Comrade 86

Indeed 😉

FTFY

Newey to Ferrari and suddenly all becomes clear...

Really good F1 race too. I actually stayed up as we were late home anyway and I thought Sainz drove beautifully for the win. Of course he was aided by Verstappen's mechanical woes, but he actually looked to be able to match the MV's pace even before the failed brake became evident. It'll doubtless be normal service resumed after this but with no RBR vanishing off up the road, we saw some decent dicing right through the field today. Mercedes' woes continue it seems. I think the insane power output and straight-line speed the hybrid engine tech they developed during the era of their dominance, probably masked their cars' mediocre aero performance and handling. I did sometimes watch Hamilton putting in insane laps during quali while thinking, 'faaarkk, that car is rapid but it's also trying to kill you', but Lewis was a hard racer and the best of his generation too. Is he still that guy though? That W15 does not look safe at times though and they clearly do not know why the performance is so up and down, but do we really see him prospering at Ferrari? I'm not sure anymore.

Whenever I watch the start of of these MotoGP races, as they all pile into the first corner, in my head I'm shouting 'banzai'. No idea why, but clearly my brain thinks it's appropriate!

Pride Park: Friday March 29th - 15.00 Kick Off Friday night we get a chance to eradicate the bad dream that was Northampton away, but I think we've ridden our luck a little longer than just the last game and we simply must deliver a performance, or we risk succumbing to the lottery that is the play-offs. It's a sobering prospect by any measure. As it stands, we remain masters of our own fate, but potentially only by a single point and GD. Suffice to say, we can ill afford any further slip ups, or the chasers will be on us. On paper, this is a tougher game than the last one, with Blackpool having notched wins against Bolton, Peterborough and Shrewsbury as well as a draw against league leaders Pompey in their last 10 league games. Chief goal threat would be Jordan Rhodes who has notched 15 this season, with Jake Beesley and Karamoko Dembélé chipping in with 8 amd 7 respectively. Dembélé also has a very respectable 11 assists, with CJ Hamilton next best with 7 for the season to date. Keeping those two quiet might be key. Squad News: Injury report might perhaps be a better heading! With Nate now joining an ever-growing list of crocked players, it's safe to say that having had a pretty healthy squad a mere few weeks back, we're bang in trouble again on that front and we'll need to marshal resources in a clever and effective manner if we are to get anything from this game. We are told that the one good piece of news on this front currently is that Collo may play a part, but whilst the man's a Spartan, he'll surely not be sharp enough to start. A last thought, until we have more news on who is actually fit enough to play, would be that while I want us to beat Blackpool, I do recall their kindness and solidarity during our troubled recent past. They're a proper club with a proper set of fans and I hope we make them as welcome at our place as they always seem to make us at theirs. May the best team win, but may that team be Derby, please! COYR BEMOREB4

1Wildsmith 6.0 - Quietly effective but with no chance for the goal. He'll have busier days in winning sides, I'm sure. 35Nelson 6.5 - Gets a nosebleed in the opponents area, but that small gripe aside, he's been mr dependable. One of a small number who emerge with any credit from today's game. 5Bradley 4.0 - WTF was that son? I hate the pile-ons, but you've made your own bed there, I'm afraid. You let everyone down today, not because you were poor, which you were, but because your selfish act of petulance could end up costing us dear. I've tried to be supportive, but at a time when we're struggling to get 11 fit players on the pitch, that was as bad as it gets. 6Cashin 6.5 - I lost count of how many times you challenged for headers during the aerial bombardment, but it seemed like a lot. In fact in what was a pretty grim exhibition of s******** football, you really didn't deserve to be on the losing side. Sadly, your courage and determination is not matched by some of your colleagues. 2Wilson 6.5 - Looked back to close to his lively best at times, in a game played at a furious pace. I didn't witness much football being played, but Kane was one of the few who at least tried to play his game. 32Adams 6.0 - Struggled manfully again, but this was a first mediocre showing from Ebou. We are asking too much of him and he's carrying other players as well as his own considerable workload. Should have scored today. 12Smith 6.0 - Had to start today IMO. By the time he arrived on the pitch, the kick tennis and shithousery were already at stratospheric levels. For the love of god, just give this lad a run of games. 4Hourihane 4.5 - What was his role yesterday? I don't really know what to say, because he actually did nothing at all and was out-battled, out-muscled and out-run all over the park. 17Sibley 5.5 - Fashioned a chance, but was otherwise poor today. The early booking, whilst not matching Bradley's idiocy, was not far behind and after that he was thoroughly ineffective. 20Elder 6.0 - Did ok, but was another to join the fray at a time where the team seemed to be suffering some sort of collective psychosis. I don't think we've seen anything like the best of him, but then, when will we? 23Ward 6.5 - Another who would have started for me, but what do I know? Another sub thrown in the melting pot, but did at least create some jeopardy for their defence. 10Waghorn 4.5 - Looks way of the pace right now. Blazed over when just putting it on target looked easier, this was an ineffective and sub-par performance. 16Thompson 5.5 - Gets some credit for his efforts, but this was an out of character performance for a young player with decent technical ability. Must try to play calmly, even if the 'senior pros' around him have lost their heads completely. 27Blackett-Taylor 6.5 - Signs of promise again, but he must surely be capable of playing more than 30 minutes. We could really use a match winning performance from him soon. 11Méndez-Laing 5.5 - Willing as always, but without Gayle pulling the back 4 around, or Collo just battering them, he's become relatively easy to nullify. He has to play alongside a proper 9 and whilst we have several, none are remotely match sharp. And now he's injured too. 14Washington 5.5 - Barely noticed him. Gets the median -0.5 points for the loss. WarneWatch - Haven't been entirely convinced the last couple to be fair, but it's a results business, or so they tell me. I think we got entirely the wrong team playing the wrong way today. We got sucked into a frenetic game of kick-chase and we're just not very good at it, especially when we approach such games with Hourihane starting. I don't really understand the thinking, so it's lucky really that the players were so poor too, otherwise I'd probably be a deal harsher. Understand that we've got a significant injury list, but good sides find a way. As it is, it's s*** or get off the pot time now, for Warne and the players.

