OohMartWright

Make that Two - double well done lad 

Jack Stretton gets a goal for Carlisle - well done lad 

What’s the verdict- incompetent, corrupt or under orders from the EFL? Easily the worst refereeing performance I’ve seen for decades.

What’s the verdict- incompetent, corrupt or under orders from the EFL? Easily the worst refereeing performance I’ve seen for decades.

Currently sitting in Cambridge’s Signature Suite hospitality having just enjoyed a roast chicken lunch. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know ?. Let’s hope we can give Cambridge a roasting too. COYR.

3-5-2?  

This is what it must be like for people living in derby! Left home 12.50. In ground already. 

3 pints in at Duke of Cambridge.
Full on Derby pub now 
 

Please tell me His Grace is ok with this, and you didn’t just sneak up on him from behind!  
This isn’t 1984!  ?

Cambridge United (Away)
The first time we ever played them was 16th August 1980 in League Division Two (The Championship in old money).
It was the first game of the season after relegation from Division One at the end of the previous season.
Thousands of Derby fans travelled to Cambridge, I think officially it was 3,000 but it seemed as if many more made the journey. Maybe not all of them got into the Abbey Stadium...
My personal journey and one of my most vivid memories went something like this.
7 of us left Uttoxeter at 7am in a Ford Anglia van driven by a bloke who was a builder and became my best man at my wedding three years later. By the time we were on the A50 going toward Sudbury the first cans and bottles were open, cigarettes (mostly Players No.6) were being smoked, and that was just the driver.
We got somewhere near Leicester and had to stop for petrol, the driver got dogs abuse because we'd paid up front whilst in the pub the night before. He protested that he had filled up but we didn't believe him. We had to stop again somewhere near Thrapston on the A14, this time we had a look and the petrol tank was leaking!
We stopped at a road side pub soon after that was full of Derby fans, we got our beers and sat outside with loads of others. We saw a large van in the car park and witnessed some lads lifting one of the beer garden bench tables into the van. These lads explained there was 15 of them and no seats in the back, seemed reasonable at the time. A couple of them tried to put the swing from the kids play area in as well but they were thwarted in their endeavours by the others.
As we drove away from the pub we passed a large gentleman riding one of those bikes with a shopping basket on the front through this quiet village waving a Derby scarf above his head singing "we'll be back in "81".
On arrival at Cambridge, the car park was a field next to the ground. People were saying the pubs were full or not letting Derby fans in so we settled down on the grass, luckily we had more beer than petrol, the sun was out so a couple went off to a shop for sandwiches and pasties while we enjoyed the atmosphere. 
The van we saw earlier turned up and the lads unloaded the pub table, complete with umbrella and the bloke on the bike, still singing "we'll be back in 81".
It was surreal but absolutely hilarious, the whole field was in great humour. As kick off time approached, people were packing up preparing to enter the ground when someone thought it would be good craic to open a gate adjacent to the field and let 30 odd cows stroll into the car park. Derby fans were laughing and trying to herd them onto the road, one lad even tried to lead one toward the ground but the cow was having none of it.
The police and stewards didn't know what to do, they were trying to control the cows while Derby fans were bunking into the stadium. Total chaos.
The away end was as full as an egg, spilling over onto the touchline at times, we lost 3-0, welcome to relegation.
We had a drink with a minibus full of Ilson lads somewhere on the way back, when we left the pub a couple of them were taking the one arm bandit apart for the cash while the rest were lined up at the bar shielding the activity. Bad lads from Ilson back then!
On the drive back we had to fill up the Anglia van twice more due to the petrol leak before arriving on the outskirts of Nottingham.
We all needed the toilet and a drink so we pulled into a place called, I think,  the Nottingham Knight. It was a hotel bar, quite posh for the time until us lot piled in, we sat in this lobby type space with our beers when someone noticed a glass display cabinet with photos of the gumps European Cup team in it. A Doc Marten went straight through the cabinet followed by outrage from the locals and no effs given by us. A bit of a brawl ensued in the car park before our battered, leaking, tired Anglia van somehow got us away and back home without us getting a good kicking or arrested.
 
I hope everyone going to Cambridge on Saturday has an equally memorable day out. ?
 
 
 
 
 

Not a fan of this decision. It absolutely stinks of short term thinking which I thought we'd all had enough of under Mel. In the long term Warne has not shown he can do an adequate job in the second division which is where we want to be. As a result of this we're ripping up the playbook 11 games in and giving the reigns to a bloke who's style of football is antithetical to the one we've been playing? I just can't make it make sense. I agree Rosenior could have done better, I've felt at times quite critical of our tactics and performances even when we've won games but this is a damn stupid appointment. 

Very, very disappointed. Rosenior was exactly the type of manager I wanted at Derby...progressive, bright, levelheaded & wanted to play the game the right way.
I cannot accept that 7th place, only outside the playoffs on goal difference is a disappointing position to be after 9 games & would love to hear the rationale for Rosenior not being given the chance to manage until Christmas at least. Performances have largely been good (with the only real exception of Lincoln) & only poor finishing has prevented us from being 4th/5th - that would surely have improved as the team became more familiar with each other.
It was also apparent that the players bought into Rosenior. He was directly responsible for bringing some of our more impressive names to the club & the squad adapted very quickly to his style of play. I'm really not sure what more he could have done & to be offered a coaching demotion after that is really disrespectful. He wasn't a caretaker manager & I'd be amazed if he stayed.
As for Paul Warne, have to smile at some of the optimism from those who automatically equate any change as progress. If you thought Rowett was tough to watch, just wait until you've seen a few weeks of Warne's direct & basic style. His teams are frankly anti-football - hit into the channels, horrible agricultural midfielders better without the ball than with it & an obsession with set pieces. Irrespective of Rotherham's resources, it is a conscious decision to set teams up to play in that style & I would think it naive to hope Warne is going to play better football given Derby's greater resources - especially galling given the patient style we have employed to date. It smacks of another Clement-Pearson-McClaren-Rowett swing in philosophy.
Some may also point to Warne's promotion record but below is his full record since taking charge of Rotherham in 2016/17 - nothing in here that indicates he has the pedigree to make Derby successful from a long term perspective;

Same thing, tomato tomato!

More chance of getting Shane Warne ?

Credit to Liam for turning this around. Change of formation and subs made such a difference.

For me, Wildsmith has done very well since he came in. Like any lower leagues keeper, his game has the odd weakness, but he's very good value at L1 level. 

It has been better since Bird went off. Just seems to confirm the theory that Bird and Hourihane doesn't work. Knight in the middle also makes things better. Take the hint Liam.

Very attacking subs, but I don't understand how/why Hourihane is staying on. He doesn't have the legs for a whole game. Does Chester have legs for a whole game too? Odd to bring two of your more youthful players off first.
Radio Derby says we haven't taken any of the daft (my words) short goalkicks this game.

good view of Gareth Ainsworth’s locks flowing in the grease. 
 
FTFY

good view of Gareth Ainsworth’s locks flowing in the grease. 
 
FTFY

good view of Gareth Ainsworth’s locks flowing in the grease. 
 
FTFY

The key issue that we all seem to grasp but Liam doesn’t is that Knight is our best midfield player and MUST play there. After that, the whole structure of the team will be forward looking rather than backward looking. My own eleven would be:
Wildsmith
Oduroh  Davies  Cashin  Forsyth 
Knight  Bird
Mendez-Laing  McGoldrick  Barkhuizen 
Collins
Subs Loach Stearman Roberts Hourihane Sibley Dobbin Osula