Animal is a Ram

Repeat joke alert 😜

Not sure which ones to take…

This weeks dragging, it's like Christmas Eve Eve now. Waiting to see what gifts we get Saturday lunchtime.

I do find myself agreeing with this, and sometimes it feels as if there's more prestige to going up through the playoffs than there is coming second (matron!)
That said, for me, I'd change the format: 
3rd goes straight to the final, 4th place becomes the semi vs. the winner of 5th vs. 6th.
Single games, at neutral venues, final at Wembley.
Will never happen, mind.

How about @Day-o?
or
@Daylight come and me wan' go home?
 

How about @Day-o?
or
@Daylight come and me wan' go home?
 

What was the xC (expected conviction) on Marinakis though? Maybe he's been lucky so far, and if he keeps getting himself into the wrong positions, eventually his luck will change.

If Gayle has been training at all I’d be shocked if he wasn’t on the bench on Saturday.
If we’re 1-0 down with 10 minutes left and Bolton are 2 or 3 up, you chuck Gayle on and wait for him to get on the end of it.

Summer window:
Curtis Nelson 10
Callum Elder 4
Joe Ward 7
Sonny Bradley 6
Josh Vickers 6
Kane Wilson 8
Martyn Waghorn 5
Conor Washington 5
Tyrese Fornah 5
Elliot Embleton 1
Ryan Nyambe 8
Tyreece John-Jules 5
Winter:
Ebou Adams 10
Dwight Gayle 7
Corey Blackett-Taylor 5
Max Bird* 7

Scores based on what have they contributed so far, relative to their maximum potential contribution since signing......not just on how good I think they are........or what they may contribute in future.
A lot of the non-contribution is a result of injury - we could have signed Mbappe and he could have got injured after 1 game and in my book that would have made him a 1/10
Summer window:
Curtis Nelson...9/10.....couple of iffy games early on and then magnificent. Always fit
Callum Elder.....3/10......often injured.....poor in early games.....very promising in later games.....much higher hopes for next season
Joe Ward.....4/10........really like him, season badly affected by injury. Some costly pens against but coming very good before latest injury
Sonny Bradley....5/10...awful start, slow re-integration but coming good. Always fit
Josh Vickers......5/10.....good back-up. Harsh to give a 5 but he's hardly played.
Kane Wilson.....7.5/10.....completely smashed my expectations after a poor start (v Blackpool?). Always fit
Martyn Waghorn.....4/10.......10/10 v Posh away, injured then not regained any sort of form
Conor Washington....4/10.....lively, committed but big injury lay-off 
Tyrese Fornah......2/10.......probably a good player in there but clearly not PW's cup of tea so not contributed much
Elliot Embleton......1/10......almost N/A because of injury
Ryan Nyambe........4.5/10....best defensive full back in the league when not injured or at Afcon
Tyreece John-Jules....2/10......classy touches and a goal at PV but not fit enough for long enough
Winter:
Ebou Adams.....9/10.....Best new signing of the season. Always fit
Dwight Gayle.....5/10.....if he'd stayed fit I'm sure I'd have given him an 8 or 9 and we'd already be up
Corey Blackett-Taylor.....2/10.....genuinely hope he comes good and has shown glimpses of what he can do
Max Bird*.....5/10.....been injured a lot since  'coming back' on loan
Extensions:
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.....7.5/10.....A bit down on form since contract extension but still fantastic. Always fit
Eiran Cashin....9/10......Excellent. Always fit. Best signing of the season. Great player or megabucks for the club next season.
Jake Rooney.....N/A.....if he can live with the pace of the Champ (fingers crossed) he'll be a big asset. My worry is he's too slow.

Repeat joke alert 😜

Yes I suppose it is , rated him on potential rather than what he achieved

I'd agree. Even JJ has made some crucial contributions. Embleton the worst signing, but it's really hard to blame anyone for that one. 

Interestingly if you take out EE and JJ and possibly Elder due to the unlucky injuries, I would suggest there is not a bad signing there. Not sure about Fornah though.

Ratings above.
I've been generous to a couple who've had injuries to deal with.

The Artist Formerly Known as David

Summer window:
Curtis Nelson
Callum Elder
Joe Ward
Sonny Bradley
Josh Vickers
Kane Wilson
Martyn Waghorn
Conor Washington
Tyrese Fornah
Elliot Embleton
Ryan Nyambe
Tyreece John-Jules
Winter:
Ebou Adams
Dwight Gayle
Corey Blackett-Taylor
Max Bird*
*I've included Max, as I feel it was crucial we had him to the end of the season.
Extensions:
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing
Eiran Cashin
Jake Rooney  
 
Ratings out of 10, please. I might do some statistical analysis.

