Rambling

Honestly mate, that brought a lump to my throat. That’s sportsmanship and team spirit. Then Didsy returned the favour. You can’t buy that or teach it. Collins Volley at the near post deserved a goal too. He couldn’t buy one at that point but this is a team. Everyone is battling as a unit, egos are a step back . It’s a joy to watch. Loved NML’s touch for Didsy second .. it would have been so easy to bang it at the side netting and hold your head in your hands .. but he passed it and made that goal possible. 

It's a pity that the highlights also didn't show Dobbin's 'tekkers' move on the touchline that left the Morecambe RB looking in the wrong direction. He had the poor guy on toast yesterday and deserved a goal. If he starts scoring too, we'll walk into 2nd place.

Pah - I bet Derby now sign a player with the surname Black to appease the politically correct brigade

Here is Paul's interview with Radio Derby. Dom let himself down a bit at the end there, saying there were only 4,000 of us on the march, but otherwise a good listen - with some potentially scary stuff about what might happen player-wise if we don't get promoted! 
 

Wow what a night!! My voice has only just recovered. Amazed my limbs are intact. Incredible scenes!! Nights like that are why it’s all worth it. Yes it’s only port vale but we’re in a situation where we need to win every game if we have any hope of chasing down the top 2. Last night was massive! 
It was also deserved, thought we were poor first half but we’d started well in the second, were completely on top and then got done on the counter. Wed missed some outstanding chances (Barkhuizen twice, Dobbin, Hourihane) but kept plugging away and made it happen with two brilliant goals when we thought it was going to be one of those nights. I don’t know about anyone else but as soon as we equalised I thought we would get the winner, it seemed inevitable.
Something special is building here, we took the team to our hearts last season, and we’re doing it again this season not in adversity but in hope, belief and a genuine mutual love and desire for Derby to do well.
It’s great being a Ram right now!! ?

I think the three days off before the West Ham match sounds excellent man management. Warne saying stuff like:
"They need it. They're physically beat really. That gives us two days prep to go into a game not as a favourite I think ... to keep pulling out performances game on game is mentally tough. And I just think they can go into the West Ham game whoever I select and enjoy it for what it is."
From the DT piece: https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/paul-warnes-brilliant-derby-county-8070766

1Wildsmith 7.5 Made several reliable saves and always looked composed. Not at fault for the goal although unlucky to parry into the path for their chap to slot home. Got an extra ½ for sprinting 80 yards in 4.3 seconds to join the celebratory scrum. 
12Smith 7.5 Faultless defending and a regular provider of service down the right to M-L and Knight. 
33Davies 6.0 Retreated from their chap who advanced to score what became the goal when he should have faced him up; otherwise moments of pure class including a steam train of a block/tackle on their front man.  
3Forsyth 8.0 That pass through the eye of a needle to Dobbin that produced the 1v1 was George Thorn-esque. Also had a good right-foot shot saved and looked every bit the consummate professional footballer. 
15Roberts 6.5 Vale got lots of joy down their right hand side relating to our formation but Roberts kept chugging away.
22 Springett 7.5 The guy is a greyhound who devours yardage in split seconds; sometimes the most seemingly innocuous thing you do on a football pitch creates the "butterfly effect" - Springett prevents the ball from going out with a slide and hook of grace, and 5 seconds later 4,000 Rams in pandemonium. Not for the want of keeping the ball in was this game lost.   
4Hourihane 7 Great skill and deft touch early doors to set McDick up; visibly waned on a heavy,energy-draining pitch.    
18 Dobbin 9 MoTM A game of 2 halves Brian - came on and from one perspective should/could have had 4 goals; poked 2 wide, hit the bar and thwarted by their keeper on the other; from the other perspective 2 match-winning assists by streaking past groups of defenders and put across 2 inch-precise low crosses for the goals. Phenomenal balance at speed and superb application and head-uppery when others would have been crest-fallen. 
8Bird  8 The shiny, stainless steel cog at the heart of the machine turning all the other cogs and making the machine run to time.
11Mendez-Laing 8 That finish. The speed of movement. The blur of brilliance. 
38Knight 8 The Irish thoroughbred with no off switch; Got through the work of 2 players on a life-sapping puddin' of a pitch. 
7Barkhuizen 7 Great early craft creating opportunity early doors.  
Collins 7.5 Late-ish sub and lots of pulling their defenders out of shape and physical box-presence to re-kindle the team's final push. 
10McGoldrick Oh-So sweet feet stroking home & a little grin and word for the grounded centre-half was a nice little back-story to behold.
Rooney 6 2 minutes to muddy his boots. 
Superb night; cup-tie style; a never-forgettable explosion of joy with all the ingredients that make football so very special and 4,000 fellow Rams united in voluminous rapture. 
 

