CornwallRam

Fozzy's post-playing career sorted then. He's the new Simon Clough.

I'm more upset that NML is off to Saudi Arabia..

I thought that Thompson's mobility and the lack of Bradley's immobility made a big difference today. We were a little bit quicker in everything we did, which made us more effective. 

I think that victory actually shows that Warne will see out this season. We can still beat the poorer sides in the division, so we'll finish in the top half. Worst case for Warne now is that he'll effectively become a caretaker manager to see us past the business plan restrictions. 

Whether he'll be more than that is going to depend on the signings he makes in this window. Four top quality players could, if used correctly, make us a top 6 side. No signings, the wrong signings or a failure to get the best from them and Warne will be back at Rotherham next season.

I reckon David Clowes will be thinking something like this -

It's too soon to sack the manager. It needs 10 or better still 20 games to bed in. Of course if there's no improvement by then he'll have to go. I realise that I have to keep the fans on board, but it's my club and my financial genitalia on the line, so I make the decisions.

Hi Mr Financial Director, how much would it cost me to sack Warne etc al, and what would that do to the business plan?

Hi Mr Sportting Director, just on the off chance that we need one, what managers are likely to be available?

I wish that I had managed expectations better. Although we're a giant club for League 1, the post administration restrictions make us pretty much an average League 1 club until next season. I should have made it clear that 'par' is currently mid-table, so Warne has actually over achieved to this point.

Next season will be different. We need to have the right manager in place by then. Hopefully it will be Warne, but I'm currently not convinced we'll be able to attract better until the restrictions are lifted.

Final thought - I'm never giving a manager a 4 year contract again.

15 minutes ago, RAMSINCE1969 said:

I find it strange that he lets the number 2 stand in the technical area from the start of the game, he then takes over in the second half (when we are losing), he’s the manager and he should be in there from the first minute, against Oxford he has his hands in his pockets 

The pressure is on him, he comes across (recent results included) that he thinks he’s better than he is 

The Spain trip, players standing up and discussing their life’s etc, buying players mugs etc, he’s possibly too close to the players and now the heat is on and a few rollickings need giving out the players will be thinking I thought you were my friend 

He needs to try and get back to some good old Cloughie methods and let them know who’s gaffer (it will be difficult) 

 

I disagree. Warne's methodology has worked repeatedly in this division. Imo, trying to alter his whole approach will only end in disaster. 

He's shown in the past that he can alter tactics and formation when needed, but to change everything would be to walk away from everything that made him a success. To expect him to suddenly manage like Clough, Rosenior or McClaren would be unlikely to work. He has to be Paul Warne.

To use an analogy from cricket, it would be like asking a fast bowler to suddenly bowl spin. Not actually impossible, but extremely unlikely to work.

Warne has to sort the dressing room, balance adjusting the personnel to fit his style and  the formation to fit the players available and make sure those players buy in to his methods.

It still might fail, but he'll only succeed by being full Paul Warne.

2 minutes ago, TomG said:

Difficult to disagree with that to be honest!

Yeah, buy that's because he's your Dad 🤣

That's a very good question. 5 other seasons at this level, but 2 were promotions. Going on the first 4 games, we're worse than last season.

So the question is, were we worse in 55-56 or 84-85? I saw some of the latter and I'd we're worse now. So we need someone who was around in the mid 50s to settle this.

Imo it is still far too early to replace Warne. It always takes time for multiple signings to gel. We've seen plenty of seasons where the opening few games proved to be no indicator of the rest of the season. 

Maybe I'm a little biased because possession based football bores the pants off me, so I really want to see Warne's preferred style work out.

My worry is that the new signings seem to have moved away from actual Warneball. That's potentially a big red flag.

I'd say that Warne should get until late November, unless we're in serious relegation trouble. If he hasn't improved things significantly by then, he hasbto go. A change then would give a new manager a month to assess the players before the window opens and enough games for a late push for the top 6.

7 hours ago, Rammy03 said:

Concerned about how we've started this season but not ready to get the knives out yet. 

