Andrew3000

I wasn't going to say anything about the match as I am so late to the witch-hunt, having not had much of a phone signal in my little Devon hideaway. 
But I do think there's been some unnecessary hysteria on here over this result, mostly from people who only viewed it on TV and are therefore heavily influenced by the one-eyed narrative on ITV.
Due to the heavy rain the day before and that morning, the pitch was in a shocking state, the players warmed up in the corner in front of us and were slipping all over the place. It churned up the very corner of the pitch where Mendez-Laing makes his runs. His first run after kick-off you could hear the squish squelch with every step. I'm surprised he kept his boots on! 
The wind was swirling on and off as the showers rolled in, it was so difficult to predict, which is why Wildsmith wasn't making the halfway line with one kick to be promptly followed by a hoof into touch. He was also being abused by two of our own brain-dead fans.
People said Collins wasn't doing his job  of holding the ball, but he was being bear-hugged by their centre half all game. Likewise Dobbin and Osula, who nearly lost his shirt to a player on one occasion with no foul given. Funny how the ref missed all those but managed to 'see' Cashin's tug from fully thirty yards away and not even realising which player had committed the offence. 
I thought the Torquay crowd were fantastic, noisy and belligerent,  they definitely influenced the referee to give everything their way. 
Yet despite all that, I thought we'd been clinical enough to win the game until Cashin's unfortunate lapse of judgement. For those laying into him and suddenly calling him out as a bad player, he is in the League One team of the season, has barely put a foot wrong and has shown a responsibility for results that many senior players could learn from. There'll be no-one feeling worse about what he did than Cash himself.
The weather was at its worst after the sending off. The rain and wind were relentless, Warne took off our strongest player (no doubt thinking of tomorrow night) and didn't immediately strengthen our defensive midfield. I'm not sure it would have mattered anyway with the aerial onslaught that followed. When he did decide to act he brought on ball playing Hourihane and ratter Tommo over the head it and kick it style of Rooney - not his most astute substitutions, imo.
Even then we looked like we'd held on for the win until right at the death when the ref miraculously found that extra few seconds to allow them to create one last chance for their fairytale draw. Not good for a beleaguered Derby County squad but another win for the TV narrative. 
I thought our lads on that pitch were warriors on Sunday, and applauded every last one of them off the pitch. The invasion just before the finish was scary and the Torquay fan who squared up to Roberts right in front of us wants banning for life. Instead the BBC were putting out tweets celebrating the magic of the cup sparking pitch invasions with laughing emojis.
There is some bloody hypocrisy in football and I don't have to buy into it. You can choose for yourselves.

Summary
Thanks to you for your Player Ratings for the Rovers game last Saturday; 34 of you took the time and the trouble to provide your figures & I salute you for it. 34 is the highest number of raters thus far. It was a very memorable game for the first-half hatrick and a blistering display of full-bloodied attacking play by David McGoldrick.  The highest compliment I can think of is to say it was Hector-esque; those of us who had the privilege of seeing Kevin Hector play on the mud will also see the similarities - great mobility, superb speed of thought and instinctive finishing. It really was that good. It is no surprise then to see that McGoldrick topped the average rating by a country mile with a score of 9.37. 8 raters gave him a perfect score of 10, and his lowest rating was 9.00. 
The average aggregate rating was 87.4 - the highest of the season thus far. Mendez-Laing was 2nd highest with 8.20 - our most consistently highest rated player of the season so far. Collins chipped in with an impressive score of 8.14 as for once the front line outscored midfield and defense. It was all about that intensity of play from the start which blew an on-form Rovers side away.   Average player rating was 7.08 (mode 7.0). 6 players scored above this average and 8 players below. The red dotted line on the graph shows the cut-off. 
Thanks again for your time and effort and your comments in the ratings which I really enjoy reading. It always makes me realize just how very knowledgeable Derby County fans are. We are gathering a big database of scores through this process and I will start to provide some additional kinds of analysis at the season's mid-point.

