Ghost of Clough

2 hours ago, MadAmster said:

At first sight you  could be right but, considering his history, I would hope that the club was wise enough to have contingency plans for this happening added to the loan deal. 

With regard to JJ's future, I feel for the lad. IMO he won't get an offer from the Gunners. I can't see (or genuinely hope we don't) Derby taking a punt unless it's a pay as you play deal but even that looks a huge risk. This could be end of career for him.

It won't be the end, but I expect a lower L1 to try signing him and several L2 would too

2 minutes ago, On the Ram Page said:

Just got back from a holiday in the Canary Islands and managed to keep abreast of what has been happening despite dodgy Wi-Fi in the hotel. Results went our way on Wednesday and at the airport yesterday (with good Wi-Fi) I had a look at the Peterborough Fans Forum LondonRoad.Net to gauge what the fans reaction was to their mini-slump

Generally, very surprised it just like on here, one iffy result and it’s all doom and gloom. “Automatics are over”, “lucky if we make the playoffs” “no team spirit” “only 2 or 3 of the players are trying” “the manager (Ferguson) is at fault)” “ he isn’t proactive enough with his substitutions” etc etc etc. Ring any bells!

Title also appears that they have a few financial problems they need to clear up, with loans etc to buy their ground. This a Club, everyone said a few weeks ago was the best they had seen this season. What a difference 2 or 3 games can make at this stage of the season.

interesting and worth a read , if you have some spare time.

just shows this Forum is like most others, with members having hugely different views, levels of expectation and self doubt and confidence. Some who won’t be shifted from their views and others with more realism and balance (or naivety).

Keep the faith.

Just like with us, it isn't just 1 game - Peterborough have picked up just 1 point from the last 9 and 9 points from the last 24 (we picked up 6 points from 15 during January before winning against Cheltenham).

They were reliant on keeping their first team fit, but have lost their best RB (recalled by Rotherham) and Poku has been injured for a few games and will still be out for a few more. Their lack of squad depth is finally being tested for the first time this season.

17 hours ago, Tamworthram said:

I wonder if anyone actually votes based on who they really think is the best player? Even then, how can they form an opinion unless they watch a good number of games involving all of the nominated players?

If I was a betting man I’d wager that the vast majority of people voting have a player from their club nominated and will automatically vote for their man. I’m not saying Collins doesn’t deserve it but I have no idea if he’s been a better player than the other nominations in January.

I dont think the people who nominate the players watch many of the games either 😅

51 minutes ago, CapeTownRams said:

Not quite sure where to post this but seeing as it was supposedly part of RamsTV pre-Shrewsbury….

Great (but short) interview with Cash… the bit when he said his relationship with the fans was a big part in him signing a new deal almost brought a tear to my eye…

Man, when one talks of ‘We are Derby’…. With regard to Cash HE IS DERBY . The new Jake Buxton. 👍👍👏👏

Top-top guy. Our best signing in the window by far…🐏🐏🐏

An interesting part of the interview was when he spoke about getting his first pro contract. We already knew that the club (academy) were close to releasing him, but he gave some detail which I hadn't heard before - there being 8 U18s to give contracts to but only enough budget originally for 6 of them (Cashin didn't make the cut).

ABrown, Festy, Foster, Halwax, Stretton, McDonald, LThompson being the other 7. A decision to release Jaden Charles had already been made. I can understand why it would have been difficult to choose just 6 (I think Festy was the other on the standby list).

In our U23 squad, we had also retained: Bateman, JBrown, Dixon, Mitchell-Lawson, Yates, Wilson, Cresswell, Minkley, Shonibare, Ethan Wassall, Hector-Ingram. There are a few players in this list who I would have released to ensure there was enough budget left for Cashin.

1 hour ago, Magicman said:

Vickers 

Nyambe Nelson Cashin Sibley 

Adams 

Wilson Bird Hourihane 

CBT Collins 

If you have Wilson on the right wing, Blacket-Taylor would be on the left wing... he isn't a CF

23 minutes ago, YouRams said:

What's special about this young Blackburn lad they've just managed to sell for £22m? @B4ev6is would agree it's 20m or not for sale!

