Hector was the best

Agreed. I’d take Andy Appleby’s offer to help find a suitable buyer. He has the expertise, knowledge and contacts. Also experience of the competitive and regulatory environment of the English Championship. Plus an affection for DCFC. I’d put a lot of trust in any potential solution he put together. 

So sorry to hear this mate. I don't know where to begin, so I won't, other than to say I really hope you guys end the year in a better place. 

I thought 2020 was a tough year, 2021 has been absolutely mental so far.
5 weeks ago my brother-in-law committed suicide and then last week my wife lost our baby whilst 4 months pregnant and we spent a rough couple of days in hospital having to still give birth. Tough times.
I was at least hopeful Wayne Rooneys Rams would cheer me up slightly on the Saturday, but it wasnt to be.
My escapism has always been the Rams, but at the minute it's like going on holiday to Normanton to get away from it all.
 
 

No worries Curtains. 
We would definitely be better off financially being in the championship than league 1, there is no room for debate in that. 

Whatever happens, relegation or survival, he needs to be gone. I'm not sure I can stomach another Rooney-led Derby County for another year, along with more talk of financial instability and ownership issues. 

Because who has picked the people to spend his money? Mel. Who has picked the people to share club responsibilities with? Mel. I'm not sure who the other people that get to share the blame of ruining Mel and the Club are?

So sad for Morris but also sad for the club ,,, ultimately mel has to carry the can no matter how well intentioned ,the club has been brought to the brink of disaster and that’s the bottom line , the balance between profile raising of the club and solid football first decisions has been the downfall, mel wants out now so there is no saving his legacy/ reputation as Derby owner , he will be seen and remembered very negatively by the majority of fans ,, such a shame really as it could have been so so different ??‍♂️

I love my club Derby so much. 
And for me Mel has failed as chairmen, no need to get personnel about him i agree, been told he is a lovely man. But as owner of our great club he has failed, took us over as a club doing well, 6 years later down the line, after sacking far to many managers and talking rubbish, like the Derby way lol, wanting a team full of acamady lads, which is a tall order even for the top clubs, going into changing rooms, which is not and never should be his place of work, so yes for me Mel the fan has failed, hope he enjoys his retirement, and sees his beloved  club Derby back in the prem, and being looked after by our next owner. 

My view of his ownership is that he’s pumped in a lot of his own personal fortune and he clearly wants the club to succeed.
The problem is he’s made a number of very poor decisions.....critical decisions. Most recently the decision to bring in Rooney and the promote him to manager.
It’s a shame because I believe he’s a good guy, but his decision making has bought us to where we are now, teetering on the abyss!

Let me tell you I don’t want any talk of relegation anymore.
All these people saying so be it are talking carp 
Relegation would be a very bad thing for Derby IMO 
I refuse to countenance it 

His intentions initially were very good, he bankrolled us, especially during the summer of 2015 were everyone said whoever finishes ahead of us would be automatically promoted. The only snag was the PE teacher he appointed as our to quote “our Alex Ferguson”. Awful management appointments throughout and Wazza is the worst. 

That must have taken a lot of courage to post, @SaintRam. 

@SaintRam and @rynny, I am sure you will forgive me for not clicking 'like' on your responses. Doesn't seem appropriate, but I appreciate the responses.

thanks, but I was after some first-hand experience, not generic overviews.

Get 32red involved Mel and make Costa or sturridge our sponsored signing ??

Well if players are turning us down to join Sunderland, things aren’t boding well ?

Because my mate Mad Mick said they were Chinese, he is a lorry driver and gets about a bit so he knows a thing or two about foreigners, plus apparently 1 of them were wearing red socks so good enough for me.

Chinese Businessmen came for a tour around Derbyshire and visited Pride Park a while ago, but nothing ever came of that. If they watched the match last night i dont think we will ever see them again.

Nothing to say except “Brilliant Player”. Some players achieve “synonym” status in my mind where the name of the Club can be replaced by the name of a player which defines the Club: so great were Derby County in the ‘70s that they have 2:
Roy McFarland is one; Hec-tor...{said in Hugh Johns’ voice is the other}. 
 

The journey is nearing its end now so it was time to catch up with the big one, the man who was brought to derby in September 1966 to score goals, to get Derby in the big time ! That was by the then manager Tim ward, He played for the Rams for a total of 12 years, during which time they won the Football League First Division championship twice, the Football League Second Division championship and promotion to the First Division in 1969, and reached the semi-finals of the European Cup, FA Cup and the League Cup.
He left Derby for Vancouver Whitecaps and scored 15 goals for the Canadian outfit as they won the 1979 NASL title.
After his time in North America he rejoined Derby in the early 1980s.
He made a record 589 appearances for Derby in his two spells, 486 of which came in league games.
he scored 201 goals, second only to Steve Bloomer and missed only four league matches in seven seasons between 67 & 74, not a coincidence that these were our most successful years.
he didn’t say much but when he did everybody listened !
it is of course the king 
Kevin Hector was quality, I spent an hour and a half with him and we discussed all things Derby County, another really pleasant guy, funny and razor sharp with his memory ! 
More great stories, he didn’t really see eye to eye with Mr Clough but he didn’t need to, Cloughie couldn’t play his mind games with his top scorer.
still looks fit and well and enjoys his football, he is often to be found in the south stand, but he says it’s nothing to what the BBG was but we all know that.
another one sadly disgruntled with the way that the club view them, that has been the common core running through this journey, none of them feel valued by the club, yesterday’s men who no longer generate money for the club so left out to graze.
as I have said many times before they could surely be put to use by the club !
what a legend !
a king of kings !
king Kev !

