Comrade 86

Couple of docos watched recently the first being The Real Line of Duty. It deals with a particularly notorious era within the Met where a 'firm within a firm' royally took the piss, which in turn led to the modernisation of police on police evidence gathering. Sadly, it's not a terribly well put together 3 parter, but for all that the filming is run of the mill, the story told is quite incredible.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27125496/ 

Free to view with Prime

The Secret Army is a documentary about a lost film showing real life IRA commanders at work. It's another eye opener for sure, but I'll say no more to avoid spoilers, other than it's another fascinating account and well worth a look.

BBC iPlayer

Easy. B4 this year, David Clowes next.

I feckin hate Peterborough

34 minutes ago, McMuffin said:

Midfield has been better without him. Why change a winning formula for one that has proved time and time again inconsistent and risk it now? Don’t get it 

I think it can be argued that the midfield is better without Hourihane, but I'm not sure how you can say as much about Bird's absence. He's our best CM by some way and with Ebou to run the hard yards alongside him, I'd wager Max will prosper. 

I guess his ability aside, another thing would be that he's come through the academy and we've watched him grow as a player, so there's some loyalty and affection for the lad from many fans and this is probably heightened by this being his last game. Most fans will have noted that he also stuck by us though the worst of the recent troubles, at a time when he was our most saleable asset and could easily have found better paid employment at a higher level elsewhere. 

Just an alternative opinion, but if Max is looking OK in training, I'd definitely start him as a swap for Corey Smith, with the latter taking over around the 60 minute mark. Be nice to see Max leave the field for the last time, to rapturous applause from the Rams faithful, having just watched him boss Carlisle. 

As it is, I'm remarkably calm about it all anyway. I think we'll win well whether Bird starts, or not. 

COYR

15 hours ago, LN747 said:

Didn’t the 85/86 side or 86/87 get a similar amount ?

From the second line of the article, tsk, tsk... 😋

The previous record was 12, set in the 2004/05 and 2006/07 campaigns respectively, and Warne’s side equalled that return in March with a comprehensive 3-0 success at Bristol Rovers.

1 hour ago, Bob The Badger said:

I wonder if I'm missing something with this.

I thought the acting was first-rate as was the cinematography. But it was slower than Kenny Burns after 12 pints, and 3 steak pies. 

We watched to the end of episode four I think. Did it get better? Or do we just disagree what better is?
 

Nah, it's just down to taste, isn't it? We can't all like the same stuff, even if there's lots of shows on which there's a deal of common ground. Personally, I liked this show a lot and Scott's performance in particular, but it is unusually languid and it won't be for everyone. Even speaking as someone who enjoyed it, I don't think it's something I'd revisit.

Seen this proudly heralded on here and rightly so, but it does still seem to have gone under the radar a little, unless yours truly has simply missed it. Thirteen away wins in a single season is bonkers and in these lower divisions, it feels like it's even harder, with some teams pulling out all the stops to ensure their pitches don't encourage actual football. And that's before we mention the 'special attention' ritually handed out to any player with attacking ability.

Thinking about this a little, it wasn't that long ago that we couldn't buy an away win and even more recently, our home form was shocking with only our away day prowess keeping our noses in it. On reflection, I'm quite proud at how we've ridden the bumps, worked hard and have improved all the way to the line. Going into the last game we've a 14 to 13 split for home and away victories, so our home form in the second half of the season has actually been very good too.

Having a quick tot up as I read the article, a great stat emerged, no xG, I promise!; in winning the 13 away games, we outscored our respective opponents by a staggering 31 goals to 6 which yields an effective rate of over 5 goals scored for every one conceded. See! I told you it was a doozy! 

Have a read of the article linked below if you fancy a quick bask in the reflected glory. Handy way to distract yourself from how slowly this pesky working week is going.

Whadddya mean it's only Monday!?! It must be at least Wednesday by now!!! 😡

https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2024/04/in-focus-the-away-wins-that-set-a-new-derby-county-club-record

2 minutes ago, Sparkle said:

Coincidence isn’t it - hopefully they have those two points for good behaviour taken away and reinstated as another minus 2 

Oooh, that's the dream.

Were that to happen, I'd very likely be having a party 😋

Just recalled that their appeal hearing decision will be announced this week. Is the timing of their offensive a thinly veiled attempt to bring pressure to bear on the PL?

I'm not sure who is advising them, but given they got a reduction for 'showing good faith' with the original IDC, the intelligence behind said strategy is hard to fathom. I'm actually quite hopeful that they'll received a further sanction for their 'troubles'. We learned under Morris that going on the offensive is not always the best policy when dealing with these governing bodies and my hunch is that Forest are about to find that out for themselves.

The irony of all this talk of corruption seems entirely lost on the Gumpies. Burn a bakery, buy a judge, intimidate and buy off juries, arrange for a few witnesses to have accidents, that's all fine apparently, but deny them a decision in a game of footy and they completely lose their collective minds. Then again, given how they mithered and wailed over a chicken balti pie, it's not entirely unexpected.

NGL, I didn't even bother watching the main race. Watching Verstappen finish a quarter of a minute ahead of the field in a sprint race, despite having battery issues for several laps, was the final straw for me. Perez has dropped the lot, Ferrari are bipolar, Mercedes completely schizophrenic and laughing at Danny Ric is just mean, so I've even lost interest in that now. having been my hero, Lewis is becoming a whiny git, though I can understand his frustration at Mercedes' complete inability to furnish him with a remotely competitive car. I might pay a bit more interest when Newey moves to Ferrari and there's some competition for the RBR machine.

