Paul Warne

[Loughborough Ram]

Just to make a small defence of Paul Warne, for years we've had managers who, regardless of the opposition, refused to budge on their playing principals. The complaint for a long time has been, "we don't have a plan B"! 

Well these days he changes formations, personal, and tactics within the games, to suit what is happening at the time, yet he is still criticised for his lack of tactical awareness. 

Another criticism of him is his poor substitutions, but it seems to me that over the course of this season, his substitutions have won us quite a few points.

I get that you either like the bloke or don't, and there will always be some valid points to use against him, but some of the criticism of him seems baseless if you look at the facts in my opinion.

[Caerphilly Ram]

1 hour ago, RoyMac5 said:

Why didn't he start him? Why did we need another turgid first half?

Taking this as a genuine discussion point as your subsequent posts state it is, and looking back at my own thoughts on it yesterday, my take was that Warne picked a team to be solid and robust as we have historically struggled with the type of side Stevenage allegedly are. 

I don’t think it was a bleak as others do as I saw a couple of moments where we looked to press high and break on them in the final third but it just wasn’t quite working for Barkhuizen, NML and Wilson. The flicked passes round the corner were too pacy for the likes of Elder to get to, they did well to cut out at least two  through balls that would have put NML/Bird (I think it was) through on goal BUT it was definitely a side picked to be solid and uninspiring with the lack of forward options. 
 

Warne then made the changes to the side and subtly tweaked the shape and we suddenly looked much better, our better fitness and quality came to the fore and we won the game. 
 

Only Warne can truly explain “why” he made the choices he did but that’s my take on it, and although it wasn’t a flowing game of passing football, I’ve long accepted that’s not what we’ll get and take a tough ground out win and 3 more points for what it is, another step towards promotion (hopefully).

Edited February 18 by Caerphilly Ram

[Tyler Durden]

1 hour ago, trappatoni said:

It may or may not be Warne's fault but that doesn't mean it's nobody's fault.   We needed a striker and we didn't get one.   If we'd put the CBT money towards, for example,  Chris Martin that to me would have made more sense.   I don't want to go on about it because it's done now but it's not as if the need for a striker is only being seen now we went into the window with most saying that's the priority. 

It may or may not be Warnes fault but that doesn't mean it's nobody's fault.

That's that argument put to bed then

[ariotofmyown]

39 minutes ago, Loughborough Ram said:

Just to make a small defence of Paul Warne, for years we've had managers who, regardless of the opposition, refused to budge on their playing principals. The complaint for a long time has been, "we don't have a plan B"! 

Well these days he changes formations, personal, and tactics within the games, to suit what is happening at the time, yet he is still criticised for his lack of tactical awareness. 

Another criticism of him is his poor substitutions, but it seems to me that over the course of this season, his substitutions have won us quite a few points.

I get that you either like the bloke or don't, and there will always be some valid points to use against him, but some of the criticism of him seems baseless if you look at the facts in my opinion.

Great post! We've also had many seasons when we've been pretty good at home, but dire away, possibly again as we only had one way of playing.

 

[Alty_Ram]

Saw this yesterday and it's pretty jaw-dropping stuff. Warne is the 26th longest serving manager in the English football leagues and Premier League. Just wow..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_Premier_League_and_English_Football_League_managers

 

[Jimbo Ram]

Out of interest, if Warney did get us up, who thinks he deserves to lead us in the Championship? Or would we need to replace him in the summer? A poll would be interesting 😊

[Big Bad Bob]

7 minutes ago, Jimbo Ram said:

Out of interest, if Warney did get us up, who thinks he deserves to lead us in the Championship? Or would we need to replace him in the summer? A poll would be interesting 😊

Absolutely he should get a chance in the championship if he gets us promoted. Would be pretty harsh to sack him if he got us promoted. 

[Blondest Goat]

4 hours ago, Curtains said:

Easy in hindsight Roy. 
 
Maybe the rough tactics of Steve Evans played a part in team selection. 
 
Can’t always play pretty football in this League and losing James Collins for most of the season must have been a shock to the club and tactics 

Yeah but is once a season too much to ask?  

I'm not really knocking it as I just want us to win and get out of this league but I have some sympathy with those that have issues with what they see week in week out.  I would never have imagined that a promotion season could be so inspiring.

[Tyler Durden]

40 minutes ago, Blondest Goat said:

I would never have imagined that a promotion season could be so inspiring.

Am sure you meant uninspiring.

Or maybe you actually don't find the thought of us getting promoted inspiring. 

