Miggins

Should be 0-1 up.  Had 2-3  really good chances. A better first half.
 

I am really enjoying this but all the time just dreading what will happen later. However whatever happens this is the best we have played for a long time and a good 1st half. Let's hope we can pick an unchanged line up and build on this in future games. Morrison could be an inspired signing on this first half showing and how everything just seems to be working better. Goals will come if we play like this

Jagielka and Davies are absolutely outstanding. Morrison looks good. Jozwiak unlucky.

Curtis Davies has been outstanding ??

Not a bad first half from Derby, have to take our chances tho

The Rams look like a team that can play a bit. Should have had one or two penalties imo.

Good game to watch. Morrison is everywhere  Everyone contributing 

I’m following it on the forum too and I’m really enjoying what I’m reading. I just hope the lads get their due reward for their positive intent. Manly handshake. ? 

Much too anxious tonight to listen to the match on RD. Following it instead on the forum. Thanks to all of you for the insightful opinions. Really appreciated.? X
 
 

Much better football,all out attacking and everyone looks better as a result...actually enjoyable.

Enjoying this a lot. I’m probably watching the wrong match. 

Joz desperately unlucky there. That would have done his confidence the world of good.

Stretton will come on at some point - cant blame the managers for ‘managing’ a young player into his first team career.
Brady - why the comment about Shinnie ? I agree, hes not had a blinding start to the new season. But, he did win supporters player of the year last season so surely must have some worth to us and the team ? 

Right, I'm putting it out there now: on paper, that Derby County side should beat that Hull one. There is enough quality in that team to get three points here.
Over to you, Wayne.

Well said Hinton. 
We need an end to bile and ranting rage. We need to return to gentler times, when humour was no more cutting and savage than...... 

?

If we haven’t breached (which would be a great outcome for us) it will mean we’ve had to endure 2 years of absolute dross for nothing. The club has been pushed to the brink of oblivion because of an accountancy method. I’ve never been more disinterested with football than I am now, some clubs signing players for £100m+, players earning £50m a year yet all we want is a couple more frees to bolster our threadbare squad, football is dead.

Professional football? Yes. Outside of Derby County I've largely lost interest anyway. Go watch Belper Town if I need a football fix.

My interest in football waned many years ago. Hardly ever watch a match if it doesn’t involve Derby. Can’t even get up for England international games anymore. Football has been ruined by money. I wouldn’t support any other team.

Ehh sort of, I think under normal circumstances he would get a lot shorter rope than normal given the almost disastrous end to last season and the otherwise mediocrity. For what it's worth the game against Peterborough didn't change my mind either way; I don't think he should be in post but I'm trying to keep an open mind given that he just isn't going to be sacked.
There have been some positive signs in my book in the pre-season and the first few games; I like that we are making more of an effort to control games, I think tactically there is some merit in how we are trying to set up (even if its currently floundering and I'm doubtful of personnel in places) and I like how we seem to be trying to introduce more techincal players. It's more positive than what I felt last season about Rooney.
However I think even this season (including pre-season) there have been a fair few questions that could be raised against the current management team.
We heavily focused on training and given pre-season game time to a raft of free agents and to an extent I think this is a decision that looks like it's backfired. That time could have been used to help develop a few of the academy players that we are going to have to call upon into players that can be called upon. There has been a heavy emphasis on building around Lawrence that whilst I somewhat get why is probably being done to an unecessary degree and I'm not convinced Lawrence has really showed previously that he can carry this. That is something that could still prove to pan out but I'm not convinced. To a large degree we still setup with the idea of keeping things tight initially, only looking to open a little in the latter stages of the game and playing to not lose first as opposed to playing to win. I think we see this in terms of selection, in terms of tactics and in terms of formation. Personally I think this kind of thinking is a little suspect and leads to the wrong mentality amongst the players especially given that defence is not even close to being watertight. You could argue that we should do this because the defence is weak but I think this is a flawed idea motivated by fear that just ends up leading to a lot of narrow losses and low scoring draws. This I feel is especially true given that I think no matter what we do we cannot get to a place were we will be absolutely rock solid and ultimately are likely to crack under pressure if we invite it. Mathematically speaking to a large extent its better to risk letting a few of them draws become losses if you can trade a few others for wins and narrow loss is just the same amount of points as a heavy one. It feels like beating a dead horse at this point but the lack of faith in Sibley is honestly just plain weird and I think it's connected to a couple points I've mentioned (along with a couple others you could probably argue) that all form a picture of the management team being very risk averse when it comes to match day. This was a major issue last season and seems to be rumbling into this one. With all that said none of the above or the games so far would be enough to call for a managers head. I'm more just pointing out that even if you consider the season in a vacuum (which I don't think is entirely reasonable) there are concerns to be had. None of this matters though because if he was going to get sacked under MM it'd have happened months ago.

In fairness that's the one thing that I think we have in spades if the right manager can unlock it. I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that Buchanan, Ebosele, Knight, Bird, Sibley, Bielik (injury permitting), Watson, Jozwiak all have the potential to become substantially better players and that's without including a raft of other academy players who are just starting to look like they could reasonably contribute. We may have a bunch of aging average players in other places but I genuinely think we have a core of talented albeit unpolished players and that with the right coaching it could see our fortunes change pretty dramatically.

One thing though I'd add is a good manager to get more out of all players even if they are on the decline because they can better figure how to use them tactically and how to best cover for their weaknesses with the players playing around them. 

Almost all of our starting 11 have been playing in the Championship the last two seasons at least. The problem is the squad depth.
Our squad is bad but not as bad as some on here are saying. It's certainly better than 1 win in 20.

I didn't notice this on Saturday, apart from CKR, who always looks knackered but then does his job surprisingly well. Ebosele was taken off because he wasn't making a positive impact on the game - wrong position for him, he's a wing back/fullback. Didn't look tired.
Morrison was maybe flagging a bit, but he was managing it himself and we all know what happened when he did come off.
On Tuesday I thought Watson, Hutchinson looked shattered but I think that was more about the occasion. Thought R+R used the substitutes well on that night. 
Jozwiak definitely tired first game but he was behind the others in terms of minutes. Looked much better fitness wise against Salford.
Fozzy - we know he can't play twice a week. Has had to play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday. It showed.

only part of the story and management only influence to a degree.  Perhaps Byrne is dreading another Wigan experience or is upset how Marshall is being treated.  There maybe off the field problems that are affecting him.  Joz unhappy being here, homesick, wishing he had never come because this environment was not what he was told.  Just the standard of players we are reduced to having may be prone to more mistakes.
There is not much to show that WR is making a positive difference but I can see that he has been given a mountain to climb

This is all true, up to a point. 
Why do the same people make more mistakes in one environment and less mistakes in another environment? Management!
People are more likely to make mistakes: in unfamiliar roles; or where they are uncertain what their role is; or where they lack confidence in what they are doing. All these are issues to be addressed by proper management.
If our players often look clueless, perhaps it's because nobody's given them a clue.