Stripperg-ram

2019:2020 POTY was Matthew Clarke!!??

I can’t remember him or even that happening. That’s really blindsided me. All the others: Shinnie, Vydra, Hughes, Keogh etc I remember why and how they were the voted for a good season  - but can’t even remember him as a derby player. Weird.

im going for Nelson. Solid as several rocks. Not a foot wrong all season 

I was sat in the east stand towards the north end - in line with our back 4 in the second half - and it was a joy to watch 

As most others have said Cashin and Foz were amazing. Mopped up everything and read the game brilliantly. 
I felt we invited more pressure than was healthy, but my god they dealt with it. Cash revving up the crowd in the last 10 mins was immense.

Felt like 32,000 voices singing was double the sound of the normal 27k. 
What a noise. What a buzz. 
cacophinous and raw. Brilliant.

At the time, really questioned bringing on Smith for Gayle when we had Waghorn on the bench but that actually gave us our best run of play for the last 20 minutes of the 1st half. Felt like we were on top. The 3 subs at half time seemed to disrupt that a bit, but apparently for precautious reasons. So if you think about it, we had 4 injury subs in the 1st half and still won the game in the 2nd. That’s the kind of thing promotion winners do. 🐏

What formation are we playing?

I don’t know how to phrase or suggest this without seeming like I’m trying to damn with faint praise or imply a negative that could still come right/bear fruit, but…

Sibley? As our Lynchpin attacking threat..
 

I started this season with that feeling I usually get with a couple of players every season and that’s: give him a run of 10 games and he’ll come good/light up/become the messiah/save the day etc

I feel like that moments passed for me for Sibs. I know he’s not had a consistent run in a specific role, but, he’s not shown enough. I kinda see why he’s not the first name on the team sheet. Whereas before I was just hoping he would grow in confidence game by game and become our mbappe or something. 
feels like the dream has died, for me at least anyway. 

however - his best (and most consistent) spell was arguably at left back and now he has a chance to light it up there

i see why we can’t just drop elder after one average game where he dropped a massive clanger. But maybe Sibley is the left back we’ve been waiting for? 
Fozzys true heir??

I dunno 

it’s Wednesday and I’m drinking rhubarb gin

Also, why does Barks always look like he needs a good steak, some broccoli and a sun bed!

Get the lad to Hoar X hall tout suite 

(and yes  the ‘tout suite is not their honeymoon suite!!)

1 minute ago, tomsdubs said:

It's poor football at times, Bird's neck must ache like a bitch watching all those long balls bypass him overhead every game. It's effective  but only when we are high on energy, soon as we drop off you can see it going wrong. The period before the equaliser we couldn't put 2 passes together for 5 mins it was genuinely awful. John-Jules was poor all game, link up play just never came off constantly rolling around for fouls that never were.

Warneball feels like it's all or nothing to me, either really effective driving teams back or total loss of control. Had an OK first half then after 2nd goal went in the levels seem to ease off and we let them right back in to it. When we finally started whipping proper crosses in things started to fall, one thing I can't stand is floated crosses. Fair play to Hourihane though he stepped up that last 10 mins and pushed us forward.

 

Yeah. Agree with that 

I don’t understand why we can’t just shake up the attacking play just sometimes and play to feet through the middle. With bird and Tommo etc we have players that could do it

not every attack- just sometimes 

I actually think Burton deserve a bit of credit

theyre certainly not the worst team we’ve played against 

elder has some responsibility for their second goal but it takes skill to score those having just come on on you’re debut 

and Seddon was a nuisance and took his goal well

they didn’t really offer much other than that - although defended well at times 

nothing more than an average league one team, but in such a bad league this year they could’ve been worse 

Someone help me out here

every game 

we play ok and some not bad stuff for first half 

normally scare the bejeezus out of the opposition full backs with pace and power

pepper them with endless crosses roughly 30% of which amount to something 

then we switch off between minutes 55 and 75

then pepper them some more 

most of the time it comes off

sometimes it doesn’t 

is that pretty much ‘warne ball’? Every game the same pattern of play?

rinse wash repeat 

is that the game plan? 

Also- Sonny Bradley having his best game in a rams shirt 

Don’t want to be damning with faint praise because that was a markedly better performance than many this season. We seemed to be coherent, attacking and defending as a unit and players were doing their individual jobs well. 
but Exeter were pap.

we should be putting a sword to teams like that. Glad we did.

Under the circumstances that was 2 feet in the right direction. Just need to maintain that now and we’ll be happier fans and picking up points. 

Has anything been said officially by RD or Ed as to how long he’s going to away from commentary for? Has he left totally or just taking time out?

Hopes he's well. 
No disrespect to Dom, but I miss him 

I’ve been pretty patient so far.

’give him til Christmas’

‘new team with injuries needs time’

but after a 2 week break with players back and fit and still we can’t pull a decent performance together I am starting to lose faith.

the fundamental point is, with the players we have, we should be really tonking very average league one teams. 
maybe not winnng every game. But certainly not losing and playing badly.

does feel a bit end of Clough/start of Mac 1 territory 

i kinda hope Warne pulls it around

but it does, right now, feel like he’s not got any answers. 

Anyone know why Ed dawes hasn’t commentated for the last few games? Has he left or just on his jollies? 

Where’s Ed Dawes been over the last 2 games? 

