Ramarena

HT
Great score line and a fairly good performance in general, although we look a bit toothless in the final third, set pieces and crosses have been our main threat.
Orient are absolutely there for the taking.
We can really up our goal difference against this lot, if we get our attacking final third to click.
 

HT
Great score line and a fairly good performance in general, although we look a bit toothless in the final third, set pieces and crosses have been our main threat.
Orient are absolutely there for the taking.
We can really up our goal difference against this lot, if we get our attacking final third to click.
 

We *really* need Portsmouth to take points off Bolton. Obviously would prefer 3.

2-0
bradley

Does Bradley have compromising information on Warne or something?

Interesting that CBT gets dropped for a bad game. But Bradley comes straight back in after a poor performance and a costly, awful display of petulance.
Still, hopefully we have enough to get the three points.
COYR

It’s more to do with the level these athletes are playing at these days and the toll it takes on the body. To get to the peak of physical fitness can often put you at a breaking point where you push your body beyond its comfort zone too often, leading to more muscle strain/tear injuries.
Plus with modern physios and doctors checking in on players regularly, these problems are identified much more regularly than they used to be.
Im not saying players from back in the day weren’t skilful, but the game was different physically and training wasn’t as intense as it is these days. This meant there were more rest and recovery periods for players compared to todays daily schedule for professional squads.

Sonny Bradley is available. 

Not sure the addition of Bradley and Hourihane will 'freshen it up', or much else to be honest. Dropping Smith for the latter in particular, seems akin to an act of self-harm. We've looked ok defensively, having reverted to a back 4 and I'd fear a complete meltdown amongst the fans if we bring in the two slowest players on the roster for a game we absolutely need to be winning.

Pride Park Stadium – KO: 15.00
After a chastening visit to Wycombe Wanderers, next up, the Rams play host to Leyton Orient. I know the whole, ‘must win game’ is horribly overused cliche in sport, but sadly, it actually applies on this occasion, as it will do for all of our remaining games. On the basis of ability and potential, you’d fancy our chances strongly, but as has been the case through a good deal of the season, the team remains somewhat Jekyll and Hyde and it’s anyone’s guess which Derby will turn up on Saturday. Having been concerned about the Wycombe game being a potential banana skin, I’m less so for this match, but it’d taker a braver man than I to be dogmatic about the outcome.
Leyton Orient:
Founded in 1881 as the Glyn Cricket Club, they began playing football as Orient in 1888 and joined the London League in 1896 after success in the Clapton & District League. The club adopted the name Clapton Orient two years later and were elected into the Football League in 1905. Most recently and under current manager Richie Wellens, the club was crowned champions of League Two in the 2022–23 campaign and sit mid-table in this current season.
Form Guide:
In the corresponding away fixture, we rode our luck a little early on, but having scored 1st, the game turned on a somewhat controversial sending off, with Brandon Cooper dismissed for a foul on Max Bird. Derby ultimately ran out comfortable 3-0 winners and this with Collo spurning a brace of golden opportunities, but even then, I felt the scoreline flattered us a little - Please see the match highlights link below. FWIW, my view is that Orient are a tidy enough side for the grade and should not be taken lightly. Much like Wycombe, they will be able to relax a little more than our lads and we need to be controlled and alert throughout the 90 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zPSKzMlFGE&ab_channel=DerbyCountyFootballClub
 
Most recently, Orient’s form has been decent enough, with a 1-0 victory away to Stevenage followed by two losses by the odd goal only to Lincoln and Peterborough. Their last two matches, both at home, yielded a 3-1 victory against Cheltenham, followed by a 2-2 draw against Exeter.
The most obvious dangerman would seem to be the ever-present Ruel Sotiriou with 11 goals and 5 assists across 42 games played. Shaquai Forde is next best with 9 goals and 5 assists, with Oliver O'Neil chipping in with 5 goals and 4 assists. Their preferred formation is seemingly a 4-2-3-1, but perhaps someone who has actually watched them regularly can confirm, as my research yielded conflicting data.
Head 2 Head:
Historically, Derby have the edge and perhaps more significantly, we have not lost at home to Leyton since 1981, with 5 home losses in total since the clubs first met way back in 1907 in what was then the 2nd division.
Games won: 23
Games drawn: 8
Games lost: 18
Team News:
Warne again has some worries to address. Our own @Caerphilly Ram has battled manfully to keep us all informed against an ever-changing background and his latest summary suggests the something akin to the following scenario for Saturday:
Joe Ward – was said to be out for 2 weeks at time of injury – 50:50 for this match is perhaps mildly optimistic
Max Bird – was mooted as a possible for the Wycombe game – may well figure from the bench
Dwight Gayle – not expected to play this weekend, but may be available for the last 2 games
Craig Forsyth - not expected to play this weekend, but may be available before season end
Callum Elder – groin injury, status unknown
Ryan Nyambe – out for the season
Tyreece John-Jules – most likely out for the season
Jake Rooney -  most likely out for the season, but has been ‘back on the grass’ we’re told. No jokes please!
I do have some sympathy for Warne as it seems every time he has the lads playing well, injuries to key players undermine any momentum, but that said, we’re not alone in that regard and we’ll need to make do as best we can.
Line-Up:
I think PW will start with a very similar line up to the last game. I’m going to suggest a slightly controversial tweak (assuming Ward is s recovered) and a change from the MF 2 we seem to favour, to variant of an undeniably old fashioned 4-4-2 – yeah, I know, straws...clutching...much… If Ward is indeed fit, he comes in for Nate, who looks like a man in need of freshening up – perhaps he and Max might be best deployed as ‘finishers’ off the bench when legs tire and the game is more stretched, assuming we’re not winning comfortably. Likewise Barks, who could also play on the right if Ward remains out. That said, if Max is healthy enough to start, I'd be sorely tempted to switch to a 4-3-3 with he and Corey either side of Ebou and Washington dropping to the bench. Irrespective, we must control the game better than we did in the 2nd half at Wycombe, where we repeatedly left a yawning chasm in front of our back 4, for their midfielders to play into.
The front two and CM remain unchanged for me; despite both Wash and Collo looking understandably short of match sharpness, IMO, they remain our best current options. Once again, the back 4 pick themselves, as do Corey and Ebou in at CM. Joe keeps his slot, having done well enough since his return to the fold.


