plymouthram

4 minutes ago, TomTom92 said:

A Reading draw wouldn’t be a disaster at all. It’s the old, boring cliche but all we can do is concentrate on ourselves.  
  
Said it a few posts back, I don’t think Hull will get dragged in. They’re 2/3 skanky wins away from being safe. Rather annoying that both them and Cardiff went on a good run because it’s made this relegation battle a 4 man fight.

I would'nt write Hull out the relegation battle yet. Currently losing at home to Barnsley, still have Peterboro and Reading to play along with Westbrom, Coventry, Luton, Huddersfield, Middlesboro and Forest to play, who all in with a chance of a play off place. Plus Hull have played more league games than all the chasing teams below them. They won 3 times in January and never won in December or February so far. Only won 9 games and already lost 18. Only need to to do Reading and lose 8 on the bounce and they are going to be sucked in.

20 hours ago, JfR said:

Funnily enough, this is the third time it's happened. He managed him on loan at Notts County and for a spell at Blackpool as well. Seeing as the Blackpool spell saw the club relegated while the Notts spell saw them lose 9 games in a row before Ince Sr.'s sacking, I'm hoping it's rule of three rather than third time's the charm.

Paul Ince's record being a manager as an of average of 41.2% win ratio, but his last spell at Blackpool which lasted 42 games only produced 28.6% win ratio. So with 14 matches to play, the later % ratio means they could win 4 more games and draw 4, losing the other 6. Giving them a 42 points at the end of the season. Meaning the Rams would have to find 21 points out of their 14 matches. We need 6 wins and 3 draws and only 5 defeats. Possible winnable games= Millwall (H), Barnsley (H), Coventry (H), Preston (H), Bristol (H), Cardiff (H), Cardiff (A), Swansea (A) and Blackpool (A). Obviously won't win all of these, could be some draws or even defeats. Games where we will probably get beat= Luton (A), Bournemouth (A), Blackburn (A), QPR (A) and Fulham (H), and again we might pull out a draw or maybe a win.

Reading have 3 winnable games in their next 3 fixtures, Birmingham (H), Blackpool (A) and Millwall (H). But their following 3 games could bring them no points, Forest (A), Bournemouth (A) and Blackburn (H). It could take us until April before we find the Rams above Reading and thats when the pressure will be on our players to keep up the momentum.

6-0 we are due a big win and we need to boost the goal difference up into the plus again. Hat-trick for the captain and goals from Festy and Curtis.

2 hours ago, Yani P said:

Best result..

1. Peterborough win

2. Draw

3. Reading win

A draw because that means both teams have dropped points and we can still climb above P'boro if we win our next match

7 minutes ago, Bris Vegas said:

It’s looking increasingly like the bottom four clubs might not even reach 40 points.

Obviously the deductions have played their part. If it wasn’t for them, Barnsley and Posh would be so far adrift right now which highlights how bad they have been.

I really thought Hull were the worst team I’ve seen this season. That they are practically safe with only a couple more wins is bizarre.

Still time for Hull or Cardiff, Bristol and Birmingham to go into freefall, but one of them would have to lose 14 to 15 games to put them in the mix with the bottom 4.

I think the relegation battle will go right into April before we see a team officially down. We can all argue that the other 3 in the mix have played less games than us. But lets look at the stats so far with 2/3rds of the season gone. Barnsley have only won 3 games so far meaning if theres no improvement they've only got a maximum of 2 more wins to come, they've lost 19 matches meaning they could lose another 9 or 10. So they are on course to pick up 11 or 12 points till the end of the season.

Peterborough have only won 5 matches and lost 19, looking on course to pick up approx 15 more points. Reading have won 8 and lost 18, looking on course to pick up approx 18 more points. Obiviously one or maybe all three could pick up on their current form, the key will be winning against the teams in the mix. Reading have Peterboro and Barnsley both away to play. Barnsley have Reading & Peterboro at home and away to the Rams. Peterborough have Reading at home with Derby & Barnsley away. On top of all this, if it ends up with two teams finishing on the same points (I wonder which team will have the best goal diff).

