New Gold Dream

If we're looking on the basis of who we've lost since we started shipping water financially, rather than just administration, I don't think we we could realistically say that we'd have kept hold of all of them anyway, even without all our difficulties.  If we'd not had any major financial issues , I'd say we could have kept the following:
Jordan Brown: I always rated him and think he's probably one of our biggest losses.  He might have wanted to move on though anyway as he would have been struggling for a regular first team place given the competition that he would have faced.  The Orient fans seem to rate him highly.
Lee Buchanan: he might have got duff advice from his agent anyway, but I'd like to think LB probably wouldn't have acted as badly as he did.  Interestingly (or not), he seems to be one of the few members of BCFC team who their fans would like to keep when they meet their richly deserved fate and disappear into the abyss of the third division (the A38 derby will happily remain in place, just in a different direction....).  The same is not true of Bielek, by the way.
Jason Knight: would he really have gone to Bristol City if we'd not got relegated?  And for that matter, would Birdy have gone to join him?
Omari Kellyman: reputedly he didn't want to go at all, and I fear that he will be a big loss.
Dylan Williams: we would have been in a good position to reject Chelsea's offer and Dylan by now might have got 100 first team performances behind him.  As it is, I don't think that he's kicked a first-team ball for Chelsea, and I wonder whether he wonders if he did the right thing.  
Malcolm Ebiowe: we could have offered him a longer contract than we did.  The same is possible with Luke Plange.  But their subsequent stuttering progress suggests we have probably not lost as much as we thought (I hope they both prove me wrong by the way).
One that we probably would have lost anyway:
Morgan Whittaker:  I have enormous respect for what Wazzer did for us, but his treatment of MW is probably his worst moment.  For me, MW was the most naturally gifted on the 2019 youth team and his stats were phenomenal at that level.  But as we can probably all recall, when he got into the first team his languid style didn't endear him to everyone, so Rooney wasn't alone in underrating him.  To be fair, Whittaker didn't pull up any trees at Swansea or Lincoln.  As Angie has rightly said Plymouth would already be back in Division 3 if it wasn't for his goals and assists.  But his form does appear to have fallen off a cliff since Schumacher left and the Plymouth fans, or at least some of them, seem to be beginning to have their doubts: https://pasoti.co.uk/forums/plymouth-argyle-fans-forum.30/
Those that we almost certainly would have lost anyway:
Archie Brown: contrary to what is often said here about us letting him go, in fact he left of his own accord :
https://archive.ph/20211130171732/https://theathletic.com/2666370/2021/06/23/why-derbys-young-star-archie-brown-turned-down-a-new-deal-to-go-to-switzerland/
He has done brilliantly since leaving, but it's not a given that his progress would have been the same had he stayed with us.  He's had to get used to different football and different counties, so he's had a lot to cope with, all of which may have helped his progress (the reverse is also true of course).
Liam Delap and Kaide Gordon:  We never had them under professional contracts because of their age and we could not have stopped them leaving even if we were rolling in cash.  Any young player given the chance to move to Liverpool or Man City was always bound to go.  The same is likely to be the case with Festy - would he really have preferred to stay in Championship obscurity if he had the chance to go to Serie A?
As for the like of Kain Ryan and the three who went to Man U, moves at youth level and earlier happen all the time - after all Tom Huddlestone and Will Hughes were, I believe with the Red Dogs for a while.  Those lads may go on to be great players- but then again they might not.
 

Everyone welcome!!
 

Your stats are indeed correct & proves what we already knew about the respective supporter base of both clubs.
I wanted to expand the idea a little further to the crowd numbers in the third tier for any team matching the 'what on earth are they doing at that level' criteria, beginning with Manchester City who dropped into then Division 1 for 1998-99. It also makes a nice 25 year stint for comparison with the crowds Derby have averaged in our 2 year stint down here. Full table below which shows just how loyal this fanbase have been - only Sunderland & Man City pip us on average crowds and of course, City were only down at this level for one season, we've had two.
I think it also starkly illustrates the gap in support between Derby & our local competition. When the going got really tough, we showed up in far greater numbers - true measure of support, true measure of loyalty.
 

For me, it's travelling to away matches seeing grounds full of fans who aren't glory hunters, they passionately support their local club who probably have no chance of glory - and loads of younger fans who could easily just choose one of the normal 'big 6' to follow - fair play to them
Also, most, if not all of the towns have been a joy to visit, Cheltenham, Oxford, Carlisle, Lincoln, Shrewsbury etc - loved them all
Going to places like Birmingham & Sheffield again won't seem the same
As for the quality of football, it was lower but of course it was, it's the 3rd division

That depends whether or not you think fans can't chant as loudly sitting down. Fans standing doesn't guarantee they'll sing more - witness the South Stand at times these last two seasons. Banning mobile phones would be more effective in that respect, then they'd have to concentrate on the game, boring or otherwise. Closing the food and drink concessions while the game is ongoing would also help.
No-one should be forced to stand because someone else wants to break the stadium rules. Some people can't stand for more than a few minutes whether that's due to age or physical problems, but they're no lesser fans than the ones who want to stand.

