Zag zig

He didn’t look too bad in the stands today. Think if we’d have won he’d have started the bounce.
Good to see him, Vickers and Jake Rooney in the away end supporting the lads.

Just got back and don’t understand the real negativity. We were ok, they scored a worldie, it wasn’t a bad performance for me, just lacked killer instinct when we got in front. Stuttering start 2nd half and bizarrely got better towards end without creating clear cut chances.
Seen a lot worse performances at Barnsley away. Still all to play for.

We have great crowds every week which rarely drop below 26k (and mostly well above) despite "the football".
If its were going to drop off,it's taking a long time,he's been here nearly two seasons.
The doommongers and anti warne brigade live in their own world on this forum,I'd be surprised if many actually go the games.

Watched the game on RamsTV as per... I have to say it was a thoroughly enjoyable game to watch. Both sides looking to play attacking football, both defences playing well enough to allow only 16 shots the whole game, 6 for them, 10 for us. Both sides had 4 on target and they enjoyed 58% possession.

I was happy to see Bobby Madley had been replaced as the ref to avoid any semblance of bias. His replacement did well. Not a perfect display but he was even handed with what he let go.

Towering header from Bradley for the 0-1. Good goal line header to prevent Cash getting our 2nd. Header away from Cash then fell to Phillips 20 odd yards out and nobody on him, easy chance put away well giving JW no chance. Same player headed home their 2nd. A game either side might have won, they did, IMO a draw would have been the right result. Results elsewhere didn't "punish" our loss.

Back 3 or 4? In a 4 Cash and Nels have been immense all season. Bradley is finally showing why we bought him. A 3 puts Nyambe out of the equation which is a shame as he's a very good RB. 3 allows us 2 wing backs and more attacking options and gives us 2 up top (strikers hunting in pairs, the way I like to see them). With players starting to become available again following injury, PW will have a fair few selection headaches.

4 of the next 5 games are at home. Blessing or curse? Hopefully we'll see big crowds getting behind the team and a plethora of points. We start with Charlton and Port Vale and I'd be looking for 6 points from those games. Brizzle Rovers away another 3. Reading at home, yes, they do seem a bit of a bogey side but time to lay that one to rest. Then it's Bolton, 32K crowd, buzzing stadium, simply a don't lose game. I'm looking at either 13 or 15 points from the 5 games and that would keep us in with a good shout of top 2.

Apologies in advance if this just sounds like a load of waffle.
My issue with Paul Warne is that I don’t feel like he’s getting the most out of what he has available. Yes, we have lost our target man but you adjust accordingly and change the style to suit what you have. He seems to have a certain way of playing with very little ability or willingness to tweak it.
He’s a nice enough bloke. I don’t like his interviews and try to avoid them as they often make me cringe. 

I don’t think he has much ability for developing players, if anything it’s the opposite. How many players have been bit parts or seemed to have disappeared, for example Smith and Fornah etc. These are players he’s signed, if they don’t end up in and around the squad he’s basically wasted wages.
Yesterday was hard to watch when we were going toward. First half NML and Sibley were basically playing as wingers, out wide, expected to beat their man, try and cut inside and left with limited options. There was no runners from the midfield. Second half the only threat was Wilson from the right wing, who wasted multiple opportunities to play a ball into the box after doing the hard work.
We seem to have no ability to open team up with intricate passing. Everything is play it out wide and whip a cross in. With no height in the box, unless you play that ball across the floor likelihood is it will be cleared and us put back on the counter. I absolutely hate the fact that we can no longer pass a ball more than four times without losing it and 3 of those passes will be sideways or backwards.
The midfield was all wrong yesterday. Bird and Hourihane were guilty of far too many side and backward balls. It completely neutralises the attack. Get your head up and look for NML and Sibbs who should be waiting to be fed the ball and charge at the defence or hold it up for the midfield to catch up. 

For me, now we have Adam’s covering the middle of the park we have no excuse to not use players like Thompson and Fornah ahead of him to drive the ball forward. Both are capable of carrying the ball and trying to find a forward pass.
If we try and play how we do when Collins is in the team then signing Gayle will have been a waste of time and money.
The Academy is another concern, Paul has no interest in seeing players feed through. Weston for example was bright when he had his chances, only to disappear back to the academy not to be seen again. Fapetu and Robinson as well looked like very good prospects. 
 
I don’t feel like Paul’s using any of the resources he has available as well as he could, the style of play isn’t particularly interesting to watch, I won’t argue that we are in a good position for the final stretch of the season but also feel like this squad is capable of a far more exciting style of football and would definitely compete towards the top end of the league. 

Well,like you, I attend most games. I quite like to hear the little snippets about people's experiences at the game, what they thought of the referee, that chance for Gayle at the end ( was it really a chance? It hasn't had a mention on here). 
Why should I avoid this thread?  Mods need to do their job and delete all the off-topic stuff or move it to the Warne thread, which I can easily avoid.