Its got DRAW written all over it

4 hours ago, Wistaston Ram said:

Too early to rule out Peterborough or Barnsley for that matter, particularly as they have games in hand.  They could both still string a couple of wins together, gain some momentum/hope and the pressure builds again.  We will go through a sticky patch or two, but hopefully we have the team spirit and support of the fans to get through it.

Barnsley have won 2 games so far this season, Peterboro have won 5 and that makes a total of 7 wins between them. Derby have won 9 and Reading have won 8, both clubs have been docked points and still look in a better position than Barnsley and Peterboro. I can not see them suddenly having a burst of good form. I'm writing them off and they will take up 2 relegation spots. Reading have'nt won a League match since November and have lost 6 on the bounce. Yes they could be due a win and their easiest matches on paper are this month, but March is Millwall, Forest, Bournemouth and Blackburn for them.

The Rams must close the gap either this month or in March, then the pressure will be on Reading. I expect Barnsley to be officially relegated by the start of April and possibly Peterboro mid-April, leaving one spot left to fill. Don't right off a team that could freefall and join the relegation battle, could be Birmingham, Hull or Cardiff.

12 hours ago, StrawHillRam said:

I wonder if our support and charting  at the game on Saturday can influence Gibson either way.

He’s pathetic and petulant so might  he further retrench in a stubborn way if he sees us belittle him for the whole game and it will make him want to get hurt us?

 Or will he be the bigger man and take the moral high ground when he sees our support and love of our club and decide he should withdraw his extortionate claim for the good of football, or at least take up mel’s offer to go to court.

No, apparently Gibson is beefing up the security around him for Saturday, getting in extra police (probably send the bill to the EFL). He also making sure that tickets to seats close to the directors box are bought by Boro fans. 

On 09/02/2022 at 20:00, TigerTedd said:

Oh the irony. Mel spent years trying to discover and define ‘the Derby way’.

Turns out he had to put us into administration to find what defines us.

Warriors are forged in fire and adversity. What doesn’t kill us will make us stronger. 

I'm going to steal that last line, Brilliant

On 09/02/2022 at 19:39, Andrew1 said:

I like the idea of it, it makes me happy to hear the South stand belt out “we’ll fight ‘til the end” and even us in the North stand give it a good go! ?

BUT I rather like “it’s in your DNA”. For me that’s nearly entirely true.  My great grandfather was old enough and around at the right time to have seen Steve Bloomer play, and my lad represents an unbroken line of Rams fans from him…

Andrew

My Grandad bless him died a long time ago, he was born in 1898 and went to the Baseball Hotel when he was 14 and Steve Bloomer was in the bar having a pre-match drink and bragging to the fans that he was going to score today. My Grandad told me this story a few times and was lucky enough to see him play several times.

13 hours ago, Sparkle said:

We just have to keep carrying on trying to pick up points where we can - our threadbare squad and dubious refereeing decisions are our biggest threat as well as other teams deciding to improve - it’s always worth remembering that one side seems to fall like a stone in this league and Hull look more than capable of doing that.

How do we score the goals we need - Davies with 4 Forsyth with 2 have proved to be very important goal-scorers this season and if we can find a few more from some others it will help a lot - maybe Bird and Jozwiak/Stearman with a few will help a lot 

Ebosele is going to play regular in the position he played against Hull. So I expect him to chip in a few goals from now on, which will have teams trying to double up on him because of his pace and that hopefully will give more space to others.

I think 7 wins will see us climb out the bottom 3. Possible winning home matches against Peterboro, Millwall, Barnsley, Coventry, Preston, Bristol and Cardiff. Could drop points against one of them 7 matches so Im looking at away games where we might sneak a win, Cardiff, Swansea, QPR or Blackpool. Then the draws could come from a number of games, like Middlesboro (a), Luton (a), Bournemouth (a) or Fulham at home.  

So 7 wins and 3 or 4 draws would give us 42 or 43 points which would be enough. We might need less if Peterboro and Reading keep up their current form until the end of the season. Injuries will also play their part, so lets hope we keep that down to a minimum and we get Kazim back. His experience will be required in some games. Also want to see our two Polish internationals playing together a few times before the season ends.

I think what Mel has just done is not something out of the blue. He and his lawyers have probably been looking at this for a while.

