nick_d

That was a painful watch, on the positive side my attempt to balance the mental pain with physical pain on my excercise bike seems to be improving my cardio fitness. (Before any properly fit people comment on my poor figures I'm mid fifties and 17 1/2 stone)

I like Warne, he seems a good man manager, but is a one trick pony setting the team up max effort and an end to end game. His trick isn't working as we are the team everyone wants to play and beat, as proven by Evans pre match comments, and teams are prepared to sit in to prevent an open game. The opposition always seems to be full effort against us, and we seem to have a sucession of referees keen to prove they are willing to give decisions against a big team.

Wouldn’t you rather play Fornah in the DM and just tell him to sit back and only defend? I feel like we’re wasting Hourihanes long shot ability, and Bird could be freed more as well. But both Bird and Hourihane have a bit of defensive qualities as well if needed.

Well, like many I haven't been happy for months, but have kept on turning up to matches because supporting the lads is what we do. But despite the ever falling performance standards I have always looked for the long term, in the hope of better times. This afternoon was the first time for year that I ended up with a really heavy heart.
Actually, once we had contained Shrewsbury's early bluster, we got a grip on the game, and played some good football for about 20 minutes or so. Bird in particular was outstanding, playing like he belonged higher up the League hierarchy. Incidentally someone criticised him for being gassed out at around the 60 minute mark, but I wonder if his influence tailing off had something to do with him being shifted further back so that Warne could bring his love-child (allegedly) Hourihane on. Conor did make a couple of tackles/interceptions which kept us in the game, but he is supposed to be a gifted playmaker, but today you'd never know. But our grip on the game came from us playing football, on the deck, and involving the midfield players.
Anyhow the Shrewsbury manager worked out how we had got a grip on the game and made changes which brought them back into it. Our approach seemed to be "more of the same, please". It doesn't work. Because our gameplan of slinging balls in for Collins to get on the end of would might work if he got on the end of them, but more often than not he is out on the wing, deep in midfield or just arriving in the box as the ball gets headed clear. But because that's all we have to offer, or more likely all we are allowed to offer, we end up with the potency of a eunuch's orgasm.
And yes, here goes DavesaRam again - the ref was absolutely crap, in fact so bad that he was nearly as bad as the Rams. Turning down a blazingly obvious penalty when Forsyth was tripped in the area was just an early warning sign. Somebody observed that because we didn't do much more than sling crosses in to nobody in particular, we didn't give him the chance to make amends. Apart from the question "Since when has a ref evened things up for Derby County?", he did the exact opposite with the award of a penalty to the Shrews for absolutely no reason at all. Rams TV thought the player had tripped on his laces - he didn't, he blatantly dived. and was 3 or 4 yards away from any Derby player. The Rams website said that it was for a pull by Nelson, but watch the video - the directions and trajectories of Nelson and the actor means that a pull was absolutely impossible. At least the ref was quick with his decision, ie he couldn't wait to pull the trigger. Why didn't the players all get round the ref and have a right good go at him? Like all other teams do? There were plenty of other incidents to lay at the refs door, but in the end, it wasn't his fault that we lost, despite us going ahead from the penalty we should have had would have helped us.
I am struggling big time over all this, as many, many more are doing, because most of us know that we are capable of much more than this. There is a well know saying, "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade". Even if Warne has inherited an absolute bunch of wasters, in an impossible situation, he could still look at what he has got and play to their strengths. Or he could use a great big sledgehammer and force all those lovely round pins into the square holes he imagines exist all over the pitch .......... no wait, that exist down the wings and somewhere near the middle of the opposition penalty area. I know that Paul Clement and Nigel Pearson threw away loads of our talent by trying to impose their system onto players who couldn't play it. Maybe some of the poor performance by some of the players comes from them being uncomfortable with how they are being told to play - I suspect Hourihane is in that category, and tried to face the fans to try and make some peace with them. I know what it is like working in an environment like that, especially when I knew how I should have been working. It is soul destroying, and saps away motivation. 
What a mess. And we thought we were done with messes. Apparently not.

I'd rather eat my own sick.

That's not very professional of Owen.

If DC sacks him now, is that a sign that he'd already made a bad business decision, by bringing Warne in in the first place?  
I suspect it would... and I suspect this is in the back of DC's mind. 
The only chance (however slim) DC has of proving this appointment to have been a good decision is if he holds fire for now... and keeps his fingers well and truly crossed!
Scary s***, innit!  😲   

There are also others (🙋🏻‍♂️) who accept that he’s a limited manager but hope/hoped Warne’s experience at this level, the good game he talks at times, and some consistency alongside a period of stability after a couple of years of turmoil would be tolerable and necessary for the club whilst also leading to promotion from this league in time. 
I still feel that way but understand the growing concerns of others. 
As I’ve said many times before it doesn’t have to descend into a binary argument with people looking to score points.
I am starting to wonder if his position is becoming increasingly untenable as the lacklustre performances continue, not that I want him sacked but I can see the argument of those who do.

