Alty_Ram

Well obviously you're setting this up for a fall RD because you'd find it funnier, but in all seriousness the pattern of the last few games have been a case of if you don't like the last result, just hang around, it'll all change again, triumph to despair in the space of 90 mins. It's in our hands for now at least but since when did we ever do anything easily? I'm fully expecting more twists and turns and although we've won a lot of games this season we've also had several worrying random piss poor performances against the poorer teams in this division so absolutely nobody is taking anything for granted at this stage. We'll get there if we get there and I'll worry about celebrating then if we get over the line. It might be 'just' a chance to get back in the Championship but I imagine that you'd have been cheering as loudly as the rest when Forest managed to haul themselves out of the 3rd tier. Unless they change the rules I think we're only allowed to get promoted one division at a time, so if we can see this through to a successful conclusion I'd be over the moon for now ta. As for your lot, well it's still wide open. I've maintained that you have 3 worse teams than you and I still think you'll stay up but there are some huge games coming up. Your game at Everton looks massive, particularly when Luton are home to Brentford on the same day. Even if you are in trouble after that lot though, you still have the bottom 2 teams to play in your last 3 games. Club colours aside, it's actually been a genuinely interesting PL campaign at both ends but after last weekend it looks like advantage Man City and I don't expect them to need a 2nd invitation to take advantage.

Unfortunately I agree. I just think there are 3 poorer teams who will wrap up those relegation spots. The bottom 2 are all but gone (Sheff Utd are barely half a point a game and Burnley not much better). I just don't see Luton winning many games and as you say, they have squandered some good opportunities. The only slight wildcard is the form of the likes of Brentford, Palace and Everton. Brentford are 1 win in 11 and Palace are 1 win in 9 and that was against Burnley. Everton is 1 win in 11 and that was narrow scratchy victory against Burnley. With both Forest and Luton bagging a recent 3 points, any kind of win for the next couple of games for either Forest of Luton would make the rest of that lot seriously twitchy, given that they are in pretty desperate form.

Well, true ! But obvs I meant in the sense that he seems like he'd be able to play high intensity football once he'd understood what Warne needs from him to help the team. He seems to be getting there now and hopefully the timing will help us get over the line. We can't win every game by simply outplaying the opposition so we need players who can win games with a moment of trickery. We don't have an enormous number of those so we don't want it all to be just about NML or Wilson. The more potential headaches the opposition have, the better really.

Regardless of his patchy start, he has all the raw materials for what we need - plenty of pace, some trickery, and a willingness to run at people and pull defences about. A major worry this year has been 'What happens if NML breaks down or badly loses form?' Apart from NML we don't have many options that can really scare defences with their direct running so it was good to see CBT put in a good effective shift against the best team in the division. He's an athlete and of the right age profile. Hopefully bodes well for the future.

Hopefully we can find enough fit players to fill the bench ! Having a 'mare with injuries.

In terms of the wider debate, I'm pretty 'meh' about Reading. As with us, much of their situation was self inflicted and they were pushing their luck with the loans even as it was starting to disintegrate around them, but regardless, I certainly wouldn't want them to go out of business - we've stared down that particular barrel and almost lost our club. Their fans are just fans at the end of the day though and just want to have a club left to support. Perhaps some of them will be a little less judgemental in the future if they can get through this. Couhig however is a piece of work who (based on that sign off) seems to actually enjoy the opportunities he has to screw other clubs up, so I can't help but naturally come down on the side of anyone who has a problem with him. I'll file him under 'Birmingham City & other evil entities'.

That still rankles with me now and I (like many) said at the time that if other clubs got in trouble that we'd like to think that we wouldn't stoop to that sort of stuff. I still stand by that, apart from the obvious and IMHO necessary exception of Birmingham City who didn't just do it, they took absolute delight in it when we were about to slip under. At that time were looked utterly screwed and they loved every minute of it....... 96th minute.. f*** you...

And surely also needs sponsorship by a fancy high-end foreign holiday firm targeting wealthy footballers ? 😉

Of home games I managed to only miss.... Newcastle... *sigh* you couldn't make it up. When we went into the next season, I remember it dawning on me that despite being an ST holder that I hadn't seen us win in well over a year. Jesus wept, what a time that was to endure being a Derby fan ! I climbed out of the East Stand at the final whistle on the final day and watched some lads unfurl a banner with 'Thank f*** that's over' written on it. Quality ! Summed it up perfectly!

