Carl Sagan

Today was bitter-sweet in many ways, as I kept thinking of Daniel's pure, unadulterated joy on being part of this promotion day. 
Wonderful that the Club acknowledged his contribution,  and B4 will always be part of our heritage now.
🐏⚽️🐏⚽️🐏⚽️

On the train back to London reading this thread and getting weird looks because it's so emotional. And I'm so sorry he's not here to share it with us and say "I told you". He kept the faith when many of us doubted. Be more B4! 🐏🐏🐏🐏

On the train back to London reading this thread and getting weird looks because it's so emotional. And I'm so sorry he's not here to share it with us and say "I told you". He kept the faith when many of us doubted. Be more B4! 🐏🐏🐏🐏

Sat and cried my eyes out in the car on the drive when it was announced the sale of the club had gone through and we were saved. 
 
Was holding back the tears today. Felt so overwhelmed with emotions. 
what a day! 

On the train back to London reading this thread and getting weird looks because it's so emotional. And I'm so sorry he's not here to share it with us and say "I told you". He kept the faith when many of us doubted. Be more B4! 🐏🐏🐏🐏

I only found out it was happening about 30 seconds before. Lovely touch from the club. 

As a side note, some lovely words from @Owen87ITK too, to go along with that displayed message. Well done that man. A deserved and fitting tribute. 👏 

Respect

Oof. Why do messages to someone I’ve never met, from people I don’t know, and thanks from a sibling who is a stranger to me - make me sob like a child?! 
 
When the Rams are up this afternoon - this should be recorded as Daniel’s day forever more.
#bemoreB4 ❤️

I was at Belper Cinema tonight and the lady working there mentioned she used to work at Derbion Cinema.
I said you must know Daniel then. She smiled for half a second, remembered he had passed, then shed a tear. Within seconds she was smiling again but still with moist eyes.
She told us how positive, optimistic and lovely he was and how great he was at his job. He was her favourite workmate.
At this point I may have had some grit in my eye.
I think Daniel has made us all tearful as we smile at his memory and I dare say many of us will look to the sky at 2.30 tomorrow, with that same bit of grit in our eye.
I've never been so confident before a match in my life, as the very briefest thought of us not doing this for B4, hasn't once crossed my mind.
 
 

Good idea to go back to his old posts. Realised we were silly to think we’d only have one rallying cry. We had two before the Villa game at Wembley.
“Black and white warriors marching to wrembly”
Hey lads I can not any prounder of you last night you played with so much passion and fight you mind whole city pround of you. You have wroken up sleeping gaints of mighty Derby county togather as one to supporters to the players to frank we can all the way and have glory once more by winning the play offs.
Your going to have 36k of Derby fans with sea of black and white in wrembly to flag scarfs balloons and banners all over the stadium.
Togather we bleed black and white and the city is also black and white.
So come Derby we believe in you
Come on you rams
We believe.
“Go for glory go for it lads”
We are so close to that fairy tale ending by winning at wrembly this would pefect way for certain to say there goodbyes and leave as heros and legends and legends in the making but we as fans we really need to make wrembly so loud that whole nation take notice and think wow what support lets make whole of london know that Derby county are hear and we are sending our lads onto promation and back were we belong.

Big screen as well

My lad made me go on the pitch at the end. Glad he did - we’re were right next to this handsome beast.
 
 

So many thoughts and emotions at the moment.
I went into Derby to watch the huge, noisy, smoky crowd as they wended their way through the town. Flags galore and a positive, good-natured feel to the occasion. I was excited but dreadfully apprehensive about the final score. The energy from the crowd just had to lift the team and carry them over the line... surely? What could possibly go wrong?🤔
I listened to the match on Radio Derby. Once we had scored 2 goals I started to relax and enjoy the game a bit more.
When our lovely Max Bird went off I felt so proud of him, so sad to see him leave us and worried in case he was about to regret his decision to leave.
It wasn't one of our greatest games but it was bound to be a nervy game. Our opposition had nothing to play for and we had everything. Perhaps the players knew that if we won, their holidays in the sun had begun!
So sad that B4 wasn't with us physically to celebrate this wonderful party but I really hope that he is celebrating somewhere. I loved the 'Be More B4' displays round the ground. It reminded us of what a smashing guy he was.
I loved all the scenes of the players after the match, being carried on shoulders, celebrating with families. Their relief was palpable and so well deserved. Well done to them all for achieving this promotion and well done to every single member of staff connected with the club.
I felt proud of Paul Warne for what he has achieved. He is a nice guy and I like him. Whether or not he can take us all the way, I am grateful for what he has done so far, for his passion for the club and for his care of the players. I felt very happy for him today. He has brought a good ethos to our club which I'm sure was part of David Clowes plan.
After everything we have been through over the last 2 years, the sadness, the uncertainty, the anger, we have achieved promotion and tonight Derby fans will go to bed feeling very drunk, ecstatic, full of positivity for next season or may be apprehensive. I think our club is in good hands and I am so grateful for David Clowes for getting us to this place. He loves this club and I am so grateful and reassured that he will not take any risks with this club which he loves as much as we do.
Sleep well tonight, fellow rams. Like I said, it has been a day of so many emotions, but tonight is joyous and a time for some fizzy!! X
 
