Chester40

13 hours ago, ariotofmyown said:

80s kids TV version:

Bertha

Willy Fog

Dogtanian

Rentaghost

Pigeon Street

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.

5 minutes ago, Comrade 86 said:

Apologies if I've misunderstood your point, but surely a league table encompassing 46 games is THE most accurate measure of success. What other metric is less misleading? it frustrates me that when teams finish above us it's always because they deserved to over the course of the season, but somehow this same rationale does not apply to us. IMO, if we do secure an autos slot, it's absolutely because we deserved it and by the same token, if we don't, then we clearly won't have. 

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! 

9 minutes ago, Comrade 86 said:

In fairness and unlike some, you've been entirely consistent in your observations over the course of the season, but taking Wycombe as an example, what was wrong with the team selection? Was it not another occasion where he actually got it right, which I concede, he hasn't always, but was let down by a forward line who lacked composure?

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.

4 hours ago, DB83 said:

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.

Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

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 

Just now, Poynton ram said:

With NML struggling for form should Warne have made him captain? Don’t get me wrong I think he is a real quality player but the dip in form is a worry and whilst it extends longer than when he has been captain I do wonder if the captaincy is placing additional pressure on him. Probably too late to change things but I wonder if Nelson would have been a better choice?

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

2 minutes ago, NottsRam77 said:

So in summary

cashin, nelson, ebou excellent

smith v good

wilson, sibley quality wise absolutely shocking

collins game passed him by with little service

nml, cbt and washington absolute crap tonight 

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...

Just now, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

Where's Collins been playing? Been in a meeting for most of the game.

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.

5 minutes ago, Comrade 86 said:

Looked. Nobody there 

Who's that fella with a banjo...

18 minutes ago, Comrade 86 said:

I've had some help on the de-stress side 😉

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?

2 minutes ago, abertawe_ram said:

Team is what I was hoping for and the bench has some good options!

Hope to god we don't get any defensive injuries though

COYR

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...

1 minute ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Wildsmith

Nelson   Cashin

Wilson   Adams   Smith   Sibley

Mendez-Laing   Washington   Blackett-Taylor

Collins

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.

2 minutes ago, McArthur Park said:

Hope those of you going have a great time tonight, I'll be watching Rams TV from behind a cushion!

Me too...

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

4 minutes ago, Millenniumram said:

I’ve got an actuarial exam tomorrow and this game tonight.

God help my heart rate this evening.

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 

23 minutes ago, FlyBritishMidland said:

No doubt this is a big game, not just for us but the chasing pack too.  In particular if we lose, it’ll give them a bit of hope.

Something I’ve been thinking about since Portsmouth is the GK position.  I wonder if PW may switch to Vickers for the last 4 games.  There were some moments with Wildsmith in the last game that I think will have caused some debate at Moor Farm, and none of them related to the goals.

Firstly, the handball.  Not that specifically but being there in the first place.  My initial reaction when I saw him coming out was that he’d give a penalty away as it was almost identical to the Oxford & Charlton games.  Then the chance they hit over the bar.  Wildsmith didn’t judge the flight of the ball in the conditions, didn’t claim the cross and it led to a chance.  And finally, right at the end, he caught the ball and Cashin went down under a challenge, clearly wanting to slow it down.  Wildsmith released the ball quickly, something he rarely if ever does, and losing possession could have cost us.  Cashin wasn’t very happy.

I think it’ll come down to who Warne trusts the most for the run in.  Who does he have more confidence in to keep their head?  It’s a big call but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a change between the sticks.

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.

18 hours ago, Stive Pesley said:

I enjoyed Season 2, but not as much as Season 1

Season 3 (the Ewan McGregor one) was much better.

Season 4 was the terrible one that we gave up on. 

The new one Season 5 was back on form again

Pretty much how I saw it. 

Billy Bob was great in particular.

Didn't enjoy the 4th series.

37 minutes ago, BaianoPOTY98 said:

The likes of Smith and Cash also like a battle 👍

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.

7 hours ago, kevinhectoring said:

I post a gentle reference to Portsmouth’s most famous son, and you and Clint Eastwood hold me out to public ridicule on the forum. I have been a gibbering wreck for days. 
 

You seem to think I’m in the camp that believes that we have found the best starting X1 only because of injuries. I’m not. If you look at my post more carefully you’ll see I’m saying simply that it has taken us far too long to settle on a balanced and effective startling line up. I think for example that this season we’ve overused Hourihane massively, overplayed NML, mis-used Fozzie (I agree with your assessment of him of course), underplayed Barkhuizen, Ward, Fornah (maybe) and Wilson and possibly underplayed Tommo. Dropping Wildsmith was obviously just weird but let’s assume there were other things going on. I also agree with you that Nyambe is a useful and good footballer but I’m not sure - even if fit - that he should start right now.  

The costly error imo - you can debate this of course - has been to accommodate Hourihane in the starting line up. I’ll be astonished if - having seen how much better we are without him - he ever starts again. That took 38 games ! I think a lot of people will be posting about that if we don’t go up 

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.

14 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Anyone thinking a goal should count as an xG of 1.0, "becuase it was a goal" doesn't havea firm grasp of statistics. 

Imagine flipping a coin. It has an xH (expected heads) of 0.5 and xT (expected tails) of 0.5. This particular poster thinks after flipping the coin and it landing on heads, the probability should be counted as landing on heads 100% of the time.

The rest of what the poster says isn't much better than that

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?

On 01/04/2024 at 00:13, GlastoEls said:

@David I applaud you.

Been down lots of those roads - tests, IVF, multiple miscarriages - we’ve lived the tears and longing and what I dreaded in particular was Christmas and the presents and going to panto with extended family and hearing the kids in bits laughing.  

For us IVF worked, eventually, and I tucked in a little one tonight. If I can help at all, please don’t hesitate. 

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.