YorkshireRam

You get a proper rage boner for Collins don't you? 😂

You're going to have to explain that last bit to me as I'm genuinely struggling. Warne makes him look average, yet he's our best player... eh? My take is that he's not our best player, but he probably has the highest ceiling due to his technical ability. I'd go so far as to say he's not even in our top 3 players- NML, Cashin, Nelson all rank above this season. My only criticism of Max ties into this actually, and that is that he very rarely EVER looks the best player on the pitch. Northampton (H) this season I would argue was one of the only games I can remember with this being the case. However under Warne, he's currently having his most productive season in front of goal to date, whilst also demonstrating he has the capacity to be versatile and play a multitude of central midfield positions- his ability as an #8/10 had been untested prior to this season. He's shown improved dribbling ability and developed a more effective final ball, reflected in his stats. With 4 goals, 6 assists, I'm struggling to see how it could be argued Warne hasn't improved his attacking prowess?

Do you really think Wilson was told to let his man run straight round him for their goal? Because if not, then I really can't see your point. Footballers really don't just 'do what they're told', it's a naturally intuitive game. Mistakes happen, that's why we drew on Saturday. Warne has subsequently come out and said he asked them to push for a second, when we actually sat back and invited pressure. So he's literally agreeing saying he'd coached them not to ''switch the tap off'' and you're still blaming him entirely... Ideally we don't take Nyambe off, he probably blocks the wide man and we win 1-0. But we made a decision to rest a player carrying a knock and this sub caused initial confusion which unfortunately led to their goal. It was frustrating, and undeserved for them, but that's football.

One small positive for me was the welcome addition of some one-touch football through the middle of the pitch. Primarily facilitated by Bird and Adams, there was 2/3 moments where we passed through their midfield with precision and looked very dangerous. If we can expand on this in the coming games, we'll have a much more varied offense, which can only serve us well. Add to that: we've got one of the best wingers in the league to integrate into the side, Adams gelling into the midfield further, and our best defender on the ball to return tomorrow. If we can put all the pieces together, there's no reason we can't go on another strong run of results and re\ally cement our league position- the next 2 games are crucial though!

Except Warne said in his post-match presser he told the team to push for a 2nd goal. If the players began to play with trepidation at fear of conceding and this is all after half-time, what exactly is Warne supposed to do? In fairness, you could even argue his subs were attacking- which has been the main criticism of Warne from Saturday and you're saying the exact opposite... This is the type of comment that irks me, because I cannot see how you've possibly completely absolved the players of responsibility there, and just blamed Warne. It makes no sense...?

Oh missed that. Suppose there's still Barks, Wilson, and maybe even Ward as wingers if we want to play a back 4, or we could just use Barks up-top in a 2.

If that's the case I'm not expecting him to be in the squad. Big chance for CBT to impress, maybe Wilson on the other side now Nyambe's back if we're playing with wingers?

Except this isn't a new thing... The home atmosphere has been dogsh!t for a while now, and I chalk it up to toxic expectation. I remember it really starting in 14/15, the first season people started assuming we'd finish top 2. It seemingly changed from unconditional support, to entirely conditional. The team has to do something to warrant cheering, rather than generating atmosphere to gee the players on. I find it all very entitled. It's embarrassing when we come across as the fanbase that thinks they're better than they are. We should have a 'we're in league 1 so better roll our sleeves up and muck in'' whereas instead everyone is expecting champagne football and constant wins, and then literally boo'ing if we dare to have a blip... I think that reflects more poorly on our fanbase, than it does in any way on Warne or his football.

RoyMac5 playing 4D chess here

Ah so the anti-Warne talk was just to try and oust him to get Neil a job closer to home. It all makes sense now!

I've speculated before I suspect it's the confidence thing of how the injury occurred, but also the impact on his knees when landing. Double those up and it'd make sense why he's not leaping care-free for every header?

Worth noting as well Gayle was far better than Rhodes ever was, even at his prime. Age has always been a concern with these type of signings for me, but given this is the definition of a short-term signing, I think Gayle is about the best that's on offer- probably why it's maybe unrealistic to expect him to end up here?

I've always said, Barton isn't unintelligent, he's just a genuinely nasty piece of work. As others have said, the type of person I'd have been ashamed to have had playing for my club. This is the guy who stubbed a lit cigar in a youth player's eyelid, nearly blinding him. I don't really care if he occasionally makes valid points (even a broken clock etc.), we should be actively pushing for his removal from the game, as due to his transgressions, he's not a credible voice of authority on anything, oh except bigotry.

I really didn't have RoyMac5 'trolling' on my 2024 bingo card but here we are 😂

An accurate summary of our current striking options:

Unfortunately you can't prove that. Clowes may have instructed him that promotion was the priority, even at the short-term expense of the academy. Not sure I'm comfortable making big assertions like this without a shred of evidence either way. Not saying you're wrong but this kinda thing is so far behind closed doors that we really don't know.

I still don't get judging Warne on youth though. It seems to me Warne was recruited as a promotion specialist, his transfer strategy at Rotherham worked in getting them promoted and sometimes keeping them there, so he's using the same methodology here. If he's prioritising promotion over youth progression then I'm not going to criticise his recruitment patterns if it ends up in achieving this goal- which it still may. If he doesn't achieve it though, I suspect I'll largely agree with your sentiment. So much hinges on promotion this season.

Peterborough also never managed to stay up in the Championship... Surely it could then be argued Warne's strategy was more successful in regards to elevating the club's league position? Peterborough have a business model based around cashing in on their talent when they peak in value, but this does seem to limit their overall progression as a team as they can never build around their star players. The Brentford/Brighton-type models are the ones we'd ideally want to emulate, but they require investing in players before they're ready which requires serious money, and why no teams at his level can really do it. I think Warne's integration of our youth is probably the bit to be concerned about, if anything, rather than age profile of the transfers?

Given Rotherham's limited financial capacity, and the disparity between the quality of our respective academies, straight comparisons aren't necessarily fair given these differences. Players under 23 tend to be expensive to sign due to value added for potential; for a team constantly scrapping to keep its head above water, it makes sense they targeted players in their prime rather than youngsters that need developing before hitting their stride?

I'd give Gayle a 6 month deal. Solid backup and will probably still have a bit of class about him, also even if Collo stays fit and he barely features, he's got great experience for the younger lads to learn off.

Most people would regard their top scorer as one of the 'stars' of their team. Also penalty-taking is a skill not worth dismissing. Am I? An xG of literally 0 implies this isn't as sensationalist as you'd like it to be.

£2m + Haydon Roberts and Harry Cornick on permanent deals 🤞

Sensationalism doesn't change the facts. I've not seen anyone saying anything daft about Collins, certainly not over-praising to the same extent he was vilified and overly-criticised before. How many chances did he get against Cheltenham? 1... and he scored it. So from our most recent example, this argument falls flat on its face. Yes, compared to Messi, he's distinctly mediocre as a footballer. But for the level we're at, and what he's giving to the club, he's been a star this season, and deserves the praise he's getting.