Ambitious

He was willing to gamble the clubs entire existence though.

I don’t blame Clowes for hiring Warne. He talks a good game and I think fundamentally he’s a very intelligent tactician. 
Like most of us, who have grew up watching football, we have an idea of how we would want things to look and processes on how to achieve that. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple and I think Warne has ultimately fell away from being able to achieve his vision for whatever reason. The question is now, for both Clowes and Warne is where do they go from here. Clowes obviously has an affinity for Warne as a person, but will naturally be worried about his investment. By any metric, we are underachieving. The fans aren’t happy.  In this league, the fans are our commercial strength so there is an emphasis to keep them onside, more so than if we were in the Championship or Premier League. 
I think there needs to be an honest conversation between the two and some more immediate key performance indicators outlined. I think ideally they drag each other through this period, but there needs to be a plan in place. 

I don’t blame Clowes for hiring Warne. He talks a good game and I think fundamentally he’s a very intelligent tactician. 
Like most of us, who have grew up watching football, we have an idea of how we would want things to look and processes on how to achieve that. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple and I think Warne has ultimately fell away from being able to achieve his vision for whatever reason. The question is now, for both Clowes and Warne is where do they go from here. Clowes obviously has an affinity for Warne as a person, but will naturally be worried about his investment. By any metric, we are underachieving. The fans aren’t happy.  In this league, the fans are our commercial strength so there is an emphasis to keep them onside, more so than if we were in the Championship or Premier League. 
I think there needs to be an honest conversation between the two and some more immediate key performance indicators outlined. I think ideally they drag each other through this period, but there needs to be a plan in place. 

Just worked out that if you crop the league table just right, things don't look so bad.

You also have to take what Warne says in the press with a pinch of salt, he’s trying to keep his job and stop the players from going under. At this point, I think you can largely ignore what he says in the press as it will be very different to his thoughts and real opinion. 

Warne will do well to survive this… 

You also have to take what Warne says in the press with a pinch of salt, he’s trying to keep his job and stop the players from going under. At this point, I think you can largely ignore what he says in the press as it will be very different to his thoughts and real opinion. 

You also have to take what Warne says in the press with a pinch of salt, he’s trying to keep his job and stop the players from going under. At this point, I think you can largely ignore what he says in the press as it will be very different to his thoughts and real opinion. 

Warne will do well to survive this… 

This sounds morbid, borderline depressing, but I don't have any realistic ambition for Derby at present. 
I don't believe we have the competency or cash available to mount any serious push for the Premier League. By default, we will continue to fight for promotion in League One until we eventually get it and then we will do our best to survive in the Championship with a middle of the road budget. 
The difficulty the club faces, realistically, is keeping bums on seats. 
If we stay down this season: we will lose our good young players coming to the end of their contracts. Replacing them with quality won't be an unsurmountable task, but realistically any signings we can make in League One aren't going to excite fans. Assuming in this scenario Warne is out, who do we bring in as manager - how can you capture fans imagination? How do you stop thousands of fans from essentially walking out on the club. Anything other than promotion this season is commercially devastating to the club and the truth is three teams are coming down from the Championship in better shape than the ones last season. Take the bottom 5 for example at the moment: Watford, QPR, Rotherham, Sheff Wed & Stoke. The league will be a lot more difficult next season - there will be a lot less optimism around the club than there was last season which kept people engaged. 
If we get promoted this season: the fans are going to excited of course and it means Derby will be in a much stronger position, financially, going into next season. However, realistically speaking, the team is miles off where it needs to be in order to compete in the Championship. We have built our side similarly to how Sheff Wed built their side. I've seen little from the recruitment team to trust them to pull rabbits out of hats, nor do I believe that Clowes will fund a complete overhaul and I don't believe that Warne has the skillset to manage that situation. The initial excitement would be soon tainted with transfer window frustrations, poor results and the realisation that despite having one of the biggest crowds in the league that we aren't able to truly compete financially with a lot of the division who have owners able to more than bridge the gap and teams with parachute payments. We're essentially walking into a buzz saw. If we survive, great, but difficult to overlook the frustrations, the booing, the calls for the managers head, the calls for the players heads which all seems inevitable. 
For me: it's very much a damned if we do, damned if we don't. In order for Derby to be an ambitious club again, it either needs outside money either from investment or new ownership. Failing that, it needs an elite level of competency at the club in terms of coaching and recruitment - like Brentford have been able to achieve. It's obviously not easy when you're looking at what freebies you can pick up off the bosman list at the end of the year.
My own take is not to try and think of the future of the club too much, enjoy the games for what they are and don't let comparison be the thief of joy. 

