Hector was the best

# We are Warne's 22...
This time, more than any other time...#

We’re on our wayyyyy, we’re on our way…

Overall he’s been an expensive luxury for us this season imo 

hes supposed to be a brilliant set piece taker and has a decent shot on him but have we really seen any of that?

Firmly on the bench for me not matter what system we play. He's a back up at this stage. it was so noticeable Saturday just how invisible he was, and told such a story that Warne still took him off despite already having brought on Smith earlier and having to sub off Ward and Barkhuizen so early.

he smashed it. thought it was a abit risky playing him in one of our biggest games of the season but he was quality 

I was going to reply to that but I lost the will to live, thinking I'd get another round of nonsense.  But seeing as you've asked it, i'd say - 
Wildsmith, Wilson, Ward, Cashin, Nelson, Thompson, Sibley (at LWB) & NML would be consistent.  Elder maybe, and at a push Hourihanne if the opposition aren't particularly athletic in the middle of the park.
I'm about as far from religious as you could possibly get but, amen...

As Dom Dietrich might say, these are “take it or leave it” stats. Below is my attempt at showing the league position of the opponents our direct competitors face on the run in:
Portsmouth- 12 2 17 3 5 11 7- average 8.14
Derby- 14 9 1 12 10 20 24- average 12.9
Bolton- 8 18 13 1 17 23 4- average 12
P’Boro- 24 10 23 6 22 13 21 3- average 15.3
Barnsley- 20 19 16 8 18 1 9 14- average 13.1
I haven’t considered home or away ties, but on the face it Portsmouth have by far the hardest run in, playing us, Bolton and Barnsley. My personal preference would be for them to beat Barnsley and Bolton, let them take the title, and it gives us more breathing space on the final day. But looking at it another way, if we can beat them on 2 April and other results go against them, might we be looking at a title push?? I would love that, for B4 if nothing else.
Peterborough have the easiest run in and face all three bottom teams, although I noticed they are one of only four teams to play midweek before the final game of the season- which for them is a massive 6-pointer against Bolton.
Our games seem to get “easier” as time goes on, whereas others are more mixed. Portsmouth finish against one the form teams of Europe (I’d guess?) in Lincoln. Let’s see if the Imps are still averaging three goals a game by then- if they are, they might well finish 4th or 5th!
Final point- our GD is 4 better than Portsmouth, 7 better than Bolton and P’Boro and 13 better than Barnsley. That could well be the half point advantage that makes a difference come 27th April…

Saturday 23rd March
Northampton vs Derby
Sixfields Stadium (KO 1500)
 
Parking: There is apparently parking available at the ground (NN5 5QA) for a fiver or at a place called Duston Mill (NN5 5FP).
Opponents Bio: Founded in 1897, Northampton Town are well known by their nickname, 'The Cobblers', a nod to the town's historic shoe-making industry. Previously based adjacent to Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, their move in 1994 now sees them play home matches at the 7,798 capacity Sixfields Stadium.
The swinging 60's was quite the decade to be a member of the Shoe Army as Northampton started the 1960/61 season in the fourth tier of the English game before three promotions and three relegations saw them back in Division 4 (ask your parents kids) in time for the 1969/70 campaign. Their one season in the top division was their only appearance at that level in their history so far. Indeed, since their relegation in 1966/67 from what is now the Championship, the Cobblers have played each of the subsequent 56 seasons in either the third or fourth tier. That run could have been broken in 1993/94 when they finished bottom of League 2 but they had a reprieve as Kidderminster Harriers' ground wasn't deemed suitable for the Football League.
This season sees Town looking to consolidate a League 1 berth after their promotion from League 2 in 2022/23 and sitting in 14th place and well clear of the drop zone they have comfortably achieved their initial target. A decent run of results could see them finish in the top half as they are one of four sides on 50 points before this weekend.
Opponents Gaffer & Dangermen: They are managed by an Australian, Jon Brady, who I know nothing about. 
Top scorers for Northampton this season are Sam Hoskins (14 goals), Kieron Bowie (eight) and Mitch Pinnock (six, plus seven assists). They also have Huddersfield loanee Tyreece Simpson and another loanee is a certain Tony Springett who played a few times for ourselves last year.
Other Titbits & Links to DCFC: Notable names associated with Saturday's opponents include former managers Herbert Chapman (of Huddersfield and Arsenal fame), Tony Barton (European Cup winning manager at Villa), Chris Wilder (when he was good), Ian Atkins (coming good again at Tranmere maybe), Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Aidy Boothroyd and Graham Carr (father of comedy twins Alan and Jimmy). Their most famous ex-player is probably former Liverpool and England full-back, Phil Neal.
Derby links include Kevin Wilson (managed them) and those who played for both clubs include John Gregory, Ian Taylor and Marco Gabbiadini.
Opponents Form: They've struggled over the past five games, picking up just two points from draws against Charlton at home and Cambridge away. They've lost two on the bounce, both without scoring, with a 1-0 defeat at home to Blackpool followed on Saturday by a 2-0 loss at Wycombe. 
Their league record at home is respectable overall, reading: W8-D5-L6.
Rams History vs Northampton: We tempted fate against Bolton by highlighting the fact that they had never won in the league at Pride Park in 10 attempts. Lets be bold again by stating that;
Derby have never lost a competitive fixture against Northampton.
It's true. Six FA Cup ties (four original and two replays) and seven League matches is the sum total of the two clubs' historical matches against each other but the Rams have managed eight wins and five draws thus far. 
In League matches only, we currently stand at W4-D3-L0 with an away record of W2-D1-L0 on their turf.
The match earlier this season at Pride Park saw Derby run out comfortable 4-0 victors in a game where we saw the best of Conor Washington and a brace by Max Bird.
Likely Rams XI: We can possibly expect a change or two. Or maybe three? Assuming we maintain the back three then Warne has to decide between a recall for Sonny Bradley after illness or sticking with Fozzy. I'd be amazed if he didn't stay with Craig Maldini tbh. 
There are obvious doubts over those withdrawn against Bolton. Gayle is surely out and Barkhuizen and Ward are possibly struggling too. The gaffer also needs to make a decision on Hourihane as we look better with either Smith or Thompson in the middle (or both ideally for me) alongside Ebou Adams who must surely be our transfer target #1 for the summer. 
A return to the 18 for Conor Washington (MotM in the reverse fixture) would be welcome.
Other Notable Fixtures: None. Certainly not as far as those chasing automatic promotion is concerned. We are the only one of the five involved in that battle for a top two finish to be playing so it's a perfect opportunity to apply pressure on those now playing catch up with us. Seven points with a game in hand has to seem psychologically further away for Bolton than the current four points and equal games played so hopefully we can turn that screw.
COYR
 

