LeedsCityRam

1 hour ago, sage said:

That's the third similar comment this afternoon. Not seen anyone being too silly on the expectations thread.

 

Agree with your opening sentiment that we should certainly be competitive with our likely budget i.e. somewhere above bottom 6 & that we will see the true test of Warne against better equipped teams & some sharp tactical minds. Some excellent managers at Championship level.

Re other thread, seen a lot of comments talking about a potential playoff push. I'd be shocked if we finished top 10 quite honestly, irrespective of recruitment. I suspect some folk are paying too much heed to Ipswich's success & the Arthur Cox double promotion.

1 hour ago, Returning ram said:

The bar by quite a few last year was success would be promotion, that was changed to promotion was expected when it looked like we'd do it, accompanied with PW wouldnt keep us in the championship.

Now we are promoted, it has been raised to mid table, I fully expect a couple of good signings and it be play offs.

Probably why you see posts are cynical about some fans 😏

We obviously have a friendly wager on in any case but I can't get my head around the idea we're only 2 quality signings from a top 6 push. What are you seeing from the current setup that leads you to believe we have the foundation in place for that? Genuinely interested.

5 hours ago, Magicman said:

Would'nt surprise me if he put Rooney there as a DM supporting Adams and Tomo .

I dont necessarily think Warne will but I've long argued that Rooney would make a good DCM. Clearly comfortable on the ball, decent range of passing, little one paced but good in air & happy to move forward with the ball in central areas.

The only other position I'd consider him would be RCB but think we've got better even in current squad.

A midtable finish so dull it makes Nigel Clough look like Jurgen Klopp on amphetamines

15th-17th, 57 points. Thanks for the memories, see you next season 👍

Steve McClaren is the most overrated manager in Derby's modern history. 

George Burley is the most underrated manager in Derby's modern history.

Nigel Clough would have got us promoted by 2016 & the manner of his sacking (night of Forest v Derby) still angers me

Sam Rush was a terrible chief exec for Derby

Philip Cocu was on the verge of cracking it at Derby before Rooney starting undermining him. He would have taken us up within 2 years.

I am extremely apprehensive about Paul Warne managing us in the Championship & dont see him lasting beyond Christmas

23 minutes ago, Tamworthram said:

How much do you honestly think we’d get for him given he’s played less than 30 senior games and most of them at non league level? I can’t really imagine it’d be enough to make much of an impact on an enormous rebuild.

I fear that if we sold him now we’d get very little for him and he’d go on to make a real impact at another club. For me we keep him and, if the coaching staff think he’s ready, include him in the first team squad. If they think he still needs a little more development then send him out on loan to a league 1 team.

19 minutes ago, Tamworthram said:

An eight figure sum for a player with so little experience at senior level? I’d snap their hand off. 

Its less to do with actual output as an 18 year old than their potential. Admittedly an extreme case but Birmingham reportedly turned down a £20m offer from Man Utd for Jude Bellingham when he had barely played 20 games & after 41 games, he went to Dortmund for £25m. I also think we turned down a £5m bid for Sibley from Wolves when he hadn't yet started 10 times for us.

Brown is clearly a goalscorer, quick, powerful & has a decent first touch. He has adapted incredibly well to men's football (albeit in the 5th tier) & given his age & game changing potential, its not beyond the realms that a Prem club may feel his potential is that of a starter in 3/4 years given the right exposure to better players & better coaching. 

1 hour ago, Chesterfield_Ram said:

I sort of agree with this, but I'd do it the other way round. I'd look to loan him out to a L1 or L2 team to make sure the jump up in standard isn't too much too quick for him.

National League defending really isn't up to standard. Hence Will Grigg scoring 25 goals this season, more than he scored in his past 5 seasons combined in L1. Diesuruvwe scoring 24 despite not doing anything at Salford in L2. Kabamba scoring 5 goals in 2 seasons in L2, then 25 in 40 games this season.

For his long term development I think it would be better to gradually work his way up the leagues. This way we could end up thinking in several seasons time about how good he is, rather than how good he could have been.

I don't want him to end up becoming another Mason Bennett.

Inclined to agree with this. Obviously we're all getting excited but he's still very young & the gap from National League to Championship is enormous. Given the club will be looking to find their feet at Championship level, I would think it highly unlikely youngsters will be played at all & the worst situation would be for Dajaune to be restricted to under 23 football again.

