kevinhectoring

Presumably the Italians all call him out for cheating, running that fast in Serie A

A little hard on the players

I didn’t think you were the one

Where does it come from, this notion that the ref needs to be 100% sure before awarding a penalty ? Seriously, is there any written basis for it anywhere in the rules of the game, or in guidance to refs? Does a different rule apply to other decisions, and if so why? And are you certain you’re not living in a Matrix ?

The driver for women refs should be discipline not diversity. Many of these players have grown up in environments where their primary relationships with males (mates, brothers, fathers) are all based in machismo and aggression. Hence ‘f-ck off ref’ every time the whistle goes. The authority figures in their lives however are often mothers and particularly grandmothers, and these are the relationships where they show most respect. So it doesn’t need rocket science to predict that players will show more respect to women refs than to male ones. The problem is the thinking needs to be followed through. Women refs should be less than 5’4”, at least 20 stone, they should be between 50 and 60 years of age and required to officiate in a large hat suitable for a wedding. Then we’d see quite a dramatic improvement in the game’s culture

I wish people would stop posting these portentous sunset pictures. It just begs the unsettling, metaphorical question : what is the sun setting on ? It’s surely too majestic simply to mark the end of a winning run. Not setting on Max Bird’s career as a Ram I hope - tho he doesn’t look especially happy in a Derby shirt these days. Maybe it’s setting on a period of mediocre, inconsistent form and the new dawn will herald in JJ as our talismanic striker and young Tommo as a bedlington terrier-like ratter in midfield, and together they will spearhead an assault on the automatics and beyond. Or perhaps it signals the demise of the testicled referee? It’s all very unsettling

I fear age is finally catching up with Fozzie and his days as a utility player are fading. I would have him at CB.

Why? We were awful today until we changed it, then we got better

He’s picking the wrong team for a start. Barkhuizen and Fornah both need to start. Then he needs to set us up so we can actually play the ball through the midfield instead of putting everything long or wide. Hourihane sitting that deep makes no sense. Aerial crosses to Cashin, Nelson, whomever, at set pieces are fine. Crosses in open play are - with our front line - largely a waste of time. Amazing to hear our manager describe today’s result at home against Wycombe as ‘a well-earned point’.

2 thoughts - with this squad we should be better: Nelson, Ward, Bird , Cashin, Fornah, NML, Barkhuizen, Wilson, Wildsmith, Fozzie - you don’t win the play offs if you don’t manage games well

We were much better in the second half. Much better with fornah and Barkhuizen, and Fozzy had a really really poor game (has age caught up with him finally)?). And Hourihane is a passenger and increasingly error prone under pressure. As you suggest the problem in the 2nd half was the foolish notion that crossing well into an empty box is the way forward

Sadly the Jan window is more likely to see the departure of Bird and Cashin and the reinvestment of the funds in ultra runners. If there were points for pretty kicking of a football whilst under no pressure, Hourihane’s place would be assured. For my money he’s not a starter and hasn’t been all season. If there’s an option to drop him in January I’d exercise it

Biggest error was the Collins yellow. Apart from that she was well above average. As for the pen a clever defender would have realised that with jw in goal best option after the schoolboy error was to marshall the rebound We made our own bed

Better than the first best players not starting Manager not getting the best out of the squad

Barkhuizen Should start

Why do we keep crossing the ball in open play? We never look like scoring

Good subs

Fornah instant impact

You make it sound like we have no say in the matter. Once again we show up with no bite, organisation or fluency in central midfield - and you credit the opposition ?

Yes. Hourihane, Sibley and Collins should all take a shower

Hourihane might have seen red from some refs. Perhaps she thought sending him off was pointless

But I explicitly said that the two criteria most sought after in the perfect owner are dosh and good governance The fact we want both of those things (and a few more) is good reason to start looking sooner rather than later. We have seen what damage can be caused by a hurried process to find a new owner

If the stadium burnt down today, uninsured, I’m pretty sure no one would spend £80m to rebuild it. And if DC tried to sell it, pretty sure no one would agree that, because the replacement cost is £80m, then they would pay £80m for it In other words, I don’t think ‘replacement cost’ is a logical basis for valuation.

In the PL they are pretty much all excellent footballers AND athletes. It’s much harder in this division to find players who are both. The Hourihane thing is bizarre. We have a manager who is constantly going on about kms run at pace. And yet game after game he selects a midfielder who can’t play that game and he allows him to be made captain !! You can argue he’s a worthwhile luxury item because of his delivery boy credentials but it risks demotivating the grafters

Warne has dampened expectations by telling us that we should not expect it to be ‘amazing’. 😞 (daily podcast) I fear we will be selling footballers and buying athletes