At the end of the day, Mel is still a Derby fan and knows no club, no team to play in the stadium he owns. Gibson's combined companies which the Football club is part of are leaking money. He will be advised by his legal team to drop the claim or suffer a big bill to pay in High court. If they don't get promotion this season, they also could be facing a points deduction in the near future. What goes around comes around.

2 hours ago, uttoxram75 said:

Its give Parry a way out. If he blocks this the MP's and the publicity will finish him. Gibson will be furiously messaging and ringing him but I reckon Parry will be uncontactable this evening.

Gibsons head may explode and Teeside will be covered in curly pubes.

I'm trying imagine Teeside covered in pubes, NO don't go there

When we reach April (the business end of the season) we have got to be still in the mix, so we must match or better Peterboro, Barnsley and Reading points total going into April.

In April we have Preston (h), Swansea (a), Fulham (h), QPR (a), Bristol (h), Blackpool (a) and then in May Cardiff (h). Looking at those teams only QPR and Fulham could be still chasing promotion, the rest could be middle table teams.                                                       Barnsley have Reading (h), Millwall (a), Swasea (a), Peterboro (h), Huddersfield (a), Preston (h) and in May WBA (a). Thats 6 pointer's against Reading and Peterboro both home games, but still have 2 games against teams chasing promotion.                                     Peterborough have M'boro (h), Luton (h), Bristol (a), Blackburn (h), Barnsley (a), Forest (h), Millwall (a) and then in May Blackpool (h). That's 6 pointer with Barnsley and 3 teams still chasing promotion.                                                                                                           Reading have Barnsley (a), Stoke (h), Cardiff (h), Sheff Utd (a), Swansea (h), Hull (a), WBA (h) and in May Luton (a). That's A 6 pointer against Barnsley and one match against a team still pushing for promotion.                                                                                                   Take note that both teams currently above us have 8 games to play compared with Barnsley and Derby who currently have just 7.

Reading on paper have the easier run in, but their current form is not good only winning 2 games since the end of October.

Barnsley have only won 2 games so far and have shipped in 43 goals but their goals scored is only a meagre 17.

Peterborough have only won 5 matches, scored just 23 and let 55 giving them the worse goal difference in the Championship.

Derby, if they can avoid suspensions and injuries going into April have no games against the other 3 which means no 6 pointer's.           My conclusion is we must pick up more points than the other 3 teams going into April. In our favour is that we have Peterboro and Barnsley to play at home, which are both must win games prior to April.

22 hours ago, Rammy03 said:

We are still only 7 points from safety, we've just got to keep battling through and picking up points. The last few games have been fine margins. The teams down there are poor, we can get in front of Barnsley and Peterborough. Reading are the target, if they continue their poor run there is no reason why we cannot catch them even with a depleted squad. It's very much possible. 

And don't forget Reading have shipped out players during January, also they don't have us to play, so can't gain ground on us by beating us. What ever way you look at it now, it's 4 teams in the fight and only one will survive (unless some other team in the bottom half goes on freefall).

Looking at the current table, its Barnsley, Peterborough, Reading, Cardiff and the Rams  in the relegation battle. With 18,19 or 20 games to go that could change if a team further up the table were to go into freefall.                                                                                                  Looking at the remaining fixtures, Barnsley  have Cardiff (h), Derby (a) Reading (h) And P'boro (h) and another 7 matches against teams in the top 10 and having only won 2 league games so far looked dead certs to finish bottom. Peterborough have Cardiff (a), Reading (h), Derby (a) and Barnsley (a). They have another 8 matches against teams in the top 10 and having only won 5 matches and shipped in a massive 55 goals look destined to finish 2nd to bottom.

Now the 2 teams currently not in a relegation spot but possibly can get dragged in it. Reading have Peterborough (a), Barnsley (a) and Cardiff (h) and another 6 matches against top 10 teams. Current form is they have lost 6 of their last 8 games, the other 2 were draws. They last won on the 27th November and currently have conceded a massive 55 goals. If their current form continues they could finish 2nd or 3rd to bottom. Cardiff have Barnsley (a), Peterborough (h), Reading (a) and Derby to play twice, they also have 6 games against top 10 teams. Last won a league game on the 27th November they have conceded 47 goals. The key to their season could be against the  4 teams currently below them especially the 2 matches against the Rams.

