Donkey Derby

He's earned another year, but I think Warne will be honest with him and it'll come down to whether Collo accepts that he won't be guaranteed starts the way he has been in L1. The club will have been looking at how to strengthen the attack all season and for all that I love Collo to bits and fully acknowledge the hugely significant part he's played in getting us promoted, it seems unlikely he'd be a regular starter in a Championship side, at this point in his career. Can never really write the lad off though, can you and if he left I'd see him as more likely going to a top 6 side in L1 where he's guaranteed to get all the games his legs can handle. Whatever he decides, he does so with my heartfelt gratitude though. Absolute Trojan IMO.

More than one, but who's counting today? 

Record amount of points in a season, most ever amount of away wins in the history of the club and gained automatic promotion despite having a squad full of free transfers.

He's improved our results

He got us automatic promotion 

I can't believe that there is another club in the world where, in our posistion, a seemingly sizable section of the fanbase would want the manager kicked out.
Yes I suppose it would be nice to watch Jim Smith or peak Mac type football every week, but , how can I put this?
We've got no feckin' money. Yes we may have a higher wage budget than many in this league, (or not, I don't know) but given the restraints and time frame he's had to work in I think P.W's done a crackig job.

Why are people all or nothing nowadays?
Yes, Hourihane naturally struggles to get around the pitch like he used to and needs the right balance of players around him but has he made an important contribution this season?
8th best for assists in the league. Top ten on chances created. 6 goals (including a brilliant last minute winner against Burton)
Yes, he has made an important contribution.

Lets hope they beat Bolton by a few. Seconds fine for me.  Shame they don't have Peterborough as well.  Crafty gits only 2 points behind if they win their 2 in hand against pub teams.  Barnsley have 4 tough away games so unless they puts laxatives in their water bottles can't see them catching up to second. 

If we gained promotion, which is by no means a certainty, the first season will be about survival on a sustainable budget. Beyond that further progress will probably require further inward investment, with a possible change of ownership at some point.   

I said a few weeks back that Louie seemed to have turned a corner and was adding consistency to his game, irrespective of where he was asked to play. Some might argue that that is to Warne's credit too, as a string of managers have failed to get the best from the lad in the way he now appears to be and whatever has clicked, it's certainly helping Nate too. The pair of them are a handful for any side at this level and have struck up a really good understanding. Ebou's contribution providing the cover required to allow Sibs to maraud forwards should be noted too. 
Joe Ward is a quality WB at this level and while it puzzles me that he's taken time to find his form, his quality is clear for all to see now. In a position that makes huge physical demands on a player, perhaps them 'arriving late' might benefit us, as that role over 50+ games is a man-killer, whereas our lads are comparatively fresh and are improving all the while.

Warne isn’t the only manager not to utilise Sibley consistently in what many of us see as his “preferred” position, he is however one of the only managers who has used Sibley consistently in general. He plays, he gets minutes, some from the start and some from the bench. He’s clearly had some support from the coaching staff to learn a new position and improve his defensive game. So credit to Sibley AND Warne for that, his “utility” role within the squad is proving useful even if it means he’s not playing where he and/or we would prefer. 
I suspect almost all Derby fans would love Sibley to realise that potential and become our new iconic attacking midfielder, for now I’m gonna concentrate on praising him for doing well in an adapted role and continuing to improve his all round game. As you say, he’s young, still plenty of time for him in his career…ideally with a ram on his chest.

Add Korey Smith to the list of players I really appreciate in this squad, he’s made a difference since coming on. 

My take on it is the creative and defensive efforts of Ward probably pipped Sibley for motm. Sibley scored 2 from Ward crosses, Barkhuizen cleared the bar from a Ward cross, Ward’s turn and pass into the channel found Barkhuizen who’s touch finds Adams to cross for the Gayle header for the second. There was also one lovely interception and driving run that led to Barkhuizen then losing possession for them to get in behind with the cross Nelson cut out, Ward’s part in that passage of play was great…we just turned the ball over attempting to counter 🤦🏻‍♂️
He was a creative outlet and did his job defensively so probably got it on that basis in my view. And that’s not a criticism of Sibley who I also thought was very very good yesterday, just my thoughts on why Ward was man of the match. 

I think LWB is the ideal position for him.  Having played at LB for a fair chunk of last season I thought he’d be a good LWB for this.  He already had the attacking side of his game and I think Warne and his team did a good job working on the defensive side last season.
I find him a frustrating player when he’s in midfield.  He’s too inconsistent and doesn’t seem to grab hold of the game.  Also, I think at LWB he has a bit more space as he’s not marked as tightly.  That gives him more time and space to create or, as he did yesterday, drift into the box to shoot.

Personally I'd sooner they carried on with Dom Dietrich on commentary purely for the fact that I think he is a significantly better commentator then Ed Dawes. 
 

Hope they let Dom continue on commentary and keep Dawes to the phone-in - there's been a vast improvement in quality of the matchday coverage since Dawes left.....

Just because Gregory and Smith were the only names that got into the press does not mean they were the our only to targets.
Who knew about Leonard until it was confirmed over weekend . Same applies to CBT last summer, or signing of TJJ or Ward
Fact is we run a tight ship regards transfers so have no idea who we are interested 
Add in fact that still working with EFL restrictions with very limited transfer pots would suggest Warne (and club)  ain't doing as bad as suggested

I like Sibley and want him to do well, but there aren't many formations where he gets in my starting 11. Maybe in a midfield 3 with Adams and Bird, but there is plenty of competition there with Fornah, Hourihane, Smith and Thompson. I liked him as a left wing back in the second half against Cheltenham. He gave the ball away a fair bit, but he was on the front front driving at the defence so I don't mind that. 
It's true that he doesn't really get an extended run in his best position which is number ten/inside left for me. However each time he does well and is given a start in the next game he fails to nail down his place.  
If I was picking a Derby team to play for my life he'd be a sub.