I want to see some players brought in over the next couple of weeks.

I also want to know what happened to the football we were playing from November to February last season. In that run of games unbeaten we looked good. Where has that gone?

I wonder if anyone could find our ppg under Warne with Sibley at left back and without.

Obviously there was more to it, but it seemed to me that we just clicked with Louie at full back and drifted backwards again when he was replaced...or maybe I'm just senile and remembering it wrong.

I think the problem with Warneball is that we don't seem to be able to play it.

My understanding of the manager's tactics is -

Get the ball forward quickly and attack with aggression at pace but with the extra centre back providing a bit of a shield for when we lose the ball.

Use the wingbacks for width and get early crosses into the box, with two strikers and at least one midfielder trying to get on the end of them.

Press high, hard and as a team to force errors and get possession high up the pitch. The extra defender again provides cover for when the press is broken.

Most free kicks and corners driven into the box, where our well drilled players make the most of the opportunities. 

Train hard to give our players superior fitness.

Have a strongly supportive team ethic so players do not fear making mistakes and bust a gut to cover for each other.

To me, that all makes sense. The problems are that we aren't doing very much of it and too many of the new recruits don't appear suited to it.

Someone said we're fickle as fans. No we're not, we're just fans. Like all fans we want results, good football (whatever you define that as) and to feel the team are giving their all. Ideally a manager gives you all three, but most fans will remain supportive if any two of those are achieved. Eventually every fan will turn anti if none are achieved, and that's where we are right now. Paul Warne needs to change things very quickly or he'll be Warne out.

Nothing wrong with 352.

Lots wrong with 352 if your the centre backs are painfully slow and you play three holding midfielders. 

I don't think he should ditch the formation yet. The one thing showing promise the wing backs. 

I'd try Rooney, Forsyth and Cashin as the three and start Thompson with Hourihan along side him as attacking midfielders and Bird as the holder. 

Waghorn as the 10, Collins as the 9 and swap the wingbacks at 60 mins. NML as one of the four wingbacks.

On 01/08/2023 at 23:18, Inverurie Ram said:

I’ve mentioned this song a few times over the years and in 2023/24 it looks like Derby County may have eventually stopped nicking songs off Sheffield Wednesday and with Inverurie Ram’s massive Hull Kingston Rovers influence………and Inverurie Ram has finally landed a song for Pride Park & Derby County.

Up The Rams & The Robins!

 

I missed this at the time and when I read it I thought it was a daft idea. Yet watching the Hull KR fans singing it, I reckon it sounds brilliant. 

Come on South Stand - time for Erasure, A Little Respect.

1 minute ago, jcidaho said:

Be a good change for MDL to come off for WashingMachine

A couple of poor results and everyone thinks things are spinning out of control

I think that the next few weeks are going to be absolutely crucial for Paul Warne.

His record in this division at Rotherham is undeniably fantastic. His record in the Championship is questionable, but potentially understandable given the resources available. 

With Derby County, he has the chance to prove he can compete in the Championship. 

The problem is, he has to keep his job here for long enough to get promoted. The last third of last season was disappointing. The start to this season is worrying - moreso that this is Warne's squad and Warne's coaching team. 

IMO, the outcome of the next 5 games will decide Warne's managerial career. If he can turn things around, then a couple of dodgy early games will be forgotten and his past record suggests that we'll be in the promotion mix in April.

If we are still struggling in three weeks time, those calling for his head will be in the majority and the owner won't have much of a choice than to replace him. Warne will be forever a lower league manger - never trusted at a bigger club again.

Bringing in half a team never produces instant results. Losing McGoldrick was always going to be difficult. There are challenges, but overcoming them is what Warne is paid to do.

We need a couple of extra attacking players and we need results to be adequate in the short term to allow medium term development. I hope for his and our sake our next five games bring at least nine points or I fear that he's toast.

