YorkshireRam

I'm not sure I agree, any direct team utilising fast build play play is susceptible to counter attacks. Warne being aware of the drawbacks of the tactical system he uses isn't the same as being okay with being overrun in midfield. I think he's commenting on simply being aware that the system isn't infallible. The way to not be vulnerable to counter attacks is to sit deep- i'd much rather play the way we do than park the bus. When Warne signed Barlaser at Rotherham he made a huge difference to their midfield as he was the technicality in a team of runners. I think we're the flip reverse right now, where we've got bags of technical ability, but not the mobile battler who offers more off the ball than he necessarily does on it. Bird and Hourihane aren't incredibly useful off the ball, a Shinnie-esque grafter would help massively in not getting overrun I suspect.

...and implying technical footballers are limited by fewer touches. The most technical players only need a maximum of 2: 1 to control, 1 to pass. The added irony being Bird especially has been dribbling far more this season, and probably having more touches per passage of play than he ever has thanks to his more advanced role as an #8. So it's confused me a bit too- the problem with Bird and Hourihane is physicality, not the amount of touches they need.

Has he actually said this? I saw the ''2 touch'' quote but didn't see anything about this?

Me trying to work out who to trust:

What positive does that entitlement bring?

Collins has double the amount of goals JCH does this season, there's even an argument to say he doesn't improve the first XI?

This is the kind of entitlement that needs to be extinguished. We're still rebuilding a squad that was decimated by administration, where's this expectation coming from, and isn't it just setting you up for disappointment?

Devil's advocate: If Ladapo was a backup choice for midtable Charlton, doesn't that imply he may not be good enough to improve our first XI? Just to add to this, he was never first choice for Ipswich last season either, though did very well off the bench.

Agreed, I don't remember Ipswich playing pretty football at all either. I do remember them being very physical and that Lee Evans should have been sent off when they beat us 1-0 though. That physicality in the middle of the park is what we're lacking right now, and is likely the reason they looked more effective while employing similar tactics.

You've sort of justified any perceived snideness with that facetious remark there though... You seem to come into most conversations with a negative bias towards Warne which seemingly stops you debating anything with any nuance because your remarks have zero balance. The ironic thing here was that I was trying to get you to engage in a more balanced conversation, your inability to do so confirms why people don't bother engaging with you properly.

Was he ever going to say anything else? I can't really take your comments seriously at the minute, because I know you're going to try and spin everything back on Warne, which is quite tiring really as it makes any discussion feel pointless. What are some things you like about Warne's time as Derby manager, just for the sake of parity?

I see your point. I've wondered (completely speculatively) whether Warne agrees with the decision not to sell Bird and Cashin, or whether he'd prefer to have the funds to strengthen the squad? Not that we'll ever know, but I have wondered that recently.

Using wages in this way I think is a bit of a misnomer. When rebuilding a squad, ideally you want to cherry-pick the important players that enable your style of play- very rarely are these players out of contract, they often require transfer fees. For whatever reason, restrictions, finances etc. we haven't been able to do this headhunting that we probably needed to, hence often having to play square pegs in round holes? It's not about money, but specifically being able to recruit players under contract.

To be fair, that assist Fornah made was class, but aside from that I agree. But it is a very interesting point you raise about keeping players happy. We know Warne is very big on sports psychology and raising players' individual games, so it'd be very interesting to know whether he took those comments into account. The fact Fornah played in the deepest of the 3 at Reading does give me hope we can still use him in that role this season though, especially as that's exactly what we seem to be missing right now- a mobile CDM to break up play and start us on the attack again.

How many points are we better off this season than last? Doesn't that increase alone validate the calls of patience? I'm tempted to respond to these ''same issues'' that keep cropping up by mentioning the mitigating circumstances he's faced- very tight finances and inability to buy the players he wants. He's rebuilding a club without being able to pay transfer fees (yet). So if we're lacking a body in midfield (which seems to be the issue of the day), then couldn't it be argued he's likely to be aware of that, but simply isn't in a position to rectify it with the resources currently at his disposal?

For me there's 2 strands to this: the vitriolic insults, which is far more prevalent on twitter than on here, and then generally being overly-critical, which is as common on here as anywhere. There does seem to be some that just wait for a loss, and then twist everything to somehow be Warne's fault- without giving him any credit for the wins/good form between. Last night we witnessed some seriously abject individual performances from the players, yet some on here are only blaming Warne. I don't believe that's because they're incapable of viewing what's happening in front of them, but because they've got stuck in a confirmation bias loop where they only register facts if it suits their stance that Warne is the problem.

Me too, even in the victories against Burton and Lincoln, I was sat looking at the 'front 4' and wondering if an extra body in midfield would be more useful to us. I think if we had a double pivot of 2 Bielik-types, we wouldn't need the additional body in there, but when it's Bird and Hourihane, neither are midfield destroyers so when the opposition deploys this tactic, they get overrun very easily. I think the game where our midfield looked its best was actually Barnsley (H). Hourihane dropped deepest in the quarterback role and actually ran the game- something he's guilty of not doing often enough. Bird furthest forward, and Smith the extra man aiding transition between the 2. So I think midfield 3 is the answer, and a settled one personnel-wise for the rest of the season. Hourihane is always going to drift, and Bird is being instructed to push, we need someone to sit centrally and tie it all together- I hoped that'd be Fornah but we'll see...

1. I thought they'd offer something different 2. To shift NML into the middle 3. '' '' 4. Because we favour 4 attackers and hitting quickly on the break. That's been exposed a tad over the last few games, and opposition have learned to pack out the midfield and catch us in possession. Warne needs to think up a solution to this. He's proved a certain level of adaptability in the past, so lets see what happens v Cheltenham

Not sure I understand your point. I'm calling out the personal insults, not discussion in general? Also, I probably wouldn't trust anyone on this forum to judge if Warne's doing a good job overall- we, as fans, only see a fractional percentage of what a manager does, nowhere near enough to form a proper judgement. Except maybe @Owen87ITK as he's more privy to behind the scenes stuff.

What you've said is fine haha, I was being deliberately flippant because I think a fair few people massively overreact about Warne when we lose a game. I'm just sick of reading the 'PE Teacher' comments and similar, from people literally not even qualified to lace up his boots. I acknowledge he knows far more about football than I ever will, this self awareness seems to be severely lacking in some.

I don't need to read the post- no. (But having read the thread, also no. Criticism yes, personal digs, no.)

Your LB shags dogs, simmer down now

I take your point. To the media, Warne seems to front up and accept responsibility for losses, i'd hope it's the same behind closed doors. The second part about belief in tactics is a tricky one as we'll likely never have a definitive answer. I think the Cheltenham game next up is huge. It's an easier game on paper (no games are ever easy though) and one where I'm not sure 3 points alone is adequate if we're serious about promotion. We need a proper performance that rebuilds confidence and potentially sets us on another run. This is going to require solid man management and motivation from Warne to achieve- I hope he does and we can start to rebuild form.