Wsm-ram

It’s much closer than I’d like, but the most important thing is it’s still in our own hands.
COYR

Probably the best away support I’ve seen at Fratton park this season. Draw was probably a fair result and I’d have taken that if you offered it to me before the game.
 
Safe journey back gents if you’re heading back tonight. I have a four hour plus drive to Norfolk now 🤣🙊. 

a tad frustrated that we lost a lead twice... but no way is a draw a bad result.  
A cracking first half as a spectacle, and an almost classic away holding job second half.  Nervy throughout, and kind of relieved in the end.
If I'd have read the script before kick off, and new the outcome, it would have got a massive thumbs up from me. We may not have strictly played for a draw, but that draw may be the point that takes us over the line.
A very, very good night.
Well done, Super Rams.
 

Even if we won tonight, Pompey to beat Bolton all day long!
I really couldn't care less about catching Portsmouth, I guarantee you that come around 14:30 on Saturday 27th April, if we are sitting in 2nd place, not one single part of me will be disappointed we didn't win the league.
Get us up, get us out of this league, 2nd will be perfect thank you.

Great point, despite losing the leads. I'll take that all day long.

Hi Rams fans,
Have been following your forum for a wee while and thought I'd stick my nose in.
Registering took a while but I got there in the end, so.
To quote Neil Young, 'Tonight's The Night'. I guess tonight's game isn't pivotal, but things might be a little clearer..
Last night's results didn't help either of our clubs, in the end it's in our own hands.
Main reason for joining Rams board is the family split that exists....I am Pompey, my son is Derby., He and I have had
little contact due to past ructions between his mum and I...Last time I saw him he was a part time Celtic fan. (He was
born in Scotland, where I lived and was married for some 20 years. I took him to see a couple of Pompey games but
he wasn't impressed, took him to my school where I was a goalie...unimpressed. It was only when my ex remarried that
the Rams bug seemed to bite. Dunno if picture will show on this thread.
Tonight will be interesting, even if it's a dull game. A draw would suit us fine and I have to say that our final games fill
me with some dread. We had a 'blip' earlier in the season and recovered. This time, any blip will not be recoverable.
I have followed Pompey for over 55 years (youngsters refuse to believe me when I tell them we have an innate ability
to mess up just as we're about to cross finishing line. (I guess this is what attracted me to Hearts when in Edinburgh,
very similar ground, fan base and fatal flaws!) How you can beat us....classified I'm afraid but we have some very obvious 
weaknesses you can exploit. Don't go into game looking for a point, teams that have done well at Fratton have come out
and taken game to us.
Why are we top of the league? Many fans mutter 'They're nothing special..have seen much better' These fans are often right.
Many of our performances have been sub-optimal BUT the one aspect that has run through most games is a newfound
belief that, even if we o 0-2 down, the situation is recoverable. Games last 95 minutes or so these days...we manage to keep
believing the situation is retrievable. It's this that has sent us to the top...plus a pretty stingy defence, a creative midfield
and strikers who, on their day can tear any League One side to shreds. Last game against Wycombe their left back wanted
to go off suffering from 'twisted blood'. (Gag borrowed from Man Utd, George Best joke.) On their day, Kamara and Yengi,
supported by Bishop and Saydee are a real handful.
Lat night's results went pretty much according to form but previous games have shown all the maths and super computers
in the world simply cannot predict what will actually happen.
I hope you guys go up....Derby are a 'proper' club, part of the game's history BUT...so are we. Nobody has a divine right to be
'top of the tree'.....Anyone else remember the hushed tones from tv pundits when the mighty Man Utd were relegated?
It was as if there had been a death in the family.
Treat both success and failure as imposters....keep supporting your club. Good luck to all Rams making the journey down..
I see a few travelled down over the weekend and have already sampled some of our local beers.
All the best Rams...., Nick 
 
 

Great interview with Ebou Adams talking about Derby County, his faith, Ramadan. Four o'clock was his last meal. No food or water since. Wonderful attitude and discipline. Fully deserves MOTM.