The Match:
Honestly, I’ve no idea which Derby will turn up. After Wycombe, some will want wholesale changes, but my take on what was an admittedly hugely disappointing result, is that Wycombe should have been dead and buried inside 40 minutes. I’m not sure that the subsequent slaughtering of Warne for what was to my eye, the profligacy of his forward line, is entirely fair, but each to their own. He remains the incumbent, for better or worse and whatever might happen next year, it seems a long way off right now. As such, the focus for yours truly remains the next 3 games and nothing else.
A last word, as I’ve avoided reading all bar the last couple of pages of the last thread, would be that despite the stuttering effort against Wycombe, the travelling Rams faithful were magnificent in their support for the team. It’d be grand if we could mirror that at home and all try to channel our inner B4 and help carry the lads over the line. At least remember that Warne and his players are trying their best and are just people, like all of us and hurtful appraisals will only serve to undermine their confidence further.
Enjoy the game one and all.
COYR
BE MORE B4
  

Yeah this is it for me. If Bolton go ahead and beat both Portsmouth and Peterborough, it'd be hard for even the most biased Derby to fan to say we deserve an autos spot over them...

1.26 am just got home after numerous road closures and diversions.
It's hard work sometimes. 

Now then, now then.

I’m usually one trying to be rational about these things, but that performance at this time of the season bordered disgusting for me. Lazy passing, headless running, poor touches…and that was just Kane Wilson who gave one of the worst performances I’ve seen in a derby shirt this season. Don’t like singling out players for criticism, rarely do it, but for all his ‘Jack the lad’ persona not enough quality shines through when it matters. 
Within the context of the season and where we are, it was shockingly bad. I could have wax lyrical for hours about how good Derby were last week and every inch of praise was deserved. They lost all that goodwill tonight.
I’ve got very little more I can say, it’s not that they haven’t won but the attitude/performance for where we are in the season was so below par.

I moved to Canada in June 2023. It's been a great move for me, but apart from family my connection home has been through Derby County. I wish I saw more games during this season, but I've done a lot of hungover early starts to watch us grind out the wins that got us into this position.
And here we are. Portsmouth away seemed very significant. It's poetic in my own personal way that Derby will get promoted in the first season I can't go to any games. But from thousands of miles away, I finally feel a bit of confidence.
Long story short - This Wycombe car park ambulance chasing lot made me hate a lot of modern football, and I'd love to turn these over and tell the football world we are back.
As a Brit now in Canada following on and loving every second of this season...
We're going to win this one. Quote me, screenshot me, @ me.
And we're getting f****** promoted.

What am I reading? I know we've all been through some right bottle jobs following Derby, but come on.
Barnsley ruled themselves out yesterday.
Peterborough have a horrifc run of games in 21 days and rely on a high energy game. 
Bolton really struggled to beat a poor Bristol Rovers team and haven't taken any more points than us over the last 5 games - and we've had to navigate Portsmouth, Blackpool, and Bolton themselves in that time.
Wycombe are playing a final this evening....beat them and it leaves 2 home games and Cambridge away. 
Honestly, I can see us winning the next 2, and Bolton drawing against Portsmouth, and it all being all being effectively over. Only 6 days to wait.

We are in pole position. Embrace the final games, don't cower behind the sofa. 

I just boil it back down to the fact that we'd much rather be in our position than Bolton's or Peterborough's.
We know for a fact that 4 wins from here and we're up regardless of anything they do.
We also have softer fixtures on paper than either of them, with Bolton having Pompey & Peterborough, and Peterborough having Bolton to play and 7 games 21 days.
We'd have gladly taken this position at most points of the season if offered.
C'mon Derby, final push.
 

It’s much closer than I’d like, but the most important thing is it’s still in our own hands.
COYR

It’s much closer than I’d like, but the most important thing is it’s still in our own hands.
COYR

I don't really get the criticism of Joe, though in fairness, I think most Rams supporters rate him highly. You take away some of the worldies he's pulled off this season and there's no way we sit 2nd. Hopefully he's just wanting to see whether we go up as I'd re-sign him in a heartbeat. If he chooses to go elsewhere, so be it, but I don't see he owes us anything to be honest. It's sometimes hard to take when players move on, but this is their job not necessarily their passion and one club careers are as rare rocking horse poo anyway.

3 wins puts us on 91 points which should see us up. But Bolton are starting to turn the heat up and I’ve got a nasty feeling they’ll win their last 3. Need Pompey to do a job on them.

It’s much closer than I’d like, but the most important thing is it’s still in our own hands.
COYR