Thing about Roberts is that he is consistent. For me a bit of an unsung hero in the current set up. Hope he stays. 

So after going straight to bed ready for 3 am start to Wednesday, then a 15 hour day at work (who'd be an HGV driver, eh?) I finally arrived at the keyboard at 9.00 pm!
What a match last night! Loads to enjoy, and loads to moan about - if you must! We all knew that we had to continue with the revelation of Saturday's performance, but I had my doubts, with the spectre of 3 at the back looming, and depleted energy levels after Saturday, but after a slight wobble early on, we carried on as before. It was a different gameplay, but the energy, the pressing and the desire to move the ball quickly were still there. And in reality, I was very happy with the performance, apart from the final pass, move or shot. I think the penalty misses left their mark, and made us want to rush and snatch at our shots, and to force our chances. But very quickly we have gone from being unable to string more than a couple of passes together to dictating and even dominating the play at times in two matches now. The training is evidently beginning to take root in the players, and we are beginning to see the player's natural abilities.
It is likely that McGoldrick was suffering from his exertions at the weekend, and never really got into his stride, lovely as it is! Dobbin had probably his best match yet, but actually produced very little, so some work on end product is needed - maybe his concentration is all on his running and dribbling, so he needs to  learn how to spot the next move, once he has got into those dangerous positions.
And with a complete break from tradition, I though the ref was pretty good last night. I know he missed the NLM penalty, and didn't book anyone for handball for the 2nd penalty (he actually ha no idea who'd done it!), and failed woefully to control the time wasting. But overall he got most things right, and wasn't playing the part of the showman. Sadly, that's it for the season. Back to the usual dross in the middle from now on!
So we've gone from a squad of 5 players, to the fear of hoofball, to embarrassingly poor football to what we have seen for the last two matches, which is quite some progress. So despite not getting the win our play deserved ( and didn't deserve after missing the spot kicks), I am happy with where we are, because we now are getting an idea of where we might be going.
Right: Who's up for the cup?

Good all round midfield performance last night , keep it up Louie lad

I don't get all this BBC is special, no it isn't. It's just another TV service. I object to being forced to pay for something I don't want. If it was so good let people pay for it on a subscription basis or introduce advertising. 
I can understand historically why a TV license made sense. All the infrastructure had to be paid for and it was only fair that those using it paid for it. Times have changed and the BBC is a dinosaur of an organisation.

I do feel sorry for Warne. I can see what he’s trying to do but the nature of our squad and how small and stretched it is seems to be working against him.
We can’t really build any consistency or momentum because three games in a week across 3-4 competitions is proving too much for a core squad of 19-20 senior players.
The signs of encouragement are there. On balance, we could have won five of our seven league games under Warne, if not for mounting injuries, suspensions and of course individual moments of madness in both boxes. Even in our worst performance v Ipswich, we were one mistake from potentially fighting tooth and nail for a 0-0 draw.
I think we have to be prepared to see the mixed results continue while the squad is so stressed.
Hopefully we can stay in touching distance of the top six and January will be a turning point when we can add some extra quality and numbers to the squad and bring some relief.

