Indyram

The academy is the best thing about the club right now.
Let's not forget that these players need better "signed players" to help them improve. It's very unfair to look downwards on the academy when the problem lies within the first team. 
I'd guarantee that given the right set-up (coaching), with the right players around them, a lot of the academy players would look different to what they do when they are being played out of neccessity.
Take Sibley as an example, if he'd had a different coach with a lot less pressure on him because of the first team situation and better players around him, he would IMO be a different player to what we see now. He could easily be a £5m + player and we wouldnt need to have this discussion.

More wise heads after the event I see. Also slightly revisionist. Mel never bragged about having half the team being academy products. He discussed a plan for sustainability that involved up to half the matchday squad having come through the youth system. 
To be honest, I'm not really sure how the academy set up can be viewed as any kind of failure or let down.  The investment is already producing a steady stream of players quite capable of playing at Championship level or higher and a fair few already playing for their respective countries. If we really must continue slinging poo at our owner, I'd cite our recruitment of senior players as a key factor. The academy wouldn't even get a mention.
Frankly, I've no problem with us selling Bogle and Lowe when we have McDonald, Festy, Stretton, Brown, Bird, Watson, SIbley and Buchanan coming through. Our problem is poor recruitment of senior pros not the academy project.

Yet another example of the bad luck the club (and Mel) has had is that our national PL2 title winning under 18 squad are coming to maturity at a time when transfer fees are depressed by the pandemic. 
As for philosophy, I think the academy has had a fairly consistent style and identity for some time now. The problem is that the first team style has chopped and changed along with managers and necessity. Will Rooney try a more attacking brand of football next season when he starts from a level playing field? If he doesn't,  our current crop of youngsters who were brought through to play attractive football, will not shine or gain value.
I  actually feel more affinity with our academy than I do with the first team at the moment. 
 

Playing devil's advocate; think of where we'd be right now without the academy. I don't know specifics of how much the academy cost vs made, but if we hadn't sold the trio last season we really would have been in serious trouble financially (as apposed to pretty serious currently lol) and if we hadn't got the academy we wouldn't have had replacements for Lowe in the shape of Buchanan etc. Yes we lurched over the safety line at the last minute, but fear without the youngsters we'd have been way off. 
IMO I think the balance is about right at the moment, it's just the finances mean the youngsters have been relied on instead of given chances at convenience, and not having the kind of dependable experience they need to be playing alongside. They all looked better players in the on the up cocu team.
And whilst the younger age group stars being picked off before the first team is frustrating, it's always going to happen unless we become a big 4, and largely pays for the academy I guess, so means any other players through are almost 'free' and pure profit if sold on.
I've still got very high hopes for our kids, especially Sibley. Just hope we can build a team that they can flourish in, instead of being mismanaged and collectively drowning under pressure.

I’m quite encouraged about the Academy at the moment to be honest. 
 
The U23s have been very competitive lately .
The Academy players have to be introduced into the first team at some time or other or go on loan .
I am more confident than most it would seem about next season 
 

Really excited by these lads. In a shitty season it's been easy to overlook the steady line of talent rolling off the academy production line. I've banged in endlessly about Ebosele, but no apologies on that score. I think the kid is destined for big things. Nothing lightweight about him and he'll be smashing the big lads off the ball and screaming up the flanks in no time. I can see him terrorising a few experienced FBs this season.
Louis Watson oozes class to my eye and I just hope he's managed properly this season. He's a kid who seems to always find time on the ball and always looks up the pitch too. 
Stretton looks as natural as striker as we've seen come through in a long while and I'm hoping in what may be another tough season, these lads can give us something to cheer.

Derby County midfielder Knight notched a goal and an assist.

Daren’t move...

Championship to Champions League in a couple of seasons.
He also comes across as a decent lad, went from Lampard’s pet receiving all kinds of abuse, never gave anything back, just got his head down and played.
Chelsea player of the season and Champions League winner. So happy for him. 

Congratulations to Mason for tonight’s Champions League win.
Thrilled for him.
Cheers
Gangway D from the terrace 

It’s not much, but how many loan players come through the club and don’t form any real connection with the club/fans.
Both Tomori and Mount have gone on to much bigger things, yet here they are still following our progress. Just makes you want nothing but the best for them even more.

I disagree. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths were all falling in late November and it looked as if we were through the worst of it. Then came the B117 Kent/UK variant, much more transmissible and so it spread quickly and too hold. It was unexpected. So it became a race between the vaccination campaign and the spread of the new variant. The government and its scientists took very bold decisions, on the balance of risk, such as only giving one dose to vaccinate more people (Faucci in the US and the EU scientists were very disparaging) and strictly vaccinating the most vulnerable in order, despite the calls in the media and political opponents to vaccinate teachers etc first.
As you'd expect in an unprecedented situation, our politicians have got some things wrong but they've got a lot right. And these were brilliant calls in the teeth of fierce opposition, the government working hand in hand with the experts. The difference between then and now is the race to vaccinate before the virus spread was won. The Indian variant simply cannot cause the mayhem the B117 variant did because everyone vulnerable has been offered the vaccine and almost all of those have had it. It's possible if it proves really bad that cases and hospitalizations may go up a bit, but not to any kind of level that jeopardizes healthcare. We're at the stage when the thing is endemic and we will just have to live with it as a regular disease like everything else, coming back a little towards winter as seasonal respiratory viruses do. 