Kudos to the club for finding him a great loan these past few months & fair to assume Matt Hale will have some elevated plans for Dajaune for this season that will involve him stepping up in quality. Ideal move would seem to be a loan to a League One club where he sees plenty of game time but get the rotation he'll need to rest up. Probably unlikely given their business model but the way Peterborough set their team up to develop forwards (and their track record of producing them) suggests that could be a good move for him - very local too for Academy staff to keep close tabs on him.

5 hours ago, Dimmu said:

Serie B promotion playoffs have some interesting emphasis on league position. It sounds complicated but it is not and at least the success during the season means something. Taken from wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serie_B:

The top two teams are automatically promoted and the third-place team is only automatically promoted if they are more than 14 points clear of the fourth-placed team. If the third-place team is not more than 14 points clear of the fourth-place team then the teams from third-place to eighth-place enter a play-off to decide the final promotion spot.

The preliminary round between fifth and eighth and between sixth and seventh is a single match on the ground of the best placed in the regular season. In the event of a tie at the end of normal time, extra time will be played. If the game is still tied at the end of extra time, the highest-ranked team goes through, without taking a penalty shootout.

The semi-finals are a two-legged competition with a first leg at home for the teams that played in the preliminary round and a second leg at home for the third and fourth-placed teams in the regular season. In the event of a tie in the aggregate result, the best-ranked team in the regular season progresses to the final, without extra time and penalties.

The final is played between the winners of the semi-finals over two legs, the latter at the home of the best-placed team in the league. In the event of a tie, the best-placed team in the regular season is promoted to Serie A, without the need for extra time or penalties. If the two finalists have finished the regular season on equal points, the second leg includes extra time and penalties if required.

 

Good shout Dimmu. I do like a lot of the Serie B format - particularly like the principle that the 3rd placed team has the opportunity to go up automatically but has to show real dominance to do so, that they have a big advantage over the other playoff teams should they need playoffs and that the higher placed team doesn't have to win the tie/onus is on lower placed team to actually win the tie. My Italian team (Bari) finished 3rd in Serie B last season, got past Sudtirol with a late equaliser in a home semifinal but then contrived to lose in the last minute to Claudio Ranieri's Cagliari (in front of 50k at the San Nicola in Bari) - couldn't begrudge Cagliari their promotion though & was certainly more deserving than a penalty shoot out win.

My only reservations in applying to English divisions are firstly that too many teams are involved (in Serie B, there is practically no such thing as safe midtable) - I struggle with the idea of an 8th placed team getting promoted so would restrict it to 3rd-6th placed as currently if playoffs are needed. I'd also probably tweak the 14 points needed by 3rd placed team to finish above 4th placed in order to get automatically promoted to something around the 9 point mark - given how tight some of the EFL divisions can be, 14 points is massive & I think any team finishing 10 points or more behind can't really argue that the 3rd placed team are clearly better.

15 minutes ago, Caerphilly Ram said:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6zK7RmiUcn/?igsh=MWh4Z2Vxb3Q2OXhuZw==

The above is a link to Max Bird’s Instagram and a lovely reel he’s shared earlier this evening 😢 👏 

Really going to miss him as a player & like Will Hughes, will always be bittersweet watching him play in future.

Class act on & off the field. He'll find his way to the top level before too long.

Donated also & wishing Reuben all the very best. Poor little lad 🐏

Another mystifying decision by a Championship owner. Accept that Hull did invest in the squad/brought in some big money loans but its hardly like they were blowing the rest of the division out of the water. Rosenior was nominated for Championship manager of the season & they finished a mere 3 points outside the playoffs - a damn sight better than the position he found them in. What makes it worse is that their owner gave Rosenior a new 3 year contract at Christmas - an expensive decision to end early & one I presume has been pre-empted by a bigger name showing interest in the job.

Derby might not be able to compete with some teams in this division financially but we do have the precious commodity of stability & common sense behind the scenes. Some of the decision making at clubs like Birmingham, Watford, Sunderland & now Hull smack of the incoherent kneejerk reactions so beloved of our previous owner & inevitably end in poorer results & decline.

I wish Liam well, a good coach & a good man. He needs to find a Championship gig at a club prepared to take a long term view. I suspect Hull will finish significantly below 7th next term.

On 05/05/2024 at 08:08, angieram said:

Confirmed from those who are/were in and around players pre and post-match at that time, there was a definite in-crowd, with a cruel streak towards those who didn't "fit".