Oh and special mention to THAT linesman.
You tried and still failed!

THAT win against Bolton seems even more significant now!
COYR!

Pride Park: Friday March 29th - 15.00 Kick Off
Friday night we get a chance to eradicate the bad dream that was Northampton away, but I think we've ridden our luck a little longer than just the last game and we simply must deliver a performance, or we risk succumbing to the lottery that is the play-offs. It's a sobering prospect by any measure. As it stands, we remain masters of our own fate, but potentially only by a single point and GD. Suffice to say, we can ill afford any further slip ups, or the chasers will be on us. 
On paper, this is a tougher game than the last one, with Blackpool having notched wins against Bolton, Peterborough and Shrewsbury as well as a draw against league leaders Pompey in their last 10 league games. Chief goal threat would be Jordan Rhodes who has notched 15 this season, with Jake Beesley and Karamoko Dembélé chipping in with 8 amd 7 respectively. Dembélé also has a very respectable 11 assists, with CJ Hamilton next best with 7 for the season to date. Keeping those two quiet might be key.
Squad News: Injury report might perhaps be a better heading! With Nate now joining an ever-growing list of crocked players, it's safe to say that having had a pretty healthy squad a mere few weeks back, we're bang in trouble again on that front and we'll need to marshal resources in a clever and effective manner if we are to get anything from this game. We are told that the one good piece of news on this front currently is that Collo may play a part, but whilst the man's a Spartan, he'll surely not be sharp enough to start. 
A last thought, until we have more news on who is actually fit enough to play, would be that while I want us to beat Blackpool, I do recall their kindness and solidarity during our troubled recent past. They're a proper club with a proper set of fans and I hope we make them as welcome at our place as they always seem to make us at theirs. 
May the best team win, but may that team be Derby, please! 
COYR
BEMOREB4

I struggle to remember a time I’ve been so incensed by a performance or a result. I feel absolutely conned for finally allowing myself to believe in Derby County in their current form. I felt physically sick at the performance from the first 30 minutes that I just wanted to remove myself from watching the game. It was a disgusting display. A horrible game. I watched the Mansfield and Colchester game before hand and both of them were MILES ahead of what I had to endure in that first half. 
Warne fell upon a system with Gayle upfront and it all started to click, when you see the performance today it’s apparent that he knows what he wants to achieve but doesn’t have a plan on how to achieve it. Gayle was an easy solution at the time, I’m sure all things being well that he wouldn’t have signed him. Today really played out all my worst fears - I’m just glad that I was able to monetise us not winning promotion whilst we sat in our best situation. I have absolutely no faith in this team and less so in the manager to find a solution. 
I like him as a person, I even find his management and coaching not without merit, but why waste the best part of £10m on keeping an category one academy when you have such a short-sighted approach in the first team. It makes no sense to me. If we fail this season, there is absolutely not way he can remain as the Derby County manager for the next rebuild. Get him gone. 

This lot can f*** off after today. They just don't look like they care and it's been repulsive.

Agree.. thats a f****** blessing. Hes a f****** oil tanker.
cash and nelson together… yes please

I hate football. 

This feels like that dreadful first date where there’s no spark, it’s awkward and you’re certain you’ve no chance of scoring.

I would agree about the Northampton game. It will probably, and hopefully, be the game when we have the fewest players available.
Win this and I'd say we are odds on for top 2

I actually don’t agree. I think without 3 standout teams outplaying the majority of the rest of the league it’s actually proving to be a more competitive league this season, sides are more closely matched at the top end of the table illustrated by the smaller gap between the sides. Last season it was almost always between 3 sides for automatic promotion, this season it’s been less clear with us, Barnsley, Bolton, Posh, Portsmouth and Oxford all competing at various points. 
I’ve never signed up to this idea that the league is somehow “easier”, it is what it is, 24 teams competing for points across a 46 game season and relative to that we’re currently the second placed side.

