chadlad

Nice observation Eddie. Sibs didn’t produce a champagne moment (cut in, left foot bullet top corner ) but he was aggressive, alert, positive and all in all played his heart out for the team. MOTM ? Dunno, but he he was up there and played with skill and commitment. … in playground picks based on today, we’d all want Sibs. Take a bow Louis 

This would be mine assuming all fit.(i think this is my first line up post)
 
 

Was at the game, what a season that was. Also remember Jack? Pritchard! Good times…🙂

1Wildsmith 6.5 - Solid enough after two shaky starts, but in truth, was well screened and had little to do. Still better than last time out, though that's a very low bar. A welcome improvement nonetheless. 
35Nelson 7.0 - Mooted before the game that playing in a 3 does not suit Curtis overly and he was slow to get into the game, though he did look better by the end. Perhaps he's just acclimatising to the role, but I'd still question whether we sacrifice the back 4 option to accommodate Bradley.
5Bradley 7.0 - Another solid enough performance. The haters will hate, don't they always, but he's playing well enough to my eye. Whether a back 3 is typically what we really want, I'm not sure though, but it's not my call and I've now bored myself saying it.
6Cashin 7.5 - Another solid enough game. He's a 7+ pretty much every game these days and if ever there was an incentive to get promoted, keeping the likes of Eiran at the club would be it, to my mind at least. 
23Ward 9.0 - Feeling a bit smug after putting him up as needing to start yesterday, though I have to admit I didn't see that performance coming. When we look back on this season, this will be right up there with the best outings we've seen all year. He was a menace from start to finish and with Joe as a RWB and Ryan as an RB, we look ridiculously strong on the right flank now. I noted one wag suggesting we were starting with the slowest WBs in the league. Didn't look that way to me! 
8Bird 7.0 - Quietly effective without tearing up any trees. In fairness, he seemed to content to keep things ticking along and he did that well enough. I don't mind that as I think he'll be critical in some harder games to follow. I do wish he'd signed for an extra year with a caveat though, as £2.8 mill might look stupidly cheap this time next year. Owes us fook all IMO, though I'll be gutted when he leaves.
32Adams 7.5 - Never lacks effort, but there was more than just endeavour about him again and he's now added to the man-crush list. A really excellent loan and I'm desperate to see us tie him in if there's anyway that deal can be done. We're a different team with him starting.
4Hourihane 6.5 - Didn't even notice him, sorry Conor. Gave you a median score plus 0.5 for the win.
17Sibley 8.0 - Suggested he might be the wildcard and this was his best performance in some time, indeed without Ward, he would have been my clear MOTM. He had already looked brighter of late in any case and is clearly not just accepting his team responsibilities, but now relishing them. Quite why it's taken so long and so many coaches, I don't know, but it's very much a case of better late than never, assuming he can kick on from here. Get him re-signed in any case, please!
11Méndez-Laing 7.0 - Looked more himself back in his natural environment and I think he'll get to understand Gayle's movement better with games. With Bird to unlock teams through the middle and Nate and CBT out wide, Gayle must be licking his lips right now.
27Blackett-Taylor 7.0 - had been mildly concerned about him, though on reflection, I've no idea why, though possibly as I don't really know very much about him. Still limited evidence, but he looked a lot brighter yesterday. A 7/10 may be over-egging it slightly, but there's signs of distinct promise. If he grows into the team I could see Nate getting far less attention and that's gotta be a positive.
25Gayle 8.0 - One thing I'd not noted about him across what has been a really good career, is his work rate. It's genuinely Collo-esque and if anything says 'I'm not just here for the shekels' that's it. His movement, runs, just everything about him screams a league above this level and he took his goal with aplomb. I fancied he'd be deadly at this level and I've seen nothing to change my mind. Those who chose to write him off without doing any homework on him at all, it seems, well they look pretty silly right now. Without being mean, long may that last! 
10Waghorn 6.5  - Little chance to shine or show his stuff so gets the median plus win bonus rating. I'd not be surprised to see Waggy feature significantly over the run in as he too has class to spare at this level.
7Barkhuizen 7.5 - Been driving me nuts in the last few games after previously rediscovering some good form. If he could finish like he takes up a position, then he'd be a Premier League player, but this was a decent outing in the grand scheme and another welcome return to form. Consistency now please Tom!
12Smith 6.5 - Perhaps unlucky not to start given his impressive form of late, but I think PW had a clear vision for this game and given the result, who am I to argue? Median plus 0.5 again.
WarneWatch - With the lad squandering leads in recent outings and conceding ground to teams around us, this game was huge. Other results di not really help us much, so not conceding further ground was an absolute mandatory condition and one Warne met head on. We can talk about the quality of his football until we're blue in the face and many on here do precisely that, but these types of game do somewhat answer his critics and whilst I wanted a back 4, I thought the gaffer got it spot on in the end. Vale were poor, but they were resoundingly 2nd best, bar that weird 15 minutes of mass hysteria and while we have tougher tasks ahead, another 3 goals to build our GD further and 3 more points in the bank with a clean sheet... well that's good enough for me! Brizzle next week, where the competition have easier games on paper, so another huge test of our credentials, but I feel quietly confident all the same. Well done lads, and well played Mr Warne. Onwards.