O
 
Travelled overland independently by train, lots of snow around Banya Luka (October), but still arrived in good time at Mostar. Walked from the station to the ground in conversation (in French!) with a German, who recognised the Ram motif on my shoulder bag. Gateman at the ground was after Rams souvenirs when Stuart Webb arrived, we exchanged a few pleasantries, he showed his DCFC credentials and I was allowed in with him!  The team coach arrived shortly after and Alan Hill was struggling with the kit hamper across a pebbled area, so yes, just offered a hand to get it to the visitors dressing room. Most of the players had gone to have a look at the pitch, but David Nish followed us in. He had just moved into our village and had had conversations over the garden gate with my Dad, so that was a useful starting point until Zac arrived with his bit of typical Yorkshire forthright approach!
I bade my adieus, and walked out into the next room which happened to be the club bar, which, needless to say, was full of Bosnians and Serbs. My bag and rucksack singled me out as a Rams fan, and it was only seconds before I was besieged with more requests for Rams souvenirs. I had only two left when their inside forward Vidic, who had played in the first leg at Derby, came and sat down, and he ended up with a copy of the Football League Magazine which came out with the Rams programme.
Whilst waiting in the York Hotel outside the station for the train back home after the first leg, a tall smartly dressed individual wanted the phone, speaking in  reasonable English to the hotel staff, who of course had to get the call for him - in the 1970s it was necessary to wait for calls to be obtained to less popular international locations, in this case Mostar. I assumed that he was possibly the Mostar president or CEO perhaps, so in the bar I motioned to Vidic that I wanted to speak to the "President". He disappeared and duly returned with an ageing gentleman who was in fact the Club President. But the message had got across that we needed an interpreter, and shortly after the guy seen in Derby appeared. I recalled to him that I had seen him at the York, so we were well away! Drinks and food were provided gratis, courtesey of the club / President, and I could leave my rucksack there until after the game. The well dressed guy was the reporter for the local paper, and this was news, as Mostar had beaten one of the Moscow teams (? Spartak?) over two legs in the previous round, unbelievable for a town the size of Burton!
As it built towards kick-off, I made my way out to the Terraces, only to find that I was in the private part of the ground, with only a small three- step terrace which held about 20 people maximum! A programme seller appeared walking round the ground, the very guy who had been manning the gate earlier on. I called to him and rummaged in my shoulder bag for the last souvenir, one of those circular gold and dark blue DERBY COUNTY pin badges with a Ram in the centre - you might have one still, I haven't! I thought that offering it was an appropriate gesture to a guy who had been instrumental in what was turning out to be some totally unexpected "adventure", and he proudly pinned it on, safe in the knowledge that no one else had one!
The Rams of course lost 4-1, and it was almost dark as the firecrackers went of following their third and fourth goal, the latter a penalty against Colin Todd which was clearly ball-to-hand rather than the reverse, which the high profile and even more highly controversial Dutch referee, Charles Corver, duly gave.  (He was handing out photos of himself on the flight into Dubrovnik apparently - some ego!). Stuart Webb was beside himself at this unexpected setback, and on returning home made it clear that Derby would appeal against the firecrackers during the match, so I sent in some camera shots of them to him, and weeks later they were returned after the appeal had been turned down.
So, back to the bar, where the President came to commiserate - and celebrate that lightning did sometimes strike twice. In true English fashion I offered my congratulations, and eventually took my leave of them, reflecting, in spite of my disappointment, that I had witnessed what had been a momentous event in the history of this small club.
This must sound unusual to many of you, but the club is not like an English club. The dressing rooms and bar were part of what we would call a large two story club house, set back some 50 yards from the pitch and behind the goal. The directors / officials watched the games from easy chairs in a first floor "terraced room" with sliding -folding doors, looking out "onto all they surveyed". The 50 yards in between were flower beds with rose trees, neatly trimmed low privet hedges and a pebble path for the players to access the pitch. The opposite end was not spectator accommodation. The side nearest the road was terraced, and provided perhaps 15 steps the length of the ground, and the opposite side had 3 /4  steps of concrete terrace, with a small seated stand at the half way line. Beyond this, the (enclosed) hillside rose quite steeply into the far distance, and would have accommodated the population of the three East Midlands cities with ease.  Little did I know the horrific significance that this welcoming club was to play some 20 years later. During the dissolution of the old Yugoslavia, you may be aware of the subsequent ethic cleansing which took place: the Radavan Karadice saga / era, plus others.
That same pitch was used as a concentration site / camp for those unfortunate enough to be on "the wrong side"......
And no, I had no part at DCFC, I'm just a popside fan who took his chance when it came, this being the third "adventure" that being a Rams fan has brought my way. To me, DCFC has always been a Way of Life.
Thanks for reading - sorry if I bored you.

3 years back Leicester fans would not have dared to dream.
Just saying, never say never 

Hector seems to be the enigma of them all. Wonder why. 
How many 100s of goals. He should have a statue.
 

Im 58 years old and i want to meet kevin hector is it still allowed at my age to be star struck lol