San Fran Van Rams

I'm starting to wonder whether that is really the aim or if the aim should be to have a sustainable club which plays good football week to week? 
Supporting a football club is unlike anything I can think of. It's tribal. It's a romance. It's a rollercoaster of emotions. It's the thing you have no control over yet yearn for it do the best it possibly can, and shout as loudly as you can to 'help' it do that. 
Ive got to the point that all I want is to be able watch Derby be competitive in the league it is in. Score goals. Play some good looking football. Show passion for badge. 
The current structure of the premier and English football League is so utterly broken that's its untenable to compete in the top league without a billionaire backer who wants to use it as a vanity project. This is now impacting the second tier to the point where it's getting to be the same. You can't compete without rolling the dice and spending above your means. 
As many others have said. Football as we know it is dying. The European Super League will go ahead at some point in the future as soon as fans realize the league pyramid we love isn't a pyramid at all and relegation will only impact those clubs who aren't being funded by billionaires.

Keen to understand why not? It seems like a viable alternative now.

I saw a post on Twitter earlier calling into question the Board and the fact it consisted of Mel as owner and chair, Pearce as the CEO and ultimately Mel's lackey, and Roy McFarland as an ex player and kind of fan representative. The premise being that the Derby board wasn't strong or experienced enough to properly run the club with an inability to challenge the decisions being made to ensure they were being done in the best and long term interests of the club and it's supporter base. 
Football is no longer a sport but a business and fans are not always front and center of club owner, Board, or senior management's thoughts. The promise of riches is. This is the disconnect we're now seeing and which ultimately is causing the strife at Derby, and has caused the myriad of issues at other clubs in the EFL.
One way to potentially solve this is by improving board governance. Ensuring there are independent directors appointed with veto voting rights that have a duty to act in the best interests of supporters, but are experienced and knowledgeable enough to understand the business risks associated with the decisions being made and the ability to challenge and push back as needed. 
I'm not saying that this would have solved all issues. But, given the problems with Sam Rush, the seeming ineptitude of Pearce (or his complete inability to stand up to his boss) and the gambling without consequence of Mel Morris, it may lessened the likelihood of administration.
We need to learn from history and do what we can to stop it happening again, or stop it  from happening to others. 

Exactly. 'I may have utterly messed up the finances but if the EFL hadn't appealed the stadium sale then I might have managed to sell up before any of you found out' isn't likely to get the fans onside. 

I understand that tonight many questions will be asked, both of the club and myself. 
Tonight as the news was broke, I was sat in the pub, still am, it's hit me hard as I'm sure it has you all, I was not expecting it, there was no pre warning, no hint of what was to come.
I also understand that over the years my opinion has been questioned, it's something I have had to deal with, sometimes poorly, but with the best and honest of intentions.
Tonight I am hurting, just as much as you all, this is the club I love, the club I adore, the club I have tattooed on my hand for all to see with pride. 
I love this club, please just think when posting over the next few days, weeks in anger, myself, the moderators, we do not deserve to be on the end of your anger or frustration.
Today is a dark day for the club, but as fans, we need to to stick together. We are Derby County, every one of us and we will move forward as one.
Once a ram, always a ram ?