Most thought it was Keogh's way, or the highway. 

Improvement in team morale and togetherness was apparent after he left, although some of this grew out of the tough times we found ourselves in by then. 

Chimes with the SBW podcast chat with Gary Rowett a few months back, particularly when talking about Ikechi Anya. Rowett's reason for him not being part of the first team picture was that he didn't really integrate with the group & that the group were quite a social bunch that mixed together. That struck me as a really odd rationale for Anya not playing, especially as I thought he would be an ideal player for a Rowett type side. By all accounts, Anya trained well & was a pleasant individual too.

3 hours ago, mwram1973 said:

we'd be mad to let Sibs go imo, can't just let players like him go. He may not be a starter but imo he done very well playing in a position he's not used to. I wouldn't have thought he'd be on massive money anyway and he's proven he can score in the championship.

 

I believe he's on a decent whack as he got a new contract in September 2020 after his emergence into the first team as a goalscoring number 10 (hattrick v Millwall, bids from Wolves etc) & this being at a time when Morris was still reasonably engaged in the club. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54192055

That said, I've been impressed with him at left wing back & given that is a position that fits into Warne's ideal formation, I would also be offering him a contract. Feels like he's finally found a position that suits his skillset & given his age, I'd expect him to improve over the coming years too. We would have to match his current wages as a minimum but given the increased revenue in the Championship, I think that would be feasible for someone as a first team starter.

Who's having the party now Small Heath? 🤣

Makes our promotion all the sweeter swapping places with those nobbers. Did everything possible to revel in our misery that day both inside & outside the ground. Dreadful support & belong with other tinpot garbage like Reading, Peterborough & Wycombe.

Penny for Bielik & Buchanan's thoughts 😆

I would agree with those who feel the majority of this squad needs to be retained into next season. The biggest mistake promoted teams can make is to destroy the fabric of the side that has achieved success - quality of course needs to be added but the DNA/character of the dressing room is not easily built, its that intangible that can drag out vital results & I feel will be necessary for a tough upcoming season. I also believe Warne will need a big squad to compete given the physical demands he places on players. With that in mind;

Release

Waghorn, Hourihane. I also would not offer John-Jules a contract

1 year deals

Forsyth, Korey Smith, Barkhuizen, Gayle, Collins

2 year deals

Wildsmith, Sibley, Thompson

I've noticed many would release Forsyth, Gayle & Smith but I would retain all 3. Firstly, Forsyth is an extremely useful utility player & makeshift CB - he is not easily replaced at all. I saw enough of Dwight Gayle to realise that he still retains plenty of quality & movement and the way he meshed with Mendez-Laing & Barkhuizen gave me confidence he could be a gamechanger still at Championship level. Given we're likely to be playing on the counter attack against better quality opposition, Gayle seems ideally suited to how we'd be looking to play. Lastly, we have a massive hole in midfield with Bird, Adams & likely Hourihane leaving - Korey Smith is a steady option to keep some continuity there, the lad can play & of course has significant Championship experience.

Keeping this squad would enable us to target resources at the 4/5 quality players we need to improve the overall standard of the first team without wasting time looking for squad depth because we'll already have it. Primary focus for me will be for first team starters down the spine of our team - in central midfield (enforcer & conductor), two centre forwards & one centre half. 

Evolution not revolution.

20 hours ago, Foreveram said:

Last seasons thread seemed fairly popular with over one hundred thousand views so I thought I’d try and find out a bit of what we can expect for next season.

As we know, because they told us so, nobody has more away fans than Leeds so I have looked at their away ticket allocations and prices they were charged for the season now ending.

Interestingly they had a reciprocal agreement with a few clubs to set the price for both sets of fans so I have noted this accordingly.

Obviously we don’t know exactly who we are playing yet but I will try and amend this when we have the final tables.

 I have noted the full allocation and adult and over 65 price.

Leeds I have based on what Southampton fans are paying.

Ipswich. 2,000.  £34/ £27

Leeds. 2.018. £47. Cheaper with clubs with reciprocal deals.

Southampton. 2,825. £30/ £25.

Norwich. 2,022. 36/26 reciprocal.

WBA. 2,009. £28/ £23.

Hull. 2,083. £24/ £16.

Middlesbo. 2,571. £29/ £ 21.

Coventry. 2,529. £37/ £32.

Preston. 5,644. £28/ £20 reciprocal.

Bristol City. 3,000. £30/ £26.

