Caerphilly Ram

Just now, sage said:

He did praise Bird. You are quite right to point that out. In another post i used that information to give hope of a more aesthetically pleasing style of play nect year. A different style of football could indeed be more possession based, playing more through midfield, running less. Just floating a possibility.

It seems such an average club to go to. He would have been on a decent contract so not exactly doubled his money.

You will note I'm happy to discuss your views, though I can see already I'm getting stick for merely as I said 'floating a possibility'. A possibility I've heard from many others.

 

 

My intent isn’t to give stick, just to discuss a counter point. Bird may well have gone for a different style of football, I don’t think it’s that…or solely that.

As to why Bristol there’s often more factors at play than just the club itself. Bristol is a great city, for a young lad (and his partner I think I’ve seen on social media) with some cash in his pocket it would be a good place to make home for a few years, his good mate is there, he’s been at the club from a young age and ridden a very emotional rollercoaster along with the rest of us the last few years, with the added personal experience of losing his father. I’m speculating based on what’s out there and maybe what I want to see/hear/read, I think he was just ready for something different, a change of scenery, club, colleagues, and yes possibly style of play too. 
It’s a moot point I guess as only a handful will ever know the real reasons 

33 minutes ago, sage said:

He may well have gone for a different style of football. 

Puts tin hat on.

 

No doubt there’ll be people who think that, and it’ll fit a certain narrative, may even be true….only Bird will know for sure what his reasons are. 

However given how keen you are for open dialogue around opposing views I would say Warne had moved to make Bird central to everything we did this season, played him in a more advanced role and looked at times for us to play through him, spent time coaching him around his finishing which looks to have been successful, and if you watch the footage of all our goals back this season there was plenty of football played in the build up to a number of them. So what that “different style” of football is, I’m not sure, possession based? Is that how Bristol City play? Can you guarantee a style of football at a club where the manager could change on the back of a poor run of results?

2 minutes ago, sage said:

Permission for bottom lip to wobble?

I mean I obviously wouldn’t admit to being choked up slightly myself at any point, but I’d never stand in the way of anyone else feeling sad…. Now where are those tissues 

2 minutes ago, LeedsCityRam said:

Really going to miss him as a player & like Will Hughes, will always be bittersweet watching him play in future.

Class act on & off the field. He'll find his way to the top level before too long.

I’m with you there. Big fan of Bird as a player and think it’s a shame he’s gone, but sort of understand the circumstance. Really nice touch watching that back, wish him all the best, apart from when he plays us 😉 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6zK7RmiUcn/?igsh=MWh4Z2Vxb3Q2OXhuZw==

The above is a link to Max Bird’s Instagram and a lovely reel he’s shared earlier this evening 😢 👏 

40 minutes ago, Eoghan1884 said:

For all the dreamers and people hoping. Will Hughes has signed a year extension.

32 minutes ago, angieram said:

Yep!

 

Only a one year extension so he can sign for us when Warne takes us up as champions next season 👀 🤥 

18 minutes ago, jimtastic56 said:

There must have been some sort of “Trigger” in the contract of Elder . He is one of Warne’s favourites and PW busted a gut to get him on for a couple of minutes whenever he could . He did take a good corner when he came on one time .🤷🏻‍♂️

There’s no need for your conspiracy theory around Elder’s contract having an extension trigger, he signed on a 3 year deal last summer. Perhaps Warne used Elder this season because…well…erm… he’s one of our players and contributed to our promotion this season. Radical idea I know 

Deleted

33 minutes ago, DerbyPride said:

What are the current rules on bringing in foreign players? Since Brexit I was under the assumption that EU players must satisfy certain criteria (such as being full internationals), just like non-EU players. This would narrow down the list of potentials that Warne has been scouting in Denmark and the Netherlands.

27 minutes ago, Srg said:

I could be wrong, but wasn't there some kind of relaxing of the rules for football?

This article seems to sum it up quite well;

https://erkutsogut.com/blog/2023/06/25/recent-changes-to-the-visa-rules-regarding-foreign-players-and-governing-body-endorsements-gbes-in-uk-football/

Post Brexit there was a points system, players from the top leagues in Europe and those with international honours were likely to get the required 15 points to then be allowed to play in the UK, essentially making it ok for the PL sides but harder further down the pyramid. But last season they relaxed the rules a little to make it easier for EU players to qualify for “work permits” so we’re probably in a position to sign some. 

7 minutes ago, angieram said:

I was there tonight. We looked good at times first half but didn't take our chances. Poor defending for all three goals against, unfortunately, and Burnley deserved their win. 

A game to forget for our goalkeeper, who had played brilliantly last week. Such a shame.

I have heard that playing the triallists was not a choice (itk!). It was pretty obvious they've had limited time training with the squad, but under 21 games are more about player development than winning things.

