AbuDerbyDave

I actually really want rooney to become  a success , mainly because he's stuck by the club and players through the absolute doggy no-no that keeps getting thrown at him , although I'm not sure he will be , fingers crossed for the season ?

What keeps becoming apparent is his absolute dogged determination to get it right. It is deep within his eyes - a hypnotic certainty that whatever is thrown at him will not cause him to waver. The very essence of a winner. 

I just want to apologise for the delay, my absence, my handling of the situation and try to explain what has happened.
The meeting on Wednesday was scheduled to end at 8.45pm, my last train home was 9.33pm, I slipped out just after 9pm as I didn’t have clothes, medication, toiletries with me as I wasn’t planning on staying overnight.
When the meeting had finished, an agreement was made where one statement would be written and signed off by all groups, this is the first time anything like this had been agreed, I was under the impression we would be allowed to report back as normal.
Being completely unaware of this, whilst waiting for my train I saw a conversation take place on my Twitter timeline discussing the meeting minutes, when would they be out.
I replied, that the meeting minutes were not taken and we would be sharing the information ourselves, which as I say I was under the impression would be allowed, why else attend? I thought I was being helpful.
Now I can see on reflection I was clearly naive in not appreciating the number of fans waiting online for what was said at the meeting, would see the tweet whilst was part of a conversation, which was also public and could be seen and shared by others. The tweet blew up online having been retweeted, I’m not exaggerating when I say maybe hundred or more replies, some abusive to the point where I had to turn notifications off as my phone was freezing with as I came back into an area with phone signal.
On the forum I did pre warn members not to expect anything Wednesday evening, the minutes can sometimes take a few days to a couple of weeks before being released. I was going with the intention of asking the club if the minutes could be released within 24 hours or that we could release the information immediately. Obviously once we was told the minutes would not be taken all that went out the window and believed we was free to report back immediately, and that was the plan.
Again, I was clearly naive to the fact fans on Twitter would not be aware of this, so when I wasn’t replying to all the tweets with thumbs up or down if it’s good news, or are we going to have a club next week the levels of abuse increased, despite my plea for being understanding I wasn’t in the position to do so.
With my write up, I had no intention of adding any personal opinion, it would be just what was said and allow you all to read and take it as you will.
As you will be well aware, all fans see things differently and I didn’t want to raise any expectations or disappoint fans, then receive more abuse as it wasn’t what they were expecting.
I put myself in this situation through naivety, but I don’t accept that the abuse was warranted at all, I have removed the twitter account from my devices and will no longer be active on that account, opting now for a private account as I have no interest in twitter fame.
I would seriously urge anyone that did send me abusive tweets to have a think how they talk to people online and their demands, if this is this what celebrities have to deal with on a daily basis, I’m glad I’m just a nobody!
Punjabi Rams, who I honestly can’t thank enough stepped in and put some tweets out from their account to give some information in my defence. You guys are awesome, didn’t need to do that but again, I honestly can’t thank you enough. Quick plug www.punjabirams.co.uk, @PunjabiRams on Twitter, go give them a follow if you are on there.
On the train home I started to do the write up on my notes app, realising I need to get this out asap, first thing to defuse the situation I felt I had created.
Thursday morning, as I was consulting my notes and finishing off the write up, there was a few things I wanted to fact check with the club were totally accurate, there has been times where things have been misheard in the past (Boycie ahem) and needed correcting, I didn’t want this to happen. We’re human, mistakes can happen, I believed I had time to ensure there were none.
I decided, and this was not requested by the club but to send my write up to them, asking if they could read it over and everything I had written was totally accurate, leaving ??? <—— fact checks where I was a little cautious over.
They agreed and I again naively yet again assumed that this would be back with me in a few hours……despite the previous night listening to just how busy they have been.
Now whilst I understand and totally agree that this meeting is important, the club staff are as I’m sure you can imagine really busy, now I need to really stress here that this is in no way the fault of the club, this is on me 100%.
No tweet, no forum post, none of this situation exists.
Meanwhile The Supporters Charter Group are scratching their heads as to why I’ve gone it alone, I can only apologise to them also, as I say I was under the impression that we would all be reporting back ourselves which I have explained privately with them.
A single statement isn’t something I would have been personally happy with but that is what was agreed in my absence.
I haven’t felt comfortable coming back on the forum if I'm honest, ignoring the fact I insinuated what was said at the meeting would be out Thursday on the forum, I feel like I have let you all down and for that I’m sorry.
Just to add, this apology wasn’t asked for, it's something I feel is owed to you all.
Should someone have gone that could have stayed all evening? Ideally yes, although Paul (Boycie) was unavailable to attend. Since the formation of 2017 it has only been either myself or Paul that has attended, I didn’t feel it would be right to send someone new which in hindsight was the correct call, they may have also not been able to attend until the end of what I’m led to believe turned out to be almost a 4 hour long meeting, putting themselves unwittingly into a similar situation I have.
I know you are all frustrated, the accusations of attention seeking, sitting on information, teasing, trying to get more views, followers etc. and even censorship on the forum are simply not true, they come from people that do not know me or how the forum is run at all, which is disappointing hearing it said by members that have been on the forum for a number of years now.
Finally, I do want to say thank you to those who have sent supportive texts, PM’s, DM’s, tweets you name it over the last few days, despite asking to be given time, it’s you who I put the hours in for, I will learn from this and work on handling things better in the future.
I would also like to thank the moderators who have been trying their best to keep on top of the situation, without them this forum would have crashed and burned over the last few days so please be respectful to them, even if at times you do not agree with decisions they have made. 
David
 

