OohMartWright

The players don't look happy. If they don't believe in the manager it's game over. Seems that's the case to me. 

Twelve months ago we looked like a Championship side, relegated by a points deduction and trying to play its way out of the division. Now we look like a League 1 team trying to scrap its way out of the division. The former may not have got us promoted but I know which I preferred.

The sun's out in Derbados! 

NML terrorised Burton & could’ve / should’ve had a 🎩 trick in his current position; The Bird & the Wang = goals. 

I can only judge from the highlights, but NML could have easily been involved in 4 goals on Saturday, he brought out 2 good saves from their keeper from shots on his 'wrong' foot, he slashed wildly on his 'best' foot and he set up Bird for the miss of the season. When he's in the groove, his pace running at defenders, scares the life out of them.

Tuesday 15th August 2023, 19:45, Pride Park.
A better performance albeit against a poor side, but we definitely have something to build on now.
Two home games within a week coming up, 6 points would be lovely, no more silly mistakes at home please.

Is Wilson a defender.  His lack of reading movement is odd.  He just stands up and gets beat.

Is…..is that…….enthusiasm????? 😉

I see he's wearing his dinner medal! Mucky pup! (/panda) 😉😃

My only pluses from my seat in the South stand last night were the beautiful changing colours of the sky. There was also a plane with a majestic sweeping left turn. 
 
As for the football, it has all been said. What I would like to see is an end to the chasing down of defenders. We are not good at it, we don’t have the players to do it, and in the two games thus far teams are finding it so easy to create massive gaps to play through. I would prefer to see us organised as a team when we don’t have the ball. 
 
I am all for getting the ball into the area as that is where most goals are scored. We are so predictable in the way that we do it, defences are finding it easy. 

We need (in my humble opinion) to be playing with four at the back, four in midfield, let’s be more compact and a tad more variety in the way we attack. 

Is this job too big for Warne?
Cracks starting to show in his interview.
We’ve bought two defenders specifically to play alongside Cashin in Warne’s preferred formation and it isn’t working (so far).
Ward seems to be the only successful newcomer but he has little to aim for in the box.
If we revert to 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 who’s going to play right back? Might Max Bardell be an option? Don’t think Ward is a good enough defender, but certainly worth his place further forward.
The midfield is an area which has needed improvement for some time and all we’ve done is lose Knight.
We have a team devoid of pace and with very few skilful players. The plan was to bolster the defence and score from set pieces, using Bradley and Nelson. Hmm.
I really hope PW can turn this around and yes, I’m very aware that it’s only August 9th but it’s really not looking good for him. I could see the cracks on Saturday and got told we were okay but it was the body language I didn’t like. We were told these new guys were winners, leaders.
I saw precious little to convince me.
 

 

What an utter shambles that first half was tonight. I don't think it was so much lack of effort that did for us, but the system. 
Someone commented that Blackpool also play three at the back and made it look easy, but actually they had a five man defensive unit across the pitch and a solid midfield in front of them.
This isn't helped by our painfully slow build up play. It takes us an age to play out from the back because neither Nelson nor Bradley are comfortable on the ball. So the Blackpool defence was set, and coped easily with our balls in to two attackers who don't look match-fit.
Blackpool in contrast just got the ball forward quickly and because we were only playing three at the back -at best - often two as Nelson and Cashin are being encouraged to play forwards - we were caught flat-footed on numerous occasions and there could have been a few more goals against us than there were. 
Wilson plays so far forward that he might as well be a winger. Except Mendez-Laing is a much better winger, if we want someone to play that high. (I know he's injured tonight, but just making that general point.) 
Why was Hourihane on the left wing getting in Elder's way? The whole set-up was bizarre.
Second half we could have made more subs but Tommo and Fozzy made a big difference. Tommo because he moved about looking for the ball and played it quickly. Bird came to life with him at the side of him. Fozzy because he is far more assured in defence, Cashin immediately relaxed and he too had a better second half. Ward was much better than Wilson, not least because he can defend a bit, too! 
I could put up with slow centrebacks if they were doing their jobs but they aren't at the moment. And they aren't much of a threat from set pieces either, I don't think we got a head on any of those first half. Fozzy is also pretty slow, but his positioning and reading of the game is just so superior to Bradley's so far that his lack of pace isn't the same issue.
I would have liked to see Collins and Brown on at half time too, as Wash and Waggy were tiring and not able to take advantage of our increased momentum in the early part of the second half. As it was, we huffed and puffed but didn't create a lot. At least we looked more solid at the back. 
I didn't enjoy Warne's post match interview on Radio Derby. If he wants to throw players under the bus, then he'll need to take responsibility for finding some better ones. Even if we don't know for certain who they are, the players will and that might be the final push they need to decide to walk away. On his track record so far, I'm not sure what sort of quality we're going to get in to replace them. 
Disappointed. 

