LeedsCityRam

Everyone welcome!!
 

We did it!

The first of our two promotion podcasts is out now - an 'At The Match' special recorded before, during and after the 2-0 win over Carlisle.
So it all came down to this. Join Chris, Tom, Anton and Cutch for a podcast recorded in real time at Pride Park during Derby's final day promotion-sealing win over Carlisle.
Recorded before, during and after the historic 2-0 home win, this audio match report is our take on Derby County's promotion from League One as it happened.

You've got to ask yourself why Paul Warne and his team came to Derby, when he could have probably stayed at Rotherham, kept them up a season, probably come back down second season, re-grouped and gone up again.
A job for life. Safe and steady.
Him and his team came because they have ambition. They want to have a go at taking a club further than they'll ever take Rotherham.
It was a calculated risk, hence negotiating a four year deal. They've delivered the first part of their plan and will be determined to deliver more. I think that's why his response to promotion has been muted, to say the least.
He's partway through the job and I don't think he's expecting an extension. But he and his team have shown good learning over the course of the season.
Let's see how they do in the Championship first. I think they've earned at least another season.

I would have preferred more entertaining football and control in games. I think that the lack of control in games led to unnecessary physical exertion which there is a good case for saying led to the amount of injuries. Some may argue our style of play played a part in Bird wanting to leave. Pure speculation of course.
I think much of the recruitment was ill thought out. Too many signings of players who were arriving with injuries, too near the end of the career or hadn't played for a while which didn't fit well with Warne's style of play. He signed Fornah to do a job he want physically capable of doing. 
There is an argument that our superior budget dug us out of a mess of our own making with the arrivals of Nyambe, Adams and Gayle later in the season.
I thought the whole captaincy process and back 5 insistence made him and Bradley look weak to many people. I can see the sense in a vote on captaincy but there was a perception amongst fans that Bradley was brought in to do this and that Hourihane wouldn't have been his choice.
On the plus side, we bounced back from adversity well. We never went on a dreadful run like we have under other managers. Some more cynical may suggest its easier to bounce back as you are never more than a couple of matches from playing a poor team.
We showed some good resilience in important/difficult games. Our away performances against Pompey, Posh (first half) and in patches Bolton were very good. 
He eventually solved the back 4 problem with Nyambe and in January solved the midfield energy problem with Adams.
In terms of PW I don't hate him. I hate very few people. I didn't like 2 interviews he did this year and I know they irritated many on here, some of whom have a rosier view of PW than myself. I'm fairly ambivalent to him generally. I dont feel the love that i had for Cox and Smith but he equally isn't a Pearson or even a Clement.
He has talked about needing a lot of changes for next year. I hope that means looking after the ball a bit more and not just taller, quicker versions of what we have now. His admiration for Bird gives me some hope in that direction.
My view of fans on here defending/over defending PW by pointing to limited resources is a bit off. They are only limited in terms of fees and in comparison to the MM Madness. We had a very good budget on wage bill compared to the rest of the league.
That is my constructive view.
 
 

Or true.Eddie found one example. 
I don't approve from either side. My whole argument is constructive debate is fine and those in a minority or perceived minority should be respected.
I'm not sure why this is deemed to be controversial 🤔 
 

Wasn't that thread from October, when things were looking absolutely dire on the pitch? I appreciate it's a results business, but at the time we were getting neither the results nor a performance. We'd barely troubled the top six the previous season, and looked set to repeat the same again.
The message was sent loud and clear that it wasn't good enough. Had things carried on in the same manner, he'd have been out of a job. Absolutely no doubt in my mind. It's also important that Warne at this point was freely admitting things were nowhere near good enough. It wasn't just us Warne outers that were critical. He was agreeing with us.
Credit given to all involved that following that "altercation" with Hourihane and the fans, results did improve. And that was despite key players being out injured. I absolutely think that the toxicity at the time knocked some reality into the players and staff. I think it was their make or break time. I also absolutely think we'd be nowhere near second had we all just clapped them off every game, and quietly accepted whatever garbage was being served up. I truly think it was the moment the penny dropped for the club. And it was needed.
I think that point in time, when the Warne doubt was at it's highest, that neither camp was wrong. One camp were fed up with things as they were in reality. One camp were optimistic things would improve. I'd also argue both camps were right because despite results improving, arguably the football didn't. So some very valid questions remained.
However it's results that get you up, so most sane doubters were placated. And we did go up. Because we're Derby and we're brilliant, regardless of who's in charge.
But I'm always wrong, so feel free to disagree.

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.
 

Aberdeen, Inverurie Locos, Huntly & Cove Rangers. 

Or Guiseley. At, er... Guiseley. 

Final placings of the 23/24 Prediction (Promotion Winning) season.
 