[CapeTownRams]

4 hours ago, Caerphilly Ram said:

Taking this as a genuine discussion point as your subsequent posts state it is, and looking back at my own thoughts on it yesterday, my take was that Warne picked a team to be solid and robust as we have historically struggled with the type of side Stevenage allegedly are. 

I don’t think it was a bleak as others do as I saw a couple of moments where we looked to press high and break on them in the final third but it just wasn’t quite working for Barkhuizen, NML and Wilson. The flicked passes round the corner were too pacy for the likes of Elder to get to, they did well to cut out at least two  through balls that would have put NML/Bird (I think it was) through on goal BUT it was definitely a side picked to be solid and uninspiring with the lack of forward options. 
 

Warne then made the changes to the side and subtly tweaked the shape and we suddenly looked much better, our better fitness and quality came to the fore and we won the game. 
 

Only Warne can truly explain “why” he made the choices he did but that’s my take on it, and although it wasn’t a flowing game of passing football, I’ve long accepted that’s not what we’ll get and take a tough ground out win and 3 more points for what it is, another step towards promotion (hopefully).

I’ve watched the game back in full again and have somewhat changed my mind about things. At the time i thought the team selection was dire and the first half was far from a classic. But looking back now u can see that it really was a battle of attrition and that during that first half it was essential that we just dug in, held our own and gave us good as we got. Which we did and great credit to the lads for that 👏

It’s amazing sometimes how, when the pressure is off and the passion has died down, one can see the game more clearly . That was the case with this one for me. 
i came away so proud of the team and can better appreciate what PW did and why. At the time i really didn’t see how much we were pushing after the Smith substitution. So, credit to PW and the fans (who were brilliant).

Edited February 18 by CapeTownRams

[Jimbo Ram]

29 minutes ago, Tyler Durden said:

Am sure you meant uninspiring.

Or maybe you actually don't find the thought of us getting promoted inspiring. 

I think he was being ironic Tyler 😉

[VulcanRam]

Last week I questioned Warne's substitution of Nyambe, and I'm still not convinced it was the right thing to do. But if you're going to question, you should always praise as well when it goes well.

Yesterday, his substitutions and personnel switches were bang on and went a long way to helping us win the game. Releasing Bird higher up, bringing on Smith who can pass, putting NML wider and having Sibley in and around the area, all great tactical switches. Great job!

[CapeTownRams]

18 minutes ago, VulcanRam said:

Last week I questioned Warne's substitution of Nyambe, and I'm still not convinced it was the right thing to do. But if you're going to question, you should always praise as well when it goes well.

Yesterday, his substitutions and personnel switches were bang on and went a long way to helping us win the game. Releasing Bird higher up, bringing on Smith who can pass, putting NML wider and having Sibley in and around the area, all great tactical switches. Great job!

Agreed. The thing that really struck me today when watching the game again was that it was the timing of the subs and particularly pushing Max further up front when we did. It might not have worked if we had started like that… but when Smith came on we had held our own in the battle of attrition and somewhat worn (sorry for the pun !) down Stevenage whose players suddenly looked tired and leggy.

[jono]

18 hours ago, May Contain Nuts said:

With a 4 year contract,  all of the hype behind his appointment and a 5 year plan, the standards are higher than that.

The number of supporters he has wrapped around his little finger is bloody bizarre to me.

We don't play in equal parts  either. It's 7 parts tedium where it's not clear what we're supposed to be doing, to 3 parts excitement when playrs remember just how good they are.

I don’t think he’s wrapped anyone round his fingers. There isn’t one Warne supporter on here who thinks he’s Jim Smith or Brian Clough incarnate. 

Most of us who dismiss the pathetic unworthy criticisms aren’t wrapped round any fingers. There is the simple acknowledgment that we have a manager who is getting results. He isn’t running away with the league (no one is ! ) he does make mistakes (they all will) he has restricted choices but is playing his hand pretty well .. not exceptionally, not genius but he doing a job and developing the squad and tactics as the universe unfolds. He’s on target 

[Crewton]

I certainly don't carry a torch for Warne, but I think he's a decent guy who cares about his players. I also like the fact that he's a little eccentric, and the fact that he never disrespects the opposition, even if they deserve it. He has nothing to prove to anyone in respect of his credentials as a manager capable of getting a team promoted from League 1, but he clearly has not yet proved himself at Championship level. I think though if he got us promoted he would deserve the opportunity to try to establish us at the higher level.

His football doesn't have me perpetually jumping out of my seat, but neither do I find it often boring. If he had us playing like this in mid-lower table, I'd question his right to see out his contract for sure, but he has us for the time being in the automatic promotion positions with a better than even chance of going up, one way or another, and that after suffering a pretty heavy injury list all season.

