Carl Sagan

Seemed a no brainer we should have bought him 8 or 9 years ago. Obviously it's a no now. 

On 09/05/2024 at 17:53, TuffLuff said:

Where have all the good deals gone?

Currently in the middle of Scotland on a break and coming back to mid England tomorrow but was hoping to have a stop about halfway around Northumberland or into the North Yorkshire (got a toddler, it’s given decent weather, slight extension to holiday) but I can’t find anything for under £100.

Swear at one time you’d even be able to get someone’s back room for £30 but this doesn’t seem to exist anymore or something cheap at the last minute and it seems impossible. 

Might be a case of getting somewhere and going round a few hotels with vacancies or is their a secret website that hotels sell off their unsold rooms

An app that claims it does on-the-day hotel rooms wanting selling off is Hotel Tonight. Not used it forever, but checked just now and was surprised how cheap the rooms around me in central London are for the evening. Maybe worth a look? 

https://txt.htltn.com/

3 hours ago, 1of4 said:

Well that was a nil points performance by the UK.

Nil points from the public vote across Europe. Deserved. Terrible staging. What were they thinking? 

Hoping he makes the team, it's Dajaune Brown's Wembley final today in the FA Trophy, for Gateshead vs Solihull Moors. With apologies to @ram59, it would be brilliant if the lad can return to Derby with a winner's medal and a few goals. 4.15pm kickoff.

1 hour ago, G STAR RAM said:

What is this understanding based on out of interest?

Purely reading posts on here that have delved into our accounts, adding next season's TV money and what Clowes has apparently said he is prepared to contribute. IIRC we came out 12th. No idea where to point you too, sorry. 

6 hours ago, Jram said:

Would John-Jules resign do you think? Absolutely class player if he can stay fit 

5 hours ago, Ram1988 said:

Woule need to be a contract based on his fitness for me. He is a real talent no doubt about that.

Exactly what @Ram1988says. You cannot give the potentially brilliant John-Jules a contract unless it's based on appearances. I would love that to happen as I think he is the potential game-changer, but he has spent almost his whole career injured.

Hopefully he liked the club enough to go with this. Amazed if there are people prepared to gamble on a standard contract, but on the other hand there are desperate clubs with money... 

1 hour ago, therealhantsram said:

After this afternoon's shenanigans I do wonder if the Dutch will win?

Fill us in. What's been going on? 

Once upon a time I wrote the script for Junior Eurovision for ITV! Music should bring people together not divide them. People shouldn't be hating on a 20 year old young woman for nothing she's done, and I hope she's able to sing her heart out, like all the other competitors.

This year should be about a celebration of ABBA, 50 years on, while jumping around the room to Baby Lasagna who will win the contest by a landslide, deservedly so (maybe with Igor and Aljosa cheering them on):

The very first away game I went to on my own was Hillsborough. Think it was second division, they were at the top and we were near the bottom, and no one had much hope. We drew 0-0. Looking it up it was 7th March 1981. 

Standing behind the goal, for a long time we sang You'll Never Walk Alone. It was spiritual. Forever etched in my memory. 

Not for me - we should be signing Thierry Big!

1 hour ago, Van der MoodHoover said:

Am I the only one expecting our recruitment to be a bit more open minded than players from teams not quite good enough to get out of league 1?

 

Or Rotherham?

I would like to think you're right, but remain to be convinced. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating. I had a lovely golden syrup sponge with custard the other day... 

35 minutes ago, Animal is a Ram said:

Absolutely, but that's not what I'm saying.

I'm saying it because our budget simply won't match the relegated clubs with 'chute payments. We also aren't going to be throwing around silly contracts.

My understanding is we will be "mid-table" in terms of Championship budgets. If we believe in our manager and recruitment team, we should finish above there. If they're below par we'll end up bottom half. Or if there is no better indicator of final position than player salaries (quite possibly true) then we'll likely finish mid-table. 

But from mid-table upwards I think it's right to think of us as an upper Championship club. Yes half a dozen teams will have *much* bigger budgets - but some of those will be destabilized by Premier League relegation. Take the fight to the division! Sell the Derby County dream to some players - as Rosenior managed with his League One signings. 

28 minutes ago, swadieram said:

Allways remember Tony Adams being sent off 

rams crowd singing “ where’s your donkey gone “

4 minutes ago, Gee SCREAMER !! said:

I remember that.

Me too (oddly stays with us all it seems) but didn't we also sing it when he was in the nick for drink driving? 

And how has no one yet said "Silvery Moon" or is that too clichéd? 

By the light

[By the light by the light] 

8 hours ago, Animal is a Ram said:

Not a snowball in Dante's Inferno's chance.

He goes to a lower Prem/upper Champ club.