Imagine a George Thorne from the 13/14 season, but left footed, a year younger and not injury prone.

38 minutes ago, jimtastic56 said:

There are pages and pages on here - ITK and speculation about transfers . We know Rice and Hernandez were £100 mill each . Just saying , Rams are keeping it quiet .🤷🏻‍♂️

Did Arsenal actually come out to say it was £100m, or was that just media speculation? I've looked on the Arsenal wesbite and on their signing announcement they didn't state a fee, and didn't even bother stating "undisclosed". Is that any different to Bird's sale and the £2m fee suggested?

7 minutes ago, sage said:

The pitch will be even worse after all this rain and snow. It will make it difficult to play football and will suit physical route one teams.

On that basis, we will win 3-0

I wonder if any games at the weekend will get postponed? Portsmouth away at Carlisle? Bolton away at Northampton?

2 minutes ago, jimtastic56 said:

Rams are keeping the “Bird Deal” very quiet. So we have to guess. He must have got a wage rise when he signed for Bristol City , so we will be paying his wages of around £15k a week . No loan fee I hope . How much did we get paid ? Coming to the end of his contract , around £300k ? Swallowed up by our losses unfortunately.

How have we kept it "very quiet"? We announced the sale and loan back on Feb 1st... are you expecting the club to send reminders out?

12 hours ago, Srg said:

I’d be looking at Tom Bayliss for the summer. Free transfer, tidy midfielder, will be 25, Derby fan. 

I would actually prefer his midfield partner Nohan Kenneh. He'd be decent backup for Adams in the DM role. Came through at Leeds when Bielsa was there so is used to high intensity football, and has spent all season as the DM in Shresbury's 352. 1 year left on his contract at Hibs though. Still only 20.

Another midfielder I'd chaee is Herbie Kane on a free (if Barnsley don't go up). Only 25, takes the majority of Barnsley's set pieces but is also their main creative threat from open play. 6 goals and 5 assists so far this season whilst playing as an 8 in their 352. He's arguable the best all round CM in the league.

18 minutes ago, Eddie said:

That works out at around £16K per week, which in my view is bloody outrageous.

The loan wouldn't officially end until May 31st

17 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

Why does that make him PotM? If it was just about goals surely it would just be Top Scorer of the Month?

That's typically how these nominations are chosen tbf

He was also the Whoscored player of the month, so must have been doing more than just putting the ball in the net.

48 minutes ago, Foreveram said:

No, it wasn’t Ennis, not trying to be ITK all of a sudden but as I mentioned briefly on Saturday I met Mr Clowes on the way to the ground and we had a brief conversation.

He said it was disappointing that the deal fell through at the last minute and I said was it Ennis, and he said no. Didn’t say who it was though, guess that’s the end of my journalism career 😂

I got the impression is with Harry Leonard (also at Blackburn). I know they were planning to loan him out, so something must have happened to change those plans.

Chris Martin is the real PotM - 5 goals in 4 games. Since I cant vote for him, Collins is the next best option (5 goals in 6 games).

Bishop and Cole only scored 3 and the others had 4 goal contributions.

16 minutes ago, MadAmster said:

March 16th sees Derby at home to Bolton. 3 of us over for the double header of Reading on the Tuesday and Bolton on the Saturday and 3 more arriving Friday for the Bolton game the next day.

We play at Pompey an April 1st.

I confused myself somewhere. As you say, we host Bolton on the 16th, but Peterborough also host Portsmouth.

20 minutes ago, Carnero said:

There no way we would pay £200,000 for 3 months of Lee bloody Gregory!

Depends if that's the loan fee or wage contribution (or both) - it's the equivalent to just under £12k per week

March 16th is a date for the diaries - Portsmouth vs Derby and Peterborough vs Bolton.
March in general has a few big games:
Portsmouth play 4 of the top 8 (Oxford, Blackpool, Peterborough and Barnsley), followed by us on April 1st.
Bolton currently have 4 of the top 8 (Barnsley, Oxford, Derby and Stevenage)
Peterborough have just Stevenage and Portmsmouth, whislt we have just Bolton and Blackpool (followed by Portsmotuh on April 1st)

Blackpool could even be out of the Playoff race by the end of the month - Oxford, Peterborough and Bolton to play in a 5 game run which also includes plus Peterbroguh in the EFL Trophy. Their last 2 games were Stevenage and Bolton (in the EFL Trophy) so there squad will be pushed to the limit. However, we hope they'll take some important points off our rivals as they cling to the playoff dream.

