Zag zig

Pride Park Stadium – KO: 15.00
After a chastening visit to Wycombe Wanderers, next up, the Rams play host to Leyton Orient. I know the whole, ‘must win game’ is horribly overused cliche in sport, but sadly, it actually applies on this occasion, as it will do for all of our remaining games. On the basis of ability and potential, you’d fancy our chances strongly, but as has been the case through a good deal of the season, the team remains somewhat Jekyll and Hyde and it’s anyone’s guess which Derby will turn up on Saturday. Having been concerned about the Wycombe game being a potential banana skin, I’m less so for this match, but it’d taker a braver man than I to be dogmatic about the outcome.
Leyton Orient:
Founded in 1881 as the Glyn Cricket Club, they began playing football as Orient in 1888 and joined the London League in 1896 after success in the Clapton & District League. The club adopted the name Clapton Orient two years later and were elected into the Football League in 1905. Most recently and under current manager Richie Wellens, the club was crowned champions of League Two in the 2022–23 campaign and sit mid-table in this current season.
Form Guide:
In the corresponding away fixture, we rode our luck a little early on, but having scored 1st, the game turned on a somewhat controversial sending off, with Brandon Cooper dismissed for a foul on Max Bird. Derby ultimately ran out comfortable 3-0 winners and this with Collo spurning a brace of golden opportunities, but even then, I felt the scoreline flattered us a little - Please see the match highlights link below. FWIW, my view is that Orient are a tidy enough side for the grade and should not be taken lightly. Much like Wycombe, they will be able to relax a little more than our lads and we need to be controlled and alert throughout the 90 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zPSKzMlFGE&ab_channel=DerbyCountyFootballClub
 
Most recently, Orient’s form has been decent enough, with a 1-0 victory away to Stevenage followed by two losses by the odd goal only to Lincoln and Peterborough. Their last two matches, both at home, yielded a 3-1 victory against Cheltenham, followed by a 2-2 draw against Exeter.
The most obvious dangerman would seem to be the ever-present Ruel Sotiriou with 11 goals and 5 assists across 42 games played. Shaquai Forde is next best with 9 goals and 5 assists, with Oliver O'Neil chipping in with 5 goals and 4 assists. Their preferred formation is seemingly a 4-2-3-1, but perhaps someone who has actually watched them regularly can confirm, as my research yielded conflicting data.
Head 2 Head:
Historically, Derby have the edge and perhaps more significantly, we have not lost at home to Leyton since 1981, with 5 home losses in total since the clubs first met way back in 1907 in what was then the 2nd division.
Games won: 23
Games drawn: 8
Games lost: 18
Team News:
Warne again has some worries to address. Our own @Caerphilly Ram has battled manfully to keep us all informed against an ever-changing background and his latest summary suggests the something akin to the following scenario for Saturday:
Joe Ward – was said to be out for 2 weeks at time of injury – 50:50 for this match is perhaps mildly optimistic
Max Bird – was mooted as a possible for the Wycombe game – may well figure from the bench
Dwight Gayle – not expected to play this weekend, but may be available for the last 2 games
Craig Forsyth - not expected to play this weekend, but may be available before season end
Callum Elder – groin injury, status unknown
Ryan Nyambe – out for the season
Tyreece John-Jules – most likely out for the season
Jake Rooney -  most likely out for the season, but has been ‘back on the grass’ we’re told. No jokes please!
I do have some sympathy for Warne as it seems every time he has the lads playing well, injuries to key players undermine any momentum, but that said, we’re not alone in that regard and we’ll need to make do as best we can.
Line-Up:
I think PW will start with a very similar line up to the last game. I’m going to suggest a slightly controversial tweak (assuming Ward is s recovered) and a change from the MF 2 we seem to favour, to variant of an undeniably old fashioned 4-4-2 – yeah, I know, straws...clutching...much… If Ward is indeed fit, he comes in for Nate, who looks like a man in need of freshening up – perhaps he and Max might be best deployed as ‘finishers’ off the bench when legs tire and the game is more stretched, assuming we’re not winning comfortably. Likewise Barks, who could also play on the right if Ward remains out. That said, if Max is healthy enough to start, I'd be sorely tempted to switch to a 4-3-3 with he and Corey either side of Ebou and Washington dropping to the bench. Irrespective, we must control the game better than we did in the 2nd half at Wycombe, where we repeatedly left a yawning chasm in front of our back 4, for their midfielders to play into.
The front two and CM remain unchanged for me; despite both Wash and Collo looking understandably short of match sharpness, IMO, they remain our best current options. Once again, the back 4 pick themselves, as do Corey and Ebou in at CM. Joe keeps his slot, having done well enough since his return to the fold.