1Wildsmith 4.5  Like @Comrade 86, I felt Wildsmith was the better of our two keepers and felt much more comfortable when he came back in, but now I am confused and worried.  My attention was drawn throughout the first half to a furious Richie Barker, bawling, gesticulating and shaking his head at our unresponsive keeper who was seemingly not releasing the ball quick enough.  I was speechless at his ridiculous charge out of his goal, when covering defenders were clearly present and the lame kick at their forward to concede a completely unnecessary penalty.  Following this, he then fluffed a clearance, slicing it in the manner of my wife swinging wildly at a beachball after several generous long island ice teas.  In mitigation perhaps, the game had already become a farcical and frenetic game of pinball played by a hyperactive toddler and so perhaps he merely became infected with the moronic miasma that had first enveloped the referee, then the players, coaches and finally everyone in the stadium (one guy in front berating Wilson being a good exemplar).  I certainly felt 25 % stupider upon leaving the ground.
24Nyambe 6.5 Was looking strong and decisive before his injury.  A couple of good raids forward and a silly long range shot.  Any serious injury is a huge blow to our campaign.  Why aren't we allowed to have full backs any more?
7Barkhuizen 5.5 I was surprised that he came on when he did and didn't notice him much after that.  His body language is generally miserable and weary, much like myself!
35Nelson 7  A warrior who always takes responsibility.  He even managed to sling a few decent balls into their box.  I didn't see the altercation with their player, just the aftermath and he seemed extremely frustrated at the wrestling during set-pieces but was giving as good as he was getting.
5Bradley 6  Generally defended ok as far as I could tell, bar a few dodgy clearances, possibly panicking due to their press.
6Cashin  7.5  A baffling decision to play him left back was almost made to look reasonable by Cashin.  I felt embarrassed for Warne when he explained that he simply wanted to keep all of his best players on the pitch and this was the solution.  Just stop that now.  He nearly got done for pace a few times and most other teams would have exploited this unnecessary flaw and roasted him.  Instead, Charlton played quite narrow and Cashin used his nous to read the game. The fact that he looked like the best footballer on the pitch is in no way an endorsement of him playing full back.  His sheer power and determination took him through a crowd of players to head in the opener.  Sometimes the raking balls forward did not come off, but without him trying to start the play we look lost. 
2Wilson 5  A real off day for Kane got worse when he was needed to revert to right back.  The sight of him and NML taking people on inside our own half is terrifying.  He played a dozy ball back to Adams which put him under pressure (although what happened next was totally unexpected as Adams ingested a big gulp of moronic miasma and lost the ball underneath him in a way which look harder to do than not).
12Smith 6.5  I liked much about this display from Smith.  He seemed sharp and snappy.  He won several headers after majestic leaps and hit a pea-roller than was just wide.  He was guilty of one moronic moment in the first half when he pinged the ball straight to their onrushing players.
17Sibley 5.5  I had to remove half a point because he too succumbed to the miasma with that gormless shot high into the South Stand.  Apart from that struggled to get involved but tried his best.
32Adams 6  His entire Derby career so far seems to have entailed enduring repeated manslaughter attempts by the opposition and being punished by the referee instead of protected.  He is entitled to feel persecuted and generally tolerates this somehow without losing his mind. Merits the miasma induced minus though for dummying the ball to set up their second goal.
27Blackett-Taylor 6 Did not see him really, not enough time to get going.  Thought he should have come on instead of Barkhuizen if we were insisting on doing that kind of thing.
11Méndez-Laing 6 In open play nothing really came off, despite his usual impressive determination and effort.  One moment, when he raced sideways across our own half, was particularly emblematic of the whole affair.  Some really good set pieces though, one of which was the corner we scored from.  This is encouraging, because it means we don't have to perpetuate a dependence on Hourihane.
8Bird 🐦 6 He had the world-weary look of Barkhuizen and I think must be one of the "gassed out" gang that Warne referred to afterwards.  Didn't execute the right passes and seemed to waft about on the periphery at times.  A couple of good interceptions got us driving forward in the first half.
25Gayle 6 One the few encouraging sights of that evening.  Admittedly, he didn't get the ball much but he when he did, he used it well, with one neat flick to a team mate that stood out.  He looked sharp and very motivated.  He pressed and made menacing movements.  Whilst he may have lost some power and pace, he looked sprightly and I do think he is highly capable of scoring and otherwise offering us real attacking instinct at this level.
10Waghorn 5.5  It was so good to see him.  His playful, fatuous demeanour is itself a real tonic, the antitheses of Barkhuizen (and myself generally tbf).  One pathetic prod when well placed to score, but he will get sharper with each game obviously and adds a muscular presence and some free kick options.  So good to be able to balance his fitness and Gayle's.
 
