Comrade 86

He's a decent player at L1 level, but an upgrade on Bird, he most certainly isn't.

When Mrs Wolfie had been living with me for a few months, we decided to have a couple of friends round and I did a big swiss cheese fondue. We had a lot of cheese late into the evening.
That night, I was woken at about 2am by her fully dressed and in the middle of packing her bags. She was semi-awake and convinced that she had to move out there & then. She couldn't give me any reason, just that she hed to do it. It took me about half an hour to talk her down and convince her to get back into bed.
That was 13 years ago and it remains the only time anything like this happened - and the only time we've ever had a fondue.

https://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/forest-fan-20th-april-we-need-to-do-something.119301/
Some of the responses to the Forest begging bowl are fabulous 😂

The bit where he says he's going to throw the players into the pit of the sarlak to be slowly digested over a thousand years was one of the best motivational speeches I've seen from any manager.

Anyone else suddenly VERY nervous?! We're so so close but having followed the Rams for many years and seen so many examples of us snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, I for one am cacking my pants! 

Francis was a RB who could play at CB. He has never played at LB in his career.
We signed Christie a couple of weeks after Bournemouth refused to sell Francis

This Town - Bit of a slow-burner and not what I was expecting at all, but sometimes not knowing something makes for nice surprises and this series ended so strongly there surely has to be more to come.
I won't say too much in case folk are still watching it, just that it's definitely worth sticking with if, like me, you should encounter an early wobble. A mainly young cast, visibly grows into the series and I'm already intrigued to see where they'll take it next. Blinding soundtrack too!

“It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it, and that’s what gets results”
Love Paul Warne 🖤 🐏

Celebrations, eh? Well, I know how to party!
I'll make a bold step from my armchair to the fridge and get my non-alcoholic beer.
If I totally lose it, I'll clap on my way. Quietly though, so I won't cause any distress to my neighbours.
 

Nothing would be more derbyesque than a 40 page argument about how we should be allowed to celebrate before promptly losing to Cambridge and Carlisle. Why don’t we simply not worry about it and act accordingly when/if the time happens. And by accordingly I mean alcohol. 

But I'm guessing its still okay to get naked?

Personally I think a pitch invasion for reclaiming our normal place in the Championship would be a bit tinpot.
Letting the players celebrate together and then having a lap of honour is a far classier move than invading the pitch and swarming the players, including opposition players who are left in a pretty vulnerable position in the majority of these over-glorified pitch invasions.

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!