R@M

TBF Ward is very much like Beckham was.  Get a yard then ping it in, and their left sided players didn't give him much space in the 1st half.  Therefore Warne made the change and Wilson being more of a dribbler was able to get at them a lot more effectively.  His goal came from a corner he himself won by going at their left back.
My point is our head coach identified a problem, and solved it.
I'd love for us to be like the Mac 1 era and blow teams out the water with free flowing, passing football, but let's remember that even Mac 2 failed to recreate that, and had no Plan B.  Here we have a coach who's had Plans A through to H, and some fans still think he's just a PE teacher who just shouts "Hoof it" at every game.  Is he perfect?  No.  Has he made mistakes?  Yes.  Overall is he doing a good job of getting us into a position whereby we could escape this league?  Yes.  Therefore he's well on target to reach the targets his employer set him...

If a group of blokes are in a pub, swearing and threatening passers by, it’s frightening and will lead someone to call the police.
Being in a football ground doesn’t affect that. It’s not a hiding place for criminals.

We’ve won 2 on the bounce with an aggregate score of 6-0 and gone clear in 2nd, even if others win their games in hand.  We’re now back to psychoanalysing everything Warne and his staff say.  You couldn’t make it up!!

Derby County vs Reading
Tuesday 12th March
Pride Park   KO 1945
 
Opposition Bio: Reading have made more headlines off the field than on it in recent times as they find themselves in financial strife as a result of incompetency by their owner. Sound familiar? 
The EFL have seemingly cut them more slack than they did with ourselves but their patience must be wearing thin as deadlines to deposit sufficient funds regularly pass. The latest failure to pony up saw them docked further points and their season deduction now stands at six points in total. 
There was a further deduction of three points doled out, albeit suspended, after their understandably fed up supporters invaded the pitch and caused the early abandonment of their home match with Port Vale, the latters best result in recent months.
Where we had Mel Morris, Reading have Dai Yongge. This proves the old adage of being wary of baldies or fake Welshmen baring gifts.
Any sympathy we have for them should be tempered though by the thought that they are probably still laughing at us paying £3m for Nick Blackman.
Reading FC are known as the Royals, a distinctly naff nickname acquired after a young Prince Albert played a dozen games for the club before marrying Queen Victoria. Plus they hail from the royal county of Berkshire. They are also known as the Biscuitmen due to the town's association with the biscuit makers Huntley & Palmers. 
They are managed by Spaniard Ruben Selles and, having been relegated last season, will be looking to secure League 1 survival this season and kick on in 2024/25 under different ownership and without points deductions.
Reading are the proud holders of two notable records. In the 1985/86 season they recorded 13 straight victories at the start of the season in what is now this division and they also hold the record for the highest points total for their whopping 106 points in their 2005/06 Championship campaign. 
Opposition Form: Not too shabby in fairness. In the ten matches played since they beat us 1-0 at their place they have won a further four games with three draws and three defeats.
They arrive at Pride Park on the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Wycombe and in 18th place with a record of W12-D9-L16. It should be noted, however, that without their points deduction they would be in 14th position. 
Their away record is perhaps misleading as the bare stats of W3-D5-L10 needs to be looked at in the knowledge that they contrived to lose their first eight matches on the road. They all count obviously but their more recent form away since then reads W3-D5-L2. 
Their away wins have been at Wycombe (2-1), Stevenage (1-0) and Carlisle (3-1). They have also managed decent draws at Oxford and Peterborough.
In those 18 away games they have only failed to score on four occasions. Promisingly from a Rams perspective, they have only kept the one clean sheet on their travels.
Opposition Players: Going purely off the stats it would appear their chief dangermen are top marksman Harvey Knibbs (10 goals, 6 assists), Sam Smith (9 goals, 10 assists) and possibly Femi Azeez and Lewis Wing. They also have Robbie's son Charlie Savage, the experienced Harlee Dean and the wonderfully named youngster Jacob Hammond-Chambers-Borgnis who I hope gets a runout as I'd love to see if they put his triple-barrelled name on his shirt.
Rams vs Reading History: This will be the 48th league clash between Derby and Reading and the 54th in all competitions. The clubs' first meeting was a League Cup clash in October 1965 (1-1) but it wasn't until 22nd September 1984 that the Rams and the Royals met in a league fixture for the first time and the long wait proved barely worthwhile as we played out a goalless draw at their previous home, Elm Park. The return fixture would prove to be more memorable, for us at least, as Reading's first ever league visit to Derby in April 1985 saw the Rams win 4-1 with goals from Bobby Davison, Steve Buckley, Trevor Christie and Gary Micklewhite in front of a bumper crowd of 7,945 (really?).
That was not a taste of things to come in this fixture though as Reading have had by far the better of it. Our record on their turf is especially poor with just four wins in 24 visits. On Derby soil, though better as you'd expect, it is still deeply unimpressive. Our last victory at home to them was a 1-0 success in September 2021 but our overall home league record against Reading is W10-D3-L10. 
Expected Team: Same again one might think. Possibly a change in the middle to give more legs with Smith or Thompson in for Hourihane. 
Other Fixtures of Note: Something similar to Saturday would be nice. A Derby win and at least one of our rivals for automatic dropping points please. Their games midweek are:
Portsmouth vs Burton
Bolton vs Oxford
Carlisle vs Barnsley
Peterborough vs Stevenage (Weds)
COYR
 

They have Louie Watson as well 

OK its a small club in National League South, but for over a hundred years Torquay United has been a stalwart of the the English leagues and now it is in administration and the future looks very bleak.
I'm a Devonian by birth and Torquay was my club, difficult to reach in the 50's/60's from where I lived and Dad had no car. I loved the games and my favourite memory was watching them play Spurs in an FA cup game in 65 that ended 3-3. I watched from halfway up the floodlight pylon. I was 14 years old then. A copper below me told me to get down, gave up, then said if I fell down it'd better not be on him!
Torquay also pioneered Friday evening games due to so many fans being involved in hospitality and Saturday was change over day for tourists. For many years they had the lowest debt ratio of any professional team in England but a gentle slide down to non league ensued and now the current owner has walked.
I feel for the 1700 regular fans (2nd best in that league!).

Exactly this.  Warne and the players got pelters in the reverse fixture for not being able to cope with their style.  So on Saturday he sets us up to counteract it.  Going way back, everyone was up in arms with McClaren for having no plan B and only having one formation, now we have a boss who can set up in many ways, with whatever players he has at his disposal, and is still able to win games, yet still gets abuse from some quarters.  The bloke can't win...

Cue the EFL stalling until our backup option has secured a contract somewhere else before telling us that we can't have Gayle. Of course It'll need to be put before the independent EFL 'Make some new rules up because it's Derby' Panel which won't be gathering for at least 6 to 8 months depending on when they can be arsed to deal with it and how much inconvenience will be caused. They reserve the right to suddenly find it acceptable if Waghorn or Washington suddenly find fitness or if Collins recovers quicker than expected, just to minimise its usefulness to us and then they can move the goal posts and reduce the wage level that we are allowed so they can slap us with some spurious charges for some s*** they just made up.

I always go to work on a Monday with a sore throat after supporting the Rams.
I never said your not a proper supporter if you don't sing. I do feel you don't have a right to complain about singing if you don't join in yourself though.
Anyway, up the Rams. lets cheer them om to promotion.

I'm not sure some of us realise how important the home support can be in seasons like this. We're not going to play like Man City so we have to get behind the players from the off. 
Poor control, bad pass, a slip or mistake........roar them on rather than moan. Encourage every player, all the time, 
It will be the difference between staying in this god awful division and going up,

Can we please have this one thread as a place where people can come in to enjoy the after glow of matches we get a good result for fans that enjoy that kind of thing between now and the end of the season , it’s not a big ask , it’s not trying to ban anyone and if your not a troll or someone just out to spoil the mood or enjoyment for others  then I’m sure you won’t want to post in here ,
today feels great to me, if you feel good about today post away and post in here till season end ,
Roll on next Saturday 

It’s not that I am pro or anti. It’s that the anti mob are so irritating. The so called pro side tend to reflect on the good and the bad. The anti are just fixated, win or lose. Never give an inch, dull, obsessed, spoilt, churlish and without perspective. I suspect that Those of us, (me included ) that are vaguely supportive, only post in a vain attempt to balance the one eyed vitriol. 
 
Dreading Saturday .. looking like 4 strikers all injured, but it will be completely Warne’s fault if we lose, or pure luck if we win. Like a horrible scratched record. 

Boooo! Warne in! 
 
I’m lost…are we sacking the bobble wearing one or hailing Paul the messiah this week? 
 

What I like about him is the fact that he gives everything and scores goals. 
 
i don’t expect anything more than that from a centre forward in Division 1.

I've found plenty of things to criticise over Warne's tenure. Collins has never been one of them. He's put the graft in and scores goals. I've no idea why a section of our fanbases doesn't get behind him.

Might not be everyone's favourite but Collins puts 100% every match runs his socks off. 