I don't get comments like this. There's no reason to think we shouldn't be considered an upper Championship club.

We're not here to feed off scraps and be a Rotherham, trying to stave off relegation. We will be up with Leeds and Sunderland as the best supported club, with some of the best facilities. 

I want us to do our business quickly, not be waiting for the end of the window. The window opens for us on June 10th and it would be great if we have players signed up and agreed by then, or at some point in the first week (the Premier League one opens on the 14th).

For players we want to buy, we give them a cut off date and, if they don't agree, walk away and move to other targets.

The only ones we should inevitably be waiting for at the end of the window are the Premier League loans, which are a whole other kettle of fish.

4 hours ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Based on Opta stats, Johansson prevented 4.3 goals. Wildsmith prevented 0.9 and Vickers -2.0

Is that per game or over an entire season? Even if over a season, it confirms my view we were lucky Vickers got injured when he did, as the team desperately needed Wildsmith back in and Warne was not going to make that switch. If it's per game, the Rotherham defence must have been the worst in history!

7 minutes ago, Eoghan1884 said:

I can’t see with our small budget how spending 1.5 million 32 year old who’ll want major wages would make sense. His wages and that fee could easily be spread into 3 players to bolster the squad and players with a potential sell on value will be more so what we’re looking at I’d imagine.

Euros not pounds. About £1.25m, so not far off what many people want us to spend on a new keeper who conceded 87 goals in the league last season.

26 minutes ago, Srg said:

Very narrow-minded way of looking at transfers. You’re not considering anything to do with reputation or wages. This guy has been at Dortmund and has been a consistent international footballer. 

Bizarre comment. Clearly the teams he's with think he can't play that level anymore and has only been used sparingly by Anderlecht this season. There is much more money to be had in the English leagues than across the continent. Get rewarded well, play in front of full houses and far more people than at Anderlecht every week. With the chance to build a reputation in England, the home of football, and the gateway to the Premier League. And reputedly a man of great character - just the sort of leader we should be looking for at the next level.

Thomas Delaney (Danish international midfielder) only has a year on his Sevilla contract left and they don't want him. He spent last season on loan at Anderlecht, with an option to buy for 3 million Euros, but reportedly the Spaniards are now ready to take 1.5 million: https://www.anderlecht-online.be/en/article/232104

He's 32 years old but could be the central midfield leader we need to make a difference. He's got American citizenship through his dad so I imagine would be comfortable in an English-speaking environment. 

It's laughable that Cardiff want half a million pounds for Ebou, but for just over twice as much we could maybe buy someone like this.

19 hours ago, Bris Vegas said:

Do they have a lot of potential being a southern club? Can’t say I’m familiar with Wycombe and its surrounding areas.

If you are a billionaire, and want to put money into a club, I see Charlton as a prime opportunity. London club, 27k stadium but looks like it could expand to higher.

Top players want to play in London. It’s the only reason the likes of Palace and Fulham are comfortable PL clubs. If they were located in the midlands they would be lower Championship clubs.

I think this must be a major factor. High Wycombe is very well connected to London, just 20 miles from Windsor and 30 miles from central London, and almost counts as a London club nowadays. If you're a billionaire owner and a multimillionaire player, you might well prefer picking somewhere in the affluent Thames Valley west of London, rather than go south of the river to places like Charlton/Palace/Millwall. 

According to the Beeb, Julen Lopetegui has agreed to replace David Moyes at the end of the season.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c88zm0y5jnpo

A horrid time for it to come out, presuming it's true. And where will David Moyes go next? Clubs can't resist rolling the dice, but West Ham are in a very strong position with their huge ground that we all paid for, located in lovely London (which is a big draw for overseas talent). Yet they haven't quite made the breakthrough into the Premier League's elite.

2 hours ago, 1of4 said:

When I reflect back on the season, this is the most pleasing thing. The number of players that contributed to our goal total was fantastic.

One of the concerns before the season was how we were going to replace McGoldrick's goals. It was the biggest cloud on the horizon, but I'm always happier when the goals come from all over the pitch, rather than just one source. Well done to everyone for stepping up. But it helps to have a prolific striker, so well done also to James Collins who showed why he has scored so many in his career, and proved himself a leader and figurehead.

Apparently, we would be a good fit:

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bosun-lawal-celtic-derby-transfer-9257695

Couldn't think of a thread to put this in, but expect there's many who'd like to see it. And even have it running on a loop! For our delectation, the club have posted every goal of the season:

Enjoy!

2 hours ago, JPRamFan said:

Will Growett 🐍 his way to a championship club? Will Buchanan's agent be working 24 hours around the clock to get him out of Birmingham? 

Hadn't realized he'd gone back there. Hilarious! Though (google is my friend) I see it was only as a temporary replacement for Mowbray, and won't be continued anyway.