Chester40

I'm not sure I want the modern phenomenon of everyone being upset about every little thing and using it as an excuse to be offended is a spirit I subscribe to! @Bris Vegasknew what he was doing, is a serial offender who is well able to take any reaction - and possibly welcomes it. It's a oft repeated opinion of his that was delivered at that moment that was always going to p*** on a few people's chips. Anyway....! Interesting debate if we had stood off them less 2nd half, would we have won. We will never know but it does shred the nerves watching us put no pressure on the ball and just sitting in with no one really giving us any outlet. The defence looked solid apart from Wildsmith who looked a bit unsure all game. Wilson in particular looked good. Adams and Smith both worked their socks off. NML the only disappointment- seems to have lost the afterburner that make him such a threat. CBT looked really good going forward but lazy defensively. Collins never stopped working and his touch was improved. Great point and keeps Portsmouth honest at least for the Bolton game. 8 days to get everyone fit and then go again.

Pompey on top. Derby defence resolute. Not holding onto the ball long enough.

Wildsmith Wilson Cashin Nelson Sibley Smith Adams Ward NML CBT Collins As good as we could hope for....

Well it resembled two drunks at kicking out time for periods... but damn they went for it. They also looked like a Rocky film, swinging, swaying and looking out for the count before rallying again. Wardley especially had pretty poor technique. But sooo much heart. Think you're right, neither looked they could mix at the very top level. But hats off to them for standing and fighting, emptying the tank and then going again.

Seriously... In the build up Clarke seems respectful and quiet. Wardley is the cocky one.?

I thought yesterday was one of his better performances. But I do agree he can appear more clumsy and liable to make a really sloppy pass than other players. When he not playing well, he's really one-footed, not great in the air, not lightening quick...and for me, he doesn't 'look' like a footballer at times. Out wide, he doesn't suddenly shift like NML or able to really 'trick' his way past a man like Wilson. Yesterday he utilised what he has got...a decent football brain, desire, aggression, a sweet left foot and a strong engine. I'm not sure he's quite 'good' enough to be a number 10 at a higher level. But if he set his mind to it, I think he could be a dynamic Le Saux /Cole/Hinchcliffe type attacking full back who gets a few goals too. He could definitely do Hourihane's job in centre mid now though, take the ball off the center backs, pass it 5 yards and take all the freekicks!

And that's the nub really isn't it... especially next season with no restrictions, no excuses about them not being his players etc... if we continue to play that way every week without the results he won't last long. Can he genuinely change? Tbh I doubt it.... so its whether we keep on winning games or not.

I find it a bit cringe tbh. West Ham fans were singing constantly in Europe... that was a bit naff... singing it against Blackpool in League 1 is worse. Very little chanting about promotion etc... think no one wants to dare say it as we seem to have a self destruct button we daren't tempt into action.

@Comrade 86you need to be quicker with the new match threads if you're leading us all the way to the promised land 😜

Agreed. It's obvious there are clear tactics being employed all over the pitch, when to press, when to turn back and pass, where the full backs move to at goal kicks, etc etc. Most of them are quite defensive in nature for me. There isn't a lot of free-flowing football, much individual flair. It's a resolute, strong, structured team. I won't look back on this as a season where we smash lots of teams on the way to promotion, by design there haven't been many games where we have coasted to victory...so it feels similar to the Billy promotion. And when we are bad we are dire. Ultimately I don't care, I can't face the play offs. It would be nice to at least have 1 game where we are already promoted to actually soak it in...but the way we play I'm sure it will go to the wire!

This was in response to me...and I've been 'pro' Warne all along. Plus I was at the game, willing us on! Sibley was only that side when taking corners which is where my confused comment came from. So...your 'some folk' rant may still be true, but it's totally misplaced in relation to the origin of that comment. I was with a couple of 'casual' fans at best and they found the game pretty uneventful. The couple of us who are regular fans found it gut-churning and ultimately enjoyable but it was the context that gave most of the emotion. The blocking of shots, desire to get a head on a cross etc was great to see. But we rarely committed ourselves, no one really went beyond the striker, Wilson stayed solidly in position and generally passed it backwards rather then take on his man or overlap. The victory was everything. My observations are though that we make it hard for ourselves by constantly taking a pretty pragmatic approach. When you're winning that's fine but it makes for quite stressful viewing at times. Blackpool looked pretty toothless and we generally handled them well but they had a decent chance at the end poorly struck/bravely blocked and if that had gone in then this thread would be twice as long.

