Magicman

Interesting. First few minutes he got caught in possession, couldn’t seem to get past his man, and couldn’t shield the ball. 
I found myself sadly reflecting on how our once most promising junior player has seemed increasingly lost as the season has gone by. I was ready to give up on him. 
And then “something” happened. I’m not totally sure what the “something” was, but something seemed to click. I think it was when he received the ball deep after about 20 minutes and instead of trying to muscle his way past, he shimmied, cut inside and was suddenly in acres of space. From then on I thought he looked dangerous every time he had the ball, and was definitely in the top three players on the pitch. 
Let’s hope he can build on this. 

So are we 
Nyambe, Fozzy, Bird, Ward, Gayle, Rooney Elder 

So are we 
Nyambe, Fozzy, Bird, Ward, Gayle, Rooney Elder 

So are we 
Nyambe, Fozzy, Bird, Ward, Gayle, Rooney Elder 

To try and freshen it up I’d bring Thompson and barks in for NML and Washington and ideally I’d have probably looked to take sibley and Wilson out too but don’t think we have the option right now with ward, Forsyth and elder all out. 

Not sure the addition of Bradley and Hourihane will 'freshen it up', or much else to be honest. Dropping Smith for the latter in particular, seems akin to an act of self-harm. We've looked ok defensively, having reverted to a back 4 and I'd fear a complete meltdown amongst the fans if we bring in the two slowest players on the roster for a game we absolutely need to be winning.

Poor game but I don't think this is the disaster people are making it out to be.
Personally I was always slightly worried about this fixture and on my predictor I had us drawing this game and we still go on to make automatic promotion.
If we win the last 3 games Bolton will have to win all their 4 to go above us including beating portsmouth and peterborough.
It's not in our hands right now but it could all turn again after saturday. We just need to be in pole position come the last game of the season.
I still back us to do this.

CBT was bringing-out his inner Conor Sammon tonight. Dreadful, dreadful miss (of the season).

If we get promotion 
Wildsmith 
Rooney 
Nelson 
Cashin 
Wilson 
Ward 
Sibley 
Adams 
Thompson 
Smith 
NML 
Collins 
CBT 

Wildsmith
Wilson Nelson Cashin Sibley 
Thompson Adams Smith 
NML Collins CBT 

Liam Thompson

Wildsmith
cashin 
nelson 
wilson 
nyambe 
adams 
NML
CBT
maybe smith 
Collins 

Merely underlines my point then was valid and his improvement recognised by everyone.

Merely underlines my point then was valid and his improvement recognised by everyone.

Merely underlines my point then was valid and his improvement recognised by everyone.

Hope we see black/blue white  kit and matching socks. 

He was slightly better but still not good enough defensively
On one occasion Korey Smith had to berate CBT as he stood and watched as Smith got played around and didn't go with his man, much better performance from CBT Dave but defensively has to do better still 

CBTs best performance so far - if he and Nelson connected with their 2 air kicks we could have been out of sight. 

Throw everything into winning the next 2 and see where we are at. 
 

He won't get that from CBT . 

Match Thread: vs Portsmouth (a)
Tuesday, April 2nd, Kick-Off – 8.00pm
Head to Head:
Two grand old clubs who first met way back in 1902 in the FA Cup, a game that resulted in a rather unsatisfactory 0-0 bore draw. The replay at saw us winning the replay 6-3 which doubtless gave the early Rams faithful a little more to cheer. Since then, there’s not been a deal between the two sides, with Derby edging the charts with 42 wins to Pompey’s 35.
Games won: 42
Games drawn: 23
Games lost: 35
The Status Quo:
Well, it’s looking good right now my fellow rams. Likewise for Pompey, who do look near to uncatchable now, though there doubtless remain some happy clappers like yours truly who will still be hoping Portsmouth slip up and what better place for them to begin their demise than in front of their own fans on Tuesday evening? That said, Portsmouth have arguably been THE most consistent side in the division, steadily accumulating wins after a minor, mid-season wobble. It’s fair to say that while they’ve continued their good form, our post-Xmas wobble saw us fall back a little, though if we look at the last half dozen games, we’ve actually outpointed them, indeed only Lincoln, who seem to lay waste to every team they meet right now, can claim to be in better form than our own beloved Rams.

