Duracell

So strange how he's being described as "dividing opinion" when I haven't seen a single real-life person not rate him highly, only kids with a footballer as their avatar.

It would be a massive shame if this is true, as we've always done so well in the January market.

It would be a massive shame if this is true, as we've always done so well in the January market.

It would be a massive shame if this is true, as we've always done so well in the January market.

It would be a massive shame if this is true, as we've always done so well in the January market.

It would be a massive shame if this is true, as we've always done so well in the January market.

It would be a massive shame if this is true, as we've always done so well in the January market.

I tell you now, Bielik’s gonna be back and he’s going to fold Wilson into an origami swan!
 

I'm absolutely overjoyed at their promotion. So pleased about it!
There is an entire generation of fans in the Premier League who don't know how annoying Leeds United are. Can't wait to watch the season unfold as the narrative turns from "it's great to have a club this size back in the Premier League" to "GET THEM OUT!"

I'm absolutely overjoyed at their promotion. So pleased about it!
There is an entire generation of fans in the Premier League who don't know how annoying Leeds United are. Can't wait to watch the season unfold as the narrative turns from "it's great to have a club this size back in the Premier League" to "GET THEM OUT!"

I'm absolutely overjoyed at their promotion. So pleased about it!
There is an entire generation of fans in the Premier League who don't know how annoying Leeds United are. Can't wait to watch the season unfold as the narrative turns from "it's great to have a club this size back in the Premier League" to "GET THEM OUT!"

I'm absolutely overjoyed at their promotion. So pleased about it!
There is an entire generation of fans in the Premier League who don't know how annoying Leeds United are. Can't wait to watch the season unfold as the narrative turns from "it's great to have a club this size back in the Premier League" to "GET THEM OUT!"

I'm absolutely overjoyed at their promotion. So pleased about it!
There is an entire generation of fans in the Premier League who don't know how annoying Leeds United are. Can't wait to watch the season unfold as the narrative turns from "it's great to have a club this size back in the Premier League" to "GET THEM OUT!"

I'm absolutely overjoyed at their promotion. So pleased about it!
There is an entire generation of fans in the Premier League who don't know how annoying Leeds United are. Can't wait to watch the season unfold as the narrative turns from "it's great to have a club this size back in the Premier League" to "GET THEM OUT!"

I'm absolutely overjoyed at their promotion. So pleased about it!
There is an entire generation of fans in the Premier League who don't know how annoying Leeds United are. Can't wait to watch the season unfold as the narrative turns from "it's great to have a club this size back in the Premier League" to "GET THEM OUT!"

It was great - I was clapping right on time during Steve Bloomer’s watching

This is the single best thing I’ve ever read on here. Fantastic.
I know it’s exciting with Marriott signing, but come on - a Derby player was given a medal for being a champion of England today! That’s the big news!
That’s a very special thing you’ve done, @loweman2. The Rolls Royce issues you spoke of left my grandad without a job and that side of the family never properly recovered from it. Those Derby sides came at a time in my dad’s life when he really needed it and I wish I could one day talk about Rams players the way he talks about some of those names. He’s not on here but I’ll be showing him this thread and I know it will stir up some emotions.
Really hope a few more of my generation visit this thread and appreciate history has been both made and rightfully completed this week. Doesn’t matter whether we were alive at he time or not.

This is the single best thing I’ve ever read on here. Fantastic.
I know it’s exciting with Marriott signing, but come on - a Derby player was given a medal for being a champion of England today! That’s the big news!
That’s a very special thing you’ve done, @loweman2. The Rolls Royce issues you spoke of left my grandad without a job and that side of the family never properly recovered from it. Those Derby sides came at a time in my dad’s life when he really needed it and I wish I could one day talk about Rams players the way he talks about some of those names. He’s not on here but I’ll be showing him this thread and I know it will stir up some emotions.
Really hope a few more of my generation visit this thread and appreciate history has been both made and rightfully completed this week. Doesn’t matter whether we were alive at he time or not.

This is the single best thing I’ve ever read on here. Fantastic.
I know it’s exciting with Marriott signing, but come on - a Derby player was given a medal for being a champion of England today! That’s the big news!
That’s a very special thing you’ve done, @loweman2. The Rolls Royce issues you spoke of left my grandad without a job and that side of the family never properly recovered from it. Those Derby sides came at a time in my dad’s life when he really needed it and I wish I could one day talk about Rams players the way he talks about some of those names. He’s not on here but I’ll be showing him this thread and I know it will stir up some emotions.
Really hope a few more of my generation visit this thread and appreciate history has been both made and rightfully completed this week. Doesn’t matter whether we were alive at he time or not.

Excellent @Duracell, that’s just the reason I post this stuff, I admit that I do it for my dad, they are his heroes not mine the same as your grandad, when they were going through tough times personally their little old team from the town of Derby was the best team in the land and gave them something to feel great about, they had duck all money in their pockets but they shared their love and support of Derby County who had done nothing since 1946 ! 
These guys have become my footballing heroes since meeting them all, Roy McFarland said that aswell as teaching them how to play football he taught them to respect others and none more so than your own family, he made them take flowers home to their mums and he taught them how to act like gentlemen both on and off the pitch and to a man  that has stayed with them all ! 
We cant forget these men, we look at them now and see a collective of seventy something year olds but go back fifty years and they were about to become the cream of British football !
ive met hundreds of Derby players and I have got to say with every passing generation the passion for Derby County becomes a little less evident, nowadays it’s just a fantastic job open to the very few and all about money, in the seventies it was all about being the best, getting called up for your country and just daring to believe that you could be a champion ! Nothing about money or cars or big houses or the fittest girl friend, just being a winner within a band of brothers that stayed together and did it not once but twice for eight of them !
 

