BarrowRam

Went in a local pub, 1999 I think it was, Mart Poom was in the away end with us. Russell Hoult was in goal.
The pub was in-between Goodison Park and Anfield, 4 of us were soon picked out as Derby fans. one or two young boys were a bit lairy but an older chap came over, sat down and started talking to us about Roy McFarland and the Derby team of the 70's. This guy knew the full history of Brian Clough's Derby side and was absolutely gutted that Roy Mac had been stolen!
He accompanied us to the ground and made sure we were ok before wishing us the best. 
It was the game when Eranio got broken and the ref waved carry on. It was probably Bobby Madley's dad.

Done ? 

Bird on 

Cracking finish by Sibbo and nearly another. McGoldrick’s presence very telling. Roberts working hard. 
Giving them too much space on the left, slippery boogers. Mids not moving to take the ball from the back line so more faffing and some lucky escapes. 
Was that Rooney who ran 35 yards for a last gasp tackle ? Or was it Knight ? We’ll done anyway. 
Regardless of what others think of the ref, he’s defo one who think players should stay on their feet. 
it’s a good game of footy ??
 

George Thorne: "That's an unbelievable touch from Louie Sibley on his left and a brilliant shot on his right foot. You've got to credit the keeper for an incredible save".
HT it's 1-0 to Derby. Standing ovation from the fans at the ground.

The players agree with us on needing to convert their chances, so let’s hope that’s where there focus is 

Wonder if that will temper some of the more ridiculous comments on here tonight? 3 points off top, only four games gone, lost 1 game, still building a team from scratch… and somehow, the world is ending.

A touch of class from Mendez-Laing after his goal today, acknowledging Barkhuizen's excellent assist.
 

Just be thankful you don’t support ManU 

Fitness will come and across 50++ games, you don't want your squad at concert pitch after only 3 games anyway. Some of ours have not had a lot of football in recent times and will need time to get match fit and sharp. Even as it is, we could quite easily be 3 from 3 and sat top of the table, despite a half-cooked and makeshift squad still needing time to gel.
Think it's safe to assume there's a a deal of improvement still to be unlocked and that's a pretty exciting prospect after the last couple of seasons.
COYR

Would be difficult to get much better cover at this level

Would do well in league 1 imo
 
 

Got to Waterloo East having shared the train up with the Southampton fans who are playing spurs. 
Sprinkling of Charlton on the platform but I'm the only ram so far..... 

25 years ago to the day this shirt was worn by Ashley Ward in the very first game to be played at Pride Park v Sampdoria ! 
25 years ago !! 
How can that be ? 

One Club One City We Are Derby.
 

A beautiful example of Umbro 80s quality, John Gregory was our captain and also joint top scorer in the first year back in the top tier of English football, John has given me his whole collection from his Derby days, from third to first division what a journey and what a great era for those of us who experienced it truly great days following the Rams !

Strangely, now we've been saved by St. David of Clowes, I'm really pleased, in the bigger picture, that we are now in Division 1.
Back to old school football. Back to being a big fish in a small pond. 
We tried, under Mel to turn up at the casino that was the Championship with a big F off stack of chips to intimidate other players at the table. Spent fast and loose - and lost.
We needed a total reset and we got one. I can't lie, it's hurt. Being threatened with extinction was a very real prospect.
Now we've cleared the football cache and cookies, we're back to a fresh start.
I'm still haunted by the memory of all that money we wazzed up the wall. Even the least of the excesses was Anya. £4m and and £20k a week over 4 years, ergo £8m over 4 years. There were 4 or 5 others that cost £10m+ in transfer fees and salaries over 4 year contracts.
£60m minimum wazzed up the wall on 5 or 6 players, not to mention our merry go round of managers that resulted in the amount of debt that threatened our very existence. Covid didn't help, but the aforementioned was the real problem.
Certain individuals that had Mel's ear and were administrators at our club were also abusing their parallel self-interests as agents to sell us pup after pup.
Now we're back to football reality. It's amazing what team we've managed to piece together on frees and modest wages.
Loving our new reality. We can attract decent players at this level, where if we spend within our means, which is significantly above most of our competitors, we can perform well at this level. 
If we continue in this manner, we can grow organically.
What's not to love? A fantastic academy that should finance our rebirth. 30,000+ crowds, that again should finance our rebirth and perversely the EFL reining us back to a financial plan that we absolutely NEEDED. Didn't want, but definitely needed.
Oh and being rescued by the 'quiet man of football' - DC.
What a time to be alive! I'm falling back in love with football again.
The only way is up...

I particularly liked the part of the interview where he spoke of shedding a few tears, together with his wife,  when it was confirmed his takeover had completed.
Also made me laugh when he said about taking his family on holiday to some weird destinations to coincide with Derby's preseason friendlies.
Really comes across as a down-to-earth, level-headed, unassuming character who really does have our club’s best interests at heart.

I’ve watched the interview about 3 or 4 times now, it’s absolute brilliant to have such an honourable man in charge. Our saviour looks to have very little ego and is such a massive breath of fresh air compared to the previous car crash.
He’s a proper fan, not a fake. Knows his football. I imagine Morris to have read the latest football sports science info then retell it to the press with that annoying smirk. He was like Brent and Dostoyevsky!
He’ll listen to others, he won’t run it like a one man toy shop. He has a huge amount of respect for the club. He won’t let us down. We are so, so lucky to have David Clowes as our owner. Thank you!

Things I enjoyed...
Genuine fan with decades of supporting the team 
Nice hint of a Derby accent
Spoke well of Mel's 'team'
Didn't criticise Kirchner
Talked about how emotional he was at buying the club
Really creating a decent relationship with the EFL
Gave credit to Lionel 
Didn't promise anything but talked about progress and stability. 
 
Not much more you could ask for. Hope he stay fairly quiet and enjoy the ride back to the top!

So the first thing to share from Alan Hintons personal collection is this superb European trophy, it spells UEFA, it was presented to the players in recognition of reaching the European Cup semi final, it is inscribed with Alan’s name and each of the clubs that they played in the competition Sarajevo, Benfica, Spartak Trnava and Juventus, a very rare and treasured piece of Derby County FC history. #dcfcfans #dcfc.

Roy and Brian Hinton.