48 hours

You'd be surprised

1Wildsmith     7.5
34Rooney       6
33Davies         6
6Cashin          6.5
3Forsyth         7
12Smith          5.5
4Hourihane      5.5
8Bird                 6
11Mendez-Laing     6
15Roberts        6
17Sibley           8
18Dobbin          6
22Springett     6.5
7Barkhuizen       6
9Collins            5

Oh please lay off. I’d rather Warne was how he is than another clichee ridden clone like so many managers we hear.
Sibbs is a better attacking player than he is elsewhere, he has attributes that he is gradually learning to use to the best,  but he is still a young man learning his craft. He isn’t an automatic in any position , he is developing. He’s got great potential Yesterday was another great step on the way. As @angieramsaid, he is the future, the sort of player we need in a growing improving club. 

Playing at left back will have done him the world of good especially when to make a challenge, what the defender doesn’t want to do etc and the need to be stronger and disciplined

I think he will be staying and macgoldick to boot and warn says been working with younger members of the team and all good.

Love Louie. Admire him so much for getting on with it at LB and think he was instrumental to that long run with the excellent defensive record. But so happy for him today to get to play where he enjoys and get 2 goals. 

It's a bit unfortunate for Louie that his best position is the one currently occupied by our Player of the Season so far.
It's also difficult for him to come in and play anywhere near that level with a few snatched moments here and there.
But Louie is our future. If I were him, I'd be learning every little thing I could from McGoldrick and looking to be his natural successor. 

Well we got away with one, today! It seems we have learned nothing from our previous few games in this poor run. We are still lumping the ball around hoping that on the odd occasion it will land near one of our own players. Oxford move the ball around very well, and in addition they are very good at ratting around, which we tend not to be, and that is the difference which gave them the bulk of the possession. They didn't give us a moment's breathing space, a situation we don't like and can't cope with on the whole. There are increasing cries for Derby to get the ball on the ground and play football with it, especially after the Plymouth game on Tuesday, and I would have thought that the expected reaction to that result would see us playing to our strengths. But no, hardly a sight of it, just kick it long and/or into the channels. Sadly Corey Smith was the worst culprit. We've been wanting him to be moved into midfield for weeks now, and he did bring a bit of defensive metal to the side, but virtually every time he got the ball, he simply hoofed it up into the air and 4 yards up the pitch. And straight to an Oxford player - I don't think he got the ball to a Derby player once! Very disappointing. And on the rare occasions we actually played football, we looked dangerous and scored.
Pick of the bunch were Wildsmith (despite flapping at the ball for the first goal), as he kept us in the match several times, and, of course, Sibley. He took his chances really well, with the first one being a typical Sibbers goal, as was the second!!! His contribution was strong for most of the match, and was playing with a bit of authority today. His time away at left back, and sadly on the bench has seen him return a much better footballer. And that's about it, although it was good to see Max Bird back out on the green stuff!
And I hardly noticed the ref today, which might mean we have had yet another good ref, which makes the grand total of 3 this season - an embarrassment of riches! He actually got a load wrong, but he certainly wasn't the absolute buffoon we normally get.
It seems crazy, we played so poorly but could have come away with 5 goals! WE dug in and held on, and showed some character, and sometimes, as may have said, the result is all that matters. So having shown that we've got some balls, lets now play some football.
COYR!

Watching the highlights, those are two exquisite goals from Sibley. Of a quality far above League One and this match. I would post this in the Sibley thread, but it's got such a cringeworthy title I'm posting here instead. Utterly brilliant from the young man.

Youth is wasted on the young, especially these days.

A bit positive for you MR ?

Very enjoyable day out, of course helped by the win that I thought we deserved.
£6 for burger, chips and drink at adjacent centre, easy free parking and journey, friendly Oxford fans, a couple of amusing Mr Angry Derby fans next to me whose choice invective during the game made me laugh, and a decent chat with B4 and his dad pre match. If Carling made away trips...

3 points is everything at this stage.
The purists won’t like it and to be fair it was a relatively poor performance, but we came from behind and got the job done without two of our most influential players.
Rooney and Springett came in a did well. Rooney’s interception and cross for the third was crucial, Springett’s spot to set Hourihane away for the first was another big moment. 
We then turn to Sibley, delivered a MoM performance, was a regular threat and bagged a very tidy brace.
Great to see him score as we need more goal scoring options. McG has been doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Warne has a bit of a selection headache for the next game. He will need Sibley in there, McG and Bird is also back.
Things look a bit more positive!

Just had a great evening reading this thread. Meet with  triumph and disaster and treat those imposters just the same. Oh and keep your head while all around you are losing theirs. The my sone you will be a Ram
Ironically I was in Oxford seeing an old friend who is Ill. Excellent lunch and real chat with someone I’ve know half my life facing a huge battle. jeeps guys, your health is 1000 fold more important than 3 points. 
We left on the return journey as the second half started and had radio Oxford for commentary.. it’s hillarious .. same stuff as RD “squad too small” “no cutting edge” .. “the ref is clearly a Derby man”, and “our final touch is missing” blah blah. Just got to hear No3 go in so I could relax a bit before I went out of range north of Banbury. I couldn’t believe how little I heard our players names mentioned and indeed the possession stats bear that out. .. Then, interrupted partial signal from RD around Lichfield bringing the good news. phew .. it’s grubby games like that in tricky circumstances that are the difference between mid table and in with a shout. Well done all concerned, top job Sibbo and … Warne IN. COYR

2nd is still catchable 

I thought offside. Close though.
Played less football than the last two games, never hit the heights of the first half of either...but we took our chances and they didn't. 
Barkhuizens header goes in on Tuesday like Collo's today and we're 5 points off second tonight.
Don't get too high when we win or too low when we lose. We stay in the mix for the play-offs, so I'm happy. Nice to get some fresh faces into the side today too.

Thought it was a really good away performance, they aren’t ideal for all fans because in a way it’s a much poorer game. But we kept our shape well for the most part and we had more players in their natural positions. Also Davies’ character has been needed these last few games.
I like the look of Rooney, getting Springett vital minutes is a huge positive because he’s not been blooded in enough up to now. Also we’ve given time to different ways of playing and a bit of 3-5-2. 
 
All in all a positive afternoon

Saved us a few times.