WARNE - I've kept positive generally but his decision making was very frustrating.  He did however speak afterwards about the players needing to slow the game down at times in order to manage it better.  I was relieved to hear this because sometimes he seems to justify the pinball.  However, if he wants more control than is on display, he needs to find a better way of communicating this and facilitating it to happen, because it rarely has this year.  This match was a marker for me - not quite a final straw but a significant sign that I cannot shake off, no matter how much I want him to succeed here.
ATG - although after the equaliser, I think I left my body so as not to get caught up in any wasted excitement or stress, as we smashed the ball around desperately as per usual.
 

Doesn’t hide the fact that many people feel the same way, the income generated from season ticket sales is so important to the club.
It says it in the name FOOTball and we haven’t seen much of it this season so far either this season or last season under PW.
 

Thank you again everybody for talking about Daniel and feeling the gap he’s left. I’m feeling the loss tonight. Still don’t think it’s hit me fully yet. 
But if you have read a previous post by me, I told you about how I wound up Daniel making out he loved turtles. I tried to put a small plastic turtle on his seat at the Shrewsbury match. Unfortunately the packaging ripped and I sent 20 plastic turtles flying over the east stand 😂 Also hurt my ankle again climbing over three rows of seats to pick them up 🐢 

It's based on what has been served up all season, not a knee jerk reaction. I'm finding this constant defending of what is poor football, poor tactics, poor recruitment, poor game management quite tiresome to be honest. It's like some people are being positive for positives sake. I'm guessing these people don't attend the games or don't even watch them? They just look at the league table and think 'ooo that looks nice'.
I'm there every home game (never boo and never will), but I see what is being served up and it is tripe. 
Even his bobble hat is crap now.

Ok see ya.              

... and, of course, nobody would have slated PW for that... of course they would. PW can't win with many fans.

