Carl Sagan

12 hours ago, ariotofmyown said:

Come on Grandad, which gigs are you going too?! Fair play if you crowd surfing though.

I refer you to the gig-going thread!

Wildsmith 7

Knight 8

Davies 7

Cashin 7.5

Roberts 6.5

Smith 6.5

Bird 6.5

Hourihane 7

NML 7.5

Collins 6.5

Barkhuzen 6.5

Subs

Sibley 8

Thompson 6

1 hour ago, jono said:

It is ridiculous. The mass and drag coefficient of a plastic bottle top would make it virtually impossible to throw to the touch line, never mind hit a player without some hugely complex apparatus or explosive device. Even a clever catapult would struggle. There’s just too much drag. You can wander in to the ground with a pocket full of coins that are far more dangerous. So .. why do they do it ? Have I missed something ? I simply wouldn’t  buy water in the ground and suspect I am not alone. It’s lost revenue for the club for no gain at all. 
y dinner, hence this daft post ?

You're right to call these absurdities out. Otherwise we call accept things just getting gradually worse because of these nonsense ideas someone with too much time on their hands has thought up. Meaning, ridiculously, I nowadays always bring spare bottle tops to games or gigs so I can put one on when the jobsworths have removed it.

An even game until Louie Sibley came on after 60 minutes. This isn't entirely down to him, but he was the key influence on the match. 

Looking at the Oxford forum, the comment was "In the end it was won and lost by the subs. Their fresh-leggef 17 was full of clever running, just when we were tiring but didn't interfere with their shape. Pretty much won them the game." 

Mendez-Laing was brilliant getting in down the right but never did anything with it. Hopefully that will change and his final ball will improve. Sibbo obviously has a reputation so as soon as he came on the Oxford players were kicking and pushing him, but he let his football do the talking. Despite zero protection from the ref. With three or four players around him on the edge of their box he calmly and cleverly found Hourihane in the space that had been created, and it was an excellent first touch then finish from the Irishman. 

As so many of us have said, build the team around Sibley and we'll have a good season and always carry a threat. I'm so pleased he's clearly shown Rosenior what we're missing and what he brings, but sadly I expect he'll be sub again against Charlton. Hope I'm wrong. 

Fantastic to open with a win. If we could bag 3 points on Saturday we have real momentum. 

Mendez-Laing is used to playing ad a right wing back. I can't understand why we don't start him there and move Knight into the heart of midfield. 

But come on you Rams. I'm on holiday in Bulgaria, but thank goodness for RamsTV. 

47 minutes ago, David said:

Regardless of what happens today, I just don’t want to see us play with 2 DM’s.

The reality is, were one of the bigger to beat teams and we do have some real quality for this division, wouldn’t be surprised to see most teams sit back and try to hit us on the counter directly. Accepting they will only have a few chances and try to make the most of them. 

I just want to see positive football, on the front foot, be attacking and exciting team to watch. Possession stats don’t win you games.  

Sadly I'll be amazed if we don't. But I'll be very happy to be amazed!

It's like Glastonbury on the website for Charlton tickets this morning. Trying to nab tickets before they disappear and now am in limbo as I've no idea if payment was processed or not. Good to see there's the demand!

His wages will be massive so it must have been a huge dilemma for the club. If he's only going to Brum and they're not paying his full wages, that shows we're pretty desperate to get a lot of his wage off the monthly outgoings. 

But a terrible move for Bielik. For his World Cup hopes I feel he'd be better starring at the top of League One than in the mire at the foot of the Championship with Brum. Presumably it was the only option. 

I feel for the club in terms of schedules, trying to get this all sorted with coming out of administration so late and then such a crazy early start to the season. Plenty of folk I know have bought single tickets rather than sit together as that's all that's currently on the site. I presume 1-2k seats (many of them decent and some together) will become available on Saturday morning for those who can print at home. So we'll run out of time for an opening day sellout, but it will still be a tremendous attendance. 

