OohMartWright

Cledara Abbey Stadium: KO- 15.00
We’re on a mini-run, aren’t we, but despite having our fate firmly back in our hands, the pressure to perform remains; two wins from our last two and we’re back in the sunlit uplands of the Championship; a loss, or even a draw and potentially the pendulum swings again.
It’ll be interesting to see whether we might see one or two back in full training this week, but it’s hard to view the win against Orient as anything other than one of our most complete performances this season and this despite being far from clinical in front of goal. Will the confidence garnered see us approach the game with the same positive approach? One hopes so! Another slip up when seemingly set to turn the screw and inevitably, PW’s management will be under fire. A win and we head back to Pride Park with only Carlisle standing between us and our first promotion since 2007.
Our Opponents:
The club was founded in 1912 as Abbey United, and took the name Cambridge United in 1951. They played in local amateur leagues before joining the Southern League after finishing as runners-up of the Eastern Counties League in 1957–58. Under Bill Leivers's stewardship they were crowned Southern League Premier Division champions in 1968–69 and 1969–70, which helped to secure their election into the Football League in 1970. 

Recent Form & Key Players:
Off the back off two absolute kickings from Reading, 4-0, then a 6-0 hammering from Lincoln, Cambridge were held 1-1 by Northampton before closing out March with a 2-0 loss away to Bolton. April has seen them draw at home to Charlton and lose by the odd goal to Blackpool, before showing better form in defeating Wigan 3-1 at home.
Top of the scoring charts sits Gassan Ahadme with 11, with Fejiri Okenabirhie next best with 9. Ellis Kachunga is next best having netted 6 times in 34 starts. Sully Kalkai tops the assists list with from Jack Lankester and George Thomas with 4 and 3 assists respectively.
Rams Match Squad:
Hard to get away from the 11 that started against Orient, given the resounding nature of the win and the style in which it was achieved. A buoyant Paul Warne confirmed in the post-match presser that everyone came through unscathed and it was interesting to hear him saying that we had more energy coming off a shorter break than was the case at Wycombe, where he felt we lacked energy, despite the 8 day break.
The injury picture remains murky and it’ll be interesting to see whether Gayle and Bird might be fit enough to make the matchday squad. I’ll not bother with my selected 11, as I always get it horribly wrong and the gaffer seems to be doing a decent job matching squads to opponents without our guidance. Instead, here’s the top of the table as it stands:

Don't forget to keep an eye on @Caerphilly Ram's injury updates thread across the week, for any snippets on player's likely return dates. I'll append anything I see to this htread as best I can in any case.
The Promotion Picture:
Some key fixtures tomorrow night, none more so than Bolton’s home game against Shrewsbury, whom we know to be a strong and obdurate side, though one lacking the Trotter’s class edge. I’d expect Bolton to take the points, but should Shrews grab an early lead, it could make for rather tougher game.
Oxford, fresh off the back of their 5 goal hammering of Posh play hosts to Lincoln City, whose charge towards the play-offs has faltered a little in most recently. It ought to be a tightly contested affair and to be honest, I’d not be surprised by any result.
The aforementioned Posh have what appears to be a routine task against lowly Fleetwood, but what will be the aftermath of their humbling at the hands of Oxford on Saturday. Might they have a hangover?
Perhaps the best tie of the round features champions-elect Portsmouth hosting Barnsley. A point will surely suffice for Pompey, but I expect them to win and win well en route to a thoroughly well-deserved title win. They’ve been excellent this season and this despite being one of the few clubs with comparable injury concerns to our beloved Rams. It'll be good to see them back where they belong after some very difficult years of their own.
Of the weekend ties, the most interesting involve Peterborough, who have a tricky away game at Bristol and Bolton host Port Vale. It seems odds on we will be going into the final week needing to beat Carlisle to be absolutely certain of promotion and I doubt too many Rams fans will be counting their chickens early! 
Final Thoughts:
A brief digression is in order to congratulate Eiran Cashin and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, both of whom made the EFL League 1 Team of the Year. Bit miffed that Curtis Nelson was overlooked to partner Cash at CB, as for me, he’s been top of the pops for us, but I doubt he’ll mind too much if we win come Saturday.
A last word as always to all Derby fans travelling to the game, safe journey to and fro, Rams and Ramettes and hopefully plenty of good stuff to chatter about on your way home. Honestly, I think our away support has been as good as any in the entire EFL this season and they’ll hopefully be rewarded with another complete and controlled performance as we ourselves edge closer to that vital 2nd place finish.
COYR
BE MORE B4
 

God no. Get it over with ASAP. I really don't get this desire for a mad, stressful, day against Carlisle. Id rather be turning up knowing we're up and having a bloody lovely time of it.

