Jourdan

We really needed to win and came so close, but I think Coventry would have felt aggrieved had they lost. Gyokeres had the two best chances of the match.

A fair result and a point is not the end of the world. It just means that we’ll have to win somewhere we weren’t realistically expecting to. Swansea or QPR away? Fulham at home?

We weren’t at our most fluent today - lots of possession but no real oomph, composure, or cutting edge. Ebiowei’s pace and trickery stood out but his end product needs work.

We simply have to recharge, come out swinging, and beat Preston in two weeks’ time.

It’s far from over but you would have to say it’s advantage Reading and Barnsley as it stands.

On 17/03/2022 at 21:54, europia said:

I genuinely admire your optimism. Of course it's not impossible, you are right, but it seems to me that we are reliant on the teams around us completely failing, in order that we can somehow limp to safety.  

I don’t know if it’s optimism, more a case of looking at what’s possible. In such a situation, while it’s possible you have to believe. We all need that.

Of course we are reliant on other teams. It’s usually the case for most teams who reach this stage of the season with something to play for. Usually your own results won’t be enough. You’ll need someone to slip up somewhere. We’re no different.

On the Barnsley and Reading forums you can bet they’ll be scrutinising our fixtures too, cheering every opposition goal, and generally hoping our opposition can help them out and make life easier.

Considering we might need 40 points to survive - potentially five wins or more - I don’t think anyone will feel we have ‘limped to safety’.

It will be an amazing achievement if Rooney and the boys can pull it off.

Derby 3-1 Coventry

Lawrence

14 hours ago, europia said:

Mathematically possible, but based on recent performances and results, we are now in footballing miracles territory.  

I would agree with you if there were 2-3 games to go and we were in this position. I would also agree if we had an unfavourable run in - say five away games and just three home games left.

But as it is, I don’t think a miracle is required. We don’t have to win eight games on the spin, after all. We just have to maintain a healthy goal difference and get enough positive results to keep us in touching distance until the final day. Once we get there, anything is possible.

Yes, recent performances have been mixed and yes, results away from home in particular have been poor. But our home form is really good. We have won six in eight at home and picked up 19 points from 24.

We have five home games, all of them are very much winnable as even Fulham have shown in recent games that they can have off days. 

Thankfully we only have three away games left but none of them have particularly formidable home records. Seven teams have gone to Blackpool and won. 10 teams have gone to QPR and picked up a point or more. Nine teams have gone to Swansea and picked up a point or more.

We’ve not left ourselves with an easy task, this is true, but it hasn’t reached the realms of impossibility yet.

If we win on Saturday and other results go our way, the mood will change and we will feel plenty of encouragement for the run-in ahead.

14 minutes ago, StrawHillRam said:

Can write off 3 away games and Fulham at home if our form is anything to go by.

Leaves 12 points. We are 6 points behind, which will be 7 or 9 as  Reading play Barnsley 

Why write off the three away games?

Let’s look at the seven away games we have lost in a row.

Middlesbrough, Forest, Huddersfield, Luton, Blackburn and Bournemouth - six of the current top 10 and all in the promotion picture.

The other was Cardiff, who are much lower down the table but rarely a place where we get much joy.

It’s frustrating because you could argue we’ve probably deserved 5-6 points and came away with the grand total of 0.

But the beauty of a difficult run is that it doesn’t last forever.

We have to be looking to get something from every game if we can.

If you still believed after Millwall at home, why give up now?

Yes, we have ground to make up and yes, time is running out. It’s a big ask, absolutely, especially with Barnsley finding form and Reading building our hopes up only to sneak a surprise result every now and again.

But with eight games to go and 24 points up for grabs, anything and everything is still possible.

What it all boils down to now is Rooney, Rosenior and these players deciding how they want to be remembered.

It’s a time for heroes to be made.

Blackburn 1-1 Derby

Lawrence

Bournemouth 2-2 Derby

Lawrence

5 minutes ago, Kathcairns said:

IF is the important word though.

It goes both ways though.

Sticking with Rooney brings no guarantees either.

It will be interesting to see how things develop.

If Rooney and Rosenior guide us to safety, it would be an incredible achievement and one which will garner admiration and respect from all directions.

If they bring us back up from League 1, it might end up being an even bigger achievement.

