Chester40

No Danger Mouse, Jamie and His Magic Torch, Supergran or Chorlton and The Wheelies?? Some good suggestions on here though... Twin Peaks and Stranger Things are really memorable and evocative. Plus Miss Marple (with those 2 scary women peering out the window) and Dick Turpin.

What about a league table after 9 games which I think was his point? Regardless I'm not one to think past performances are the 'be all'..look at Schteve, shocking at times and a legend with us!

I agree with your sentiments and you raise an interesting point. I think with what we had available. ..he picked the right team. And in hindsight we were f***ing terrible. So where does that leave us. Scratching my head. I think when it's a battle with teams who come onto us, or when our players are allowed to do what they want, they are good individual players, who work hard and for this level we have better than average skill levels and that generally sees us through. When we come up against teams who set up to negate us we have simple plans that if unsuccessful can unravel and then we look really ordinary, lacking in runs/movement/passing that give us good opportunities to score. We start to force the same passes more and more, overhit them, become desperate with decision making and run into blind alleys as no one is making any different runs. That probably is a management issue? Not giving them the structure where players overlap, pop up in different positions, beat their man with a 1-2.... Cashin's long diagonal ball is as revolutionary as it gets. Constantly heading down the wing to two out or form players instead of turning inside and releasing the passes that Smith made to NML was noticeable on Tue. Earlier in the season IMO we weren't as poor as lots of fans were making out. We have forced our way to 2nd so Warne deserves a chance to see it through, but our poor performances are getting worse which is massively worrying as he should be getting a handle on where things need to change and it feels like the opposite. I don't understand how professionals could look so clueless, abject and unable to do the basics. They were clearly trying but they appear too rigid and uninspired which is the coaching side of things that appears to be at fault?? Anyway..I'm just waffling and waffling on and clearing my brain of the huge frustration I felt on Tue.. before going again tomorrow. Tis the life of a Derby fan.

Did you watch the game? I don't recall last season's match but if Tue was an improvement then I've probably had therapy to help me forget it! I can't remember so many 'WTF was that' moments in any game. Just constantly covering my face with my hands and/or swearing at the TV. Basic errors, unbelievably loose passing, elementary mistakes like being off-side or giving stupid fouls away or not attacking the ball and giving them soft goal kicks. Throw in horrific shooting, an absolute lack of intensity, determination to keep lumping it down the wings to no effect and running the ball into touch unnecessarily. I just struggled to see how we were a professional team at times...it was more like a charity event. I honestly don't think we would have played any worse if I'd dragged myself up and down the wing instead of CBT. On paper we looked an attacking side, but Washington, Collins and NML all looked woefully unengaged with the rest of the team. It was every bit as bad as the Northampton game, except Wycombe looked even more there for the taking until we gave them confidence. I honestly can't remember how many times frustration at how brain dead our play was gave way to bitter, hollow laughter. I'm just about now contemplating having to watch us again and invest hope in Bolton slipping up again but omg when we are bad we are soooooo bad. Wildsmith Wilson Nelson Cashin Sibley Adams Smith Bird Barks Collins NML

Not sure it's made a lot of difference....but Nelson seems a better choice of captain regardless.

Agreed. But also we were such a stupid team ...no game management/understanding at all. Stupid off-sides, terrible free-kicks, shooting that was eye-bleedingly bad, poor anticipation, giving away free kicks, passing to nobody, running into dead-ends... on and on... just amateurish. Warne has to take responsibility today, failure to go up and I wouldn't cry if we decided he'd had his chance and looked elsewhere.

This is truly appalling...

No he's definitely on the pitch...

Has CBT done a anything right today? I can't remember a single thing.

These are terrible... yet we are conspiring to throw it away. Washington has been so wasteful. CBT has missed a chance that was painfully easy and otherwise been garbage. NML is pretty absent. Collins not touched it. Defence looks fairly solid and mostly keeping them at arms length. Huge gaps through the middle when we try but we persist in going wide.

Who's that fella with a banjo...

Hmmmm... TMI. Anyway ...back to important matters, Shaun Barker saying CBT has 'electrical pace'... does that scan or is it just not what you would normally hear?

