Leeds Ram

I am unsure if this thread is the appropriate for this post, please remove if it is not.
I first encountered B4 on another forum many years ago. It was a very different place compared to this forum, and at times was not pleasant.
That B4 was able to become such a star here is down to @David and his team. What a valuable resource this forum is for Rams fans. Yes we carp, squabble and throw hissy fits, but the reaction to B4’s passing, and his many posts, show what a strong and supportive community we have.
#BeMoreB4  COYR!

My own personal favourite was our erstwhile player "Mansion Bennett". Also like the one that @Inverurie Ramposted about being "Cherried up" by a good team performance or result.
We should start a B4 Thesaurus entitled "B4 - In his Own Words" and stick it permanently to the top of this Forum as a lasting tribute to the Man & his Immortal impact upon our shared Derby County Fan history. 
 
#B4EveraRam as well as #OnceARam

Oh my goodness, what a response!
Hello everyone, I’m Claire, Daniel’s (B4) sister. I am overwhelmed by your kind words, support, and the memories you have shared.  Thank you so much for the kindness and love you have all shown to Daniel over the years. My parents are working their way through all of the posts and will offer their own thanks in due course.
I wish I knew about the scraves, flanges and ballions before now. I wouldn’t have let Daniel live that down at home. This made my husband and I laugh this morning.
I will be wearing Daniel’s shirt and keeping his seat warm at the Bristol match. Really looking forward to hearing a big cheer and round of applause in the 38th minute, a goal at the time would be perfect!  Do please continue to share the picture with details of the applause. Let’s raise the roof for Daniel!!!
Thank you all again ❤️
#BeMoreB4 

I was wondering if anyone wanted to meet up before Bristol game as a forum to collectively raise a glass for B4?

AMAZINGLY FITTING  ! Well done Sir that  brought a tear

Never met Daniel but like so many others I felt as if I knew him just from the legendary posts. The lad's posts and constant positivity were something to behold. RIP B4, hope you're looking down happy with today's win at least!

Never met Daniel but like so many others I felt as if I knew him just from the legendary posts. The lad's posts and constant positivity were something to behold. RIP B4, hope you're looking down happy with today's win at least!

Especially when it revolved around a woman/partner. Gold.

Just come on to catch up on the afternoon's "Great day at the office", and was immediately hit with this thunderbolt!
Utterly gutted!  😢
Yes, he's wound me up in the past, on occasion.  Sometimes I've had a nibble at him.  Sometimes I've bit my tongue and said nowt.
But oh so much more than that, his total and utter positivity was never disregarded, and his loyalty to, and passion for, DCFC was never... ever... doubted.
I'm not ashamed to say, He's been... and will remain for eternity... more of a Ram than I'll ever be.  🐏
 
Such devastating news does indeed put everything into perspective. 
Today's game comes a distant second behind this... even to the point that I'm really not in the mood any more, for a catch up on the matchday thread... but do you know what... today was precisely the sort of performance and result that would have delighted him... and just what he would normally have predicted with his blind, unwavering faith.  Despite my mood, I'm gonna read the lot... and read every single word in his memory... with a raised glass in hand! 🍻
I hope you were watching from above, B4, (Of course you were... silly me!) and I hope it put a massive grin on your face... and a spring in your step, now you are finally free at last, from your physical pains.
Feel free to bellow through the clouds "I told you so"!   😁
I'm sure many of us will mark your gut-wrenching passing in any number of ways in the coming matches... be that privately and/or publicly, and it is no less than you deserve.
I won't hesitate to twirl my scraver in your honour at future games, and my DCFC flange will forever be at half mast.  
Sleep well, dear Buddy.  Up The Rams.  See you at the promotion party.
xxx
😢🍻🐏

f****** hell, that’s horrific news… one of my personal hero’s on the forum, always positive even through our darkest days.
May you rest in peace B4. And I hope we get promoted this season for you, more than anyone else.

got my ticket for vale. UTR

I'm starting to realize I should be grateful that it was President Bush in charge and not President Leeds Ram. 😂 I mean what could possibly go wrong with the US invading Russia's biggest ally in the region as well as Iraq?  Scary stuff. 

Is your first name Tony?

I'm hoping to see the queers for Palestine out again. They're my favourites.

Pretty much yes. The war on terror consuming much of Bush's doctrine had two main planks. The elimination of terrorist groups via military action and the growth of democracy in the region. The Bush administration believed terrorism grew in states which were overly authoritarian due to the lack of political space and also the tendency of authoritarianism actually to be quite poor governors of states themselves. This is pretty correct, and if you read the academic literature on terrorism, they're not that far wrong. Authoritarianism breeds poor resilience for states to act, lowering capacity to deal with problems when they emerge due to poor decision-making, cronyism, and using the military as a police force.