3 minutes ago, angieram said:

I hope those wishing Rooney out of the door won't also be the same ones condemning his disloyalty if he decides to take a better job after the end of the season whilst his stock is high.

 

If Rooney takes another job, good luck to him.

I think the reason why Lampard and Rowett were condemned is because they left jobs unfinished and left the club in the lurch.

Rooney? I think he has given the job everything and no-one would blame him for taking on a different challenge.

31 minutes ago, Mostyn6 said:

I think it sends a horrific and disgusting message out to any member of the playing or coaching staff if we treated Rooney so despicably after his commitment to our cause.

when we look at basket case clubs treating managers like poo, we always hope they fail, like Watford, and get what they deserve. Binning off Rooney without him ever having a chance to build his own team, would be a treacherous snake act and Derby would deserve to suffer. 

Treacherous? Despicable? Don’t be dramatic.

This is modern football. Managerial changes are part and parcel of the game. Managers know that. Players know that.

I don’t see what would be so questionable about it myself.

Would it be a gamble? Yes. Would it be a risk? Yes. But if we won our first ten games under a new manager and took to League 1 like a duck to water, fans would come around to the idea.

28 minutes ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

If we go down, our first priority should be to stay up. It sounds unbelievably negative but there's a serious risk of us sinking like a stone. I think keeping Rooney would be the best choice while we stabilise. 

Unless we get a -15 point deduction, no-one will be thinking about survival in League 1.

If League 1 is in our future, then we’ll all be looking to bounce back as quickly as possible, surely?

I am not saying that sticking with Rooney in League 1 would be a disaster. Indeed it might help to maintain the spirit and the togetherness between fans, players and staff and indeed steady the ship.

However the impact of relegation and coming so near but so far could have a hangover effect on the existing coaching set up and any remaining members of the squad.

When you bear that in mind, having an experienced hand with a track record and knowledge of the lower leagues could be an equally shrewd choice - to take on the task with fresh eyes and a clean slate.

Rooney doesn’t know the division, and like it or not, he will put a target on our backs from the opposition and have to handle growing expectation from our own fans too.

Getting to grips with League 1 could be more difficult than survival in the Championship for the sheer fact that what he is experiencing now is a no-lose situation. Next season could be very different.

Morrison is a talented player and it’s obvious that we need to bide our time with him. Yes, he is 29 but in career terms, he is more like a 22-23 year old that is still finding his feet and still figuring himself out.

He was always going to need time to settle and time to feel wanted, feel valued, and most importantly, he needed to be given a platform to produce his best.

Next season could be the best season in his career.

No time to be writing him off.

1 minute ago, Jimbo Ram said:

I think showing Wazza the door would be very harsh. Let’s give him the chance to shape the team he wants next season, be that mainly with free agents and free transfers….

Harsh, yes, but sometimes the harshest decisions can be the most fruitful ones.

I think if he continues in the position, he’ll get all the encouragement and support he warrants.

But I wouldn’t blame the new ownership group if they went in a different direction should we end up in League 1.

I can totally understand the view that we might need to go in a different direction to move the club forward.

There’s a lot to admire about the job Rooney has done - irrespective of whether we stay up or not - but given promotion will be the eventual aim, it’s fair to say that it is a completely different kettle of fish and requires a different level of consistency and ability to get results. The kind of which Rooney and his teams have yet to demonstrate.

Of course, should we stay up, Rooney deserves to stay and every opportunity to move the club forward. It would be unbelievably harsh to part ways. Even I, as someone who isn’t in favour of Rooney, would have to say the achievement would be outstanding and Rooney would deserve total and complete backing.

However if we do go down, there is an argument for making a change, having a clean slate, and appointing someone that is more familiar with League 1 football and knows what it takes to succeed in the division and turn the club around. Harsh too, but this position I could understand.

17 hours ago, Jimbo Ram said:

When’s the last time Knighty scored ?

Bournemouth at home?

Who knows!

But let’s hope today is the day!

Derby 2-1 Barnsley

Knight

It’s been a really tough seven days with three agonising results. But I’d be disappointed if we threw the towel in now.

Yes, we are running out of games and yes, it will take something extra special especially if Reading find a positive result or two from somewhere.

But we have to believe, until the very end.

The Barnsley game holds the key - a win and the return of Lawrence could breathe new life into the season.

