Chester40

If we miss out having finished 3rd and are unlucky in the play offs then I'd see little point starting all over again personally....but yep, promotion is my expectation and anything less will be a tough pill to swallow agreed.

Wow. High praise indeed. Had already been told by a friend how good it was...so I'm definitely watching it next. Almost finished Mr Inbetween. Will keep recommending it to anyone who will listen.

Yum... you filthy beast, got me all hot under the collar now...lovely mental image. How did Claire Grogan look by the way??

I can see what you did there... Except that's the whole issue for me. No one moderately sensible is being shouted down? No posters were saying give Warne a new 5-year deal, he's the 2nd coming of Clough ...and they still aren't. Even those trying to say 'can we be more patient' were largely still critical of his style, were saying results weren't great, that we needed an improvement and asking why we weren't playing 4 at the back etc. They just weren't making personal attacks, exaggerating every tiny issue and 'gleefully' sticking the boot in each and every match thread constantly until it was pointless reading it. No one can argue the last couple of games have been anything other than very positive. But a bad result tomorrow and criticism is expected and driving home I will moan as much as the next fan. A run of poor results could see us slip away from the play offs and then I'd be seriously questioning if Warne is the right man. I know I'm not the arbiter of what is reasonable, but he needed time to see if results and performances improved - and fortunately that has been proved right FOR NOW. That could change but I personally hope if they do, it will result in more measured and realistic responses this time. You're entitled to your opinion just as I am to mine. I just prefer it when it doesn't go to the extreme - where in my head I was moderately supportive of Warne yet on here felt like I was his number 1 fan (apart from maybe @Crewton). Anyway. I'm boring myself now. Let's hope it's all irrelevant and we romp the league. Starting tomorrow with a big statement win.

I tend to agree... Although I thought 'Rocketman' was really really good and Elton's songs fitted in very nicely. On the list itself, I've watched about half. With another maybe 10-20 I've seen bits of. The biggest omissions being the classics I suppose, eg Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, The Third Man. Would just never seek them out. Recent absences are anything I can't imagine would interest me, so I've never seen Dirty Dancing, 50 Shades....err Mama Mia itself actually, Love Actually, The Holiday.. In fact ...almost anything the missus suggests!

Wonka Having heard all the praise, I was slightly disappointed. More songs than I needed and the scope of the story was quite 'small' which wasn't what I wanted. Felt more like a stage show than a film almost. Definitely would take very for that transition. I preferred eg Paddington. Was fine but not a big children's blockbuster or an interesting story for me. I suppose it was more in the vein of a Mary Poppins which isn't me tbh. 6/10

Always enjoyed the darts. Guilty pleasure that is pretty mainstream now. Luke Littler ...wow. Just off the scale impressive. Could be the next Phil Taylor, as he has that almost smug and knowing way about him. Just believes he's the best. Deliberately engineered 170 outshots, signalling to the crowd, going double double top...all with a wide grin on his face. Nerves of steel. Doesn't look 16... or act it. Him and MVG in a match up would be perfect.

Not really. They repeatedly ranted om and on about how ridiculous it was he was being given another chance, that he had no clue, wouldn't win games, shouted down anyone who suggested patience. They were wrong. Fortunately we got to see how wrong. Doesn't mean we will walk the league or that he won't be at risk at some point. But some of the vitriol and impatience was embarrassing especially given some of our recent history.

Depends what you mean...there were a lot of people who 'appeared' quite gleeful to jump on any defeat and massively exaggerate the issues. My particular gripe was that the matchday threads were not representative of the game I was watching such was the desire to hammer him. I'd guess from recall there were a only a couple who eg explicitly said they wouldn't mind losing the next game if it meant he'd leave. How many more got some 'pleasure' from being proved right about their negative pre-match assessment is quite hard to count but the amount of times and hyperbole they used to do so was tiring and unnecessary.

I'd change things a little. Tbf - the winning team wasn't the one that started the game. Niambe, Cashin and Nelson will play. Fozzie may get a rest but he played well so depends how he feels. I expect Hourihane and Bird will play. NML is key. Wilson needs a run of games. So Collins, Barkhuizen, JJ, Ward, Sibley, Thompson will probably all figure at some point but not necessarily for the same period as last night.

Wonder if any of the posters who were on DC's back saying they'd rather he pay off Warne and his staff and have no money to spend in the transfer window.....will still have the brass neck to moan that he isn't spending enough in the next few weeks? 🤣🤣

That wasn't my point. It was that the emphasis Warne has made on the 'character' of the players he's signing has been ridiculed. All the Warne-isms (the boards with photos, constantly texting all the players, little quirky ideas about making them share feelings to bond as a team etc etc)... Well as a team that were mentally so strong, so together. Never flinched.... My mate was constantly in my ear 'we are winning this...'.. it felt inevitable. Maybe, just maybe Warne knows what he's doing with building a decent culture at the club. A lot of begrudging fans are saying even if he gets us up we will be terrible in the next league because of the type of football he plays. Maybe the culture, the togetherness of the whole staff etc may count for more than we think. Tonight it showed its value. No shirking, no fingerpointing, no heads going down. Just 100% commitment to the cause. Yes, from the new players but from from all the players he is working with every day.

If I were Warne my observation tonight would be that the character, mentality, team-work and positivity was what got us back into the game. And that's due to the players I've brought to the club and the way I run things. Been a fair bit of derision and sarcastic comments made about those statements he's made in the past. Tonight I think he can stick two fingers up at his detractors because we never gave up for a second.