On the flipside though, MotoGP! Circuito de Jerez up next at the eminently sensible start time of Sunday @13.00 followed by a spot of lunch at The Fishes. Lovely jubbly! Good shouts from both @Gaspode and @RadioactiveWaste on that score for anyone whose not already watching. Round two of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship will take place in Portugal this weekend, and it will be broadcast on free-to-air TV in the UK. ITV will broadcast the MotoGP Sprint on ITV3 on Saturday, before all three Sunday races - Moto3, Moto2, and MotoGP - go out live on ITV4.

The Americas full race replay from last weekend available here:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8wtaes

5 hours ago, Anag Ram said:

....in order to grow as a football club, we do need to play a better standard of football to get any joy against better opposition.

I'm guessing the Gumps didn't get the memo 😉

27 minutes ago, Ambitious said:

The opportunity to win promotion at Pride Park, in front of a sell out crowd, after what the club has essentially gone through the last four years, is something that could create memories that will last a lifetime.

If, and hopefully when it happens, I'll definitely spare a thought for B4 and others who marched through the city to help keep the club alive but sadly won't be here to see this significant step in our rebuilding process. 

This in spades 🙌 

Bittersweet for sure and as much a relief as anything, after our troubles. it's been a proper slog and we still need one more big performance to be sure. I wouldn't worry about B4 too much though, as word has it he told the big boss he was nipping out for milk on Saturday evening and has not been seen since 👀

3 hours ago, NOTSA74 said:

Clowes developments have just teamed up with Wavensmere Homes to develop Friar Gate Goods Yard (£75 million) and Wavensmere are developing the old DRI site (£175 million) so they are heavily invested in Derby. Could be putting two and two together to get five but I'd guess it's more likely than Gadsby.

It'd be grand if it could be Derby lads (or lasses) retaining full ownership. I think part of football losing its way has been as a result of too many owners who treat clubs like toys for the billionaire boys club. Lose interest and your club that's been around over 100 years is all of a sudden teetering on the edge.

I see Gadsby and even more so, our own David Clowes, as custodian types, as much as owners. Clowes' prime interest was and I think will likely always remain, the longevity and sustainability of the Derby County Football Club. In all honesty, I'm fine with that, though I suspect many won't be.

@Boycie has reminded us that Morris was popular and regarded as 'one of our own' prior to dumping us into admin and he's right. I was very much taken in myself. That said, I can't see any similarities other than their Rams ownership at all. The two men are worlds apart in everything from actions to demeanour. I think it's already safe to assume that Clowes is the owner we needed, arriving precisely when we most needed him to. 

Am I the only person that thought Haney would win? 😂

8 minutes ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

Hmm. Spilt red wine on the carpet earlier and received an absolute earful.  

It's for your own good!!! 😋

This just feels petty and vindictive. I've said for several years now that I do not believe the EFL is fit for purpose. Their ethos seems to me to be almost perfectly at odds with the that of the game whose interests they claim to champion and this kind of self-harm only reinforces that impression further.

13 hours ago, Ellafella said:

Thanks @Reggie Greenwood for your kind words. Great to hear your philosophy on victory; I really like your forum name & of course remember Reggie Greenwood playing for us. 

Happy birthday @Ellafella 

10 hours ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

On being a parent, my mum has given me her ticket for Carlisle, bless her. 

Mums do epic stuff. Gotta love your mum.

5 minutes ago, nottingram said:

If anyone is that way inclined and wants a bit of insurance, for the price of two pre match pints of Carling you could have anywhere between 2 and 5 season tickets for next year should the worst happen.

Bolton 100/1, and Peterborough 1000/1 to finish top 2. Derby 1/1000. 

I'm on. So's @Carnero 

Be loads of us who've hedged, I reckon 😂

I think most Rams fans would concede there's some doubts around his pedigree for the Championship, but look at what he's done most lately, at a time where we we told the team would be dead on its legs. Look at the form he's delivered and this despite the lads dropping like flies at times.

Assuming we finish the job on Saturday, he WILL be given his chance to show that he has the game to prosper at Championship level and I think that's fair enough. Whether or not he will succeed, of that I'm less certain, but I think he's more than earned the right to prove his doubters wrong, or not, as the case may be. 

11 minutes ago, hintonsboots said:

Good shout, unfinished business maybe. Not sure re John Bloor and family and their interest in football ? Thread needed after the final game.

Yep, deffo one for the close season...

*Googles John Bloor...

5 minutes ago, hintonsboots said:

Maybe another local property developer ?👀

Gadsby?

Only one I can think of 🤔😂

44 minutes ago, Reggie Greenwood said:

Nothing reported , a mate of my works at the club and chats with DC on a regular basis . When I mentioned to them about the transfer  budget he said that there was likely to be a new partner to help with the finance.They  Mentioned a couple of other things that might happen if and when we get to the Prem but won’t mention those as they could likely be identified from it. No further info on who it could be or how much it could be worth. 

Cheers Reggie. Much obliged mate. 

48 minutes ago, Kernow said:

Thanks for these threads over the last 5 or 6 games, @Comrade 86. Looking forward to reading the first one of next season against Championship opponents.

Cheers @Kernow 

It was @Rampant who rekindled our appetites though. I've just copied him! 😋