Alty_Ram

Perhaps understandably there's a lot being made of squad size and fatigue but lets be honest here, we were making absolutely basic errors pretty much from kickoff. We didn't run out of steam and fade as we have had a tendency to do recently. Regardless of how much fatigue may play a part in our run-in, that was simply woeful from the off.

The stadium size decision is a really tricky one. On the one hand you don't want to expand too modestly in case you need to do it again but on the other hand if things are not going so well then you absolutely don't want to have your fans rattling around a half empty stadium.

Pitching a capacity at the PL is all well and good but as a team that has not been near the top flight for a while, it's a bit of a gamble for them and you can suddenly find yourself entertaining 400 away fans on a Tuesday night back in the Championship plus the inevitable midweek dip in home fans, even if they have paid for STs.

If Forest went with a 50k option then you can't help but feel that is really too big and they'd regret it as it would kill home atmosphere. Some folk might argue for much bigger capacity on the grounds of ambition and certainly you'll get some new fans as we did when we moved and hugely upgraded facilities, particularly for female fans, but I'd rather have a ground that was generally pretty full than always well below capacity.

In recent decades their crowds have been similar to ours with 30k being a very decent crowd. Not having a pop here but I just don't see them finding anywhere near 20k on top of that even in the PL. For what its worth I think all those years ago we got it about right and that was a decent effort based on projections of numbers from the switch from the  much lower capacity BBG. If we ever get back to the top flight it will probably feel a bit restricted but making the stadium over half as big again would seem a bit excessive.

Leeds has a pop of around 780,000 and Elland Road is what, about 38k ? I think they have talked of expanding that but even so, Nottingham's population is under 300k. Surely a stadium much bigger than 40k runs the risk of being a bit of a white elephant.

3 hours ago, MadAmster said:

My reply was to your "filling EFL coffers" remark. The playoffs don't fill EFL coffers as I explained.

I don't argue with your thoughts on "3rd place over a 46 game season" deserving promotion. Unfortunately, for me, I also see the added income for some clubs in the last 1/4 of a season if they are still in with a shout of the top 6. One thing that has always surprised me is that they don't apply the same logic to the bottom 6. Keep interest up at both ends of the table?

The other reason that I'd definitely want to keep playoffs is that particularly in the Championship with teams with big wads of parachute payments, is the bigger danger is that the automatic slots get locked out by teams with lots of resources, looking 'bounce back' to the top flight. Having a top 6 at least gives a better chance of someone with more modest resources just having a good season. Once you are in the playoffs then its a bit of a lottery even if there are still favourites and dark horses. A full season and limited automatic-only places tends to favour teams with more resources and bigger squads.

7 minutes ago, Tamworthram said:

Although it's looking a lot better after yesterday's results, it's still too early in my book to be starting this thread.

Well quite. One bad set of results and suddenly we're only 4 points ahead but will have played a game more. We're in very patchy form. There's a lot to do still.

If every barely perceptible brush of laces like that was a foul all over the pitch at any time and in any circumstances, the game would never generate any momentum at all , it'd just be foul... foul... foul.. every time you challenge for a ball. Every defender and midfielder would be on a yellow in minutes or they simply don't risk a tackle of any sort and let the player walz through, fundamentally changing how the game is played.

That was a dive, pure and simple and the ref has bought it.

Oxford 1 Derby 1 FRGS Knight

1 hour ago, ilkleyram said:

Allegedly, in the South Stand certain genders and younger people get very good signals on their phones throughout the match. Perhaps that’s the place to be. 

Joking aside, for years I could never get any signal worth the effort in East Stand but for some reason I seem to be able to get a passable signal (albeit sketchy) since I moved to South Stand. I'm on the same network as I have been for a while (Vodafone). Maybe all that youthful energy and positivity is boosting my phone ?

He's generally not been at all critical of players in any defeats until very recently. One of the things that has been great about the squad and manager this year is how tight they've been as a group. Hopefully nobody sulks after getting called out on workrate.

It's a bit of a 'marmite' issue I guess. Some folk love SBW but personally I find it a bit cringey/cheesy and have never really joined in - all feels a bit old-school 'Chas and Dave' to me. Each to their own I suppose. I usually walk in just as we're about to kick off anyway so quite often miss some or all of it which is fine by me.