Bolton also still have 9 of the other 11 top half sides to play by the end ofthe season.

Looking at who play who and when, my prediction is:
1st: Derby
2nd: Portsmouth
3rd: Peterborough
4th: Bolton

1 hour ago, David said:

Didn't watch the game, but looking at BBC Football they have Tom Lawrence playing in the midfield 2 in a 4231, can't be right surely?

The typical stats sites have him down as playing in that position in every game he's placed since the start of December

2 hours ago, IlsonDerby said:

Seemingly outplayed by Buxton? 

adult football is so so different to academy football. Most of these lads are nowhere near first team ready yet (and that’s no criticism) so the constant hankering for them to be given first team minutes right now is frustrating. 

There are always a few factors in these games:

1. A number of the team have only stepped up from U18 football this season - Moloney only moving up to the U21 squad in the summer, with only a handful of U18 appearances in the last 2 seasons due to injury; Thompson, Perry, Allen, McAndrew and Wheeldon stepping up just before Christmas; and I think it was Gill's and Osong's first ever U21 game.
2. This was only Bardell's 2nd game back from injury so will be a bit rusty.
3. It looked like Fornah failed to impose himself on the game, which is what you should expect from a senior player stepping in.
4. It was a team which has never played as an 11 before. In fact, there may have only been 7 or 8 or them on the field together at any point in the past. Buxton would have been a team built over several seasons, getting to know each other, and signings made to improve on weaknesses.
5. It would have also been the first time an opposing set of fans have been heckling every decision they made
6. Fapetu, Richards, Cox, KRobinson and Gough were missing from the more regular starters, as well as Brown, Evans and Moore who are out on loan

As you say, "adult football is so so different to academy football", but that doesn't mean any indivdual player isn't ready to play at that level or higher.

Highlights: https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2024/02/u21-derbyshire-senior-cup-match-highlights-buxton-1-1-derby-county-4-2-on-pens

On 30/01/2024 at 14:41, roboto said:

So he'll be alright for 3 of the 4 months we have left this season? 😉 

54 minutes for Portsmouth and now injured for the rest of the season.

This is why you avoid injury prone players 😅

3 hours ago, On the Ram Page said:

“Statistically Fornah was similar to Smith” - how? Where has the Smith comparison come from? I recollect when we signed Fornah he stated that he liked tackling and then driving forward with the ball. He obviously isn’t quite ready yet for the role we are asking him to play BUT given time….. There are far too many people write players off too early before they are given chance to settle in and learn what is required.

The comparison was one I drew when we first signed Fornah - both being defensive mids who don't actually play as defensive mids and both have non-existant end product. Fornah would play on the right of a midfield 2 with less defensive responsibility or the right of a 3, similar to how we would use Smith.
Fornah had 2 goals and 5 assists in his 94 games in English football prior to joining us. Smith had 3 goals and 10 assists in the 5 seasons before joining us (157 games).

Fornah has statistically improved across the board on last season by about 10% - as he should as a player dropping down a division and yet to reach his peak.

Last season, Fornah had made just 0.6 defensive actions and aerial wins per 90 more than Smith. Not much of an overall improvement, hence the "statisically similar" statement.

However, Adams (at Forest Green) made 2.5 times as many actions than Fornah. I understand there is a step up between L2 and L2, as well as a risk regarding a player missing a full season and only sporadic appearances so far this season, his defensive stats in his 1 game for us (small sample size) match his Forest Green outputs. 

Lost 4-2. 

1-1 after 90 mins so straight to penalties 

Gateshead losing so Brown gets half an hour tonight. Hopefully he impresses enough to earn a start at the weekend. He's had trouble breaking into a winning side, as is often the case.. "don't change a winning side".