50 Days in

[Ellafella]

50 days since the season kicked off. How has it been for you? Better than expected? Worse than expected? Has LR found his best XI yet? What if any changes would you like to see? At what point will we score our first away goal? 
From this point where do you see us finish? Top 2? Play-off spot? Top 10? Lower? 

[Jimbo Ram]

3 minutes ago, Ellafella said:

50 days since the season kicked off. How has it been for you? Better than expected? Worse than expected? Has LR found his best XI yet? What if any changes would you like to see? At what point will we score our first away goal? 
From this point where do you see us finish? Top 2? Play-off spot? Top 10? Lower? 

7/10, enjoyable but a bit frustrating at times. Knight in to midfield and I think we might be pushing for the play offs ?

[Day]

Better than expected to be honest.

We all know what state the squad was in back at the start of July without repeating it, the recruits were better than I initially expected yet I still couldn’t buy into the idea we would walk League 1.

I thought we would be around 17th, 18th now and hopefully starting to look like a team as we near Christmas, best case scenario pushing for a play off place.

Being Derby County, having 2 league titles in the cabinet with an FA cup and 30,000 seater stadium doesn’t count for anything in this league, all my expectations have been based on the situation and the time it takes to build a team. You can sign 22 players in a matter of weeks, ask Cooper, yet building a team on and off the pitch takes time.

To be sat 7th, level on points with 6th, 7pts off top is incredible really in my opinion and if this is the start of the journey, I think we may not be down here for as long as I first feared.

[LeedsCityRam]

14 minutes ago, Ellafella said:

50 days since the season kicked off. How has it been for you? Better than expected? Worse than expected? Has LR found his best XI yet? What if any changes would you like to see? At what point will we score our first away goal? 
From this point where do you see us finish? Top 2? Play-off spot? Top 10? Lower? 

Better than expected especially given how quickly a squad was thrown together & Rosenior being a novice manager...two key factors that seem to be conveniently ignored by some.

I did think we'd start slowly, look very disjointed & probably be just outside the top 10 until around Christmas. Aside from Lincoln on Tuesday, we've played well in spells in all our league games which is a credit to Rosenior & his staff. Getting a batch of new players to settle quickly & get results is very difficult...see also Forest, Notts

Not unreasonably Rosenior will not know his best XI as a) we're 9 league games in & b) some of our players still arent matchfit or haven't been available throughout the season (Chester/McGoldrick/Dobbin/Korey Smith). In terms of changes, I'm reluctantly coming to the conclusion Bird & Hourihane can't play together but dont necessarily think Knight is the silver bullet. I've been pleased that we've started to mix up our restarts instead of passing it out every time. Predictability is never a good trait.

The away goal stat is increasingly being used by those not happy with Rosenior...I would add we have been very unlucky not to score & win away yet, Charlton in particular springs to mind. It will turn for us though as we are creating chances. Worth reminding all that Arthur Cox's away record in the first part of 84/85 was appalling, it does take time to get that fluidity on the road as a new side. 

From here on in I'd like to think we can finish 5th/6th & secure a playoff spot. Top 2 is probably out of reach given the foundations clubs like Ipswich, Plymouth Portsmouth have built over last 2/3 years.

[Foreveram]

2 minutes ago, LeedsCityRam said:

Better than expected especially given how quickly a squad was thrown together & Rosenior being a novice manager...two key factors that seem to be conveniently ignored by some.

I did think we'd start slowly, look very disjointed & probably be just outside the top 10 until around Christmas. Aside from Lincoln on Tuesday, we've played well in spells in all our league games which is a credit to Rosenior & his staff. Getting a batch of new players to settle quickly & get results is very difficult...see also Forest, Notts

Not unreasonably Rosenior will not know his best XI as a) we're 9 league games in & b) some of our players still arent matchfit or haven't been available throughout the season (Chester/McGoldrick/Dobbin/Korey Smith). In terms of changes, I'm reluctantly coming to the conclusion Bird & Hourihane can't play together but dont necessarily think Knight is the silver bullet. I've been pleased that we've started to mix up our restarts instead of passing it out every time. Predictability is never a good trait.

