Bad Sheep

Would he improve our starting 11? I think given the fact that we currently have no naturally wide left player, then that's surely a yes. Provided any fee and his wages are reasonable then I think he's exactly the sort of player we need right now.

After a night of severe (and I mean SEVERE) sleep deprivation thanks to a new addition, I did a deep dive on other club's forums to try and gauge the feel of the place and try and get an understanding of where fans expect their clubs to be come the end of the season. Who knows the clubs hopes and aspirations better than their own fans... right(?)! 
You could probably split the division into 5 categories, however due to the sheer confidence of one side then I had to go for six categories. 
Tier 1 - automatic promotion, nothing less: Blackpool. 
No team has more confidence going into the season than Blackpool, although they've lost some (key) players they have absolute faith in their squad and management team. They even have a thread: 'we'll piss league one' where they're united in that thought. Ok, some are obviously more pessimistic about their chances but largely most feel they're at worst a play-off team next season. 
Tier 2 - play-offs, automatic promotion hopefuls: Barnsley, Bolton & I would put us here. 
Barnsley are still very confident of a good season, the general belief is they have comfortably the best midfield in the league (which I thought was ironic since most of their wins came when they barely touched the ball and still feel they have enough to mount a challenge. Bolton, too, who I think were hoping for a better transfer window than they've had but they have faith in the players remaining. They're optimistic about their frontline, more so than their defence. We're the opposite, I would say, but all three sides believe they're 2-3 players short from cementing a tier one space next to the mighty Blackpool. 
Tier 3 - play-off expectation, upper mid-table floor: Portsmouth, Charlton, Oxford, Wycombe. 
I was surprised about the confidence out of Wycombe since they've lost Lewis Wing (their best player IMO) but their recent transfer activity has them a little bit giddy. Portsmouth, who a lot of people are tipping for top 2, aren't being held in the same belief as their fans. They feel they lack creativity and goals in the side and whilst Poole and Scully have earned good reviews - the rest of the players have underwhelmed in pre-season. Charlton are a little more confident, but still feel they're quite a few short. Oxford are absolutely buzzing after their pre-season and definitely have an expectation they will be in the top 6 come the end of the season. Ruben Rodrigues as their top goalscorer. 
Tier 4 - upper midtable, play-off hopeful: Reading, Bristol Rovers and Burton Albion. 
One of these is not like the other, Reading are quite negative in their assessment and but some are still hopeful they can get to the play-offs this season. Bristol Rover and Burton Albion are more in hope than in expectation they can make it. We'll have to see about Reading, obviously they were making an impression in the market before it all got shutdown. 
Tier 5 - midtable sides with very little hope of play-offs: Lincoln, Fleetwood, Peterborough, Wigan, Leyton Orient & Cheltenham. 
Surprised at the apathy regarding Peterbrough but can only assume it's due to the news floating around the club at the minute, not surprising as we have been there. Wigan fans are confident midtable obscurity is where they will land following the -8 point deduction. I tend to agree with them. Cheltenham are fairly chipper for a team that's just lost their top goalscorer but believe Keena can more than replace him. Leyton Orient are obviously buoyant after winning League Two and keeping their better players around, bar the goalkeeper which is understandable. Lincoln are happy with their business, still many predict them to be within the 8th-14th spots. Fleetwood, somewhat surprised me, but they think they will be well clear of relegation too given Marriott and Stockley upfront. 
Tier 6 - lower midtable sides, relegation worries: Cambridge, Exeter, Shrewsbury, Stevenage, Port Vale, Northampton & Carlisle. 
I won't go into it too mcuh, but all these sides are the ones who are anticipating a struggle on the whole. Cambridge, Northampton and Exeter are the three I worry most about after looking at their fans concerns. Shrewsbury very downbeat after losing Steve Cotternil and Luke Leahy. Carlisle, Northampton and Stevenage are just promoted teams looking to survive the year. No surprise none of them have aspirations of play-offs. 
In terms of other teams expectations - definitely felt most expected us to finish top, more often than not the top two predictions were us and Bolton. Portsmouth thrown in at times, as were Barnsley. Despite Blackpool's confidence, very few had them finishing in the top 2 funnily enough. 
If I was going to use all this and make my own prediction: 
Derby, Bolton, Blackpool, Charlton, Oxford and Barnsley would be my best for a top 6. 
Cambridge, Northampton and Carlisle/Exeter for the drop. 