In truth I'd be just as happy to have no music but of all the music we've used, I consider 'Clubbed to Death' the most acceptable.

Plymouth 3 Derby 0 No RFGS

6 hours ago, Alpha said:

Feel deflated after one race. 

How tf do the other teams make up that kinda difference. 

Exactly, same here. I've been looking forward to this for weeks but in the end, if it hadn't been for Alonso and the AM I've probably have wandered off and done some chores.

Don't get me wrong, I love F1 but without even vaguely competitive racing at the top, its just a noisy spectacle and currently not a very interesting one at that. It's just deja vu... RB fastest by a country mile, Perez not in the same league as Verstappen, Ferraris going pop (which at least saved them the bother of making a catastrophic tactical decision to destroy Leclerc's chances) and Mercedes just nowhere near being competitive (again).

I'll no doubt tune in to every race as usual but I think the sheer amount of time taken browsing my phone is usually an indicator with how engaged with it all I am.

Just hope that someone can come up with some meaningful upgrades or magic a decent car out of somewhere, There's only so much entertainment to be had watching the 'Battle for 10th'.

At half time though we're deservedly 2 up and could and probably should have been more - McGoldrick's has an all but free header. We then come out for 2nd half and they are much more lively but we give them a soft way back in when Fozzy gets robbed and they rode the momentum of that so fair play to them - when someone leaves the door open you step right through. We then followed by a needless decision to make for a penalty and it felt like Plymouth at home deja vu.

I genuinely don't think that if we keep it steady for the first 15 mins of the 2nd half that they find any way back into that though. The goal totally changes the game and we were inviting it by being sluggish and careless.

Rams 0 Shrewsbury 1 (No FRGS)

1 hour ago, Red_Dawn said:

It does. Last year, I said that simply sustaining Derby County as the entity you all know is a success. 

100%. It's easy to forget what an absolute shitshow we endured over the previous couple of years and even if we fall away and don't get a playoff place, we seem to have turned this oil tanker round and it's vital that we keep on applauding the huge progress made just to get us to a situation where we are no longer headline news for all the wrong reasons.

Forest have (so far) regrettably exceeded my expectations and you look to have given yourselves a real chance. It's still tight though and wouldn't take a lot to slide back into trouble but I'm guessing that you lot would have been happy enough with just staying up even if it was by a place or two.

Pretty gutting but I still think I'd far rather see the odd frustrating loss like this than safety first dull draws. Will always love proper Test Match Cricket and games like this do the image of the game no harm in countries where it is perhaps becoming less of a focus. On another day we win that and Stokes is a demi-god (well more of a demi-god..).

12 hours ago, Red_Dawn said:

I would also be more than happy with this arrangement. Lets hope for both our sake it happens. 

Found your natural level. Got your Nigel Clough derby to look forward too, eh?

OK, I'll have a go at explaining this. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt because I think it is probably quite hard for other teams fans to understand our mindset this season. In most circumstances a relegation to League 1 would rightly be a cause for much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Would I rather we were a competitive team in the Championship ? Yeah, I would. Am I enjoying this season in League 1 and seeing us win plenty of games and challenge at the right end of the table, also a definite yes.

We almost went out of business, we have very limited ability to upgrade the side due to the transfer embargo so as of this moment I am happy where we are because we are capable of being competitive and so there is a positive vibe about the place. We've done really well to build a squad that can be competing to get out of this division but I'd fear for us in the Championship if we were having to continue build a team from out-of-contract players and no fees.

Once the EFL allow us to leave the naughty corner and we can start to build a forward looking squad and pay some sensible, sustainable fees for players that we need to step up a level then I will be hoping for and expecting more and I'd want us at the sharp end of the Championship again as soon as possible. Make sense ?

We're not a big side and these floated corners generally just get mopped up by central defenders and keeper. Even if we get on the end of them its hard to generate much pace on the ball to offer goal threat. If you're not awash with aerial threat then if we are going to put the ball in the box then at least really whip it in and you might just catch the central defence flat-footed and give smaller players a chance of doing something. Cash's header against Charlton was emphatic enough but seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Based on interview comments it is clearly something that niggles Warne too.

Also, the amount of holding, pushing shirt-pulling these days is just ridiculous. There was a theory a while back that refs were going to be much stricter on it but that seems to have been conveniently dropped. If you did to Collins in the centre circle what happens at most corners then it'd be a free kick all day long but seemingly in the area it doesn't count.