Curtis Nelson - 10
Callum Elder - 4 
Joe Ward - 6
Sonny Bradley -6
Josh Vickers - 6
Kane Wilson -7
Martyn Waghorn - 6
Conor Washington - 3
Tyrese Fornah - 3
Elliot Embleton - 0
Ryan Nyambe - 7
Tyreece John-Jules - 6
 
Winter:
 
Ebou Adams - 10
Dwight Gayle - 8
Corey Blackett-Taylor - 6

Curtis Nelson 10/10
Callum Elder 4/10
Joe Ward 8/10
Sonny Bradley 7/10
Josh Vickers 7/10
Kane Wilson 8/10
Martyn Waghorn 2/10
Conor Washington 3/10
Tyrese Fornah 2/10
Elliot Embleton 1/10
Ryan Nyambe 8/10
Tyreece John-Jules 5/10
Winter:
Ebou Adams 10/10
Dwight Gayle 9/10
Corey Blackett-Taylor 6/10
Max Bird* 7/10
Based on this season only, not potential going forward. Injured players suffered a rating drop which Gayle avoids due to the impact in the short space of time was pivotal to keeping us in the race.

For the love of God, how can it only be Thursday?!? 
Anyway, here's Warney chatting about preparations and mindset for our final game. For those of you sensitive souls who break out in hives just hearing his voice, he says the mood is upbeat and we'll be setting up to win the game, not looking for a draw. He warns against complacency and made it clear that Carlisle won't be taken lightly, but says he and the players will be ready and up for the challenge.
Conspicuously absent were any questions about player fitness, so no updates on that score at all, so Fozzy, Bird and Gayle will all clearly be starting.
https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2024/04/carlisle-united-h-preview-paul-warne-202324-season

Summer window:
Curtis Nelson - 9 - Imperious at the back and remarkably consistent
Callum Elder - 6 - Provided good cover in the squad, but injuries stopped him making a big impact
Joe Ward - 7 - Unfortunate injuries but best crosser in the squad, and the goals v Portsmouth may prove to be vital
Sonny Bradley - 7 - Slow start but majority of games he's played he's done well.
Josh Vickers - 7 - Great cover and looked decent when called upon.
Kane Wilson - 8 - Great to watch and done well despite rarely playing his favoured RWB role. 
Martyn Waghorn - 7 - Important goals early on and a good character to have in the dressing room.
Conor Washington - 6 - His goal v Exeter (H) is one of my favourites this season but injury stopped him making a real impact
Tyrese Fornah - 6 - Not sure what happened to him,. showed glimpses and then disappared from first team picture. Great assist                                     for the winner v Bristol Rovers (H) though!
Elliot Embleton - N/A - Looked decent then never saw him again.
Ryan Nyambe - 8 - Made a real difference to defensive stability when he came in. Glad we've got him on a longer contract.
Tyreece John-Jules - 7 - The 3 points he secured v Port Vale (A) could be huge. Real shame about the injuries. 
Winter:
Ebou Adams - 10 - Solid individually and improved the collective. Can't ask for much more from a January signing.
Dwight Gayle - 8 - Scored vital goals when we had nothing else upfront. Helped steady the ship at a critical time.
Corey Blackett-Taylor - 6 - Best yet to come hopefully. Loved the assist v Portsmouth however.
Max Bird* - 9 - Arguably played his best football in a Derby shirt after coming back on loan (technically).
Extensions:
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing - 10 - His most prolific season ever. Our talisman really this season, even without being top scorer.
Eiran Cashin - 10 - A rock defensively, but also brilliant on the ball. His 2nd half performance v Oxford was colossal. 
Jake Rooney - 7 - Looked incredibly bright early on prior to injury, hopefully can rediscover this form next season.

Summer window:
Curtis Nelson 8 solid as a rock
Callum Elder 6 sick note so far. Done OK when fit
Joe Ward 5.5 injured too often far better going forward than defending
Sonny Bradley 6 poor start but has been a rock of late barring that stupid sending off
Josh Vickers 6 solid #2
Kane Wilson 7 Mr twinkle toes. Better defender than Ward and at least as good going forward
Martyn Waghorn 5.5 good start to the season then injured for a long time. Average since his return
Conor Washington 5.5 Another whose season has been blighted by injury
Tyrese Fornah 5 promising start but faded
Elliot Embleton 2 Just the 1 appearance before a serious injury ended his season
Ryan Nyambe 7 excellent until injured
Tyreece John-Jules 4 another with a season ruined by injuries. When fit he looks very good. I'd only gamble on him getting an offer for next season provided he got a very low basic wage, extra if fit but not selected, extra on the bench, extra if subbed on, extra if he starts. One season with options.
Winter:
Ebou Adams 8 The MF rock we were missing
Dwight Gayle 7 6 appearances 3 goals..... then injured.
Corey Blackett-Taylor 5 injured when he arrived. has shown flashes of why we bought him We''ll see the best if him next season.
Max Bird 5 was a 6.5 to 7 but then out injured
Extensions:
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing 6.5 was playing brilliantly but been off it for a few weeks now. That seems to have coincided with playing up top in a 2 rather than out wide where he was excellent, IMO.
Eiran Cashin 8 A rock.
 
Frightening how many players of ours have had their season either disrupted or ruined by injury. Most weren't "right" when they came and stayed that way. Hopefully the new crop this summer won't be recovering crocks. Shouldn't be as we will see income go up from around £20M to around the £30M mark and we should be able to get players in the 24 to 29 age range that Warne so desperately wants to replace the wrinklies in the squad.

Not quite - this one is double elimination. Barnet would get two bites at it with the one @RadioactiveWaste proposed.