Cardiff. 3,213. £21/ £16 reciprocal.

Swansea. 1,971. £34/ £21.

Watford. 2,104. £20/ £10.

Sunderland. 2,000. £29/ £26. reciprocal.

Millwall. 2,008. £32/ £22.

QPR. 1,816. £31/ £22.

Stoke. 2,604. £25/ £19. reciprocal.

Blackburn. 7,337. £30/ £24.

Sheff Wed. 3,869. £36/ £26.

Plymouth. 1,734. £26/ £21.

Birmingham. 2,227. £30/ £25 reciprocal.

 

Ah yes, good old Leeds - couldn't sell out their away allocation at QPR last Friday (half a stand empty if you see the telly pictures) & definite drop off in parking around mine as they're unlikely to go up today. Their support is the biggest myth in English football.

Am interested to see how we get on with away numbers next season. A combination of new grounds to visit, suppressed supply with tiny away ends & a fantastic away record meant demand was as high as I've ever seen it this season just gone. Now we've got bigger away ends & a better spread of clubs in the North/Midlands but telly moving kick off times everywhere & inevitable drop off of away form against better opposition. To be fair, I won't miss the panic of trying to book tickets at 10am along with hundreds of others!

12 minutes ago, Archied said:

Not really , that thread , that thread ?,

this forum was made pretty much unusable for a fair time , a new Warne out thread every ten minutes , every other thread invaded and turned into a Warne out thread by a very determined few posters ,brow beating , swamping people who just wanted to support and read about derby county and happy to be patient with the manager, eventually people got sick to death with it and started to fight back against this aided by the sterling job it was becoming clearer and clearer Warne was doing ,,,then what ? A rewrite of history and veiled accusations of bullying ,,, really ? 
some really need to take a long hard look at the state this forum was becoming and the behaviour of some posters who were brow beating the hell out of people on virtually every thread🤷🏻‍♂️

 

Lets drop this nonsense that one side were more 'virtuous' than the other. There were a few determined anti-Warne trolls that even I found tiresome but equally some pious, holier than thou Warne obsessives who were incapable of answering honest concerns about Warne without deliberately missing the point and/or attacking the poster in a dishonest attempt to discredit arguments.

Not entirely sure why you're taking the bullying suggestion so personally either.

Leeds away would feel like a nice reintroduction to a proper division

Taking the mickey out of their latest choke would amuse & a mere 15 min stroll from my front door too

Some crackers on Saturday...pics courtesy of @Inverurie Ram

On 25/04/2024 at 10:46, Animal is a Ram said:

Summer window:

Curtis Nelson
Callum Elder
Joe Ward
Sonny Bradley
Josh Vickers
Kane Wilson
Martyn Waghorn
Conor Washington
Tyrese Fornah
Elliot Embleton
Ryan Nyambe
Tyreece John-Jules

Winter:

Ebou Adams
Dwight Gayle
Corey Blackett-Taylor
Max Bird*

*I've included Max, as I feel it was crucial we had him to the end of the season.

Extensions:
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing
Eiran Cashin
Jake Rooney  

 

Ratings out of 10, please. I might do some statistical analysis.

Summer window:

Curtis Nelson 10 - not really sure you could ask for much more. Played every minute & player of the year
Callum Elder 6 - solid enough when fit but suffered from injuries. Also not a LWB
Joe Ward 6.5 - lot of potential there & a stellar display at Portsmouth but conceded some rash penalties. Not a RB
Sonny Bradley 6 - improved later on in the season defensively & offered attacking threat but well below standard first half of season
Josh Vickers 6.5 - solid enough but looked more jittery than I'd have liked when he got his first team chance
Kane Wilson 7 - infectious character & popped up with some crucial game changing moments. Solid at RB. Feel he is capable of more in that final 3rd though
Martyn Waghorn 7 - superb hattrick at Peterborough & won us some crucial points early on. Injury destroyed his season sadly
Conor Washington 6 - another affected by injury but never really settled as a first choice. Bit of a letdown as the marquee signing alongside Bradley
Tyrese Fornah 5 - really disappointed overall as there's definite potential there but seemingly a poor EFL Trophy display convinced Warne not to give him another chance. He could do with observing Ebou as sure that was the role he was earmarked for
Elliot Embleton 0 - his welcome interview looked more like an ISIS hostage video & he left shortly after with a season ending injury. Complete waste of money
Ryan Nyambe 8 - excellent signing. Looked very accomplished at RB & RCB and could definitely make the step up to Championship. Not a RWB though Warne. Sadly missed end of season with injury
Tyreece John-Jules 5.5 - winner at Port Vale & provided a pacey option off the bench but injury meant we saw very little of him. Looked a little lightweight at times when given more minutes

