IslandExile

In league one for the third season running 😔

🤞 And we get promoted, Bird signs a new 10 year contract and we all live happily ever after.

Nhaki Wells. Well I'm narked.

Jesse Lingaard on a long term contract..... In South Korea 🤣

I'm struggling to see the benefit of this move if we don't get a pot of cash to spend now - there's still time to bring someone in I guess. But we'd get compensation if we left it to the end of the season anyway. And Max would have a wider range of options.

Because we should be keeping our best players. And part of doing that is creating a playing environment where they want to be. (I quoted you but my comment isn't aimed at you but all those who seem to be happy to see Bird go)

Clarification: I quite like Warne the person, he wears a bobble hat, it's Warne the manager of Derby County that I'm less keen on.

Is it too late to keep Bird and get rid of Warne? 😔

So he's not even waiting to see if we get promoted; he'd rather play for Bristol even if we're in the same division. I wonder if that's because it's not fun as a midfielder with our tactics?

Replaced by Vic Moorland, not his fault, by that manager that shall not be named - entirely his fault. Shudder. I won't sleep now.

To lose Roy McFarland the best defender, maybe even footballer, the club has ever had and the best in England at the time, for all but the last four games of the season in 74-75, for Derby still to win the top division, Colin Todd - who was himself second only to Roy Mac - had to further step up. He did. He was superb. That's no insult to Ticker Daniel who also rose to the challenge. But Colin Todd was immense. Recognised by his fellow professionals with the PFA player of the year award. Captain of Sunderland at 19. His signing dominated the local headlines even in the face of mass layoffs at RR. Fast, great in the air considering his size, read the game so well and the cleanest tackler you'd ever see. A true great. Ram 🐏

A ground in which we would watch the world's best players.... https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2024/01/todd-makes-great-gesture-by-handing-over-pfa-award-to-go-on-display

https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2024/01/ramstv-feature-todd-hands-pfa-player-of-the-year-award-to-rams https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2024/01/todd-makes-great-gesture-by-handing-over-pfa-award-to-go-on-display

And living down here and knowing a few Pompey fans, if we were to lose to them in the playoffs, it would send me into hiding.

Polls give the silent majority a voice. I guess we had too many Warne in/out votes.

We're rounding the final bend and entering the home straight. Ok, not quite but we're over half way through. Will we get automatic promotion, have to settle for the playoffs or - heaven forbid - miss out altogether again and face another season in League One? My fear is that Bolton and Posh will get the autos, leaving us to battle it out in the play offs. [Aside: have polls been turned off? I was going to make this a poll.]

Once a Ram, always a Ram 🐑 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-68113335

They should have rigged the draw so Maidstone got Man Citeh who were still in the pot.

... and Keith was a defender.

The criticism is for the style of play, the tactics, the team selection, often not reacting to the way a game is panning out. Even with the budget caps, we are well resourced in this league, the attendances are high and the squad is one of the best in the division. "Won 11 in 16". I'm reminded about Revie asking Clough how he could improve Leeds because "Brian, last season we only lost three games". Clough replied "by only losing two". Maybe if our performances had been better, we'd be winning more than "11 in 16".

Of course, he doesn't deserve vitriol (nobody does) but he does warrant constructive criticism. Don't confuse the two.

What? Let's get this straight. We've got one of the best squads, best support, best resources in a tin pot league - we're near the top because of that, not because of Warne's management and style of play. With decent management, we'd be cruising, getting results while still playing decent, entertaining football. Would you feel better about watching this dross just because of us getting enough results that put us in with a good chance of the play offs?

"All about results". No, it isn't. Playing game after game so badly that, even after a win today, it actually feels worse than a defeat. Sorry. Warne out. Let's play football.