13 hours ago, EFL View said:

Very much a case of holding your nerve. From a Town perspective, our downfall has been draws. We’ve only lost 4 in the league and they’ve all been by 1 goal margins so I can see our play off games being cagey. Not sure which of the other teams we’d be most suited to playing though. I’d want to avoid Wycombe if they sneak in, although I doubt they will.

I was going to ask you whether you saw the reason for the draws as being that you are perhaps just not clinical enough, or that you don't really go for the jugular enough and put games to bed, but looking at the table you are top scorers. So is that based on a handful of thumping wins but then lots of tight games ?

The Wycombe situation is interesting. Not sure we enjoy playing them either but change of manager can derail things so will be interesting to see how they adapt. As for any potential playoff games (if we get there) I'm definitely a bit concerned that our record against the top teams is not particularly convincing. Can't say there is anyone obvious that I'd like to face either. We've won 1 and drawn 1 against Bolton but they were very tight games.

53 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

What were our results like prior to changing to 4 at the back?
How many games unbeaten, playing 4231?
What have results been like since we first deviated from 4231?

I don't know without looking it up but I presume that you do and I presume also that it is quite a stark contrast. However, my point was intended as a very much more general one about football management rather than Warne and DCFC. As a manager it seems that whatever your approach there will be some people who will criticise you. The only way to avoid that is to win games relentlessly, but then again there will still probably be some all-knowing fans who will say that you should have won those games by more.

Personally I am of the opinion that you change as little as possible even  if you lose a key player so ideally switch in the nearest like-for-like player that has been working with the formation and tactics that you have been playing rather than change how you play. There will also come a situation though where a manager may feel that the remaining players available to them will better fit a different approach. It needs someone with more coaching badges and experience than me to make that call I guess.

47 minutes ago, EFL View said:

I’d agree with that. It’s probably better for the players’ mindset to know they’ll be in the play offs for a few weeks beforehand rather than expend lots of energy chasing 3rd, missing out and then running out of steam during the play offs. MK last season are probably the clearest example of that. Especially with the age profile of the squad, having the opportunity to rest a few will be useful.
 

It’s interesting how the narrative changes so quickly though, a few weeks back our fans were pretty resigned to being overtaken by Derby and potentially even dropping out of the play offs but after two wins against bottom four sides there’s now cautious optimism we can break into the automatics again. For what it’s worth, I don’t think we will but it shows how everything can switch in such a short space of time.

100%. It only takes a couple of duff results and it all changes. Likewise (as you say) get a couple of results against relegation strugglers and you've started the charge for the automatics. Such small margins in this league...

We've not become awful all of a sudden but our performances have definitely dipped a bit and we're losing or getting nothing from games that we were previously winning routinely during our excellent run.

A lot of this is nerve and determination now, not just footballing ability.

59 minutes ago, EFL View said:

Interesting reply, thanks. I remember at the Portman Road game thinking that the formation didn’t suit the players at his disposal, interesting he’s still reluctant to change things again but the fact that he even switched things up at all is more than can be said for a lot of managers at this level.

It's a tricky one isn't it ? To a degree it's "Damned if you do, damned if you don't". Make no changes and lose you are inflexible and stubborn. Make changes and it doesn't work and you are a tinkerer who doesn't know your best team/formation.

For me, I'm not as confident as I was. I think a wobble at some stage was probably inevitable though, but still, it has certainly been a bit deflating. Of course we still have time to put a good run together again, as long as we can dust ourselves down and get over recent disappointing results. A fit again Max Bird will be a big boost but we collectively have been below par of late so it's more than just that.

I think I'd be more worried if we were in the final straight when this sort of poor form can just run you out of contention just at the wrong time. It might still do that of course but at least we have time to put another run together and try to ensure a top 6 finish and we are capable of doing that for sure. We only really have Bird missing from a side that went on a hell of a run so we don't really have much excuse to not put this right. The quality is there but Warne needs to gets the players heads right for the run in.

Need to work on that Fozzy song. He's definitely earned it by now !

23 hours ago, Alty_Ram said:

You must be right in front of me and slightly to the right

Or possibly even the same row-ish

23 hours ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Controversial... my view from sitting down in the south stand 

You must be right in front of me and slightly to the right