DavesaRam

On 04/05/2024 at 13:39, MadAmster said:

Promotion should always be the aim. However, not making it isn't necessarily a hanging offence. I want promotion next season. Would love it to happen. Midtable or better would suffice though.

Ipswich? They built over 4 seasons into a team capable of back to back promotions. 2 years ago we had 5 players and no money. We brought in a shedload of players on freebies. 1 year ago we had a bit of a clearout and brought even more in. Today we have 14 players out of contract. Some will retire, some will go back to their parent clubs, some will be let go. We are likely to have an influx of 10 to 12 players again. A million miles away form the Tractors steady build. 

Would I like back to back promotions? Hell, yes. Do I expect it? Hell, no.

Do I expect it? Hell, yes, but not yet!!! We have some building to do!

As Caerphilly Ram noted, in a video about what happened at the sharp end of the pitch it was great to keep slotting in the great saves as well - they played a massive part in our success!

COME ON YOU KEEPERS!!!

16 hours ago, Shipley Ram said:

I think it was more McMahon left his foot in to try and bully Mickey, but Mickey didn't back down and McMahon hurt himself. Mickey did give John Barnes a kick or two in that game.

If memory serves me correctly, Mickey Lewis would from time to time kick the ball, but only if he had to!

As Andy in Liverpool said, let's wait and see how things go next season. Being able to adapt from a "Get Out Of Hell"  mindset to one which makes a good go of life in the Championship will prove his ability. Here's hoping!

PS: there may be an additional reason for Sonny Bradley's slow start. He was brought in to be captain - he had the credentials - but rumour has it that he started "lording it" over the rest of the squad, who didn't take too well to it. I suspect that this scuppered Warne's plans for getting the squad bonding together, hence the need a vote on who should be captain. It might also explain Bradley's lack of effectiveness early doors, as if no-one wanted to play with him at the time. But looking at how "together" they all were/are at the business end of the season, Warne has done all right on that score.

1 hour ago, BaaLocks said:

Yeah, but they don't have Birds bakery in London. No West End nightclub will bring more pleasure than two vanilla slices and an elephants foot.

I hope you are not forgetting the Caramel Doughnut, are you? Or those fabulous cheese and tomato cobs?

15 minutes ago, oodledoodle said:

Worth mentioning the move from London to Derby is also a massive one. Football aside, it's a massive upheaval to leave behind friends and home to work elsewhere. Done it myself plenty, and it's not easy. We've seen it plenty, some people fit in right away like Adams, some might take more time to settle. Some might not settle at all.

I hope he finds his feet. He's the type of player you really don't want to come up against. So I'm glad he's ours.

Agree about the move from London. After the hustle and bustle, and the bright lights of London, his first wander into our city centre would be one hell of a blow! It's a dump, especially the Victoria Street area! No wonder he seemed to lose his way!

2 hours ago, RoyMac5 said:

Which was the L**ds game where he took them off the coach before the ground and made us walk in?

But yeah the Mac1 4-4 bloody unbelievable!

That was the first match on his own for my middle son, and he bought a season ticket on the back of it!

If there is a car park that only gets used on matchdays, and remains empty for the rest of the time, it could be named the John Newman Care Park, because he emptied the life out of anyone who got too close. And if John objects, then it could be called the Tommy Docherty Car Park, because he emptied the club of talent during his short stay in Derby.

37 minutes ago, Archied said:

Not really , that thread , that thread ?,

this forum was made pretty much unusable for a fair time , a new Warne out thread every ten minutes , every other thread invaded and turned into a Warne out thread by a very determined few posters ,brow beating , swamping people who just wanted to support and read about derby county and happy to be patient with the manager, eventually people got sick to death with it and started to fight back against this aided by the sterling job it was becoming clearer and clearer Warne was doing ,,,then what ? A rewrite of history and veiled accusations of bullying ,,, really ? 
some really need to take a long hard look at the state this forum was becoming and the behaviour of some posters who were brow beating the hell out of people on virtually every thread🤷🏻‍♂️

 

I notice towards this end of this thread that there is still disagreement, some of it quite entrenched, but there is now a degree of civility about the discussions, which is good!