Haven't the club already been punished enough, with relegation, demolition of the academy and restrictions on spending regardless of income? Remember DC is a new owner with no connections to those who committed the offences.
The ban on spending money on transfer fees has no merit whatsoever regarding the future stability of the club, it can only be detrimental, if anything.

Just watching game again….just realised Wildsmith ran whole length of pitch to celebrate second. Class

At least Bolton didn’t just put 10 men behind the ball and time waste all game unlike most teams at PP

Without stating the bleed1ng obvious. Warne has got us where we are with a fully inherited team. We are all aware that in the Jan window we can only get freebies and loans, where as others can spend. So what Warne has will be the pick of those who do not have a team.
What Warne does have is a team of bandits/ dirty dozen built by Rosenior who managed to get a good few players he should have had no right to persuade to play in league one.
We are playing good football and moving in the right direction. This will help when trying to talk those players who are available and think they are still at championship level, to drop into league one and get on the might Rams rolling band wagon.
 
Top 2 would seem a long way off, but I for one would have taken a top six place this time last year, hell I would have just been happy with still being a football club. 
 
COYR

Last season saw the unity of both club and supporters like we’ve never seen before or certainly not for a long time. 
 
We’ve carried it into this season and I believe this is one of the reasons we’re in 4th place. 
 
There’s not many clubs that could go through what we have and come out as strong as what we have. 
 
Imagine the feeling if we get back into The Championship in the first attempt. 

Cheltenham away was the 81st ground where I have seen Derby play. My first match at the Baseball Ground was in 1966 aged 8 when my Father and Grandfather took me. First away game was Villa Park in 1968/69 during Clough and Taylors promotion season. Cheltenham's ground made me feel I was back in the 60's again (how lucky we are with Pride Park).
I stood behind the Derby dugout yesterday and loved it when Paul Warne popped round the side of the dugout and exchanged some jovial banter with the Cheltenham fans behind him. All in the best possible taste and another throw back to the good old days. How many grounds could that happen at nowadays ?
Finally, I don't think I have ever witnessed home fans applaud an away goal in the way the Cheltenham fans around me did with Birdy's screamer. A sporting response from football supporters very rarely seen in the modern game.
A great day yesterday but back to the 21st century next week against Bolton.

Home improvements? No I was going to but decided to shelve that. 

We weren’t the last time we were in the third division but John Gregory gave us some quality - it’s just a grind to get out of this division 

Good save from Wildsmith after time was up and ref let Bolton have one last chance

Good result and performance for the large parts of the game. 
Seems that warne has when, forced into  putting square pegs into round holes he also added a bit of sand paper. With a bit of work they do the job. Doesn't look like it should but, works in an ok fashion. 
Sibley was great today with his forward game and then tracking back to make cover tackles. 
Smith has equally adapted to his rb role. 
Fozzy has looked confident alongside Cashin who was very dominant today. 
Have a sad feeling that we may be losing Knight. Should be starting in this team and with the performance today from the bench would start much further up in leagues. Can we offer him a new contract on the money he deserves, I doubt it. Will have to sell in January or he will go for nothing really. 
If a right back is brought in then that frees up smith to challenge for the midfield role if needed. 
Warne has got this team organized with flashes of brilliance. Obviously mcgoldrick takes all the plaudits with his deft touches and clever play, rightly so but, Nathaniel is a real handful as is Collins. 
Positive signs for the remainder of the season I think. Not since rowett have we been difficult to beat but by playing better football. 
Merry Christmas to all Rams fans and a happy New Year. 

As well as illness FGR have their two big scorers from last season returning from injury. Matt came on as a sub but clearly not fully fit and Stevens didn't get on, again not fully fit. Their best winger was out of contract and went to Barnsley close season and their manager was poached by Watford (and typically sacked shortly afterwards.)
They are a small but honest club located in the middle of nowhere who I have a lot of time for. 
I felt for them today.
We were good, if not quite at our best, and the gulf in class was obvious. But they didn't resort to kicking and cheating tactics, as many other teams have done. 
I hope they find their feet and enjoy the rest of their season (one more  game against us excepted!)

Their manager was very honest in his post match interview..said we were very good and probably deserved to win by more.
Sounds like they have had illness in the team, the guy subbed at HT was ill even today but wanted to play. Hopefully not a bug that they could pass to our wafer thin squad.
 

I’m top left…..

En route to L’pool #1: Burton Bridge Festival Ale 

Paul McGrath.