I think I've found my new "All time favourite thread"!
What an absolutely cracking read this has been.  Truly fascinating in part, and most certainly humbling.
A few smiles, the odd guffaw, and even the odd threat of a tear, and a lump to my throat!
It brings it all home, at just how fantastically fanatical some of you have been, still are, and no doubt will always remain. 
It is oh so very easy to take things for granted when, like me, you:
A/  Were born in Derby.
B/  Have never lived any further than 3 or 4 miles from the home of DCFC (BBG or PPS).
C/  Have no family ties that could possibly have steered you away from The Rams.
D/  Attended your Junior school days with you local team at the top of the pile.
E/  Entered your teens as once again, your local team became Numero Uno for the second time.
F/  Made your match-going debut on the very day the sun came out, and your local team were handed the shiniest, biggest, most beautiful trophy these 58 year old eyes have ever seen!
With an upbringing and timing like that, I couldn't be anything other than a Ram!  In fact, it would be embarrassing had I taken my football allegiances anywhere else! 
It was all right here, on my doorstep.  A thrupenny bit bus ride away then, a 30 min stroll away nowadays.  So easy, so unremarkable.  So taken for granted.
 
But I take my hat off to each and every one of you who has filled my most recent hour or so with entertainment, enjoyment, and most of all, with awe!  Full fans, in the truest sense!
Thankyou.  And a massive UTR to you all.
?
 