The squad as it stands is probably the most experienced and deepest in terms of quality in the league. I really struggle to see any other team in the division as comparable. 
Oxford finished two points from the relegation zone last season, had very little budget to make adjustments and have managed to improve significantly to the point where they are now (on current form) a better team than us. I would put that down to Liam Manning, who is a good manager. 
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that we aren't working at an optimum efficiency - some players aren't performing as expected, the recruitment could've been a lot better and the coaching could be a lot more effective. I do feel like we're improving, generally, but there are some fundamental issues within the club that aren't going to see us become the next Brentford, Brighton, etc. 
You could see with the approach adopted by Sunderland and Ipswich that they were putting processes in place with a long-term vision and each decision was meticulously thought out. It's worked out well for them and they're going really strong this season. I don't feel like we have that level of vision, work-ethic or competency at the club to achieve at the same level.

The squad as it stands is probably the most experienced and deepest in terms of quality in the league. I really struggle to see any other team in the division as comparable. 
Oxford finished two points from the relegation zone last season, had very little budget to make adjustments and have managed to improve significantly to the point where they are now (on current form) a better team than us. I would put that down to Liam Manning, who is a good manager. 
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that we aren't working at an optimum efficiency - some players aren't performing as expected, the recruitment could've been a lot better and the coaching could be a lot more effective. I do feel like we're improving, generally, but there are some fundamental issues within the club that aren't going to see us become the next Brentford, Brighton, etc. 
You could see with the approach adopted by Sunderland and Ipswich that they were putting processes in place with a long-term vision and each decision was meticulously thought out. It's worked out well for them and they're going really strong this season. I don't feel like we have that level of vision, work-ethic or competency at the club to achieve at the same level.

The squad as it stands is probably the most experienced and deepest in terms of quality in the league. I really struggle to see any other team in the division as comparable. 
Oxford finished two points from the relegation zone last season, had very little budget to make adjustments and have managed to improve significantly to the point where they are now (on current form) a better team than us. I would put that down to Liam Manning, who is a good manager. 
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that we aren't working at an optimum efficiency - some players aren't performing as expected, the recruitment could've been a lot better and the coaching could be a lot more effective. I do feel like we're improving, generally, but there are some fundamental issues within the club that aren't going to see us become the next Brentford, Brighton, etc. 
You could see with the approach adopted by Sunderland and Ipswich that they were putting processes in place with a long-term vision and each decision was meticulously thought out. It's worked out well for them and they're going really strong this season. I don't feel like we have that level of vision, work-ethic or competency at the club to achieve at the same level.

Rooney did plenty good at Derby, but he took a sledge hammer to Sibley’s development and career. 
I can’t imagine that’s a reunion that will happen any time soon. 

Game should’ve been done at half time, criminal how many chances we missed, but not completely unsurprising considering the last few draws we’ve had where chances and goal scoring opportunities have been in great volume but the final touches haven’t. 
Second half, you could see the players returning from injury really struggling late on and I felt Warne just wanted to run them into the ground to get minutes in their legs but from a performance point of view it I would hope changes would typically be made before it got to that point. Right before the penalty we may as well been playing walking football. 
Great to see Sibs bag twice. He really need to be in games where we need a spark because we just don’t have it otherwise, most of our players are industrious, honest pros. Sibley is the only player in our team who has an edge about his game, for me, so I just don’t see any good reason why he doesn’t get a run of games. It seems like he has to score every game to even get an opportunity to keep his place. He’s started three games this season and has three goals. It does baffle me. I’m just going to try and enjoy watching him while I can because it’s obvious that Warne is happy to see him gone at the end of the season. 

