DavesaRam

Actually, all is good. One point is better than no points! MMWWaaa Hahahaha!

Thank goodness most League One teams aren't good enough! If Lincoln had got a striker who could hit the target they'd have had us for toast today. And largely because of our under-use of midfield. We are obviously doing something right in order to be challenging for the automatic places. I said earlier that we ought to be capable of beating teams like Lincoln, no matter how well organised they may be, and there have been a umber of matches with the same situation. The old adage about not playing well but still picking up points being the mark of a good team, but we seem to be dependant on picking up points regardless, rather than having an occasional off-day. We had the upper hand for large parts of the match, yet our undoing was the lack of midfield threat, and a midfield that is so easy to go sailing straight through the middle of. The frustration the fans had in the period leading up to the "Warne Out" episode was largely because the team is capable of so much more. So although we are up at the top of the table I think on merit, I think we should already well set in the automatic places. But this remaining emphasis on getting the ball out wide and crossing it, despite the shift to a bit more football is filing to make the best of what we have available. All the opposition have to do is concentrate on snuffing out the threat own the wings, or simply heading the crosses out because we simply don't have a "League One Alan Hinton". If a tam can do that, then we struggle. They don't even have to park the proverbial bus anymore. We played some good football today, and our pressing when we didn't have the ball was excellent. Apart from Elder still being a but rusty I don't think anyone was poor today, but Lincoln had done their research on our sole approach to match play and snuffed our threats out, as well as exploiting how we set the midfield up. Oh, and in case you thought I had forgotten that there is such a thing as a ref - well he didn't do us any favours. He might have sent Wilson off, but it would have been an injustice, although that doesn't usually stop the refs doing it, and turning the penalty down, after first giving it, didn't do us a favour either because it wasn't a penalty - not even close. Although that hasn't stopped them being given in the past, either! But there weren't any game changing decisions he got wrong, either. So not tooooo bad, I suppose! I don't see our approach to how we play changing any time soon, so all we can do as fans is stay behind the team and give them everything we have got.

We are more then capable of beating Lincoln. But we didn’t. We are more than capable, or ay least capableish of top two. But will we?

So the chance to cement 2nd as our own, and yet again failed to hold our own glass of beer. Yep! We’ve done it again and thrown a chance to advance our cause away. Its almost as though we would rather be in the play-offs.

Is their keeper Wildsmith in disguise? He’s milking that non-contact!

Not enough, hopefully!

Well: not the best, but I think we’ve just about edged it, but could easily have been 3 down!

No. Defo not a red, but this refs got form with us, and not given us any favours this match.

After creating nothing for 30 minutes, that’s 3 that Lincoln have created …… and wasted!

That’s teice that Draper has fouled the defender and hot away with, and got a free kick this time as well.

Its on here in Amsterdam! 🤥

You can read me like a book!

The comment was about Port Vale’s request for applause on the 18th minute as a recognition of what Reading are going through. I was hinting that Reading’s plight is not exactly a major sadness for Derby fans.

What would be forgotten about?

The problem is is terns if him picking the ball up un central areas - the ball never gies there unless its at the feet of an opposition player!

We can’t drop Elder after one average game, but we can do it to Sibley. In fact we can do it to Sibley after he’s scored twice in one match. And what would happen if we played Elder out of position?

I have to point out to Derby County that their beer is getting lukewarm, we've been holding it for so long!

Your slippers are near the fireplace, below the mantlepiece where the tick tok resides.

Having watched the highlights the pass for their second goal was a peach. If it had been made by Gorgeous George we would gave been purring all night. It is possible that even without the slip Elder would have struggled to deal with it.

He did it regularly, getting tipper lorries full of sand dumping their load on what should have been a pitch, and even getting the Fire Brigade down gushing oceans of water onto the pitch! I remember one defender doing a sky-high hoofball clearance which landed in the centre circle and simply stuck there without a hint of a bounce!

So now the emotion has subsided - it was a great game of football for the neutrals, but I'm not a neutral! The opening exchanges got me thinking that we've got too much for Burton, and we SHOULD be comfortable! And we had yet another chance to make a statement by going second. So Derby County said "Hold my beer", so now we are third! It's the Derby way. Fact is we are joint second, one point behind top with a game in hand. So its good! First half all that Burton had to offer was lots of running around, and a lot of thug football. The ref was like a woman's blouse on washday - all wet and floppy, and many in the South Stand could see right through him, which is another feature of wet shirts, even though that is not what they are supposed to do. By half time there should have been 5 or 6 yellow cards to Burton, and possibly a red. Ironically the first goal was scored by a player who shouldn't have been on the pitch. But the ref's thighs swish together when he runs because he hasn't got any balls to keep them apart. Seddon should also have been yellow carded for diving into the box to try and fake a penalty, but although the ref played the advantage, he didn't then go back and do what ref's are supposed to do. Neither did he card Seddon for running away with the ball, which apparently isn't as bad as kicking the ball away. Things changed in the second half because Patterson noticed that our players had turned midfield into a no-man's land, switched his formation and then spent the next 20 minutes or so charging through the gaping holes we so thoughtfully provided for them, and the two bits of poor play were heavily punished. How Burton could punish us when so many other teams haven't been capable I don't know, because the Brewers are not a good team. I find it strange that NML is getting rave reviews for his pace and threat, yet he has only put away a single one-on-one, and fluffed the rest, yet two Burton players put theirs away as though that's all they do for a living. But in part it is because of how we play at times. Although we like to get the ball forwards as fast as possible, at times we will take our time, especially when the opposition park the bus, in order to draw them out of their own half and leave gaps to exploit. But last night we twice got drawn into Burton's half and we got hit on the break for both goals, because we had hardly anyone back. Also, re the vacant midfield spaces: Bird's perceived poor performances are aften because he has two or three players buzzing round him at all times, and when he does get the ball in space, there is no-one to pass to because everyone is scurrying out wide as though the middle of the pitch is riddled with land mines. He actually played well last night, and as well as blocks and interceptions, he made a number of runs through the middle - I hope Warne wasn't watching! The eventual bolstering of midfield did the trick, but rather than Thompson being the key - and I really rate him and what he brings to the team - the real difference was Sibley who saw loads of the ball, took men on and put loads of crosses on, and our taking back control revolved around him being brought on to the pitch. Ironically if he had made the mistake which Elder did, there would be a second thread all to himself demand he be flogged or be given a flogging! The kid did really well last night! But man of the match has to be Wilson, who to me is the best footballer we've had at the club for years and years. I don't think he put a foot wrong defensively, although I could be wrong, skinned his defenders for fun, and I think only put one poor cross in all night. A great player! So we are sitting very well in the league right now, with the main threat being Bolton, if they can use the potential of their games in hand. If so, top spot is theirs. But one of the top spots is ours. All we've got to do is fill it! COME ON YOU RAMS!

Hit the nail right on the head there, young Dunc! 👏

Full Half Hour? When I was a lad we had to have a minimum of 10 minutes doubting what someone said, followed by at least 20 minutes disputing their statement before you could even think about calling it an argument.

Err no. He actually was seeing if what was “the norm” for Rotherham under Warne had become “the norm” at Derby yet. So has it?

A few months ago a Rotherham fan came onto this forum to see how we were doing under their ex-boss. He asked, amongst other things, whether we were getting loads of injuries, especially during training and especially soft-tissue injuries. How did he know?