Donnyram

Context. 
First managerial job, came in when we were bottom of the table, whilst a takeover was on the cards, loan signings picked up injuries which left us with a super thin squad.
You can question his tactics, subs, and all that, but was dealt a difficult hand so the question have we progressed under him is incredibly unfair at the minute.
He did keep us up, forget the points deduction for Wednesday, the Cardiff goal, he kept us up and that’s that task complete.
Progression has to be judged starting this season where he’s had a summer to build the squad, albeit in difficult circumstances still, but level on points with the rest of the league. 
As fans I do feel like we need to get off his back, get behind him and hope we have a much better season.
Absolutely nothing to be gained from laying into the guy, booing from the first game of the season. Just be fair, even if you don’t agree with the appointment, give him a chance.

I've read some right nonsense about this lad on here and on Twatter and the like. IMO, he's a talented young lad and we're lucky to have him. Hopefully he can really kick on this season as it must have been a proper baptism of fire last year.
It's often the case that young players coming from abroad take a season to settle in and I think with Bielik's injury, being stuck away from home under lockdown, playing in a side so short of confidence, not to mention reading some of the garbage spewed about him in the dark recesses of social media, it really can't have been easy. If we actually play with a bit of tempo this season, I can see him doing really well. His work ethic is superb and that earns him some credit with me irrespective.

I am just done with this, do your worst EFL and move on to your next victims.
Sick of this rolling on and on, either step up and deliver a punishment. We can then appeal and we move on.
These clouds of uncertainty are weighing heavy and I for one am sick and tired of being the whipping boys for a select few. 
 
The club have bent the rules but not broken them unlike many others of the decades.
Let the EFL punish us to save face, they’re a vindictive and spiteful bunch and can never be found and proven to be inadequate. They keep on pushing until they receive some sort of victory no matter how big or small. 
 
Hit us with your best shot and then duck OFF to your next targets ????

Just a feeling I get. I have contemplated at length the pros and cons. I wonder how he might have gone on without the  2 fakeovers, wages not being paid and being under a transfer embargo until as late as 24 hours before the window shut.
It's each to their own, you've made your feelings clear on more than one occasion. 
I thought it time I made my thoughts known.
Do you think he's been given a fair chance with Mels shitstorm?
Do you think it has all been as he was told it would be?

Thanks for posting this. It is an excellent example of why I put up the hindsight thread. On the day that Cocu was sacked 90% were against Rooney being appointed interim manager. 2 months later and 94% were in favour of his appointment as permanent manager. Now it's probably 75% against him staying. It's dead easy to be a fan, but nearly impossible to be a chairman of a football club.
I'm sure Mel was more nervous than any fan about appointing Rooney initially. Yes it was temporary, but things could very easily have got even worse than they already were. 2 months and top 2 form later he probably had a grin bigger than the Cheshire Cat's. And now here we are, 1 win in 15 later and Mel has to decide whether to pull the trigger or not, costing the club millions of pounds. It's so easy sat in front of a computer screen clicking imaginary money away and throwing someone on the dole (Rooney doesn't need the money, but he won't be the only one out of the door). Any chairman has to fulfil the dreams of thousands of fans at the first attempt. He can't press the reset button or return to a previously saved game.
 
We as fans can change our minds in the bat of an eyelid. Just because we have though doesn't mean that we have the right to beat the chairman with a stick every time circumstances change.
 

Listening to McLaren the same applies to Derby.  Need players in and a good start to next season....

Will be a free agent as he’s turned down a new contract at Wimbledon.  We’ve maybe got an advantage with Rooney in charge as he was born in Maidstone so highly likely he’s a Man Utd supporter ?

Will be a free agent as he’s turned down a new contract at Wimbledon.  We’ve maybe got an advantage with Rooney in charge as he was born in Maidstone so highly likely he’s a Man Utd supporter ?

Will be a free agent as he’s turned down a new contract at Wimbledon.  We’ve maybe got an advantage with Rooney in charge as he was born in Maidstone so highly likely he’s a Man Utd supporter ?

Didn’t take long.
But this is more than just Derby. I can point you towards more than a dozen topics that are sticking the boot into the club where you could have a whale of a time.
Can even find a couple where AFC Derby and full on liquidation scenarios for doomsday.
Regardless of where we finished, who’s in charge it’s wrong, we should be able to call that out without attacking our own club yet again.
The prize money on offer in the Premier League is obscene, the numbers are more nauseating when you consider grounds have been empty for over a year in 3 leagues, 3 leagues which unlike the Premier League ticket revenue accounts for a large percentage of the clubs yearly revenue.
But yeah, let’s ignore that to complain about Rooney again because that’s the biggest issue the Football League is facing right now. 

Even if it adds nothing to the P&S column to please the EFL, think of all the hospitality staff at the club who haven’t been able to work for over a year now, the suppliers, events team, ticket staff. 
Which ever account this money goes into, with little to no revenue for over a year, would be a great way to put a few quid back in to the club whilst also being able to step back in Pride Park.
Never intended to suggest that buying a table would allow Rooney to buy a striker.

