i-Ram

The Ram newspaper/ program used to include a colour picture of the visiting team.

I think I actually like this thread more because of sighting of some of the opposition players you forget about as you get older. Bobby Stokes not hard to forget for supporters of a certain age. But Jimmy Gabriel was Saints penalty taker. A few seconds of each of Terry Paine and Mick Channon too made me smile. McGovern and Zak obviously the Rams goalscorers. 

Great stuff Brailsford, like you I am one of the lucky ones having first watched the Rams in the late fifties. My first match was a reserve game in '57 (Normo end upper tier) with my wonderful uncle Tom who was a Ram through and through. I graduated to the kids corner by '59 and barely missed a home game therefter. By 1960 I was going to a lot of away games and by '62 and earning a crust I hardly missed a game home or away (midweek fixtures like Plymouth being nigh on impossible for me in them days!)
Whilst the Clough/Mackay is obviously the highlight for me I have to say that I really enjoyed the early sixties. I remember those players (Parry, Powell, Oxford, Barrowcliffe, Young, Curry, Hall, Hutchinson, Davies,  Conwell, Upton, Hughes (Billy and Gordon), Swallow, Buxton, Moore, Adlington, Havenhand  etal) with much fondness! Linked with the 'swinging sixties' of the Beatles, mini skirts and cheap ale the early sixties were just incredible and the Rams at that time were, for me and my mates, a significant part of the whole package! Let's hope it can be repeated one day. 
For all that my departed father in law did even better! Having been demobbed from the Air Force he managed to get hold of a ticket for the Cup Final,  hitchhiked to Wembley and saw our famous victory!
So he saw us win the Cup and then experienced 2 league titles,  not bad eh! 

Great memories and inside knowledge there Brailsford. I was only a kid, 11 years old during the 71/72 season so find it really interesting to find out bits about the squad and players even after all these years. ?

Baby Joshua born just over an hour ago..Nice and healthy and the wife is fine too..couldn't be there as have 2 girls under 4 but they are excited..cheers for all the kind reactions..might find time for a beer ? 

Not easy when the Chairman doesn't talk to you. I'm not a Rooney worshiper, but he was being honest. Mr Morris has come across as being insincere. A fair observation in my opinion. 

Minted mounted Mount.

On another note..my good lady wife has just had the phonecall from hospital telling her to come in to be induced for our baby number 3..(he was due 2nd Nov).
New life..exciting times..im hoping my club is healthy and preparing for a new life as well, one that my boy can love and enjoy as much as I have throughout my life.
COYR

I graduated! 

Don't delete it @Mucker1884, it's forum gold, positive and uplifting. 
All the best to your lad, and your family.

You know how it is...
You come home from war... your thoughts, nightmares, mental torture, and guilt over not keeping your mate alive, despite them only being feet apart when the Afghan sniper hit... all firmly bottled away for 4 years in an army issue camo travel-flask... before finally coming clean (read "failed to hide it any longer"!) to your superiors, army doctors, shrinks, and... eventually... family!
A further 5 years pass by (on Civvy Street) with mainly ineffective help, advice and treatment (not for the lack of trying!), whilst the meds, the waking nightmares, the endless sleepless nights, the guilt, and the suicidal tendencies continue apace... until finally, along comes a seemingly successful (fingers crossed!) bout of EMDR therapies, slowly but surely making for a massive upturn in all things mood related.  (Still early days, mind!  Taking nothing for granted, here!)
And then... with almost perfect timing... the chance of a new start.  A new focus.  A new purpose in life. 
As of this very morning... confirmed!
 
Some folk... particularly parents, I would imagine... may see the fact that their son is about to head off clearing the planet of landmines (starting with 6 months in Cambodia in the new year) as a bit of a bummer!
But with what we have all been through for the last five years (Plus the secret four, for him!) and with the smile finally back on his face, and a renewed zest for the future, I'm putting today down as being one of the best... despite the natural parental trepidation... because quite simply, it's what he wants... what he needs... and what he deserves.
 
Just need to get through this coming Sunday, as we'll be with him when he heads homeward from his Cornish Hideaway, and goes for a long awaited* chat and a catch-up with the aforementioned mate's name-on-the-Camp Bastion Wall, at The National Memorial Arboretum, then it really is time to move onwards, upwards, and forwards!
(*It was an annual thing, until Covid scuppered last year's visit)
 
I may delete this any time soon... for obvious reasons... but right now, with tears in my eyes... I just want to scream out in unashamed relief!
I think he... and we... might just have turned a very long, slow corner.  Who knows... we may even have made it out through the other side!
Good day?  Hell yeah!
 
