DB83

Great work yet again with the match threads, these have been a different class over the last couple of months.
I for one will miss these after next week.
COYR - Hold your nerve and leave everything on the pitch for two more matches, we’ve got this.

Cledara Abbey Stadium: KO- 15.00
We’re on a mini-run, aren’t we, but despite having our fate firmly back in our hands, the pressure to perform remains; two wins from our last two and we’re back in the sunlit uplands of the Championship; a loss, or even a draw and potentially the pendulum swings again.
It’ll be interesting to see whether we might see one or two back in full training this week, but it’s hard to view the win against Orient as anything other than one of our most complete performances this season and this despite being far from clinical in front of goal. Will the confidence garnered see us approach the game with the same positive approach? One hopes so! Another slip up when seemingly set to turn the screw and inevitably, PW’s management will be under fire. A win and we head back to Pride Park with only Carlisle standing between us and our first promotion since 2007.
Our Opponents:
The club was founded in 1912 as Abbey United, and took the name Cambridge United in 1951. They played in local amateur leagues before joining the Southern League after finishing as runners-up of the Eastern Counties League in 1957–58. Under Bill Leivers's stewardship they were crowned Southern League Premier Division champions in 1968–69 and 1969–70, which helped to secure their election into the Football League in 1970. 

Recent Form & Key Players:
Off the back off two absolute kickings from Reading, 4-0, then a 6-0 hammering from Lincoln, Cambridge were held 1-1 by Northampton before closing out March with a 2-0 loss away to Bolton. April has seen them draw at home to Charlton and lose by the odd goal to Blackpool, before showing better form in defeating Wigan 3-1 at home.
Top of the scoring charts sits Gassan Ahadme with 11, with Fejiri Okenabirhie next best with 9. Ellis Kachunga is next best having netted 6 times in 34 starts. Sully Kalkai tops the assists list with from Jack Lankester and George Thomas with 4 and 3 assists respectively.
Rams Match Squad:
Hard to get away from the 11 that started against Orient, given the resounding nature of the win and the style in which it was achieved. A buoyant Paul Warne confirmed in the post-match presser that everyone came through unscathed and it was interesting to hear him saying that we had more energy coming off a shorter break than was the case at Wycombe, where he felt we lacked energy, despite the 8 day break.
The injury picture remains murky and it’ll be interesting to see whether Gayle and Bird might be fit enough to make the matchday squad. I’ll not bother with my selected 11, as I always get it horribly wrong and the gaffer seems to be doing a decent job matching squads to opponents without our guidance. Instead, here’s the top of the table as it stands:

Don't forget to keep an eye on @Caerphilly Ram's injury updates thread across the week, for any snippets on player's likely return dates. I'll append anything I see to this htread as best I can in any case.
The Promotion Picture:
Some key fixtures tomorrow night, none more so than Bolton’s home game against Shrewsbury, whom we know to be a strong and obdurate side, though one lacking the Trotter’s class edge. I’d expect Bolton to take the points, but should Shrews grab an early lead, it could make for rather tougher game.
Oxford, fresh off the back of their 5 goal hammering of Posh play hosts to Lincoln City, whose charge towards the play-offs has faltered a little in most recently. It ought to be a tightly contested affair and to be honest, I’d not be surprised by any result.
The aforementioned Posh have what appears to be a routine task against lowly Fleetwood, but what will be the aftermath of their humbling at the hands of Oxford on Saturday. Might they have a hangover?
Perhaps the best tie of the round features champions-elect Portsmouth hosting Barnsley. A point will surely suffice for Pompey, but I expect them to win and win well en route to a thoroughly well-deserved title win. They’ve been excellent this season and this despite being one of the few clubs with comparable injury concerns to our beloved Rams. It'll be good to see them back where they belong after some very difficult years of their own.
Of the weekend ties, the most interesting involve Peterborough, who have a tricky away game at Bristol and Bolton host Port Vale. It seems odds on we will be going into the final week needing to beat Carlisle to be absolutely certain of promotion and I doubt too many Rams fans will be counting their chickens early! 
Final Thoughts:
A brief digression is in order to congratulate Eiran Cashin and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, both of whom made the EFL League 1 Team of the Year. Bit miffed that Curtis Nelson was overlooked to partner Cash at CB, as for me, he’s been top of the pops for us, but I doubt he’ll mind too much if we win come Saturday.
A last word as always to all Derby fans travelling to the game, safe journey to and fro, Rams and Ramettes and hopefully plenty of good stuff to chatter about on your way home. Honestly, I think our away support has been as good as any in the entire EFL this season and they’ll hopefully be rewarded with another complete and controlled performance as we ourselves edge closer to that vital 2nd place finish.
COYR
BE MORE B4
 

What it shows is from a nadir which, figuratively speaking, had fans reaching for the revolver, the team has been on a run of 100-points a season, which is impressive by most standards, yet still not good enough for some it seems.

