Marriot Ram99

On 24/07/2023 at 21:48, I have nothing to say said:

Man U away kit. I begrudgingly quite like this...

That looks a great kit tbf, would be half tempted to buy it as bad as that sounds.  I have alot of Derby kits but don't see it as an issue getting a kit of a top club if I like one of their kits when we are not rivals with any of them. Wouldn't consider it if we were in the Prem though. If I'm going to get a kit that isn't a Derby one I'd usually go for a European one like Real Madrid.

10 hours ago, Ambitious said:

Assuming Bird isn't available if talks with Hull progress: 

I expect the team to be: Wildsmith; Nelson, Bradley, Cashin; Forsyth, Robinson, Smith, Ward; NML, Hourihane; Collins. 

If it was me, I think I'd pump the breaks on wing backs when our only real LWB is injured (or not fit enough to start) and we're in the process of shifting the player we had groomed for the 10 role. 

I think I'd go for a 4-3-3 with Ward and NML on the wings: Wildsmith; Forsyth, Bradley, Cashin, Wilson; Smith, Hourihane, Robinson/Rooney; NML, Collins, Ward. 

Tough situation, but if we can just survive the game and grind out three points then that would be a minor miracle given the circumstances. 

It's Wigan not a top quality side we are playing,  they aren't in great shape themselves so we should still be favourites at home.

Would be okay with him going if we get about 2.5 million for him and we reinvest the money on a quality box to box player or number 10 and get another for depth. 

He's a good player but overrated imo, he doesn't score many, isn't physical or athletic and doesn't play well enough in the big games when we are up against it  or have the ability to run games and turn the tide of matches even at league 1 level. He is a good,tidy technical player and could be a good championship player as part of a good possession based side but I'd rather have 2 good league 1 players if we were going to reinvest the fee, maybe could help us sign a better striker. 

If we don't reinvest properly then I wouldn't be as keen on selling .We are lacking in central midfield as it is.

If we sell I'd put Robinson in until we get a replacement,  and register Johnson for the bench. 

No stand out strikers this year apart from Haaland for me as Kane is probably going to Bayern, the top midfielders are more expensive this year as well which makes things different. Will probably make a few transfers after the first week. 

I've joined thr league, team name is Gangnam Smile 😂

Start XI is

              Onana

 Tete Stones Estupinan Zinchenko 

   Saka Grealish Eze Maddison

      (Captain) Haaland Jesus 

I've gone for a strong bench because there were a few I wasn't sure on and used bench boost 1st week.

1 hour ago, Brailsford Ram said:

Thankfully the Paul Warne philosophy does not encompass Fantasy Football. The remainder of our season will be played out in the real world ?

Was just an example scenario of when it could really cost us and be season defining. It's actually not too unlikely that we could lose one of them to injury and miss a good chunk of games and then the other striker gets a knock with in a game or is playing poorly and needs taking off for something different and with Playoffs looking likely those are the games where you can't afford to not have depth upfront. 

With Mcgoldrick being 35 and Collins always being knackered after 70 minutes it's of more importance to have options. And if Collins keeps on playing so poorly ideally you want someone else to come in, we rely so much on NML and Mcgoldrick imo. 

We would be 8th and have alot of fans complaining about Warne without those 2, in alot of games they have provided the quality to change the whole pattern of the match. They are the difference makers when we are struggling to do anything. 

10 minutes ago, Gerry Daly said:

Nobody was available that was good enough its as simple as that. A lot of people thought a period of consolidation and avoiding another relegation was the aim this season. Now look at us, going to be disappointed if we miss out on automatic and have to settle for the play offs! 

I'd be happy to finish 3rd or 4th on a good points total like 85 points and then hopefully we go onto win the Playoffs. Now we are in this position we should be doing everything we can to try and get promotion because I think this is a good chance and there is no guarantee next season will be any easier when it's unlikely we will have Knight, Cashin and probably Bird here and Mcgoldrick is going to have to do well to be as influential next season at 36.

Not too pleased we have not got a striker in to replace Osula. Could see a scenario where it could cost us. Imagine going into the play offs, 2nd leg of the semi final or the final and the game goes to extra time one of them are injured leaving the other to have to play the whole 120 minutes. 

Mcgoldrick gets cramp after playing 100 minutes and can barely move and we have to play a winger upfront instead, Barkhuizen hasn't got the touch or the strength and I'm not sure NML would be a good lone striker either. We then lack a focal point and lose the match costing us promotion, same could happen last game of the season if top 2 is on. 

If Mcgoldrick is out for many games and we just have Collins are chances of going up are definitely slimmer, we'll just have to hope Mcgoldrick can play most matches and we can win without having much upfront. Will be interesting to hear what Warne has to say about things in the striker department. 

23 minutes ago, Ambitious said:

Yeah, Collins getting hammered by the fans is extremely sad to see. We're a team who can't spend a single penny on any type of fees and have to adhere to an extremely strict budget - yet the striker we signed (for absolutely nothing) within said budget who has already contributed 8 goals this season is getting s*** on by the fans. It's not like we have a ton of better options or that he's not giving his all for the club. 

