Rample

Other than Robinson, the rest of the U21s are unlikely to get EFL loans so we can still send them out to the National League (or lower) later in the season. The club will be reluctant to weaken the U21 too much. Whilst results haven't improved as much as we'd have liked, performances have improved considerably. We've been undeservedly beaten in a few games, including agaisnt Forest the other night - it took 2 red cards and an injury time goal for them to beat us. We haven't been beaten by more than a single goal since September, and that was the last of only 3.

The only way I see this happeneing is if we do a straight swap with Fornah, with them having enough time in to get loan cover in for CF.
Unrelated, but I didn't realise how small their squad was. Outside of their first 11, they have Clarke-Harris who has played a bit part role this season, a winger who comes on when Mason-Clarke or Poku need a breather, and a backup kepper. They also have a CB who hasn't started since September (following 7 goals being conceded in 2 games). The rest of their squad has played a total of 622 minutes between them. If they don't suffer from fatigue in the 2nd half of the season, they'll surely pick up a couple of injuries with results dropping off.

Wilson and Adams were team mates at Forest Green the season they got promoted to league one.
Both played 40+ games and got championship moves in the following summer. I hope he can be another Wilson for us.

Wilson and Adams were team mates at Forest Green the season they got promoted to league one.
Both played 40+ games and got championship moves in the following summer. I hope he can be another Wilson for us.

That's the kind of personality which will lift the team when on a bad run. It's clear how excited he is to have joined us and you know he'll try his best when out on the field.

Wilson and Adams were team mates at Forest Green the season they got promoted to league one.
Both played 40+ games and got championship moves in the following summer. I hope he can be another Wilson for us.

Wilson and Adams were team mates at Forest Green the season they got promoted to league one.
Both played 40+ games and got championship moves in the following summer. I hope he can be another Wilson for us.

We simply don't have the budget to shop for players who come without a level of risk.
Wilson was also a sick note, but he's been one of the stand out players this season.

First thing I read was "good at breaking up play and switching defence to attack."
Then everything else was "deadwood", "get rid", "not good enough but tries hard."
Its another cut-price gamble, just like Wilson, Washington, Fornah etc. It might or might not work, but it is at least trying to address a need, and if he's all we can get (same with a Gregory) then at least its something. Its also temporary.
You'd imagine Warne scouted him for Rotherham at some point and its based on that.
Lets be glad who we've kept (touch wood), that we've added a couple of bodies to see us through.

Lee Gregory would be fine if there is nothing else we can get in. He's experienced, will be a handful and I'd fancy him to chip in with a few goals.
What annoys me is I am reading some fans on twitter using this as a stick to beat Warne with. "I'm worried about Warne and our transfer policy if this is what we're doing"
Do you think if we sat Paul Warne in a room he'd say that Lee Gregory was his number one target and one he has always wanted?
No he wouldn't. Ideally he'd want a 24-27 year old proven league one striker who's ready to go and good enough to step up to the championship but if there are any available then 1. They aren't going to be sold and 2. If they were, we can't afford them. At all.
It's like our fans have seen that we have next to nothing, had to dip into a loan pot for CBT and are just ignoring that. 
If Gregory comes in he'll get my support, he's a stop gap for the season. Gives us an option. Is he what I want? No. He's not. But he might be the best we can get given our budget.
I've seen people say they'll be livid if we sign Gregory and we should have kept Brown. Livid? If be more livid if we didn't bring someone in.
Brown is nowhere near ready yet. Thrusting a young player in early can ruin them. 
I remember when we got linked with Jordan Rhodes and people were kicking off then. He's second top goalscorer now.
But alas, it's all Warnes fault. Warnes fault we've got no money, Warnes fault our midfield is poor when half of them are out injured. 

