Chellaston Ram

I did mot say “Warne Out”, although elsewhere in this thread I said I have journeyed back to that side of the argument.
What I, and many others actually want isn’t an endless string of 5 - 0 victories. All we want is for the team to turn up and play football to our strengths. Instead Warne sets us up to be like labourers doffing their caps to the landed gentry. Despite what it looks like after the vast majority of our matches we are better than this, and it is the opposition who should be worried about us and having to set up to best deal with our threat. To always send a team out with a predominance of defensive-minded players tells the opposition we are running scared.
We are capable of so much more, such as playing a good passing game. After the fans gave Warne a right bowlocking we went through a phase of keeping the ball on the ground and even using the misfield a bit more, which coincided with our good run. But that has cone to an end and we have reverted to aerial assault mode - and the run has come to an end. Funny hiw that works, and we’ve done it two seasons in a row.
And yet again we went ahead and then sat back, hardly laying a glove on them once we’d scored.
You are right to point out that our stats do look rather good, but with that absolute tosh we keep dishing up shouts from the rooftops just how bad this division is. We aren’t where we are because we are so good, just that we are not as bad as the rest of them.
Being second to everything in midfield is a case in point. So many times our clearance headers are deliberately headed up and forwards so the ball travels in an arc. Up and forwards takes a higher priority than controlling the ball and/or getting the ball to a team mate, like the opposition seem to manage almost every time. It us what led to the equaliser. Hourihane does it all the tome, not just with headers. The number of times his skill set consists of just looping thr ball up and forwards to nowhere near a team mate is ridiculous. And he can do it blind, as shown by the number of times he sends the ball backwards over his shoulder …… to no one. And so many times there is the opportunity to get the ball down and give it to a team mate. But no ….. up and over it is, and then back come the opposition.
And re not going to Wembley. It isn’t from not wanting us to get promoted. It is because having retired last August my income has more then halved. My wife’s childminding business was killed off by lockdown, and she has been stabbed in the back by the increase in the women’s pensionable age by a Government who care as much for the poor, sick and elderly as Warne does for attractive football. As such I cannot justify blowing a massive hole in my budget to watch the team throw away yet another opportunity to get promoted. I don’t have the money to gamble on the remote chance we might fluke a win.
It doesn’t mean I don’t want promotion - I’ve been a Ram since the early 1970’s, so I’ve seen some rubbish in that time. But I have never been so angry  as I am now.
 

It isn’t whether the players deserve to get there, its whether they deserve our support. 
 
I don’t fancy spending £200+ on an 18 hour day in order to collect a huge bagful of yet more disappointment. It took Warne several weeks to start communicating with the fans when we showed our frustration after the Stevenage matches, then he blathers on about how our backing really boosts the players who then repay us with dross like today.
If the fans who are in work did their day jobs like he and the players are doing theirs, the fans would be out of work in no time. So whole the fans struggle to pay their bills, Warne and the players continue to shuffle around half-heartedly on their way to becoming millionaires, if they aren’t there already.
The frustration is knowing that we are good enough to be sitting clear of Portsmouth if only Warne would let us.
This is the most negative I’ve been, and I was a Ram during the John Newman years, and the Tommy Docherty years.
GIVE YOURSELF A WOBBLE, WARNE AND LET THE BOYS PLAY FOOTBALL.

I gave up getting trains to games a few years ago, Norwich away we had signal failure about 20 miles outside Norwich and missed the entire first half, then Bristol City away we had signal failure again outside Bristol Parkway and missed the kick off.

Didn't know where else to post this but this thead seemed appropriate.
What a guy!
 
