DavesaRam

I refer again to a Rotherham fan who came on this forum asking how things were, and if we were experiencing lots of injuries, especially during training. How did he know? As you say, if our fitness has improved, we shouldn't be getting loads and loads of injuries, but there seem more now than there were last season. I know it doesn't help when you actually recruit injured players, but surely there is something wrong with what the coaching staff are actually doing with the players.

In my opinion it is largely the coaching, probably with a smidgeon of the players losing heart because they know they are being asked to do what doesn't work. The last time we saw the fans turning against him was after the Stevenage, Cheltenham and Port Vale debacles, and suddenly we started to include playing the ball near to ground level, and including some of the midfield players, and all of a sudden we were on that good run of results. But gradually we wormed our way back to "lump it and cross it" and the run came to an end. Then dial in the fact that Warne is chopping and changing the team all the team to try and not lose against whoever we happen to playing at the time, leaving the players not having a clue what they are supposed to be doing, especially as he changes the formation several time in a single match. And the players are unable to build up an understanding of how their team mates play, which then contributes to the poor passing performances. It is one hell of a mess.

It wasn't the actual change in formation, it is the fact that the formation doesn't work for Derby County and the players available. Sadly, Warne has this fixation that he has to have a spell of 3/5 at the back at some stage in every match, and also, having given Bradley a few matches where he has done OK ish he has now got to play him in every match whether it is the right thing to do or not. A clue, Mr Warne: it isn't the right thing to do.

Yes here was. Going for 3 at the back was or undoing last night, and everything fell apart from there.

The criticism isn't so much for going for a back 4, it was when he switched to a back 3 - again - and it all fell apart. The concern over a back 4 was having to put Cashin out at left back.

My sentiments exactly, Ella! Because the half-season ticket counts towards it, I got the 10 years in this time, but I too am wondering about adding any more to it.

Oops, my bad. Yes, he’s going to Italy!

BIG MISTAKE. ABSOLUTELY HUGE MISTAKE! Let's start with the ref. I know I always mentioned the match officials, but i don't start with them - until now. Absolutely useless, but completely outdone in uselessness by Derby County. Adams was absolutely clattered 3 times in the opening exchanges without a single one getting a free kick. Some around me in the South Stand that the ref wasn't even looking. I think he was, but he was completely ignoring it. Then Bradley does little more than a bit of arm wresting and hr goes into the book for his first offence. Disgraceful! And that is only the start of it. But his ineptitude had little effect on the result, and lets face it we have overcome the match officials virtually every single match, so last night was no different. In fact it is likely that the match officials now turn up to Derby County matches confident that they haven't got to make bad decisions to screw us over because we do it to ourselves, virtually every match. And so to the actual football - this shouldn't take long! It was clear as to why Charlton were down at the bottom - the match was obviously "2nd plays 17th". All Charlton brought to the match was hoof it higher in the air than Warne Ball, and kick lumps out of the Derby players. OH, and it seemed as though they had brought the ref as well! I suppose that I should have gone home delighted because we saw, perhaps for the first time in history, a Cashin header on target from a corner! But less than 5 minutes after scoring someone near me in the South Stand said "We're sitting back on a 1-nil lead already! - and we were! The game appeared to turn on the penalty. I wrongly thought that given this was the ref who reed carded Sibley last season for being fouled that it shouldn't have been a penalty, but by then, I actually didn't care, and noted that their were no protests from our own players. But the match actually turned on Warne's decision to go to a back 3. I have a feeling that this may have happened before during our illustrious history! Why oh why oh why oh why oh why does he keep doing this? And why oh why oh why oh why oh why does he never see that it never, ever works? A major contribution to our lack of control in midfield is embodied by the Saviour of Derby County, the one and only Sonny Bradley. Virtually every time he got to intercept a high ball, of which there were millions, despite virtually always having the time to take the ball down and control it, he simply headed the ball up in an arc either to a Charlton player, or to a great big gaping whole in the middle of the pitch where our midfielders ought to be, like one of Conor Hourihane's constructive, play-making passes. I listened to Paul Warne's RD interview, and he spoke of us never really playing well all season, and that we do have another gear to go up to, but which we never do, as though it is solely down to the players. And he still thins that going to 3 at the back is a brilliant tactical statement of genius. I also listened to Smith give his thoughts, and sadly he comes across mentally as an absolute loser, effectively admitting that there is a culture of sitting back for the rest of the match as soon as we have scored. Heaven help us! I will be back on Saturday - not for the football, but because my son is off to Spain soon for a holiday where he will catch one of the last ever matches at the San Siro Stadium, so it will be my last chance to see him for a while. Another friend has just had a holiday touring non-league clubs of Bulgaria so at least he will have seen some decent football in recent weeks. Lucy sod!

No, Crewton, it was just more of the same. All refs go cardless on the criminals when Derby are playing a bunch of thugs. And virtually every time, a Derby player is the first to be booked, either for a first offence or for a non-foul. This has been the case for years and years, from way before the EFL's campaign against us.