That first 45 was carnage. Every time they attacked it looked like they'd score. Sheff Utd can barely hold the ball for more than a few seconds before they are crowded out and then spend the next couple of minutes just chasing shadows before winning the ball back for a few seconds and then lose it again. The Blades are simply being bullied and it's pretty dispiriting stuff even for a neutral. You'd think a 5-0 at half time would be entertaining but it like watching Barca against a pub team or a cat playing with a mouse. We may be in a rubbish league but at least our games are competitive.

Quit with the calm analysis and reflection nonsense LCR, it's time to massively over-react and have a complete meltdown about sinister forces, a power grab and a grand plan that 'they' have been building up to, and/or a lone wolf power grab by a single evil genius. Not sure which of those it is yet but its bound to be really bad and the important thing is to lose your s*** and shoot the plan down before it's even got off the ground. Now get with the programme! 😉

Boo ! Boo ! I didn't vote for you, you don't speak for me ! Boo!!! BOOOO!!! You're just in it for yourself. You can't possibly be doing it for the right reasons so I reserve the right to respond with irrational foaming-at-the-mouth negativity and vitriol regardless of who applies and what they plan to do.... er... BOOO!!! Down with this sort of thing !

Formation ? Names in a hat.. Result ? No bloody idea. That's not being negative, I genuinely have no clue. Bounce-back victory and comfortable win or back to dross again, or anywhere in between. Whatever else we need a formation where the players understand what they are doing and for several players to significantly raise their game. Oh and don't hand the opposition soft goals... oh and score some... er.. sorted.. possibly

Feels like it at times ! They partly rebuilt our market next to the old site and turned the old building into a Bier Keller style eatery and drinks hall with different businesses with serving counters looking out onto the main hall. You order whatever sort of drink you want from the relevant serving hatch and likewise food so you can grab a pizza (proper pizza oven) and a glass of wine if that's your thing and sit down next to a mate who opted for a locally made pie and pint from regional and often local breweries. It's amazingly successful but it's crazy busy at weekends so in truth I don't go very often! My excellent local is only 5 mins walk away so don't tend to get past that very often. I believe the market redevelopment won national awards as a redevelopment project.

We're obviously getting off topic here a bit but round my way, there has been a significant die-off of traditional pubs but very few that I'd miss that much. The good ones are still here and most have thought very carefully about their offering and we are probably at roughly the same density of watering holes overall but now have more 'bars' than traditional pubs, usually offering something a bit different to their pub predecessors though. For example, in amongst the usual pubs we have a tiny sports bar with an excellent array of good European lagers where you inevitably end up chatting to the people next to you because it's such a compact bar, a Belgian themed bar which is pricey but very good plus a totally new-build pub which is the taproom for the local brewery and has nice furniture and the floor isn't sticky with one of those carpets that you can't tell what colour or pattern is was originally 😉.

I never really understood all the negativity myself. Personally I quite like to have the contrast on local radio of someone a bit more 'heart on sleeve', particularly if they are alongside someone a bit more analytical. For my tastes there is enough dry analysis of football these days from stat-grinders talking about XG or whatever so on local radio in particular I'm happy to hear a few instinctive and occasionally emotional comments and opinions as that is a much better fit for the game that I personally am following. I definitely don't always agree with him but then that's not the point of his style I guess. He's a bit like that bloke at the pub after you drop in for a pint after the game. Sometimes you'll find yourself nodding to his comments and others you'll think nah, that's way too harsh on player X because player Y has constantly left him exposed by offering no cover.

Obviously there is pretty much no such thing as a footballer who is immune to a good offer but he seems like a player who is really enjoying his football and the obvious great relationship with the fans. When he interviews he seems quiet, modest and humble and seems like the sort who needs to feel wanted by club and fans, not just looking for a bigger pay cheque. Gut feeing is that we don't need to worry for now and I think it it would take a really significant offer for him personally to move. The MLS as his last move at some point perhaps but not right now when he is in a promotion chase. If we fall flat and face another year in this division then that might be a different story in the summer of course. Also, with him well in contract, we'd have to be offered something that we simply couldn't refuse to consider selling our most potent threat with bucket-loads of goal contributions this season. Why would we do that with so much at stake.

Knowing the importance and urgency required by Derby's request, the EFL put their top 'Budget Guy' on the case to draft a response..