Ever since becoming a new Dad just under 4 months ago, my daughter was born 3 months premature and very poorly which led her to being in life support, and in NICU for the first 2 weeks of her life. She's at home now on oxygen after 2 months in hospital and 9 blood transfusions, but something happened to me during that which has made me look at life in a completely different perspective. 
 
Stories like this really get to me because life is so fragile and its only until we go through something do we see it as such. I have no words that possibly come close to making anything better other than I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that for all the talent/money/success that Josh has been gifted with, that this has happened. Unfortunately cancer makes no exceptions, it doesnt matter who you are, it can come for us all. 
All we can do, is hug and hold those closest to us for as long as we have them in our lives, and appreciate every second we have.
My condolences to the whole family 💔

Whilst we bash away, mostly anonymously behind the keyboard, just go take a second to see what Josh Vickers is going through right now, Ed, just like us all is a real person. 
Regardless of how you feel about him as a person or his commentary style there is absolutely no need for personal stuff towards a fellow Derby fan.
Seriously, come on, have a word with yourselves.
 

Ed Dawes wears his heart on his sleeve and is a Ram through and through; don’t get the animosity towards him. He’s a good commentator and I feel connected to him precisely because he’s one of us. Hope he’s ok. 

It's quite an unpleasant forum on here sometimes isn't it.
The blokes doing his job,has some time off for unknown reasons and gets personally slagged off by fellow derby supporters whilst he does so.
 
 
 
 

We had this lad drop him, made him an honorary lifetime member of the Rams Heritage Trust.
Our saviour !
he loved it and we are going places ❤️

Sorry to start another thread but we have been down at Pride Park all day at Harrison’s Hub setting up for our display over the next two days of all things Derby County and I wanted to share the results.
it’s free entry and I promise you it will stir the grey matter and maybe tug at the heart strings! There is something for everybody from 1884 to David Mcgoldricks shirt from this season, The Racecourse to PridePark not forgetting the little old BBG.
great to see young @sagehe couldn’t wait for the weekend and had been queuing up all night so we let him in to help !
park in the main car park and have a pop in, we want a museum at the ground where all of the clubs history can be shared, we’ve got the gear we just need a space.
10.15 till 3 Saturday and 11.15 ish till 3 on Sunday due to the Ramathon, Ascot drive entrance to pride park will be open earlier than the others.

You could field a pretty strong team of "top Derby youngsters who moved to a top-tier club and basically disappeared" - not just Williams and Festy but Gordon, Delap, Ebiowei, Plange. Even Bogle was a bench player for a long time in the Premier League. 
It's completely understandable how clubs (and players) move so early now, but a shame nonetheless. 

Football hooliganism had nothing whatsoever to do with ‘Thatcherism’ it was well and truly started before the 1980’s. The hooligans themselves were young men who enjoyed the adrenaline rush of a tear up. That was attached to football for a while but it’s part of human nature, there will always be a proportion of young guys who like a bit of aggro. They grow out of it and are replaced on the conveyor belt. Thankfully there isn’t much of a hooligan element attached to football nowadays but it isn’t far below the surface. When you go away with Derby it’s obvious that there are quite a lot of young lads that wouldn’t take much encouraging to get involved

I’ve been to all the away games this season including cup games and friendlies, and hope to get to the remaining games, it’s hard work at times but hopefully this year it will be worth it. # It’s the hope that kills ?

Don't think it's necessarily a reality check to be honest. We knew all this before the game. Last night doesn't change the way I see the team. Sheffield Wednesday beat Newcastle. Does that mean they are ready to compete against Premier League opposition? Sheffield Wednesday aren't much better than us. 
On the night we just create chances or cause West ham enough problems. They did their jobs and were able to shut us out. That's it.

There’s so many odd assumptions in your views on this. A bit of reading the DET and watching interviews shows there has been some contact between him and Warne, just not recently which appears to be mutual.
Bielik said in an interview back in October that he is grateful to the club, that Derby is in his heart and that if we recalled him in Jan he would go along with it. He’s also said he is enjoying playing at Brum and in the championship. Nothing he has said or done is openly disrespectful, and yet you seem to be suggesting otherwise. A season long loan was agreed with a recall clause, from what info is out there you’re right in that Bielik’s wishes have been considered. Seems we accommodated this partly to give him the chance of representing his country at the World Cup and also because it relieves some or all of the financial strain his contract represents. All considered decisions made by the owner of the club. All parties aware he could be recalled in January, now a decision has been made not to do so.
I appreciate your opinion and it’s clear you won’t change your mind on it, I just don’t see what facts you’re basing your disappointment specifically related to Bielik the person on? He’s not downed tools from what we know, has spoken truthfully and respectfully in public regarding Derby and the loan spell, what is there to be so annoyed about? 