This was always marked down as one of our toughest games remaining and so it proved.
We have dug in and won some very tough away games recently where others have stumbled, so we were probably due a fall and again, the margins were fine.
There is no shame in a narrow loss against a promotion rival. Barnsley, Bolton and Peterborough will push us all of the way and each game left will feel like a cup final as the pendulum swings.
The important thing really is to just get back on the horse as quickly as possible. One loss isn’t fatal to our hopes if we bounce back quickly. Two home wins and a few Gayle goals this week and the belief will be right back.

You are solely looking at the results angle & everything about Paul Warne is pure short term focus leaving little else to justify his tenure here. What you're overlooking is his long term unsuitability & that also has to be factored into conversations about whether he stays or not. The quality of football is poor & a sizeable section of the fanbase do not enjoy watching it (with potential knock on effect for future PP crowd numbers), he doesn't particularly improve players, there is a misalignment with Academy pathway (refusing to even use EFL Trophy matches to give youngsters game time) & preferred transfer strategy in order for the club to achieve sustainability. Warne wants the likes of Sonny Bradley & Conor Washington to secure his promotion (and Michael Smith given half a chance)...the club will struggle to be sustainable with these types of signings. We brought in Mark Thomas last year to identify cheap, develop & sell high...Warne is not suited to this model.
Clowes appointed Warne to get us a quick promotion & that was the expectation of everyone when he was appointed (and why Rosenior was let go). To take your most extreme hypothetical scenario, as the pure remit for Warne being here is a short term focus of promotion, then defeat at Wembley would still be complete failure with no guarantee of promotion the next year & need to continue down the highly paid experienced pro with no resale value route that Warne prefers. I suspect Clowes will be considering how much longer he can tolerate that misalignment with the long term DCFC strategy come May should we faill to go up.

Does every matchday thread when we don't win have to deteriorate into the same tired debate about Warne? There's a thread for that.

If we’re not going to finish top 2 then who is? Bolton? The team who have just been smashed 4-1 and whose fans are probably in meltdown right now. Barnsley? Need to win their game in hand (against Bolton) just to be level with us, a team who not so long ago fans were also in meltdown wanting their manager out (sound familiar). The reason no one is running away with it (I think Pompey will be pulled back) is because all the teams at the top have flaws and are not quite good enough to dominate the league. Barnsley are back in the top 2 race now yet didn’t look any better than us, Bolton have been everyone’s pick and rightly because along with Pompey they’ve been the most active in the transfer market and spent the most money, yet they’re struggling right now. This will go to the wire and we have absolutely as much chance as the other teams. 
Big week ahead, Port Vale we absolutely should be banking on 3 points, anything else not good enough given they’re one of the poorest teams in the league right now. Charlton will be tough, they’ve taken points off Bolton and Pompey in the last two games, beating them will actually be a marker for our competitiveness. 
 
I think we can get top 2 but I don’t think we’re in the top 2 sides in this division. People can ignore this until they are blue in the face, the likes of Pompey Bolton and even Barnsley have had an advantage on us due to our restrictions. There’s a reason the average age of the squad is as old as it is. Yes we have a budget to be competitive and we are being competitive but that doesn’t mean top 2 should be a guarantee, and the playoffs as we all know are a lottery. 
 

11 goals/assists in 11 U18 league games this season and he's still only 16 (until tomorrow).
I think it's a really special crop of players and wouldn't be surprised if we challenge for the title next season. 9 of today's starters are only first year scholars. 

Bradley might play well but it’s the effect his presence has on Cashin and Nelson that bothers me.
They were imperious as a pairing but seem unsure of their positioning in a three.
We also lack a good third midfielder to complement Bird and Adams.  Someone with more energy and power than Hourihane. Sibley might be the best option. 
 

It depends how we eventually set up in the attacking positions because it’s all quite disjointed. There has to be space for Corey Blackett-Taylor somewhere, you’d think Gayle and Waghorn, Sibley and Barkhuizen are currently in the mix, personally feel we could rest NML short term but there’s currently five/six players you’d think are starters currently for two/three positions.
You could drop Hourihane instead but he got another assist yesterday? It’s getting a balance, I’m sure it’ll work out. One thing I’ll say is that aside the two goals I thought we were defensively very good yesterday, which sounds a bit daft but I can’t see many attackers causing us that many problems.
Saying this though, and realising this after posting, a four might suit us better because it brings Nyambe at full back over Ward and Wilson. Glad I’m not the manager anyway!

Whenever I hear Malcolm Christie, even if after the game, in terms of punditry his analysis seems good, you’re given a feel he knows what he’s talking about but he’s far more upbeat.
Steele may have been a good goalkeeping coach, knows his onions but boy us he dull on the radio this season; he’s full on grumpy old man.