1 hour ago, Jimbo Ram said:

I think Hull are out of our reach, just Reading and Cardiff to catch….

And a lot of Rams fans thought we were out of reach to survive the Championship when we had 21 points deducted. Still more twists and turns to go yet. With most teams with 19 or 20 matches to play for (thats 60pts) you would'nt bet on Birmingham and Bristol being safe yet. But I have to agree Reading and Cardiff look in danger out of the bottom teams just clear of the drop positions.

5 hours ago, Addingham Ram said:

I agree with posters worried about both potentially watering down / splitting the message, and about keeping any unruly elements away - as the last thing we need now is any negative press, but imagine how powerful a message it would send out to see fans from other clubs supporting the campaign.

The cat is already out of the bag, and the march has been widely reported. Indeed there are already some Portsmouth fans attending the match to lend some support, as reported on Radio Derby, so I'd be surprised if they've come all this way and don't join in. I bet there are fans of other clubs attending that we don't know about.

Fans from different clubs wearing different club colours marching together could actually make some strong headlines, especially as the Premier League is on it's winter break.

I would imagine if anything, that would increase the potential coverage.

Middlesbrough and Wycombe maybe,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Nah

On 23/01/2022 at 12:48, Tombo said:

Even if we started in League Two as a "new" entity but were still called Derby County Football Club, we'd never hear the end of it. Just ask Rangers.

And there'd be a part of you too that would feel something went missing. If we were relegated on the pitch, that's a continuation. If we're talking about a whole new squad, a whole new manager, a whole new owner, a whole new home venue (at least in the short term), a whole new training ground, a whole new league with entirely different circumstances, you've lost the threads of continuation.

I know we're delving into philosophy here but it's similar to the Ship of Theseus, or for a more pop culture reference, Trigger's Broom.

If we can't feasibly tie any new parts of the club together to the old, it's not what it used to be. Incremental change means we can honestly say our club is a continuation of that which was a founder member of the league. A continuation of '46, '72 and '75 amongst other glories.

A badge and a name is not enough to still be the same DCFC I'm afraid. We have to survive, otherwise we cannot honestly believe in ourselves that we have a continuous history from 1884 to 2022.

138 unbroken years must not be broken

Trigger's Broom was fixed several times

On 23/01/2022 at 10:30, Boycie said:

I wouldn’t be against joining league two if that was the doomsday scenario.

It's a saving face suggestion that the EFL made suddenly since the MP's got involved. They would get so much stick if our club got liquidated and thrown out the league and that's why they have made this suggestion. The whinging git at Boro, who is pulling the EFL strings would be happy. Its strange that the EFL struck a deal with our Administrators, not to appeal against the 12 points, take another 9 points deduction and the slate will be wiped clean. Then all of a sudden the Rams quickly go from minus points to within a chance of staying up.

The permed hair whinger gets on the phone (or speaks to his CEO, who just happens to be on the EFL board) and starts moaning. Oh ! sorry Derby, you have to prove you have funds to finish off the season and we are stopping you signing on any players (Another Embargo) and you've got till the 1st of Feb when the transfer window is shut. Plus we ain't getting involved in the Boro, Wycombe encounter.

P.S. Did any one see that sky sports interview with Rick Parry on Derby county, it was like a Tory MP when questioned, the reporter did not get any decent answers. Parry did state that the EFL will be working around the clock to help Derby County. LIAR

On 23/01/2022 at 15:03, IslandExile said:

I'd buy a boat and head for the Caribbean.

Football? Mugs' game.

To an ISLAND in EXILE then

5 hours ago, Ghost of Clough said:

HMRC could insist on 100%, but it's up to them if they will accept less. As we know, 100% will result in liquidation, but the discussions between MPs kind of suggests they'll strike a large chunk of that off

I read somewhere (and I can't remember where) that the tax must be all paid off. It can be paid in instalments probably with 25% paid up front straight away. Could be wrong not sure.

Tom Huddlestone started off on Forest books as a young kid and he did not like the youth team coaches and moved to Derby Academy.