Grimbeard

He's ITK, obviously.

Nicely put AW. Of course he didn’t want to lose!!  
But the reason he chose them was in part because he wanted them (not other teammates) to score. The reason he believed they would indeed score is the more complicated aspect…
(All of this reflects btw that Southgate is a deeply decent man ( albeit, as we all know, a one dimensional football manager). )

The racial abuse of black players and Sterling in particular in the run up was well documented and appalling. If you want to know how Southgate felt about it, go back and re-read the Dear England letter. It’s a letter about many things but I believe the reason he wrote it was to deal head on with the issue of racism. I think he felt deeply for the players who suffered - Sterling especially. 

The choice of Rashford, Saka and Sancho as penalty takers was all part of this and was an appalling decision. He had experienced players on the pitch and he chose three inexperienced penalty takers, none of them famed strikers of a dead ball, one a  player who only ever hits a ball sweetly if it’s moving, the second a player who had had a really lousy game and the third a player who had only just gone onto the pitch in the final of a major international tournament. To put it in Derby terms, 3 Kamil Jozwiaks.  It was madness. It reflected how much he believed in them, how much he wanted them to be heroes, how much he wanted to silence the racists. And in footballing terms, utterly feckless. And the result: a mountain of abuse on twitter for the hapless triumvirate. Oh and we lost.  
 
Feckless wokeism 
 

This is mental this.
From October onwards we accumulated more points than anyone else in the league and were it not for Portsmouth's unbelievable start (where I think hey won their first 10) we would have won the league. The start can be forgiven giving it was a squad that had a lot of new players in finding their feet at a new club.
But as soon as we got going, we earnt more points than anyone else.
Also we conceded 3 goals in the last ten games. THREE. And two of them were in one game.
The last 11 games we won 8 drew 2 and lost 1. If that is inconsistent then you gave give me inconsistency any day of the week.
Paul Warne was appointed here because he knows how to get out of this league, you need to be solid. Playing good football is fine, but not really a pre-requisite of getting out of League One. Bolton probably played the best football on the eye last season and they are still down there.
Warne will not play the same way in the Championship, he's not stupid. He wants athleticism and a high press to suffocate teams.
I will openly admit after Stevenage and Shrewsbury I wanted Warne out but I can hold my hands up and admit I was very wrong. 
I can't believe a man who seems to be a genuinely nice human who has got us promoted with the highest points total we have ever had, the most away wins we have have had still gets criticism.
He gets beaten with a stick every time we get linked with a player who has played for Rotherham. (I think we only have Vickers and Washington) Its pretty common for managers going to other clubs, 1. To get linked with nearly every player who has ever played for him and 2. To actually like players they have had before, trust them and wants them at his current club. Eddie Howe signing Lloyd Kelly today for as an example.
 
 

Imagine a grown adult renaming themselves in honour of another forum member... 😉

I'm not.

This post is a bit contradictory, isn’t it? 350 senior appearances should be a worry? How?
He’s 29, never played below the Championship and had 3 seasons as a fairly regular PL player, albeit for a poor PL side.
For a side coming up from League One, he would be an excellent signing. Experienced at this level without being too old, versatile to cover at least 2 positions that we need to strengthen. If he’s willing to come, it’s a no-brainer for me.

So you wouldn't be a fan of being called the Derby Musk-eteers? 

I will stop now before nixon starts a lawsuit as he has the market for made up rumours patented. However before I go I've just been told an unnamed player, from an unnamed club, who plays in an unnamed position, has signed and will be announced on an unnamed date. Sorry I cant be more specific, my source doesn't want to be revealed as a leak. Keep it under your hats though.

We should be grateful for Oldben's input. His well thoughtout and original  precis on veried subjects are invaluable in stimulating discussion.

We should be grateful for Oldben's input. His well thoughtout and original  precis on veried subjects are invaluable in stimulating discussion.

Premier League are saying there would be 100 more incorrect decisions per year if VAR was scrapped. 5 per team.
They seem to think this is a strong argument in favour of VAR.
I'd so readily wear one extra incorrect decision every 8 games, to be able to celebrate in the moment a goal gets scored. Awful development.
 

Midfielder? Who does he play for?

Probably disapproves of fizzy water too. The only man that could make Starmer look like an exciting alternative.

Just imagine a Keith Starmer party.
Okay so I’ve brought the Tizer. Who’s got the paper cups?
Don’t worry, we’ll settle up at the end.
 

Real Madrid won the champions league yesterday with 34 year old Toni Kroos and 38 year old Luka Modric both playing in the match.
Man City won the premier league with 34 year old Kyle Walker and 32 year old Kevin De Bruyne being key players.
Leicester won the championship with 37 year old Jamie Vardy playing up front.
Portsmouth won league one with 33 year old Marlon Pack playing a key role in midfield.
Those are just some examples for you. It’s an inaccurate generalisation that players over 30 in the modern game can’t play at a good level, especially given the sports science, conditioning, diets and squad depth involved.

For me there's no issue with us signing or having players over 30, the key will be having a balanced squad with some younger players around them. 
 

Promotion?

Nora........ have you been on @londonbridgeram's course on "how to post each thought I have individually on a forum"?

You're allowed more than 1 paragraph in a post, mate! 😉

We literally don't have a striker and barely a midfielder.

Was he dreadful for us?, really?. The 21 points got us relegated. We'd have been around 17th wih those points back. We had no budget for players too. He put his hand in his own pocket a few times as I recall.
Whatever you may think of him, imo he conducted himself superbly under diabolical circumstances. Remember he's worth over £170 mill, he could have just walked away that season but he didn't.
I have nothing but respect for him for that reason and I hope he does well at plymouth.

Not sure how Australia use Souttar but he’s scored 11 goals in 29 caps. A 6 foot 7 goal scoring centre back that lives in the East Midlands, sounds like Warne made him in a lab. 

Why are you here?  Wouldn't you be happier watching wrestling or something?

Derby took a chance on him when he was a youngster as he failed a medical due to bone density issue  and other clubs immediately withdrew interest. They then supported him through his altercation in Dublin scenario. He rewarded Derby by saying he couldn't wait for Burnley to increase their offer to get a a move,  slagged us off when the Keogh situation was ongoing and sent out a thumbs up social media post when he was on loan at QPR and we got relegated when they beat us.  His 10 man goal doesn't cover that lot.  Hope he winds up on the bench at Forest Green .