Game should’ve been done at half time, criminal how many chances we missed, but not completely unsurprising considering the last few draws we’ve had where chances and goal scoring opportunities have been in great volume but the final touches haven’t. 
Second half, you could see the players returning from injury really struggling late on and I felt Warne just wanted to run them into the ground to get minutes in their legs but from a performance point of view it I would hope changes would typically be made before it got to that point. Right before the penalty we may as well been playing walking football. 
Great to see Sibs bag twice. He really need to be in games where we need a spark because we just don’t have it otherwise, most of our players are industrious, honest pros. Sibley is the only player in our team who has an edge about his game, for me, so I just don’t see any good reason why he doesn’t get a run of games. It seems like he has to score every game to even get an opportunity to keep his place. He’s started three games this season and has three goals. It does baffle me. I’m just going to try and enjoy watching him while I can because it’s obvious that Warne is happy to see him gone at the end of the season. 

Game should’ve been done at half time, criminal how many chances we missed, but not completely unsurprising considering the last few draws we’ve had where chances and goal scoring opportunities have been in great volume but the final touches haven’t. 
Second half, you could see the players returning from injury really struggling late on and I felt Warne just wanted to run them into the ground to get minutes in their legs but from a performance point of view it I would hope changes would typically be made before it got to that point. Right before the penalty we may as well been playing walking football. 
Great to see Sibs bag twice. He really need to be in games where we need a spark because we just don’t have it otherwise, most of our players are industrious, honest pros. Sibley is the only player in our team who has an edge about his game, for me, so I just don’t see any good reason why he doesn’t get a run of games. It seems like he has to score every game to even get an opportunity to keep his place. He’s started three games this season and has three goals. It does baffle me. I’m just going to try and enjoy watching him while I can because it’s obvious that Warne is happy to see him gone at the end of the season. 

Game should’ve been done at half time, criminal how many chances we missed, but not completely unsurprising considering the last few draws we’ve had where chances and goal scoring opportunities have been in great volume but the final touches haven’t. 
Second half, you could see the players returning from injury really struggling late on and I felt Warne just wanted to run them into the ground to get minutes in their legs but from a performance point of view it I would hope changes would typically be made before it got to that point. Right before the penalty we may as well been playing walking football. 
Great to see Sibs bag twice. He really need to be in games where we need a spark because we just don’t have it otherwise, most of our players are industrious, honest pros. Sibley is the only player in our team who has an edge about his game, for me, so I just don’t see any good reason why he doesn’t get a run of games. It seems like he has to score every game to even get an opportunity to keep his place. He’s started three games this season and has three goals. It does baffle me. I’m just going to try and enjoy watching him while I can because it’s obvious that Warne is happy to see him gone at the end of the season. 

Game should’ve been done at half time, criminal how many chances we missed, but not completely unsurprising considering the last few draws we’ve had where chances and goal scoring opportunities have been in great volume but the final touches haven’t. 
Second half, you could see the players returning from injury really struggling late on and I felt Warne just wanted to run them into the ground to get minutes in their legs but from a performance point of view it I would hope changes would typically be made before it got to that point. Right before the penalty we may as well been playing walking football. 
Great to see Sibs bag twice. He really need to be in games where we need a spark because we just don’t have it otherwise, most of our players are industrious, honest pros. Sibley is the only player in our team who has an edge about his game, for me, so I just don’t see any good reason why he doesn’t get a run of games. It seems like he has to score every game to even get an opportunity to keep his place. He’s started three games this season and has three goals. It does baffle me. I’m just going to try and enjoy watching him while I can because it’s obvious that Warne is happy to see him gone at the end of the season. 

Game should’ve been done at half time, criminal how many chances we missed, but not completely unsurprising considering the last few draws we’ve had where chances and goal scoring opportunities have been in great volume but the final touches haven’t. 
Second half, you could see the players returning from injury really struggling late on and I felt Warne just wanted to run them into the ground to get minutes in their legs but from a performance point of view it I would hope changes would typically be made before it got to that point. Right before the penalty we may as well been playing walking football. 
Great to see Sibs bag twice. He really need to be in games where we need a spark because we just don’t have it otherwise, most of our players are industrious, honest pros. Sibley is the only player in our team who has an edge about his game, for me, so I just don’t see any good reason why he doesn’t get a run of games. It seems like he has to score every game to even get an opportunity to keep his place. He’s started three games this season and has three goals. It does baffle me. I’m just going to try and enjoy watching him while I can because it’s obvious that Warne is happy to see him gone at the end of the season. 