Yep, no complaints. Considering we are missing Ward, Forsyth, Bird, Gayle, Elder, JJ, Niambe ....Bradley ..that is a decent team. Bench looks a bit light but hardly surprising...

Wow... I have actually guessed a Warne starting line-up... get rid of the predictable twonk!

I was told by my parents that an electric blanket would frazzle you to death and/or dehydrate you to death and/or catch fire and burn you to death, if it was left on overnight while you slept ... one night my mum woke me angrily and told me she was turning it off. For years I thought of it as a near death experience and that she had literally saved my life.

Me too... I'm just hoping the cushion is doing all its hiding of me from my excited midrift, rather than my face.

If you can't even spell 'actual' correctly then I think you may struggle anyway ... 😜

It's just so important to start well tonight. Get on top out the gates ...out battle /work them and let them feel it means much more to us. We do that sometimes but if we don't score early there is then a lull and we can give the opposition confidence and start giving the ball away very easily. Intensity is massively needed, moving the ball quickly, energy all over the pitch and make it a cup final they aren't that bothered about participating in. Hopefully get an early goal and then sweep them away. If not I feel it could be a long night where we give them too much respect and something to play for. Wildsmith Wilson Nelson Cash Sibley CBT Adams Smith NML Washington Collins

I find him similar to Jordan Pickford, where he's generally really good in all areas, integral to the team's success... and then he will throw in a really terrible performance and/or make a particularly spectacular error of judgement. I know that's an issue for all keepers but both his highs n lows are more than eg Vickers. It makes it harder to drop him as his level doesn't ebb and flow it just occasionally drops off a cliff and promptly returns to his normal high standards. However, recently I have felt his kicking in particular has been poor. He has also looked a bit shaky from crosses. So I'd be tempted if that's been similar in training, but it would be a big call.

Pretty much how I saw it. Billy Bob was great in particular. Didn't enjoy the 4th series.

Waghorn is strong as an ox. Other of our more skilful players are also able to mix it, NML, Wilson, Ward are all able to get stuck in. Possibly only Bird, Hourihane are more 'technical' without that bite, which is why (Fornah and then) Adams were recruited, as eg Thompson, Smith just couldn't do it all. Shame we couldn't do that successfully earlier in the season.

I just dreamt I watched us lose 1-0 in a travesty of a s***housing match against Wycombe. I was then watching a news report with Bolton fans being interviewed saying they were now favourites and didn't want the play offs. It took me about 5mins of feeling miserable before I realised it had been a dream. Come on Derby .... win tomorrow, thrash Orient at the weekend and Portsmouth to grab a draw and we are almost there. Really don't fancy the play offs.

I think there is an awful lot of '20-20 hindsight' that even then you still aren't sure about. Could also be argued that is what a manager does. He changes horses for courses, plays people who are in form and gives players the chance but doesn't just persist with them if they aren't doing it. If we finish 2nd he's been proved right on all counts in my opinion. It's also inevitable that if we don't go up the inquest will begin and everyone will do what you've done and say 'Hourihane and NML played too much', and various other players didn't play enough. Possibly that he didn't get the right striker in and signed too many injury-prone players and kept going to a back 5. Whereas if we go up then everyone will say he did what was expected and move on. Tis the way of the world. Having come so far now I'd probably give him next season regardless- obviously if be Xmas we are struggling in whatever league we are in, then he'll be gone.

Well explained. I'm guessing that stats don't really give any context.. So if you score 2 early goals - from a goal keeping error from a corner and a deflected shot from distance, and you spend the rest of the game defending behind the ball, launching it out, running down the clock, letting the keeper make 5 or 6 routine-ish saves. No fan would think you had been lucky ...but the stats would suggest you were?

I second all this. Plus lots of other comments. You won't know for sure what the right decisions are, as we don't know the future or what would have happened if you had taken another path. All you can do is think carefully, be honest in your reasoning and then stick to it together, enjoy the positives and not spend your life wondering what might have been. Don't feel you have to keep updating everyone but do know that if you do want to ..people want to hear what you're saying and care, and have everything crossed it works out eventually.