Dordogne-Ram

What was it with that ref ! Appallingly inconsistent with the yellows. Bielik’s wasn’t even a foul. Yet when Festy ran back, got the ball and was then tripped as he broke away - nasty dirty challenge  .. zilch ! Toms early break in the first half .. firm outstretched hand shoved him in the back .. nothing ! Fuming ! East stand Lino doesn’t know the offside rule either. 
 
Anyway .. brilliant performance. Bieliks presence, passing and ability to win the second ball was so influential. We created so many opportunities in the first half. Their goal gave them a temporary lift but we out played them in every area of the field. Allsops early save was fantastic .. one of those that shapes a game. It was the blip of the throttle we needed to clear the carbs? We  looked more skilful and were seriously entertaining. Loved to see Festy and Byrne overlapping, Lawrence chasing back and winning balls. Fozzy’s header was a classic. Wasn’t Buchanan a good fit ? Jason knight has one of those things in his chest like iron man I reckon. Fans were ace again .. I’m loving the deep rumble of Allez allez allez allez you could feel it in your feet. 
 
Agent Martin .. we have a a little job for you tomorrow 

Amazing.
(And not allowing us to sign Ebosele on a long term contract is costing the club a potential £10m or so in summer. Cheers EFL for definitely having our survival at heart!)
 

Ebosele with the worst feline abuse since Zouma. 

... and it may not seem like it but I also think it is useful to have a sensible if slightly tetchy discussion about this. An issue discussed in the closed confines of a partisan message board (yours and ours) will always have a huge element of bias so I am genuinely interested in your take on things even if I don't agree with a lot of what you say. It was always unlikely that folk would roll out the welcome mat but you've popped on here and made your case regardless so fair play for that at least.
The why's and wherefores of the key issues that we are facing have already been covered by others over the last several pages so I won't go over old ground but if you take anything away from here then understand a few key things. I can't speak for everyone but hopefully this will give you a flavour of some.
1) We understand completely who put us in administration. There seems to be a misconception amongst Boro fans that Derby fans are somehow living in denial over this. That is simply not the case, we feel badly let down and abandoned to our fate.
2) Derby fans feel very strongly that the club has accepted its punishment handed out by the relevant authority but that this was incredibly badly and inconsistently handled by the EFL who just seemed to be making it up as they went along and appealing their own panels decisions and that separate legal actions from other clubs just feel like a pile on when the club is on the brink of oblivion. The language from the EFL was very much that this would draw a line under things and that we could hopefully move on and rebuild. You may not see it as you track our results because the patchwork squad has done amazing things in very trying circumstances but our squad has been decimated by embargo, contracts expiring of the majority of our senior pros, and cheap vacuuming up of our the young players that we invested in and have brought through the academy. We have not been able to offer contracts to either senior players nor professional contracts to younger players who have left the club now and will continue to do so. The financial impact of all this is immeasurable and even if we survive will take a long long time to get over. You may feel from afar that we need further punishment, but given what I have just outlined we feel that we have been absolutely hammered.
3) Gibson is the bogeyman to Derby fans because in one of our darkest hours since I have supported this club that having been thrown under a bus and bleeding to death in the road that it now appears from a Derby perspective that we have someone who has wandered out of the pub opposite and is loitering to see if he can have our wallet because he thinks he's still owed a round (trying to avoid too much emotive language but that's how it feels). An existential threat to our club is completely pre-occupying Derby fans and you cannot be surprised that this is creating resentment as two wealthy men continue their feud but the club that we have supported through thick and thin just seems to be collateral damage in that ongoing battle of wills.
4) We have a narrow window to try and ensure the survival of this club in its current form not as some phoenix club in god knows what league. It feels that multiple parties don't give a damn about that due to their own agendas are on the brink of ensuring that we are running out of cards to play. In terms of rescuing the club there is precious little to buy apart from a lot of debt and a name so anything that adversely affects the attractiveness of any potential deal if a serious worry. Legal actions on top of punishments handed out by the EFL just feel like the last straw, regardless of when they were originally thought of.
We know how we got here, all that fans want now is for an opportunity to climb out of this damned hole and rescue this sometimes infuriating and mostly bloody marvellous club of ours. To do that we need the club to get out of the stranglehold of administration and that means somehow clearing the barriers to a sale.