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.
Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.
Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.
Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.
Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.
Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.
Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.
Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.
Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.
Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.
Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

Regarding whether the league is weaker this year, that may be so of the best teams (us, Portsmouth and Bolton are probably not as good as Ipswich, Plymouth and Sheff Wed last season), but at the end of last season a lot of dross was relegated out of this league (Forest Green, Accrington, Morecambe), and they have been replaced by teams that are mostly comfortable in mid-table this year (Stevenage, Leyton Orient, Northampton), so the mid- and lower-rated teams I think are actually stronger this season than the season before.

Whatever anyone says, this is a tricky game. We couldn’t beat Wycombe at home, why should we expect to beat them away?? They are no mugs. We lost there last season, after all.
A win here would be a massive boost though. So, would I take a draw right now?? No. We can and maybe should win. But nothing is guaranteed. They would love to beat us, and may be on a high after Sunday. The uncertainty is why we turn up every week though, right??

Regarding whether the league is weaker this year, that may be so of the best teams (us, Portsmouth and Bolton are probably not as good as Ipswich, Plymouth and Sheff Wed last season), but at the end of last season a lot of dross was relegated out of this league (Forest Green, Accrington, Morecambe), and they have been replaced by teams that are mostly comfortable in mid-table this year (Stevenage, Leyton Orient, Northampton), so the mid- and lower-rated teams I think are actually stronger this season than the season before.

Whatever anyone says, this is a tricky game. We couldn’t beat Wycombe at home, why should we expect to beat them away?? They are no mugs. We lost there last season, after all.
A win here would be a massive boost though. So, would I take a draw right now?? No. We can and maybe should win. But nothing is guaranteed. They would love to beat us, and may be on a high after Sunday. The uncertainty is why we turn up every week though, right??

Whatever anyone says, this is a tricky game. We couldn’t beat Wycombe at home, why should we expect to beat them away?? They are no mugs. We lost there last season, after all.
A win here would be a massive boost though. So, would I take a draw right now?? No. We can and maybe should win. But nothing is guaranteed. They would love to beat us, and may be on a high after Sunday. The uncertainty is why we turn up every week though, right??

Regarding whether the league is weaker this year, that may be so of the best teams (us, Portsmouth and Bolton are probably not as good as Ipswich, Plymouth and Sheff Wed last season), but at the end of last season a lot of dross was relegated out of this league (Forest Green, Accrington, Morecambe), and they have been replaced by teams that are mostly comfortable in mid-table this year (Stevenage, Leyton Orient, Northampton), so the mid- and lower-rated teams I think are actually stronger this season than the season before.

Whatever anyone says, this is a tricky game. We couldn’t beat Wycombe at home, why should we expect to beat them away?? They are no mugs. We lost there last season, after all.
A win here would be a massive boost though. So, would I take a draw right now?? No. We can and maybe should win. But nothing is guaranteed. They would love to beat us, and may be on a high after Sunday. The uncertainty is why we turn up every week though, right??

Regarding whether the league is weaker this year, that may be so of the best teams (us, Portsmouth and Bolton are probably not as good as Ipswich, Plymouth and Sheff Wed last season), but at the end of last season a lot of dross was relegated out of this league (Forest Green, Accrington, Morecambe), and they have been replaced by teams that are mostly comfortable in mid-table this year (Stevenage, Leyton Orient, Northampton), so the mid- and lower-rated teams I think are actually stronger this season than the season before.

But, you're using that outdated metric of goals scored against goals conceded, also using the other outdated metric of results.
When will you catch up with the real world? 🤔😁

It’s unreal how dismissive you are of the club and team you claim to support.
Current top 6 are Portsmouth, Bolton, Barnsley, Peterborough, Lincoln and us. 

Against Portsmouth this season we drew home (1-1) and away (2-2).
Against Bolton we lost away (2-1) and won at home (1-0).
Against Barnsley we won at home (3-0) and lost away (2-1)

Against Peterborough we won away (2-4) and lost at home (2-3)
Against Lincoln we won at home (3-1) and drew away (0-0)
As you mentioned Stevenage I’ll include them and Oxford too as they were in and around the play off positions most of the season;
Against Stevenage we lost away (3-1) and won at home (1-0)
Against Oxford we lost at home (1-2) and won away (2-3)
To me my original point stands that this season we’ve done better against the teams around us than we did last season, I can’t be bothered looking for the stats but if I remember correctly one of the big criticisms last year from certain quarters was that we didn’t compete well enough with the teams around us. This year I think we have, the results back that up, the fact we are second in the table with 4 games to go backs that up, the fact we’re one of the best scoring teams in the league and the best defences backs that up….. so I’ll carry on being a happy and optimistic little ram while you…. Do whatever it is you do 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

Come again? Against the top 6 and Stevenage at home we have won 4, drawn 1 and lost 1 scoring 11 and conceding 5. 

It is an absolute disgrace that we have just lost 5-0 against the team who are bottom of the league, Warne absolutely needs to be fired, preferably tonight.