nick_d

B4 DCFC cheerleader. RIP lad.
Oh Lordy, what sad news.

B4 DCFC cheerleader. RIP lad.
Oh Lordy, what sad news.

B4 DCFC cheerleader. RIP lad.
Oh Lordy, what sad news.

What is impressing me is that we are 3-0 up and still attacking 🙂

3-0
Heck, Barnsley must be the worst team ever to play at Pride Park 😉 
Oh wait, I'm in the "Warne out" camp 😁

It's definitely not the Northampton one, nowhere near enough to moan about. 

You know that’s just plain wrong. Collins is past his best and in any case was and is a league one striker with all the flaws that entails. BUT One thing Collins does do is get in good positions. I can’t defend the missed chances but you know, he should have played Barks in the other week and got slated. Barks did the same but not a whisper. Not on in my book. 
Collo isn’t the answer to “Derby’s No 9” but he is a Ram, he’s our player, he works, turns up and does stuff (did anyone notice the the back flick exchange with NML last night ?  
 
I find the toxicity towards him from some quarters simply loathsome. We had the same over Bradley but he seems to have been forgiven by the mob (for now) The same mob that are wanting to crucify the manager and have zero patience and zero understanding of the meaning of support. Some supporters seem to revel in attacking our own for mistakes, bad luck or whatever other something they can use to focus their puerile attitude to sport.
Pompous ? Angry ? Opinionated ? Yes .. I am guilty of all of them but when a player has our shirt on I back them, I don’t set out to trip them up or rejoice in mishaps. And no .. it isn’t “bants” or a “larf” 

Well that was absolutely dreadful, pathetic, embarrassing etc etc from us. The worst performance we have put in for a long time which is pretty much the thoughts of the entire fanbase.
We set the team up with players playing out of position, despite that the lack of clear plan or seemingly effort was staggering and something I am not used to under our manager. We usually try and press high, but today we didnt do that or sit back with any sort of organisation. We did nothing but allow your players unbelievable amounts of space to just waltz through and around our team time and time again. As for Tyreece Simpson the less said the better, if you are not going to try at least try and buy a foul or something, but alas to no avail. The whole squad and manager come away with zero credit from that shambles.
I do remember this is a Derby forum though, not a Northampton one! You can only play who is in front of you and you took us to pieces, it could and probably should have been 6 or 7. We didnt handle your pace well, you had players on the half turn which we were unable to intercept or get near. Also all the finishes were tidy finishes which I felt our no keeper had any chance. Realistically we looked like a poor L2 side there, let alone a L1 side.
Anyways, all the best for the rest of the season, see you back here for the reverse fixture. I hope you pick up some form and get up the table, hopefully we get some players back from injury and can scrape enough wins to survive.

OK folks...why was it so different, Did the fact that Cashin didn't play, That we what looked to be a 4-2-3-1, That PW gave the midfield carte blanche to play, That we had a forward midfield that was actually...forward, FWIW I'll tell you, There's been words by both the players and owner, I don't fall for this "the meeting was called ages ago" DC knew there were rumblings of discontent and pretty heavy talks were had, Also Hourihane being the captain would be duty bound to talk to PW with the players concerns...abuse/uncomfortable playing.
Whatever the meeting...last night shows what can be done if the minds of the players and the manager merge into one, We all are aware that we have talent in this squad...it's getting the best out of them that's the hard part, I'm not going to piss on any ones chips as there's still 31 league games to go, Rome wasn't built in a day...remember Blackpool away, So take note DCFC...fans do have a say in how things go on the pitch 😉
 

Poor bloke will probably come out looking shell shocked. The reaction against him is massive now. I don't want him to stay, but I don't want him to suffer either.

Hi Derby fans, I know you have bigger fish to fry in terms of wanting Warne out, but thought I would provide a little information on the current Northampton side to provide you a little context before tomorrows game.
We are very much a yo-yo side between L1 and L2 and as most expected we are struggling this season. We have not lost any game by more than 1 goal but that is not helping our points tally at all. Injuries have been a massive issue the last 12 months or so, its rare we have had less than 8 out injured. Whilst injuries are part and parcel of the game, when you already have a squad expected to struggle it creates a bit of an impossible task.
We are unlikely to have any of of injured bodies back for Tuesday, which means our best CB and best striker are injured. Considering both boxes is where we need to improve that is not good news! 
Our manager Jon Brady has lived in the area for decades since moving across from Australia. Played for lots of clubs in our region and then got the permanent managers job after managing the U18's. He is extremely passionate (maybe too much so as gets booked so often), but he is also passionate about the club and area which really has built a link with the fan base. He has also done a fantastic job so far in my opinion, developing our style away from just pure long ball which we have endured a lot of over the last few decades. We are not total football by any stretch of the imagination but have the ability to retain the ball far better now. That being said he is clearly getting frustrated at the lack of available bodies and the low budget he has to work with in L1. Despite our lowly position he is still pretty much universally backed by the entire fan base.
In terms of danger man you are right to highlight Sam Hoskins. He has gone from a player who was very much a marmite player amongst the fanbase to a club legend. He has always worked extremely hard and has played in every outfield position for us during his time here. The problem was his work rate would often mean that he was seemingly undroppable which meant he was an easy target. However Brady has recognised that he is comfortably our best finisher, meaning he is now less involved in build up play but much more in the final 3rd which has seen his goal tally rocket. He was the first player to score 20 goals for us since the early 90's and is now top 10 all time in appearances and goals.
Two other players that stand out for us (that are currently fit) are defenders Sam Sherring and Marc Leonard. Sherring is a young defender who is comfortable on the ball and is continuting to develop, i have no doubt he will go onto bigger and better things. Leonard is on load for the second season in a row here from Brighton and is arguably the best natural talent I have seen in the CM for us. We have had Matt Grimes and Matt Crooks here in recent years but Leonard just keeps things ticking over effortlessly.
I wonder if we may set up with a back 3/5 (I know not popular here!) Something along the lines of....
                       Burge 
           Willis Sherring Monthe
Odimayo                               Brough
               Mcwilliams Leonard
Pinnock                                  Hoskins
                    Simpson
 
I am going for a narrow 2-1 loss which is very much the story of our season. A point would be massive for us but despite your recent troubles there are still several levels between the sides.
Looking forward to being back at Pride Park and will post my thoughts after the game. Enjoy the game and rest of the season!

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.