Carnero

I've been watching Derby for 40 years and every year many people say "it's a really poor league this year". The quality of football does actually improve year on year - watch anything from the 90s and it looks like non-league football. 

Yea yea ( yawn ) you then go on to say Wilson is called the buffalo because he’s just a bulldozer,,, perhaps that’s just his build ? Very early the wife and I nicknamed him twinkle toes because he has very good fast feet and excellent dribbling skills , do you actually watch games or just read stuff 🤷🏻‍♂️,
well done though , we are arguing the toss over this negative and that negative right after a fantastic day / win ,, of course you have covered this well and set the ground by posting in places that you are certain we will be promoted , leaving you free and clear to pick holes in everything 👏👏👏👏👏

There’s nothing to be fearful about in the Championship and I can’t believe this narrative is already being pushed.
The jump in quality really isn’t that significant, outside of the usual teams we see every year that are leaning on parachute payments to keep their squads together. Even then these teams are nothing close to infallible, especially in one off games.
A third of promoted teams from League 1 in the past five years have not only gone up and consolidated their position but they have competed at the right end of the Championship table, in some cases getting promoted or mightily close.
The teams that usually go up and find their way back to League 1 are the ones without the resources or infrastructure to hold their own.
We are only going to end up like Rotherham, Wycombe, Barnsley, Blackpool, Peterborough and others if we show a serious lack of ambition financially or there is a lack of synergy and effective strategy behind the scenes.
If Clowes, Pearce, Thomas, Hale and Warne are all working well and pulling in the same direction, why is it beyond us to build a competitive squad for the Championship, one that could finish 15-18th in year one, for instance?
No-one stands still and neither will we. Everyone resets. Teams get better. Teams get worse. Managers change. Managers improve. Managers decline.
There are so many variables at play, why would we be fearful now when we can work towards a stronger position over the summer? Such needless negativity when nothing is set in stone.
 

I say it’s clear to anyone without an agenda that Warne has signed players both with technical ability (Ward, Wilson, Embleton, John-Jules, CBT) AND those with physicality in their game (Nelson, Nyambe, Bradley, Adams).
He does favour an athleticism to his sides, but acting as though he hasn’t also signed and played players with some technical ability is very much the pushing of an agenda that goes on on here and amongst the fan base. How can some people claim he’s stubborn in his selection of Hourihane in one breath then say he only uses physical players in another? 

We’re not a perfect team, there’s been some frustrating games this season for sure and some shocking performances, there’s also been some good stuff too. 
I really find the stance of “this or that” to be so tedious. 
Being objective I think people should be able to admit there’s at least some use of technical players this season and last (McGoldrick, Sibley, NML, Hourihane, Barkhuizen, Ward, Wilson, Bird) alongside the athleticism of others. Almost as if the team needed a blend of both and it’s worked to the point of putting the side in touching distance of automatic promotion…. But that’s just my opinion 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

You won't find any. It's clear to anyone without an agenda that Warne prefers players who are physical, athletic and aggressive. The likes of Thomson struggle to get into the team over someone like Korey Smith, even though he's a much better player. Bird is leaving because his technical ability goes over Warne's head. And then look at someone like CBT. First half of the season he was one of the leagues better players, but suddenly we sign him and he can't get a spot - alluded to in interviews that he can't get up to pace with the squad.
Not to say this approach is bad, or to make it sound negative, but why are so many people getting defensive about it when you say Warne is a physical type manager. It's clear to see through his career that's the case, and while I do think he's a little less "lump it to the fast strong forwards" than he was at Rotherham, he's not changed too much.
It's evident when our most gifted technical players have left, are leaving, or are running out of contract.

Think if we get promoted Warne might go for physicality but hopefully the quality of player will be higher than at Rotherham. Either way if it happens we will have to see.
One piece of great news, we now have plus 1 Derby fan, my friends lad loved his first game even doing some bouncing in the West Stand, choosing his favourite player: "The guy with the shoulders" Nate, obvs! and wanting to go again as soon as possible. It made today exceptional for me, you dont get to introduce a new fan everyday.
Anyway, pressure is on Bolton now they've got to win the last 3 in a row surely. Impressed with Thompson today, might see the 3 central midfield combo for the last two now, Bird, Thompson Smith, Adams, 3 out of those four should dominate possession in L1. Less attackers maybe but pragmatism will be the order of the day.

Ward, Wilson, Elder, Washington, John-Jules, Embleton don’t “scream physicality” to me…
Bradley and Nelson are central defenders, I’d want them to be physical. Adams is a destructor in midfield, again would want physicality in that role…. But yeah, let’s keep up the “he only signs athletes” line shall we

He was relegated twice because od a lack of resources once he was in the championship and losing players once promoted...
Let's give the guy a chance once we get there,after all we gave Rooney a go with zero qualifications (or ability as it turned out) and he got us relegated whilst playing particularly s**** football

Unfortunately some people are too entrenched in their own opinions to worry about the bigger picture. 
Think they would have preferred Bradley scoring an own goal today rather than the 2 goals he scored.

This kind of comment really annoys me. He was a fool at Northampton but once he’d overcome the errors in his early days at Derby I don’t believe he’s been that much better or worse than most players. It reminds me of the “Keogh’s always got a mistake in him” stuff we used to see.

I like reading most of your posts, but your first paragraph today is really poor.
2 games to go and promotion in our hands and it still feels like so many of our 'supporters' have personal axes to grind.
Very sad times and I'm not sure some of our fans actually deserve the promotion that we may achieve. 

As others have said everyone had a decent game. Wing backs were great, midfield solid and I have to say I thoughts Collins was brilliant. It’s great to have him back. 

There are a lot of fickle of fans amongst our fan group. Once they get a scape goat in there sights that’s it. Bradley has played well for a few games until his moment of madness. Came back into today was superb. Unfortunately like past players like Keogh ect some will never accept him. He’s the next target, very sad tbh. 

ATG
1Wildsmith 6
35Nelson 7.5
5Bradley 8
6Cashin 7
2Wilson 7.5
12Smith 7.5
23Fornah 6
32Adams 8.5
10Waghorn 6
17Sibley 8
16 Tommo 7.5
4Hourihane 6
9Collins 7.5
14Washington 6
11Méndez-Laing 7
7Barkhuisen 6

I have no idea what you are talking about here, absolute nonsense.
I was at the game,the atmosphere was amazing....where are you sitting????

I’m looking forward to all the  tactical geniuses who called this a sackable formation and no chance of any goals, coming on here and admitting that they got it wrong. 

The thing that Warne has really achieved is a colossal improvement in both our attacking and defending set pieces. 
Obviously the stats show the effectiveness off the attacking corners and free kicks - I believe we've scored more than any other of the 92 clubs.
However, I reckon the improvement in the defending from corners has been even better. For so many years, I've sat in the West Stand watching us defend set pieces with my hands over my eyes in terror. They had the same effect as Doctor Who had on six year old me. Now I'm relaxed enough to carry on a conversation. I expect us not to concede. 
I actually think that improvement is a significant reason why automatic promotion is in our hands with two games to go.

Pompey fan here, back for a brief visit.. Well done today, a convincing win for you. 
Hopefully our draw at Bolton did you a massive favour. 
Good luck lads, see you all at fratton next season 

Well done on your win and putting things back in your own hands.  I thought we were fortunate at times today, for some reason our early goal seemed to send us in to our shell; Bolton have some decent footballers, who exploited that for the rest of the first half and we were lucky not to go in behind.  Second half a bit more even.
All the best for the run in - as I've said elsewhere I'm hoping we'll both end up in the automatic slots now; but I do think you're probably at the stage where you can't afford any slip ups in the last couple of games.
I've just poured a large glass of red. Enjoy your evenings, Rams.

Thankyou for your usual warped agenda driven insight. (Pssst your just voicing an opinion not stating fact )
 Did you by any chance see the flicks and one touches on the right touchline in the second half ? Did you see Sibs and Wilson roasting full backs ? Did you see Smith spotting outlying runners and dropping meet balls in to their path when under pressure ? Did you see Tommo and Wilson doing give and goes ? Clearly not from the drivel you just posted.

Before others go off on tonight's matchthread tangent, I just wanted to say what an enjoyable afternoon at Pride Park. A cracking atmosphere, good football and a deserved win. 
I  had assumed Warne would revert to a back three, simply because it allows Sibley and Wilson to get forward more. I thought both were excellent,  but it was the inclusion of Thommo that made all the difference.  It gave us a midfield three with tenacity and bite. As a result, all the other parts of the team played better than midweek. Collins, especially,  looked so much better in the role today, and although Mendez-Laing's traditional wing play is sacrificed in this formation, he managed to get out wide at times, delivered good set pieces and could have had a couple of goals on the break.
Although I loved the set-piece goals, I do wish we could finish some of our chances created in open play, as it would do our confidence the world of good. 
Still, the defence was excellent,  snuffing out the few chances that Orient created, and providing the goals, too. 
It was difficult to choose a MOTM today as there are so many contenders. 
And as Warne said afterwards, no further injuries. 
Results went our way so automatic promotion is back in our hands. Play like this for the last two games and we are there! 
 

Another tactical masterclass from warne today with the prefect set up to tear orient a new one.
You don't get manager of the month twice in a season without having some knowhow.
Nice one gaffer.
.

Forest v Wolverhampton Wanderers attendance 29.604
Derby v Leyton Orient attendance 30,247
……………………….. no further comment required

Only my 4th game this season due to work commitments,  but we have won the other 3, grandson's 2nd game ,first was the 3-0 win against Barnsley  and in 13 years of us being together,  the wife hasn't seen us lose yet ( won them all except a draw against Swansea) so hoping we are good luck omens this afternoon. 
The nerves have already kicked in COYR 🐏🐏🐏🐏
 

It’s more to do with the level these athletes are playing at these days and the toll it takes on the body. To get to the peak of physical fitness can often put you at a breaking point where you push your body beyond its comfort zone too often, leading to more muscle strain/tear injuries.
Plus with modern physios and doctors checking in on players regularly, these problems are identified much more regularly than they used to be.
Im not saying players from back in the day weren’t skilful, but the game was different physically and training wasn’t as intense as it is these days. This meant there were more rest and recovery periods for players compared to todays daily schedule for professional squads.