Match Thread: vs Bolton Wanderers (H)

[Srg]

16 minutes ago, jono said:

Sheehan drove me to distraction. Constantly fouling Adams off the ball, moaning at the ref, claiming throws that were even disputable. Huge credit to Ebou who never lost his cool and just seemed to enjoy the 1 v 1 battle 

Credit Barkhuizen first half, too. Noticed at the time he never left his side when we were out of possession. Warne then confirmed in his interview that it was the tactic. So he was clearly doing it if it was noticeable!

[Stripperg-ram]

I was sat in the east stand towards the north end - in line with our back 4 in the second half - and it was a joy to watch 

As most others have said Cashin and Foz were amazing. Mopped up everything and read the game brilliantly. 
I felt we invited more pressure than was healthy, but my god they dealt with it. Cash revving up the crowd in the last 10 mins was immense.

Felt like 32,000 voices singing was double the sound of the normal 27k. 
What a noise. What a buzz. 
cacophinous and raw. Brilliant.

At the time, really questioned bringing on Smith for Gayle when we had Waghorn on the bench but that actually gave us our best run of play for the last 20 minutes of the 1st half. Felt like we were on top. The 3 subs at half time seemed to disrupt that a bit, but apparently for precautious reasons. So if you think about it, we had 4 injury subs in the 1st half and still won the game in the 2nd. That’s the kind of thing promotion winners do. 🐏

[Ram-Alf]

9 hours ago, WystonRam said:

Interesting today how many fans stayed until the end and even after the final whistle , looked like almost no one went early for a change.

He did

[Mucker1884]

13 hours ago, hintonsboots said:

PG Wodehouse from the directors box.

Pride Park, that verdant cathedral of sporting prowess, was teeming with eager souls, packed to the very rafters, for this monumental clash of titans vying for the coveted automatic promotion spot. As the erudite young Owen Bradley aptly remarked, one could almost taste the palpable tension hanging thickly in the air, stirring even the most stoic of hearts. Personally, I found myself afflicted with pre-match jitters of such magnitude that I could scarcely bring myself to partake of the morning repast. Indeed, so overcome was I by nerves that I instructed my trusty manservant, Jeeves, to consume it in my stead. The early setback of a hammy for the padel maestro Gayle did little to assuage the anxious throng, yet amidst the tumult, the bobble-hatted Warne, armed with nothing more than his boundless enthusiasm and a penchant for vigorous arm-waving à la Bradley, orchestrated a tactical masterstroke, deftly shuffling his substitute pack like a magician conjuring rabbits from a hat. And lo, it was the wand of Elder that proved the catalyst for glory, delivering a sublime cross to the onrushing buffalo, who, with a flourish of his head , sent the ball soaring into the net with all the grace of a virtuoso pianist striking the final chord of a symphony. Though much of the contest saw the Rams engaged in a valiant rearguard action, the stalwart trio of Cashin, Admirable Nelson, and the Dorian Gray-like Forsyth, aided by the cat-like reflexes of Wildsmith, formed an impenetrable bulwark against the relentless onslaught of their adversaries. With second place now firmly within their grasp, the Rams find themselves masters of their own fate, the jubilant cries of “Ebouuuuuuu” echoing like a chorus of angels as the final whistle heralds their triumph, accompanied by the joyous bounce of victory.

 

Having missed every bloody second of yesterday's outside world (Due to a hospital based family bereavement session!), priority this morning was to search @hintonsboots, and find this little beauty.  Thank you, good sir.  My loins are fully re-stirred!

A quick flick through the rest of the thread suggests it wasn't pretty, but we got the job done.  I doubt many of us were brave enough to hope for anything more.
Looks like scenes after the whistle, and good on all those who stayed behind to applaud and cheer off the day's heroes.  
Apologies to @B4ev6is for leaving an empty seat in an otherwise sell out game.  #noexcuses.  I get it!  And I'm duly gutted, in every sense of the word. 😢

Now... Let's just do this promotion thing, and let's hear no more of my lesser fandom....

🐏

[Mucker1884]

13 hours ago, Rambalin said:

 

Ha!  Wilson looking around... "s***!  What do I do now?" 🤣

[alfaskye]

My first game of the season. Haven't felt the excitement to come all the way from West Wales for a while due to cost and time, whilst being frustrated with team selection and particularly substitutions (too late and wrong).