Greetings from "Across the pond" in Detroit. It took me while to gather my thoughts on this topic and commit to posting them.  
My Derby fandom arrived much later in life, at 45 years of age.   I grew up in Detroit and have always supported Detroit sports teams, as well as Michigan State and Notre Dame University.  I grew up playing soccer, as did my father, who emigrated from Croatia, as well as two of my three boys.  My middle son and I started following the club in the 2013-14 season. We were interested in finding an English team to follow and knowing Andy Appleby as a fellow metro-Detroiter we started to follow Derby, originally only through the team's twitter feed and the occasional broadcast on BEIN network.  We watched them through the playoff victory against Brighton, then the calamity against QPR.  
An additional Detroit-Derby link is through Roger Faulkner, a Derby supporter who was one of the co-owners of Detroit's 1970s NASL team, the Express.  
As we are acclimated to unfortunate twists of fate with our Detroit-area teams,(ie the Detroit Lions NFL team)  the playoff final defeat cemented our support of Derby County.  In the years since, we are charter subscribers of RamsTV  and are now able to follow a number of games on ESPN Plus.  I also follow this forum on a daily basis and do admire the folks who frequent this Board, such as B4 and David.  Your deep, heartfelt support of the club, usually with a healthy dose of humor, is a joy to peruse through these cyber-pages.   
Other random observations from the Motor City:
 - Whether my son and I ever get to Pride Park remains to be seen, it is definitely on our bucket list.  If any forum goers are in the neighborhood, I would be delighted to treat you a Detroit City FC soccer game.  They are our local team and have a game atmosphere that supporters such as yourselves can appreciate. 
- While Mel Morris has his detractors these days, in my view he was spot-on with regard to EFL television rights. They are tremendously undervalued.  The Championship is the most entertaining overseas league to watch, in my view.  The Premier League top clubs are usually the in the same group of 4-6.  The Bundesliga, La Liga, League 1 and Serie A are all dominated by super clubs, with the remaining teams just trying to stay up. What fun is that? The Championship season is a rock-fight every year. Evenly matched teams with historic rivalries.  A crabs-in-the-bucket attempted escape through either the untold fortunes of promotion or the richest game in football.  Conversely,  the trap door of relegation immerses a club in financial quicksand, without parachute payments to assist out of the morass.  
-  In a way, the reduced expectations of this year may make for a more enjoyable season than chasing promotion.  If the club average one point a game, they will be in a position to stay up at the end, which is the goal of this year.  In any other recent season a home draw to Huddersfield would be met with concern from Derby supporters. This year, it feels like a win. 
- Thank you for your contributions to the forum, which I have enjoyed reading through the years. I hope to meet up with some of your some day either at Pride Park or the next time Derby launch a summer tour of the US. 
- COYR
 
 

I am pretty sure that I can speak for everyone on here in giving our sympathy and condolences but so glad you have that one last memory. Once a ram always a ram. ?

TLDR; Enough to be positive about, but the same old problems remain.
I wasn't expecting much from this game. I was just glad to be back, in my second home, with my Dad.
Given the circumstances, the performance yesterday was one deserving of praise. The defence looked largely untroubled. Impressed by Stearman, who I wasn't confident about. It showed a little that he and Curtis Davies hadn't played together, or even trained that much together, and didn't even know if they'd be playing until the day before, but otherwise they showed promise. Thought the full backs kept getting caught out, especially Foz as he was pushing so far up the pitch.
Shinnie was excellent, he was everywhere. Bird did okay, but needed to get on the ball more - need more of those razor sharp passes that set Watson and Sibley away. Thought the former was unlucky not to get a penalty. Lawrence was busy, work rate excellent, shame he wasn't that productive, but again unlucky not to get a penalty.
Definitely need another striker. A typical Colin performance, but sometimes you need something a little different. Jozwiak, I dunno. Feel like he just needs the confidence. One to go in off his backside or something. Went on a great run, but just kept... well... running, where there needed to be a shot or a final pass.
Such a Derby goal to concede though. But again, when the 2 CBs have barely been playing together, or weren't even sure if they were going to be playing... how do you work on set pieces?
A point was a fair result to me.
But none of that matters to me now. For sadly, my Dad passed away suddenly Sunday morning. A lifelong Ram who saw Derby win championships, beat European giants, drop to the third tier, nearly go out of business under Maxwell, and rise back again to the Premier League. I'm just so glad that, even with Derby in the situation they find themselves in, he managed to see one last game with me, one last goal. What happened on the pitch wasn't especially memorable, but the day definitely will be.
Up the Rams. Be kind. x

I think you are both being a bit disingenuous here. I read that, and align that with all the noises Rooney has made lately, trying to prove he is committed to this club. I take this as a sign of positive intent, albeit whether he has what it takes to be successful is another issue completely, I think what he's saying is he's here for the long haul and not going to snake away and distance himself from potential faiilure.