Winter:

Ebou Adams 10 - the difference between us going up & not going up
Dwight Gayle 7.5 - yes injury meant he played very little overall but his arrival gave the side fresh impetus. He was also extremely dangerous in the final 3rd. I wouldn't be averse to offering him another year
Corey Blackett-Taylor 6 - seemingly not trusted by Warne & murmurs he struggled to adapt to training standards. Best display was at Pompey but a shocking miss at Wycombe really shook his confidence
Max Bird* 8 - the edge in class we needed at times. Really sad to lose him now we've gone up, we need someone exactly like him

Extensions:
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing 9 - often our main game changer. Tired towards back end of season but still won us a lot of crucial points
Eiran Cashin 10 - absolute class at the back with Nelson
Jake Rooney  6.5 - started season well & looks a prospect. Do see him as a CB/DCM rather than a RB though

I'd be amazed if Warne ever signed another contract at Derby. Even within his comfort zone of League One, he's looked extremely stressed & whilst expectations will be tempered upon our return to the Championship, the fanbase will be expecting top half finishes after a season of consolidation. I dont think he'd relish that at all.

Warne has 2 years & 5 months left of his contract which gives both sides ample time to work out if this managerial team has the ability to ultimately progress the club to a playoff push by Year 3. I wouldn't even be thinking of discussing a contract this time next year if we finished in midtable (which for me is the absolute best case scenario for us next term). Contracts are usually given to protect clubs from others poaching but I dont see that ever being an issue with Warne & as thibgs stand, his current contract feels like a bit of a millstone with high potential of a big early payout because things have gone wrong.

Really conflicting emotions but the overriding one is Derby should never play third tier football ever again.

From an away day perspective, it was brilliant. I've never been to so many away grounds & travelled all over the country - great days out discovering the decent local boozers, chatting with mostly friendly home fans & of course, packing out every away end. Memories that will last for a long time - going absolutely mental when Osula scored after Accrington missed 2 penalties in 5 minutes, Waggy's hat-trick at Peterborough, sneaking into the home end at Leyton Orient, hungover to hell for a lunchtime KO away at Fleetwood, a fantastic match up away at Pompey in the worse weather imaginable contrasting with a beautiful summer day away at Carlisle last September. Craziest has to be the Tuesday night trip to Exeter - 550 mile round trip & a megabus that didn't turn up at 3am meaning I had to traipse round Derby City Centre in the dead of night in the rain until the first morning train back up North. Just as well we bloody won! All part of football's rich tapestry below the sanitised top level.

By contrast, I increasingly found the home games more & more depressing. I think it properly hit last September when we played Fleetwood - 80 away fans one side & 25,000 Derby fans the other. It just felt wrong & much though I admired the tiny sides of League One coming to mix it, the constant Cup Final feeling started to really jar.

Must echo the sentiments of a few here about the standard of football - surprisingly good overall & a lot of teams were able to play some good stuff. Physicality & gamemanship was no worse than you see in the division above & funnily enough, the worst team for it was Ipswich last season. Also enjoyed the 3pm Saturday routine & that is one thing I will miss when we inevitably get the Sky treatment next season as one of the big boys in the division above. It did however feel like 2 years completely out of the media spotlight & that saddened me ultimately - I want us to be relevant nationally & I want us to be the best version of ourselves. Thank you League One, it was a blast but we got out at just the right time.

David Clowes is the owner I always hoped we'd end up getting one day.

A lot of fans seem utterly fixated on the respective spending power of owners but unless you have materially more wealth than all of your competitors (extremely rare), the differentiator becomes how you manage your club. What culture are you looking for? Do you back your managers when things get tough? Do you have a long term plan? Quite apart from the extraordinary sacrifice David Clowes undertook in grossly overpaying for Derby County, everything since has been an exercise in how to run a club properly. He is an elite level owner & best of all, he cares - he's one of us.

Its no secret I'm a Warne-sceptic but I had to admire Clowes sticking by Warne during his decidedly dodgy autumn. Sitting outside the playoff spots as late as 24th November would have had many chairmen pulling the trigger but there was absolutely no sense Warne was even on his final warning - he was given time & Clowes was utterly vindicated by the subsequent promotion. That is the kind of responsible stewardship successful clubs need & that we have so often lacked in the past.