Today, however was back to the feeling of the relegation season.

What an effort from all the team, you could see the togetherness. And all deserve credit for getting over the line when we didn't look like winning.

And well done Paul Warne for managing the game and substitutions to great effect 

[derbydaz22]

11 hours ago, Chesterfield_Ram said:

I don’t think this is a great idea, but something I’ve just thought of.

So Bradley has been playing well in defence and Forsyth was motm today, so could we fit both of them in.

Back 3 of Cashin, Nelson, Bradley. Try Forsyth out up front. He’s shown he can finish with his feet and he’s good in the air. Could he be a handy makeshift target man with his attributes. Imagine ward and sibley whipping balls in to him. We’ll also have that extra defender for set pieces. He was originally signed as a winger wasn’t he so playing further forward won’t be completely alien to him.

Fozzy has to start in a 3 next game he’s simply better than Bradley by some distance.

[Walkley Ram]

9 hours ago, sage said:

I thought they were the better footballing team by some distance and probably edged the game overall.

Our CBs and GK were better than their's though and that, plus the fans, pulled us through.

Forsyth was immense and Cashin not far behind.

Not sure we can keep going into games with Hourihane in a 2 though. 

I think Hourihane has qualities that we just can't seem to benefit from in this system. The amount of times he drifted out wide yesterday to literally stand and watch Bolton play their way through the huge gaps in midfield was frustrating. He definitely needs at least two bodies in there doing his work for him, but at this stage of his career it's debatable whether it's worth that investment.

He's a bit like a vintage rolls royce. Nice to have, but eventually you'll get sick of the loops you have to jump through to keep it going. 

[DRBee]

12 minutes ago, derbydaz22 said:

Fozzy has to start in a 3 next game he’s simply better than Bradley by some distance.

More mobile and a quicker thinker  ... and reliable.

[DRBee]

11 minutes ago, oodledoodle said:

I think Hourihane has qualities that we just can't seem to benefit from in this system. The amount of times he drifted out wide yesterday to literally stand and watch Bolton play their way through the huge gaps in midfield was frustrating. He definitely needs at least two bodies in there doing his work for him, but at this stage of his career it's debatable whether it's worth that investment.

He's a bit like a vintage rolls royce. Nice to have, but eventually you'll get sick of the loops you have to jump through to keep it going. 

Whatever the system there is no excuse for the two early instances he was brushed of the ball, or the amount of time he spends moving

around to areas where he has little effect. Korey Smith has been impressive since he came back from injury.

[Mucker1884]

8 hours ago, maxjam said:

Er, I can think of a few tin the stadium that might agree that Derby deserved to win it!  Its not all about sticking it in the back of the net, our GK and defence were awesome today.

I think you'll finish in the top 2.  Of the play-off positions 😛

Deserve:  Meaning:

The team that sticks the ball in the back of the net the most times, and thus achieving the sole aim of the game, as set out and unchanged in the two-centuries old rule book.

 

[sage]

16 minutes ago, oodledoodle said:

I think Hourihane has qualities that we just can't seem to benefit from in this system. The amount of times he drifted out wide yesterday to literally stand and watch Bolton play their way through the huge gaps in midfield was frustrating. He definitely needs at least two bodies in there doing his work for him, but at this stage of his career it's debatable whether it's worth that investment.

He's a bit like a vintage rolls royce. Nice to have, but eventually you'll get sick of the loops you have to jump through to keep it going. 

I think he will play v Northampton in a 3. 

With Gayle and Barks out, we will start with Waggy and NML up front and Wash and CBT on the bench.

This will mean the wing backs playing further forward to provide more of the attacking threat.

 

 

[Ghost of Clough]

No doubt our Bolton friend will be back to let us know we cheated and conned the ref for another goal this week.

 

 

 

 

[Caerphilly Ram]

15 minutes ago, DRBee said:

Whatever the system there is no excuse for the two early instances he was brushed of the ball, or the amount of time he spends moving

around to areas where he has little effect. Korey Smith has been impressive since he came back from injury.

It’s a squad game, and as much as there are games when Hourihane has been less effective, he’s also played a key role in us winning games and being where we are currently. He’s still got something to offer on and off the pitch, it’s down to Warne to determine if and when to use that, yesterday he showed awareness by swapping Hourihane out for Thompson’s energy, something he discussed post match.
 