 

Only got back into Leeds at 8.30am this morning after a nightmare with a connecting coach but here are a stream of thoughts from my sleep deprived mind.
Absolutely clinical display from Derby - felt like the game was pretty even first half until Max's goal. Thereafter, their need to attack opened up acres of space that Mendez-Laing & Barkhuizen thrived on - both should have had another goal. Exeter obviously had a lot of ball in the second half as we looked to break on them & had a couple of real opportunities but we did look reasonably assured. The possession stats showing 30% for us would likely have been higher if the game was more even but it does reveal a lot about how this team finds success.
Ebou Adams is the missing ingredient this team has needed for months - perpetual energy, real hunger to protect that back line & plays it simple. Successful midfields are all about blend, not just your best players & his skills perfectly compliment Bird and/or Hourihane.
Lovely to see Max on the scoresheet again - he seems to be really enjoying his football & I hope he realises the majority of Derby fans appreciate what a bloody good player he is & that he's staying with us until the summer to take us up. He deserves a good reception every time he returns to PP as an opposition player.
Away support was fantastic but would agree with others that the truncated nature of the away end made for pockets of fans singing rather than a group effort. That said, had a great time - very loud around us (right behind goal) & enjoyed the celebrations immensely.
Massive game on Saturday against the type of team we tend to struggle with - physical, niggly, clinical & hard pressing. Real test of our promotion credentials as these are the games (both auto promotion challenge & potential playoff games) that we need to win. Would be a real shame not to follow up yesterday's great result with a home win.

A few people on here use the ‘let Warne get us out of the division’ argument.
I remember a similar argument with regards to Billy getting us out of the Championship.
He did the job but, because he’d drummed a negative anti-football mindset into the players, we were then  ill equipped for what laid in what and, despite a few transfers, produced a team that is now the butt of everyone’s jokes.
Are we so happy that the mindless tactics and negative thinking, I.e., setting up to nullify the mighty Shrewsbury at home, may cause irreparable damage that our players may not easily recover from, even if we bought in some new faces.
Short-term, ‘just get us up Warnie’ thinking may only kick-the-can down the road to next season where we’re languishing at the bottom of the championship.
Ipswich from last year should be our model, try and get some sort of footballing philosophy going that you can build on if/when you move upwards; although I do accept they had a transfer kitty last season, and that, of course, helps.
But, back to my point, negative short-termist win-at-all-costs football may set us up for more pain in the long run and anyone who thinks we can use Warne to get us promoted, sack him and bring someone else in, must realise that the damage is already being done.
He seems like a nice guy and I’ve got nothing against him personally, the irony is that ‘failed’ football managers get such juicy payoffs that they don’t have to worry so much about the things us ‘ordinary folk’ do; so they don’t really lose in the end.
I’m going tomorrow night and I just wouldn’t mind seeing a bit of good football from the Rams, it’s not loads to ask for is it 🤷‍♂️

Genuinely good to know albeit I was merely making a jab about their pathetic insistence on being called Nottingham Forest despite it being factually inaccurate.
It is enjoyable that they now play in a tin shed they all pretend to love, that will never ever get extended despite the millions they are pouring into trying, and will refuse to move because they think playing near a river makes them an interesting football club. 

My grandson is sometimes a ball boy for another local team and they use academy players and they have clear instructions what to do depending on the status of the match 

Last season we were beating teams at home convincingly 3 or 4-0 now we mainly grind out wins even though the quality of the league has got poorer 

Last season we were beating teams at home convincingly 3 or 4-0 now we mainly grind out wins even though the quality of the league has got poorer 

Not related to the betting but the amenities in the Upper West stand get me more and more frustrated each week.
Yesterday, I went to get a beer five minutes before half-time and got served just before the players returned to the pitch. By the time, I’d downed my pint, the second half was already five minutes in. Other clubs seem to be able to provide pre-match and halftime services so much better. 

These performances are draining all my enthusiasm in going to the games at the moment 

These performances are draining all my enthusiasm in going to the games at the moment 

But his tactics are boring and will ultimately drive people away 

But his tactics are boring and will ultimately drive people away 

These performances are draining all my enthusiasm in going to the games at the moment 

Load of balls!
No point rocking the boat now, whether he gets us up or not, shake hands at the end of the season wish Warne well, then go our separate ways.
Not good enough, 6/10 (C-) football that reminds you of a trip to the dentist.
We’ll lose somewhere between 2 or 3 thousand off the gates next year if he’s still in charge, serving up this warm diarrhoea.
My mood tonight = 😞

