Dordogne-Ram

On Channel 4 this afternoon the whole match in colour, If you've never seen it before it will be worth watching. In 1966 I had been a Rams fan for 10 years all in the third and second divisions. I bought my first season ticket after we won. Something I particularly remember that I had not seen before was the German Helmut Haller, who played his football in Italy, rolling round on the floor in fake agony after being tackled .So I will watch it to make sure my memory is not playing tricks. Incidentally Haller was playing for Juventus when we played them in European cup semi final and Peter Taylor accused him of tapping up the German referee, It would seem that he was right about that ,as it was alleged the  ref had accepted a bribe of a Fiat car this information came out a few years later.

First of all we need to win tonight which won't be easy. Would rather have played Spain, Italy will play a defensive game to try and stop us from playing football, they will foul players all the time, there players will go down injured when it suits them. At the end of the day the Italians still know  how to cheat and gamesmanship. As old Derby fans will remember from the European Cup Semi-Final against Juventus in 1973, And if Denmark do beat us then I want them to win it, I couldn't support the Italians in anything, still haven't forgive them for 1973. 

What really stings and gives life to the allegations of a vindictive nature in all this, is the “the EFL reluctantly” .. why reluctant ? There was some wrong doing, the Independent panel gave a sanction .. so that’s it .. why “reluctantly” ? It stinks as an attitude and is fundamentally wrong on so many levels. You have a system where there is a complaint and a system that provides for an independent panel to adjudicate but somehow the The body that represents the clubs, that drew up the system in the first place isn’t prepared to accept its outcome in an appropriate manner .. Why would you appeal or even reluctantly accept a verdict given by a system you designed ? The independent committee is designed to give a balanced view, to remove the partisanship the EFL shouldn’t be showing in any case , but clearly is. 

I think he spoke well, its important to look at what he said.
- Rooney onboard
- Transfer plan for when the new owners arrive, I took its (my take) that this is going to happen very soon
- Only 1 debt (not sure how much)
- I also took it that the comment about small senior and talented youngsters was that we will not panic on getting in numbers but wait for the ownership to change
- After two cockups I don't blame them for for keeping stum over the takeover.
- Needing to build bridges - correct thing to do  
 
Next steps, complete takeover, sort out FFP and move forward, although I am far from convinced Pearce is the man to lead the Rams

Bit harsh on Steve and Ben who both had moments, whilst the other 2 were absolute tools.

Steve Davies was good, just made of glass 

The name probably only means something to Rams fans of my vintage.  He was the Rams captain when I first started going to the BBG around 1961 and played what was then called wing-half (No 4) having started out as inside forward (No.8).
He was that very unusual species - a one club man and I'm sorry to se him suffering from that dreadful scourge of dementia.
He was the epitome of the Rams in that era - solid and unspectacular just like his team mates Geoff Barrowcliffe, Ray Young, Tony Conwell et al.
Very sad situation for him and his family.
https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/battling-ex-Derby-county-star-5607389
One of the greatest characters and finest players in Derby County’s history celebrates his 90th birthday later this month, in a care home where he suffers from dementia.
Former striker Jack Parry can remember many of his ex-teammates from the 1950s - but often cannnot recognise his own son.
Adored by his family and Rams fans fortunate enough to have seen him play, Jack began his Derby County career in the days of Raich Carter and Billy Steel.
A measure of his longevity as a player was that he ended it when Kevin Hector was starring. By then he had amassed 517 first-team appearances – only one of them as a substitute – and had broken the club record for League appearances and scored 110 goals.
Jack was a one-club man who gave the Rams 20 years’ loyal years. Over 500 games, half of them slogging through the ankle-deep mud of the Baseball Ground, is testament to that.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
 
 
Bill
 

Hey! Those of us over 45 would like some more 'good times' aswell.

Sounds more like it's not the sort of manager we want at the club.

Unless that advantage was being one of the top 3 spenders on wages in each of the seasons being looked at we haven’t pished it anywhere.
We’ve ran an (unsustainable) wage bill that has probably ranged from top 4 to top 10 in the division and have more often than not been a top 6 team in that time period. Few unlucky defeats in play off games to teams that have spent more than us / have gamed the system to a greater extent than we have (delete as appropriate) has meant we haven’t gone up, so be it. When football comes down to one off games it can at times be luck based and that’s why we all love it. We’ve now tightened that wage bill, understandably, but I get the feeling that won’t or indeed hasn’t stopped you moaning that we will be less competitive in the league now.
Don’t think we are “victims” as such but it is curious that just winning one of those set of play offs would see our strategy highlighted as a great success story and have fans of other clubs saying “wow look how well Derby are run” like you see from some on here re. Leeds, Villa, Wolves, Bournemouth and so on.
Unfortunately by not going up due to these fine margins we have found ourselves in the cross hairs of the EFL who’s rules are so clear that they are now seeking to change or clarify the rules that supposedly found us guilty. We are not victims of other teams cheating, in my opinion, but we have been victim of the EFL going on a crusade after the football club and creating a narrative that we are the villains of football with their vindictive, unclear statements and obvious leaks to the press.
Yesterday’s news should have been celebrated across football, that no precedent was set to retrospectively relegate a team for off field matters that were signed off for three years by an organisation that didn’t understand their own rules. I get the feeling it wasn’t though, because a narrative has been created that if you push spending limits and do not get promoted, you are worse than those who push limits and do.