So pleased to read the bit about your 8th can of Guinness................ didn’t sound great until then I have to say

HMRC are responsible for:
Income Tax, Corporation Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax, Insurance Premium Tax, Stamp, Land and Petroleum Revenue Taxes
Environmental taxes
climate change and aggregates levy and landfill tax
Value Added Tax (VAT), including import VAT
Customs duty
Excise duties
National Insurance
Tax Credits
Child Benefit
Please don’t put this on Twitter, but my understanding is that we still owe duty on the importation of Albentosa, Camara and Jozwiak, and are massively in arrears on child benefit payments for Knight, Sibley, Buchanan and Bird. The biggest debt to HMRC though falls under the Climate Change Levy where Mel Morris has incurred the club significant fees for the over production of worthless hot air.

It’ll be a cunning plan..... take a £5m non refundable deposit from every would be buyer.  2 down 10 to go and we’ll be debt free (disclaimer, I have no idea what the value of debt is)

It’ll be a cunning plan..... take a £5m non refundable deposit from every would be buyer.  2 down 10 to go and we’ll be debt free (disclaimer, I have no idea what the value of debt is)

If it’s taken about 2 years, an inquest and appeal then it can’t be that black and white.  Hope I’m right but sounds like a bit of a storm in a tea cup..... hopefully a fine will be seen as appropriate punishment which was initially reported when the appeal was first made.

Cracking post, sums up my own views perfectly (and I’m a tired middle aged man as well) ? ??

On the positive side we have young players who will improve.  On the optimistic side we have Krystian Bielik to come back and when he was around we looked a different team and talk from some was about launching a play off push this season.  Given some investment and clever recruitment the re-build may not be quite as drastic.  Maybe I’m glass half full but I won’t gain anything by being the opposite.
On your point about declaring that we have money to spend I tend to agree although the positive view maybe that it shows ambitious intent that may help to attract the right sort of player who want to join the project.

Exactly this. There are no guarantees in football and for every ten investors, only two are "succesful" - if success is measured on a scale of only promotion is good enough.
The other eight aren't all crooks or were rubbish. They just tried and failed. 
Overall the last seven years have been more enjoyable on the pitch than they haven't and I like others am just sad that it didn't work out for Mel. Have met him a few times I feel he is a decent guy who only ever wanted the best for this club.
There is no magic formula for success. I have just rewatched the review of the 13/14 season (I know!)
Leeds were in the High Court, look where they are now. Wigan, alternatively, were riding high. Look how divergent their future paths have been.
There's nothing guaranteed in football but we journey with hope, that's what we enjoy. 
For those of you that just enjoy wallowing in the misery, this may well have been your season, but beware, things might get better! 

Cracking post, sums up my own views perfectly (and I’m a tired middle aged man as well) ? ??

Football club ownership is a lose/lose situation, doesn’t matter what they do, you’ve done it wrong.
They will be asked to sit in the corner, be quiet, just sign the cheques, but wait, why are they so quiet, we demand answers.
Cut back spending, be sensible, wait a minute we still want that £10m striker and £5m defender, and a £8m keeper....oh and don’t forget that £7m midfielder....but don’t you dare take us close to that FFP limit, no football club should be losing money.
Bored now, we need a new owner, anyone just get rid...wait not him, we don’t want him Jesus, but get rid asap.
Hold on, why’s this guy wanting to buy a second tier football club, I smell something fishy, what’s his intentions, why us, why not one of those football clubs that actually make money like erm...errrrrm....
Honestly, I could be the richest man in the world, sat in trillions in the bank account and I would never touch a football club, even Derby. 
I could turn us into the next Man City and some would still have something to complain about, winning leagues, competing in Europe but yeah that David bloke what a @#%! for killing the atmosphere and turning us into a tourist fan club, all those fake fans over in Asia. I want to see us lose games, can’t remember the last time I saw us get a classic Derby tonking.
Now imagine football clubs owned by football fans, oh my, a group of Newcastle fans are looking to buy a stake in their club. Can already see the fall out there, desperate to get rid of Ashley they donate all they can, then Ant and Dec disagree over firing the manager, Cheryl Cole storms off wanting her £5.68 back as she thought one of the fans would be appointed manager.
Would not touch with a barge pole.

"Kim Jong-un will not have a formal role at the club".
Derby fan interpretation: FFS Kim Jong-un has an informal role at the club!!!  Moan, panic, whinge, moan, panic, whinge.

I'm a tired middle aged man. I don't have reserves of rage to bring to bear on topics around what might go wrong, or what should have been done. I'm sad that Mel is walking away, sad for us and for him, that the effort in sweat and treasure he's put in to getting us promoted never worked out. Blame him if you want, but few of us could or would have done better. He deserved to sit in the executive box at Old Trafford and The Emirates and watch our team mix it with the best again. I'll always respect him and wish him well.
The new guy is a clean slate, a fresh start. We have a new season over the horizon and if we can just win a couple more games and stay up, positives in the academy and the managers office and hope for the future.
Good luck to him, and I hope the takeover and the relegation battle conclude successfully in this next couple of weeks.
Up the Rams. It's all about the hope.
 
 

I am merely defending Mel when there is to my mind a certain tone from some posters that suggest he has been a bad owner.
considering the nature of this competition, the structure of the industry and what he has tried to do over the last 5 or so years then I dispute that in the strongest terms and will keep doing so.