On his arrival, I had concerns but was quite willing to give the guy a chance. After all, he had been somewhat restricted at Rotherham. I was also looking forwards to good times at the start of this season, but was somewhat concerned by our lack of control of matches, and the commensurate lack of actual football. His stubborn insistence on his "one way  to play" approach quite rightly earned him criticism, which peaked at the time of the great rebellion. The football wasn't just dire, it was mostly appalling. And much as many were prepared to put up with it in order to get out of this hell-hole, it was a really tough watch. I was by this time shifting quickly to "Warne Out", simply because it was clear we were capable of a much better level and style of football,  and when we saw glimpses of it, the good results followed. However, although criticism was, I believe, well justified, there was no need for the personal insults which were being thrown around. I may have lobbed a couple in hinting at his apparent lack of coaching and tactical prowess, but that is where it stopped. Form me it didn't reach the level of personal attack, and if I posted anything which could be perceived as such, then I apologise.

But then there seemed a watershed, a turning point. Whether or not the ferocity of the protests triggered or not most of us will never know, but all of a sudden we found Collins in the area when  crosses were being sent in, and the crosses themselves were no longer stratospheric. We also seemed to explore the use of midfield, which for months had been treated by the club as a barren wilderness. And the results started to come. The mood changed, and only changed after matches like Northampton and Wycombe, where we reverted to Warne's original MO. But having seen changes to how we approached games I was critical of going back to what had demonstrably failed several times, but hoped that it was a temporary blip. 

What I have observed, and this is just my opinion, is a maturing and growing by Paul and his team, so given the restrictions which the club still faced right to the end of the season, think he has done a good job. It was good to go into the closing matches expecting a result each time. I still believe that we could have achieved a lot more with a more expansive approach to tactics, but Paul Wane had his view of how to get the job done. He certainly helped his cause with the signings of Nyambe and Adams.

I am confident that in the same way that Paul knew how to get us out of League One, he also knows what will be needed to make us an established top-half Championship club, and am looking forward to seeing how he goes about it.

I am also looking forward to going into the new season on this forum with the new level of civility that we seem to have generated. WE should have a great future together.

COME ON YOU RAMS!

On 30/04/2024 at 05:21, oodledoodle said:

Wasn't that thread from October, when things were looking absolutely dire on the pitch? I appreciate it's a results business, but at the time we were getting neither the results nor a performance. We'd barely troubled the top six the previous season, and looked set to repeat the same again.

The message was sent loud and clear that it wasn't good enough. Had things carried on in the same manner, he'd have been out of a job. Absolutely no doubt in my mind. It's also important that Warne at this point was freely admitting things were nowhere near good enough. It wasn't just us Warne outers that were critical. He was agreeing with us.

Credit given to all involved that following that "altercation" with Hourihane and the fans, results did improve. And that was despite key players being out injured. I absolutely think that the toxicity at the time knocked some reality into the players and staff. I think it was their make or break time. I also absolutely think we'd be nowhere near second had we all just clapped them off every game, and quietly accepted whatever garbage was being served up. I truly think it was the moment the penny dropped for the club. And it was needed.

I think that point in time, when the Warne doubt was at it's highest, that neither camp was wrong. One camp were fed up with things as they were in reality. One camp were optimistic things would improve. I'd also argue both camps were right because despite results improving, arguably the football didn't. So some very valid questions remained.

However it's results that get you up, so most sane doubters were placated. And we did go up. Because we're Derby and we're brilliant, regardless of who's in charge.

But I'm always wrong, so feel free to disagree.

Superbly well expressed, Oodleddodle!

Derby 5 Spurs 0! My first ever match, what a start!

Manchester United away on the day of the Hillsborough disaster. My friend got us tickets via his brother who lived in Manchester, so we were in with the home fans. United fans still had a fearsome reputation in those days, so we were committed to sitting on our hands all match. But when we scored our first I noticed quite a few people sort of launched themselves out of their seats before quickly grabbing themselves back down again, and I though "We are not alone!" We didn't care when the second went in, and there were loads and loads of us!

