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Norman

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  1. Like
    Norman reacted to DavesaRam in Derby v Lincoln City   
    I am a retired HGV driver, so i have no aspirations to work in the media, thank you very much. I just like to give my opinion, as does everybody else on this forum. It is what forums are for. All I want to do with this "verbosity" is express my frustration taht we are consistently underperforming while it being obvious that we can do so much better, and have proved it several times, only to go backwards once more.
    And no, I don't think he sets the team up to play poorly, he sets the team up the way that he wants it to play. Which is what he should be doing. But ..... cast your mind back to last season, when he wanted to play a wing-back system , but didn't have the players to do it. Unfortunately, for whatever reason we didn't manage to recruit the players to enable his particular system. But that didn't stop him trying to impose it on the players he had available.
    My comments are based on the fact that injuries forced him to change our formation, after which we went on a run of good results. But as injured players returned, he reverted to his preferred system, and the results stopped. We have had the same thing this system, with the team struggling to get results once more. And once again, there was the insistence on the preferred system, with even less fruitfulness. Until the disasters against Crewe and Stevenage in particular, with the consequence that the fans started to turn on the team, and on the manager - noticeably it was the away fans, whose support is tremendous, that made the most noise. It seemed as though Warne threw his hands in the air and let the team play to its strengths, and off we went on this terrific run, which is still in progress. But the worrying signs were there on Saturday, and instead of involving the midfield in addition to using the channels, we went back to bypassing them. You might notice comments about Max Bird, Connor Hourihane and Louie Sibley being ineffective. Well they would be when the ball was being whacked out to the wings at every opportunity. It might have been a one off, but lo and behold last night it was clear in the first half especially that the honeymoon was over, and we were back to Warne's preferred wings and crosses methodology. And we were back to creating very little threat at all, apart from the few flashes of "proper" football which did give us attempt at goal. And it was only after the substitutions that we started to dominate what was actually a very well organised, hard working opposition team, but which actually threatened very little. Yes, credit to him for making the changes, and it might well have been that he planned it that way, knowing that Wilson and Sibley would unlock the Lincoln defence, but given the pattern we have already seen all too often, I am not so sure.
    Our defensive stats have come from the partnership between Cashin and Nelson, and credit to Warne for settling those two together. We also have a great goals scored figure, but most of that has come since we started to play football. And yes, I will have a go about the incessant crossing, because it has produced so little in return. We were crossing the ball poorly, either to high or too deep, to a lone striker who was battling defenders who are inevitably taller than him, or who was so busy doing all is "off the ball" work that he is late arriving. His "in the box" work has improved, curiously since we changed our style, with our crosses now being to feet as well as in the air. 
    So all this is me showing my frustration that having, for the second time, shown that this team really can do the business we have reverted back to the system which is proven to not be effective. Why? 
    Oh, and by the way ....... you don't have to be "impressed" by what I put on here, it is just an opinion, just like everybody else's. If you don't think much to it, so what, you don't have to. And I don't mind either way. Put me on ignore, if you like, I won't take offence.
  2. Like
    Norman reacted to RodleyRam in Next 3   
    Well that was a little too easy... Come on guys, I was being jovial!

  3. Like
    Norman reacted to Andicis in Derby v Lincoln City   
    Wilson isn't perfect, but I think we lose so much when he doesn't play. His ability to drive at players makes a huge difference. I'd always play him if available. 
  4. Haha
    Norman reacted to Hoppo in Derby v Lincoln City   
    My fave fact about Nelson's column is that the statue on top is 18 feet tall. Nelson was 6ft tall. That makes it Horatio of 3 to 1.
     
    I'll get me coat
  5. Haha
    Norman reacted to Cam the Ram in Derby v Lincoln City   
    Getting towards Sonny Bradley time
  6. Haha
    Norman reacted to Anon in SPOTY   
    My 6 would've been;
    Mason Greenwood
    Joey Barton
    Toni Minichiello
    Ivan Toney
    John Yems
    Chijindu Ujah
  7. Clap
    Norman reacted to The Scarlet Pimpernel in Derby v Lincoln City   
    If Sibley were to be sold it would likely be to a league 2 team or a lower league 1 team. He's not the future for a progressive league 1/Championship side. 
  8. Like
    Norman reacted to Carl Sagan in Starship and a Human city on Mars   
    Great to have the first UK spaceport approved for vertical rocket launches. The future is unfolding before our eyes. 
     