Any word on who the trialists were and also if we’re looking to sign them? 

5 minutes ago, Eoghan1884 said:

Now that it’s near a done deal that Barnsley are staying down, I’d love any of Kane, Connel, Phillips or Williams from them. 

I agree, I think Kane and Williams on free transfers would be solid business to add to the squad. Both a good age at 25 and 24 respectively, both been consistent performers for a Barnsley side pushing at the top end of league one, would give us a younger option to Hourihane in midfield and another option at cb. 

9 minutes ago, TomTom92 said:

But my job isn’t a dream job. 
 
It’s his prerogative not to kick a ball again. But I just find it poor that he had no interest in playing.
 
If somebody can prove that nobody came in for him or that we refused to loan him out then I’ll take it back. 
 
We’ll never agree on this one because out of all the players to grace our shirt he’s up there with my most disliked.

It’s an interesting take you’ve got, so in the absence of proof that another team wanted him or the club didn’t try and offload him it’s all Anya’s fault, yet you can’t prove he had no interest in playing, how do you know he wasn’t doing all he could to be picked to play? Clubs are likely only going to show an interest in him if he was given an opportunity to show his ability on the pitch right? Can’t earn himself a move if he’s not in the shop window type thing. 

Looking at it objectively it was a massive failure as signings go taking into account the fee and wages, but it’s not on him that we paid the fee, or gave him the wages and contract. To hold such personal blame and dislike against him as a person seems odd to me, chalk it down to bad business by all parties involved and move on. 

27 minutes ago, CapeTownRams said:

Is it confirmed that Wildsmith didn’t join the lads on the Vegas jaunt ?

If so then that would definitely suggest he’s on the move…. I think Johansson is probably as good but will cost us- mind u, JW would now require another signing on fee if he did stay with us- and that could be expensive.

Several players haven’t been seen in the sneak vids and postings from Vegas… anyone else we definitely know didn’t go !!?

I don’t know that their presence on the vegas trip should be a direct indicator of their futures. Hourihane, Collins, Sibley, Thompson, Smith, Bird, Adams are all there and as it stands aren’t going to be Derby players next year. 
 

From what I can see Waghorn, Ward, Wildsmith, Forsyth, Loach, Fornah, John-Jules, Nyambe and Barkhuizen are missing from this group shot that was shared;

Top row L-R; Cashin, Bradley, Elder, Wilson, Collins, CBT, Smith, Nelson, NML.

Bottom row L-R; Washington, Vickers, Sibley, Hourihane, Bird, Thommo, Adams.

In answer to the OP’s question, and as with everything, it’s not as binary as some on either side of the argument would have us believe. 

Warne himself is keen to share the credit for any success he has with his colleagues and players. I suspect Barker does a lot of the coaching on the grass along with Hamshaw, but Warne definitely plays a part. Both Bird and Warne commented on the additional coaching which led to Bird’s improved finishing this season so there must be something there.

We’ve seen a number of players adapt to new/different roles and positions during his tenure. Sibley at lb/lwb, Smith at rb, Wilson who many said couldn’t play as a rb filled in admirably at the end of the season as the examples that stick out in my mind.

We’ve defended as a team and achieved the best defensive record in the whole EFL this season, that has to be down to some sort of coaching surely rather than the “our players are just better” that certain posters keep trotting out. For a defence that suffered constant changes due to injury and the switching from 3 to 4 at the back to be so consistent smacks of some sort of tactical organisation despite the occasional erratic moment.

His man management and the team unity has been cited by a number of the squad as being a big factor in their success this season. Does that count as coaching? 
 

And yet there were games (more last season than this? 🤔) when an opposition manager tweaked something in the game and Warne didn’t react. There’s the much discussed lack of youth integration and development into the first team, does that count against his accolades as a coach? The game management and lack of control in midfield has irked many, is that a failing of his coaching (or is it a tactical choice which he is happy to take for pragmatic reasons?) 

For me Warne has some strengths, despite what some are desperate to deny, and he has some weaknesses which are also ignored by some of the fan base. He has delivered a measure of success this season and we get to see whether he can carry that into the championship in the coming months…fun times innit 😁 

27 minutes ago, Tombo said:

I know lots of factors contribute to things like this but there is a basic fact that the bloke conceded 85 league goals this season

Call me cynical but are we saying that they would have conceded well into the triple figures without him?

We need to be absolutely 100% sure if we're going to let Wildsmith go to sign this guy.

Let 23/24 League One's Golden Glove winner go for nothing, just to sign the statistically worst goalkeeper in the 23/24 Championship??

It’s semantics until we know the reasons IF and when Wildsmith leaves though right?  We’re not “letting him go” if he chooses to leave, and we don’t yet know that he is leaving. Didn’t someone on Radio Derby say he’d had a contract offered and not signed it? And then also @angieram (I think) said Wildsmith himself said there’d been no contract offer….the plot thickens.
 