I often think about Mac 1. How it tainted us as fans. A perfect storm. 
Clough had assembled a squad but couldn’t get a tune out of it. SM plus Simmo and Eric Steele were a perfect mix of high end experience and old player club affinity. 
3-0 down at home (against Ipswich?) and we came back to draw 4-4 after he had a word at half time despite not actually having started the job yet. That started a run of games and a moment in time that was certainly my best experience being a rams fan since the late 90’s. 
If they scored 3 you’ll be damn sure we’ll score 4. 
I haven’t seen players play with that sense of freedom and fun before or since. They could intuit each others positioning and know their roles instinctively.

What I’d do to have a bit of that right now 

but I don’t think he’d have the same effect now we’re in League one - it’s a different kettle of crabs. And it’s not like he’s done much elsewhere. 
I’m still up for giving Warne time, despite how messy we were on Saturday. I think he deserves until Christmas - but that’s to turn things around and give us a style/formation/identity. If he can’t do that then I’d love someone to come in and do a Mac 1. But I’m not sure that’s Mac himself. 🙏🏽

Injuries aside, I just can’t see what we’re trying to do in terms of formation or strategy. We looked like busy fools. An energetic, yet tired away side, not a confident home side. Waghorn with some good service is good enough in this league to score a hatful of goals and his tenacity and engine are a real bonus.

Nelson played well and I actually thought Korey Smith had one of his better games, but along with everyone else just couldn’t string a set of passes together. 

After a 2 week break and apparently a fitness mad manager at the helm we shouldn’t be that leggy in September 

NML needs benching. He needs rest and become a threat/surprise again. He was found out half way through last season and he’s not been effective for ages. He can still do a job, but needs a refresh.

I’m not ‘warne out’. I’d give him until Chrimbo - but there has to be some sense of a plan. Maybe a bit glib but I didn’t think Pompey were all that good considering they’re one of the top clubs of the league. Even at our most bang average we still had enough to neutralize them, so a solid back four and a consistent attacking formation can get us a possible 2 pts a game with the players we’ve got in a seemingly poor league. But that needs to happen sooner rather than later.

I don’t want him to go for the basic romantic reason that it’s always nice for a homegrown talent to want to stay at the club, maybe help us get promoted, maybe one day be captain and show an attachment to the club that relates to our attachment as a fan(s).

but that’s tempered by the centre back position in league one and in Derby’s situation being something that could be filled by someone less talented/young - someone who could ‘do a job’ - for a fraction of the money we may end up getting for him and therefore makes sense. 
what I’m trying to say is a Sibley, a Knight or a Bird aren’t cheap to replace and give you something else. 
whereas I think we could replace Cashin with a older champ/journeyman CB and it not affect our promotion chances. 
🙏🏽

You’re Paul Warne, you have a gun to your head and you can only keep three of the current first team squad before you start to rebuild for next season/the clubs future. All others are up for grabs.
 

Which 3 players do you keep and why?

I’ll say; Cashin, Bird and Wildsmith

Hard not to keep Didz, but historically he’s only a one season wonder. 
Shame to see Knight go too, but thems my three. 
 

I’m originally from Burton, so I have a bit of a soft spot the Brewers. But the ‘a38 derby’ has normally been a bit of a damp squib, more important to them than for us and normally ends up with us either losing or drawing.

we have to be grateful to them for scalping some pretty big teams in the last few weeks from a points/table perspective, and they’ve clearly picked up since Jimmy Floyd left.

Of all of the last remaining games this is the one, on paper, you’d expect/need us to get a certain 3 points, but they’ve had great form recently. 

if we play like we did in the 2nd half last night then we should be ok. Mebbe if NML is leggy then swap him for Dobbin..? But stick to a stronger back line and some pacy attack play and we should be ok.

Derby 1 (Mcgoldrick 3rd minute)

Brewers 3 (all goals scored via penalty in the 7 mins extra time of the second half) 

😭

Genuine question. I simply can’t remember…

why did we ditch the formula that got us on a decent unbeaten run? Chiefly Sibley and smith either side of Cash and Foz and NML playing further up the pitch, not being asked to defend and  bird sitting in front of the back four?

even if we got found out a bit, surely that was our most cohesive team?

After the dust has settled on Mondays game, it’s difficult not to think we should broadly stick to the same starting 11/formation. I’d just change NML for Dobbin. On a different day we could’ve been 4-0 up in the first half. I know this keeps happening - that we give a team a shoeing for 45 mins but don’t make it count and then pay the price in the second half when they get wise, we get tired/frustrated and the wheels fall off. But what can we do? At some point that first half display has to turn into a healthy unassailable lead. But who knows what’s best? Certainly not me. 

I went with wildsmith. Mainly because he arrived to such a universal shrug from the fans and he looks like he could be a real asset going forwards and hasn’t really put a foot wrong. Wouldn’t be unhappy with Didz or fozzy getting it tho. 

I’ve not watched as many games as most on here, but genuine question: isn’t Barkhuizen better than Dobbin? As in end product/goals/crosses etc? Especially while we’re still trying to find our strongest 11/get back to winning ways.

feel like Toms been unlucky. And this is not a diss on Dobbin, he’s mustard. But just much better suited to coming on after 70 mins and scaring the bejeezus out of tired legged league one defenders..?

I think I’m a curse.

only been to 3 games this season.

Plymouth - we were 2-0 up then lost 2-3

Port Vale - 1-0 up then lost 1-2

and then yesterday.

if I come again I promise to leave at half time.

3 minutes ago, Kinder said:

Anyone else struggling to listen to the audio through the app? The live icon in the top right has disappeared.

Yes. Me too. Anyone else? Was just gonna go for a run listening to it ??‍♂️