Terrible start. But we then dominated for 70mins. Crucial goal from Fozzie on the stroke of hakf time and the 2nd half was as one-sided a game as you will see. The energy, effort and desire was off the scale. So much credit has to go to the lads for believing and never giving up. Deserved it 100%. Oxford were hanging on and we won every 2nd ball, got to every pass, tackled like demons. So proud of the resilience and hunger. Just an immense performance. Every player worked their socks off. Fozzy and Cashin both MoTM. All the subs played their part. Can't recall such an enjoyable game to watch.

The most brainless penalty I have ever seen from Derby. Jesus wept.

Agreed. It sounds harsh but he doesn't 'create something from nothing', beat his man or shoot from distance and catch the keeper out. He's definitely not explosive or mercurial. He's very 'workmanlike'. Not being awful about him, he's decent enough... but he's not amazing in the air, isn't pacy, or tricky, or a great fox in the box, I don't think he sees a pass that well to assist a lot. If he's leading the line you will get effort and energy and freekicks and he will take maybe 1 in 3 of his chances. Puts a lot of onus on the creative players to give him chances, to beat their man and find him. He's no 'joker card' where he suddenly finds you a goal from nothing in a drab match. Would love to have something a bit 'different' up top to take the game to teams, keep them worried or just win a game for us with a moment of something special that's heading to a draw. I know....probably unrealistic but I can dream!!

The wounded soldier act really is a stretch 🤣

He gives out at least as much as he takes.... and I think he enjoys it that way.

This. Nelson is quality. Wins every header, doesn't dive in, strong, can carry the ball when he feels like it too. NML is runner up. Sometimes has looked our only source of inspiration. Cashin is more 'all-action' than Nelson. Gets ahead of his man more, dives in more, looks to play the longer pass more. If he could head as well in the opposition box he could have 3 or 4 goals and be in contention. Forsyth is solid. Looks decent going forward. Niambe is a brick outhouse (ala Wisdom Mk 1) but hasn't played regularly enough yet. Think it speaks volumes where the improvements can still come. Sibley, Bird, Hourihane, Wilson, Fornah, Barks, Collins etc can still go up another level... and in the process win us this league.

Well Boxing Day was the kind of performance I was wishing for pre-game. Dominated the game, left Wigan feeding off scraps. Played it long if needed, down the channels when there was room and played intricate, fast-moving, skilful football for decent periods. Collins worked his socks off but we should have been out of sight. As I said either JJ needs to be starting regularly or he needs to go back and we need a more pacey and clinical striker if possible to lead the line regularly. The keeper, Niambe, Forsyth, Cashin and Nelson look supreme for this level. Bradley looks OK as replacement with lots of full/wing back options. Bird is playing well. Hourihane seems more mobile at the moment and while Fornah runs a bit hot n cold on his day he looks a real presence. So maybe a bit of creativity in the midfield and/or pace on the wing and we look really strong. First time in a while we have dominated a team so completely. Currently looks like Portsmouth, Bolton...us and maybe Peterborough. Failure to finish top 6 now would mean the end for Warne. Don't see it though. Top 4...but can we recruit and change up another gear and get out this league. This is where Warne's experience should be crucial.

I'm not feeling massively confident about a top 2 push. I think it's the nature of the wins. They are slightly 'attritional'. As a one-off, game by game that's fine. We look solid at the back, have plenty of the ball and probe down the wing, Collins does the hard work on his own and 2nd half we have impact subs who can give us a spark. Nothing wrong with that. Just would like the occasional 'easy' win where we click, take the game to the opposition and win easily as the better team. Just feels currently its more percentage football and the odds aren't that stacked in our favour. I never feel that confident we will win and every game is a tight affair. I never feel like we are going to give anyone a spanking. To be top 2 I think we need a bit more. Definitely more inspiration from the midfield and a striker who can break the lines a bit. Think we are looking more 4th or 5th place at the moment. Would so like us to kick on a little more and be a bit more aggressive in our play. Wilson needs to start, JJ needs more game time and get some fresh blood in the window and we could really take this league on.

Hard to categorise this being an 'oldie' myself, but I love this. Slight 80s vibe that I can't quite place but could be played on Radio 1 too.

The 'I'm going to be a new Dad' thread is much easier to contribute to. For most people there are universal feelings/emotions. Fostering brings with it a lot of different emotions and situations that people will deal with very differently. There is a lack of 'absoluteness' and certainty that is harder to deal with.

I can't believe the tactics weren't premeditated. I wouldn't like to count how many times Nelson and Cashin passed it sideways to each other and then out wide to Ward/Forsyth. The midfield didn't really come short to take it off them, the keeper rarely kicked it long and until Cashin played a couple of crossfield balls they didn't go long. As has been pointed out, Warne just seemed irritated we did it too slowly. We could do with someone a bit more dangerous in the air as Collins doesn't look likely to score in that way. The criticism of Warne's tactics was previously we just launched it. I've not seen evidence of that for a long time and I always thought it was over stated. Currently we seem reliant on moments of magic (rather than sustained pressure), usually from Wilson and NML. But we do have a few players who are capable now. Big few matches coming up...

Agreed. I will add my youngest asked me at half time 'Why can I only hear the Lincoln fans singing most of the time'. Was pretty quiet when we weren't winning/on top. Definitely the team were motivating the fans more than the other way round.