Derby v Cheltenham Town - Match Day Thread

[FlyBritishMidland]

For 60 minutes it looked like they were still in Reading!!  One of the games where you’re glad you’ve got the 3 points but know you’ve got away with one.  But, there are no bonus points for playing well.  That said, we do need to start doing the basics better.  Too many times in the last couple of games passing the ball more than 5 yards seems to be the most difficult thing in the world.  And the players have to bear their share of the blame and that really is basic.

They do seem to have character though.  After Tuesday, to behind at home in what was, at times, a pretty nasty atmosphere takes guts.

Booing - never understood it, never will.  I think that if I had people following me around at work and they booed me at lunch, would it motivate me for the afternoon.  No.  Footballers are no different.

[RoyMac5]

3 minutes ago, On the Ram Page said:

Not sure what you are trying to say here. There is no criticism of Derby in his remarks, quite the opposite . What he is saying is players have a responsibility that find space to receive passes and know the game plan. These are general comments. 

Who said there was a criticism of Derby from Curt? I pointed out that Curt highlighted the way the 'modern' game is played (he's had a long career to identify changes).

My point based on that was (simplistically) that players don't know what they're doing, it's down to the coaching staff to get them to 'know the game plan'! Here's the quote again.

“... It’s about finding space and another player over. It’s about structure, about everyone knowing exactly their job and the job of the man next to them. So, if I played any position on the pitch, I would have known what I was doing. Everything’s automatic, and your thought process, not to say we’re robots but more in terms of once you get the ball in one position I know my passes are A and B. That allows anyone to step into the system..."

[Ian Buxton's Bat]

On the player rating thread there is a convention of saying if you were at the game or watched on Rams TV.

This season there has been a welcome absence of people trying to ‘out-fan’ each other…..we’re all fans whether we go to all games, home games, watch on Rams Tv, listen on Radio Derby or follow scores on BBC website.

However, how you follow does affect what and how you see it (e.g. you have to be at the match to see the runs Collins makes that are not spotted or fed or that Hourihane is the only one cajoling teammates)

Also your/my level of grumpiness may well be affected by how much time of the day you’ve set aside to follow the match and what else you do.

if you drive a 6 hour round trip just for a match your view may be different to those who’ve had a meal or pint with friends and have the match as part of their day out.

I’ve managed to watch most games live or on Rams TV this season and I do want to be entertained to some extent.

On the rare occasion I’ve listened on the radio or had to get web updates then the result has been everything.

Maybe we could start to be upfront on here with ATG, Rams TV, RD, score updates only…..or comments on comments….it might explain a few differences of opinion.

 

[Ram-Alf]

27 minutes ago, CBRammette said:

Thats interesting as CBT seems popular with fans at old club and good stats so far so if he doesnt perform here what is the difference? Hopefully he finds his feet quickly to take responsibility from NML

Maybe at Charlton he was given a free reign 🤷‍♂️very very early days for CBT here, A winning goal at Charlton on Saturday and he'll be the hero 👍

[Ram-Alf]

37 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Could 'David' show us a probability graph of likely wins against losses when playing well or playing badly? How long do you think we can go on playing badly and winning? Warne hasn't much idea how to get the squad playing as a team greater than the sum of of its parts.

He left the "graph" with the girl in the wheelchair on the staircase when there was a fire drill 😁

[Jimbo Ram]

2 hours ago, Ram-Alf said:

We did Saint Blazey Gate for a week, Got blitzed in Fowey(all the boozers)and visited to Saint Austell brewery...a boozer round the corner was a must...I can see why you left...wow the locals ...😉 

You mentioned St Blazey. That is where Nigel Martyn started out. The tea lady recommended him to Bristol Rovers and the rest is history. I used to play in the park with him as a kid, we were in the same year at school. Nice chap. I also played in a cup final at Blaze Park, where they played their home games, in the late 70’s.  5 minutes before kick off I heard that a West Brom scout had come to watch me. I froze and couldn’t run during the game 🥲 What might have been 😉

[Ram-Alf]

9 minutes ago, Jimbo Ram said:

You mentioned St Blazey. That is where Nigel Martyn started out. The tea lady recommended him to Bristol Rovers and the rest is history. I used to play in the park with him as a kid, we were in the same year at school. Nice chap. I also played in a cup final at Blaze Park, where they played their home games, in the late 70’s.  5 minutes before kick off I heard that a West Brom scout had come to watch me. I froze and couldn’t run during the game 🥲 What might have been 😉

Nice one Jim, It was a good holiday...even Saint Austell 👍the Eden Project was worth a visit(bloody humid in there)I went on a walkabout on my lonesome, I found a path down to the bottom of some cliffs, Absolutely deserted...except for what was an old Discotheque on the beach which was half burnt down, Eerily spooky it was...huge seagulls hovering about, I was out of there toot suite, Got back to the cliff top and was stopped by this fella, Where the fcuk have you been, Down by the cliffs mate, It's off bounds you shouldn't be there, How did you get there?, This way I said...as there was a rundown hut there, He went for a piss at the time of me walking passed 😁  

[DiggerB]

4 hours ago, Mucker1884 said:

There's no buzz on the way in... or on the way out. Not even yesterday, after a win!

The vast majority appear to be slumped-of-the-shoulder.  Smile-less even.
Any hint of smiles/laughter can soon be determined to be on a personal level, not DCFC related (I eavesdrop a lot as I hang around outside before going in!)

There's a distinct aroma of "Doing the chores" around the ground pre-match, as if most of us are there out of duty.

I could be reading the signs wrong of course, and I'm sure some on here will argue with my observations, but they are my observations nonetheless, and I'm comfortable with airing them.
Maybe it's the weather?  Post-Christmas blues? 🤷‍♂️
Fire away!

Perfectly put. I didn’t have the enthusiasm to celebrate either goal yesterday. Perhaps I’m one of our ‘entitled’ supporters, but I saw absolutely nothing on the pitch that warranted it. We were better with 3 in midfield but I’m far from convinced by our current options.

Having said that, CBT getting pelters on here after 2-3 days training with a new squad is peak Derby County!

[DavesaRam]

5 hours ago, jono said:

Yesterday was, first half particularly and a handful of games at other times too, but no, I don’t think the football is “largely” poor. We are a bit inconsistent and make too many individual errors. Warne does ok, his post match summaries tell me that he sees what we see. His only failing seems to be having ideas that when  they don’t work, he sticks to them a bit too long. For example, early season 3 at the back and now the Bird / Hourihan thing. But remember, his options have been limited by a number of factors outside his control

1) Budget for new players

2) Washington, Waghorn, Thompson, Smith, Rooney, Ward all with, or coming back from  long terms injuries - Players that have a mix of skills or youth to switch things around. 

He has also limited the team by steadfastly refusing to play the youngsters when we are desperate for fresh legs, when we really need to give some if the old legs a rest.

[G STAR RAM]

1 hour ago, Andicis said:

We'll see when the financial statements are released and we can compare wage bills. It's evident that we'll be on the top end of that. So either, we are vastly overpaying players, or we have a squad of players that are earning more due to perceived quality. Which is it? 

Does your wage bill show the depth of your squad?

[Andicis]

1 hour ago, Tyler Durden said:

You mentioned the recent trend wasn't positive that's all which is what 11 wins out of 14 or 15 games?

If that's not a positive trend then I'm sure even David Brent would find it hard to argue against that one. 

I specifically mentioned post Wigan, and was discussing performances not results. Helps if you read the points that are being outlined before you reply. Results and performances in December were good, including and after the Peterborough game we have been pretty crap. That's a negative trend. 

[Andicis]

Just now, G STAR RAM said:

Does your wage bill show the depth of your squad?

It should directly correlate. There will be a few outliers, but I bet if you plotted it on gridlines you'd find a very strong trend line. And the outliers are due to abnormally good recruitment, or abnormally bad recruitment. 

[Foreveram]

17 hours ago, trappatoni said:

Enough booed that if they stayed away you'd be supporting a team with similar size support to Cheltenham.   

22,000 fans booed, really.

[Carnero]

1 minute ago, Foreveram said:

22,000 fans booed, really.

1,000 at most, I doubt it was even that many.