I think we will end up playing a strong team: 

 
Vickers will absolutely start in goal and hopefully gets a good reception from the Derby fans. Forsyth, Nyambe both start due to the injuries to their alternates. Bradley needs minutes so will undoubtedly play and will play on the left hand side, hence why Nelson starts at RCB. Barkhuizen, Hourihane, Bird & Wilson are all in need of minutes - Bird and Hourihane in particular. Sibley, like Bradley, is almost guaranteed to start. Upfront, Waghorn will likely get a chance in the nine rather than the 10 with Collins rested. Equally, we may choose to give Brown a first competitive start. 
Notts County I imagine will play a similar line up to the one they did against Wolves which included about 6/7 backup players who very rarely get a game a couple of rotational players and then a couple of starters in Bostock & Baldwin. I can't imagine McGoldrick is going to see the pitch or even Langstaff. 
Comfortable Derby win - in a ground where there will be 2 Derby fans for every home supporter. 
 

I don’t get how any Derby fan could dislike Wayne Rooney - he was offered a good opportunity in his first management job but he really did work incredibly hard for this club in its darkest hour and inherited a massive mess. He didn’t need it, he could’ve left a long time before he did and I understand that he probably felt like he needed a fresh start. He was played around with the whole Kirchner situation too, don’t forget, as there was obviously a lot more to that behind the scenes.
Always welcome back for me. I don’t think he’s a brilliant manager, but he’s definitely capable and I think people who know him well gravitate to him. Anyone with any ill-feeling toward him baffles me. 

The result is obviously a lot worse than the performance, for me this game was painfully similar to the Cambridge one.
I don’t think Warne got a lot wrong with his set up and team selection, albeit I would’ve liked to see Sibley for that little bit of guile and craft in the final third. It’s squarely at the feet of the players who made a ton of bad decisions in key moments and lacked quality when they needed it most.
You can definitely see why Cheltenham are where they are, but that’ll be something their fans have had something to cheer today. 

I didn’t hear the interview so I’m only going off the small bits that I saw, to be honest, but I think ‘given up on the midfield’ is hyperbole. 
We dominated possession and our midfielders had a significant amount more touches than their midfielders - I believe he was just stating that the plan to transition was going to be in wide areas where the pitch doesn’t get congested and that we can get their players isolated. I think he was concerned about Cheltenham essentially playing a box six (3x CBs and 3x CDMs) and us trying to find space in the middle of the pitch when irregardless of their players’ quality that they’re still eating up space in those gaps. Us putting more bodies in that zone essentially creates less space and a more erratic football match. 
I don’t think anyone is upset with the amount of chances created or how we transitioned the ball, mostly the quality of our play in those situations. I’m happy to s*** on Warne as much as the next man but based on what I saw today I’m just not sure the blame is down to him, if anything he gave the players a good opportunity to win that game by ensuring they weren’t congested but they lacked the quality to finish the chances when they arose. 

I didn’t hear the interview so I’m only going off the small bits that I saw, to be honest, but I think ‘given up on the midfield’ is hyperbole. 
We dominated possession and our midfielders had a significant amount more touches than their midfielders - I believe he was just stating that the plan to transition was going to be in wide areas where the pitch doesn’t get congested and that we can get their players isolated. I think he was concerned about Cheltenham essentially playing a box six (3x CBs and 3x CDMs) and us trying to find space in the middle of the pitch when irregardless of their players’ quality that they’re still eating up space in those gaps. Us putting more bodies in that zone essentially creates less space and a more erratic football match. 
I don’t think anyone is upset with the amount of chances created or how we transitioned the ball, mostly the quality of our play in those situations. I’m happy to s*** on Warne as much as the next man but based on what I saw today I’m just not sure the blame is down to him, if anything he gave the players a good opportunity to win that game by ensuring they weren’t congested but they lacked the quality to finish the chances when they arose.