Kinder

They seem to like puns as much as we do on here…
 
https://cambridgeunitedfc.proboards.com/thread/11010/rams-home?page=1
 

The job Warne has done, since Stevenage away, has been exemplary.
You cannot play one touch 50 pass moves with league 1 players. Not feasible. If we blow it, and have to face up to another season down here, Warne is definitely the man to rebuild us and go again.
If we go up, he will have earnt the right to build a Championship squad and have a go at keeping us up, as per his original brief.
I know he's marmite, with his off-beat personality profile, but he's clearly an honest and genuine man and it's hard to see a nice guy cop for abuse.

First promotion for 17 years. First automatic promotion for nearly 30 years. Let’s counter your argument and say you think that finishing 3rd, playing good football but failing where it really matters is an achievement?
The arrogant attitude that anything less than running away with the title with triple figure points is a failure is why big clubs like Sunderland, Ipswich, Notts Forest etc got stuck down here for longer.
Less than two years ago we had about 6 players, no academy, no manager and had to play pre-season in temporary shirts because we didn’t even have kits. We were also put under restrictions, which still haven’t run out yet. So yes, I think getting automatic promotion in this timeframe is an achievement. A very good one, actually.

Maybe we could change it slightly to we are coming with you pompy 🤔

Thank you for the gracious comments.  I'm a bit *ahem* tired and emotional - it's been a relatively long wait for us to get back in to the second tier.  I'm rooting for you to get over the line and other results this evening appear to have been in your favour.  Good luck and raising a glass to B4.

Hi Duracell, we have a pair of ideal seats for you, we picked the seats because we're close to friends on the opposite side of the aisle.
We're stair 41, row kk, seats 398,399 immediately next to the aisle in the lower east in line with the edge of the centre circle on the south stand side of the half way line. Row kk is about 4 rows down from the entry stairs and the seats are on the right as you walk down to them.
We could meet you at the bottom of stair 41 in the concourse or you can just let me know your seat numbers.

I had a season ticket for 30 years until I moved to the US. I followed Derby home and away and have stood on terraces with a handful of other Rams fans in the days in the old second division when we had nothing like the away support we have now. And home games dipped under 10k. I put on bus trips many times from Matlock and I was as loyal as pretty much anybody on this board.

I now live in western Cornwall, and getting back for games is very difficult. Not least because the number of painkillers I have to take because I get sciatica when driving for more than an hour, is verging on suicidal.

I freely admit I'd not want to put myself through the pain and discomfort of driving 6 or 7 hours each way for a meaningless game, so if that means 'sunshine supporter' to you, so be it. But I'm relaxed in the knowledge that I've put in my time and spent tens of thousands of pounds watching Derby on 70 different league grounds. 

As for why I didn't buy one 4 weeks ago. That was because I had to make a choice of coming up for the Orient game or the last game, and as it was a mate's birthday this last weekend and my wedding anniversary on Saturday, we rolled the dice.

Thank you Shrews and well done Pompey. 👏 

Thank you Shrews! 

Congrats to Pompey as well, they deserve it.

Thank you Shrews! 

Congrats to Pompey as well, they deserve it.

Thank you Shrews! 

Congrats to Pompey as well, they deserve it.

Thank you Shrews! 

Congrats to Pompey as well, they deserve it.

Thank you Shrews and well done Pompey. 👏 

Thank you Shrews! 

Congrats to Pompey as well, they deserve it.

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.

Thank you Shrews! 

Congrats to Pompey as well, they deserve it.

Thank you Shrews! 

Congrats to Pompey as well, they deserve it.

Thank you Shrews! 

Congrats to Pompey as well, they deserve it.

Thank you Shrews and well done Pompey. 👏 

Thank you Shrews! 

Congrats to Pompey as well, they deserve it.

Thank you Shrews! 

Congrats to Pompey as well, they deserve it.

Never in doubt

 

 

I don't think I'd be dropping Korey Smith anytime soon. He's playing the most effective football of his Derby career.
I'd stick with Saturday's line-up, safe in the knowledge that we have potential game changers on the bench.

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
 

League Table since October defeat at Stevenage - just for the current top 6