Premiership
leroyoftherovers    58
Dordogne-Ram    52
RadioactiveWaste    52
europia    51
True Ram    50
Brammie Steve    49
Foreveram    49
Kernow    49
rynny    49
Miggins    48
HedgeEnder    47
Cardiogram    46
mozza    46
Osbaldwick    45
OohMartWright    44
timlondinium    44
dcfc the 1 4me    43
RodleyRam    43
BucksRam    42
Fla Ram    42
 
Championship

StevenageRam    42
taffyram    42
Carnero    41
Addingham Ram    40
Grimbeard    40
hydraulic ram    40
Mucker1884    40
Puffin    40
Ramifications    40
Malty    39
archram    38
Chris_Martin    38
MarsdenRam    38
WharfedaleRam    38
Comrade 86    37
EssendonRam    37
rammieib    37
Ramsamwidge    37
Bessie1    36
FlyBritishMidland    36
harwich ram    36
Ted McMinn Football Genius    36
BodminRam    35
DCFC Kicks    35
 
Div1

DiggerB    35
Kenavo    35
TheHospitalier    35
angieram    34
BathRam72    34
Blondest Goat    34
ilsonram12    34
MidWalesRam    34
ramant62    34
Wolfie    34
Wolfie20    34
BramcoteRam84    33
SKRam    33
FindernRam    32
hintonsboots    32
Jourdan    32
Premier ram    32
TimRam    32
AndyB    31
Jase116    31
Mckram    30
Rich84    30
Simmo's left foot    30
Topram    30
 
Div2

InstaRam    28
LeedsCityRam    28
Elgin_Ram    26
SKHunter    26
Curtains    25
DCFC1388    25
gccrowdpleaser    25
ColonelBlimp    24
cstand    24
Eoghan1884    24
Jimbo Ram    24
jimtastic56    24
DesertRam    23
REDCAR    23
Amberram    22
Steve How Hard?    20
Van der MoodHoover    19
PendineRam    18
1967Ram    18
BriggRam    17
JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta    17
r4derby    17
BarrowRam    16
BOB BIGGS    16
 
Div3

Jortat    16
JMC    15
MadAmster    15
Scott129    15
oodledoodle    14
TomTom92    14
Animal is a Ram    13
DCFC4LIFE    10
DerbyAleMan    10
Mick Brolly    10
NegativeCreep    10
PrideParkhead    10
CBRammette    9
DE56Ram    9
Elwood P Dowd    9
Magicman    9
TF Ram    9
Chopper    8
MaltRam    8
uttoxram75    8
Will Hughes Hair    8
Alan Ramage 4 EVA    7
Brailsford Ram    7
21CSchizoidRam    7
 
Div4

Foxy Ram    7
Gladys_was_the_Greatest    7
Sheff Ram    7
Wistaston Ram    7
dantheram    6
Keepyuppy    6
Rampant    6
Top Lino    6
Dean (hick) Saunders    5
one_chop    5
sheeponacid    5
bucktwo    4
EnigmaRam    4
Gabby'sThighs    4
MackworthRamisGod    4
Ram-a-lama fa fa fa    4
S8TY    4
Turk Thrust    4
Woodley Ram    4
Abu Derby    3
BaianoPOTY98    3
Biley66    3
HonitonRam    3
Idiakez    3
 
Div5

ivo_knoflicek    3
Jram    3
Justa    3
JustOneBiblicalKazim    3
kevinhectoring    3
LittleEatonRam    3
Matchday Fred    3
Mrso    3
Needlesh    3
NottmRAM    3
oohmarkwright    3
Old Spalding Ram    3
SinceIWasntSoYoung    3
Slaapwekkend P    3
strawhillram    3
B4's Sister    2
De22Ram    2
dabber    2
Dava75    2
EraniosSocks    2
glyn1957    2
Hoppo    2
Johnnyoj    2
8Leeds    2
 
Div6

Makedoh    2
Marriot Ram99    2
minesahartington    2
OUTSIDER    2
Paultheram    2
plymouthram    2
Ramaldo    2
Ram_in_Cumbria    2
simmoram1995    2
Skin em Ted    2
trappatoni    2
ziggazagga    2
Anag Ram    1
Archie    1
CapeTownRams    1
CBX1985    1
Charliegeorge1962    1
chewbacca    1
CodnorRam    1
DavesaRam    1
DCFCmaz    1
deanoakram4life    1
Donegal Ram    1
England Ram    1
 
Div7

Electric Ram    1
Ghost of Clough    1
jameso    1
lagavulinram    1
littleover ram    1
lrm14    1
lukedcfc    1
MACKWORTHRAM     1
McMuffin    1
MickD    1
NG2Ram    1
old tray boy    1
Raich Carter    1
Ram a lamb a ding dong    1
ramboy63    1
RamDotFi    1
Ramrob    1
RoyMac5    1
sage    1
Seth's left foot    1
Smon Bradley    1
Tamworthram    1
TheRamOfSwad    1
The_Sheriff    1
 