Derby County 4-2 Bristol Rovers Sat 29th Oct 2022. Attendance 27,841.
McGoldrick 3, Collins 1.
The eldest lad and I enjoyed our trip for this game. Sat in the South Stand Upper in H.
Fri 18:45 Aberdeen to Edinburgh Megabus
Fri 22:40 Edinburgh to Meadowhall Megabus
Sat 05:43 Meadowhall to Sheffield Train 
Sat 06:33 Sheffield to Derby Train
Arrived in Derby 07:00 and walked up to Pride Park in the dark and the light drizzle. Took a couple of photos and escaped the rain sitting down in Greggs. Made a move back into Derby but the heavy rain came down, so nipped into the Starbucks drive through and dried out. The lack of sleep on the overnight  megabus, caught up with my boy. Walked back into Derby and strolled around the shops, nipped into Waterstones with the intention of buying my mate the ‘Groundwork’ book, but nothing Derby related in the sport section, and with the Derby Book Festival on, pretty disappointing.
Met my mate in The Kitchen on Sadler Gate for Breakfast at 10am. Tried The Old Bell at 11am for beer but doesn’t open until 12, so popped to The Slug & Lettuce for drinks. Tried checking into the hotel at 1pm, but no joy, so enjoyed some more beer. Walked along the river about 2pm and was in Pride Park for about 2:15pm to hang the Aberdeenshire Rams flag up.
Enjoyed every second of the game and was really impressed especially with James Collins pressing and work rate and if every other player gives that commitment on a regular basis then we will get promoted.
Sun 09:00 Derby to Leicester National Express
Sun 10:55 Leicester to Luton Airport National Express
Sun 19:15 Luton to Aberdeen Airport easyJet
Sun 21:00 Aberdeen Airport to Inverurie Car.
Home 21:30 and time to catch up with all the Derby County footage on RamsTV.
Another great weekend like the one I had with 2 mates 23 years ago, this weekend, when we drove down to Derby from Westhill via the Glasgow Barrowlands on the Friday night to enjoy Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros before arriving in Derby bang on 3pm to watch the Rams beat Chelsea 3-1.
 
 

https://amp.sportsmole.co.uk/football/morecambe/preview/preview-morecambe-vs-derby-prediction-team-news-lineups_498245.html?cQx=NN&newsnow

you’ll go blind. 

We wouldn’t have scored them under Rosenior. There was a “shock & awe” aspect to our opening 20 minutes and disagree therefore about defensive howlers:
1. 1st goal was really about NML power just nicking the ball off the toe of the defender - not a howler.
2. Goal #2 - a simple tap-in; noted that Rovers had no defenders on the posts from our corners which is indeed school-boy error-level tactics. 
 
3. Goal #3 again was about NML power stealing possession not an error
4. Goal #4 was about McG ghosting the defender and stealing the ball - again we would not have scored under Rosenior.
Sorry to disagree but I rate Warne especially his simple approach to what is a simple game made complex by young men with coaching badges and a point to prove.

Is this the same guy?...
 
 
 
Yeah, he's pretty damn good, to be fair.  ?
#searchtheforumfirst
#modspleasemerge
#atidyforumisasafeforum
#?
#etc...etc...etc...

Established number one now who has grown in confidence game by game. A confident keeper is ususlly a good keeper and Wildsmith is both. Long may he reign.
?
Wildsmith
You make my heart sing
You make everything groovy
Wildsmith

Wildsmith, I think I love you
But I wanna know for sure
?

That was absolutely stupendous. I have to admit looking at Bristol's recent run I was expecting a tough match, maybe even a defeat, but they hardly got a look in! I think that the pace we played at was an important factor, with the main one being the right formation. And playing 4 at the back meant that Mendez-Laing and Dobbin were playing further up the pitch, so they could attack better, and it mean that our midfield boys had mor options when passing the ball. Simples, hey?
I think Tuesday night's hair drying session had its effect - to see Hourihan run half the length of the pitch to cut out a cross was, I think unprecedented at Pride Park! And without the 3 goals, man of the match would have gone to Mendez-Laing. He was awesome! But the rest of the team were up there as well! The penalty aside, the only things Derby players got wrong were things like Bird playing the thrown in ball back to the taker too hard, twice. Don't you just hate Warne-ball? Oh, and the defendding for the two goals conceded. But apart from tht, and the shot which Wildsmith had to save in the second half, Bristol didn't get a look in.
There were a load of dubious decisions by the ref, with the 50 - 50 tackle by Hourihan being harsh, especially with the card given to him, but was still probably one of the better refs this season. Not that there is much competition - the bar is set so low that all he had to do was avoid tripping over it  as he stepped forwards! The penalty was a penalty for sure, although I was expecting at least one more which never came. But how often have we seen a ref book 3 players for time wasting? Especially as we have had to watch about 35 hours of wasted time over the last two and a half seasons going virtually unpunished? Although I cold see why Roberts got carded. He had taken his time at throws several times, including pretending to drop the ball a couple of times. So all the Bristol player did was throw the ball at him hard so that Roberts dropped it for real. He forced the ref to get the card out. Which reminds me - several times we had players in numbers surrounding the ref, one time leading to a booking for a Bristolian! Progress!
The fans were really good and loud, and there was good banter with the visitors, and all in all it was a great day out. This could be a watershed moment - we can kick on from this, especially as we seem to have found a way to get the team playing well.