Well I feel your pain and frustration for those that went or watched on TV, We've lost 9 points from winning positions after 85 mins that I can remember, There's something wrong with DCFC, We're 2nd and Shrewsbury are/were 6th from bottom and we struggle, The same with Cheltenham and Charlton, I doubt very much our players go out to under perform, PW said he got the tactics wrong...sorry PW but that's not your job to get things wrong, We should be putting teams like Shrewsbury to the sword...but failed, Have we got that ruthless streak in us? I don't think we have...imo.
PW would have have had STFC watched and yet he admits he called it wrong with the starting 11, Well I've a very good memory and I reckon it's not the 1st time PW has called it wrong this season, Our players are playing to instructions, Those instructions are not very good, This team should be doing better than it is...and yet we're 2nd 🤷‍♂️, It's a very good job that this division is so poor that we can still get autos...wake up DCFC.

Barnsley tickets have gone on sale this morning to 15+ members.
Even though they know we are going to sell as many tickets as they give us they have at the moment only opened up the top half of the stand excluding the two end blocks.
It does mean however that anyone wanting to be high up and central will get first choice, which is bad news for me personally as I am waiting for the all members category so I can take my son and grandson.
Incidentally, the tickets for all members go on sale on Monday morning when hopefully I’ll be halfway to Exeter.
Not easy being a superfan 😂

The Notts rag reporting : Nuno seeking 'solutions' as Nottingham Forest short of options for FA Cup replay.
https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/football-news/nottingham-forest-injury-latest-wood-9078941
Someone should tell Nuno they have two barges full of players just off the Dorset coast. Harry Arter in particular has asked if he can stretch his legs.

The Turks have a novel way of getting Worrall to use his pace

They had to send Worrall to a country where eating donkey meat is frowned upon, for his own protection.

The process used for this season will need to be overhaulled. 12 summer signings and a further 2 in January, of which only 3 are likely to be regular starters is absolutely shocking (Nelson, Nyambe, Blackett-Taylor). This is also after the squad failed to place top last season, losing 3 of our first 11 (Roberts, Knight and McGoldrick) and not even having a right back in the entire squad.
It's summarised by having no long term vision. That's in terms of: a) bringing in younger players who will either maintain their current standards for longer, or have room for improvement; or b) planning how the players will fit into the team.
Warne put a clear focus on older and more experience players, based on the rationale of higher wages equates to better players. If more budget is put towards the wages, we'll end up with a stronger squad of players.
Warne also had no plan on how to fit the players into the team. This is demonstrated by early summer recruitment being with 3421 in mind, which quickly changed to 352, and then alternating between 442 and 4231 during the season so far. We signed a LB (Elder) to play as a wing back, but also signed Nyambe (RB) after already signing 2 wing backs. He also signed a slow CB who cannot play in a high line and is uncomfortable on the ball under pressure. We've basically got through from October with only 1 fully fit forward whowas 2nd choice last season and failed to improve on in the summer AND January.
The style of play our CF targets prefer also varied. Summer targets like Harris, Rhodes and Sharp all have different strengths and weaknesses. Similar with January targets such as Smith, Gregory, Mubama, Ennis. It's just a scattergun approach all round. Most of these targets compromise on the high intensity press Warne wants to implement too.

I watch every single game and pay to do so. I go to pride Park when I'm in Derby just to see it even when we're not playing. I used to get the train from Cornwall to Derby at the age of 15 with my mate who was the same age, watch them and then travel home. 
I don't care about watching Any other team, England included. I don't even watch MOTD anymore because unless Derby are in the prem I'm not interested. Derby is football to me, and I never miss a game, even when in hospital with my new born, I still watched. I keep upto date every hour for anybit of news, I live and breathe this club, so don't tell me to "support the lads" because it's all I do unfortunately. So if I have an opinion or assumption, and a fair one at that, I'll definitely be inclined to share it.

And that is where most of the fans 'expectations' lie (not necessarily promotion even). We're not sure what the 'Derby Way' is but it sure ain't the rubbish that Warne serves up!