Not sure beggars can be choosers at this stage, we need back up for Collins at least and Warne knows that. Gregory knows the fanbase and expectations and all that jazz Warne thinks is important, moreso than a young loanee.
Yes it would be nice to have a Pesch type player that offers a big man little man combo with complimenting skills, but we do have players who can play off Collins if needs be. What we don't have in our squad or if Collins is missing (that suspension can't be far off) is more of a target man. 
I want Smith and I think because he has history with Warne he'd be a better fit for hitting the ground running.
Reckon we'll find a way to get Smith in on a permanent tomorrow. That would stop the wages proportion and loan fee issue. Taking over his contract for 18 months would suit all parties I'd expect.
Guess we'll see. 

Not sure beggars can be choosers at this stage, we need back up for Collins at least and Warne knows that. Gregory knows the fanbase and expectations and all that jazz Warne thinks is important, moreso than a young loanee.
Yes it would be nice to have a Pesch type player that offers a big man little man combo with complimenting skills, but we do have players who can play off Collins if needs be. What we don't have in our squad or if Collins is missing (that suspension can't be far off) is more of a target man. 
I want Smith and I think because he has history with Warne he'd be a better fit for hitting the ground running.
Reckon we'll find a way to get Smith in on a permanent tomorrow. That would stop the wages proportion and loan fee issue. Taking over his contract for 18 months would suit all parties I'd expect.
Guess we'll see. 

31Vickers                      5.5.  Could be more more commanding and organise his defence, in general I think Wildsmith inspires more confidence and I'd like him back in next game.
2Wilson                         6. Be glad when Nyambe's back from a defensive standpoint too. I like Wilson a lot, but his strengths are going forward and should really be considered a winger when this covering spell is over. Should dribble a few inches further from the touchline though as seemingly every match he carries the ball out at least once. Played a lot after a long time out so no wonder he's tired.
5Bradley                       6. Seems to have found his feet a bit more of late, I don't get the same sense of dread I previously did when he started or comes on
35Nelson                      6. Decent, I guess its hard to maintain his recent levels when there is chaos next to and in front of him.
6Cashin                        5. Some silly errors, with just a few moments of his usual self mixed in. Won't be long before people start speculating there's something going on behind the scenes, but even if so its not like him to be affected by anything. 
20Elder                         7.5. More like the player I was expecting when we signed him. Some good defensive work especially covering for others, and effort going the other way
4Hourihane                  5. This midfield pairing just doesn't work, can't help thinking with his ability on the edge of the opposition box he should be more advanced, and someone with legs like Thompson or a player with bite should be shielding the defence.
23Ward                        5. Pedestrian. Going to find it very hard to get back in to the team now CBT has signed and Wilson has shown himself to be a decent winger. Provides something different to our other 'more 1 on 1' wingers and think there may be games he could be useful, but he's going to have to work miracles in any cameos to stay here long term. Like Bradley he seems a square peg for anything other than 3 at the back
8Bird                            4. Nothing came off for him, tried a few bits early on but then disappeared. Frustrating as we know what he can do, but not utilised correctly
7Barkhuizen                5. Typical Barkhuizen really, has flashes but is inconsistent not just from game to game but also from attack to attack. Pace and ability to finish should see him as a very good player at this level but has had a run of games and failed to grab his opportunites, imagine his starts will be reduced after CBT's arrival.
27Blackett-Taylor       5.5. A couple of moments that gave glimpses of what he can bring but clearly not up to speed with his team-mates; in a few weeks the overlap by Elder and cross-field ball to NML might well be more effective.
16Thompson               5.5. Energetic and think he should be starting, but not in an advanced role.
17Sibley                       5.5. Did okay, got on the ball and was involved both sides of the half way line, wasn't the difference maker in attack which I think people expect him to be every week, but was more involved and no worse than others.
11Méndez-Laing         5. Hopefully going forward we can be less of a one man team, if he's not on his game then we lack a cutting edge. Tired, a dip in confidence or struggling due to poor performances around him? Not his night either way.
9Collins                       4.5. Not a good game, but at least he tried. Little support/ammunition and clumsy with the ball when he got it. Aided the defence and midfield a little.
19John-Jules              4.5. Not sure what role he was supposed to be playing. I expected him to go up top when Collins came on but spent most of it in the right channel. Not making the impact expected at the moment but another who has it in his locker somewhere to be a real threat down here. Not sure how bad his hamstring injury is but you have to assume he's going to take a while to get fit and build back up, and I'm not sure we'll see the best of as a Ram now because of it.
Hopefully a few changes for the next game - WIldsmith, CBT, and if we're lucky something/someone else, and it might just spark us off a bit. Last few games have been almost as poor as those before our recent run. During that run we got results playing below the acceptable level due to the odd form player, and we need to start seeing more than just 1 or 2 players have good performances in the same match. We'll pick up points regardless but not enough to stay in contention
Rams TV.  