I was thinking about this earlier.  With no midweek games I’d like to think we can get pretty close to a sellout.  The Blackpool game might be tricky as it’s Good Friday and quite a few might be away on holiday.  It would be great if we can get 29k - 30k for the 3.
It was spine tingling yesterday, a brilliant atmosphere throughout. Let’s make every game now a “Black n White” game.  The crowd can be so important in helping us win these last 3 home games that might make the difference between autos and play-offs 🐏.

Wildsmith's worldie first half save and a really good one in the second half cemented our victory yesterday. Can't think of a better save I have seen by any keeper since PP opened. That save could be so pivotal in our run in. Not the best of matches football wise but for tension, atmosphere and downright determination it was right up there. Crowd were magnificent and credit to Bolton fans generating to what was so much noise. Keep it up my beautiful Rams. Please don't get complacent at Northampton now. Seven more. Just seven more matches. It's in our hands. From a very happy and still hoarse Rams fan. 

Such a big win. I was gutted that I couldn't be there due to a family commitment but I kept checking the score. It didn't matter how we won but that we won. Pride Park sounded amazing from the videos going around on social media and I hope we can replicate that kind of noise for the last few games of the season. Given what a horrid time we've been through the past 5 years I don't think anyone can deny we deserve a bit of glory. I was absolute anti-warne at the start of the season and I'm still unconvinced he's the man for us in the next tier. But you've got to feel glad for the bloke who's now clearly loving his time here. I really feel that we'll get across the finish line into the autos now even if we have a slight dip. We've got a bit of leg room so hopefully we can make the most of it!

Seriously do you go to games? If you do are you this negative at those games? If you are then take your support elsewhere, we don’t need “supporters” like you. There are negative posters on here but most are reasoned in their views or they do give praise when it’s due. Your comments are beyond negative almost to the point where I’d question if the team you really support wears red and plays about 15 miles east of Derby. 

WE ARE ACTUALLY SECOND IN THE LEAGUE
I’ve had plenty of conversations/disagreements on the forum with people who don’t rate the manager and would like a change but I at least know they’re Derby fans wanting the best for their club…At this point I’m done dancing round the fact and am calling it plainly, I don’t think you’re a Derby fan at all. You have posted this rhetoric about “luck” and “deserved” for more than a few weeks now, downplaying any and all results we have achieved. I don’t think I’ve ever read a constructive or positive post from you. 

After 39 games we have more points than 22 other sides, have scored more goals than 20 other sides in the league, have conceded less goals than  22 other sides in this league, and have a better goal difference than all the 23 other sides in the league… at some point all of that has to indicate we deserve to be where we are even if there’s been good and bad luck along the way. 

Right - now you’ve done condescending somebody who was there as he is every match I’ll refer you to xG which showed us having a higher xG.
 
They had that shocking miss from the header - we had Curtis miss a free header from 8 yards in between the posts. 
They had that shot Wildsmith saved well. We had our goal. 
 
Chances were few and far between. Other than their chance in the first half and the last 2 minutes of injury time we were completely comfortable until half time despite losing our focal point. 
 