The Match:
Honestly, I’ve no idea which Derby will turn up. After Wycombe, some will want wholesale changes, but my take on what was an admittedly hugely disappointing result, is that Wycombe should have been dead and buried inside 40 minutes. I’m not sure that the subsequent slaughtering of Warne for what was to my eye, the profligacy of his forward line, is entirely fair, but each to their own. He remains the incumbent, for better or worse and whatever might happen next year, it seems a long way off right now. As such, the focus for yours truly remains the next 3 games and nothing else.
A last word, as I’ve avoided reading all bar the last couple of pages of the last thread, would be that despite the stuttering effort against Wycombe, the travelling Rams faithful were magnificent in their support for the team. It’d be grand if we could mirror that at home and all try to channel our inner B4 and help carry the lads over the line. At least remember that Warne and his players are trying their best and are just people, like all of us and hurtful appraisals will only serve to undermine their confidence further.
Enjoy the game one and all.
COYR
BE MORE B4
  

Wow, was at the game last night first chance I’ve had to catch up on here
 
    Some of you  really got in a state didn’t you, yes the performance wasn’t great but we still got a point , yes it gives Bolton and Peterborough hope but we are still second, the lads need all our support at the minute , the fans at Wycombe last night were magnificent btw, we all knew it was going to be a rollercoaster and there are some twists left 
      The manager and players know what they have to do and I would rather be in our position than the other two , on to Saturday and with a few more bodies back I expect a reaction to last night , all is not lost , let’s all do our best for our club COYR

Would it have been better if the ball was on a plate and delivered by a waiter.
CBT is a pro footballer, Most likely since a child he's learned how to control a ball, Whether at pace or coming out of the sky with snow on it, The ball fell to CBT it was an open goal he fluffed it, Scuffed it call it what you like.
I find it extraordinary that posters are saying Washingtons ball was the fault, Then saying he should have scored 🙄
 

After 8 feckin days off.  Have a feckin day off. My Uncles 58 and works 5 days a week laying pipes.  

FFS they've just had 7 days off. 

Over walking their dogs ? F Me they’ve had a week off.

"They're all difficult games in League One"
Absolutely infuriating listening to that. If it's that difficult now, good luck playing Watford, West Brom etc every week. Christ.

Bolton won’t get maximum points from their remaining games . Neither will PBoro .
Tonight was predictably poor against one of our favourite foes in this Division but the fun will run to the final Saturday.
Embrace the ride and here’s to nicking promotion on the final day . 🐏

Exactly that. Plus the gap would be 4 points not 1 until they play their game in hand. They’d still have to win 3 games against our 2 wins. 

Did you watch it? 
 
People aren’t angry at the result. They’re angry at watching an absolutely awful performance when we need players standing up and being counted. 
 
I had us down for 10 points out of our last 4 so the draw is no odds but I can’t see how a team in second with 3 matches left can be outplayed so easily in the second half. Especially when we’ve had a week on the training ground and more legs. 

Not a doom merchant but the game management is shocking, play with no urgency or tempo. Terrible substitutions and tactical decisions. It has been the same all season. I remember Warne saying he loves a good throw in yet we must be the worst in the league at them  
We’re second in the league but on the whole a forgettable season with very few highlights. How many promotion worthy performances have we put in???
So so so disappointing. To say we have a team who know what it takes to get out the league and fail to take advantage against teams like Northampton and Wycombe is inexcusable. 

Got to be one of the lamest away games of the season and the almost kamikaze end summed it up; disjointed, no cutting edge when chances came but ultimately they were just underwhelming.
Head scratcher when we had above a week to plan for this game.

Not once did we show any composure, it was just too frenetic.

What has happened to NML?
He looks like a man who has forgotten how to play football. He needs a rest I think.
He has been the driving force in our season but when he’s out of form we create little.

I hated everything about that performance.

2 points dropped, not a good enough performance at all. NML and CBT missed huge chances and were both largely ineffective. Very disappointing evening. 

Got to be one of the lamest away games of the season and the almost kamikaze end summed it up; disjointed, no cutting edge when chances came but ultimately they were just underwhelming.
Head scratcher when we had above a week to plan for this game.

That final 20 secs just about sums us up!

Exactly this. A point isn’t awful but the performance has been horrendous. 

A point isn’t terrible as Bolton have Pompy and Posh still to play. We need to win our last 3 games though 

Got to be one of the lamest away games of the season and the almost kamikaze end summed it up; disjointed, no cutting edge when chances came but ultimately they were just underwhelming.
Head scratcher when we had above a week to plan for this game.

Just don’t get it, put in a great shift in the pouring rain away at Portsmouth, have time to rest and work with 8 days in between, then turn in such a lacklustre showing.
Warne and his staff not done enough, players let themselves and all of us down tonight, it’s still possible for us to get autos but it’s a massive dropped b0ll0ck tonight 😞 

Got to admit , smith has been really good since coming back in side. Smith adams combo is decent 

Time for some changes

Watching on RamsTv but for me Washington looks our most dangerous player with his pace getting in behind, NML still not himself and missed a guilt edged chance, Blacket Taylor FFS what were u doing, miss of the season! He doesn’t like chasing back or tackling either. Not seen anything of Collo yet. Still can win this game tho, come on Derbyyyyyy 💪