So can I be bothered to fight my way through rush hour traffic, struggle to find a parking space followed by a long walk to the stadium. And then spend another £30 or so pre-match to watch the team trying to play while wearing their Paul Warne-designed straight jackets and throw away another chance to advance our promotion chances and then trudge back to the car disappointed, frustrated and angry? Damned right I can. On my way right now! COME ON YOU RAMS!!!! PS my Amazon order of full stops and commas arrives in the morning!

The low attendances were for the “Nobody Cares” Cup matches!

No. But it had more than a semblance of a rant! 🤪

thumbs up then!

Well Derby County’s pint of beer is going to get really warm and rancid from all those people having to hold it while we do what Derby County do best.

Same as last tear then? When they directed both sets of fans into each other on the same route away from the stadium? Dod we get any young crackheads turn up by train absolutely pie-eyed like last year?

I did mot say “Warne Out”, although elsewhere in this thread I said I have journeyed back to that side of the argument. What I, and many others actually want isn’t an endless string of 5 - 0 victories. All we want is for the team to turn up and play football to our strengths. Instead Warne sets us up to be like labourers doffing their caps to the landed gentry. Despite what it looks like after the vast majority of our matches we are better than this, and it is the opposition who should be worried about us and having to set up to best deal with our threat. To always send a team out with a predominance of defensive-minded players tells the opposition we are running scared. We are capable of so much more, such as playing a good passing game. After the fans gave Warne a right bowlocking we went through a phase of keeping the ball on the ground and even using the misfield a bit more, which coincided with our good run. But that has cone to an end and we have reverted to aerial assault mode - and the run has come to an end. Funny hiw that works, and we’ve done it two seasons in a row. And yet again we went ahead and then sat back, hardly laying a glove on them once we’d scored. You are right to point out that our stats do look rather good, but with that absolute tosh we keep dishing up shouts from the rooftops just how bad this division is. We aren’t where we are because we are so good, just that we are not as bad as the rest of them. Being second to everything in midfield is a case in point. So many times our clearance headers are deliberately headed up and forwards so the ball travels in an arc. Up and forwards takes a higher priority than controlling the ball and/or getting the ball to a team mate, like the opposition seem to manage almost every time. It us what led to the equaliser. Hourihane does it all the tome, not just with headers. The number of times his skill set consists of just looping thr ball up and forwards to nowhere near a team mate is ridiculous. And he can do it blind, as shown by the number of times he sends the ball backwards over his shoulder …… to no one. And so many times there is the opportunity to get the ball down and give it to a team mate. But no ….. up and over it is, and then back come the opposition. And re not going to Wembley. It isn’t from not wanting us to get promoted. It is because having retired last August my income has more then halved. My wife’s childminding business was killed off by lockdown, and she has been stabbed in the back by the increase in the women’s pensionable age by a Government who care as much for the poor, sick and elderly as Warne does for attractive football. As such I cannot justify blowing a massive hole in my budget to watch the team throw away yet another opportunity to get promoted. I don’t have the money to gamble on the remote chance we might fluke a win. It doesn’t mean I don’t want promotion - I’ve been a Ram since the early 1970’s, so I’ve seen some rubbish in that time. But I have never been so angry as I am now.

It isn’t whether the players deserve to get there, its whether they deserve our support. I don’t fancy spending £200+ on an 18 hour day in order to collect a huge bagful of yet more disappointment. It took Warne several weeks to start communicating with the fans when we showed our frustration after the Stevenage matches, then he blathers on about how our backing really boosts the players who then repay us with dross like today. If the fans who are in work did their day jobs like he and the players are doing theirs, the fans would be out of work in no time. So whole the fans struggle to pay their bills, Warne and the players continue to shuffle around half-heartedly on their way to becoming millionaires, if they aren’t there already. The frustration is knowing that we are good enough to be sitting clear of Portsmouth if only Warne would let us. This is the most negative I’ve been, and I was a Ram during the John Newman years, and the Tommy Docherty years. GIVE YOURSELF A WOBBLE, WARNE AND LET THE BOYS PLAY FOOTBALL.

Sorry mate, you’ve got me with that one.

We usually do when we do it, even if it is just a iccle, iccle bit.

So that's why they swapped Bobby Madley out - "it's Paul Warne's Derby County. They'll screw themselves over".

YEs the authorities gave it a flashy new coat, but really it was just the king's new clothes.

the next what? Crashing disappointment?

Unfortunately we let the mirror go out on loan.

Unless it's because we are the second least worst team in the division. We have the players to storm this league, but tactics far too often are hopeless, and one wonders what they don't the training ground all week because it clearly isn't "pass and move". This must be the 5th or 6th time we have had a golden opportunity to make ground on the teams around us, and we have thrown it away. A good team wouldn't keep on doing that. Despite my doubts, I have travelled a huge distance from the "Warne Out" position I held after the Stevenage match. But that nagging feeling remained, but was held firmly tied up in the corner. It has just burst the ropes that were holding it down like Samson before his haircut.

What a STUPID, STUPID, STUPID fiotball club. Has anybody told them that we are supposed to play football. If by some sheer fluke we scrape through the play-offs I will not be going to Wembley. They players don’t deserve it