FFS, if we go into the last game of the season with nothing to play for I'll be gutted.
😛 

It wasn’t a “chastening visit” to Wycombe, it was an improvement on last season when we lost, and a point closer to promotion.
Anyway, I came across the below on X today, said by a former Derby County legend who happened to be Bolton Wanderers manager at the time he said it. I completely subscribe to this philosophy, and I hope we can all embrace it for at least the last three games of this season. Too many of us seem to favour a “love the club, hate/slate the players and manger” kind of approach. That isn’t what we need. Let’s all be supporters as well as fans.

Sonny Bradley is available. 

Personally wouldn't have Hourihane or Waghorn in the line up if I could help it. Hourihane runs like he's pulled both his hamstrings and offers absolutely nothing. Waghorn is just poor.
Surprising people wanting CBT on the bench cos he's had one bad game. Id start him.
Also find it bizarre anyone could possibly want NML up front. 
Id go with a 433. Hopefully Bird is fit. If he is I'd go:-
                 Wildsmith
Wilson, Nelson, Cashin, Sibley,
                    Adams,
              Bird, Thompson.             
Mendez-Laing, Collins, CBT
Smith for Bird if Bird isn't fit. We need energy in midfield.

Not sure the addition of Bradley and Hourihane will 'freshen it up', or much else to be honest. Dropping Smith for the latter in particular, seems akin to an act of self-harm. We've looked ok defensively, having reverted to a back 4 and I'd fear a complete meltdown amongst the fans if we bring in the two slowest players on the roster for a game we absolutely need to be winning.

Rams 4 vs 0 Orient 
FRGS NML
The Rams will make a statement victory today 

If Warne doesn't get us promoted his position is simply untenable, and performances like this are the reason why.

Might be because he's slow and unfit!

Well I jinxed that didn’t I? Peterborough take the lead again in stoppage time.

Take that, for sure. Yes, it could've been more but this point could make such a difference, it's no longer on goal difference if Bolton win their game in hand.
We defended superbly, undone by a brilliant strike, which I don't think Wildsmith was at fault for despite getting a touch on the ball. Obviously if that had not gone in, we don't know how we would've held up, it would have been like the alamo as we were getting deep a bit too early, that's my only criticism.
The point suits both of us. A defeat would've been disastrous, not only with zero points for us, but in the battle Portsmouth have going forward.
In avoiding defeat, it means unless they lose vs Shrewsbury and Bolton beat Bristol Rovers, they can confirm their promotion against Bolton. In avoiding defeat we've basically given them the perfect opportunity against our closest challengers.
Before today, I would've been delighted with 4 points from Portsmouth and Wycombe. If we don't beat Wycombe then tonight's result becomes disappointing. However if we can beat Wycombe, then we put ourself 2 wins away from promotion. Tonight's result has basically allowed us a fantastic opportunity to get ourselves over the line.
Happy with that.

I’d take the Pompey win. Put as much space as possible between us and the playoffs. Just want to get out of this league.

Just want to go up, would welcome Pompey hammering Bolton to assist with that 

Bloomin good point that away from home. Would have taken that before kick off.

Handball in the build up to be fair

Wildsmith should have saved that.

Got B4’s ashes with me (and a can of dark fruits). Husband is getting worried about the potential clean up 😂 There’s no way B4 would be missing this match 