They played a better brand of football and on another day they take one of their two big chances and we find it tough. On another day we score the header from Curtis and it puts more pressure on them. 
 
At the end of the day they had to bring the game to us. A draw wouldn’t have cut the mustard for them whereas a draw would have been fine for us. 
 
Look back at my previous posts since about November 2022 to find my thoughts on our performances under Warne. Im certainly not a happy clapper. Im vocally critical but we did an absolute number on Bolton yesterday. 

That particular “hitting the bar” wasn’t as close as you can get to a goal. It bounced on the top of the bar so it wasn’t heading into the goal. 

What would bring you joy in football? It appears beating a promotion rival in what was essentially an evenly balanced game isn’t the answer. Here’s how I saw it as someone who likes seeing their team win football Matches, with some of the stats I can find online to support my view…

- The team we all (supposedly) support showed grit and determination to earn a key result yesterday, big plus for me there.

- The possession stats are fairly even (44% to us 56% to them) which backs up what I saw during the game, they had spells with the ball and we had spells with the ball.
- The attempts on goal, well we had 10 shots with 3 on target and they had 6 shots with 3 on target, so they didn’t create massively more than we did in terms of attempts which tallies with what I saw yesterday.

- 6 corners and 1 yellow card a piece, pretty balanced there.
- we made a total of 280 passes with 62% accuracy, they made a total of 385 with 67% accuracy so they won there…I did however notice our players intentionally standing off their defence and allowing them to have the ball which seems a tactical decision to allow them the ball, so my simple observation there is we allowed them to pass it more and they didn’t do much with it…
- the stats I’ve found say we had 1 big chance each and missed 1 big chance each…. Balanced again.
- we had 3 blocked shots, they had 1. Our keeper made 3 saves, theirs made 2. So while our keeper was busier they blocked some of our efforts which could have resulted in their keeper making more saves…
- we made 9 interceptions to their 3 and 32 clearances to their 25, backing up the work our defence did to keep them out.
- we scored 1 goal, they score 0.
So in summary, as I thought yesterday and still today having looked over the numbers, it was a balanced game between two teams at this level, both had chances, both defended well, each side approached the game slightly different to the other and we scored from a set piece to win…. Hooray! 

Payback's a bitch for the absolute daylight robbery we suffered at the hands of your bunch of cheating scumbags and one-eyed match officials earlier in the season.

Everyone knows we’re more of an away team. A record equalling 12 wins (so far) attests to that. 
it’s about time we had some good fortune. I wouldn’t agree Waghorn ‘handled’ the ball. It brushed between his hand and his leg. Hardly intentional! 
If we think back to the Sheffield Wednesday match, last game of the season; a really soft penalty given against Curtis Davies, yet at the same end Fozzy was literally thrown to the ground at a corner. No pen, obviously. 
Then the refs blunder at Bolton. 
Yes, it is time some things went our way. 

I don’t think Bolton were miles better than us. The football they play is a lot easier on the eye and is nice to watch as they move it around waiting for space to exploit but I think we were solid and had it not been for the odd poor touch here and there we’d have done a lot more on the counter attack. 
 
Anyway players need to forget it and focus straight on to the next match. Only Derby playing on Saturday out of the mini league of 5 at the top. Psychologically could be massive heading into the busy Easter period 7 points ahead of second and 2 points off top with superior goal difference. It turns the heat up on everybody around us when they’re cramming more games into a shorter time frame. We have to back yesterday up with a result at Northampton. 

It’s a squad game, and as much as there are games when Hourihane has been less effective, he’s also played a key role in us winning games and being where we are currently. He’s still got something to offer on and off the pitch, it’s down to Warne to determine if and when to use that, yesterday he showed awareness by swapping Hourihane out for Thompson’s energy, something he discussed post match.
 
In my view we will need all the available players over the coming weeks to get us over the line, then I suspect we’ll part ways with Hourihane in the summer with a “thanks for everything”.

Whatever the system there is no excuse for the two early instances he was brushed of the ball, or the amount of time he spends moving
around to areas where he has little effect. Korey Smith has been impressive since he came back from injury.

I think Hourihane has qualities that we just can't seem to benefit from in this system. The amount of times he drifted out wide yesterday to literally stand and watch Bolton play their way through the huge gaps in midfield was frustrating. He definitely needs at least two bodies in there doing his work for him, but at this stage of his career it's debatable whether it's worth that investment.
He's a bit like a vintage rolls royce. Nice to have, but eventually you'll get sick of the loops you have to jump through to keep it going. 

The effort yesterday to keep the ball out of our net was an absolute thing of beauty. 

The desire to keep them out and to limit them with very few clear cut chances, 😍
Great choice to bring on the extra midfielder when Gayle went off. 

Well done Derby
🐏

Sheehan drove me to distraction. Constantly fouling Adams off the ball, moaning at the ref, claiming throws that were even disputable. Huge credit to Ebou who never lost his cool and just seemed to enjoy the 1 v 1 battle