It's great to finally get this one over the line, whether he'll be an improvement on what we already have, remains to be seen.
More importantly, he takes the pressure off NML somewhat, we tend to rely on him too much and at times he seems to have been overworked. Now, we can afford to use NML more effectively, resting him when needed and together with the other wide players, maintain 90+ minutes of pressure on opposing fullbacks.

"Owing to a breach in the maximum permitted number of hyphens in a first-team squad......."

Disappointed Robinson didn't make the bench. Weston too, and maybe Cox.
Could have left Hourihane and Mendez-Laing out completely to make some room.
Almost a little surprised Cruz Allen wasn't on the bench just to boost his profile.

Considering how important Collins is I would have hoped we would have given the forward role to one of the youngsters for this game 

They dropped an atomic bomb there and did £23 worth of damage😂

I've said it before, (on the match thread).
Bird would look ten times the player in a good side, we're not in division three because we're a good side!

Pretty shocking really, given the side we put out, and the start we had, but shouldn't we be putting 2 up front against lower league teams?
Playing devils advocate, is it telling that Warne only signed two of the players that started tonight?
Notably he didn't sign any of our centre mids or forwards. I know he brought a number of players in this summer but was he hamstrung filling gaps and taking gambles rather than being able to stamp his style on the team.
It's glaringly apparent now that he inherited a team so far away from his preferred design, with no real means to change it, and as such he was the admitedly the wrong appointment. We don't have the means to shuffle the pack sufficiently in January so any chance of top 6 will be a matter of other sides failings and a bit of luck.
Could another manager be achieving a lot more with these players? Likely so. Could someone come in now and give us a greater shot at promotion and maybe keeping a couple of the players we want to? The switch has flipped in me and I'm now starting to think so.
With an inevitable stampede leaving in summer, we either seriously get our sh*t together now, identify and bring in exactly the players he needs to play Warneball - the midfield workhorses, some towering defenders, the right sort of centre forwards etc. If we aren't planning for that then there is no point keeping with him at all because thats all he can play effectively.
 
 

bit like bringing David Cameron back into the cabinet ......oh wait A minute

To me, that looks like a team that were feeling all billy big b******* after beating Barnsley comfortably
Crewe at home on a Tuesday probably looked like a doddle to them and I do wonder if some of the current squad think they’re above our current fixture list. The amount of no shows against teams we should be beating can’t all be down to Warne. We have a lot of players who’ve played at the level above, are they hungry enough?
Think Warne is to blame for not rotating, we’re not winning the cup but you need to give youngsters opportunities to play. Now it’s just the ‘no pot to piss in cup’ left for the youngsters to get game time in because Warne admittedly seems married to his senior pros, which may be part of the larger problem
How he’s not given Weston and at least one of the other youngsters a start is beyond me

However, I think there is a massive focus on Warne which is letting the players get away with murder. As a group they need to come together and stop this happening so regularly, we really need a run of results here.
Five more games before Christmas, all against teams lower than us in the table. Can this manager and team get themselves up for these? You’d like to see us get 10 points from those as a minimum, it’s the time of year you start studying the table and the aim should be to get within touching distance of that top three of Bolton, Oxford and Pompey. Getting clear of Barnsley, Stevenage and Pboro goes without saying, we need to be buried in that top six ASAP
Dreading the January instability, Cashin and Bird leaving could be disastrous if we’re not careful

Had to deploy this gif too many times already this season!

I so wanted my first contribution to a match thread to be positive, but after watching that tonight the best I can do is, err, it wasn't great! Sorry!