Can't wait for We Are Derby episode 3. Should be a tasty one

Nothing especially original to add but just open-mouthed at this decision. I never liked the big spending but I did respect Mel at the time for seemingly funding it - never foresaw a situation where 'one of our own' would stick us into administration though & the decisions he took then are now seen through a very different perspective.
Pretty telling the club statement mentions June 2019 as being the point where he was looking for a buyer. Smacks very much of 18/19 being a 'death or glory' punt after which he wanted out - very poor behaviour indeed as no proper investor/buyer was going to be interested in the club after such an expensive season with no legacy & plenty of FFP strain. He then exacerbated this by bringing in Rooney, making a mess of the Keogh dismissal & like many poorly run businesses, was vulnerable to a major event like Covid to bring everything to a head.
Obviously a lot of anger quite rightly aimed at Mel but my disdain for the EFL just dropped to the floor - a disgrace to the traditions of the world's oldest professional league & utterly unfit for purpose. Its high time the Government's Department for Culture, Media & Sport opened an inquiry into their management of the League & their suitability for continuing in that role - not just our experience but their already disgusting track record as evidenced by Wigan, Bury & Macclesfield. Their weasel statement about us 'not meeting the criteria' for an emergency loan facility that every other club in our division was given access to was utterly contemptable & entirely predictable.
What next? Well, I would imagine Rooney will be leaving at some point in the next 7 days - either in disgust or in agreement with the administrators. Then a zombie season knowing what our fate on the field is going to be whilst desperately scrambling for a new owner before January - will a new owner want to buy now or towards the back end of the season knowing there's no point funding a loss making club destined to go down? From a cold, calculating perspective I think buyers may keep their powder dry for a few months
And what of us, the fans? Firstly, lets show our defiance by continuing the vocal support we've enjoyed this season - whatever we suffer off the field, they can't silence us at the matches. Secondly, there may be some talk of Supporters Trust looking to buy out the club - please don't close minds to this. I've got no experience of dealing with Ramstrust but now is the time to put aside historical differences & consider how we can move out of these cycles of boom & bust. I'm convinced its a viable option.
Finally, its been a terrible evening but we will come back from this. In whatever form, whenever it is - keep the faith. COYR ?

Really irritates me that Gibson throwing his toys out his pram has ultimately cost us a takeover and resulted in hard working people behind the scenes losing their jobs.
Then football in general, the big 6 nearly destroyed english football bit have got away with it, we try to get promotion and overspend & get punished by a governing body who should be there to help & support their members not seek & destroy them.
Then finally, teams who got lucky & got promoted whilst breaching P&S/FFP get away with it as do the likes of the deals between Watford/Udinese & Forest/Olympiakos which clearly are done to get around the rules

The amount of people who must have been lied to during this whole façade that's gone on for what now? 18 months or more? It's staggering.
Fans, players, Cocu, Rooney. I feel sorry for each and every one of them. We were painted the picture that the EFL were the enemy, they're the ones we have to blame, we're the victims. Yet we embarrass ourselves on a regular basis, drag our name through the mud, for what reason? To save face temporarily? To make Mel Morris and Stephen Pearce seem like good people, "one of the lads"?
In my opinion, both are completely odious who should be downright ashamed of themselves and any involvement they've had with this Club. I mentioned in another thread that a positive would be having the EFL off our backs and being able to start afresh without a knock-on effect in to next season in the third tier. Another huge benefit will be having these two gone from our Club, and I hope neither dare show their faces again.
I can appreciate good-intentions and effort that doesn't pay off, or naivety that has lead to mistakes. But to turn such a positive position in to something so catastrophic, and then try to blame anybody but themselves is cowardly and disgusting. This Club will go on without them and will be a far better place for it too, good riddance.

I find it utterly insulting this part ''We cannot stress enough how devastating it is to be forced into this position. We all – the owner, the members of the board, and our staff – are true Derby County supporters.''. Get in the bin. You took a club in a wonderful position and you ran us into the ground. Bamfords. 

Never allow Mel Morris back into Pride Park again. ''Fan'', yeah right. Ego trip. 

Protest tomorrow then
Don't care that he's kindly requested we don't. This is pathetic work by a directorship of millionaires to refuse to finance the club

According to Mel it’s everyone else’s fault but his, remember when he threatened to stop funding the club if the fans protested against him.
I hope he doesn’t dare show his face in the city let alone the club again 

Lost for words. How a supporter of the club can let this happen is beyond me. Understand the EFL has an equal measure of blame, but the club is in the worst position its ever been in. If there isn't a communication from the club before tomorrow, I expect there to be trouble at PP before kick-off. Can't imagine Mel will want to show his face.