I don't think Knight should stay at Derby as a right back. I posted a lineup in the Oxford thread where we could use him as the box-to-box midfielder he should be, but I don't see Rosenior ever doing it.

Wildsmith

Mendez-Laing       Davies      Cashin       Roberts

Bird

Sibley     Knight     Hourihane

Collins     Barkhuizen

On 26/07/2022 at 11:34, Jubbs said:

Find it really interesting how different some predictions are. So far I've seen:

Fivethirtyeight: 1st
NTTPod: 6th
Betfair/Gabriel Sutton: 15th(!!!)

I'd be happy with play-offs, but 15th is a bold prediction.

Normally I'm a blind optimist but going into the new campaign I feel pre-season foreshadows a missed opportunity. We had the chance for a fresh start but Rosenior has us playing same old, same old, not using our players as he should and setting us up so as not to create chances. As things stand, my prediction would be 12-15th. We will continue to concede crazy goals by a misplaced determination to always play out from the back, but we'll only score rarely because if we beat the press we'll simply turn backwards and invite the press back on, and try to play out from the back again.

A third division team should not be playing short goalkicks across its own six-yard area to their own keeper, with grinning opposition forwards lined up on the edge of the box, waiting to charge. End of.

My team (McGoldrick not fit):

Wildsmith

Mendez-Laing       Davies      Cashin       Roberts

Bird

Sibley     Knight     Hourihane

Collins     Barkhuizen

Rosenior’s team (McGoldrick not fit):

Wildsmith

Knight      Chester      Davies      Roberts

Bird    Smith

Hourihane

Mendez-Laing         Collins         Barkhuizen

Across pre-season I see no significant change in tactics from last year. I had been hopeful, but it shouldn't be a surprise given Rosenior did the majority of last season's coaching. 

If we don't change we won't score goals and will likely finish lower mid-table. I was pleased Rooney left because, despite being such tremendous a leader of men in our hour of need, the style of play was both negative and poorly conceived, and had to change. I have never seen a team consistently create so few chances. And to be set up to play that way. Not to mention being instructed to continually put ourselves under pressure, to no benefit whatsoever.

At least we still have a club to support, but I'm pessimistic about the new campaign.

39 minutes ago, jameso said:

Can't disagree with most of what you wrote there (or even half of this sentence!) but - genuine question: are you discounting the Smith chance from Robertson's setup, and the Cashin header?

Cheers. I thought about counting the Cashin header as a proper chance but the header was actually from a long way out. Yes it was almost a goal, but for a good clearance, but I suppose I'm thinking about the sort of moment when you would expect someone to score. I don't actually remember Smith having a chance in the first half, but that's likely the vino!

Good goal in the second half from Robertson and Everton's looked lively. But my frustration is we're effectively playing with 6 at the back (not counting the keeper), the way Thompson and Smith join the centre halves in the middle of defence and collect the ball, before playing it sideways or back. With only 4 players in the entire team not playing in defence, it's no wonder we don't create much.

Glad I spent the fiver as it goes to the club and it's interesting to see how this lot do. Not very well it turns out. Again we've not created a single proper chance because of the way we play. Oduroh has really struggled and given the ball away loads. Is it the pitch that he's never encountered coming up through the Man City academy? But Thompson too. And Darren Robinson isn't in the game at all and might as well not be on the pitch. 

It would probably be better if he wasn't as then we'd maybe have Sibley in midfield, which we really need. Sibbo has been head and shoulders the best player on the pitch. Strong, skillful, always looking forward. Always looking to use the ball in a positive way. But playing too high up the pitch is a waste of his talents. 

Cashin is a proper defender. I would have him as well as Sibbo in the starting lineup. 

We can't cope with their aerial power in the box, and we're not stopping the crosses coming in. 1-0 to Alfreton at HT.