Hard to say given that he hasn’t been able to play his recruited players, some because they were risky signings and some because we were plain unlucky. I don’t think our football is wrong I think it is a variable work in progress affected by injuries in key areas. (Bird / Ward / Thommo particularly) I think “assembled” squads between managers is always a problem. The only time it wasn’t was Clough to Mac .. where good recruitment was handed to a better manager. I don’t think our recruitment has been bad. I think it has been by force of necessity reflecting where we are both in league terms and financial restrictions after administration. I see all this as part of the patience process. You can’t say a plan has failed until it has run its course. As long as we are stable and not threatened with relegation then I want him to have a fair crack of the whip. Anything else would be counter productive. 

From Shrewsbury Forum:
'The pitch drains well, only in doubt if we get heavy rain in the morning / mid day. Todays rain wont be an issue, it's looking like less rain tomorrow.'
'Think the pitch will be fine but for those travelling in on Saturday keep an eye on the travel news for flood issues, trains into Shrewsbury from Wolverhampton and Cardiff badly affected by flooding today and some Shrewsbury town centre car parks look likely to be closed on Saturday'
https://blueandamber.proboards.com/thread/106397/derby-pre-match

Where I'm at is really simple, I have nothing but appreciation for Rooney and wish him well on a personal level in his managerial career wherever that takes him.
He will always be a part of our story and will be forever grateful for his efforts whilst the club was on the brink.

I'm hardly reading the Derby section of the board at the moment - so sick of the bickering, pettiness and in-grained opinions. Most have already made their minds up and just want to reinforce their opinions by repeating the same old crap over and over again.....
We have a League One squad and a League One manager - bitching isn't going to change that....

Properly get pelters for this as 80% seem to have made their mind up over Warne, but anyone else just had enough with the constant negativity towards the players and staff? It’s relentless.
Even after last nights win I’m seeing people try and twist it negatively, overall last night we played faster tempo had chances and won end off, so why the negativity?
Warnes come out and said last night about blocking outside noise out, really think knocking them will help? It’ll only make it worse, 5 in 11 for Collins decent return, what’s booing him and giving him stick going to do? Why can’t we get behind them? We’re in league 1 we won’t have world beaters that will do everything so perfectly. 
 
1 defeat in 10 due to some terrible refereeing it’s not anywhere near as bad as people are making out, it’s as if we’ve won 1 in 10.
I can be as negative as anyone and as annoyed as anyone when we drop points etc but it’s the bigger picture move on we go again, It’s not an easy league like people expect, Sunderland sheff united Ipswich Bolton etc all got stuck for time, and probably only Bolton started in a worse rebuild situation as us… 
it’s absolutely draining all the constant ‘get him gone’ ‘whose next’ ‘he’s just a P.E teacher’ I’ve missed 1 away game and 1 home and it’s honestly making me not want to go, Blackpool people singing ‘warne your football is sh*t’ then 5 minutes later singing his name, honestly think if people stop over reacting and seemingly wanting Warne to fail we could get out of this league this year. Rant over roll on the draining stick that’ll come…

Call it the Worn Out Room

Everyone in the world can see that as the obvious change. But no worries, we've got super Wash who'll run all day but do f*** all. 

Maybe, after all the Mel Madness, he thinks it would be better to just sit back and let the football people get on with the football?
Seems like a good idea to me.

I purposely didn't read the forum until I was home and I'm so glad because you saved me the bother of posting earlier because its exactly what I would have said.
Every week its constant moaning about just launching the ball aimlessly, yet today we played the ball constantly on the floor.  Passing was fairly crisp and our control really good. Lots of angled balls between their backline but then our final ball was either poor, the shot blocked, we didn't attack the ball or it just didn't fall right.
Pretty much controlled the game and if we'd had a better striker and/or a bit more luck then we would have won 2 or 3 nil. Set pieces were pretty poor to be honest though.
The boos were aimed at the ref/linesman who were awful 2nd half.
I actually enjoyed the game other than our failure to score,  and its clear the agenda of a few regular posters is just to moan relentlessly, regardless thus rendering the match day thread almost pointless so I will avoid it in the future I'm afraid. 
Disappointed and of course 'we should be beating' Cambridge but we missed good chances and were the only team playing football.  
 