Yes, but we’ve still managed to make one play off final and two play off semis since Mel took over.
Football is a game of incredibly fine margins. If Bryson had got on the end of that cross against Hull, we might have gone up in Mel’s first season. If Roos had caught the ball at Wembley, we might have gone up slightly later than planned.
As it happens, those things didn’t happen, and we’re left in 21st place and worried about our club’s future.
Mel has made some terrible mistakes, and his last act might well be to sell us to someone who destroys the club. His tenure has undoubtedly been a failure.
But if one or two tiny things had happened differently, he’d have been a club legend.
Such is football eh?

Indeed @86 Hair Islands. As Simon Jordan concluded wonderfully “League Clubs go to the wall whilst  the EFL sit in meetings discussing the colour of the linesman’s flags!”

I still think there’s we just let this carry on and see how it plays out.  Interesting that in both the mail and telegraph articles there’s no comment from the club.  I think phrases like “possible insolvency” are quite inflammatory.  It’s possible we could be in PL champions in 3 seasons, it’s not very probable though.
The only people who really know are Mel, Erik and those at the EFL assessing the bid.  The fact that they’re taking their time is a good thing - it’s being thought through to get the right answer.
I hope Rooney uses all this negativity of the last day or two to create a siege mentality.  But whatever happens tomorrow, whatever division we’re in, we’re still a big club at either level.  We’ll still be an attractive proposition for any future buyer and manager!!

I feel privileged to have seen him play for Derby. An absolutely brilliant footballer.

Always feel good watching him do well and proud we played a solid part in his development. Rooting for him to achieve as much as possible in his career because of it. He gave his all here after all.

People are saying he deserves financial backing. People are saying he deserves a transfer window. People are saying he deserves his own hand-picked coaching team.
If it had been a closely contested battle all the way down to the last day, I could understand this point.
If Rotherham and Wednesday had produced incredible form to keep us in danger, I could understand this point.
But it wasn’t always close. At the end of February, we were 9 points clear of Rotherham and 10 points clear of Wednesday. It’s down to 2 and 3 points respectively now.
But Rotherham and Wednesday haven’t produced incredible form. Wednesday have picked up 12 points in 13 games since. Rotherham have picked up 12 points in 14 games.
For us, it has been a capitulation of the highest order and any signs of optimism from Rooney’s early tenure have vanished faster than a burger from my plate. 
And some of us want to reward Rooney with more time in the job? I can’t believe what I am reading.

Kinda cheated as this was yesterday. Went over to Spurn Point, never been there, figured it would be a nice small walk.....well, it ended up being a lot longer than expected. 10 miles we walked for, rolled my ankle, completed the last 2 miles across the beach being dragged along by the missus. Can barely walk this morning, trying to avoid the dreaded x ray in the hope it's just bruised or something. Anyhow, here's a few pics. 
Bit windy up there, but so peaceful for any of you professional walkers, there's even some highland cows up there you can get close up to.
Mad to think used to be a village on there, as you walk there is plenty of remains all over, including the old train track and gun shelters. 

He hasn't abandoned the club though. He's still putting as much money as he can in (around £2m pm right now). Sure, the clibbiant in a healthy position right now, but come the summer, once out of the pandemic, the financial health of the club should be in a fairly healthy position. Almost a blank slate for a new owner to come in and make a by of a push

To play devils advocate - if we stay up and the takeover goes through. He leaves us with: 
Some of the best facilities in Europe. 
One of the best academies in the country. 
a very very low wage bill and basically a clean slate for the new manager (there’ll be no need to shift deadwood considering how many are out of contract this year and I can only think of Davies, Lawrence and Waggy on good wages). 
 
The huge negative is that we no longer own the ground but I really can’t see him ever charging us more than a nominal cost to lease it due to being a fan. You might also say that we’re probably back to 2012/2013 in terms of playing squad. 
 
I think he should be criticised but I’m just Clinging onto the hope we don’t go down and the sale goes through and Alonso isn’t a charlatan. 

Agree fully. The problem is that we haven't been promoted and each season trying to compete at the top end of the Championship drains cash and creates P&S issues. That's why we are where we are, not because Mel been enriching himself.
It could have all been so different. We've had so many chances at promotion where we've fallen just short. The difference between success and failure at this level is very fine. A goal here or a save there and it could have all been so different. Obviously Mel has made some mistakes, and I've posted about many of them, but his decisions have been tested and ours haven't. 
I don't think any of us should feel any hostility to Mel. He's given it his all.