  9. Haha
    Norman reacted to maydrakin in New joke thread (trigger alert, may offend if you want it to)   
    A guy phoned his boss and says “I can’t come in to work today, because I’m sick”.
    His boss says “OK, how sick are you?”
    The guys responds “Well, I’m currently spooning my Nan”
  10. Like
    Norman reacted to DavesaRam in Derby vs Wycombe Wanderers   
    No,  yesterday wasn’t the system that gave us a long winning run, it was the one from before that which earned us naff all for mist of the season so far.
    I hope its a one-off or he’s gone to start getting flack like he got after Stevenage and Crewe.
  11. Like
    Norman reacted to DavesaRam in Derby vs Wycombe Wanderers   
    Well DavesaRam is back. The ref was absolutely terrible today, with a load of contentious decisions. But she isn't the reason we threw two points way. The players have to hold their hands up, because they were far too ponderous in their play. But that in part may be because  Paul Warne regressed us to "Whack it wide and cross it". Why on earth would he do that?
    Just about every time we got the ball, the only thing on our minds was to get it into the channels and sling crosses in - all match long. I think we mustered one shot from the central area of the pitch in the first half. So after all the flack he got after the Stevenage and Crewe games, it seemed he had listened to the criticisms and changed how we played, and we go on a long winning run. So why go back to a system that hadn't worked all season so far, for us?
    Is that why Sibley, and to a lesser degree, Bird were ineffective? Sibley had to keep wandering over to almost the wing back position to get a chance of being given the ball. So the fact that we hardly created any clear chances all match long is actually no surprise. All Wycombe had to do was deal with an endless supply of hopeless crosses into their box. And our goal was a scruffy tap-in, rather than a goal created by good play.
    Sadly, a number of people re happy with the yellow cards we were given, but seemed oblivious to the Wycombe players dropping down like they been snipered, and then rolling around like they were in an operating theatre without any anaesthetic. It was obvious that they were trying to get our players booked. I would have thought the the ref in doing her homework on the teams she was in charge of should know that this sort of skullduggery was a normal Wycombe skillset, but was taken in by it almost every time. Also, Wycombe players blatantly kicked the ball away 3 or 4 times before Vokes got booked for it, with one of those times before Sibley got his Christmas card. There was also the upending of Wilson, which was a clear card, but despite playing the advantage for us, then didn't book the offender afterwards. Perhaps she used the advantage to hide from her responsibilities. She certainly ducked them with Lyle Taylor, who spent the entire match not playing football. Every time he challenged for the ball, he either went for the man, or tried for the free-kick. On around 40 minutes he was comprehensively beaten by Cashin, so he fell to the floor holding his face, which is simulation, which is a yellow card. But not for Rebecca Welch. She ducked the foul on Wilson, which ended up with Collins getting his yellow card, but that was his own fault. Yes the Wycombe con man was feigning injury, but it was none of Collins business, so he should have stayed away, but Wycombe had done a job on him and he lost his temper. Ignoring the trip on NML, which was probably a good call, but JJ getting clattered in the box was either a penalty, or a corner, but she flunked out of that one, as she did when Bird was wrestled to the floor - that is two blatant penalties turned down, so it isn't only Warne who has reverted to type. She also ignored jumping straight into the back of JJ out on the touchline, with his knees hitting JJ's shoulder blades, so it wasn't a simple "coming together", it was yet another yellow card avoided.
    My son and I were starting to consider trying our hand at the rush to get away tickets in the New Year, but if we are going to play like this again, is it worth it? We proved for most of the season that "wing it and whack it" doesn't work, and we have proved in recent games that playing football does work. So why go back to what doesn't work? It's your call, Paul Warne.
  12. Like
