Wsm-ram

When do we ever get best case?
Godden would be a great signing and Godden and Smith would be so much better than we have.

Forgot to mention that nml in my view is a winger and not an inside forward and only really works if we are looking to change things up ,not a starter in this formation 

I expect DC will feel exactly the same as the rest of us after losing our first game of the season. As well as owning the club he’s spent decades on the terraces and that is where he differs from Mel, along with the fiscal prudence. If you spoke to him tonight he’d say we need pace upfront, a No 10 and somebody in midfield like George Williams. It will be sorted.

I’m not even sure that’s true. Cashin spent most of the game dealing with pacy wingers running at him, and making overlapping runs to cross, none of which is remotely in his skill set.  And I’m not convinced Ward is really a wingback either, they got numerous crosses in from his side, including the one for the second goal. 

Not read much of the thread. My two pence worth is that the formation just doesn’t work. 
 
We need 2 strikers. NML isn’t good enough to play in the middle of the pitch. bird isn’t good enough to play that high. 
 
We desperately need a number 10 who can talk the ball on the half turn between the lines. 
 
Think too 6 will be a good finish 

Missed the game today but was able to watch it, points from the performance, we need 4 more new additions 2 forward a wide man and a midfield destroyer, that's as Important as the two forwards, if we have to sell Bird so be it. Played OK but mistakes and just not enough up top, fozzy scores a second the game is won. 
45 games to go keep the faith and if my memory serves me right we lost to Wigan opening day of the season under Arthur Cox and went on to win the league. 
 

The ball was behind him, he just couldn’t get any power on it. It was on target but Tickle, who had a great game, “tickled it” round the post. I can’t see that you can fault Collins for that anymore than other chances that were close, but not just not good enough from a clinical finishing POV. 
 
Too much of our passing everywhere was slack today - a yard forward, back, too long, just not quick enough or precise enough. 

Not sure I'm brave enough to catch up where I left off in this thread, way back on page 13!  I dread to imagine how it's gone!  😲
 
Have to say, I WAS rather enjoying things early doors.  I found minutes 10 to 30 ish quite promising.  Plenty of endeavour, neat passages of play, oodles of promise.  Importantly, I also felt entertained.
Even their opener didn't dampen my positive spirit.  After all, it only came from a schoolboy error, which is gonna happen at this level.  We were still the best looking team on the pitch.
Even after a less convincing second half, I'm still not convinced we deserved to lose that, but we certainly didn't deserve to win, in the end.  There's plenty of room for improvement of course... but equally there's plenty of time to achieve that!
Need to be more savvy.  Cleverer of mind, spirit, and foot!  Need to up the urgency when the opportunity arises, and be less "care-free when the oppo have the ball.
In the end, I came away feeling more frustrated than a genuine "disappointment".  I guess that means I still have hope, and that my expectations remain more positive than not.
On to the next one then... 

One of our main issues is that neither Smith or Bird score goals. That’s 2 out of our 3 midfielders, I’m not saying Bird should be sold because we’re so light in there and if we do sign a creative midfielder I’ll be intrigued to see who gets dropped. 
 
Probably Smith to be fair, but until we sign a decent striker and midfielder then unfortunately we’ll fall the wrong side of even matches like today.

It's one game, and it's important not to overreact, but that was fu**ing abject at every level. We were one-dimensional, slow, unfit, and worst of all we didn't even execute our own plan well. We gifted Wigan two goals, but every time they broke through the midfield screen, they looked dangerous and could have scored 3 or more today. Nelson looked uncomfortable on the ball, he isn't a WCB in a million years, constantly passing back, making us lose the initiative, and Bradley doesn't have the legs to cover the ground needed in the role he played today. That's what led to the mistake for the first goal, a negative pass which put pressure on Bradley which then led to a Wyke rounding Wildsmith. 
Wigan killed us in the transitions, and there were gaping holes in the middle of the park, which any half-decent team would thread through. Seen towards the end of the first half but also early in the first half, which was an end-to-end show. But it wasn't just in defence and transition where we were poor. The attack was absolutely woeful. The lack of positive forward passing combined with the slow tempo and static movement made the crosses so so easy to defend against. I can't remember more than 2 times we actually tested their goalkeeper seriously. 
It isn't just the performance that lacked passion, creativity, or decisiveness, but the tactics that led us to our downfall, failing to create any clear-cut chances and, at times, leaving us wide open. The lack of urgency towards the end and the dearth of options from the bench make it clear we're in no state to be challenging for promotion if this is the tenor of things to come. Warne said he wouldn't just copy what he did at Rotherham, but this style of football reeks of low percentage chuck it in the box and see what happens nonsense i.e., precisely what he did at Rotherham. 
I don't think I've seen an opening day performance this bad since Paul Jewell's 08-09 opener against Doncaster. Warne needs to improve and fast if he wants to stay in this job. 
 