The Key Threats:
There’s little doubt that Cody Bishop is their main striking threat with 16 goals and 2 assists to his name this season, but Pompey can boast other threats, none less than Paddy Lane who has netted 11 times this season, also weighing in with 6 assists. Abu Kamara and Marlon pack have 8 assists a piece, so it’s fair to say that Pompey have multiple attacking threats and they promise to provide us with our toughest game of the season and one in which Nelson and Cashin will need to be absolutely on their A-game if we are to leave with Fratton Park with anything to show for the game.
Team News:
Like most, I was delighted to see Collo return to the fold so swiftly and he looked pretty damn sharp to be honest. Perhaps the ‘rest’ has actually done him well! This is critical as for me, Wash and Waggy look some way off their peak and I suppose, given their lack of games this year, that’s easy to understand.
I was also delighted to see Korey Smith start and for me, he has to stay in the starting 11. He’s not entirely dissimilar to Hourihane, but his mobility gives us more stability, though that said, we did again leave gaps between the press and our back line against Blackpool and if we do so again against Pompey, we might find ourselves in some bother.
With a considerable injury list still hampering his efforts, Warne will again need to marshal his troops carefully and I’d expect a cagey performance from both sides where moments of quality will likely settle the game, rather than one side establishing outright dominance. I’ll drop another update on injuries etc, on this thread nearer the game, but I’d be looking at something similar to what we saw yesterday, with a couple of tweaks:
Firstly, I’ve assumed Elder is once more broken and that we’ll therefore need to use Sibbo in the LB role again. I’d have preferred him starting higher up the pitch, but we have so many missing that it’s a case of needs must. In so much, the back 4 pick themselves.
I’ve kept the same midfield as last week, with Smith again taking the starting role and Conor set to figure later in the game. Adams remains on fire and simply has to start every match now. The only other tweak I’d use would be to play Wash in behind Collo, assuming Jimmy is able to manage 60 minutes at this point in his return. That gives us something like the line-up below, but I do expect this to change, as I very seldom guess Warne’s selection correctly and I’m also hopeful we’ll have one or two more to pick from. CBT, now with some minutes under his belt, appears to be finding some good form and despite our injury situation, we'll have some interesting bench options all the same and perhaps he might even earn a start?


The Game:
I don’t think there’s any doubt that both sides have sufficient quality to punish any errors made and I think this will simply come down to which side best executes their game plan and who is most clinical with the chances they fashion. I’m going for a 1-1 draw with Nate to re-find his scoring touch and secure us another vital point. I think with both clubs and sets of fans riding high, it ought to be a great atmosphere though at present, there is some rain forecast. For anyone making a mini-break of it, please see some 'Things To Do' suggestions and links to some decent eateries below, as suggested by TripAdvisor:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g186298-Activities-Portsmouth_Hampshire_England.html
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g186298-Portsmouth_Hampshire_England.html
Enjoy the game my fellow Rams fans and safe journey to and fro.
COYR
BE MORE B4

The title doesn’t really bother me, nobody really remembers who won the league, the key is getting out of the division and whether that’s 1st or 2nd, I’ll be just as happy.
An ideal world for me would be if we went into the final game 3 points clear and something like 10 goals GD better than 3rd.
Basically a situation where unless we lost to Carlisle 6-0, we’re up. A full house at Pride Park, early kick-off in some late April sunshine, then the whole afternoon to celebrate. Perfect.

Looks like we have a South African pace bowler lined up to replace Amir.
Would love Olivier or Coetzee but we will no doubt sign someone cheap with a terrible injury record 

Scored for Slovenia in their 2-0 win over Portugal tonight 

We no longer have Wood.

If I had to watch Hourihane play left wing I genuinely think I’d remove my eyes.