Good point.
Was thinking about this myself, but more along the lines, if we play a 3, with Adams sitting in and extra bite to stop teams running through us, could we play Bird and maybe Sibley in front for more creativity. Know Sibley gets his knockers but I genuinely felt taking him off yesterday, made it more comfortable for them.
My issue with the 3 is not so much it doesn’t work defensively, it’s more the capabilities of our wing backs going forward. Which I think is why you would suggest 4-3-3? So I’m trying to think what allows them to be more effective, ball players with attacking instincts in the middle?

Sonny Bradley is starting to play consistently well, but could this be a double-edged sword for us? 
In order to keep his place in the team, it more or less forces Warne to stick with three at the back.
I feel our best football this season has been played with a back four. I just can't see Bradley in that set-up.
 

Whenever I hear Malcolm Christie, even if after the game, in terms of punditry his analysis seems good, you’re given a feel he knows what he’s talking about but he’s far more upbeat.
Steele may have been a good goalkeeping coach, knows his onions but boy us he dull on the radio this season; he’s full on grumpy old man.

Whenever I hear Malcolm Christie, even if after the game, in terms of punditry his analysis seems good, you’re given a feel he knows what he’s talking about but he’s far more upbeat.
Steele may have been a good goalkeeping coach, knows his onions but boy us he dull on the radio this season; he’s full on grumpy old man.

Whenever I hear Malcolm Christie, even if after the game, in terms of punditry his analysis seems good, you’re given a feel he knows what he’s talking about but he’s far more upbeat.
Steele may have been a good goalkeeping coach, knows his onions but boy us he dull on the radio this season; he’s full on grumpy old man.

Been mulling this over since FT today but think this is my current hypothesis about Warne.
I think Warne gets the mentality of opposition teams who see Derby as ‘a big day out’ (or however you want to put it). I think he gets the different approaches when he comes up against the vast majority of league one sides and whilst it doesn’t always mean the prettiest football, he probably gets about 90% of decisions in these games correct. Hence our league position.
I think where PW struggles is where a team fancies it and aren’t treating themselves as underdogs.
What I mean is, that there are games where you need to encourage teams to play, let them have the ball and make mistakes and you capitalise. Again it doesn’t equal the best football but it’s effective. There’s also games like today where I think we need to be, for lack of a better term, Billy big bo****ks and play a professional game. What concerns me, for example in games like today is that they have a big attendance and we don’t go about shutting the crowd up. We let it all grow, the crowd gain confidence, the players gain confidence and we invite the pressure on. We’ve dropped major points in important games this season and i think we can see it’s from maybe not having that mentality to see a game out or poor game management.  PW will persist with players and tactics and gamble on the wrong outcome. Our joy today was through Cashin, Bird and Sibley linking up, but he upset that second half by taking Sibley off and changing shape. He persisted with Wilson, who did little today except, and NML on the wings which Barnsley could defend against, rather than the passing movement that was working a bit.
I like Warne and he’s smart enough to figure out how to overcome the problem he has in these matches, but he’s got to evolve past maybe relying on the easy decision (eg taking sibley off) and try and manage these games more smartly and frustrate teams. Keep the ball, slow the game down, don’t worry about entertainment etc etc 

Sadly that was the same for me especially with Eric Steele. I have been able to listen to the commentary of away games recently but today briefly turned it on but only lasted a couple of minutes. It always sounds so negative and leaves me feeling depressed and angry. I’m aware some like it but I’m not one of them.

He ruined the match commentary on the radio for me today. Never like it when miserable Eric Steele is on either. Switched it off. 

This assumes that our comments on here are a reflection of our support at the match. 
 
I don’t think Warne as a manager will be successful long term for us. I think eventually given enough chances he’ll get us out this division because that’s par for our wage bill etc. beyond promotion though I just simply don’t see success moving forwards. We will be buried in the championship if we approach games like we do down here. 
 
That doesn’t stop me singing about Paul warnes barmy army at the game regardless of my personal view about his suitability. That doesn’t stop me thinking he’s probably a great bloke but preferring a great coach instead. 

I have to say - he’s scored some incredibly important goals for us - but it feels like CH always takes the easy option. Either a pass back to the defence or a lump up field. 
 
I want to see someone with his left foot and ability attempting defence splitting through balls and directing the tempo from the middle. 

The two things that annoyed me most during the game were :
Ball was threaded to Hourihane in the middle of the pitch, if he'd turned he would have had room to run into. Instead he just passed it 20 yards backwards to a defender who under pressure passes it back to the keeper.
Bird collects the ball which has been cleared, Derby are on top,  he is facing the goal with a few yards to run into..he turns away and tries to slide a pass out wide that trickles out for a throw in.
They are our 'ball players' and seemed happy to leave the 'match winning' to our 'skillful' players- Wilson, NML, Barks..who all struggled to do that yesterday.
Defence largely looked solid. Adams worked his socks off ...really felt as a pair they contributed too little.  I know a lot will say its all down to Warne telling them to how to play but we just didn't look after the ball in midfield at all.