MadAmster

Afternoon val, all OK I hope?
Are you suggesting that people have bought tickets with no intention of going... or are you referring to STHs who play cricket?

TV
1Wildsmith 6
35Nelson 6
5Bradley 3
6Cashin 6
2Wilson 6.5
32Adams 6
12Smith 5
4Hourihane 4
17Sibley 5.5
20Elder 6
23Ward 6
10Waghorn 5
16Thompson 5
27Blackett-Taylor 6
11Méndez-Laing 5
14Washington 5

My favourite Rams shirt ever... and it still fits
 

Only one slight issue with that, Dave... Smith at RB would almost certainly mean Hourihane starting...

My favourite Rams shirt ever... and it still fits
 

Unconfirmed report I read elsewhere  which is why I used the word "apparently" in my post

So good I framed them...

So good I framed them...

So good I framed them...

30/1/2010. We hadn't won for something like 8 games. The Dogs hadn't lost in over 20 games. I was over with a PSV supporting teammate of mine over here. We were in the SW lower. 78th minute we got a free kick in the NE corner. I told my mate, Commons FK, Hulse header at the near post. Goal. I got that one right.
Later that day, in Jorrocks, folk heard us talking Dutch. Found out I was expat and my mate Dutch. They thought it brilliant we'd come over for the game. Next 4 or 5 pints were donated by complete strangers. Great day out.

Hopefully automatic promotion  in a lasting tribute to B4

@Mucker1884 is going on the premise that the Jorrocks' local clientele were strangers to me back in 2010. He's wrong. He is correct in saying we have met and I'd be more than happy to repeat the experience as he's a good un.

30/1/2010. We hadn't won for something like 8 games. The Dogs hadn't lost in over 20 games. I was over with a PSV supporting teammate of mine over here. We were in the SW lower. 78th minute we got a free kick in the NE corner. I told my mate, Commons FK, Hulse header at the near post. Goal. I got that one right.
Later that day, in Jorrocks, folk heard us talking Dutch. Found out I was expat and my mate Dutch. They thought it brilliant we'd come over for the game. Next 4 or 5 pints were donated by complete strangers. Great day out.

Best bit of that day bar the goal was McEverley doing his only real stand out thing in a Derby shirt using a football to punch Gunter in the face. 

The Kenco Cup game. I was over for that one too. Another great day out.

Waggy up top. Wash on the bench. NML and Blackett Taylor in the wide positions. Still have Sibs we can move forward on the left and Wilson on the right bringing Elder/Ward on if NML or CBT has to go off. 

My money is on Waggy as Wash has no game time in his legs yet.
Collo was interviewed pre Bolton in the Toyota Lounge and said he expected to be involved Easter weekend.

My money is on Waggy as Wash has no game time in his legs yet.
Collo was interviewed pre Bolton in the Toyota Lounge and said he expected to be involved Easter weekend.

My money is on Waggy as Wash has no game time in his legs yet.
Collo was interviewed pre Bolton in the Toyota Lounge and said he expected to be involved Easter weekend.

My money is on Waggy as Wash has no game time in his legs yet.
Collo was interviewed pre Bolton in the Toyota Lounge and said he expected to be involved Easter weekend.

This is why this is such a key game.
After this our squad will get stronger as players return from injury. We just need to manage what we have to engineer 3 points. Win this and I'll be very confident of automatic promotion.

ATG
 
1Wildsmith - 6  Fooled by the deflection off Sibs for their goal and had expected a deeper cross. 
35Nelson - 7 The usual rock 
5Bradley - 6 Steady enough but gave the ball away in a dangerous position late on. Is there a pattern here?
2Wilson - 7 I don't think he ever knows what he's going to do with the ball so what chance do the opposition have?
6Cashin - 7 Just off his usual standard but still a good performance. 
23Ward - 7 A couple of overhit crosses didn't damage his levels of performance. 
27Blackett-Taylor - 6 Showed why we got him. Still getting up to speed following his injury(ies?)
32Adams - 7.5 We've been crying out for a Seth/GT type for years. Hopefully we can sign him on  a permanent in the summer
4Hourihane - 6  Good free kick for Gayle's opener. Fabricated Yiadom's 2nd yellow. I fear he no longer has the pace. May be better as a late sub to help keep control?
 12Smith - 7 Back to his best
17Sibley - 6  Not his best but still a solid game
7Barkhuizen - 8 This what he CAN do. Now needs consistency.
25Gayle -8 I'm another who had doubts due to his age and goal return over the past couple of seasons but I was smart enough to add the caveat that most of us had thought the same of CKR and Didzy.
10Waghorn - 6 Waggy. You know what you get and we did.
11Méndez-Laing - 6 Another not at his best but still a decent performance 
3Forsyth - 6. Solid minutes following his injury. LB/LWB or CH, more than competent in all 3 roles. Good to have him back.  
 
 

5 wins puts us on 93. Posh, Bolton and Barnsley can all reach 95 if they win all their remaining games. Posh and Bolton play each other so they can't both win all games. Win 6 and nobody can reach us.
All ifs and buts. Basically, we get as many points as the chasing pack in the remaining games and we are home and dry. 
Que sera, sera. One game at a time. COYR.

As Dom Dietrich might say, these are “take it or leave it” stats. Below is my attempt at showing the league position of the opponents our direct competitors face on the run in:
Portsmouth- 12 2 17 3 5 11 7- average 8.14
Derby- 14 9 1 12 10 20 24- average 12.9
Bolton- 8 18 13 1 17 23 4- average 12
P’Boro- 24 10 23 6 22 13 21 3- average 15.3
Barnsley- 20 19 16 8 18 1 9 14- average 13.1
I haven’t considered home or away ties, but on the face it Portsmouth have by far the hardest run in, playing us, Bolton and Barnsley. My personal preference would be for them to beat Barnsley and Bolton, let them take the title, and it gives us more breathing space on the final day. But looking at it another way, if we can beat them on 2 April and other results go against them, might we be looking at a title push?? I would love that, for B4 if nothing else.
Peterborough have the easiest run in and face all three bottom teams, although I noticed they are one of only four teams to play midweek before the final game of the season- which for them is a massive 6-pointer against Bolton.
Our games seem to get “easier” as time goes on, whereas others are more mixed. Portsmouth finish against one the form teams of Europe (I’d guess?) in Lincoln. Let’s see if the Imps are still averaging three goals a game by then- if they are, they might well finish 4th or 5th!
Final point- our GD is 4 better than Portsmouth, 7 better than Bolton and P’Boro and 13 better than Barnsley. That could well be the half point advantage that makes a difference come 27th April…

Thoroughly entertained by this one. proper football, not the boring stuff you see in most PL games.
Two teams wanting to win. Some good attacking from both sides. Both defences looked good. Wildsmith pulled off 2 worldies. Some interesting MF battles. Good interplay going forward falling down mainly thanks to good defending. Our approach to handling their #19, Maghoma, frightened me. The lad looks mustard, a proper footballer and we gave him the freedom of Pride Park. Fortunately, he was never able to fashion a good shot or set up a team mate. We gave him way too much time and space. We were very happy when he was replaced.
Well happy with the win but over the 90, a draw was probably the right result, IMO. Especially considering Waggy's handball for the goal.
Ian Evatt is quoted as saying nobody at the stadium could leave thinking Derby deserved the win. I agree. A draw would have been a better reflection. Having said that, what goes around comes around. 2 nailed on penalties at theirs not given plus the one they got was from a Smith foul outside the box