I don’t like to talk about must win games but to be honest, that’s what every game at PP is now. The away form is a huge concern. Isn’t that five defeats on the spin since Reading away?

We have to find some inspiration from somewhere. Time for Wayne and Liam to see what they can conjure up.

One last push!

5 hours ago, BramcoteRam84 said:

It’s because whichever way you look at Mel has left Quantuma a steaming turd to deal with, or they have agreed to take on a steaming turd and maybe should have been less optimistic in their initial communications. Either way it’s still a steaming turd. 

The debts are way in excess of what the club is worth. If we took the attitude you can’t offer what’s needed walk away we would be liquidated.

We don’t have a lifelong Derby fan billionaire waiting in the wings to buy the club at whatever price. Clearly people want to buy the club as they recognise it’s potential but they are not going to pay over the odds. As a result negotiations like this will happen and they will be protracted and if Mike Ashley has positioned himself as the front runner then he will pull every stunt possible to drive the price down, he will not care about a -15 point deduction, he might think by providing the right backing we could overcome that and he’d rather do that than pay over the odds to service debts that are not his.

Its frustrating but not unexpected and backs up everything the Athletic journalist Matt Slater has said for months about how dire our situation is.

But the EFL won’t kick us out the league providing we have funds to continue which is in admins control and we have bidders in play.

It’s a difficult situation to inherit. There is no escaping that. But is it fair to say that the administrators and the interested parties have made it even more problematic?

The debts are huge. But if you are stepping to the table, surely that is not a surprise. If the bidders have done homework of any description, surely it is clear that this will be quite the undertaking financially.

You say that there are people interested and people that want to buy the club for its potential, but surely this is time sensitive?

Surely time is precious? Surely the longer you stand back, the more the potential of the club diminishes. More debt, a weaker playing squad, more risk of further sanctions from the EFL, the risk of relegation after relegation?

It’s all very well negotiating a deal and protecting your own interests. That is part and parcel of business. However if you are serious about turning the club around, what is currently being achieved? Are you actually handicapping yourself in the long run?

All I can see is the club’s position being further weakened and that seems counter intuitive to me.

Right now, the challenges are very much clear. The longer they leave it, the more jeopardy it creates and the further away the club gets from being competitive and viable.

If any potential new owner wants to make a success of the club and get any kind of ROI, surely their best bet is to start from the healthiest position possible.

League 1 next year? -15 points in August? If that’s healthy, then sign me up for the next Olympics.

We have funding for a matter of weeks and all parties involved think it’s a game of 9D chess. Scandalous.

The lack of urgency and the lack of willingness to get a deal done suggests to me that no-one involved really cares about the fate of the club, but merely about their bottom line.

At the end of the day, these ‘interested parties’ know what it will take to get a deal done and they know that the club’s future hangs in the balance.

It gets to a point where you just think: stop wasting everyone’s time. If you can’t offer what’s needed, walk away.

Cardiff 1-1 Derby

Knight

Live scenes from the PP offices:

Luton 1-1 Derby

Knight

7 hours ago, VulcanRam said:

What to exactly? Are you suggesting the players aren't digging deep and giving their all? 

Well it has been a damaging few days. It would be easy to fold and lose our way, especially with such a young and inexperienced group.

Recovering eight points in 13 games is quite the challenge.

When I say the players need to dig deep and we need to see a reaction, it is not about effort or work ethic. It’s about personality and strength of character.

it would be very easy for us to feel sorry for ourselves and subsequently get our bellies tickled by Luton.

Tonight was a classic case of an experienced Championship manager and a typically well-drilled and organised team knowing how to get a result and spoil the fun.

I hope it will be a lesson for Rooney and the players, because whichever league we are in next season, there will be plenty of teams who will follow the same blueprint. Birmingham almost did the exact same job on us 3.5 weeks ago.

I am not too despondent personally. I expected us to win tonight, but we have to remember this: would it be DCFC if we didn’t make life especially difficult for ourselves?

I just hope we see a reaction in the next two or three games. It’s a bad result but you can always counterbalance a bad result by getting a good one elsewhere. Going to high flying Luton and winning and a night like tonight is quickly forgotten.

It really comes down to Rooney and the players now to dig deep. How much do they have left to give?

Do they want to be the nearly men who threatened to do the impossible, burned brightly and faded rapidly? Or do they want to be the guys who came firing back yet again and found a way?