Ramarena

Decent game to watch and thought the youngsters all did well and will gain a lot from that. Obviously there was a physical difference but technically they we’re better than Salford.
I can understand why Rooney picked such a young team to preserve the first team players. It just wasn’t worth the risk and the focus has to be 100% on the league this season, I would have accepted a defeat with this in mind
That said we’re through and there will be another chance for the youngsters to impress!

Decent game to watch and thought the youngsters all did well and will gain a lot from that. Obviously there was a physical difference but technically they we’re better than Salford.
I can understand why Rooney picked such a young team to preserve the first team players. It just wasn’t worth the risk and the focus has to be 100% on the league this season, I would have accepted a defeat with this in mind
That said we’re through and there will be another chance for the youngsters to impress!

Don’t think Stratton has looked out of his depth. Some lovely runs 

Lovely slide rule pass from Watson picking out Stretton's fantastic run. Stretton on the corner of the six yard box tries to dink it over the keeper whose outstretched arm blocks the strike. I thought it was good play by the three players involved.

That is erm, an interesting autocorrect 

Is that what Wayne has to do to make him take one????

Moan if you want, but praise them when they do well as well. Great goal and we've really come into the game last 10 minutes. Great finish Hutchinson

Isn’t the biggest worry the fact that Rooney has decided to stick with zonal marking. It shows he has learnt nothing and we will be struggling from every set piece  in every game. Let’s hope Curtis takes charge on the pitch, disregards orders and sets us up properly. 

It’s ironic that our former youth coach now managing a League Two club is more qualified than our own Wayne Rooney.
 

WHY IZ JOZWIAK MARKING THEIR BIGGEST AND MOST PROLIFIC TARGET MAN AGAIN ??????

This Allsop looks a decent signing as well. A proper upgrade on Marshall and definitely worth taking up 1 of the limited spots we have available. 

Jozwiak marking Turnbull from the corner and we concede. Then the very next set piece he's on Elliot. I understand things are difficult for Wayne and Liam, but come on .... ?

Told he's not in the manager's plans. Of course he won't go to Reading, but he will need to think hard over the rest of the transfer window whether to bide his time at Derby and wait it out until Rooney goes, or to take a move now to play regularly and show the world what he's capable of. 
Is he finally going to get a start tonight against League Two Salford? I hope so, but am not at all sure he will. It must be soul-destroying for the lad.

I’m not a father, but I would not recommend putting your daughter in a hot dog. 

The club should not have been putting this upon @David and the others. 
If they wanted to get the information/their side of the story out there they have established channels to do that, without putting attendees under the inevitable pressure and scrutiny!

Agreed, it doesn’t make any sense for the reasons you mention. 
I can bet you Morrison will not be given the same restrictions/expectations from the manager despite Morrison’s defensive game being no better than Sibleys!

I think the intention was genuinly good. Just the execution of it and the communication after it has been, i'll say, "sub-optimal".
What do fans want to know? Well, all kinds of things that it would be inadvisable to put into the public domain. So, tell some but they can't tell anyone else (under a legal NDA) or just don't tell them at all. It really sucks.
Then we're going onto trying to read subtexts, impressions of how someone felt it went based of a tweet etc etc.
I don't think anyone is going to feel great about it until there is resolution.

I think that's more or less what we will go for with perhaps Stretton starting up front and possibly the midfield configuration being slightly different.
As much as people might want a cup run, we don't have the squad for it and there are a couple players who if they get injured we could quickly be in deep trouble.  

Back on topic.... the one thing I find baffling about the arguments on Sibley from a defensive standpoint is isn't the whole point of playing a 4231 as a system is that you play two defensive midfielders to give the attacking 3 midfielders substantially more creative freedom and less defensive responsibility ?

Agree completely,  like you I think there is a limit to how far you can go trying to control games with Shinnie in the heart of midfield and that we probably need to move past him (especially if we rigidly stick to a 4231).
What I will say though is I actually think some of the issues with him would likely be alleviated if we switched to a 433 and unlike what a lot of people suggest, push him into one of the more advanced positions with a ball player behind him as the deepest player. If he was playing that role he wouldn't have to look to get on the ball as much as when he playing in a double pivot, he'd have to worry less about his positioning (which is only fine both attacking and defending) and he can focus on creating space on the ball with his running and aggressively pressing when we lose possession. We've seen him do this as well for example in the games against Swansea and Birmingham around xmas last year and honestly I thought they were probably the best performances we'd seen from him.

My problem with Rooney’s treatment of Sibley is not that he doesn’t play every minute, it’s more that previously he would be given 10 minutes in a game and be expected to do something within that time to justify him getting longer next time.
It would almost be a self fulfilling prophecy whereby Rooney doesn’t trust Sibley so doesn’t play him often enough, then when he does play Sibley is overly keen and perhaps gets involved in things he shouldn’t which in Rooney’s mind would justify him not trusting him.
So I was glad to see him get 40 minutes on Saturday and hope that that continues or that he gets a start soon. Couple of silly fouls one of which was in a dangerous area but also caused them more problems than anyone else did. Watson may provide more discipline but I can’t say I saw much to justify him being over Sibley on Saturday.