That's why I will often challenge (or even ridicule - I acknowledge that) posters who I think have posted abuse, or nonsense, about him, because I think it's unfair - and I utterly abhor unfairness in all walks of life.

[Archied]

1 hour ago, VulcanRam said:

Last week I questioned Warne's substitution of Nyambe, and I'm still not convinced it was the right thing to do. But if you're going to question, you should always praise as well when it goes well.

Yesterday, his substitutions and personnel switches were bang on and went a long way to helping us win the game. Releasing Bird higher up, bringing on Smith who can pass, putting NML wider and having Sibley in and around the area, all great tactical switches. Great job!

Yep I’m with you on last weeks subs but for me they won’t always work and sometimes they go wrong , that’s the same for every manager , the trick is getting them to go right more than they go wrong , 2 nd in the table suggest s to me we are getting more right than wrong in that area and other areas 👍

[Archied]

11 minutes ago, Crewton said:

I certainly don't carry a torch for Warne, but I think he's a decent guy who cares about his players. I also like the fact that he's a little eccentric, and the fact that he never disrespects the opposition, even if they deserve it. He has nothing to prove to anyone in respect of his credentials as a manager capable of getting a team promoted from League 1, but he clearly has not yet proved himself at Championship level. I think though if he got us promoted he would deserve the opportunity to try to establish us at the higher level.

His football doesn't have me perpetually jumping out of my seat, but neither do I find it often boring. If he had us playing like this in mid-lower table, I'd question his right to see out his contract for sure, but he has us for the time being in the automatic promotion positions with a better than even chance of going up, one way or another, and that after suffering a pretty heavy injury list all season.

That's why I will often challenge (or even ridicule - I acknowledge that) posters who I think have posted abuse, or nonsense, about him, because I think it's unfair - and I utterly abhor unfairness in all walks of life.

Same for me , im sure he will have his level , I like warne and don’t mind one bit about how he wants us to play in league 1 but I’m also not in some fluffy world where I believe he is the new pep but I do respond and defend the bloke against the real excessive stuff , clown , pe teacher , David Brent , clueless ect ect ect , how could I not defend anyone against that if I have a sense of fairness , as you say👍

[Comrade 86]

14 minutes ago, Crewton said:

I certainly don't carry a torch for Warne, but I think he's a decent guy who cares about his players. I also like the fact that he's a little eccentric, and the fact that he never disrespects the opposition, even if they deserve it. He has nothing to prove to anyone in respect of his credentials as a manager capable of getting a team promoted from League 1, but he clearly has not yet proved himself at Championship level. I think though if he got us promoted he would deserve the opportunity to try to establish us at the higher level.

His football doesn't have me perpetually jumping out of my seat, but neither do I find it often boring. If he had us playing like this in mid-lower table, I'd question his right to see out his contract for sure, but he has us for the time being in the automatic promotion positions with a better than even chance of going up, one way or another, and that after suffering a pretty heavy injury list all season.

That's why I will often challenge (or even ridicule - I acknowledge that) posters who I think have posted abuse, or nonsense, about him, because I think it's unfair - and I utterly abhor unfairness in all walks of life.

I think your stance and that of other supposed Warne absolutists has been made clear. Mostly, I think folk are just trying to enjoy the promotion push, yet some seem unable to grasp either concept. I've stuck some on ignore overnight and I'll doubtless add a few more before this season is over. Life's too short. 

[Ken Tram]

2 hours ago, Big Bad Bob said:

Absolutely he should get a chance in the championship if he gets us promoted. Would be pretty harsh to sack him if he got us promoted. 

It would seem harsh to sack him after he leads us to promotion, although we wouldn't necessarily say that about a player who we didn't believe was up to playing in a higher league.

Which is more important: continuity, momentum and his experience of what not to do after a promotion; or the risk related to his failure to capitalise upon previous promotions.

Certainly, he's gained more experience, and the situation here will be different to Rotherham.

[Van der MoodHoover]

5 hours ago, Archied said:

Yep I’m with you on last weeks subs but for me they won’t always work and sometimes they go wrong , that’s the same for every manager , the trick is getting them to go right more than they go wrong , 2 nd in the table suggest s to me we are getting more right than wrong in that area and other areas 👍

There was quite a lot of criticism for a while that Warne made changes too late.

Has this been addressed recently? Yesterday seemed more astute...mind, last week he was getting some cheek for taking nyambe off 5 mins from the end.....