Just because Gregory and Smith were the only names that got into the press does not mean they were the our only to targets.
Who knew about Leonard until it was confirmed over weekend . Same applies to CBT last summer, or signing of TJJ or Ward
Fact is we run a tight ship regards transfers so have no idea who we are interested 
Add in fact that still working with EFL restrictions with very limited transfer pots would suggest Warne (and club)  ain't doing as bad as suggested

Just because Gregory and Smith were the only names that got into the press does not mean they were the our only to targets.
Who knew about Leonard until it was confirmed over weekend . Same applies to CBT last summer, or signing of TJJ or Ward
Fact is we run a tight ship regards transfers so have no idea who we are interested 
Add in fact that still working with EFL restrictions with very limited transfer pots would suggest Warne (and club)  ain't doing as bad as suggested

Just because Gregory and Smith were the only names that got into the press does not mean they were the our only to targets.
Who knew about Leonard until it was confirmed over weekend . Same applies to CBT last summer, or signing of TJJ or Ward
Fact is we run a tight ship regards transfers so have no idea who we are interested 
Add in fact that still working with EFL restrictions with very limited transfer pots would suggest Warne (and club)  ain't doing as bad as suggested

Surprised you've not voiced this opinion before. Now you have, perhaps you could repeat it a dozen times a day, every day, please, as some on here are a tad forgetful.
Ta.

Stevenage tried to turn it into many 5 a side games. They crowded the ball quickly with multiple players and kept it boxed in and frantic. You can see how that works for them, especially when they're a short team with no real players above 6ft. Unfortunately for us, that meant the space first half was at full back, and neither Nyambe or Elder are adept with the ball at their feet to use that space.
We looked a little lost at times with what we were trying to do, in particular, Kane Wilson was struggling. He tried hard, just didn't really look like he had a clue what he was doing. The press was so frenetic it saw both teams seeing shadows at times and just ended up with getting rid of the ball thinking a challenge was coming, even if there was actually some time. 
It took Korey Smith to come on, which enabled us to get a better player on the ball in Kane Wilson going into the space at full back and Korey himself having the experience to realise when there was actually time to use for us to really get going in any sense of the word. 
Tough, attritional game which I think we did enough to win. I don't think Collins would have changed things first half, to be honest. I'm glad Hourihane didn't play, as I think he would've collapsed under that quick press in the first half. I think it played out how most thought, we were never going to stroll out and beat these, and it was nice to match them physically. 

Depending on which hat you wear there's several ways of looking at it.

1st half. From one point of view it was a borefest of a game played in midfield with little happening in the goalmouth. There were 2 real chances, both to them. One saved well by JW and the other cleared off the line by Sonny Bradley who finally seems to have settled in and is showing exactly why we got him in. I don't remember us having a shot, on or off target. There were also some "pretty" passages of play which, unfortunately, led nowhere. For the neutral or the open minded there was plenty to see. A half of many faces. The South Stand started well but after 10 minutes or so, apart from the berating of Steve Evans, they and the rest of the crowd were pretty bland.

2md half saw the South Stand wake up and their infectiousness got to much of the ground ending in a lot of bouncing after the goal. The crowd's awakening seemed to light the players' blue touch paper and we were on top. A really enjoyable half that started to look like it would fade into a 0-0 draw... cue Sibs, the impact sub. Cracking ball for Smith to NML. Reports I've read go on to say NML crossed to Sibs.. I don't see it that way. They weren't all that far apart and I maintain that NML passed to Sibs who hit it first time into the bottom right hand corner of the net. Cue unbridled joy both on and off the pitch (unbridled joy if you're not Stevenage, their players were stunned, fans too, Steve Evans just got mardy as did others in his staff, one of whom got a yellow for his efforts). Worth the win, IMO.

Steve Evans? Will he ever answer the question posed by the South Stand? Has he ever seen it? Post match he claimed they should have had a penalty for a hand ball in the lead up to Bradley's goal line block. I won't comment on that as I didn't see it, if it happened. What Evans did miss was the 2 occasions in the first half when Derby players were thrown to the ground in the Stevenage penalty area. I've not yet seen the 2nd half charge on Barks back yet but it looked like a red from my vantage point on the front row some 10 yards North of the halfway line.

The ref? I have to say I found him even handed. Both sets of players were guilty of holding opponents and the ref ignored 90% of it. Eventually their keeper got yellowed for time wasting, far too late, IMO. Players of both sides went down unnecessarily, IMO, theirs more so than ours. The number of poor tackles he let go could have had a lasting effect, fortunately, it seems we have no new injuries from the clattering the lads got at times. One example is Sibs, about 30 seconds after coming on he gets clobbered. He just got up and got on with the game. A year ago he'd have exacted revenge... grown up a bit?

Basically, depending on your hat, it was a borefest, it was interesting, it was enjoyable. I left feeling that my various hats of former player, coach, referee and fan, had had enough to make it a good day out... and we won. Next up for me is the Reading and Bolton double header in mid March.

Leonard has had 3 goals and two assists in @830 mins of football this season and at Championship level too. That's a goal contribution every 170 minutes or so which ain't shabby, though I concede I know nothing of him first hand.
Promising as Dajaune is, he's only started one game for Gateshead as yet. He deserves a chance to acclimatise to men's football in a slightly less pressure-cooker-type environment than he'd experience in our men's team right now. Also, Collo was not injured at the time and would have been the starting at 9 more games than not.