Sloppy defending, I think from all of Stearman, Cashin and Loach. The first goal Alfreton have scored in all their pre-season. Lots of sloppiness from Thompson too. On the plus side Robertson on trial, has done well on the right wing. Stretton not looking very sharp.

Both teams should have had penalties earlier on. Thompson (who is only looking to play backwards) played a horrible sloppy ball unnecessarily backwards towards Stearman in our box but it was miles too short and the forward snuck in to knock it past the Steargoat who brought him down, but nothing given. Later, an almost identical mistimed challenge saw Robertson brought down but the ref gave a freekick on the edge of their box when it was a yard inside.

Pitch isn't great but I imagine we are going to have to get used to that this season. We really need to seize control of the match and assert ourselves.

Hope Stretton and Sibley are able to seize the chance to show what they can do together. Looking forward to the game.

3 hours ago, Jimbo Ram said:

Knight out wide ? 

I intended it to be a really fluid, vibrant, mobile midfield, constantly rotating positions so you would see all four players all across it at different times. One reason we rarely create chances is positionally we're far too static.

Only a week to go. I would probably pick:

Wildsmith

Oduroh        Davies       Cashin        Forsyth

Knight        Bird            Sibley            Hourihane

Collins        Barkhuizen

Subs: Loach, Roberts, Chester, Thompson, Smith, Mendez-Laing, Stretton

Assumptions: Fozzy will be given a contract, McGoldrick will still be injured, Bielik won't be playing for whatever reason and we won't be starting any new players who might come in over the next few days. Having brought Chester and Roberts in, Stearman misses out.

Formation: fluid! But we will need to threaten, create chances, have an attacking mindset and for that reason Sibley would be in my starting 11 for the first 10 games of the season to give him a proper chance to show the world what he can do at the heart of our midfield. Which is to potentially set this division on fire. Without his midfield influence and drive between midfield and attack, I don't see how we will create a lot of chances as a team. 

Rosenior will have Sibley on the bench (and only bring him on late in the game as a striker or winger where he will be ineffective), Knight at right back (where he will be ineffective) and bring Mendez-Laing in.

We can make 5 substitutions this season and this will be important. We should be making at least 2 by about the hour mark, probably Mendez-Laing and Smith in my set up. For Rosenior he will likely do what he did against Leicester and bring Oduroh on to move Knight into his natural midfield position.

Sibbo and Fozzy on. Roberts and Barhuizen off.

Fantastic move and goal from Barhuizen. 1-1!

Lovely scooped crossfield pass, I think from Knight, which Barkhuizen dummied letting it run to Hourihane on the left wing who crossed it first time to Barks who volleyed first time, hard and low past the keeper.

Collins actually through though but still a fair way from goal, and hauled down by Vestergaard. Lino gives Leicester the freekick! Shades of last season with the officiating.

Smith off.  Knight into midfield. Oduroh at RB.

A fantastic Leicester goal from Iheanacho. Nothing that could be done about it. Won't face that sort of quality most weeks. 0-1

I don't like Knight at RB because he never has the beating of his man, so he always turns around and passes back, normally to Wildsmith. It's not his fault - he's a solid box-to-box midfielder.

We've played perfectly OK and mainly contained them but we have never looked like scoring. I don't think we've created a chance except one deflected shot on the edge of the area from Barkhuizen. It's worryingly the same style as last season.

Our defense and midfield don't seem to understand the point of "risk/reward" football in that we are always taking risks but we never take the opportunity for the reward. The intention should be to draw opponents on, beat them either taking the ball round them or passing through them, and then you have more players than them upfield and lots of space to be able to charge forward at breakneck speed and create an opportunity before the rest of the opposition can get back into position to defend. Once you break the line you should never stop going forward.

Sadly we take all these risks to break the line, but once we've done it our players stop, turn around and pass backwards where there's more space because the opponents are desperately charging back, meaning the opposition can then press us again and we can take more crazy risks.

This is why we never create chances. This is why to have any hope of getting promotion we have to change the way we play.