You get to your seat and remove your mask.
Then thousands of people surround you and shout, sing and cheer ( unless you're in the West stand ) 
What's the point in wearing the mask in the first place?

say what you like about Rooney but he has this team playing for him that is 100% sure...brilliant..

I would guess - given that the quote hasn't been repeated anywhere since - that Sky actually know the same as the rest of us and the rest of the press - diddly squat.  They probably jumped the gun and presumed.
We were found not guilty of any wrongdoing re the stadium sale and have been punished with a fine for the accounting/amortisation issues so both matters are now closed and dealt with, or should be.  The only thing left is the financial results from accounts resubmitted and our performance against FFP targets (for which transgressions and punishment is clearly set out).
You would have thought that had we not resubmitted any accounts that we would have heard about that by now so I would guess that the resubmitted accounts probably either show that we failed FFP but we are arguing mitigation (the EFL let us go on using our amortisation method year after year without saying anything) or that we have resubmitted accounts that show we passed the FFP tests but the EFL don't agree how we have got to that result; or a bit of both.

Wrist slashers out in full force again.
Their two goals came from luck. The first a poor back pass, well saved by Roos who then saved the second but it fell to Hogan. The second, a lucky ricochet with a good finish.
We looked the more threatening going forward. Lawrence had two good attempts saved, which I actually think he should have done better with. The first especially as that was a neat passage of play with a poor finish at the end. 
Brum were hard to break down. But so were we. 
Special shout out to the ref who managed to give us 16+ free kicks and still went easy on Brum. Joke officiating again, least it didn't cost us a goal this time.

Wrist slashers out in full force again.
Their two goals came from luck. The first a poor back pass, well saved by Roos who then saved the second but it fell to Hogan. The second, a lucky ricochet with a good finish.
We looked the more threatening going forward. Lawrence had two good attempts saved, which I actually think he should have done better with. The first especially as that was a neat passage of play with a poor finish at the end. 
Brum were hard to break down. But so were we. 
Special shout out to the ref who managed to give us 16+ free kicks and still went easy on Brum. Joke officiating again, least it didn't cost us a goal this time.

Wrist slashers out in full force again.
Their two goals came from luck. The first a poor back pass, well saved by Roos who then saved the second but it fell to Hogan. The second, a lucky ricochet with a good finish.
We looked the more threatening going forward. Lawrence had two good attempts saved, which I actually think he should have done better with. The first especially as that was a neat passage of play with a poor finish at the end. 
Brum were hard to break down. But so were we. 
Special shout out to the ref who managed to give us 16+ free kicks and still went easy on Brum. Joke officiating again, least it didn't cost us a goal this time.

Wrist slashers out in full force again.
Their two goals came from luck. The first a poor back pass, well saved by Roos who then saved the second but it fell to Hogan. The second, a lucky ricochet with a good finish.
We looked the more threatening going forward. Lawrence had two good attempts saved, which I actually think he should have done better with. The first especially as that was a neat passage of play with a poor finish at the end. 
Brum were hard to break down. But so were we. 
Special shout out to the ref who managed to give us 16+ free kicks and still went easy on Brum. Joke officiating again, least it didn't cost us a goal this time.

Thank god that distraction is over and we can go back to talking about accountancy regs and whether Mel Morris is the messiah or just a very naughty boy.

And an established academy  along with 5 years of hope filled busting a gut to lift us up. It didn’t work, big mistakes have been made, his cash ran out. 
 
If Mel come to my house, I’d offer him a brew and a rueful shrug of the shoulders. .
. Maxwell or the Amigos ? Door slammed in face 

We should absolutely not just roll over and accept a points deduction for two reasons. One, because we haven't so far been found to have done anything to warrant it and two, we can't just let the EFL arbitrarily make up punishments on the fly because they are under pressure from other clubs. Taking that kind of conduct to it's logical conclusion potentially leads to all sorts of nonsense not just for DCFC but for every club in the pyramid down the line.

Here we go again the punctuation police are on Zzzzzz