I think it's safe to say with this mentality it won't be long before we're booing the players off the pitch again and hammering Clowes for not spending multiple millions in the transfer market when the restrictions are lifted. 

It feels inevitable, unfortunately. 

You mean on here or on Twitter? He's been criticised on here (rightly so because he has been pretty poor) but not over harshly or in a personal and nasty way. 

I think he tries his best and isnt bad for league 1 but we are used to seeing much better strikers play for Derby and he is abit of a weak link in the team at times compared to the quality of most of our players if we are honest. For a lone striker his touch and link up play are a bit lacking. 

Wildsmith 6.5

Smith 7

Forsyth 6.5

Davies 6

Roberts 6.5

Bird 6- Some decent play but also lost the ball in a bad area 1st half and struggled to get close to a quality midfield. 

Hourihane 6. 5 some quality passes but like Bird struggled to get tight. 

Knight - 7 pressed well as usual and went on some good runs.

NML- 6. 5 looked a threat at times but not one of his better games. 

Barkhuizen - 6.5 was a threat 1st half and made good runs in behind. Had poor touch and end product though. 

Collins 5- No lack of effort as the guy next to us was alluding to but his touch was poor and he got out muscled by their defenders pretty easily, was coming out to the wings alot which isn't really well suited to him. Hopefully we will sign a different option today. 

I thought he was okay but not sure I would say he had a good game. Few touches that went out of play and was caught up field a few times and was always on the back foot defensively against Bowen and stuggled to get close (as you'd expect really). 

He played some nice cross field passes tbf to him and covered distance but I can't remember him doing anything too good defensively. 

I think NML is quite a bit better than Ebosele tbh, better end product especially when it comes to shooting, Ebosele would be good to have as a sub though. 

Mount, Wilson and Tomori are obviously no brainers. 

Don't know if Kazim Richards is still fit enough now but if he can play like he did a few years ago then I'd have him over Collins. Better touch and technical ability as a goal scorer he'd probably score about the same as Collins at this level. 

Obviously Hughes would be very good in League 1, not sure on Johnny Russell's level these days but you would think he would still be atleast a good impact sub. 

Definitely wouldn't want Malone, Bennett, Johnson or Butterfield back if he is still playing. 

Yesss! 

33 minutes ago, caymanram said:

What’s the best result for us do u reckon in the Ipswich vs Plymouth game ???

Plymouth win, we ain't catching them. 

Mcgoldrick and Mendez Laing have been the main catalysts for me, without those two in alot of games we'd have struggled to create and maybe drawn a game we went onto to win comfortably down to their ability to help us get up the pitch. 

If I had to pick one I'd say Mcgoldrick, Cashin and Wildsmith have also been key players as well. 

5 minutes ago, DB83 said:

I'm sorry but why would Sheffield Wednesday v Fleetwood be a candidate for TV??

Think he has just gone for games involving lower league team involved for the potential of them going through to the next round, agree it is hardly the greatest of games. 

Walsall Leicester looks s**** as well imo. Not even being biased I think Derby West Ham has the potential to be one of the ties of the round. 

51 minutes ago, DCFC1388 said:

Todays prize money could go a long way towards a loan signings wages

In the days of signing the likes of Bradley Johnson and Tom Lawrence that would only pay for a few weeks of their wages. 

Will go a bit further now, not sure exactly what the restrictions are and if they mean that an increase in revenue will mean we can spend more before the summer. 

Cheltenham W 3 points 

Bolton  W 3 points 

Port Vale D 1 Point 

Plymouth  D 1 Point 

Morecombe W 3 Points 

Wycombe L  0 Points 

11 Points

4-1 Derby Frgs Mendez Wang 

Would give Osula abit more game time personally and start him tomorrow. 

Think Warne loves "Collo" so I can't see him being dropped tbf. 

Rice can't handle a high press because he isn't technically gifted enough or agile enough or smart enough to be a step ahead. Look at the Argentina midfield and the Croatia midfield as well and they could handle being pressed easily, Henderson and Rice just pass ot backwards under pressure and do it in a way that invites pressure on the defence. 

I agree that Rice and Henderson aren't good enough really at thr very top level, replace one of them with  a top class midfielder and if we had something different to just using Kane upfront then we'd have a good chance of winning a tournament. 

29 minutes ago, Bris Vegas said:

How are Iran ranked 20th in the world?

Scotland would beat them easily and that is saying something.

Scotland would struggle to score against them tbh, they aren't great but we made them look bad Scotland wouldn't. 

Looks lacking in pace and creativity, we are either going to have to be very clinical with the chances we get. Can't see us getting that many. 

15 hours ago, Monty said:

If you’re planning on a taxi there is a much better service from Milton Keynes central than Bletchley even though Mk may be very slightly further away. There’s always a queue of cabs outside mk station (unless you’re pre booking of course) 

Thanks, going tp hope wr don't have to walk too far and I'll just take it slowly. We're driving up anyway so I'm hoping we can get fairly close to the ground.