    Norman reacted to Boycie in Notts Forest Playtime   
    Not sure if mentioned before, did Forest sing champions of Europe you’ll never sing that?
  13. Like
    Norman reacted to DavesaRam in Derby vs Wycombe Wanderers   
    Steady on young man. That’s not allowed. I know he is an ambulance chaser, but Gibson is in a different league.
  14. Like
    Norman reacted to Ian Buxton's Bat in Tiresome Oneupmanship   
    I'm a reasonably diplomatic, boring, steady middle aged bloke.
    I'm reasonably well educated and can write reasonably well so try to choose words on this forum that express an opinion that may be different to others, without deliberately causing offence. I certainly don't have 'poor writing' or 'poor vocabulary' as anything like an excuse if I were to cause offence.........but, without being patronising, I do understand not all so-called offensive posts are intended to be offensive.
    However, it's apparent that I'm not alone in finding it tiresome that almost every single thread deteriorates into a game of point scoring, oneupmanship and, increasingly, forum archeology, in order to be unpleasant to one another.
    There seems to be, in equal measure, deliberate attempts to cause offence and seek offence and it's just not great reading. I'm not in the slightest bit supportive of closing down debates or censoring differences of opinion but the number of personal spats with unpleasant language is getting beyond a joke.
    I can't blame the mods because, individually, most of these posts fall below the threshold of complaint but, collectively, they make this forum so much worse than it could be.
    I came to this forum for camaraderie when we nearly went under as a club - and it was a source of great comfort, information and humour.
    It's got to the point where I'm considering signing off and and using the Telegraph and Radio Derby as my main non-matchday links - they have limitations but they are civil.
    Any ideas what we can do?
  15. Like
    Norman reacted to ram59 in Portsmouth or Bolton?   
    Slightly off topic, does anyone understand the Sky advert with Warnock in it?
  16. Like
    Norman reacted to therealhantsram in Twitter Rebrand to 𝕏   
    I'm not sure it's about Musk so much as the human need to build people up to be heroes, and then knock them back down when they get too big for their boots. The tabloids do this stuff all the time. It sells. The fascination is not so much Musk himself, but in seeing this revered business man with seemingly super human business decision making, exposing all his character flaws and weaknesses like no-one has ever done before. 
    It's about how we like to see these people come crashing down because in whatever way suits us (political, personal life, business acumen), it makes each of us feel superior. 
  17. Like
    Norman reacted to Andicis in Derby vs Leyton Orient   
    0.5 for Leyton Orient, 2.64 for derby on FotMob, so pretty in line with the result.
  18. Like
    Norman reacted to Andicis in Derby vs Leyton Orient   
    Learn what the word average means I beg.
  19. Cheers
    Norman reacted to Foreveram in Away tickets 23/24   
    It’s a bit of a strange one with this.
    Tickets for Wigan on general sale at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning.
    There is currently 151 tickets available in two blocks, NS2and NS3 have sold out and I believe NS5 hasn’t been released yet.
    When they initially went on sale there was two more unopened blocks NS6 and NS7 but they have since disappeared 🤷🏻‍♂️
    We have still only had the initial allocation of 3,012 so presumably there is more to come.

  20. Haha
  21. Cheers
    Norman reacted to Topram in Away tickets 23/24   
    180 odd reckon there’s a couple more blocks to open 
  22. Clap
    Norman got a reaction from cstand in Twitter Rebrand to 𝕏   
    You mean the X.com that was originally a bank, set-up by Musk and then later changed its name to PayPal?
  23. Haha
    Norman got a reaction from jono in Derby vs Fleetwood Town   
    @Andicis
    Sort this post out, please.
  24. Clap
    Norman got a reaction from Andicis in Derby vs Fleetwood Town   
    @Andicis
    Sort this post out, please.
  25. Haha
    Norman reacted to Archied in Derby vs Fleetwood Town   
    Nice try Richard but your still the biggest blunder boy in our recent history, always had a mistake in you 
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