ilkleyram

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

Not worth cameras outside PP sort of news, surely 

I think the silence from both sides is positive. The administrators have clearly persuaded the efl that leaking stuff isn’t helping. 
It could be that the talks are continuing today. Maybe the efl wanted to talk to the Binnies or one of the other possible PBs and that can only be done today. Perhaps both sides had to go back to others - creditors or their board to update them  
It would be a good thing if the February 1st date could be extended. It would be great if the administrator could persuade the efl that we have enough money for the rest of the season. I would be surprised if the efl made any comments about the claims until their process- whatever it is - has finished. What we need is some short term funding, some time free of threats and a PB that we know are going to meet the efl requirements. 

I think the silence from both sides is positive. The administrators have clearly persuaded the efl that leaking stuff isn’t helping. 
It could be that the talks are continuing today. Maybe the efl wanted to talk to the Binnies or one of the other possible PBs and that can only be done today. Perhaps both sides had to go back to others - creditors or their board to update them  
It would be a good thing if the February 1st date could be extended. It would be great if the administrator could persuade the efl that we have enough money for the rest of the season. I would be surprised if the efl made any comments about the claims until their process- whatever it is - has finished. What we need is some short term funding, some time free of threats and a PB that we know are going to meet the efl requirements. 

I think the silence from both sides is positive. The administrators have clearly persuaded the efl that leaking stuff isn’t helping. 
It could be that the talks are continuing today. Maybe the efl wanted to talk to the Binnies or one of the other possible PBs and that can only be done today. Perhaps both sides had to go back to others - creditors or their board to update them  
It would be a good thing if the February 1st date could be extended. It would be great if the administrator could persuade the efl that we have enough money for the rest of the season. I would be surprised if the efl made any comments about the claims until their process- whatever it is - has finished. What we need is some short term funding, some time free of threats and a PB that we know are going to meet the efl requirements. 

Correct. It’s a couple of blokes in London making guesses and creating all the other 'lists' the Times does as well. In 1990 they estimated Robert Maxwell's fortune at £1.2 billion. Less than a year later he was dead and one of the largest debtors in history. 
Only Mel and his accountant will truly know how much he is worth. The Sunday Times rich list certainly won’t.

Shhhhhh everyone’s asleep but I thought I’d post this to cheer everyone up a bit for when they wake up.
Is this is getting resolved (for now), and the admin stuff not seemingly moving then maybe let’s get all our full focus on what we can do as fans for Sunday!

Lol, Knighton really not a fan of Quantuma, or Mel! ?

Was this the LAP without any accountants on it?

Was this the LAP without any accountants on it?

Interesting that MFC lost tonight and are just outside the play off places as a result.  If those three points matter at the end of the season they might add another failed play off position to our list of crimes.  After all we did sell Bradley to Blackburn because we couldn't afford to keep him after all our financial mismanaging and had he not played they would have won.

Interesting that MFC lost tonight and are just outside the play off places as a result.  If those three points matter at the end of the season they might add another failed play off position to our list of crimes.  After all we did sell Bradley to Blackburn because we couldn't afford to keep him after all our financial mismanaging and had he not played they would have won.

Yes, but.  So far the EFL have shown no sign of wanting to make a decision either way on whether MFC/WW are football creditors or not.  They have consistently said that the matter should be subject to arbitration which process they suggest has started (they've never answered the questions why it taken so long if it began 12 months ago, nor explained why they are wishing to stay out of their own arbitration process or how their Chairman apparently knows nothing about the detail of the claims - bet he does now).  It would take a humiliating u-turn for them to reach a decision on whether they're football creditors or not in the next 24 hours. They would be open to legal challenge from both MFC and WW.
As Chris Coles said on the moan-in tonight it still remains the key question. 
I'm not convinced the EFL will shift their basic stance. There's too much risk to them, too much been said in public and too little leadership in the organisation. So what compromise could be found? If the bidders/PB is prepared to take on MFC/WW after taking over, then the EFL could agree to hold the 'arbitration' process up to allow the takeover to happen with the result of the arbitration binding on all parties; they could lift any threat of us being liquidated on February 1st by extending the timelines to, say, the end of June (that presumes we can find enough money to get through to that point but we should be able to do so if we can announce the PB and let them take over the running and funding of the club in advance of formal agreement with all the creditors).  If I were the administrators I would want an immediate lifting of the embargo and an end to any threat of further points deductions as a minimum.
Carlile's statement that they are prepared to take on the challenge of MFC/WW is helpful in that it allows at least one bidder to extend the timescales. It also encourages the other two to do likewise as part of their bids.  The administrators will find it harder - and we might be back to square one - if the other bidders refuse to take on any MFC/WW liability but offer the creditors more money

Yes, but.  So far the EFL have shown no sign of wanting to make a decision either way on whether MFC/WW are football creditors or not.  They have consistently said that the matter should be subject to arbitration which process they suggest has started (they've never answered the questions why it taken so long if it began 12 months ago, nor explained why they are wishing to stay out of their own arbitration process or how their Chairman apparently knows nothing about the detail of the claims - bet he does now).  It would take a humiliating u-turn for them to reach a decision on whether they're football creditors or not in the next 24 hours. They would be open to legal challenge from both MFC and WW.
As Chris Coles said on the moan-in tonight it still remains the key question. 
I'm not convinced the EFL will shift their basic stance. There's too much risk to them, too much been said in public and too little leadership in the organisation. So what compromise could be found? If the bidders/PB is prepared to take on MFC/WW after taking over, then the EFL could agree to hold the 'arbitration' process up to allow the takeover to happen with the result of the arbitration binding on all parties; they could lift any threat of us being liquidated on February 1st by extending the timelines to, say, the end of June (that presumes we can find enough money to get through to that point but we should be able to do so if we can announce the PB and let them take over the running and funding of the club in advance of formal agreement with all the creditors).  If I were the administrators I would want an immediate lifting of the embargo and an end to any threat of further points deductions as a minimum.
Carlile's statement that they are prepared to take on the challenge of MFC/WW is helpful in that it allows at least one bidder to extend the timescales. It also encourages the other two to do likewise as part of their bids.  The administrators will find it harder - and we might be back to square one - if the other bidders refuse to take on any MFC/WW liability but offer the creditors more money