 
 
 

Summer window:
Curtis Nelson 8
Callum Elder 4
Joe Ward 6
Sonny Bradley 5
Josh Vickers 5
Kane Wilson 7
Martyn Waghorn 6
Conor Washington 5
Tyrese Fornah 4
Elliot Embleton 1
Ryan Nyambe 8
Tyreece John-Jules 6
Winter:
Ebou Adams 9
Dwight Gayle 8
Corey Blackett-Taylor 5
Max Bird* 6
*I've included Max, as I feel it was crucial we had him to the end of the season.
Extensions:
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing 8
Eiran Cashin 10
Jake Rooney 6

Carlisle at home, we had won the league, in the Normanton lower, I was 15. 0-0, all on the pitch. It was going to be relaid so I took a piece from the centre circle.  Went to school on the Monday and persuaded my teacher help me preserve it.  50 years later and despite me living all over the world I've still got it.  Magical times.

Not sure which ones to take…

Watched his first game - never been so happy after a 5-0 or 5-1 thrashing.
Still have my "Igor says Idemo Gore" ("we're going up" in Croatian) T-shirt from the Ramtique........choices, choices....it's that or the '96 Puma promotion shirt tomorrow 🤔

No, that was for the Baseball Ground!

I was expecting ‘we will fight them on the beaches…’
Crikes .😳😎

After 45 games it all comes down to this. Us or Bolton? The Rams the red hot favourites, with the best defence in the division playing the team bottom and long-since relegated. And needing only a draw. You can see why the bookies have us 1000/1 on but as a Derby fan I'm still nervous and feel it's going to be a long week.
Thrilled to be there. Will be thinking of Daniel who I never met, but who I exchanged posts with on this forum, and whose calls to arms I always loved. Will be remembering being at the BBG 49 years earlier to see the Rams lift the First Division title against Carlisle. Am with some of the same friends who came to the Derby Crystal Palace game with me, and we recreated Robbie van der Laan's header with on the pitch afterwards. Will be remembering the time Stephen Pearson scored his goal to send us into delirium at Wembley.
Will be thanking David Clowes for saving our club when all seemed lost. Darkest before the dawn. He deserves a fantastic day in which, yet again, and for only the third time in our history, Derby lift themselves out of the third tier after a two-season stint. But we have to do it first. Let's hope the players keep their eyes on the prize, backed all the way by long-suffering fans who do deserve some joy after the last few years.
Come on you Rams!
 

Why would he be given a full season in the Championship?
Every team in the bottom half of the Championship, Sunderland to Rotherham, have changed managers this season. Every one of those clubs sacked a manager.
If Derby are bottom three in the first half of the season and managers like Mowbray are floating about unemployed, there will be huge pressure to get rid.
Sentiment goes out the window. If managers like Nigel Adkins can be sacked after taking Southampton from League One to the PL in favor of a better, more progressive manager, then Derby would be foolish not to follow suite.
Derby have struggled before under Clough and Burley at Championship level. But in both spells there was hope due to how we played.
If results go against Warne and we’re playing unattractive defensive football, I think Clowes’ hand will be forced.

After 45 games it all comes down to this. Us or Bolton? The Rams the red hot favourites, with the best defence in the division playing the team bottom and long-since relegated. And needing only a draw. You can see why the bookies have us 1000/1 on but as a Derby fan I'm still nervous and feel it's going to be a long week.
Thrilled to be there. Will be thinking of Daniel who I never met, but who I exchanged posts with on this forum, and whose calls to arms I always loved. Will be remembering being at the BBG 49 years earlier to see the Rams lift the First Division title against Carlisle. Am with some of the same friends who came to the Derby Crystal Palace game with me, and we recreated Robbie van der Laan's header with on the pitch afterwards. Will be remembering the time Stephen Pearson scored his goal to send us into delirium at Wembley.
Will be thanking David Clowes for saving our club when all seemed lost. Darkest before the dawn. He deserves a fantastic day in which, yet again, and for only the third time in our history, Derby lift themselves out of the third tier after a two-season stint. But we have to do it first. Let's hope the players keep their eyes on the prize, backed all the way by long-suffering fans who do deserve some joy after the last few years.
Come on you Rams!
 

As we approach the Carlisle game, I wonder what Warne will say to the players? I'm reminded of this fantastic pre-match speech to his Rotherham team. This is the best of Paul Warne. Expect we'll see it on Saturday: