I know nothing

I know...it's probably been done to death but...oh it was special...
How apt: the very final game at the famous old Baseball Ground was against the Arsenal. I am minded of a game some years earlier against the same opposition, for it was an occasion that really brought home to me just how special the place was; a true theatre of football:
The date: 8th September 1979. A sultry sunny September Saturday of an Indian summer. Sweat, cig-smoke and the smell of alcohol-breath fused with hot-dog onions filled the Pop Side air. Arsenal were in town, a side replete with silky, star-studded names that dripped from the tongue like golden syrup: Pat Jennings, Liam Brady, Sammy Nelson-the bum-show-er, O’Leary, Hollins, Rix, Talbot, Stapleton and Alan Sunderland, all perm and moustachioed; the latter two had, in May, ripped the FA Cup from Man Utd in the final of the century. For Derby there was no longer a Gemmill, a Hector, a McFarland or Todd, or even a Charles George. In rapt contra-distinction we had a ring of Irish: Aiden McCafferey, Vic Morland, David Langan, Andy Crawford, and a liquorice-assortment of stalwarts like David Webb, Steve Powell and Steve Buckley, all honest triers but in truth it was thoroughbreds v also-rans, giant oak trees against mere saplings.  We did though have John Duncan, Scottish International all handsome and broad, and neat, and the winger called Gordon Hill, who had killed Rams at Hillsborough in the FA Cup semi just 3 years before. The Baseball Ground was synonymous with trench mud but even that was no more. But there wasn’t a blade of grass either. Instead the surface was 35 tonnes of hard golden sand; had the ref entered the arena carrying a beach-ball nobody would have batted an eye lid. In the pre-match kick-in, wisps of disturbed sand danced on the air. The first half was a foregone conclusion long before 45 mins was up with Arsenal commanding a 2-0 lead.
Then during the break, something strange began to occur. As sun and heat and alcohol combined, the Pop Side found its voice and songs of deep Derby irony began to fill the air...”You need SAND to hold a lit-tul bay-bee, you need SAND to wipe away a tear...” and “Mr SAND-Man,  bring me a dream (bung, bung, bung bung...”). At first, it was a mere ironic acceptance of the Derby team’s fate, but as the 2nd half kicked-off, with Rams attacking the Ossie End, what started to unfurl was a truly remarkable 45 mins. If only we could get one back. Suddenly, Buckley, with lump-hammer left peg, drove the ball at Jennings from 30 yards. The ball, zipped, and dipped, and hit the ground, leather travelling and bouncing on sand, and, smacked the back of the net with Jennings flapping on the floor; 1-2, Pop Side all erupting in Vesuvian delight, a deafening Derbyshire din of high decibel noise. The sound became a continuous stream; the sun, sand and black and white, wall-to-wall volume, a crescendo-ing cacophony of a collective consciousness was stirring the Rams to gargantuan efforts. Arsenal began to cower and fear took hold. I don’t remember Vic Moreland’s equaliser, but I do remember the rocket-propelled roar and the terrace surge as pure pandemonium broke out in the Pop Side. Now, with clock ticking down, 43 minutes had flashed by, we sung to kingdom come. Last minute, Langan...to Carter...Carter in the corner, crosses to Duncan and bullet-header...Jennings’s dustbin-lid sized hand parries...on to the post... and out for a corner....Ohhhhhhh! How we re-coiled....
But wait...Carter’s corner, inch perfect...Duncan again...bullet forehead, ball bulges onion-bag...Goallllllllllllll, the roar again...3-2...mayhem....Final Whistle....Oh fffffff...foot-balll!
As I walked from the ground, outside an Arsenal fan exclaimed, “Liam Brady walks on water, but he can’t run on sand!”. I’d been to the Baseball Ground many times before, but now as a 14 year old, I properly realised how the combination of the architecture – tight, compact stands that trapped the sound, sending it ping-ponging around the entire ground, the proximity of the pitch, and how the fanatical Rams fans, touched by the memory of magic, Real Madrid floodlit nights, - could all combine to fuel an energy that transmitted from the terraces to the men in white just yards away.
Outside, I watched as the Gooners’ team coach drove away...Pat Jennings saw me stare from his front window seat and tipped me a wink. Monday’s Daily Mail match report described how Arsenal bemoaned that Derby had transmitted the sound of the 16,429 fans through the PA system, in amplification. As if... It was just a special place; and I was there.
What's yourn?

Well said. We will be looking abroad with a view to next season when we aren't under restrictions anymore.
We are under a business plan, working under restrictions following administration and people are moaning that we aren't signing players from abroad. I give up 

Ta, that's not a problem we're really going for a bit of a squizz around the archaeological sites and a bit of a paddle (maybe). We're not barflys any more, so AI or HB and a balcony, a view and a fridge for the booze from Lidl is fine. 🙂

Saturday 3rd February 2024. 3pm kick off.
Can we kick start the month by making it back to back wins and banish any premature talk of a potential February curse?
What changes, if any, would you be looking to make for this one?
Would like to see Bird-Fornah-Thompson from the start this time to give us some legs and energy from the off.
UTR! 🐏

That’s the point. Representation isn’t proportional. It’s meant to skew the balance. That’s not a mistake, that’s part of the design. 
As I said, it’s about giving the under represented communities a chance to catch up. The kids of today don’t need to see white men on tv. There’s plenty of those. They’ve been seeing those for generations.
its not that if 10% of the population are black, we have 1 out of every 10 pundits is black. That’s not how it works. It’s about flooding our screens with positive images of black people, to try to make a dent in the generations of negative images we’ve seen so far.
Then, eventually, when people genuinely don’t see colour, gender etc. there won’t be a need for things like the Rooney rule and reverse racism and box ticking. But that will take a generation. 
meanwhile, lots of white men get butt hurt because they’re living in the era when they (we, as I am one) are being represented as a minority. And guess what, it’s not very nice, and we don’t like it much.
well I think we can put up with it for a generation to bring everything back into balance again.
oo, I just thought of an analogy. So if there are 1 in 10 of a certain minority, for 100 years we should have been seeing every 10th person on tv is of that minority. But that’s not been happening. So imagine a scale where we’ve been putting 10 white men in one side, every day for 100 years. How many of the minority do we have to put on the other side to bring those scales into balance? Not so it’s even, but just so that it’s all in the correct proportion. Just putting 1 in 10 on the minority side isn’t going to do it. 

What’s wrong with a box ticking exercise though? It’s about representation. It would be nice to say ‘let it happen organically’, but you have to force the issue sometimes and force representation to kick start it. In a generations time, hopefully it will be organic. The backlash these days is because it’s forced. But that’s necessary to make things happen and break the cycle.
I've got daughters, and there is so much more positive representation for them these days than when my sisters were kids. And I’m very happy about that.
i wonder if joey Barton has daughters or nieces, and if he expects them to shut up and cook his dinner, or if he hopes for something better for them.
its just very sad that as much as he may truly believe these things, what he’s really doing is putting on a character, like a heel in wrestling, because that panders to a certain audience, and that gets more likes and shares. And far from representing those that need the leg up, he gives a voice and representation to the bigots and small minded people who have ruled the world for thousands of years. Those that really need to fade away and make way for the kids.

More alarming is the fact that Quantuma and the EFL were more than happy for him to take over the club, could you imagine if he had! 
The incompetence is staggering 

Toney gets the equalising goal on his first game back from the ban
What were the odds of that?

“Tried to slip in Wood but the intervention came from Husband”
Some excellent commentary 

Fun fact. You could buy Blackpool's entire team, ground and all the pies in the freezer for less than Notts Forest paid for Gibbs-White's buttocks. True story! 
As for the game, you'd have to wonder WTF is going on when you're struggling to put away such a weak side - FFS come on Blackpool, sort it out! 
On the subject of them lot from down the road struggling for sponsors,maybe they just need stop waiting for Apple, Emirates and Samsung to smash in their backdoors and to widen the net a little by looking at some less glamourous product lines to promote. You know, something more in keeping with their station and ethos?
A few suggestions and there's no need to thank me!

 

in other news Maidstone won their FA cup th round game against Ipswich.

I think it’s just a random blip. We’ll probably win handsomely on Saturday. You can’t win every game, im not over thinking it 

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/curtis-davies-interview-derby-cheltenham-retirement-b2485335.html

Hourihane can’t run - I get that.
What I can’t understand is why he takes the deepest midfield position.
He is the most likely of our midfielders to score a goal. He should be the most advanced and thus able to hover around the edge of their box when a ball is crossed.
Bird and whoever can sit deeper and play it simple like Hourihane does. They will also be quicker to support the defence, whereas once passed, Hourihane is stuffed and out of the game.

They are from the wife's side of the family, although it was me that immediately said yes.
Couldn't live with myself if they were split up and put into the care system away from family. Such characters been entertaining that's for sure! 
The first nappy was pretty traumatic for myself, as was £90 for these!


Lincoln City 0-0 Derby County
Saturday 20th January 2024.
Attendance 9,700

Just myself went to the LNR stadium from the Aberdeenshire Rams and headed down south on Friday as the news came from Lincoln City about parts of the pitch being frozen, and explaining all the work that goes behind the scenes, to try and make the game go ahead, with a further pitch inspection called for 6pm. 

I was already on my first train from Inverurie to Aberdeen at 5:44pm and I would at least receive an update before my bus to Edinburgh at 6:50pm, it was positive news or news that would mean I was heading to Lincoln, with a further pitch inspection on Saturday morning, that turned out to be at 11:30am. 
So myself and the Aberdeenshire Rams flag travelled down to Edinburgh arriving at 10:05pm. After a short wait I was on another bus at 10:45pm and I was quite happy that the bus arrived 15 minutes late into Meadowhall on Saturday morning at 4:30am, meaning I only had 30 minutes to walk around in the early morning darkness and coldness, before they opened Meadowhall, so I could use the facilities and kept warm for the next 45 minutes, before the first train to Sheffield at 5:45am. Breakfast Roll and Latte and then it was on to the first train to Lincoln Central at 6:35am, arriving to a wonderful sunset at 7:53am and a short stroll along the waterside to the Premier Inn City Centre for 4 hours sleep, tea and a shower, before receiving the great news, from CK, a text stating the pitch inspection at 11:30am was successful. Game is ON.
Met my mate and MD in the Witch & Wardrobe pub at 12:00pm and many wonderful Derby County fans, so chatted football and music before heading off at 1:00pm to The Birdcage pub where the girl behind the bar told us, she was born in Aberdeen but left when she was 2 years old, and then discussed her big pants with MD.
Headed back to the Witch and Wardrobe just before 2:00pm to meet some wonderful people and had another pint before heading up to the ground at 2:15pm to meet some more wonderful people around the fanzone, grabbed myself a cheeseburger with loads of onions and then bumped into another fantastic person with his boy, quick chat with him before heading into the ground, quick slash in the toilets in the dark, no lights working, then off I went, to hang up the Aberdeenshire Rams flag, as I spotted the wonderful lad that does the brilliant vlogs on You Tube, I gave him a shout, then hung my flag up and saw  the fantastic person with the huge Derby County flag, and passed an end up, so the flag could be surfed as the teams came out.
I didn’t bother going to look for my seat as there was plenty of room near my flag, with everyone standing, so I stood beside the flag, and met a brilliant man, and we spent most of the first half talking music whilst keeping an eye on a battling performance against a hard working Lincoln side. It was a game that looked like a single goal would be enough to win it, and with hope, we thought Derby would create the better chances, into the second half. At half time I went for another slash, where two standing spotlights had been set up, with various songs been sung in there regarding such.
After at least 2 good Lincoln chances just before half time, I chatted to CK & MD, we hoped that Lincoln would tire later in the game. Lincoln had at least another 3 great chances in the second half, but the game eventually went on to be a good point for both sides, and an improvement on last seasons defeat at Lincoln City.
I headed back to the Witch & Wardrobe to meet my mate via the chip shop, chips & mushy peas and back into the pub for another Guinness before we moved on to The Still for more football and music chat with brilliant fellow Derby County fans.
I left Lincoln at 8pm to head back to Sheffield on the 8:19pm train for more beer in The Sheffield Tap before heading back to Meadowhall on the 23:08pm train with just under 2 hours to kill, before the 01:05am bus back to Glasgow, followed by the 08:40am bus back to Aberdeen and 12:25pm train back to Inverurie in perfect time for the 1pm kick off, to watch my eldest lad’s team win 5-1, another great weekend. Up The Rams 🐏.
 