Match Thread: vs Portsmouth (a)
Tuesday, April 2nd, Kick-Off – 8.00pm
Head to Head:
Two grand old clubs who first met way back in 1902 in the FA Cup, a game that resulted in a rather unsatisfactory 0-0 bore draw. The replay at saw us winning the replay 6-3 which doubtless gave the early Rams faithful a little more to cheer. Since then, there’s not been a deal between the two sides, with Derby edging the charts with 42 wins to Pompey’s 35.
Games won: 42
Games drawn: 23
Games lost: 35
The Status Quo:
Well, it’s looking good right now my fellow rams. Likewise for Pompey, who do look near to uncatchable now, though there doubtless remain some happy clappers like yours truly who will still be hoping Portsmouth slip up and what better place for them to begin their demise than in front of their own fans on Tuesday evening? That said, Portsmouth have arguably been THE most consistent side in the division, steadily accumulating wins after a minor, mid-season wobble. It’s fair to say that while they’ve continued their good form, our post-Xmas wobble saw us fall back a little, though if we look at the last half dozen games, we’ve actually outpointed them, indeed only Lincoln, who seem to lay waste to every team they meet right now, can claim to be in better form than our own beloved Rams.

The Key Threats:
There’s little doubt that Cody Bishop is their main striking threat with 16 goals and 2 assists to his name this season, but Pompey can boast other threats, none less than Paddy Lane who has netted 11 times this season, also weighing in with 6 assists. Abu Kamara and Marlon pack have 8 assists a piece, so it’s fair to say that Pompey have multiple attacking threats and they promise to provide us with our toughest game of the season and one in which Nelson and Cashin will need to be absolutely on their A-game if we are to leave with Fratton Park with anything to show for the game.
Team News:
Like most, I was delighted to see Collo return to the fold so swiftly and he looked pretty damn sharp to be honest. Perhaps the ‘rest’ has actually done him well! This is critical as for me, Wash and Waggy look some way off their peak and I suppose, given their lack of games this year, that’s easy to understand.
I was also delighted to see Korey Smith start and for me, he has to stay in the starting 11. He’s not entirely dissimilar to Hourihane, but his mobility gives us more stability, though that said, we did again leave gaps between the press and our back line against Blackpool and if we do so again against Pompey, we might find ourselves in some bother.
With a considerable injury list still hampering his efforts, Warne will again need to marshal his troops carefully and I’d expect a cagey performance from both sides where moments of quality will likely settle the game, rather than one side establishing outright dominance. I’ll drop another update on injuries etc, on this thread nearer the game, but I’d be looking at something similar to what we saw yesterday, with a couple of tweaks:
Firstly, I’ve assumed Elder is once more broken and that we’ll therefore need to use Sibbo in the LB role again. I’d have preferred him starting higher up the pitch, but we have so many missing that it’s a case of needs must. In so much, the back 4 pick themselves.
I’ve kept the same midfield as last week, with Smith again taking the starting role and Conor set to figure later in the game. Adams remains on fire and simply has to start every match now. The only other tweak I’d use would be to play Wash in behind Collo, assuming Jimmy is able to manage 60 minutes at this point in his return. That gives us something like the line-up below, but I do expect this to change, as I very seldom guess Warne’s selection correctly and I’m also hopeful we’ll have one or two more to pick from. CBT, now with some minutes under his belt, appears to be finding some good form and despite our injury situation, we'll have some interesting bench options all the same and perhaps he might even earn a start?


The Game:
I don’t think there’s any doubt that both sides have sufficient quality to punish any errors made and I think this will simply come down to which side best executes their game plan and who is most clinical with the chances they fashion. I’m going for a 1-1 draw with Nate to re-find his scoring touch and secure us another vital point. I think with both clubs and sets of fans riding high, it ought to be a great atmosphere though at present, there is some rain forecast. For anyone making a mini-break of it, please see some 'Things To Do' suggestions and links to some decent eateries below, as suggested by TripAdvisor:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g186298-Activities-Portsmouth_Hampshire_England.html
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g186298-Portsmouth_Hampshire_England.html
Enjoy the game my fellow Rams fans and safe journey to and fro.
COYR
BE MORE B4

I think it’s a good game for him to come back in, he’s got that experience and calmness about him that could be vital today. 

For me we are playing at home and have to keep the attacking intent of Ward and Sibley at wingback, however i would bring Smith in to strengthen the centre of the park. Forsyth is a great option to bring on if Sibs is struggling defensively. Barks had a good game Tuesday night and has to keep his place, running at the defence.
Lets have a real go at Bolton, forget what they did last Saturday!!
                           Wildsmith
            Nelson     Bradley     Cashin
Ward          Adams          Smith          Sibley
Mendez-Laing       Gayle       Barkhuizen

My daughter has put her foot down and made an impassioned case for us to make the 200 mile round trip on a school night. We'll be there, COYR!