Personal abuse towards you has been removed as quickly as its been posted.
Steve Gibson is our enemy. He is trying to kill our football club.
Middlesbrough and Derby have more in common than most. Industrial working class towns with football clubs loved by the locals. From Steve Bloomer to Brian Clough we have a long football history. If you cant see why we are so livid with Gibson for wanting to kill us then I would question whether you really are a die hard football fan. 
As others have said, if it was Morris trying to liquidate your club I believe many of us would be up in arms about it.
Perhaps we are made of stronger stuff in Derbyshire, we'd do whats raite not just what a vindictive little multi millionaire wants to do because of a personal vendetta.

That tells you a lot though doesn’t it,  that we don’t know the details of his claim?
The truth here is not difficult to discern. Gibson and Morris detest each other. The reasons are lost in the mists of time and who cares? 
 
But we, Derby, are now in the position where - but for these claims - our club would have been sold in January. 
 
You say that Gibson has no desire to see Derby fold. You’re missing the point. The point is, his vendetta against Morris has pushed our sale back, he has trashed Rooney’s transfer window and he has put us at serious risk of liquidation. Our club is collateral damage in his nasty, squalid scrap and that is not acceptable to us. And I believe Gibbo also calculates that if he damages us, MM will be forced to pay for the repair, and he likes that. We see what has gone on and it is not acceptable to us.   
 
All is revealed in Gibson’s open letters - cleverly drafted by his PR and legal team. They are disingenuous, misleading and largely irrelevant to whatever the claim might be. And with each letter, the goalposts move, now it’s FFp, now it’s the stadium. (Don’t worry, we know Morris’ letter is not much better.) There is nothing confidential in his claim, so why has it not been articulated in the public arena? We know the answer. 
 
Even Couhig (whose behaviour is possibly even more revolting than Gibson’s) has had the sense to realise that to threaten a claim in these circumstances and without fully articulating it is beyond the pale. 
 
The outcome here will most likely be that MM will put in place arrangements to indemnify the club, that those arrangements will remain in place for several years at significant cost to Morris and that the claims will never be brought. (Mission accomplished for Gibbo, the worst kind of playground bully.)  And that Couhig will slither away to begin another attempt to exploit some legal system or other. 
 
Our owner has done a few shameful things in recent years. Nothing on the scale of what yours is currently up to 
 
 

Maybe he doesn't, but it does appear that he feels that the Club (or perhaps Mel) has not yet paid a sufficiently high a price for the historical financial breaches for which they have accepted a punishment on.
Makes you wonder what is the price he'll accept - and I'm not talking about a monetary figure for compensation - it's all about sporting sanctions. So is that liquidation? Is it relegation? Is it the complete dismantling of the squad and a reset position so far down the scale that you need binoculars to see where you have come from?

Boro will never go to court. I doubt they will even go to EFL arbitration. They are looking for a "settlement" and are using delay to try to extort a settlement. If they form the view that a settlement is virtually impossible, they will drop the claim and try to claim some high ground saying they are helping a fellow club in distress.
In the meantime they will stay schtum.

I'd say that's 100% corrupt, or at least an utterly insane way to run an organisation. If you want to argue that the EFL should change rules after someone has fond a loophole, to stop it being exploited in the future, then fine. But you are basically arguing that the EFL should be able to retrospectively change the rules at any given time and punish clubs for having broken them before they were changed.
You may as well argue that a magistrate can fine drivers purely for doing 30mph in a 30-zone because it's near a school and he thinks they should be doing 20.

It is interesting and Mel has made a bold move to "Flush out" MFC and WW claim, if MFC and WW are so confident of their claim why wouldnt they take is to the High Cout, its a resonable question
However it does raise another question for Mel, if he is so confident that he has the evidence to defeat the  MFC and WW claim why doesnt  he offer the new owners an indemnity agains MFC and WW claim. The indemnity should allow the Administrators to move on the PB.
My own opinion on this is, Mel might fancy his chances in the evidential process of the High Court but is less confident in the EFL Arbitration process, I share his concerns 
 
 

I have said it before and will continue to do so. The EFL have Peter Ridsdale on their board. The same Peter Ridsdale who was banned from being a director of any company from 2012-2020 for siphoning £350k into his personal bank account not a business account. 
The EFL ladies and gentlemen, rotten to the core. 

They can say what they like when so far it’s not cost them a penny to do so. They may well give it the big ‘un in public, no doubt hoping that Q would cave and offer them something, anything. Probably a different story when it becomes clear that they’re going to have to prove their case in a properly impartial forum. 
 