I fully agree with the high level point that commercial media is entrenched in the advertising/click-bait corporation game and therefore utterly untrustworthy
But then at the same time I love the way he doesn't seem to mention that Twitter itself is a corporation run by a billionaire desperately pushing his own agenda at any cost ($44b in fact!)
See also culture warrior love-ins over GB News being some sort of brilliant thing. These aren't the "good guys" - they are just "the other bad guys"
 
 
 

In terms of actual results, they’re on a good run for a team near the bottom but their record for the last 5 games is exactly the same as our “poor” run: W2, D1, L2. 
 
The worry is, as you and others have pointed out, it seems they could well have got something out of the Bolton game and they also beat Portsmouth (at home) recently.
Let’s hope they’re playing us at the wrong time (from their perspective) and whatever good form they’re on is swept aside by our big and positive reaction to the last two games. Here’s hoping anyway. COYR.

Oh for those days when we signed 7 players in January and completely f***ed our automatic promotion chances or added millions to the wage bill for no effect.....
TBH, if we end up with a net 2 additional players in the squad, it'll have been OK from my PoV.

It's a very good question Curtains.
I think we can all agree that it took us a long time to adapt to the way PW is setting us up / wants us to play.
Whilst the football may not be great, our results over the last dozen games or so has been bloody impressive, and if it continues, we will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. We do have some cover in most areas, especially when everyone is fit.
Bringing new players in might be beneficial, but how long might it take them to get up to speed with the PW way? Furthermore, what impact might it have on the moral of current players in that position?
Losing players would be a blow, even if it generated money to bring in new faces, partly for the above reasons.
Finally, PW stated some time ago that he wanted to do any transfer business early in the window. Would any transactions now not smack of desperation?
I'd stick with what we have and keep the faith.

Paradise is a place in the mind, Do the good things and life is good to you, Even the simple things can make life worthwhile.
We didn't quite live under a bridge, March 81 until Oct 84...no work, Miners strike, Falklands war, 5million on the dole...but bad enough👎
My Epilogue
2 offspring, Male and Female, Both are doing extremely well in their lives and I'd like to think that somewhere along that road I had a little influence, I've made some bad decisions in my personal life things I'm not to pleased about...but history stays the same...it can't be changed, When at RR the money was pouring in, She too was working, Holidays in the States/Canada, 2 trips to Europe every year, Meals out, Weekends away, On the lash from Friday to Sunday night with others of the same ilk.
Then life changes in one instance and it all falls apart, We split up(9 years ago)now divorced, All the things we did became routine, Beer, Football, Bedroom activity, Family, Holidays, We were together for 40 years, She bailed as she'd had enough and fare play to her, It took me a full year to work out how to cook, Work a washing machine/hoover/Iron and all the other things that come with being on your own, I've had 5 Lady friends all great in their own right, But each had things that I couldn't or wouldn't handle, So excused myself and bailed out.
Now 9 years down the line, I love life, I can choose where, When and how I live, No one to look after, I see friends occasionally and have a beer and a giggle, Then back home to a place I love, Being single for some is the end of the world...for me it's a new day and the game continues...☺️