Cue the EFL stalling until our backup option has secured a contract somewhere else before telling us that we can't have Gayle. Of course It'll need to be put before the independent EFL 'Make some new rules up because it's Derby' Panel which won't be gathering for at least 6 to 8 months depending on when they can be arsed to deal with it and how much inconvenience will be caused. They reserve the right to suddenly find it acceptable if Waghorn or Washington suddenly find fitness or if Collins recovers quicker than expected, just to minimise its usefulness to us and then they can move the goal posts and reduce the wage level that we are allowed so they can slap us with some spurious charges for some s*** they just made up.

Saw this yesterday and it's pretty jaw-dropping stuff. Warne is the 26th longest serving manager in the English football leagues and Premier League. Just wow.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_Premier_League_and_English_Football_League_managers

Loving this guys attitude on and off the pitch. Exactly what we needed.

It's a spectacular and abysmal run of luck in attacking terms without a doubt but I guess what some folk are saying is that since Warne was obviously chasing a striker until Wednesday pissed us about, then Warne himself obviously felt we needed another option due to cover existing injuries and over-reliance on poor Collins who surely needs to be given some respite from full 90 minute runouts week in week out with the lung-busting effort he always puts in. I think the criticism is probably largely directed at not maybe calling Wednesday's bluff and drawing a line in the sand and activating a backup plan while there was still time. Having said that of course, we don't really know all the ins and outs and maybe we did have a backup plan and maybe that fell through too and there is actually no blame to be laid at anyone's door, just wretched luck and other clubs/players being a pain in the arse. In terms of the alternative striking options, I'm generally a believer in the 'square pegs' argument. Just my opinion but I'd rather see a limited ability specialist lined up than a fish out of water so they wouldn't need to be some footballing legend, just a reasonably solid pro (probably aging or younger) as cover. I say that because if it allows you to play to the plan that all the players are already familiar with then it disturbs the team pattern and strategy as little as possible. We've spent a season that has gone very well so far, playing in a certain way. I don't know who is available but then I guess I'm not paid to be chief scout or whatever. Wednesday had 2 forwards that we were seemingly chasing so surely we could have got a paler version from somewhere. I wouldn't have expected much more than that to give Collins a breather occasionally so doubtless we'd have been a bit 'meh' about it but at least we'd have some cover. I really feel for Collins because he's really stepped up this year with his goals and always pus a massive shift in but he gets kicked from pillar to post week in week out and an injury was always a possibility.

If we do find ourselves without a recognised striker then it'll be interesting to see what Warne does about it. Chucking Bradley up front (say) is going to require a very different strategy to making an attacking midfielder/wide man into a temporary striker. The latter is surely only going to work with some snappy flowing football. Not much point banging crosses in with Barkhuizen up front unless it is very much part of a swift counter-attacking move with a defence stretched.

Good Vlog bar the missing goal and celebration 😉. Ta for that, I always look out for sensible balanced Vlogs from opposition fans as I am constantly fascinated about what the opposition make of us. Like many forums, we can have a post-match discussion between ourselves on here having seen the exact polar opposites in a performance so it's always interesting to look at how we looked from the outside looking in. Re the feeling that your guys were rather physical. Perhaps we're both kinda right in that maybe they were being urged to be a bit more enthusiastic in the challenge as a response to a perceived previous weakness under Appleton ? Just a thought. Your comment re dark arts is a really interesting one. Last year there was a bit of a perception that we came unstuck a few times because we were really not good at that aspect and we (and the refs) were 'played' too easily. We were certainly undone a few times buy some pretty cynical tactics with lots of timewasting and play acting but for all that most fans will tell you that they don't like their team doing it, it's difficult to make a case against it when the opposition does it as often as not. Re not going for the jugular. Our form as been a bit wobbly recently and we have had games where we've created little or nothing in 90 mins so I'd have been surprised if we'd gone all gung ho and tried to double our lead at the end. We have also perhaps been guilty of not managing games very well and we've conceded a few late ones so the caution at the end is perhaps understandable regardless of your recent poor form. Anyway, welcome to the forum. We're always happy to exchange opinions with reasonable opposition fans 😊

Aren't they minor members of the 'Debt Scrubbing' club who can run at a loss with no impact though ? Can probably offer disproportionate wages if so. *caveat* It may well be that they are not in fact minor members of the 'debt scrubbing' club but after 3 years of total horse**** stated as fact about DCFC by other teams fans that I make no apologies and offer the comment as incontrovertible truth that needs to be absorbed as fact by the whole internet. Oh and they eat babies... and all sorts of other nasty stuff. #gospeltruth