We'll end up with a replacement bus driver

Some clearly don’t like Warne …no matter what …I’d hate to be sat anywhere near them though at a game …it’s bordering on a kind of hatred and I find that difficult to comprehend at times …
would you rather have someone managing our club who’s closed and unfriendly? How many managers would go and watch a player who’s left the club for his boyhood club? He’s a decent man even if he’s not a success he’s a decent bloke 
I thought Cocu was treated poorly by some fans and was embarrassing to hear at times …Cocu was a gentleman and our first ever foreign coach but some couldn’t wait to kick him like they enjoy it but when he left he left with dignity and didn’t seek big compensation nor did his team of coaches 
let’s give Warne a chance at least without looking into every angle and seeing a negative ffs 

You say let’s wait and see, yet you seem unwilling to do so yourself by making statements about Warne’s approach to recruiting, before you’ve even seen the calibre of player. You could of course be prove correct, but there’s no evidence yet either way 🤷🏻‍♂️ 
McGoldrick left for his own reasons, he has stated that, Warne has stated that, his new club have stated that. It seems very clear from all parties involved that despite Derby and Warne’s efforts to convince him to stay, McGoldrick took his own decision to play for his boyhood club, what is it about that you think Warne could have changed? 
In your opinion Warne has got it backwards, and in his opinion he wants players willing to be part of a cohesive unit that can also play the style of football he wants. NOWHERE has he said he won’t recruit good footballers, he’s said they need to be both good footballers AND good people.
There are countless examples of talented footballers through the years, arguably more talented than anyone else they’ve played with, whose attitudes stank their clubs out. We had a very famous example on our books a couple of season back. I would rather have a group of solid, capable players motivated to play for the shirt and the fans week in week out than the likes of Ravel Morrison, or an Adel Taraabt who have all the talent and a stinking attitude towards the team. Ravel looked like perhaps he’d finally found a home here and was going to finally disprove all that had gone before regarding his attitude….then he didn’t, and at the first opportunity he jumped ship. One bad apple and all that….
Again, I’m looking past who Warne is and focused on what he’s saying. You don’t like the bloke, cause he wears a hat, or makes bad jokes, or came from a small club, or whatever the reason. What he’s currently saying makes some sense, recruit good players who can represent this club in front of a big crowd and work hard for one another in order to bring success. What is it about that you don’t like? 
 

I am very sorry to see McGoldrick go in some ways. It was an honour to watch his play, he had a great season (his most productive ever) and we fans loved him.
I have to respect his decision to return to his boyhood club and I hope he does as well for them as he did for us.
There was no guarantee that he would repeat his scoring exploits if he had stayed here, and I'd hate if he'd had a poor season by comparison and our fans started to turn on him. I think it's his general ability to read the game we'll find the hardest to replace.
However, there were also times last season when we were a little too reliant on McGoldrick for my liking. Not his fault, but players would pass to him when others might have been better placed. Now they've got to come up with alternative solutions,  like stepping up and scoring more themselves. It's a challenge, but I think we'll rise to it.
 

I think the ref absolutely should have sent their keeper off, and sometimes you just need that little bit of luck that hasn't been going our way recently.
That being said, we didn't create much. We were better with 4 at the back, but still created very little in the way of clear cut chances. I would argue that we probably shaded the game, but we have to do more. 

It was like playing with ten men second half.
 
Any (rare) long kick Wildsmith upfield Fozzy failed to win, he's was getting run ragged and this is when Robert's should've come on for him rather than bring Thompson (baffled at that BTW ).
Also feel Hourihane is untouchable,  nowhere near the player he was at Villa and Barnsley,  another player who looks shattered after a hour or so. His corners are dire, his passing gets very sloppy midway through - needs a major kick up the arse because he's normally so technically gifted on the ball.

Well we could do with someone who’ll never let us down and desert us!

Well we could do with someone who’ll never let us down and desert us!

Well we could do with someone who’ll never let us down and desert us!

Well we could do with someone who’ll never let us down and desert us!

Well we could do with someone who’ll never let us down and desert us!

Well we could do with someone who’ll never let us down and desert us!

Well we could do with someone who’ll never let us down and desert us!

Well we could do with someone who’ll never let us down and desert us!

Well we could do with someone who’ll never let us down and desert us!

Well we could do with someone who’ll never let us down and desert us!

This is already outdated following the latest news, but I just wanted to share my favourite comment from the Mail article:
 

Blimey there's some overkill going on. He was alright, but until the last 10 minutes and that nutmeg that's all he was.
Would have preferred to see Stretton given some game time.

I think it's a good bet the EFL will make moves to change the rules after these two have been resolved to prevent a slew of similar claims in future ? 

I think it's a good bet the EFL will make moves to change the rules after these two have been resolved to prevent a slew of similar claims in future ? 

That article is from when we were first charged (2 years ago). Figures will have been under the 'Derby amortisation policy' rather than the EFL's accepted version. This means figures from 15/16 onward had to be recalculated, hence the disparity between what is in the Guardian article (and the submitted accounts) compared with my estimates.

Same side. They deserve it ?
Sibley, Morrison and Jozwiak behind Baldock - the fluid, fast attack we've been craving.

Not sure which match you were watching last night, but other than one poor distribution and releasing the ball when he landed hard after going over Huddlestone (which we were fortunately awarded a free-kick for) he didn't do a lot wrong. He's certainly more commanding in the air than he has been previously. We all know he's made mistakes in the past but at the minute he's doing a reasonable job.