[Foreveram]

17 hours ago, RoyMac5 said:

But as I posted in another thread (Warne out out) Warne said: "We were booed off at half-time and that was understandable. I subconsciously booed myself..."

What can you say... #shrug

Just because you understand something doesn’t mean you agree with it.

[Caerphilly Ram]

21 minutes ago, DiggerB said:

Perfectly put. I didn’t have the enthusiasm to celebrate either goal yesterday. Perhaps I’m one of our ‘entitled’ supporters, but I saw absolutely nothing on the pitch that warranted it. We were better with 3 in midfield but I’m far from convinced by our current options.

Having said that, CBT getting pelters on here after 2-3 days training with a new squad is peak Derby County!

Not disputing what you say, you feel how you feel, just find it a shame that those feelings are so deep that you couldn’t enjoy Bird smashing one in from range or Collins executing a beautiful volley to put us ahead. That’s what football is about for me, as much as the controlling and passing many crave. 

Hopefully performances pick up so you and others can find a bit of joy again 🤞 

[Jimbo Ram]

22 minutes ago, Ram-Alf said:

Nice one Jim, It was a good holiday...even Saint Austell 👍the Eden Project was worth a visit(bloody humid in there)I went on a walkabout on my lonesome, I found a path down to the bottom of some cliffs, Absolutely deserted...except for what was an old Discotheque on the beach which was half burnt down, Eerily spooky it was...huge seagulls hovering about, I was out of there toot suite, Got back to the cliff top and was stopped by this fella, Where the fcuk have you been, Down by the cliffs mate, It's off bounds you shouldn't be there, How did you get there?, This way I said...as there was a rundown hut there, He went for a piss at the time of me walking passed 😁  

Wow. That burnt out disco used to be Quasars where I used to frequent as a young man, wonderful memories. Next to it was the concert venue, the Cornwall Colliseum, which attracted some top bands. Saw Elvis Costello, Madness, Specials, the Jam, Thompson Twins at the venue. The beach also used to be the venue for the Radio 1 Roadshow in the day. Reminiscing nearly over. Finally the golf course you passed on the way down to the beach is where my dad was a member and where I used to play regularly. Still have a very strong affection for the place 🪩🕺🍻🍷🏝️🏌️‍♂️⛳️

[DiggerB]

3 minutes ago, Caerphilly Ram said:

Not disputing what you say, you feel how you feel, just find it a shame that those feelings are so deep that you couldn’t enjoy Bird smashing one in from range or Collins executing a beautiful volley to put us ahead. That’s what football is about for me, as much as the controlling and passing many crave. 

Hopefully performances pick up so you and others can find a bit of joy again 🤞 

I don’t dispute they were good finishes, particularly Collo’s executing that finish from a ball travelling at speed. I reflect though back to Warne’s pre-match, which was equally unenthusiastic and seemed to set the tone for an underwhelming and uninspiring display.

[S8TY]

Why is it wrong to want to see some good football like we saw under Mac1?

some saying it doesn’t matter as long as we are winning?? Really?

well we got promoted playing s**** football under wee billy and then went on to embarrass ourselves in the prem 

So it’s not unfair to want to see some football which is sustainable in a division higher should be get there ..why not build a side now that will need tweaks rather than a massive overhaul if we were to go up integrating the younger academy players ?

yesterday Maidstone beat Ipswich 2-1 and it was brilliant because it’s the cup etc etc but Ipswich were by far the better side but lost and Ipswich’s brand of football is not only good to watch but it will produce results and keep fans happy you wouldn’t want to watch Maidstone week in week out so it’s not all about results 

we are a big club in a crap division and anyone who starts to think every game is tough blahdy blah really doesn’t see it how I do …we have some of the best players in the division and with that comes expectation no different to any other club if youre in a lower level to where you usually play 

nothing wrong with expectation and its natural and some players and managers thrive on it some dont 

it’s not entitlement as some put it 

we are Derby County and this is L1 

the third division!!!

[Foreveram]

17 hours ago, Millenniumram said:

Fair enough, there are some exceptions. But I’d say the majority of this squad don’t have the fighting spirit and desire required to get promotion. And that’s one of the reasons why we’ll fail. 

You have to be relentless to get out of this league, we are not 

You weren’t at Oxford away then.