Now you are making up your own story. To paraphrase another poster. 

We can only afford one and that's on a six month loan from Man United.

When you go to work on Monday & your boss says to you sorry strawHillRam but you can’t have that tool that you need  to do your job properly we’ve got a couple of alternatives have a look at them but don’t buy it yet because we don’t know if we can afford them yet. But boss iv’e got to get the job done by Saturday?  well use what you’ve got we’re see what we can do. I’m not saying that Wayne is the answer but other than when Nigel came in  I think he’s got the hardest job in the championship at the moment he has no help what’s so ever working with a chairman that wants nothing to do with the club he can’t even tell the players how much they will get a week. Every manager since Nigel has had a budget to work with that’s all gone with any luck he can use his connections to get some young prospects through the door & bring on our own young players who knows he might even make a success of it

OK performance from everyone considering as Curtis has just said they had no time to work on defending or attacking set plays or team shape. 
Morrison will help and if we can get in more then we will have a decent side. In fact Huddersfield commentary team said Derby are far better than many are trying to make them out to be. 

When you go to work on Monday & your boss says to you sorry strawHillRam but you can’t have that tool that you need  to do your job properly we’ve got a couple of alternatives have a look at them but don’t buy it yet because we don’t know if we can afford them yet. But boss iv’e got to get the job done by Saturday?  well use what you’ve got we’re see what we can do. I’m not saying that Wayne is the answer but other than when Nigel came in  I think he’s got the hardest job in the championship at the moment he has no help what’s so ever working with a chairman that wants nothing to do with the club he can’t even tell the players how much they will get a week. Every manager since Nigel has had a budget to work with that’s all gone with any luck he can use his connections to get some young prospects through the door & bring on our own young players who knows he might even make a success of it

When you go to work on Monday & your boss says to you sorry strawHillRam but you can’t have that tool that you need  to do your job properly we’ve got a couple of alternatives have a look at them but don’t buy it yet because we don’t know if we can afford them yet. But boss iv’e got to get the job done by Saturday?  well use what you’ve got we’re see what we can do. I’m not saying that Wayne is the answer but other than when Nigel came in  I think he’s got the hardest job in the championship at the moment he has no help what’s so ever working with a chairman that wants nothing to do with the club he can’t even tell the players how much they will get a week. Every manager since Nigel has had a budget to work with that’s all gone with any luck he can use his connections to get some young prospects through the door & bring on our own young players who knows he might even make a success of it

I was at the game mate just speaking as I find. I could lie and say he played really well if it pleases you. 

Tin hat on & now wait for some really big words in response 

He's not the only one.

And the goal

Quite agree but we have to treat every game the same, go out there to win there is no easy games

I didn’t think there was any easy games in the championship ?

Never in doubt 

This is the first post I have seen since opening the thread, and the perfect one to say I'm sorry if you have messaged/mentioned me and I have ignored you, this morning has been chaos in all honesty, I'm not being lazy, haven't stopped since 8am.
I am now just finalising things by getting a couple of points fact checked to ensure that what I put out is completely accurate and not spend the day/evening correcting myself. 
Feel like I'm apologising a lot lately, it's just I want to you to know I'm not trying my best here, not looking to tease this out, get more views, likes, attention, nothing of the sort.
I'm being sent screenshots of abuse, tweets and posts asking to verify all morning across different platforms, I'm asking you to please stop, in fact please don't even react to this thread as it will only add further to my notifications I have to work through. Never had to deal with anything on this scale before and in all honesty, I'm struggling as I don't want to ignore any of you.
Thanks again to the many for understanding on the forum, love you all and the positive support from last night makes me proud of what we have all created, I just need a bit more time. ??
 

Critical thinking, rational analysis, balanced debate with multiple perspectives.... 
 
 
 
 
 
..... Nah, a few puns and a small boatload of Carry On double entendres are what I look forward to..... ?

Perhaps they can't afjord to come over now?