plymouthram

If you gave Wednesday their 6 pts back, they would still be below us on goal diff. But lets look at the bigger picture. Jourdan and a few others on the forum are still worried, but they must agree on one thing, Wycombe are sunk. That leaves 2 places to avoid, 22nd and 23rd spot. Lets look at the teams currently below us. Wycombe; Only 4 wins so far 18 defeats and shipped in 51 goals (I predict relegated). Birmingham; Only 6 wins, lost 14 and played one game more than us (on current form could be relegated). Sheff Weds; agree simular record to us so far (most likely will stay up). Rotherham; Yes they have one game in hand over us, but if they won it they would still be 2 pts behind us and they have currently lost 15 times.(could go down). Coventry; Also played a game more than us and still 3pts behind and shipped in 42 goals.(could go down). Huddersfield; Played a game more than us even though they are only 1 point behind, they have shipped in 44 goals having lost 15 games. (could go down). Forest; another team thats played one game more than us, only won 8 matches, but with Chris Hughton in charge they should have enough to stay up.
Teams above could continue to have indifferent form and might be pulled into the scrap at the bottom (Bristol, Luton and Preston). I do agree that the Huddersfield and Forest game are very important and the worse case scenario is we lose them both. But all those teams below us would have to gain ground to put us back in the bottom 3. They (including us) all have matches to play against teams around them so points will be dropped. I  also look at how these teams in trouble have faired against the current top 12 teams. Huddersfield faired the best by winning 5, followed by Derby with 4, Then Birmingham, Wednesday, Coventry and Forest with 3. Rotherham were the stand out team with only one victory against a top 12 team and that was M'boro that they beat.

There's 4 teams currently below us that only have 16 games to play. So we would have to lose the game in hand and those 4 teams would have to better us (in their points total) for the rest of the season. And on top of that Sheff Wed/Rotherham would also have to pull in better points total in their remaining 17 and 18 games. Wycombe are as good as down, we only have to stay above 2 other teams to stay up. Another thing of note, If you dont concede a goal, you don't lose. All 7 teams below us have conceded more goals and as a matter of fact, there is only FIVE teams in the Championship thats conceded less than the Rams.

Have you seen their March fixtures, If I was a red dog it could be worry worry time.

There's 4 teams currently below us that only have 16 games to play. So we would have to lose the game in hand and those 4 teams would have to better us (in their points total) for the rest of the season. And on top of that Sheff Wed/Rotherham would also have to pull in better points total in their remaining 17 and 18 games. Wycombe are as good as down, we only have to stay above 2 other teams to stay up. Another thing of note, If you dont concede a goal, you don't lose. All 7 teams below us have conceded more goals and as a matter of fact, there is only FIVE teams in the Championship thats conceded less than the Rams.

Have you seen their March fixtures, If I was a red dog it could be worry worry time.

There's 4 teams currently below us that only have 16 games to play. So we would have to lose the game in hand and those 4 teams would have to better us (in their points total) for the rest of the season. And on top of that Sheff Wed/Rotherham would also have to pull in better points total in their remaining 17 and 18 games. Wycombe are as good as down, we only have to stay above 2 other teams to stay up. Another thing of note, If you dont concede a goal, you don't lose. All 7 teams below us have conceded more goals and as a matter of fact, there is only FIVE teams in the Championship thats conceded less than the Rams.

I get that there's still work to do but I really think you're clutching at straws here. The reason it's been like an 'extended honeymoon period' is because Rooney has the team playing properly now and working hard to get results. I don't believe in the so called new manager bounce. When a manager gets sacked it's usually because the team is playing awful football and losing, like we were under cocu. We've now just reverted to type. We never were a relegation team. It would be absolutely shocking if Derby were to get relegated, we have enough good players to be well clear.

Wycombe I feel are too far behind safety to stay up, even if they get the odd win they leak goals and have only won 4 games. The other 2 spots are available for any of the teams right up to Preston in 11th place. Its all down to form, injuries, luck and good tactical management. I believe we have got it right with Rooney and his staff doing their homework and setting out the team to match and beat teams. Today was not pretty to watch, but the tactics were spot on. Looking at current form, Birmingham, Coventry and Huddlesfield look like they could be in trouble, but form can change.
The rest;  Sheff Weds they had a 6pt gap to close and have done it, but their form is hot and cold. I will stick my neck out and state they will stay up.  Rotherham they concede goals but also score goals and have the habit of winning vital matches, will be close to call. Will either finish 21st or relegated in 22nd position.  QPR another team whose form is up and down, but have better quality than some of other teams in the bottom half. They will stay up.  Forest, as much as we would all like to see them relegated, they have a good coach and that will be the factor for them staying up. But I will boldly predict the Rams will finish above them this season.  Barnsley have not won in the League since last year even though they had a good cup run before narrowly losing to Chelsea. But I fancy them to find form now the distraction of the cup is gone and they will stay up.  Luton like Derby have only conceded 29 goals and have been winning nearly as enough to probably finish in a mid-table.  Millwall don't win enough, but are hard to beat with Rowett football, they will finish mid-table.  Bristol, even though they got mauled today by Watford, they have key players injured and will pick up to be nowhere near a relegation place.   Preston, could be dragged into the battle, they lost a quality player in Ben Davies and I feel they will not finish as high as their current position.

Relegation watch    We are only 16 points off the play-offs and 81 points to play for COYR

I remember Arthur Cox making inquiries for Nottingham Forest's reserve striker, who was only 18 at the time. Brian Clough turned us down and within a couple of weeks young Nigel got into the Forest first team. I wonder what happened to him?⛹️‍♂️