Arrived carrying injuries when it’s already very difficult coming in to a new squad getting used to how players and the team like to play.
I agree, underwhelmed so far but has showed glimpses of what he could be about. 
He will need to work harder in a PW team, but add that to his ability and I think he will prove to be a good signing. 
Gangway D from the Terrace
 

 

 

I’m confident we’d be 1 place higher in the league if we had him all season. The balance he’s added has made such a difference, it’s not just Adams that looks like a good player, but everyone around him has got ‘better’ too.

Until last night I thought him a defensive barndoor but he’s clearly on a wavelength with Dwight and so also a rangey passer with 2 exquisite passes to set up goal-scoring openings. Would definitely cut it at Championship level and hope he comes permanently for next season. He clearly loves it here and that counts for a lot. Get him signed. 

I think he’s great 👍
Exactly what we have needed for a very long time.

1Wildsmith: 6 Mostly redundant. Left exposed by his mates for the goal which was Reading’s only shot on target.
35Nelson: 7 Quiet brilliance. 
5Bradley: 6 Should’ve snuffed out their chance; played even though unwell apparently. 
2Wilson: 6 A bit Don Quixote at times but has the prettiest tap-dancing steps which are great fun to watch.
6Cashin: 7.5 Masterful centre-halfmanship and smashed a header against the post.
23Ward: 7 Nip, tuck, top & side-spin; a sort of snooker-playing footballer with a pearler of a ball to Gayle for 1-0. 
27Blackett-Taylor: 6 A silky 5 minute glide about late on. 
32Adams: 8 Not just a defensive Rottweiler but now a quarterbacking distribution centre with exquisite long-rangers to his new friend Dwight. They’re going to play padel ball together. 
4Hourihane: 7.5 We are seeing a seasoned professional who used every ounce of experience to impact the game. Beautiful penalty under real pressure. 
 12Smith: 6.5 Twinkled his toes and neatened up the loose threads at the game’s end. 
17Sibley: 6.5 Definitely in the wing-back groove now; power-driver flew over. Should’ve stopped the cross for their goal. 
7Barkhuizen 7.5 New found form; stole the ball & provided express delivery. 
25Gayle: 8 McGoldrick-esque. Rapid speed of thought, balletic feet and acceleration. Will tally double figures in new found twilight.
10Waghorn: 5.5 Banjo & bovine backside. Lift the banjo …& swing. Try to hit it. Never mind. 
11Méndez-Laing: 7 Ample threat always prowling; enjoying a little less pressure to perform as others step up.
3Forsyth: 6 Given a canter to re-acquaint us. 
 
Overall deserved win. We’ve acquired a new dimension with Dwight and Ebou forming a telepathic football connection which promises much. There’s a new-found focus and belief and we didn’t seem to miss  Max. Everything’s in our power now. 

Think the club have handled Coreys fitness really well, came on last night looked fitter , sharper and a threat , will be a vital part of the squad for the remaining games

I read all the posts regards people not wanting to go to games , not wanting to renew in this god awful league , under warne , poor football ect ect ect and to a degree I get it but as I’ve said I’m really enjoying my time going to watch derby at present and since the meltdown and rise from the ashes and I can honestly say the excitement/ butterflies I feel for this comming weeks two games and for the run in is right up there with the good times I’ve had watching derby over 55 plus years , I do feel for any fans who have lost that spark in the situation we are in 

I don’t want to get ahead of myself or allow myself to be excited, but.. I feel like something has finally clicked.
Best performance we’ve ever had under Warne, in my opinion. We’ve fell on to a workable system, the main reason was the recruitment staff doing their job and finding a gem in Ebou Adams and very recently I think it’s not in any small part to having to change the dynamic with Gayle upfront. I believe these two signings in particular have changed our fortunes, similarly to how Nyambe did earlier in the season.
Sibley and Ward are excelling. The defence are well balanced, the cohesion between the midfield and defence is significantly better, gaps aren’t as freely available for the other team and we are now working well going forward. I think we actually look like a team now, which for the majority of the season has definitely been missing something. The last two performances, the dynamic of the team, I’m finally hopeful.