I’m not surprised. Great interview.
And I agree with everything about your post @angieram. 
Far too many on here (sheep not rams) wallowing in their own misery, posting miserable posts in their miserable efforts to get some miserable enjoyment when the football team they proclaim to support miserably fails by loosing a game, yes I repeat a game, yes I’ll repeat a game of sport called football that should be enjoyed, as the team we all support tries it’s hardest to win as many games possible to achieve everyone’s goals and hope.
Whilst one of our fellow players is currently suffering and feeling real miserable pain through the loss of life to a special loved one in life.
Whereas a lot of us on here love Derby County Football Club and choose to support it, whatever division it plays in, whatever managers and coaches lead and coach it, whatever financial, whatever recruitment, whatever staff, whatever groundsman, whatever players play for it, and even whatever fans support it.
Up The Rams 🐏 

There are a number of contributors to these pages, genuine fans all I’m pretty sure, whose informed and interesting views I have enjoyed reading over the years but whose opinion of our manager is consistently less than positive, couched always in terms of ‘I want him and the team to do well, but….’  The latest ‘but’ appears to be his use (or non-use) of academy players.
Are we really all so cynical nowadays that we don’t believe what we’re being told in interviews or have we just stopped listening?
Warne has explained how much benefit he will get as manager from an academy player breaking through into the first team.  It’s in his interest for that to happen as it stretches his budget and allows him to spend more elsewhere.  Even if you (mistakenly imo) believe that he’s not ‘interested’ in young players, surely you can understand that he might be keen to extend his financial reach and recruit more widely?
He’s explained - and we have the photos to prove it happens - that players from the academy join in first team training sessions so that he and his staff can look at them but also so that the players themselves get a taste of the requirements of being a first team member.  He’s explained that they have to perform, to make the most of their opportunity.  Hasn't football, at all levels, always been the same?  It’s dog eat dog.  You have to perform all the time, now more than ever. Those who work hard, and not necessarily the most talented, get to have careers.  Twas ever thus
Hasn’t he said that he has to be sure that a young player won’t be destroyed by the experience of playing in the first team?  In these somewhat softer times aren’t we all aware of the mental health of individuals in a very tough work place - David Clowes directly referred to it in relation to Rosenior, for example.  Warne has said that he has seen a player’s career destroyed by being thrown in at the deep end too soon; Will Hughes (for example) was introduced gently - played on the wing/played for a few minutes at the end of a game before he was allowed to play regularly.  I was there at Steve Powell’s full debut v Liverpool.  It wasn’t his actual debut if I recall correctly.  But Steve (like Tom Huddleston) was a freak of football nature - a 16 year old in a man’s body, steeped in football from his father and with the mental strength to go with it.  There’s a reason that boys very rarely play men’s professional football. Shouldn’t we be glad that a senior member of our management team has the long term career prospects of our youngest players at heart rather than short term gain?  If you were a parent of someone coming through wouldn’t you want your son (or daughter) to be looked after?  We’re a tough crowd in a tough business and I don’t want a player destroyed by a poor performance in front of a Pride Park crowd. I want a manager to play someone when he thinks that player is ready, not before, and if he errs on the side of caution then good. Better that than destroying a career.
And what experience do our current academy players have to bring?  It’s not a winning experience, that’s for sure.  And lest anyone thinks I’m criticising, I’m not.  The academy was pillaged to help us have a club to support.  16/17/18 year olds couldn’t cope with under 21 football last season and they’re struggling again this season despite additions, so how are they going to cope with League 1 football? But Warne has described the regular meetings he and his staff have with those in charge of the academy (and recruitment) where they discuss who is ready for the opportunity, initially to train with the first team and then to show what they can do.  Shouldn’t we applaud that approach?
By all means criticise Warne for team selection or substitutions or formations or whatever if you want to but let’s not manufacture a lack of interest in young players coming through our academy as (yet) another stick to beat him with

“Let’s pretend we’ve scored a goal”  still brings a smile

“Let’s pretend we’ve scored a goal”  still brings a smile

I would like to apologise to what appears to be a good number of my fellow Rams fans on these pages.  I have driven for about 5 hours today, spent £40 on petrol, £25 on a ticket and another £10 odd on sundries like the best pie I’ve had in ages, parking and a programme. The weather was fantastic, the scenery only matched by the Peak District and the ground was a proper old football ground with, from my seat, the wierdest view in football.
Oh, and although it’s hard to gather from these pages, my, our, team won. 2-0 away from home against a team in good form according to their manager, late of this parish, and with some excellent individual performances, an improved overall team performance, in front of a vociferous and supportive away following.
I’ve had a cracking day. Sorry.

“Let’s pretend we’ve scored a goal”  still brings a smile

“Let’s pretend we’ve scored a goal”  still brings a smile

“Let’s pretend we’ve scored a goal”  still brings a smile

“Let’s pretend we’ve scored a goal”  still brings a smile