 
It does point to Rhodes or someone similar. Not convinced he’ll be that good for us. I also would prioritise a 10 over a left wing back, unless Elder is crocked for a while.
We have to make use of the loan market. It’s key to any promotion. Time for Thomas et al to earn their crust. It’s not sounding overly promising if we’re so far down our striker list that Warne’s not convinced they’re good enough. Big few weeks ahead. Currently I don’t think we’re quite there. 

I appreciate Warne’s honesty here. But, if I was a prospective new signing, I’m not sure I’d appreciate hearing that your potential new manager may not be convinced you’re good enough. 
It does point to Rhodes or someone similar. Not convinced he’ll be that good for us. I also would prioritise a 10 over a left wing back, unless Elder is crocked for a while.
We have to make use of the loan market. It’s key to any promotion. Time for Thomas et al to earn their crust. It’s not sounding overly promising if we’re so far down our striker list that Warne’s not convinced they’re good enough. Big few weeks ahead. Currently I don’t think we’re quite there. 

That squad tonight highlights how far we are off a team squad that is needed for top 2. Hardly any attacking options.
Also, we have picked up a lot of knocks/fitness issues. I know it’s inevitable during pre season. But to have about 5/6 out already seems quite high. Have they pushed them too hard? 

Absolutely fantastic event @loweman2 Some outstanding memorabilia that deserves a permanent home at Pride Park. I hope you are well on the way to achieving your goal. I could’ve stayed there a lot longer, well done to all involved 👏🏻👏🏻