Still be winning this I reckon.

Rams 2-0 Nate

One way to rapidly clear a stand, I suppose! 🫢

This is the one. Sorry, assumed it was the same thing.

It's brutal and you've gotta feel for the lad, but that's F1 for all drivers, save for those whose dads own, or finance teams. There's no hiding place when you're at the wrong end of the grid and as soon as it's established that you're not quick enough, you instantly become disposable. That said, I saw Albon interviewed earlier and you could se him wince when asked about it, as clearly he doesn't want to be taking the American's car as a result of his own mistake, but if you consider who of the two is the fastest driver, it's the very definition of a no-brainer.

ha! This actually popped up on my Youtube feed as I was grabbing the links for the above. I'd heard she was close to releasing something but didn't know it had already dropped. Will have a listen tonight. I can't imagine her ever topping her earlier work, but I'm definitely intrigued!

Not read all of the thread, but I think there's likely a few like me who don't really want to see any club fold, but have less sympathy for those few who took particular relish in our near demise. As for our fans singing the same songs that were sung to us, I understand it, but it's really not a good look. We should be better than that, but then some would argue, so should they have been. As for the grasping little weirdo from Wycombe, well one feels he's going to getting plenty from fans of all different clubs over the coming weeks and months and where he's concerned, it's very much a case of zero f**ks given. He's earned it.

I think this is a smart use of those we have fit currently and I don't think it's too far off what we'll actually see. Ebou has surprised me a little in the more advanced midfield role, as he's actually got a deal of passing ability. No mere scrapper, that's for sure. I think Northampton are likely to try to be hard to break down and for that reason I like to idea of starting Ward over Kane. He offers a potent threat from open play and even more so, from set-pieces and we then have the luxury of using Kane against tiring legs. I can also see Sibbo scoring this week. I think he'll get some room to play a bit and we all know how deadly he can be given space to move into and time to set himself. As for Fozzy, well he has seen off every FB brought in to replace him and is now setting about seeing off the CBs too. Hard lines for Bradley, who'd been in excellent form before his illness, but it's very difficult to drop Fozzy after his performance against Bolton. He was majestic against arguably the best side we've faced this season and Warne seems to favour the incumbent, expecting players returning from injury to earn their slot again. Upfront, it's hard to see us not starting with Nate and Waggy, in the absence of Barks. It's hard to know what sort of form Waggy is in, but he has that class-drop edge and if he is fit and sharp, he'll cause Northampton problems. I'd also expect Nate's pace to be pretty potent against this lot, who are not a bad outfit for the grade, but do look a bit vulnerable defensively speaking. My finger in the air guess is a 0-2 win for the Rams with Nate and Sibs the scorers , but as we enter the home stretch, any win would would be a big step towards promotion. Let's hope we are calm and patient enough to play our football. I'm quietly confident that despite the missing personnel, we should have enough in reserve to secure another vital win. COYR

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy lol. I mean, honestly, I hate them all. Real bunch of creeps. I find their Machiavellian machinations repulsive and fascinating in equal measures, though I suspect if I were a nicer person, I probably wouldn't. To be honest, there's a strong chance I'll make the race, despite my whining, but quali can take a hike 😂

I so had the hots for Beth Gibbons. Thought she was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Beautiful live version of Roads, which 17 years on, feels even more relevant than it did then. Ever wondered what a Morcheeba - Massive Attack mash up might sound like. Nah, me neither, but as it turns out...

Weird innit? RBR have always been vile, but they did seem to be so in a pretty linear fashion, all pulling in the same direction. These days, they're a complete basket-case, but barring an act of god, they'll still win every race. Likewise, I think we're seeing a glimpse of a future Saudi-owned sporting world; ethics trampled, zero oversight, shady AF and utterly sterile, much like the Joshua fight, which might as well have been fought in a library for all the atmosphere at the Jeddah venue. Add to that the fact that having looked to have made some real progress, Merc's W15 now looks completely homicidal, as per earlier iterations and Hammy is already on the beach. There must be more to this than meets the eye, so I'm wondering now what it was that pissed Hamilton off so badly that he'd effectively down tools the way he has. Lovely to see Leclerc running fast though, but I think the broken floor probably exaggerated the gap back to Max and as we all know, Ferrari prefer to 'Ferrari' during the race itself. On a more positive note, at least the Ozzy GP is a proper one, with a proper crowd. They love their motorsport down under and it makes for a far more interesting weekend than those in empty stadia in reclaimed desert lands. Not sure I'll be watching live though, unless I'm still up!

Yeah, you're just misunderstood, right! My response was in defence of a friend whose character and creativity you've called into question purely for reasons of self-aggrandisement and nothing more and with literally zero basis in fact. You've been just as dismissive of literally millions of others on the basis of their choice in music and you're so jaundiced and narcissistic that you can't even see it's you that has the problem, not your unwitting targets. @Archied sorry ofr derailing the thread mate. I'll leave it there.

On buttery toast. That's it really.

Chuffed to bits with this. He looks a huge talent already and with some big clubs circling, I really thought the writing was on the wall. Have we checked his passport though as I've socks that look older than he does!

I stuck mine in the wrong place (ooh, err, matron) but can't recall where @Ellafella @angieram might know!