In 2014 I watched an exciting team, with a wage bill of £14.5m lose to QPR in the playoff final. They had a wage bill of £75million.
Next year it was Hull in the play-offs, with their parachute payments from the previous year, wage bill 30m.
Then a year off before having another go, losing to Fulham in 2018, wage bill £54m.
And then 2019 a loss to Villa, wage bill £65m.
There we have it; 2 playoffs semis, two finals, four loses, twice to teams that didn’t just break FFP but stamped on it, took it outside shot it from a cannon and then reversed over it with a steam roller.

Didn't Bolton have issues fielding a team after they were relegated in to League 1?

For them to use the word regrettably when their own legal counsel told them there are no grounds for appeal is ducking outrageous, unprofessional and proves they are out to get us based on some twits opinion rather than cold hard evidence.
bankers  
 

Whatever his future intentions are he conducted himself with dignity and class whilst at our club …our first ever foreign manager and for me never really got the backing that other managers got like Clement buying poo ? 
had a lot to put up with it seems with the whole Keogh fiasco and a squad short of top quality when he took over but think he helped our youngsters a lot 
really wanted him to succeed here but think the whole Rooney thing helped derail things ….I wish the bloke every success in the future 

Think that is the precedent others are alluding to to say Wycombe have no chance if they do. Where would it end ? I would be suing Denis Smith for crocking Charlie George just before that cup semi and Jack Taylor for wrongly disallowing Dave Nish’s goal in the Semi Final. Not that I haven’t let that go or anything ?‍?

David Conn , if you contact him ask him for any updates he has on his investigation into Forest’s fine upstanding and law abiding owner ?

David Conn?

Well to the Derby players we all got your backs if we remain in the champership you are gonner have to fight with everything you have but mostly stick it to efl and say to them throw what ever you throw at us we gonner get back up.
Now to mel you need keep fighting and fighting till efl final release they can not and will not win. Us the fans have your back on this just send the word and we shall start a massive protest against the efl and make the world lesson to how wrong you are doing to us we shall never never ever ever give up on our team and you shall never never ever ever stop loving our club.

Well we have a journalistic fan at the Athletic who could at least start writing that alternative narrative and investigating EFL action against clubs. There are also those other clubs allegedly under embargo for following official advice on delaying accounts due to COVID but now against EFL unchanged rules. How can they not match government guidance during a global pandemic? Problem is proper investigative journalism is dying out in favour of regurgitating social media posts and hype dressed up as journalism. People are more interested in whether Grealish will move than the way in which the body governing the majority of the nation's football teams is being run. Any journalism students out there needing a meaty summer hols project? 

The consequences being a £100k fine which I’m sure we will accept, but sadly the EFL won’t.
And if our re-submitted accounts comply with the spending limits for which there is growing consensus they will, then we haven’t gained an advantage, and not done a lot wrong making this whole thing an unnecessary witch-hunt, whatever you think of Mel Morris, Stephen Pearce or your extreme and constant negativity towards the club in general.

It's tough reading some of the relentlessly negative posts on here (not least because they tend to be from posters who repeat themselves ad nauseum). 
For that reason I feel for you, Curtains, they get me down too.
However, the only way to get balance is for the more positive posters to post more often (and repeat ourselves ad nauseum. ?)

You cant - free speech. Not fair on mods to decide when someone has crossed the line. I used to try and argue with the person who winds me up most but they do want that so the best is to ignore such comments. If everyone did the point in posting them disappears

I think the negativity in response to this story from many is mainly because we do need a leader as manager who does pull everyone together against the negativity reflected towards the club and the position we are in to make a positive and bring everyone together as David and many of us want. If the story has any truth in it then Wayne is not the person for that. However, the constantly repeated negative thread themes and comments are extremely depressing. I and others have tried to start more footballing or positive type threads and while they work for a couple of hours the barrage swallows them quite quickly. I think people have given up with that. Even my go to happy thread about Miekle the puppy's training has potentially sad news this week. The problem is there are so many different issues facing the club and we all care so much, the threads just reflect everyones deep concerns rather than just being contrary for the sake of it. I guess it is easier and possibly better for people to vent on here than towards their nearest and dearest. Trying to see the positive, the threads and comments on the whole do reflect how much we all passionately love the club but people have different ways of expressing that. 

I agree it is tough. I also find it frustrating given whatever the topic the same few try to turn it around to fit their agenda. It’s a shame as I actually have some sympathy with their argument but am turned against it because of their incessant desire to get it across. Lastly for me though it’s gone beyond that now, whatever the rights or wrongs of the Club, Uncle Mel or Stephen Pearce in the run up to where we are now, it’s now become a siege mentality for me as the EFL appear to be after us at all cost. Enough is enough, It’s time to all come together, circle the wagons and fight our corner until the bitter end. In fighting & bickering does us no good at all and only benefits our enemies. Forget the past it’s now us against the rest. 

To be honest this would be the only positive of all of this mess