Comrade 86

I made sure to do it before Bolton "beat" Shrewsbury and the odds inevitably dropped 😂

Took one for the team there, mate! 😂
Thanking you muchly!

Dad dared me 🤷🏻‍♀️

I heard you actually asked him that! 🙊

But the most important question we all want to know the answer to… 
Does Mendez-Laing actually have a massive wang???  NML says he does 🤣

Straight from the horses/footballers mouths:
Wildsmith was asked about rumours of him leaving Derby. He has not yet been offered a new contract. 
Ebou and his missus are absolutely loving everything about Derby. He said there are several things that need to fall into place about signing but seemed positive. He is the loveliest down to earth person. Didn’t stop smiling all night. If we need to forcefully restrain him to keep him here count me in! He doesn’t mind the Ebou chant sounding like booing. 
Dwight Gayle is recovering well and hoping to be back next week.
Max Bird still very much focused on the next too games, despite moving on. 
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing smells very nice
 
 
 
 

Me giving Ryan Nyambe a bit of advice on how to handle those tricky wingers next season. 😂

Just posted in another thread, but Eíran Cashin won the Supporters' Clubs Player of the Season award. 
Lovely to chat with you and your dad, @B4’s Sister.

So who wants the gossip…? 

What a brilliant night! Dan (B4) and Angie Vallance received the Alfreton supporters award.  I almost missed it as I was in the loo 😂 the glass award is lovely and will have pride of place in my parents house. The players looked visibly touched when it was announced Dan and Angie were being awarded posthumously. It was lovely to see so over 200 people there to celebrate DCFC and those who love the club. I had no idea what to expect but it was amazing. Lovely food and company. I had no idea the players and David Clowes would be there, so that was a lovely surprise. 

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
 

Well, well... Shrews you absolute beauties! Might was well just leave this here then. Enjoy your evening fellow Rams! 

It's point 2 that irks me particularly.

Hugely entertaing sprint qualy in the rain, but I'm getting really sick of the jobsworth stewards interferring with every race:
1. if the drivers are struggling to keep their cars on the track, what's the point of enforcing track limits? - they're clearly not gaining an advantage by going wide on a corner...
2. If you ARE going to enforce track limits, don't then decide when to and when not to on the fly.....

Potentially, but those 'better' signings all come with drawbacks (usually age). Ultimately, all free agents are in that position for a reason. It's easy to look at past credentials and say ''these players are better because of their CVs so we should walk the league'' but the reality is that, to be really harsh, these are other clubs' castoffs... 
Given Warne has repeatedly emphasised the importance of athleticism and pace within his system, the pool of players we could sign does not really fit the 23-28 year old demographic that we ideally want, as players in this age range are usually under contract.
I just think these constraints hardly get mentioned, but getting promoted without being able to buy a single player justifies turning to efficient football. It just seems fairly entitled to sit here in 2nd place, with a fantastic chance to go up, and be moaning about style of play; especially when there are mitigating factors as to why we may have had to turn to pragmatism. ''Trying to play better football'' with the players we have at our disposal may have cost us a chance at promotion, would that have been worth it?

I'd say, from my POV, that the football has been dour, rather than dire, at times, but the difference in perception is probably just one of expectations. In all truth, I've been more frustrated with the team at times than the management, particularly when individuals have done something dumb, or when they haven't built on a 1 goal lead and allowed the opposition to score a soft equaliser. I've usually found Warne's post-match interviews refreshing and well balanced compared to most other managers.
But the team have usually restored my faith in them by bouncing back from poor results and poor performances. Their resilience has been truly impressive and even after the low points of Stevenage away and the only two consecutive defeats of the season against Reading and Charlton, they've dug in and produced a result that I feared would not be possible. It certainly hasn't been a comfortable, reassuring season, but it's generally been a positive one and, provided it ends in promotion, one that I'll treasure.
 

On reflection, a loan with a buy option would have been some very cute dealing, but it's easy after the event, isn't it? I think he's enjoyed his time with us too and I'm quite optimistic. He's only a year left on his contract, was sent to us as surplus stock and the fans bloomin love him. It's not like Derby are tinpot either, he'll have noticed the crowds!
I'm more than hopeful as players tend to get what they want in these scenarios and in Ebou's case, I believe he wants to play for Derby.

On reflection, a loan with a buy option would have been some very cute dealing, but it's easy after the event, isn't it? I think he's enjoyed his time with us too and I'm quite optimistic. He's only a year left on his contract, was sent to us as surplus stock and the fans bloomin love him. It's not like Derby are tinpot either, he'll have noticed the crowds!
I'm more than hopeful as players tend to get what they want in these scenarios and in Ebou's case, I believe he wants to play for Derby.

On reflection, a loan with a buy option would have been some very cute dealing, but it's easy after the event, isn't it? I think he's enjoyed his time with us too and I'm quite optimistic. He's only a year left on his contract, was sent to us as surplus stock and the fans bloomin love him. It's not like Derby are tinpot either, he'll have noticed the crowds!
I'm more than hopeful as players tend to get what they want in these scenarios and in Ebou's case, I believe he wants to play for Derby.

On reflection, a loan with a buy option would have been some very cute dealing, but it's easy after the event, isn't it? I think he's enjoyed his time with us too and I'm quite optimistic. He's only a year left on his contract, was sent to us as surplus stock and the fans bloomin love him. It's not like Derby are tinpot either, he'll have noticed the crowds!
I'm more than hopeful as players tend to get what they want in these scenarios and in Ebou's case, I believe he wants to play for Derby.

He really played his heart out after the move was announced, there's no way he'd be half arsed if came on in these two games.

I'm sure Max will want a promotion on his CV to cap his time at his boyhood club. 
To suggest he won't be committed to this shows no respect to him.
I just wouldn't risk him for this game, save for some minutes at the end.

Agreed and Bird has proved pretty consistently that he is fully focused on the Derby cause until he leaves and I imagine would absolutely love to be part of two big wins to close out his Derby career.
Anyone questioning his commitment to Derby is way off the mark IMO.