For The Fallen.
For Matt.
And for those still with us.
xxx
#LWF
 
 

 
 
 

bit naughty @Crewton you need to take the exploit young women comment back. That's not an appropriate label to give anyone

Well, not quite. We're in phase 2 of the amortisation issue. Phase 1 concluded with the £100k fine and being told to restate the accounts and P&S submissions.

It’s not dragging on though is it? The administrators made it clear they were hoping things would be sorted by the end of the year. Is it the end of the year yet?  

FWIW, I think there is a very good chance that we are going to go down this year. It’s only realistic to make that assumption given all the odds that are stacked against us. But let’s not revel in it. Let’s not gain say every fan who wants to be optimistic and positive about our chances. Let’s not give up hope. That’s what being a fan is about. Otherwise, why bother? 

Yes if your a creditor. A lot of small businesses are going to suffer.

Nice try ?

The amortisation thing, as you say, was naive beyond ridiculous. That people within the club thought they could redefine the way we value our most important assets (the players) in a way that gave us considerable advantage over every other club in the division and to not expect that to subsequently be challenged was just schoolboy in it's thinking. You just can't change rules like that because you don't agree with them, life doesn't work that way and big institutions like the EFL (with all it's members) most certainly don't. And, like everything else that was tried in the past few years, all it was doing was kicking the can down the road - the club screwed up by allowing a number of high value, low return signings to be made in a short amount of time and then failed to get the club promoted to a place where that no longer mattered.
Net net: Mel gambled big, played fast and loose with things that he did not truly own, and his poor business knowledge (garnered largely on a lucky punt on an app) came and found him out. Covid merely accelerated the path, and the points deduction is no more than we could expect for our actions - even if it hurts us all in it's implementation it is hard to deny that.

The problem with the way we amortised the players values was that It was a desperate business practice put through by a desperate business man trying desperately to cover up the fact that he had driven the business into the ground and It was bust. 
 

I agree that the change in amortisation policy was a misjudgement. But it wasn’t completely unreasonable when it coincided with a big investment in new players. If you invest £4million in a 23 year old why would you expect that amount to depreciate by 25% in the First year due to an artificial straight line hit.
 
of course if that player is Kamil Jozwiak that argument doesn’t look so strong.
the amortisation thing was bad judgement as were the signings that went with it. But I don’t believe it breaks any rules.

I agree, poor administration by Mel and Pearce. they thought they had found a secret formula for FFP, that's why were some what opaque with their explanation to the EFL. They didn't lie about it but could have been clearer and the EFL should have the expertise to have understood what they were doing.  

Pete, I have re-read our exchanges from yesterday. I am happy to acknowledge the one point you have made above, but I am not sure in my mind the EFL did too much wrong here. There wasn’t anything too wrong, and certainly not incorrect, regarding the statement they issued. They can’t write chapter and verse in a short statement. What they reported was factually correct.
As for the back and forth in an Appeal Hearing, I am not sure what you might be expecting. The appeal hearing was an opportunity for the EFL and Derby to restate their cases. Both parties were represented by legal Counsel. Such a hearing is always going to be adversarial.
I am full square behind the Administrators, and therefore Club, trying to get our points penalty reduced to nil, or as close to it as possible - by which I mean the 12 point penalty that was correctly applied, and any other points penalty that might be pending as a result of Mad Mel’s P&S overspend. I actually do think there is a case for COVID to be argued as a Force Majeure event on the 12 point penalty. There is less argument for our P&S overspend, although that position is blurred by what is or isn’t and FRS compliant amortisation policy. No doubt that is still being discussed currently. However, I have yet to see a compelling argument as to why the Club changed it’s amortisation policy 5 or 6 years ago, other than to kick P&S spending down the line and therefore gain some advantage (or avoid some penalty). Morris and Pearce no doubt thought they were being clever at the time. Time has only evidenced them to be complete fools.

Nope. What has crippled the Club over the last few years is the competence of the Club’s executive. 

Nope. What has crippled the Club over the last few years is the competence of the Club’s executive. 

All I’m saying is that it’s pretty dirty tactics to throw in an allegation of bad faith at Derby at the last minute. If they were going to accuse Derby in that way, they should have done that from the outset when they had opportunity to throw it at the witnesses  and cross examine them ,  as de Marco pointed out.
by doing that at the last minute it just comes across as a desperate attempt to get a penalty point deduction . Quite rightly that attempt failed .
 
anyway there are rumours that we might be near to a deal with the Efl so hopefully this poo show will be over once and for all.