Fortunately, I'm old enough to know that the early season games are usually not an indication of how the season  develops. Today doesn't mean very much at all.
The worry is though, there were some really troubling signs there.
The back three are painfully slow. It won't have gone unnoticed that Wigan just kicked the ball past them and got through with ease.
The midfield three were too static and offered very little. They were neither aggressive nor creative. I can't see those three being the right blend. 
The bright side was both of our right sided wing backs created a lot of chances. Unfortunately, we didn’t have strikers in the right place to convert them, or midfielders bursting into the box to pick up the 2nd balls
Wildsmith was also quite poor. Back to the nervy keeper he looked when he first signed, rather than the confident, consistent player who finished the season.
I'm glad it was the first game of the season. They are often anomalous to what follows, so not too worried. If that was the 10th game, I'd be seriously concerned though.
Not completely comfortable with the captain. It makes him difficult to drop, and I'm not convinced that he's better than Smith and Bird, and we can't play all three together 
On that showing, we need 2 strikers and creative midfielder if we're going to compete.

Thought we looked ok in parts. Notably after our goal and confidence is up. However, we deflated quickly. 
 
I thought our midfield was generally poor. Smith and Hourihane constantly looking for a sideways pass. Hourihane in particular very slow. We just looked obvious in our play. A big contrast to Wigan’s neat triangles. 

We lacked guile. Just waiting for crosses to go in. Only exciting player was Kane Wilson. Hopefully, things approve when they’ve all played together a little more but the midfield is of concern 

Bannan ?

Might give us a real presence in the box and could blend well with Washington.
 

I’d love living next door to you. I’d have the tallest fence possible. 

Head of player recruitment.

Hey guys sorry not been on a lot lately but the pain been pretty bad lately so been trying to rest as much as I can before season starts but I am 100 percent I can be. So i will be in full voice come saturday. Getting behind the lads as always i do fancy our chances for coming season.
Also see you all at burton peterboro blackpool and Bolton. Once my op done I might be out for a fair while but will be back asp. But not heard anything yet when that will be.

Someone like Cameron Brannagan?

Well if that is Paul Warne hoofball, bring it on! It was a very enjoyable watch and we gave a good account of ourselves for 80 of the 90 minutes. All three goals against were from our sloppy play - it isn't as though Sheffield United ripped us apart. They did create a couple of good chances, but that was all.
We are certainly showing more aggression and bite in our tackles, and more threatening with crosses and corners, all a plus on recent seasons. To me though, Nelson had a few wobbles with the ball in defence, and Waghorn did his "trapping a bag of cement" impression on one occasion, although otherwise he actually looks like a footballer, so may well do well in this League.
I am taking a different view about Hourihane than most - yes he can be quite creative, but several times in his pre-season he has been guilty of just lumping the ball high and long, more in hope of it reaching one of our players than actually passing the ball. And he often misses the obvious defence splitter, opting to turn and go the opposite way, or backwards. So instead of the creative edge, he ends up breaking up our play, stifling the chance of surging forwards. Just my opinion, mind.
And regards Tommo, caymanram said it well with this: "To be fair he’s up against a quality of player he won’t meet in League 1. His attacking contributions looked good, and I hope he doesn't get a season of being played out of position, or kept on the bench, because pre-season has shown that he has plenty to offer. Your observation also leads us to why it was good to end our pre-season against such strong opposition. Regardless of the result, we won't come up against that quality of performance in League One, apart from maybe just one or two. I think we are looking good for a fun season! Whether we actually have enough to get the job done I have no idea, but I am looking forwards to being there to yell my head off for them!
COME ON YOU RAMS!

He'd probably be putting the crosses in. I'm just amazed that after his two short cameos at this level he easily looks as good as Collins. He's smarter, faster and more skilful (ffs what?!), can't see we've anything to lose from giving him a 1 year deal.

Actually a good game to watch as far as friendlys go. I think Warne will have learned a lot today, bit worrying the last 10 mins, Smiths mistake and no cover in front of the centre halves. Plus points Washington looked sharp and looks a good signing, Waggy may of earnt himself a contract, centre backs look strong, Forsyth can do a job at LWB and Nelson’s long throws could provide a few goals. Would still like to see at least one more striker. Overall feel positive about Derby performance and the season ahead.

Bit harsh. I think people are just expressing legitimate concern that we haven't been able to bring in a first-choice striker who looks likely to score a decent amount of goals. We all know that's something we lack.
None of us know who Warne has or hasn't been in for. Ultimately we judge the window (and Warne) by who he manages to get through the door. And at the moment we still look very light up top, and are hearing lot of noise from the club about how difficult it is to sign players and how little money we have. 
Maybe that's a negotiating tactic and maybe Warne has an ace up his sleeve. If so, great. But we don't know that either, and fans are entitled to express concern based on the situation right now. 

Sam Nombe looks like he could end up at Charlton, along with Miles Leaburn and Alfie May - that's comfortably the best strikeforce in the league. 

Looks like Waghorn was there yesterday. 

yeah i know they are being "eased" but just think they are less eased than the club / media are letting on