They will turn down Mel’s offer and they will continue to be as obstructive as possible in order to abuse the timelines and our financial position to try and extract something from us without having to prove anything.

(Haven't yet continued my catch-up from the above post onwards, but wanted to divert myself for a moment... so apologies if this is out of order)...
 
As a very good friend of yours, @Curtains... albeit by sheer coincidence, also a complete stranger... May I suggest you take a breather.  In good old Rams related fashion, maybe 48 hours?
It is what it is... heart-breaking, as you say... and there's virtually nothing any of us can do about it, other than the odd march, and the odd full house on a matchday, and who knows, maybe even the odd doorstep protest in Preston, in the weeks ahead?
But what we can all do, is take a step back when we need to.  We can (and must!) retain our health... mental & physical... and our sanity (The latter being subject to T&C's, obvs!).
Yes, we are powerless.  Yes, it's extremely frustrating.  And yes, it can be traumatic at times.  
But we must not lose sight of the fact that we must also remain strong.  We must look after ourselves... and our loved ones... over and above anything else.  And that includes our long-time favourite football club.
 
Take a break, buddy.  And take care of yourself.  ?

Oh, I can.
Just about every utterance from Fortress EFL is 50% bluster, 50% backtracking. They see themselves as unaccountable - as logical as a cycling fish.

Dont we all.

To cause damage to the seats/facilities/toilets of MFC will result in a big bill to DCFC at the worst possible time and give fuel to Steve Gibson. 
Do not do it. 

I know that the atmosphere will be very charged on Saturday, but I really hope that our fans can act vociferously but also within the law. It would be so much more of a statement if we can demonstrate our disdain for Gibson and at the same time be seen to be exemplary (expletives however are definitely in order)

Any crowd trouble next week is unfair on the innocent Boro and Derby fans who just want to support their teams. 

Is basically the message from the club, should go without saying really but here we are. 
No mention of what anti-social behaviour has been going on both home and away that could land the club in trouble, would assume pyro, damage to stadiums, fighting, going on the pitch….might also be an early warning to all those going up to the Riverside at the weekend. 
Behave yourselves
 

A lot of squabbling on here and general lack of clarity which is having such a negative effect on us all; me included.
My take is as follows:
EFL continue to slopey shoulders everything 
MFC and WWFC to reject Mels offer as they know they stand zero chance in court
Mel to come back in and take an indemnity to accept any potential financial loss.
Appleby to take over
All to be done this month
Agree that once a resolution is reached EFL to change regs asap to ban any future claims between clubs incl retrospective
MFC and WWFC to be chased up for compo by Q due to their farcical behaviour. EFL most likely to be also.

If it goes to the high court does it get a jury? If so either side can object to particular juror  and I think even the judge if they can prove bias. With the EFL you get what they choose, no challenges no appeal after. Now which one would you pick.....

One more post then I really am signing off for the weekend, putting it here as this is an "open letter", otherwise the missus will kill me.
What I would personally like is that:
- Boro drop their claim and Wycombe announce they will not be making a claim against the club.
Failing that.
- EFL rule that according to regulation 4.4, Boro's claim has been dismissed and Wycombe told they are unable to make a claim.
Failing that.
- EFL rule that neither have football debts and cannot be considered as football creditors.
Failing that.
- EFL accept Mel's offer to fight the claim and any further claim from Wycombe in the High Court, with the EFL referring back to reg 4.4.
Failing that.
- Quantuma go for a High Court ruling on football creditor status.
That is 4 options which ultimately save the football club, plus a final option for Quantuma.
Decline Boro's offer of mediation, mediation would be nothing more than settling with Gibson and Couhig who is yet to even file a claim for X, the administrators won't go against legal advice, they won't take extortion money out the creditors pot.
It's unlikely Mel would agree to pay anything without it being settled on a neutral battleground, the High Court.
Boro's offer of arbitration is also declined, we cannot wait until May, they know this which is why what they are doing is nothing more than extortion.
Quantuma have no reason to go into arbitration when they have the faster option of a High Court ruling.
The only way arbitration becomes a possibility is if Mel agrees to indemnify, see earlier post why I don't believe this should be considered until the very last hour before the lights are turned off.
Enjoy your weekends!

Accrington Stanley will be in the Prem by then.