richinspain

I'm in, if only for the breakfasts!

A lot won't know who he is, and some may not know who Tim Ward is, but I think it deserves a mention. Sadly, Andrew passed away recently after a battle against cancer and dementia. He had already won a previous battle against cancer.
 
Tim Ward was one of Derby's greatest players. Signing for the Rams just before the outbreak of war, and missing the Cup Final because of national duty. His time in Germany saw him miss all but one game of Derby's 1946 FA Cup campaign. He played 238 times for us, and also gained two England caps as a right-half. He later left to play for Barnsley. His managerial career started oddly, having been appointed manager at Exeter. However, Barnsley had not released him and appointed him their manager eight days later. He won promotion for them from the Third Division and was there for eight seasons. He then managed Grimsby and got them out of the Third Division. For five years he was Derby's manager, signed Kevin Hector, and a lot of the team that went on to gain promotion under Clough: Durban, Webster, Boulton and Daniel. After a short stint as Carlisle manager he is to thank for the Ex-Rams charity matches, and the formation of the Derby County Former Player's Association in 1991.
 
Where does Andrew fit into this. Well he was an accomplished author, and he co-authored The Derby County Story with Anton Rippon in 1983. It was hugely successful and following soon was the Derby County Complete Record and the success of Breedon Books, whose importance to the world of football publishing cannot be ignored.
 
 
 
 

Its just as feasible that without the forensic investigation into amortisation Morris may well have been able to get his sale sorted without the need for administration.
We'd breached no rules with the ground and the EFL were happy with the players amortisation.
It was Gibson's hypocrisy over the stadium (he once shifted debts from his football club to another branch of his business empire) and Maguire's choice to go after Derby on a very minor point that had never been queried by the EFL, that forced Parry to use us as an example.
Morris was always going to be a target for threatening to upset the apple cart over TV rights. He was too arrogant to believe they could do him, but the establishment always closes ranks in the end.
Yes, its all down to Morris for pushing the limits, but I'm pretty sure that many other clubs would be dragged down if they received the type of in-depth scrutiny that we had.
 

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

The EFL could always impose new rules and embargoes on Everton to keep them in the EFL for longer!
How's this one for a starter - "You wear blue and white, which were DCFC's colours in their most successful period, so take a minus 10 point penalty and a transfer embargo where you can only pay a player £3,50 a week including the ones currently under contract".

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

I would be rather disappointed if Everton came down because it would present a big club for the EFL to drool over. The two clubs most likely to go up aren't very marketable whereas Everton will be a huge draw for them and Sky every week.
If we think the love-in with Fulham has been sickening this season, imagine what it will be like with Everton!

No chance.  They crapped their pants in case it opened the floodgates to more claims so ignored it.

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

Nice little story about Chris Martin from yesterday.
He had promised one of our really regular fans a signed shirt just before lockdown. Life took over and he was subsequently transferred out without seeing her again.
She stopped behind to see him earlier in the season away at Bristol City away and mid conversation he recalled about the shirt.
Knowing he would probably see her again yesterday, he brought the signed Derby shirt, which he'd obviously saved, with him to give to her. Genuinely nice bloke.

Oh, I'm 100% sure of that. After all, they couldn't say in public how hard they were going to try to make an example of DCFC, and in particular Mel Morris.
However, to say that they had no knowledge of Gibson's actual claims is just ludicrous in my opinion. To repeat it several times over several months is trying to escape personal blame in my opinion. Why couldn't they know what the claims were but still feel that they should be dealt with by their procedures, even if they knew that the claims were dubious at best?
DCFC/MM are far from faultless in what has happened recently to the club, but the EFL have in no way helped us because of their own spineless actions.

To be strictly accurate, it was deemed appropriate by one Tribunal that included an Accountancy expert, but ruled innappropriate on appeal by a second tribunal that didn't include an Accountancy expert. The EFL's designated method of player amortisation was NOT set out in their rules. The fact that DCFC were ultimately found "guilty" can't be disputed, but the assertion that "rules were broken" is patently and demonstrably untrue. 
It is what it is now, the repercussions have been catastrophic for DCFC and our fans and creditors, but let's not pretend that this was an open and shut case of "rule breaking" or that there weren't other factors involved in the EFL's pursuit of DCFC through the disciplinary process. 
Morris' reckless spending and catastrophic financial management has ultimately led us to this point, but I doubt that the EFL’s case would have stood up in a court of law. 

EFL only changed their rules in February. There was no reason to believe the amortisation method was against the rules at the time and certainly no reason to believe the EFL would challenge it retrospectively three years after it was introduced.

I don't think the amortisation method was a good idea becasue of the risk that we would have to write players values down sharply at the end of contracts. but there was no reason to believe it was against the rules especially as the auditors and the EFL signed off on it.

He didn't break any rules though?

That's because they were coming up to the Supporters Club do. Every last one of them were there, plus a good number of 23s and all the coaching staff.