1Wildsmith - 7.0 Not a huge amount between our keepers, but I think Joe edges it. Quiet game for him tonight behind an impressive defence.
2Wilson - 7.5 Feels like waste having him play deep, but he was resolute in defence today. Could have sulked a bit recently, but showed himself a team player instead.
35Nelson - 7.5 Man's an immovable object. Literally, have you seen the size of the fecker! Excellent as he nearly always seems to be. Skipper next season?
6Cashin - 7.0 Not quite at his imperious best, but a really good outing all the same. Tied up late with cramp and was sensibly pulled. Nice to have him back.
23Ward - 6.5 No time to judge really, so gets the median plus .5 for the win.
20Elder - 7.5 Possibly his best game and he's a lad whose confidence is returning at quite an opportune moment. He could prove to be a shrewd bit of business as it feels like there's more to come yet. I think he'll do better than ok. 
8Bird - 9.0 MOTM The lad's a prince and yet even tonight we have naysayers. At times he just looks levels above everyone else on the pitch and whilst it'll be a wrench having him leave, it'll be interesting to see how he fares back in the Championship. I still think he ends up in the  Premier League personally.
32Adams - 8.5 Nearly nabbed his 3rd MOTM award in so many games from yours truly. Only, the unstoppable Max Bird denied him. Was absolutely everywhere despite again being kicked from pillar to post. I'm not even sure he's human and I don't care cause he's ours. For now... 
17Sibley - 6.5 See Ward
4Hourihane - 6.5 Ticked over and looked a little sharper than of late without tearing up any trees. He'll probably net a brace against Stevenage just as we all give up on him again.
12Smith - 6 See Ward
11Méndez-Laing - 8.0 Well he might be rising 30 whatever, but he's still got wheels. Kicked in the turbos before a cheeky stab of the outside of his boot to make a tricky finish look easy. The lad's in the form of his life and seems to have settled right down at Derby. Things you love to see.
5Bradley - 6.5 See Ward
9Collins - 7.5 Bonkers. I mean the guy got no service all game, but was still pressing like a madman in the 97th minute. I don't know what he runs on, but if they could bottle it, you could probably power a small village with it. He's quite possibly the hardest working player I've seen and another who shows that age really is just a number for those who look after themselves.
27Blackett-Taylor - 6.0 Didn't look right at any point in time and duly hooked after tightening up a bit. Needs minding. There'll be better days ahead.
WarneWatch: This was a pretty clever plot, well executed. I was worried I'd be moaning 3rd game in a row, but **checks to see** nope, I've got nothing. Well done to you and the lads. Now, about them Stevenage lads...

31Vickers: 7 Doesn’t have the on-pitch personality of JW but every bit as good of a keeper. A critical punched clearance and 3 regulation saves. 2 poor kicks straight into touch. 
35Nelson: 8 I’d want this man alongside me in the trenches. He’s my captain.,
5Bradley: 7.5 His rehab is almost complete and we’re all erasing his jelly-legs early days. Epitomised the spirit of the day with a British Bulldog showing. 
6Cashin: 8 Tenacity, guile & perpetual motion. Never stops working because he has no off switch. 
23Ward: 6.5 3 or 4 pretty crosses but has to make more of a contribution for me.
24Nyambe: 6.0 Late legs but filled me with relief & reassurance in the nervous nineties. 
32Adams: 8 His name is Ebrima "Ebou" Adams; such was his impact that already the “Ebouuuuuuuuu” a la “Poooooooom” spontaneously rang up as the travelling Rams acknowledged an impressive debut wherein the Smiling Assassin blocked, tackled and recycled possessions with a graceful menace. Went off with cramp but an exceptional addition who brings stonewall solidity. 
16Thompson :  6 Wasp-like late legs. 
8Bird 🦅 : 8 I’m gutted that he’s leaving. His press & pass through the eye of a needle was a moment of high quality. Should have scored when he danced a jig past the Charlton back line only to stroke it wide. 
4Hourihane: 6 Flappy, floppy paddle. 
17Sibley: 7.5 Presence and determination & started several raids out left. 
20Elder: 6.5 Telling interceptions and long-ranging clearances in the nervous nineties but always seems a bit flat-footed to me.
11Méndez-Laing: 7.5 Won the match in 31 minutes. Warne better pray hard for NML’s quick recovery. 
7Barkhuizen: 6.5 Insufficient impact & sideways running 🏃 
2Wilson 6 Late legs. 
9Collins 6.5 I love Collo’s heart and work rate but quite often he looks like he’s some random chap in his own private running race that just happens to be on a football pitch where a game is simultaneously taking place. I hold Warne responsible for this not Collo. Can’t really recall Collo with the ball under control the entire 90. 
An ugly win and spot-on tactics because Charlton are a bunch of bone-splitters. We effectively showed a moment of class then brought the shutters down and for that Warne & his staff take credit. The mutual love in the camp is great but the staff’s job is also to instil some craft and skill and a degree of eye-pleasing product and that is not so much in evidence and it’s no use saying wait until we get up for that because it’ll be too late. 
The attached picture epitomises the game yesterday in microcosm. I’m pleased for Sonney Bradley who had his best game in a Ram’s shirt.

Bird now leads the list for open play assists out of all CMs in the league. Only Peterborough's Joel Randell has created more chances.
"Only passes sideways and backwards".

https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2024/02/cashin-commits-his-future-to-derby-until-2027

In my View we have just shot promotion straight in the foot .
NO STRIKER AGAIN !! 
Im all for Clowes i dont want him spending silly money ( lesson learned ) 
But for me midfield is terrible i dont agree that hourihane and Bird are what we need . If we are that tight on funds what a missed opportunity , why not sell bird get a fee and his wages off the books and with that get the midfielder in we have got in who i believe is a bit off a tackler what we have been crying out for !! . But also free up wages and money to go for a better striker .
I have always been a Warne fan think he is a grwat bloke doing a good job in still some fairly difficult circumstances but i think he has totally shot us in the foot here for going up , why he couldnt see off loading bird and getting a decent striker in is beyond me . We wont make autos now and i doubt we will win a playoff as derby sides are known for bottling it when the time comes . 
Put my tin hat on but its how i feel right now .
Just cant believe we havent got a striker in and we only have one fit that everyone is not convinced about , and neither am i .

Not stricly about January signings, but I thought an profile comparison with our 3 main promotion rivals would highlight where we were need to focus our attention on.



 
A few points of note:
1. I would say Warne's intended age profile is close to what Bolton currently have - the majority between 22 and 29, with more regular starters being in the upper end of that range. However, Bolton are known for having a more patient passing style. More game time over the rest of the season to the likes of Blackett-Taylor, Nyambe, Fornah and Ward would go some way to addressing the imbalance.
2. Those 3 clubs combined have given players aged 30+ 10538 minutes. We've given almost double the minutes to players over 30, with overr 12000 minutes to those aged 32 and over. Peterborough have almsot no players over the age of 24!
3. Both Portsmouth and Peterborough have given more minutes to those 21 and under. This is where we should have included Thompson and DRobinson much more than we have done. Occasional game time to the likes of Brown also would have helped. Rooney's injury is a mitigating factor.

Did you see where he was for Cheltenham’s last gasp free kick? He was caught in no man’s land and they could have, should have scored….

Did you see where he was for Cheltenham’s last gasp free kick? He was caught in no man’s land and they could have, should have scored….

Did you see where he was for Cheltenham’s last gasp free kick? He was caught in no man’s land and they could have, should have scored….

Not going to knock Josh, as I think we are fortunate enough to have two very good keepers at this level, but Joe has the better all-round skillset for me. I worry about Josh and crosses and I think Joe also edges it in terms of distribution. Both are excellent shot-stoppers, but again, my slight leaning there would also be to Joe. If Joe's on the naughty step then we should probably get him off it and get him and Nyambe back into our defensive unit ASAP.

Did you see where he was for Cheltenham’s last gasp free kick? He was caught in no man’s land and they could have, should have scored….

I've argued that Warne is not the right man for us consistently for quite some time now, and in that time Ive tried to condense my argument down in to something as concise as possible in an effort to make it simple to understand.
I think it's as simple as this, do I enjoy watching Derby County play and do I feel like the personnel we have in place are suitable for the short, medium and long term ambitions of the club?
I currently do not enjoy watching Derby play. The performance levels are among the worst I've seen in my life outside of the 11 point season. In terms of our ambitions I will concede that in the short term Warne might get us promoted from L1, I believe that would be in spite of him not because of him. In the medium/long term I have absolutely no faith in his ability to take us beyond being a lower end, relegation threatened Championship team and we surely want more than that?

I've never had a downer on Warne.
I was up his arse for a good few months... and personality-wise, I still like the guy/his humour etc, unlike many.
Any hint from me re Warne Out has been 100% "Tongue-in-cheek"/"WUM", call it what you like.
Even now, I'm not at the "I think it's time to go" stage.
Even if and when I get there, it will be more out of rueful realism than full on rant.  That's just my make up, I guess.  I'll just shrug my shoulders and plod on.
But even for a home-only attendee (Lincoln away aside), I very much agree with @sage with his "Hard work to watch" comments.
I don't currently envy our stalwart home and away regulars, that's for sure.  Nor even the home regulars that have a bit of a trek to get here!  
It's hard work to motivate myself to take the 30 minute stroll to get there.
It's hard work to skip up the steps to my seat, with even the slightest hint of optimism or excitement.
It's hard work to bellow out a "Come on Derby".
It's hard work to even truly believe "We'll win this" before a ball is kicked.
For me personally, it's even hard work to work out whether it's Warne's fault, the player's fault, or a combination.  
...But it's definitely a hard watch!
Points (and subsequent league position) just about trump performance for me, but there will always be a cut-off point.  I'm not there yet, and I've no idea how close I am.  I suspect if that comes, it will be a bolt out of the blue moment?  
But I'm not enjoying the watch.  I'm not shouting from the roof tops that I'm a Derby fan.  It's now't to brag about... unlike 14/15.
As winter isn't over with yet, it's even hard work for me to proclaim that I'll attend every remaining home game this season.  There's still the odd "Bitterly cold winter's mid-week evening" to come yet!  
I missed a few of those in Young Nigel's latter days.  It may come around again this season yet.
Of course, my absence (should it happen) won't matter a jot, as I'm not important, and my money's already in the coffers.  And regardless of how this season pans out, I'm not currently planning to forego my ST renewal for next season.
... But it's definitely a hard watch. 
4th, yer say?  Touching distance of auto's, we cry?
Cling on folks... there may just be some entertainment around the corner!
🐏

Pretty sure I commented during the match saying Bird was quietly having an effective game. 
There were a couple of occasions first half were a misplaced pass or sloppy touch gifted Burton a chance to counter and Bird showed the awareness and athleticism to get back and snuff out the danger. There were also some points he picked the ball up in midfield and drove at their defence, he hesitated with one when Barkhuizen was free in the right side channel and by the time he made his mind up the defence had found their shape BUT the second time he did it he played the pass to Barkhuizen on the left of their area and Bark’s touch let him down. 
I’d like Bird to take games by the scruff of the neck as he’s capable of doing, but the way we play doesn’t lend itself to that, so he does his role a solid 7 most weeks in my opinion, doing the simple work that allows others to go and get the glory. 
 

Living fairly near to Motspur Park, I went along to the game tonight.  While it's certainly disappointing that we were on the way to three points after 93 minutes and were going home with none after 97 (part of the first team ethos the academy certainly seems to have taken on board), I don't think we should get too downhearted.  Overall Fulham probably deserved their win, dominating possession for the last third of the match, and we were a bit reliant on their poor final balls and inept finishing at times.  That said, we matched them for long periods and I don't think anyone would have seen us as being two divisions below them, as we are of course at first team level. 
Of the individual performances, four stood out for me for different reasons.  In the first half at least Fulham had no answer at all to Dejaune Brown, who simply bullied their rather large centre half as if it was the easiest thing in the world.  DB saw less of the ball in the second half, but he took his goal nicely.   Hopefully he will not be another Calum Ball type who struggles when up against more experienced and tougher opponents.  His overall game - touch, awareness, positioning etc - all seemed good to me.  This last point holds true for Lennon Wheeldon who really seems to be growing into the no 10 role.  Ryan Bartley had an excellent game at  centre back, a calm, reassuring presence who read the game well.  And then there was Darren Robinson, who I was particularly keen to watch, in part for some of the reasons discussed higher up in this thread.   I thought he was really good, passing the ball quickly and accurately with the minimum of fuss.  He was unlucky not to score when after a great run, he hit the post with the keeper stranded. He certainly likes a tackle.  One particular pole axing of a Fulham player was spectacular, with many in the crowd seemingly sharing my surprise that no free kick was given.   
If it was up to me, I'd see DRob as a better bet for the first team than Tyrese Fornah, particularly as a CDM.  But it is of course not up to me at all, and DRob may have some mysterious Elsnikesque shortcoming which means he never makes it.    However, he seems to be ahead of Fornah in areas such as positioning and knowing when to release the ball.  This is not to slag off Fornah, who certainly has some talent but to me he plays more like an 18 year old than someone who is 23.  In parenthesis, as we used to say in the Ossie End, I do wonder whether this might be to do with where we got him from.    I recently saw a little documentary on Oliver Burke, who the Red Dogs managed to stiff RB Leipzig for about £13m back in the day.  The documentary made the point that Burke had a certain degree of raw talent, but the Leipzig coaches were surprised at how poorly he had been coached meaning that he was deficient in all sorts of basics.  Still, if you can get £13m for somebody that poor, you must literally be laughing all the way to the bank.