Personally, I think he'll succeed here and this week will just be a tiny blip. After all, Jim Smith's first few weeks were pretty dire and he did OK...that said Paul Jewell was also appalling at the start.

On 06/08/2023 at 18:45, Jayram said:

Yes, patience is a virtue but this is football we’re talking about. If the business plan is to sell our best prospects and replace them with players bought for nominal fees year in year out to keep within budget fan interest will dwindle as will club revenue and we’ll be stuck down here for years. 
 

This is the Championship conundrum. To be competitive you have to spend considerably more than you can make - unless you're a parachute club. Fine if you get promoted, but potentially an existential threat if you don't. 

Even worse, you can't even achieve sustainability by spending within your means and just accepting mid-table. You shrink as a club and eventually get relegated.

Mel was a **** for walking away in the way he did, but he didn't create the system. 

That's where David Clowes is going to have to make big decisions. 

Fortunately, we're not there yet. Although our cost base is high, our income will be comparatively huge for League 1. When free of the restrictions, we should be able to generate a competitive budget - not one that blows the opposition away, but enough for good management to get us promoted. 

3 minutes ago, sage said:

If think you can register 2 'foreign' players now.  

Missed that one. Interesting to see how they pans out.

Europe is out of the question since Brexit. They need a work permit and any that we could afford won't get one.

18 minutes ago, Matchday Fred said:

Warne needs to understand that pressing doesn’t work unless everyone does it well. And with Bird and Hourihane in the midfield, there are too many (physically) weak links. Once you strip Warne of the silly hats and chummy schoolboys quips, I wonder what is left. The season started today, not when the loan window ends.

A manager with 3 promotions from this division. 

Fortunately, I'm old enough to know that the early season games are usually not an indication of how the season  develops. Today doesn't mean very much at all.

The worry is though, there were some really troubling signs there.

The back three are painfully slow. It won't have gone unnoticed that Wigan just kicked the ball past them and got through with ease.

The midfield three were too static and offered very little. They were neither aggressive nor creative. I can't see those three being the right blend. 

The bright side was both of our right sided wing backs created a lot of chances. Unfortunately, we didn’t have strikers in the right place to convert them, or midfielders bursting into the box to pick up the 2nd balls

Wildsmith was also quite poor. Back to the nervy keeper he looked when he first signed, rather than the confident, consistent player who finished the season.

I'm glad it was the first game of the season. They are often anomalous to what follows, so not too worried. If that was the 10th game, I'd be seriously concerned though.

Not completely comfortable with the captain. It makes him difficult to drop, and I'm not convinced that he's better than Smith and Bird, and we can't play all three together 

On that showing, we need 2 strikers and creative midfielder if we're going to compete.

31 minutes ago, jono said:

Right then ! Favourite topic of mine. Much misused term “legend” 

for me has to contain a number of elements, the more the better ! 

1) games played

2j Trophies / promotions won 

3) goals scored 

4) long standing fan love 

5) unique dreamboat performance in exceptional circumstances 

I haven’t quite created an algorithm for this but just because someone was here for a while or scored a great goal against Forest isn’t enough to be “legend” you can be a notable footnote in club history but to be a legend there has to be some extra magic .. what is it ? 

You missed scoring the winning goal against Forest

Warne is trying to sign players that he can improve. 

All he has to do is get them to have a shave. They will be instantly lighter and more aerodynamic. These boys will run faster and longer this season, and fine margins are the difference between success and failure. 

31 minutes ago, DCFCRhowy said:

He also played with flint at Cardiff 

So very close friends then🤣

Shirt is OK, just a shame that the shorts are the wrong colour.

Billy Sharp

For Fozzy's testimonial and for most cup games the club now closes half the ground. 

I sit in the West Stand and part of the appeal is sitting with matchday friends. I also heard a South Stander on Radio Derby saying he doesn't go to games when the South Stand is closed.

Clearly the club are doing it as it some analysis has shown it will save money. I wonder if it actually does though. I hardly ever go if I can't sit in 'my' seat and I always would if I could.

Any thoughts?