Tales of his humility elsewhere in this thread endear him even more, as does that open letter on the official site today. A successful businessman, a qualified pilot & now a successful football club owner - that is a bloody rare skillset & all credit to him that he lets his actions do the talking rather than resorting to the egocentric approach of many of his peers. I'm genuinely excited to see how he approaches the challenge of competing with clubs with bigger budgets & more reckless strategies - I strongly suspect this is where the backroom structure he brought in 2 years ago starts to bear fruit - quality recruitment, quality youth progression & a tight, respectful culture that gets the best out of everyone in the building. Progressive ownership is the only sensible game in that snakepit of a division & Clowes is smart enough to realise this.

Most of all, I hope he's enjoying it. I loved seeing him get the limelight on Saturday - the fans singing his name & him picking up the trophy - he deserves every accolade going. I hope David Clowes stays with us for many years, I'm certain he will steer us back to the Prem if he does.

Your stats are indeed correct & proves what we already knew about the respective supporter base of both clubs.

I wanted to expand the idea a little further to the crowd numbers in the third tier for any team matching the 'what on earth are they doing at that level' criteria, beginning with Manchester City who dropped into then Division 1 for 1998-99. It also makes a nice 25 year stint for comparison with the crowds Derby have averaged in our 2 year stint down here. Full table below which shows just how loyal this fanbase have been - only Sunderland & Man City pip us on average crowds and of course, City were only down at this level for one season, we've had two.

I think it also starkly illustrates the gap in support between Derby & our local competition. When the going got really tough, we showed up in far greater numbers - true measure of support, true measure of loyalty.

1 hour ago, BWFCNick said:

Hi all,

I just wanted to pop on and say congrats on a successful season and well deserved promotion. I know there's been some ill feeling between fans, mostly on the toxic social media platforms (not helped by a large number of idiots of which we at Bolton have f****** loads). I've scanned through your forum and a few others to regularly to check in on the thoughts of some of our promotion rivals over the season and as forums go, this one is generally positive and full of good and honest opinions. We have another fan called Wanderlust who often peruses the various forums and I feel he is a good fan for honest opinions too. I hope we can join you, I'm sure there's plenty of you hoping we stumble and end up stuck in L1 for at least another year, mainly for the fans who've been making stupid excuses for us not winning points this season. Reality is, you and Pompey were the most consistent teams over the season and thoroughly deserve your promotion, so well done and good luck in the championship next year. With your stadium and fanbase and what your fans have been through (trust me, I know what it feels like too), you deserve some good times now!

 

All the best gents (and ladies)

Thanks mate, very classy & to be fair, pretty standard from Bolton fans. Don't really recognise this recent suggestion from some that your fans are anymore entitled than any other big club. Really hoping you make it up through the playoffs - good support with lots of history & like us, had a horrible last few years. On the pitch, I also think you're by far the strongest side - Peterborough have a punchers chance in a one off game but lack depth behind that first XI & are prone to collapse, Barnsley have absolutely shot it & Oxford are tidy enough but a bit lightweight in this company.

Bet Championship are looking forward to Pompey, Derby & potentially Bolton back - probably more so than the Prem relegation teams coming down!! All the best 👍

A day i will treasure for the rest of my life. Train down from Leeds was absolutely teeming with West Yorkshire based Rams, plenty of beers & laughs on board. Then a few beers pre-match in the Alex before heading down to PP via that amazing new mural by the underpass courtesy of Popside Fanatics.

Atmosphere was every bit as electric as I'd expected & brilliant to get that early goal. What a way for Max to sign off his career here. Ok Carlisle played some neat stuff thereafter but was never seriously worried. As soon as we scored our second & we heard Bolton were losing, we knew we were up. Pitch invasion was absolute magic, scenes that will stay with me forever.

After the humiliations this club has suffered in recent years, we deserved today. But a massive thank you to Paul Warne, the players & the coaching staff...heroes the lot of you. Biggest thank you though goes to the man who deseevedly got his minutes applause...David Clowes, you took this club from the grip of extinction & restored its pride. You deserve the freedom of this city.

P.s. was brilliant seeing the club's tribute to B4...his legend will always live on. Hope you enjoyed looking down today pal 👍

Absolutely love you Derby County. My club 🖤