Which is never accounted for with those that prefer to view the world of Derby County under dark clouds. 
Wasn't long ago where we were being told there isn't enough time now to catch the front runners yet here we are, Wednesday morning needing only to better Portsmouth in one game and win the game in hand, top 2 is then in our own hands.
Absolutely no reason why any Derby fan can't just sit and enjoy the rest of the season, whilst not mathematically there, play off place barring an absolute disaster looks secure which means we have a real chance of promotion.
Realistically that's all you can wish for, that chance. 
Anyone demanding promotion, will be the ones viewing the club under the dark clouds, which is their own personal choice. 
Paul Warne is crap, can't sign decent players, has no pull, look at the crap he's signed.
Lose a game with said crap team, my next-door neighbour could get this squad promoted, we should be running away with the league.
Which is it?
Anyhow, we will lose another game and the Out Out will rise from the pages, highlighting the pain and suffering we are going through.
I watched Saturday's game via Charlton TV, their co commentator had a cheeky pop at Derby fans complaining and how hard life must be in 4th (at the time). We must, and I say we as a bundled in Derby County fan must look a bit bonkers from the outside world.

Boooooo, Warne out…no players want to play for him. Club has no ambition. 
 
 
 
 

Give him the armband. Love this lad
🐏🐏🐏🐏🐏🐏🐏

Warne has been saying we want a striker...and we haven't got one, yet it's his fault that we haven't signed one.
It clearly isn't his responsibility. But fans are twisting it so its his football that is the issue? What ?...his team a few points from automatic promotion is the issue?
Seriously,  blame him for lots of other stuff. But clearly our financial situation is the issue and/or our recruitment team.
Other fans are blaming Clowes, forgetting he's already £50 or £60milion down? Really poor attitude.
It's disappointing.  But, a bit of realism wouldn't go amiss. 
We end the window stronger than we started it. Players to come back.
I'd prefer to see what happens,  listen to the explanation and the plan now, but toys are out the pram as per I see.

Disappointing to not get a striker in but to put some perspective on the window. Our squad is stronger than before it was open. We have another wide option to take the strain off NML. We have a combative horrible midfielder. 
 
thats 2 out of the 3 targets fans all agreed we needed. 

We also guaranteed decent money without going down the tribunal route for Bird without losing him and weakening the midfield. 
I think the negative reaction is down to not getting a striker but if Wash is back training and Collins stays fit then we’ve got a striker with 18 goals + Warnes first choice striker as our 2 options. 
 
Would have loved an Ennis or Smith to tide us over but they only became crucial because of an injury list. 

We clearly didn’t have the money to compete with other rival clubs for transfers, that or we refused to pay over the odds for Smith or Gregory. Selling Bird wasn’t in the plan unless we got a good offer which we did and we’ve got him for the season, I would hope we can use that money in the summer.
How in any way is this down to Warne?. People will say Ward Bradley Fornah (although most were supportive of those transfers at the time), I will raise you Hourihane Smith Collins Mendez Laing Barkhuizen who I would bet any money will be in the top 5-10 earners at the club, none signed by Warne and of them people only want Mendez (although I also like Collo). However it is dressed up we’re still being restricted by an EFL business plan. We should hopefully have wriggle room in the summer (unless this really is the limit of Clowes spending in which case we potentially have some issues).
They tried but ultimately we go with what we’ve got. Overall we’re stronger than when we started the window. Washington just needs stay fit and be our second striker to Collo. In fairness he was starting to look good when he got injured.
You’d be fools to write us off. I remember 2015 January window, we were top 2 and signed Bent Ince Lingard De Sart and we were thinking what a window we’ve just nailed promotion. Look how that turned out - we didn’t even make the playoffs!

I’m loathed to say anything as my lad has told me a few things he’s heard Max say, more so Sibbo. The pair of them were very proud to come through our academy, they are professionals and want the best career’s possible. One day many might hear a story, a younger Max wasn’t that complimentary about Cocu at one point “allegedly” I’ve heard, but he’s always sought to improve his game and why shouldn’t he want new challenges, maybe better money etc.
Some comments are so savage, like we’re entitled to own careers or gain promotions. The same kind of comments that wrote off Morgan Whittaker and said good riddance etc; yet it was clear he was still developing and now look. Just maybe Max needs to move to develop his game more too; after all plenty day he’s not suited to Warne’s style, similar to Hourihane, can’t play together you name it.
Why can’t people be happy we’ve developed a young lads career, enjoy what he gave and wish him well; more so if we made what the club feel is decent money!

Struggling with this one.
He will probably get 20 goals this season, but he's ok, no more than that? Literally every summer there is the demand for a 20 goal a season striker, then when we potentially have one, here we are.
Kinda is slating a 20 goal a season striker, calling them bog standard. He's only 3 goals off the top scorer in the league Devante Cole who has played 2 more games than him.
If Collins is as you say just ok and bog standard, how many goals would say a very good League 1 striker need to be scoring, even an excellent one?