Derby County vs Reading
Tuesday 12th March
Pride Park   KO 1945
 
Opposition Bio: Reading have made more headlines off the field than on it in recent times as they find themselves in financial strife as a result of incompetency by their owner. Sound familiar? 
The EFL have seemingly cut them more slack than they did with ourselves but their patience must be wearing thin as deadlines to deposit sufficient funds regularly pass. The latest failure to pony up saw them docked further points and their season deduction now stands at six points in total. 
There was a further deduction of three points doled out, albeit suspended, after their understandably fed up supporters invaded the pitch and caused the early abandonment of their home match with Port Vale, the latters best result in recent months.
Where we had Mel Morris, Reading have Dai Yongge. This proves the old adage of being wary of baldies or fake Welshmen baring gifts.
Any sympathy we have for them should be tempered though by the thought that they are probably still laughing at us paying £3m for Nick Blackman.
Reading FC are known as the Royals, a distinctly naff nickname acquired after a young Prince Albert played a dozen games for the club before marrying Queen Victoria. Plus they hail from the royal county of Berkshire. They are also known as the Biscuitmen due to the town's association with the biscuit makers Huntley & Palmers. 
They are managed by Spaniard Ruben Selles and, having been relegated last season, will be looking to secure League 1 survival this season and kick on in 2024/25 under different ownership and without points deductions.
Reading are the proud holders of two notable records. In the 1985/86 season they recorded 13 straight victories at the start of the season in what is now this division and they also hold the record for the highest points total for their whopping 106 points in their 2005/06 Championship campaign. 
Opposition Form: Not too shabby in fairness. In the ten matches played since they beat us 1-0 at their place they have won a further four games with three draws and three defeats.
They arrive at Pride Park on the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Wycombe and in 18th place with a record of W12-D9-L16. It should be noted, however, that without their points deduction they would be in 14th position. 
Their away record is perhaps misleading as the bare stats of W3-D5-L10 needs to be looked at in the knowledge that they contrived to lose their first eight matches on the road. They all count obviously but their more recent form away since then reads W3-D5-L2. 
Their away wins have been at Wycombe (2-1), Stevenage (1-0) and Carlisle (3-1). They have also managed decent draws at Oxford and Peterborough.
In those 18 away games they have only failed to score on four occasions. Promisingly from a Rams perspective, they have only kept the one clean sheet on their travels.
Opposition Players: Going purely off the stats it would appear their chief dangermen are top marksman Harvey Knibbs (10 goals, 6 assists), Sam Smith (9 goals, 10 assists) and possibly Femi Azeez and Lewis Wing. They also have Robbie's son Charlie Savage, the experienced Harlee Dean and the wonderfully named youngster Jacob Hammond-Chambers-Borgnis who I hope gets a runout as I'd love to see if they put his triple-barrelled name on his shirt.
Rams vs Reading History: This will be the 48th league clash between Derby and Reading and the 54th in all competitions. The clubs' first meeting was a League Cup clash in October 1965 (1-1) but it wasn't until 22nd September 1984 that the Rams and the Royals met in a league fixture for the first time and the long wait proved barely worthwhile as we played out a goalless draw at their previous home, Elm Park. The return fixture would prove to be more memorable, for us at least, as Reading's first ever league visit to Derby in April 1985 saw the Rams win 4-1 with goals from Bobby Davison, Steve Buckley, Trevor Christie and Gary Micklewhite in front of a bumper crowd of 7,945 (really?).
That was not a taste of things to come in this fixture though as Reading have had by far the better of it. Our record on their turf is especially poor with just four wins in 24 visits. On Derby soil, though better as you'd expect, it is still deeply unimpressive. Our last victory at home to them was a 1-0 success in September 2021 but our overall home league record against Reading is W10-D3-L10. 
Expected Team: Same again one might think. Possibly a change in the middle to give more legs with Smith or Thompson in for Hourihane. 
Other Fixtures of Note: Something similar to Saturday would be nice. A Derby win and at least one of our rivals for automatic dropping points please. Their games midweek are:
Portsmouth vs Burton
Bolton vs Oxford
Carlisle vs Barnsley
Peterborough vs Stevenage (Weds)
COYR