Well, well, who'd have thought it? Put players into a formation they are more familiar with, round pegs in round holes and watch them go! Credit to Paul Warne for making the change that resulted in our most fluid performance since he took over (I hope it wasn't only born out of necessity.)
I will start with Hourihane, because I have been particularly harsh on him. I thought this was his best game for Derby (goals notwithstanding.) Not surprisingly, this also enabled Bird to have his best game for a while. Their workrate and closing down was excellent. When they had the ball, they were spoilt for choice who to pass it to. Our midfield has discovered its engine at last! 
The defence worked so hard. The rocksteady Cashin the standout for me, but Fozzy marshalled them well and his experience was vital at times. Smith and Roberts worked their short socks off and got up to support the attack admirably. I felt a bit sorry that they let two goals in, but that was a very inexperienced combination. Despite this  Wildsmith didn’t have a lot to do, says it all.
But the plaudits of course go to the forward-line. The first goal was simplicity itself, McGoldrick stroking the ball into the back of the net. I think it gave him the confidence to go for those other two shots. The best finishing we've seen at Pride Park for a while. I'm so pleased a player of his quality has got his first career hat-trick in front of such a boisterous and appreciative crowd, who seemed to have recovered from Tuesday evening's lethargy. Well deserved, Didzy, and I enjoyed your comments afterwards on Radio Derby about managing your training time to maximise your time on the pitch. Warne, take note - it's not all about running around! 
Having said that, Collins - what an engine today, and he did make so much difference to the team dynamic. Mendez-Laing was excellent as ever and Dobbin more at home, although he does need to remember to track back with his man occasionally. 
4-2 at half-time slightly flattered Bristol, I thought, but plaudits to their fans, who got right behind their team.
After such an explosive first half it was perhaps inevitable that the pace dropped in the second, but we started brightly, should have scored more, and managed to hold on comfortably with the introduction of fresh legs. 
A word about the ref, I thought he did a good job (only missed the blatant foul on Collins just outside the box first half.) I did think Hourihane's was a booking. On today's form we'll miss him on Tuesday night. Hope we've saved some of today's fight for then.
Well done, Rams!

Just thought I’d start off by saying Warneball is so s*** to watch ?
From hearing his interviews listening to his podcasts it’s clear today is how he wants us to play and if this is what Warneball is, give me more!! Yes please!! 
 
The only travesty today is that it was 4-2, we totally outclassed them, we were at least 3 or 4 goals better. They got a bit of luck with the first goal, and the penalty (yet another) was stupid from Foz but in a way down to a left back playing right centre half.
So many good performances today. Didzy gets the plaudits he was phenomenal, loved Collins’ performance and pleased he got his goal, Mendez-Laing is my player of the year so far he’s barely had a bad game, Dobbin gave a good solid team performance, ran his socks off, and Bird and Hourihane were so much better today, before we get to the full backs, Smith solid taking one for the team playing out of position, and Roberts has just given his two best performances back to back. And Wildsmith is the best keeper in the league!! And Cash!!! The best centre half in the league 
We should’ve been further ahead at half time, we went for the 5th first 15 mins of the second half unlucky not to get it, from that point in the game management was superb!
I missed Oxford and Wycombe, but from the rest this is by far the best performance of the season!