Brighton play-off semi under Stevie Mac - probably the best atmosphere I have ever experienced, which wasn't matched on Saturday, surprisingly enough. 

Port Vale away, last season, when we scored two in the last moments. I have never seen limbs like it! Brilliant!

19 hours ago, Gee SCREAMER !! said:

Derby 4 Southampton 0 under Smith.  Absolutely ripped them apart that day.  First time I'd thought we're probably only a couple of players from winning something with this team and being here for 10 years.  Didn't quite have the funds to finish the job 

I can remember that season, and know that the Bald Eagle had talked with Emmanuel Petit and David Ginola! What a team that would have been - we'd haave plyed everybody like the last 20 minutes of that Southampton game! But we didn't have the pennies! 

6 hours ago, BWFCNick said:

Couple of side notes to add -

 

My 1 gripe with Evatt is that he is a bad loser and needs more grace when things don't work. I hate excuses and as I've learnt from reading other forums, every set of fans thinks they're hard done by by the referee every week and sometimes just accepting that we didn't take our chances is a better way to learn, move forward and grow.

The other side note is that I live in Stockport, have various friends who are rams around here and have a soft spot for you, especially as someone who went to Uni in Nottingham and developed a great dislike for Forest, mainly over their arrogance in referring to themselves as "the famous club"

Thanks for checking in, and thanks for your comments! I always liked Ian Evatt, and am glad he is having some success, and would love for you to win the play-offs. In reality most of us are relieved, and delighted that we've got the job done, because I am sure we wouldn't make it through the EFL roulette competition!

My only gripe with Bolton is, having visited there 3 times, it is a bit of a pig to get away from when the match is over! But I can put up with that!

6 hours ago, RebelScum said:

... The day before. Reflections of yesterday with a bangin head!

It wasn't just Pride Park or the Neptune - it was the whole of Derby - some places have it and some don't, it's that simple!

It's easy to support Liverpool, it's easy to follow one of the Manchester clubs.

I don't think there is a greater footballing place in the UK than Derby!

COYR!

Used my bus pass for the first time yesterday (apart from getting past the safe-standing ticket checks - twice!) and as I walked across the Morlege at about 9.15 I could see about a thousand people out on the pavement already. Derby was heaving with Rams already! A great day yesterday!

Glad that Ebou is getting MOM recognition. He was all over the pitch, and the only position he didn’t cover was goalkeeper because they wouldn’t let him have a goalie’s jumper on! 

Its a big thank you, Paul, from me! Surprise, surprise! You did what you were asked to do, and have grown and developed as a manager throughout the season. I hated some of the football we had dished up, and the stubborn intransigence at times, but in the end not only have we managed to drag ourselves out of this hell-hole, we have had a record number of away wins, best defensive record, and load of other "bests", so in the end, your football was effective. It might be that it was a deliberate choice for effective football", and the real "Warne-ball" will surface from now on - who knows? Right now, it doesn't matter. We are up!

Enjoy your summer, Paul!

Started today with slurps at the Neppy, then in the bar at what used to be the DW  and then in. My daughter was feeling sick and dizzy, and had a cracking headache but still came to the match 'cos she simply had to!

What a cracking start (and end) by Birdy, who gave that shot everything he had! Then it went a bit flat, as if we were going to do the usual and see out a 1-goal lead to the end, but I didn't care - we are going up! The second goal lit the team up because there was now no pressure whatsoever. 

Great to sing for the Right Honourable David Clowes, and the ovation at 55 minutes was brilliant! And for B4 to be commemorated so proudly was a beautiful touch!

And I did eventually go onto the pitch with son and daughter to re-live the last time, 10 years ago after the Brighton play-off semi - see both piccies below!

Is the rumour true that Paul Warne will feature in the New Years Honours list as first recipient of an MBE, which will actually be a a new honour, the Member of the Bobble Empire?

Well done Paul! You did what you were brought here to do - I had my doubts, mainly about what we had to watch, but what we did end up watching was a club going places. You've earned your stripes. Now, as 02 used to say "See what you can do"!!!