The away goal stat is increasingly being used by those not happy with Rosenior...I would add we have been very unlucky not to score & win away yet, Charlton in particular springs to mind. It will turn for us though as we are creating chances. Worth reminding all that Arthur Cox's away record in the first part of 84/85 was appalling, it does take time to get that fluidity on the road as a new side. 

From here on in I'd like to think we can finish 5th/6th & secure a playoff spot. Top 2 is probably out of reach given the foundations clubs like Ipswich, Plymouth Portsmouth have built over last 2/3 years.

The ninth away game before we had a win that season, 6 losses and 2 draws before we won 2-0 at Cambridge. Same again perhaps.??

[Loughborough Ram]

About what I thought to be honest. We brought lots of quality players in, and kept some quality players but common sense always dictated that the best team would only emerge after a period of time rather than instantaneously. Couple this with the fact that we have a rookie manager and patience was always going to be needed.

With the players we have the fans are entitled to expect us to win home games but we should also expect better results away from home which is possibly the only disappointing aspect of the season so far.

I thought that it was a big plus yesterday that Rosenior clearly changed the way we played the game because its not easy for any manager, especially a young one, to accept that he has to change his tactics.

Overall a good start with plenty of promise for the rest of the season.

[BOB BIGGS]

Still so relieved that I’ve got a team to support. 
 

We’re doing better than I thought we would at home. Still work to be done away from home. We’re a couple of good players short but we’ll have to wait. 
 

If we can finish in the Play off positions after all we’ve been through, I reckon that would be a very good effort.

[Marriot Ram99]

Still think in and around Top 2 tbh, just falling short and being about 6 or 7 points off the likes if Ipswich by the end of the season, we have been in 3rd gear and can go into  5th or 6th once we get some momentum and play more pragmatically away from home. 

So far this season has been probably about what I expected performance wise but maybe 4-6 points less than expected due to our woeful finishing away from home in August. 

Getting the midfield balance will be key and I think we will get that right soon, my only concern with our squad is a lack of a top striker +a fast ball playing CB but we can't have everything in our situation. 

[Ellafella]

Better than expected for me to. At the same time, incredibly frustrating. Having been a home and away fan in the 80’s I know what is involved. The away “statistic” isn’t just a statistic- it’s firm evidence that the approach is wrong & needs changing. LR needs to understand that and not just harp on about being more clinical. Look at the evidence and put it right. 
I think we have plenty to work on and we have a good amount to improve and I think we will improve. We need though to score more at home as well as away. I’d like to see us control a game for 90 minutes and win with some comfort - thus far it’s been fingertips stuff and yesterday but for Wildsmith’s 92 minute save it would’ve been a draw.

Id like to see us below the radar until January then get into a strong canter and string a series of wins together to gain a solid 4th or 5th place play-off spot. We won’t win the League but we are a good bet for play-offs. 
 

I hope it works for LR and Mr Clowes - both deserve success. To LR I’d say don’t over-think it, get the team to enjoy the game, change the defensive approach and be a tad more experimental and bold. 

[Mucker1884]

I expected the frustration... very much so!
I expected the "time to gel" scenario.  And the "excuses" re strangers meeting for the first time/inexperienced coach etc.
All the coulda/shoulda/woulda's have come as absolutely no surprise.

The way the performances on the pitch have gone... particularly away... we could arguably be in the top two as we stand... "If Only"!... so again, no surprise there!  Classic Derby!

Outside the PO's on GD?  To be honest, that's 4 or 5 places higher than I realistically expected.  6th/7th was more my expectations for the Christmas period, as the gelling started to take shape, with hopes of "pushing on" from New Year onwards.  Being gullible, those hopes have just been brought forward a tad.  I'd say we are "Ahead of schedule", so certainly happy, but short of delighted. 

At this stage, it's a thumbs up from me.  ??

[Tyler Durden]

Some very conflicting statements on here.....on one hand "we've brought lots of quality players in" against "if we finish in the playoffs that would be a very good effort"

Disconnect already.

 

 

 

[angieram]

2 hours ago, Ellafella said:

50 days since the season kicked off. How has it been for you? Better than expected? Worse than expected? Has LR found his best XI yet? What if any changes would you like to see? At what point will we score our first away goal? 
From this point where do you see us finish? Top 2? Play-off spot? Top 10? Lower? 