This is the single best thing I’ve ever read on here. Fantastic.
I know it’s exciting with Marriott signing, but come on - a Derby player was given a medal for being a champion of England today! That’s the big news!
That’s a very special thing you’ve done, @loweman2. The Rolls Royce issues you spoke of left my grandad without a job and that side of the family never properly recovered from it. Those Derby sides came at a time in my dad’s life when he really needed it and I wish I could one day talk about Rams players the way he talks about some of those names. He’s not on here but I’ll be showing him this thread and I know it will stir up some emotions.
Really hope a few more of my generation visit this thread and appreciate history has been both made and rightfully completed this week. Doesn’t matter whether we were alive at he time or not.

This is the single best thing I’ve ever read on here. Fantastic.
I know it’s exciting with Marriott signing, but come on - a Derby player was given a medal for being a champion of England today! That’s the big news!
That’s a very special thing you’ve done, @loweman2. The Rolls Royce issues you spoke of left my grandad without a job and that side of the family never properly recovered from it. Those Derby sides came at a time in my dad’s life when he really needed it and I wish I could one day talk about Rams players the way he talks about some of those names. He’s not on here but I’ll be showing him this thread and I know it will stir up some emotions.
Really hope a few more of my generation visit this thread and appreciate history has been both made and rightfully completed this week. Doesn’t matter whether we were alive at he time or not.

Jim Walker the forgotten man
As many of you know I have been for the last 18 months meeting up with the old brigade, the proper DCFC legends, the ones that put us on the map in footballing terms, the ones that made us the best team in England and got us to the European Cup semi finals, the teams of 71/72 and 74/75.
It started off as way to spend time with my Dad who was a bit lost after the loss of my mum, he is a season ticket holder now and was back in the day so I started off out on a journey that has lead us to meet most of them, one of them remains elusive and one didn’t wish to participate.
All of them have been fantastic, eager to tell stories of the great Brian Clough and the amazing fortunes of Derby County who in those bleak years of three day weeks, power blackouts, strikes and Rolls Royce nearly going under taking thousands of local jobs with it gave the people of Derby something to be proud of.
Upon meeting one of those legends, Jim Walker I was particularly struck by how at peace he was with the world, very relaxed, very friendly and by far the best story teller of them all.
Jim had not long ago lost his wife to illness so immediately him and my dad had something in common other than the love of football, he made us very welcome and gave us an open invite to go round when ever to continue with the tales.
Now most people may remember Jim as the guy who was signed by Clough & Taylor from non league football to play for Derby County and was a major part of the team that won promotion from division two in 1968/69.
He lost his place in the team to John Mcgovern but captained the reserves and stepped in when required to cover injuries of suspensions, this meant that he played only a few games in the 1971/72 season but it was his goal in a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace in late march that gave Derby both points and if you remember we won the league and finished first above dirty Leeds who were just one point behind and had a greater goal difference, so in effect Jim scored the goal that won us the First Division Championship.
Aswell as a footballer Jim is probably better known as the Aston Villa physio, he was there for around twenty years and served under many managers including Graham Taylor, Ron Atkinson, Brian Little and John Gregory, he was also the man charged with looking after Paul McGrath for many years both on and off the pitch and is spoken of in very high regard in Pauls autobiography.
He had a private practice at the Belfry for the golfers and was also the go to man at the NEC when any pop stars suffered an injury or needed attention from a physio, he worked with George Michael, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Michael Hutchence and Kylie to name a few hence him having so many fantastic stories.
Jim has also had illnesses this however does not dampen his spirit or take a smile from his face.
One thing that I was amazed to hear that Jim did not receive a medal for winning the league title despite being only one of sixteen players in that 71/72 season to have donned the shirt and scoring such a valuable goal.
When ever you see the pictures of the team celebrating and holding up their medals jim does not have one.
I approached Andy Ellis the club historian and the writer of many Derby County books and the fount of all knowledge and he confirmed it.
So we the approached the club and asked if they would support an application to Gordon Taylor of the PFA to ask if he would inturn support an application to the football league to present Jim with the medal that he should have received 46 years ago.
The club agreed and they sent the letter to Gordon Taylor who gave it his blessing and the approach was then made to the football league, this was back in February this year after the ball was started rolling in June of 2017 so it took a while.
I am delighted to say that the agreement was given and Derby County approached the very same jewellers who had made the original ones to make one for Jim, to the exact specifications of the original medals and in the same box and made from 9ct gold with all of the hall marks.
For some reason the club at this time can not be seen to publicly present Jim with the medal which is a great sadness as I thought that he was going to be able to step out on the pitch at Pride Park on the opening home game against Leeds (quite fitting as he stopped them winning the league with his goal), it is a litigious matter so I will comment no further other than to say that they did everything that they could.
So to wrap up the story I had the great honour of going to Jims house today with my dad and my son and presenting him with his long overdue medal, he had no idea that it was coming and to say that he was over whelmed is an understatement.
It was great to see his face and to have the privilege to do something like that, I had the medal at my house for a while but obviously didn’t want to post any pictures until now as it was a secret.
Not very often that you get to present a league championship winning medal on behalf of Derby County and to one of the few from those great days and can be called the legends.
We are hoping that Jim will still be able to have amore public presentation at sometime in the season at Pride Park when what ever issues are resolved.
Up the Rams !!
 

Now we know where your user name comes from. That mug is a disgrace..