Div8

TomG    1
WhiteHorseRam    1
Alty_Ram    0
AlvoRam    0
Ambitious    0
Andrew1    0
Barney1991    0
bcnram    0
bimmerman    0
BLB    0
Chellaston Ram    0
Chesterfield_Ram    0
CrapSince99    0
Davec2203    0
Dethorn    0
devonram1980    0
Diego    0
Eargasm    0
eddy779h34    0
Ellafella    0
et arietem    0
Franks Tanked    0
Gee SCREAMER !!    0
GeneralRam    0
 
Div9

Gritstone Ram    0
Guest    0
Hustler    0
Ian Buxton's Bat    0
Inverurie Ram    0
Jayram    0
Jubbs    0
kash_a_ram_a_ding_dong    0
Kinder    0
Kokosnuss    0
Kooklaram    0
Lac291884    0
LazloW    0
LeedsRam1999    0
Mikeyboy1963    0
MK-Ram    0
Oldben    0
oldtimeram    0
Parsnip    0
1977 Ram Raider    0
Ramism    0
ramit    0
Rample    0
Ramslad1992    0
 
Non-League

Ratpackram    0
Reggie Greenwood    0
richinspain    0
S6 boy    0
Saturn5    0
secretsquirrel    0
Sparkle    0
Srg    0
SSD    0
StarterForTen    0
Stommo    0
SWRam    0
Sussex Ram    0
swadieram    0
Sweetness34    0
TaahnRam    0
ThePrisoner    0
TINMANTED    0
Toadbelly    0
valakari    0
VulcanRam    0
WestStandStartTheBounce    0
 
 
FINAL PLACINGS.
 
 
Congratulations to winner @leroyoftherovers ,  Well done to joint runners up @Dordogne-Ram  and @RadioactiveWaste , many thanks to all who have taken part in an eventful, promotion winning season.
 
ENJOY YOUR SUMMER RESPONSIBLY..
 🙂

Big thank you to mozza for organizing the League 
It's easy this prediction thing, just trust your Rams bias and go for a win more often than not (not sure that applies to next season) keep positive and above all
#BEMOREB4

Loved the fact the DET pull out had a picture of Seaman on the front swearing at the jeering he was getting from the pride park faithful, with “No David, it was 3” as the headline 🤣

Of games that haven't been mentioned yet, I'll mention two : a 4-0 away win at a crumbling Molyneux just after Christmas 1985, when the team really clicked and warmed up a freezing cold afternoon in Cox's Division 3 promotion season; and the 2-1 win at Highbury the season Arsenal won the double and we completed the double over them - a beautiful day and we celebrated the night away in Covent Garden.

My favourite game will always be my first live derby game, 3-0 against arsenal, Wanchope double and Sturridge. Ian Wright missed a penalty with Poooooooom in goal.
My arsenal supporting brother sat in the home fans whilst asrsenal lost their first game of the season (I think). Not an important game but reminds me of the high point of supporting debry, time with my dad and brother and some of my favourite derby players ever.

Scoring one of the greatest Derby goals of all time in the process....
I have a fondness for the 4-0 win over Southampton in the PL under TBE. 0-0 with about 15 minutes left and then the floodgates opened. Eranio, Baiano, Wanchope and Carsley netting. The football we played in that spell was simply sublime.

Millwall away play off semi final, everyone that went had a story to tell after; the football was pretty good too.

Cup 1/4 Final in 1976 V Newcastle . 4-2 win one of my favourite games and 4 cracking goals 
 

Derby 3 Eusebio's Benfica 0
I remember someone, maybe Graham Richards or Gerald Mortimer, on the radio saying something like he saw Kevin Hector walking down the corridor, injured, in the afternoon and thought there's no way he could play in the game. But he did play, and he was brilliant 🐏

1968 chelsea cup match.Who could forget  night matches at the Baseball ground, smoke swirling round from Leys. It was my first match, we won., loved the rams eversince.

1-0 Sheff U away 1987, Phil Gee nutmegging John Burridge 10000 Derby fans rammed in the away end. 

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.

You can bet that Clowes plan does not involve extending PWs contract any time soon
He hired Warne specifically for his experience in getting teams out of L1. A very canny move that worked
No reason to suggest that Clowes will suddenly start taking stupid risks in the Championship with a manager unproven in that league
My guess would be that Clowes keeps faith in PW until it becomes clear that it's not working, at which point he will execute his Plan B and get an experienced proven Championship manager in
PW is effectively in Rosenior's shoes

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.

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.