Anon

14 hours ago, Crewton said:

If you're going to play that game I might as well join in.

If Bielek and Davies hadn't picked up season-ending injuries half way through the season, we'd have easily stayed up.

If Lee Gregory hadn't been unavailable through injury for 9 of the last 11 games, we'd have easily stayed up.

If we'd had half-competent officials all season we'd have easily stayed up.

If we hadn't had a transfer embargo imposed on us in the January window restricting our signings to loans that didn't require a loan fee or wages more than £4,200 a week, we might well have been able to sign better players to help us move away from the bottom of the table.

And that isn't even an exhaustive list.

Sure, in the final round of games, fate smiled on us, despite Wycombe managing a highly suspicious 3-0 win at Boro, but without the above instances of misfortune, we'd have secured safety much earlier.

I doubt anyone is saying that Rooney performed miracles, or even that he was anything more than average in that season, but there were allot more factors at play than his management. 

I don't see anyone star-struck by Rooney either, but I guess that's just your way of trying to diminish the value of what others have said.

Excuses and more excuses. The reason I lean into the star struck theory is that I have no other way of understanding how people incessantly run cover for Rooney. Of course no other Championship teams had any injuries to contend with that season. Of course all the referees were biased against us. Of course Middlesbrough deliberately lost to Wycombe. It isn't ringing any alarm bells that you have to resort to conspiracy theories to defend Rooney's managerial record?

What about his completely useless spell at Birmingham? Does that not cause you to reassess your opinion of Rooney's managerial ability or was that also someone else's fault?

Spouts on kettles. How hard can it possibly be to design something that directs the liquid where you want it? As it stands most of them have aim about as good as mine after 6 pints.

On 16/05/2024 at 14:08, eddielewis said:

Same template but the showcase Puma teams like Man City, AC Milan, Dortmund will have individualised GK colours 

These type of photoshoots are ridiculous. What exactly is the model using a phone from the 90's supposed to convey here, other than he's probably a prat? As for the second photo, nobody sits on stoops in Manchester because it's either a)raining or b)there's already a homeless person there.

What Rooney achieved under difficult circumstances in the relegation season is admirable. I do dispute the narrative that he had nothing to work with. Plenty of our players that season walk into other lower half Championship teams. It was really only in the striker department where the squad was comfortably below the level required.

Anyone want to talk about his first season in charge at Derby? I'd argue it's a much more accurate representation of his ability than the extreme circumstances of the 2nd, which he is unlikely to ever face again. He nearly relegated a team that was easily mid table in terms of ability. I appreciate he inherited a poor start from Cocu, but Rooney had 35 games. His points per game extrapolated over the season would've been good enough for a 20th place finish. He played awful football and took us on one of the worst runs of results in our history. If it weren't for Marlon Pack's equaliser against Rotherham, we'd have gone down.

So many people still have stars in their eyes when it comes to Rooney. So many people queuing up to make excuses for his objectively poor managerial record. He is afforded more leeway than most managers because of his celebrity status and his incredible achievements as a player. I don't care about that. I'm a Derby fan, not a Man United fan. I only care about what Rooney did as manager of this club, and the truth is that he was pretty bad.

I find the ECB's logic odd in that they want pitches to produce test batsmen, then fine Somerset for producing wickets conducive to spin. Leaving aside the sportsmanship aspect, that is precisely what any Indian groundsman will be doing whenever we tour. Surely learning to survive and prosper on such tracks is a valuable skill to learn?

Do you think it has anything to do with advances in technology and better resources? The ground staff are incredible in that they can produce a beautiful flat track in adverse conditions, when in decades past the weather leading up to certain games would've made such a feat impossible.

32 minutes ago, kash_a_ram_a_ding_dong said:

Poor Plymouth,what were thinking in appointing Rooney for this season?

Dreadful for us,disastrous for Birmingham,it's hard to understand the logic behind this decision,I wouldn't trust him to boil an egg,never mind run a football club.

Jack Butland

Word is that Plymouth have offered him all the Ginsters pasties he can eat. They shouldn't be writing cheques they can't cash.

I wanted him to fail at Birmingham because I didn't like the way he was parachuted in at the expense of a better manager. That isn't the case here, so I hope he does well. I'm really not sure about his job selection though. Plymouth have a relatively small budget. It's going to be tough. It would probably be better for Rooney if he took a league 1/2 job at a team with a more competitive squad and budget for that level.

I can see why Arthur went with two overseas bowlers. At the back end of last summer Came and Reece were established as openers, Guest had been good at 3, Madsen is Madsen, and there were lots of positive noises being made about Lloyd and Lamb. Who are you dropping for the specialist bat? Yes, I understand that this looks ludicrously optimistic with the benefit of hindsight considering our current season averages, but there weren't many who were predicting the batting would be this poor last September. Batting collapses are the most frustrating and most immediately visible sign of a struggling team, but they aren't why we've barely won any games for the last several years. We can't take 20 wickets in 4 days. Unfortunately it doesn't look like Tickner and Dupavillon are the remedy to this, but I understand why Arthur prioritised this area of the team.

I do adjust my expectations accordingly to following a team with such a small budget. I don't expect much. I would like to be competitive in some matches and try to push local talent when possible. This season has been abysmal. Either this is the worst squad we've ever had or they want Arthur gone and have downed tools.

41 minutes ago, BaaLocks said:

Errm I think I was just trying to use a nice word to say I liked the sentiment of the post and the way it was written. Apologies if I have fallen foul of the grammar police, been a few years since my O-Level English Language.

<Edit of edit>: Just checked online - nope, that wasn't what I intended to say at all. Very much the opposite.

I didn't know what prosaic meant before this exchange either. I thought it was an anti-depressant.

Javan Vidal

Leon Best

South Stand - Nick Blackman Enclosure

West Stand - Kenneth Burns Memorial Stand

North Stand - Billy Davies Bothy

East Stand - Nick Pickering International Lounge

2 hours ago, Kernow said:

Ruben Zadkovich

We got rid of him too soon...

The EFL are a shambles, but I'm not sure this is caused by them. Maybe it's debateable whether a 10 year security of tenure is really necessary for a promoted team, but this was quite clearly stipulated in the league rules and Gateshead were already informed of this potentially barring them from promotion well ahead of time. I'd be very interested to know why Gateshead council failed to work with the club to provide the security of tenure.

I don't really watch TV, so my gripes are all radio issues.

Adverts where the company name is repeated about 20 times in the space of 30 seconds.

Any advert where they think shouting will somehow induce me to buy their product.

Tool hire/van insurance etc ads that insist on using the exact same white van man caricature. Also, any of these type of adverts that are voiced by Ralph Ineson (which is about 90% of them).

Mile Sterjovski

11 hours ago, Normanton Lad said:

"Clough tried to shake up the team and get them to play better".

Leeds were playing well enough without the need to shaking them up. Whenever I chat to Leeds fans they seem to think that Clough was determined to destroy Revie's team. I don't know what he was trying to do. He was still a young man in his 30s when he took over and I think the fact that the Leeds old guard weren't that much younger than him was part of the problem. When I started work age commanded far more respect than it does today. I don't think I would have taken seriously any bosses who were still in their 30s. In fact, I don't think I ever had a boss who wasn't at least in his 40s.

Yes, Leeds were playing well enough, but it was a completely different style of football. A style that Clough didn't like and wouldn't have been proud to play as a manager, even if it had continued to bring success. I think there's definitely some truth in Clough wanting to destroy Revie's team, as he could be incredibly petty at times. It only makes me like him more as it's exactly what I'd do to Leeds if given the opportunity. It was a bad match up in general though. The Leeds players were also a petty and small minded bunch who worshipped the ground Revie walked on. They would've undermined any new manager, even if that manager wasn't as abrasive and confrontational as Clough. Also, it's usually harder to win things when you are no longer paying your opponents to lose.

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-04-09/sports/football/Jesse-Lingard-What-has-he-actually-done-in-Seoul-and-why-is-his-manager-so-unhappy/2021578

“He only played a few minutes, and yet he didn't work hard and avoided tussle. If you run less than a footballer who has played 90 minutes, you're not even a footballer. Fame doesn't win football games. If it did, I would have brought in a famous retired player.” - Kim Gi-dong.

JLingz has impressed his new manager already.

Northeast clean bowled by Tickner. Very promising first spell from Tickner.

1st wicket for Tickner, 4 balls into his Derbyshire career.

Lovely stuff, and a splendid moustache to boot.

16 minutes ago, Jimbo Ram said:

Is there no live stream of the game?

1 hour ago, admira said:

61.

Place of birth: Derby

Signed for Derby: 1997

First club: Derby County

Last club: Cheltenham Town

Position: DF

Full caps: 0

Fun fact: Made 3 England U21 appearances when with the Rams

Steve Elliott

19 hours ago, Boycie said:

I’d like black n white vertical strips for a change me.

Duck egg blue, chocolate and amber. I don't know why we ever changed it.