And that just sums up Derby County right now, not even at the right war 😂

Having been at both games, I thought tonight’s was far worse than Saturday. On Saturday we played some decent football but were let down by two defensive howlers. Tonight, in the first half, the players looked like they had never met before, and the lack of effort and movement was unbelievable. On numerous occasions a player would lose the ball and give up. Kane Wilson was particularly guilty of this - probably the worst half of football by a player in a Derby shirt that I’ve seen for a decade. Mercifully Paul Warne had the good sense to sub him at halftime. He wasn’t the only one at fault, though. There appeared to be a general “can’t be bothered “ approach throughout most of the team. The second half was better, it had to be, but the damage was already done. It is clear that three at the back is not working and the sooner Warne sees this the more likely he is to still be here at Christmas.

Having been at both games, I thought tonight’s was far worse than Saturday. On Saturday we played some decent football but were let down by two defensive howlers. Tonight, in the first half, the players looked like they had never met before, and the lack of effort and movement was unbelievable. On numerous occasions a player would lose the ball and give up. Kane Wilson was particularly guilty of this - probably the worst half of football by a player in a Derby shirt that I’ve seen for a decade. Mercifully Paul Warne had the good sense to sub him at halftime. He wasn’t the only one at fault, though. There appeared to be a general “can’t be bothered “ approach throughout most of the team. The second half was better, it had to be, but the damage was already done. It is clear that three at the back is not working and the sooner Warne sees this the more likely he is to still be here at Christmas.

Sorry but overall Bird was one of the better ones tonight

The player who played the whole game and was our only creative midfield outlet

Because our manager is a fitness coach in a bobble hat whose only tactic is to run and smash the ball in, the average squad age is 76, and we’ve replaced David McGoldrick with Martyn Waghorn who’s scored one goal this decade. 
Oh, and our budget to do anything about these things is £2.50 and a bag of quavers.
But apart from that, everything’s fine. HMS piss the league and all that 

At this stage the cup is hugely important to provide a testing ground for new and young players. And getting everyone fit and used to playing with each other. Team tonight looks well-balanced for that. Hope they deliver and we get the first win. 

Congratulations to @Owen87ITK and Alice on their wedding this weekend.  
Spruced up well, we expect no less! 
 

Have to agree, I’m sure Warne will want them to get Saturday out of their systems. Had they performed on Saturday, I believe we would have seen a different lineup this evening. Let’s hope it works 🐏🐏

I presume he’s an interceptor?

Best 11 we can field ATM

Up at 3.30 heading to airport,  going to be along day , back home midnight..
Buzzing now and ticket in South stand 
Up the rams 

We are a “Warne work in progress” for sure but, in a nutshell, NML played centrally will start to bang the goals in, fed from the apex of Midfield by mercurial through balls threaded through the eye of the defence-piercing needle that is Max Bird’s left peg. Joe Ward will find Collins’s forehead with metronomic periodicity. Once the new left-siders are fit (Elder, mainly) better balance will be achieved, principally benefiting Louis  Sibley who will re-emerge as the destroying angel reincarnate. Result: 15 games in the Derby team will be a finely-tuned Rolls-Royce produced Merlin engine, with principal pilot Sonny Bradley in the cockpit smashing through with aerial power to wreak occasional havoc on opponent defenders. Curtis “Horatio” Nelson will observe from the poop deck and also fire the odd musket ball goal-ward. By Christmas/New Year, HMS Derby County will be sailing in clear blue waters, cutting through the waves inexorably toward Championship-landia, observed with dignified pride from the West, by Admiral Clowes. The good ship Derby will reach land 2 weeks ahead of schedule. 

So, hoist your mainbrace, chocs away, and standby for another memorable season. 
 
ps Connor Washington will also become a cult.