First half was excellent. Good, positive football. Second half we controlled the game. Never really thought that they were going to get back in it.
All in all it was much better. For the first time I think I saw what Warne is trying to do with this team. Personally I prefer to watch this kind of football over the slow possession football we've seen in recent years. I think it's far more exciting. 
I'm glad we played with 4 at the back. For the first time under Warne we played a formation that suited the players and it paid off. We must stick with this.
The most positive thing about today is that we scored 4. You look at the top teams in the league at this moment and they've scored a lot more than we have. If we are to be promotion contenders we simply have to score more goals. Today was a good start.
Now we need to go on a run. With a win on Tuesday we can go into the playoff places. Nothing in this league is decided yet. Only a week or two ago people were saying Ipswich and Plymouth are nailed on for top two. Far from it. A message to the wrist slashers, remember not to get carried away. Things change quickly in football.
Up the rams

Set up was great. Suited the players we have. For the first time in an age, we were fastest to react to lose balls, pressed harder than our opponents and when we had the ball we moved it more quickly. Result ? You win second balls and you score goals. McG’s were all beautifully taken. We could have had more, Dobbin was in the right place twice for a pass and a slot in. 
Ref made the same number of errors for each side which is fine by me. Cross about Roberts undeserved booking though, and clearly Bristol need a neurologist as too many of their players have balance problems.
Diddy has to be MOTM simply for the hat trick but I thought Fozzy, Cashin NML and Collins all put in special performances. 
 
Of course supporting Derby makes you nervous all the ducking time, but when you reflect back, did we ever look threatened or out played individually or as a team ? I don’t think so. 
 
Magic moment ? Got to be Diddzy’s  third. His skill and Warne’s philosophy neatly bundled together
PS  (1) What a good signing Wildsmith is. He won’t save everything but he’s awake and assured. You feel comfortable with him between the sticks and great all rounder.
PS (2) how do we stop someone nicking Cashin ? That boy is a foundation stone and a very good footballer.
PPS Warne ball isn’t lump ball L1 - he understands the game, there will be carp games but like us he knows what good football is. 

Just got home...
So, let's just re-cap on this afternoons game...
 
 
 
WTF just happened?  ?‍♂️
Collins:  Best performance thus far.
DMcG:  Same, but with the added bonus of being absolutely clinical.  BOOM (x 3).
NML:  A Beast.
Fozzie:  Best of the rest.
For once, all eyes were not on the defence, so I concede I couldn't name anyone else for being great or poor.
All Rams goals at my end.
Best 45 mins for what seems like an age... and the second half wasn't too shabby, all things considered.
Just a game-in-hand win away from a PO spot.
Even the ref was the best we've seen this season.  (Not perfect of course, but none of them are!)
Pleasantly mild (Why on earth did I take my coat! ?) And surprisingly dry, considering this morning's washout.
A stunningly beautiful woman waiting for me when I walked in.  Film night, sofa-cuddles,  and a celebratory tipple or two in store for later.
Oh... and an extra hour in bed... not that I'll need a full hour!  ?
 
What the heck... I'm putting today down as a good 'un!
??

Shout out to the ref. First professional performance we’ve seen from an official this season. 

The focus will be on that attacking first half, but I was equally impressed with how organised we were in the second.
Dare I say it, a little bit of identity to our game?
McGoldrick obviously MOTM, but Roberts, Fozzy, Bird, NML and Collins we’re all excellent. The whole team’s effort and pressing was relentless.
Great performance. 

I bought my 1st metal detector last week, Spent the weekend in a farmers field digging, Had what must have been over 100 hits but no look with owt, Got home and read the instructions all fine and the metal detector is working as should.
Put the kettle on and took my boots off, Then it dawned on me...I had toe tectors on.