Comrade 86

Actually can't wait for this fight. The Saudi events are sterile AF in terms of atmosphere, but yeah, they definitely get the top fighters together. Not only that, they've even got Hearn and Warren rimming each other senseless too, so there's clearly absurd money sloshing about the trough now and neither of the Russians are fancy Dans anyway, so they won't care about any lack of Vegas style pizazz. Shame though as who can possibly ever forget Wilder rocking the cross-dressing Black Panther look?

And there you have it... X owner Elon Musk suggested Monday new users on the social network formerly known as Twitter will need to pay a small fee to use basic functions on the platform—a change he says is needed to combat a bot problem that has plagued the site for years. https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2024/04/15/musk-will-charge-new-x-users-small-fee-for-posting-tweet-suggests/#:~:text=X owner Elon Musk suggested,plagued the site for years.

There's a Varsity game, but I've not really heard any of the locals talk of rivalry between the two clubs. They hate Swindon though! 🤣

Do you know I've written Ryan a gazillion times this season and caught myself every time, but this one has slipped the net. @DarkFruitsRam7 give the man his correct name please. Thank you, The Idiot 😂

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 spotted, but we remain =1st all the same. It also somewhat underlines the point made, in that their sub-par metric and the reason they have fallen short, is goals scored; even with their mad recent run, they've netted 13 fewer than Derby and 18 fewer than #1 ranked Posh. We're slightly profligate in front of goal, but that aside, we are a strong side by every salient metric.

*Lumps on City to win at Spurs

That stat rather leapt of the page didn't it! 😂 Also noted the six shots on target, scoring with 5 of them. Ouch! One hopes the Steer family cat survived the night. I think that while both Bolton and Posh are sometimes quite easy on the eye, they don't always convert possession to points. Posh seem to dominate games or do very little and actually make us look ultra consistent. Bolton are probably the best footballing team in the division, but they seem to score in clusters and can be frustrated by defenders who maintain shape and discipline. The more I think about this league, the more I think that for teams to succeed, they have to be adept across the board, in the top percentiles for all key metrics. We're slightly light off 'excellent' in the total goals scored column and in a season where we've bungled so many chances from open play, our set pieces and defensive qualities are what has really kept us in the hunt, especially in the final quarter of the season. Points Accrued: 2nd Goals Scored: 5th Goals Conceded: =1st Goal Difference: 1st Interesting to note that the top two in the table are equal top in the goals conceded charts and by clear water too. Not a coincidence IMO.

We could have had 7 or 8 today. Clinical from set pieces, but we squandered so many chances from open play too. Could have had 3 in a single 5 minute spell towards around the 75th minute mark. Credit where it's due; Warne will have known he would be absolutely crucified for the Bradley led back 3 call, had we lost, or drawn, so I hope even his fiercest detractors will acknowledge his courage and game strategy today. No way I'd have played Bradley, though IIRC both @Ghost of Clough and @DCFC1388 I think called his selection more or less bang on. The stats don't exactly scream it, but we've absolutely battered them today and on B4's birthday too! COYR

Hope he grows into them feet of his 👀

If he finishes the season in this form, he can be a bright red, tumescent, throbber, for all I care 😂

I'll get me coat...

Passion, tension, both? Warne and his team really want success at Derby and IMO it's good to see how much it means to him, even if he's got it wrong, which in fairness I did too.

Loving the calm way Cash goes about his work. Controlled aggression when needed, but otherwise cool as you like. Always seems to win the ball when he does go to ground and calmly ushers his man wide when it's not there to win. I really think Sibbo has improved for their partnership on that left flank. Sibbo has always had bags of ability in attack, but in defense, he seems to take Cash's lead and he's improving that side of his game quite markedly. Saw Cash telling a much older and more experienced Ebou to calm down too which made me smile. Deeply impressive maturity from such a young lad, who IMO should be nailed on for the captaincy next season. Sidenote - how strong is Thommo! He's tiny, but he seems to lever much bigger players off the ball so easily.

Anyone having advocated for Bradley this season, would likely having been feeling pretty let down by him after the Northampton debacle, but he's been excellent today. A brave call from Warne (not one I'd have made!) and great to see the player working hard to redeem himself. Big 45 minutes ahead, but it's been quietly impressive so far. More of the same please!!!

Owen sounding as excitable as us lot, which is endearing. A good foil to Barker, who always sounds like he's commentating from his bed, bless him. A decent game today, with conditions better than of late. Movement off the ball really good, with everyone showing. A controlled, confident and disciplined performance thus far. Elsewhere, Posh seem to have shot their bolt so if we maintain this level (and don't return from HT half asleep), it'll likely be down to a straight shootout between us and Bolton for 2nd place, the slight concern being whether Posh will still be up for Bolton.

Always liked that Sonny Bradley 👀

Bless you Claire, that neatly circumvents a deal of unnecessary awkwardness 😂 I hope you and the Beavis clan have a lovely day celebrating Dan's birthday today. I'm (mildly) confident that his beloved Rams will oblige with the gift I suspect he's most wanting today too, which would certainly be the icing on the birthday cake. 🙏🐑

6-1 nipped out to grab lunch bits for tomorrow and phone kept pinging every 5 minutes. GF demanding to know who it is that's so anxious to speak to me 😂

Now then B4, I know we've begged a few favours already, so I've waited until we really need it to beg another, but if you could give the boss a nudge for us and tell him I'm sorry I've not been to church for 20 years, I'd be obliged. A win today would most certainly restore some faith and I'll book myself in for confession at very least, though I might well need a 2 hour slot!

A not unfair take to be honest, though we don't really know how hard he trains the lads in comparison to other teams. Seems to me that there is a greater focus on athleticism, pace and stamina as you move down the leagues, with the players having more natural ability being priced out of range by Champ and Prem outfits. I did note from Barker's interview prior to the game that the squad had been given time off and returned to their families during the break between Pompey and Wycombe and I do wonder whether the rigours of a 50 game season on some pretty poor pitches (our own at times!) might have more to do with the injuries than a martinet's approach to training. In any case, hopefully we put it all together for the next 3 games, as I'm not sure anyone wants another season of L1 football irrespective of whether Warne is still the incumbent. Slight tangent, but I was sorry to read that 2024 has proved difficult for you and yours thus far. Hopefully a resounding win today signals changes sooner, rather than later.

Why is it always the in-form players? If we didn't have miserable luck in that regard, we have none at all 😔