Lots of questions there.

If you'd asked me this before recruitment and pre-season I would say better than expected, but the signings, along with the encouraging pre-season performances got me a bit more excited than I ought to be! So my head is very happy, my heart less so, as I feel we could have done better with what we have. 

Part of the reason is I don't think Liam has found his best eleven yet, or even if such a thing exists. But he will find the starting sides and substitutions that give him the best chance of winning games at this level. That doesn't necessarily mean playing our eleven most gifted players - we need players who graft and have heart in there, too.

No major changes, maybe set up a bit differently away from home. If Chester carries on like his debut yesterday that will help, keeps Knight in midfield too.

I think we'll score our first away goal at Cambridge and go on a bit of a run from there.

I predicted top six, just, before we started. Now think we might do slightly better than that, especially if some of the luck with decisions and injuries starts going our way (for a change!)  

[MaltRam]

Performance levels have been a touch better than I expected in big spells. A combination of poor finishing and individual errors have lead to the league position being worse than I expected given the signings we made.

Lets be right, a bit of composure in a couple of key moments and we're sitting top 3 and bursting with optimism.

[Loughborough Ram]

1 hour ago, Tyler Durden said:

Some very conflicting statements on here.....on one hand "we've brought lots of quality players in" against "if we finish in the playoffs that would be a very good effort"

Disconnect already.

 

 

 

Your conflict only works if the quotes you use are from the same post. They aren't 

[Tyler Durden]

38 minutes ago, Loughborough Ram said:

Your conflict only works if the quotes you use are from the same post. They aren't 

They are conflicting opinions though yes?

God this is going to be a long day 

[Day]

2 hours ago, Tyler Durden said:

Some very conflicting statements on here.....on one hand "we've brought lots of quality players in" against "if we finish in the playoffs that would be a very good effort"

Disconnect already.

You've ignored the bits where people have been impressed by the quality of the signings yet aware a team cannot be built overnight.

I mean, it's getting a bit silly now, no disconnect, just picking and choosing to read what you want to.

Ok, you don't like Rosenior, that's fine, nobody is mocking you for it, yet twisting all these topics to fit a narrative you're trying to create isn't a good look.

[Loughborough Ram]

12 minutes ago, Tyler Durden said:

They are conflicting opinions though yes?

God this is going to be a long day 

Conflicting opinions, in an opinion piece?Crikey, what were you expecting?

It is going to be a very long day if we have to explain to you how threads like this work.

[BramcoteRam84]

About where I expected given the upheaval and losing time in preseason due to the takeover. At some point between now and Christmas i think will look like we’ve turned the corner and then a couple of bad performances and defeats will come from nowhere, such is the nature of the league and that we have several players experiencing their first full season in professional football. If we can be in a similar position at Christmas it sets us up to kick on in the second half of the season and secure a top 6 spot which is my expectation, and hopefully win the Papa John’s. 

Very solid start so far. No complaints from me. 

[Tyler Durden]

4 minutes ago, Loughborough Ram said:

Conflicting opinions, in an opinion piece?Crikey, what were you expecting?

It is going to be a very long day if we have to explain to you how threads like this work.

Was replying to your original response. 

Where you said that the conflict only works if.....then you've just admitted that there are conflicting opinions.

Okay. That's clear then.

[Loughborough Ram]

 

4 minutes ago, Tyler Durden said:

Was replying to your original response. 

Where you said that the conflict only works if.....then you've just admitted that there are conflicting opinions.

Okay. That's clear then.

Yep, a long, long day.

OK here goes, let's start with the general concept and then move on to specifics.

A forum is for people to voice their opinions and it generally consists or various 'threads' on a wide variety of subjects. Now within a thread there will always be conflicting opinions, just like a discussion in the pub. That doesn't mean that we all "disconnect" because that would be infantile.

You original post implied that posters were posting opinions that conflicted with themselves, rather than the perfectly understandable position of posters politely conflicting with each other which wasn't the case at all.

So come on, if you want to be taken seriously, try and keep up.