I’m torn between this being a lazy link that was inevitable this summer or there actually being something in it. 

3 minutes ago, MackworthRamIsGod said:

The firepower we need 

Great shot on the lad 

8 hours ago, Carl Sagan said:

Couldn't think of a thread to put this in, but expect there's many who'd like to see it. And even have it running on a loop! For our delectation, the club have posted every goal of the season:

Enjoy!

Really enjoyed that, there’s plenty of variety in the goals scored and the scorers, nice touch that they added in some of the class saves from Wildsmith and Vickers and a couple of goal line clearances from the likes of Cashin and Bradley too. 

35 minutes ago, TomTom92 said:

Would be a good signing. 
 
Haven’t read the article so not sure if Nixon touched on this. But if we’re sniffing around for a goalkeeper it does suggest that maybe Wildsmith is off.

Says he has a £900k release clause and we’re interested along with Sheff United and Stoke. Could be (probably is) a lazy link from Nixon but if we are interested I wonder if we’re in a financial position to compete with the other linked clubs 🤔 

Maybe the Warne, Vickers, GK Coach connection would play a part. Suppose we’ll see how likely our interest in a goalkeeper is when we hear more about Wildsmith’s future.

2 hours ago, tomsdubs said:

Interesting to hear him say he's flying over to Denmark and Netherlands to watch some players, think we need to be a bit more dynamic next season to get results. Genuinely intrigued to see what kinds of players he signs.

This fella seems strangely appropriate;

51 minutes ago, Gerry Daly said:

Well fair enough old cheese but my opinion is he makes the absolute utmost of his ability by prodigious hard work. He's done a great job for us no doubt about it but we have to move on, there is no room for sentiment. I don't know how old you are but remember when Arthur Cox sold Bobby Davison? I was heartbroken at the time but Arthur didn't think he was good enough for the first division. Sentiment would have seen us keep Bobby - and he was a far better player than Collins by the way - but we needed to improve and we needed the money to help do that. We will see what Warne does next week

You’re right in that it’ll be Warne’s call. My stance on it is partly driven by sentiment as I think he’s better than some credit, but it’s also logical (to me anyway) to keep some continuity in the squad. Collins is seemingly a very good pro, played a high number of games, scored a high number of goals, trains well and plays hard. He’d continue setting the standards in the squad and would complement a couple of younger options as one of our forwards next season. Probably wouldn’t want him as the main choice, but would I want him coming on against tired defenders with 20 mins to go either looking for a winner or putting in a shift to defend a lead? Yeah I would. Would I want him sharing his experience of playing the striking role with a young and exciting talent like Dajaune Brown? Yeah I would. 
Hypothetically what would your stance be if it was McGoldrick and not Collins we were discussing? 

39 minutes ago, Gerry Daly said:

Yeah I wondered about Collins. But the hard work and honesty makes him an effective Div 3 player. But that's as far as it goes, he's very very ordinary technically you must agree. And he's 33. We need to move on. He will be on good wages, money that can be used for a younger player. Collins is known quantity and going downhill. Lets take a punt on some players who can improve

Why must people agree? I’ve seen enough of him the last 2 seasons to say he’s got pretty good technique, his heading technique is good, his penalty technique is good, a number of his goals show very good technique with both feet and his mid-riff, here’s a selection of them from this season;

I agree we would benefit from a younger option in the squad but the discredit levelled at Collins never makes sense to me. If we had Collins as a central striker supported by capable players out wide and a creative 10/8 behind him he’d still score plenty. He’s scored the number of goals he has in his career (215 in senior club football) because of his technique, it’s more likely to be his lack of pace and athleticism that’s stopped him succeeding at a higher level (and caused him to often be caught offside).
I always think it’s possible to say we need new signings without being completely dismissive of our current players and their contributions.

4 hours ago, Carl Sagan said:

For half of last season, Dan Kemp was the best player in League Two - at Swindon, scoring 17 goals from midfield and making more. Then MK Dons hauled him back from his loan there, to see out the end of his contract for them. 

IIRC he has a good pedigree in the West Ham academy. I think he'd be well worth a look as an out of contract attacking midfielder with a load of ability and something to prove. 

Edit: and obviously we should buy Macaulay Langstaff from Notts. 

Not seen him play but 17 goals and 10 assists in league two across his spell at Swindon (14G 8A) then back at MK Dons (3G 2A) looks like impressive numbers. Right age at 25, could be a good shout for that attacking midfield role on low wages…if he can make the step up. 

A fair few pics of the lads on Nat’s IG

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6hdqYxSGxA/?igsh=MXNla3FjbWtwdHRodw==