I was privileged to be asked by @Matt_Barlow_DM of the Daily Mail to assist him in putting together a full double page article celebrating the 50 year anniversary of Derby County becoming the Champions of England, please share its a great write up, so great to see something positive about our great club.
#SaveDerbyCounty
 
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-10677815/amp/Derby-legends-trip-memory-lane-50-years-winning-league.html
 

Didn’t Stan Collymore say recently a club like Derby can’t be allowed to die.
 
https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/derby-county-collymore-ashley-administration-6890383

Clearly he has been party to some catastrophic decision making at the club and he will have played a role in that. He, more than anybody, will be keen to move on to something else when the time comes.
However, just for a bit of perspective, he still reported to Mel. Anyone who thinks he had an equal decision making position, or was able to influence what Mel did to any great extent, is probably a bit naive. I'm sure he received many of the assurances and promises we all did.
This won't be a positive post, and I'm certainly not standing up for Stephen, he doesn't need me to! It's just good sometimes to take a step back, I don't think everything is always as clear cut as we think. Football clubs are murky places with lots of rumour, with no decisions made by committee. Could he have done more to prevent the mess we're in? For sure, but we will never know the ins and outs.
He will go, 100% and that will be the right decision. But ultimately, he isn't the main culprit in all of this imho.
 
 

Curtis Davies for me.
I know it’s cheating a little but following on from the last game of last season really when he came on to give his all to keep us up, despite not recovering from a serious injury and not knowing if it was his last game in professional football, let alone for Derby.
But at his age, the desire, the passion, the influence he has on this team. I believe it’s infectious for the rest of the players and he must be such a positive role model for the young players coming through. He doesn’t have the armband on, but he’s certainly the captain of this football club.

Finally managed to catch up with Mr Rioch after many many years, got him to sign the 1974/75 championship winners and Charity Shield winners shirt,
?The Villa fans will never mock when they remember Bruce Rioch ! Rioch..Rioch !?
what a shot he had ! Powerhouse !

The point being those players should have been there as emergency backup in their positions. Sort of like the roles Wes Brown, O'Shea, etc had at Man Utd. Capable of filling in, but not good enoigh as a regular starter - as evidenced when they eventually moved on.
In 15/16, we had Pearce, Shotton and Buxton as 4th, 5th and 6th choice CBs, playing for a total of 261 minutes in the league. Rawson could easily have stepped in as 4th choice instead, and showed he was capable enough based on his loan out to Rotherham. Hanson didn't look out of place in the team yet hardly featured again in following seasons.
16/17, Blackman, Camara and Weimann 4th, 5th and 6th choice wingers played for less than a combined 1000 minutes. Those should have been given to Bennett (who only played for 23). Lowe was exceptional when he came into the side in 16/17, including a memorable man of the match display vs Wolves. But, he had Forsyth and Olsson on senior player wages so shived down the pecking order.
17/18, Shackell 0 minutes, Butterfield 157, Palmer 426 and Anya 302. Are you telling me Rawson, Hanson and Elsnik couldn't have played those roles and not been just as good? We owned Vydra, Martin, Jerome, Nugent and Bent plus Winnall on loan. We only needed 2 of them, with Jacobsen as backup.

PRESTON NORTH END TICKET INFORMATION
Following the sad passing of Preston North End’s owner Trevor Hemmings on Monday evening, to encourage as many supporters as possible to celebrate his life and leadership of their club, the hosts have decided to reduce match ticket prices for Derby County’s visit to Deepdale on Saturday 16th October (3pm kick-off).
 
Tickets for Saturday’s match have been reduced to £5 for all supporters including away fans, with all gate receipts to be donated to charities supported by Trevor Hemmings.
All Derby supporters that purchased a match ticket at the original prices will automatically receive the difference to the credit/debit card used to make their purchase.
And although tickets for the Rams’ first match following the international break went off-sale as scheduled at noon today, Preston have advised that just over 2,000 £5 tickets in the away end will be made available to Derby supporters on the day.
Payment will be via cash at the turnstiles and card payment will not be accepted.
 
 

I appreciate this whole situation must be massively frustrating for any Derby fan, myself included. 
However I have no idea of the discussions MM and the EFL are having. I also don't know how Mel is, or indeed what is driving his approach. 
I understand that much of their discussion will be subject to NDAs. 
So, whilst it is unpalatable for most of us that we don't know what might be going on behind the scenes, we must be patient and assume that those representing Derby County are acting in the best interests of the club. 
Imagine if you were doing your level best for the club, working long hours to try to get the best resolution for the club, only to find on social media that you are incompetent, greedy, a disgrace etc. 
All we can do, as supporters, is to support the players during this difficult period. After all, their effort and application have been laudable. 
 
 

A devilish side of me would like Mel to re look at things in terms of paying the debts off, operating at a very low cost base that is sustainable whilst building the value of our very promising youngsters, in turn the side doing well and we actually make it to the play off by the next three seasons and be successful ( unlikely with clubs in receipt of parachute payments) where a buyer may well come in for the club at a decent amount. 
if I was him I would consider it if feasible whilst I would absolutely take the EFL to a court of law if they impose sanctions against us based on things they agreed to and they signed of as ok that were simply perfectly legal, how the EFL could defend their actions would be very interesting and unsuccessful I imagine.