In my view we will need all the available players over the coming weeks to get us over the line, then I suspect we’ll part ways with Hourihane in the summer with a “thanks for everything”.

[Crewton]

5 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

No doubt our Bolton friend will be back to let us know we cheated and conned the ref for another goal this week.

 

 

 

 

#Karma

[sage]

14 hours ago, Rambalin said:

 

Smallest man on the pitch?

Taller than Sibley, Smith, Tommo and maybe Waghorn as well 4 or 5 of their team.

The toddler returns 

[Steve How Hard?]

16 hours ago, Matchday Fred said:

Warne bold (or bould ?) with the subs but it paid off. Credit him for the positivity.

It's spelt bald. He tries to hide it with a hat most times though. 

[kevinhectoring]

14 hours ago, ap04 said:

Two students sit a set on exams on a subject, rule is the one with the most A+'s (goals) passes with all other efforts (chances) chucked away - equal both fail.

Student A gets A+ B C D (and passes), student B gets A A B C (and fails). Was A clearly the better student, or lucky to have passed?

We had an economics teacher at school who - every year it seemed - predicted which essay questions would come up in the exams.  I felt I was unlucky not to be in his class but lucky to have a friend who was. Maybe that cancels out. 

I was definitely unlucky in my land law finals at uni. I was sitting right behind STUDENT C who was so nervous they threw up violently 5 minutes in. So there I was trying to decide calmly which questions to do - and there was sand, disinfectant, mops, ‘that smell’ and this awful simpering whimpering which just went on and on. My most vivid memory (from the entire principles of land law class) was of the long spiders-web-like sticky noxious strands which emanated from the mouth and stubbornly affixed themselves like some magic wonder glue to Student C’s  hands, pencils, clothes, shoulder bag …  It was like a strange tropical plant from a sci-fi movie

It was an enormous exam hall and the students at the back were oblivious once the initial outpouring subsided. I felt I was unlucky to be in the next row. On reflection, though, STUDENT D (sitting immediately in front of the unfortunate STUDENT C) inevitably suffered from the splatter and was damp for the entire 3 hour examination period, so I was lucky to be behind not in front. But overall, unlucky I’d say
 

(It’s not strictly relevant to your question but I’ve always wanted to know what was said on the inevitable post-exam phone call when STUDENT C’s Mum asks, how did it go dear?  I’m sure it was better than you were expecting …?)

Edited March 17 by kevinhectoring

[Ambitious]

I was on cloud 9 after the win yesterday, it was really gritty and everyone played their part. I really feared the worse when Gayle went off as I don’t think Waghorn is looking as sharp as he did earlier in the season and understood why Warne went with Smith,  although it was an eyebrow raiser at the time, it sent a message to graft and not lose the game. It’s something that we will need to manage going forward, assuming Gayle is out for a while (or for the season) we are going to need find a solution for the remaining part of the season. 

In terms of quality football, it was a typical League One game. Bolton played the ball between both centre backs and Sheehan (who Warne was absolutely right to make life difficult) but they were unwilling to really throw men forward and honestly I think they froze in the big moment. Up against a team who they needed to beat, who had no striker on the pitch, they couldn’t find a solution. Nelson, Forsyth and Cashin gave them nothing. Aside from the header in the first half, they really didn’t create anything clear cut either. A few potshots, but the xG tells the story that neither team really could’ve complained with a draw or losing. 

A proper job, Warne deserves a lot of credit for navigating the team through it after Gayle went down. We do need to find a solution for the remaining games, if Gayle is done, Waghorn hopefully can start against Northampton and do a job. Collins will hopefully be back for the run in against Wycombe, Leyton Orient, Cambridge & Carlisle. I do worry about going in undercooked against Blackpool and Portsmouth, though. 

[Idiakez]

11 hours ago, S6 boy said:

I thought he looked like a beast in the first half and was thinking he'd slot in nicely between Cash and Nelson in a back three.  However it was obvious he is not great on the ball as our staff had devised a press which completely ignored him.  Some of the fans were not happy we were letting him have the ball with zero pressure, but to me it must have been deliberate.  It seemed to work too, as I don't remember him doing anything with the ball at his feet all match.

Bang on. He’d just wander into midfield before either giving it away or playing sideways/backwards. The few times he tried to play into their number 9 they lost possession. We definitely let him play and cut off his passing options, rather than worry about him slicing us open.