It felt like a corner somehow!

Real Warne-ball victory. Score from a corner, dig-in and sit back and win. Not really much 'long ball' today but pretty negative in not committing players forward. Not seeing all this 'great football' from Blackpool. They were similar to how Derby can be, lots of passing across the backine but no idea how to create an actual chance. One great chance near the end when Derby heroically threw themselves in the way of a flurry of shots. Derby shaded it, tough watch at times. Not aided by a ref who blew for every tiny bit of contact on a Blackpool player.

Nelson and Cashin were immaculate. Ward really good today, tenacious with decent passing. Wilson was quite conservative but solid. Smith hard working and did the simple stuff. Adams MoTM again, great goal and all-action as always. Sibley played better than recently and looked more composed. CBT started to look a danger but final ball wasn't great. NML didn't beat his man once really but always looks a threat still.

Total agree mate. I thought Washington did nothing. He just jogged from one defender to another kinda closing them down. Obviously he was under orders to not commit himself and get beaten but he had no intensity or change of pace and didn't work back if they worked it round him. He didn't hold the ball up and had one golden chance that he fluffed. Collins instantly came on and worked harder, held the ball up better and was smarter with his passes.

Bloodline really didn't have enough storyline to extend far beyond 1 season IMO. I probably only progressed into season 2 as I fancy the pants of Linda Cardellini. Seen 4 or 5 episodes of Shogun. Fairly slow pace and the action scenes arent as brilliant as I expected, but conversely there is an awful lot of mileage in the storyline and could go in so many directions, so I'm quietly very impressed.

Well your pre-match negativity came to fruition mate, so let's see what a back 4 can do... yesterday was very disappointing. Fact remains that I think if Waghorn scores we coast home, if Adams doesn't miss that sitter I think we win too. As it was, our 'percentage' football failed and we need to go again.

Not sure it's failure to deal with pressure, but he definitely started the season clumsily and then really improved ...before being really tentative, sluggish and ultimately losing his head yesterday. Doesn't use his size in the opposition box as much as I'd hoped, less of a leader than Cashin/Nelson and worse on the ball than I feared. Ends all talk of a back 3 I guess now.

Thought Waghorn really struggled to get into the game. Gave away free kicks, didn't hold up the ball well, doesn't go beyond the back line, missed a great chance. Washington was as bad and Collins will be as rusty as anything, so I'm not saying any are ideal... bit of a worry tbf.

Thought Waghorn was pretty poor today. Washington barely touched it. Also forgot how many terrible dead balls we took and the ridiculous amount of offsides we give away... Hang on, I was trying to think about positives and it triggered more nightmares. Adams was really slack with his passing, Wilson just didn't get on the ball in the right position, Thompson reverted to energetic terrier chasing a balloon, CBT kept turning back onto his right foot.. even Cashin and Nelson were careless at times. The only positive is that when we have been this bad, we seem able to Jekyll and Hyde it and be good again next time.

Oh just get a room you two 🤣

Limp, lacking in effort and skill, felt it like lasted all night without going anywhere and ultimately just left everyone feeling disappointed and frustrated. Anyway, enough about @Jourdan's nuptials, how bloody awful were Derby today!

Horrible game. Just nothing went right. Bradley was so poor today, won't be missed on that showing. No intensity, no guile... I've been defensive of Warne's tactics but today there really was too much aimless hoofball. Passing across the back 3 to wing backs who were as deep as a full back would be.. launching it when we didn't really have out and out wingers who could take advantage. Sloppy passing. And brain-meltingly bad ref-ing. Pathetic s**t-housing, diving, staying down etc that was appallingly handled by the ref. Another really bad performance, similar to a few others. When we are bad, we are abject. Needs a massive change for the next 3 difficult games.

🤣 errr....

Waghorn especially, and NML really not in the game. Too many aimless long balls down the line, from wing backs playing too deep. Goal has changed the game and we need to get back at it and commit more men. Too slow to release, sitting too deep, too much passing backwards, or turning backwards. Need to be better....and these are poor so it can be done.