51 minutes ago, Geriatram said:

Sadly this will be my last match today. My first was in 1956 as a 13year old, My dad used to take me before that but he stopped going when we went down to the third division north. My mate and I would catch the 12 oclock bus from Melbourne and be the first in the ground. We stood in the Normanton end pigeon loft, I think it was 3 shilling. To this day I remember that team. We were champions in 1957 and I ran onto the pitch after the last match against Southport, Ray Straw scored 37 goals that season, The next ten years saw me start work, get married and have two children, I had moved to Derby, and after my family, the Rams were the most important thing in my life I never missed a home game in those ten years even though we were only an average second division side. And then in 1966 after England won the world cup my mate and I decided to have a season ticket, Little did we know what would happen that season, I was at work one day and a Rams supporting work mate told me we had signed a player from Bradford Park Avenue, his name was Kevin Hector I'd never heard of him but he was without doubt the most wonderful footballer to grace the Baseball Ground I had ever seen, and because of this we wanted to see more players like him which led to Tim Ward getting the sack and BC becoming Manager, what followed was ten years of unbelievable success and enjoyment. And then things started to go wrong off and on the pitch and I stopped being a season ticket holder during Peter Taylors time as manager, i still loved The Rams of course and when I turned 65 and retired my old mate from Melbourne and I bought season tickets again. But sadly covid left my best friend of 80 years with a dementia problem and he know no longer knows me. For the last two seasons I have been going alone to the match but its just not the same for me. Therefore I am calling it a day, as I write this I am welling up as I will do this afternoon. Thank you Derby County for every thing I will love you till I die.     

Love you, even though I’ve never met you!

2 hours ago, Ram-Alf said:

Another over the top reaction from those who can control the public, Ones persons disorder is another persons party, I think we'll need VAR here to decide.

Are fans going to celebrate if DCFC are promoted...of course they are, Do people celebrate the New Year...of course they do, Is there any dispersal orders on New Years day?...football support has changed over the years, The police attitude to supporters hasn't. 

Come Sunday afternoon if someone is attacked in Derby town centre...there'll not be 1 old bill to be seen 🙄

 

Apparently the VAR official is called Bill, and he is elderly, so there is an obvious conflict of interest. Rioters are considering their options.

3 hours ago, RoyMac5 said:

It's already started, whatever it is. No more than one person chanting 'Come on You Rams'?

"A dispersal order is now in place for Derby city centre, following concerns about anti-social behaviour.

The order will be in place until 11am on Sunday 28 April. The order started at 11am on Friday 26 April, and covers the areas pictured on the map."

"Officers and PCSOs will be using the dispersal powers to disperse anyone found causing anti-social behaviour in Derby city centre for a maximum of 48hrs.

Dispersal orders give officers extra powers to direct groups to leave an area if they are involved in ASB or disorder, if members of the public are being harassed, alarmed or distressed, or if officers think their behaviour may lead to anti-social behaviour.

Anyone who returns to the area after being moved on, will face being arrested."

 

If the police are heavy handed, can we invoke the dispersal order on them? Just asking for a friend.

On 25/04/2024 at 16:24, Foreveram said:

This was a good year.

If it takes 16 years to drink, is it a bottle or a whole vineyard?

2 hours ago, Kathcairns said:

My grandson is 6 and wants to see the team walk round waving his flag. Is he a minority then.

Yes, the majority of us are older than 6, even though we may act like we are 6!

As an employee of the Ministry of Justice, a criminal prosecution could cost me my job. Or it would if I wasn't retired!!!!!

2 hours ago, angieram said:

How many will be sober enough to actually see the match? 😂

It's a pity we can't get a few more building the atmosphere inside the ground, rather than in local hostelries. I take it some people only know how to support the team when they are half cut? 

Wish mash yoo tokkin baatt?

1 hour ago, Crewton said:

He also got one of the Coro lads who was a Celtic fan 2 tickets for the Celtic end for their game at the City Ground in the UEFA Cup in 1983. For all his flaws, he was always doing that kind of stuff for people.

My wife was stood behind him at the till in the co-op in Allestree and both were geld up by an old dear trying to pay for her shopping with shrapnel, and Clough just reached around her and paid the whole bill for her!

What a guy!