The second plank was using military action to stop terrorism. This involved measures with dubious legality such as extraordinary rendition but also using a doctrine called 'pre-emptive self defence'. This was the belief that rather than waiting for someone to attack you, who you know is going to attack you, you attack them first. This is much more controversial and led to the mistaken belief Iraq had WMD. Of course, this doctrine also plays into the fact that authoritarians oftentimes try to look stronger than they really are. However, even though the Iraq invasion was handled terribly, by 2008, post-surge, the country actually had relative stability until the collapse of Syria and the rise of IS which continues to have a lasting effect. 

The freedom agenda was incomplete precisely because the US tried to work with authoritarian regimes in the region undermining their moral credibility in pursuing more democractic governments. That and the morally dubious, extra legal methods used to address terrorist organisations further hindered their ability to pursue meaningful change. However, if the US had gone in harder, such as tackling Syria, along with Iraq, cleaning up the fascist Ba'ath states once and for all, this would, in my opinion, have made life much easier for the US in Iraq and made the region a much better place. The Arab Springs which brought about the possibility of widespread change would have had more of a chance of success if Bush had established a clearer and better track record of delivering democracy to the region. 

got my ticket for vale. UTR

Biden and Blinken especially has tried to get the US presence and interference in the ME way down to prioritise other FP issues. This obviously has come at a time when the administration is on the ropes domestically and diplomatically has Russia and China which they want to prioritise. I think they're less hypocritical and trying to stop the region falling into chaos, which could still happen.  

Obama was not as good as Bush was who was the first US President to call for Palestinian statehood if memory serves me correctly. Obama's stance on the Arab Springs was also nothing short of disgraceful and has helped cement a political order which is one of the reasons the region finds itself where it is now.  

You've glossed over the tactical plan and used stats to define a 'manner of play'. On the surface, a high number of passes, shots and possession is good. However, are those passes on the edge of our own box, on the halfway line, or around their box? Are the shots causing any threat to the opposition, or are they hopeful shots from outside the packed area, or tame headers from aimless crosses?
It's the entire predictability of play. A pass is made to the edge of their box, but before he receives the ball, you already know he's going to take a touch, turn to the side of the pitch to the winger, who will dawdle on the ball a little bit and then eventually cross it high. The only player we have who shows any level of creativity on the edge of a packed opposition box (and can actually pull it off) is Bird. We need to spend a lot more time on the training ground to address this major issue in our play.
There were only 2 shots in the entire game where I felt we actually had a good quality shot on target - Collins when he was offside, and Hourihane's equaliser. Even Mendez-Laing's goal should have been easily saved by their keeper. It's not surprising when we line-up with players who have never been known as goalscorers. Bird and Smith have a combined 18 career goals. At this stage of their careers, Hourihane, Barkhuzien and Mendez-Laing will do well to hit that many between them this season. Whilst Washington has a decent minutes to goals ratio, he's the sort who will struggle against compact defences when playing as a lone forward.
The bench doesn't offer much threat either, with WIlson's 6 career goals, Ward averaging about 5 goals a season, Collins on the decline, and Sibley out of favour.

In the second half all I saw was us camping in their half with our midfielders taking too many touches in the middle and being too slow to fashion a ball on the inside before playing the ball out wide and crossing it in. The front line were so static which only made things harder.  It's precisely why Crewe reserves found it so easy to defend against. I only counted once from 65 minutes onwards where we actually moved the ball through the middle into the box via a dummy from bird and it almost came off. 
 

In the second half all I saw was us camping in their half with our midfielders taking too many touches in the middle and being too slow to fashion a ball on the inside before playing the ball out wide and crossing it in. The front line were so static which only made things harder.  It's precisely why Crewe reserves found it so easy to defend against. I only counted once from 65 minutes onwards where we actually moved the ball through the middle into the box via a dummy from bird and it almost came off. 
 

I watched it and yes we were camped in their half. However, it's not just the amount of the ball we have but what we do with it that matters. Watching the Northampton game I wondered if the form and reaction of the fans had finally got Warne to reassess. We looked far more creative and menacing. Today, it was back to switching it to the flanks, putting a ball in and hoping something breaks for us in the box. Couldn't disagree more with angieram either, the second half lacked subtlety, movement, pace, or precision. It was one lump into the box after another and was far too easy to defend against. 

In the second half all I saw was us camping in their half with our midfielders taking too many touches in the middle and being too slow to fashion a ball on the inside before playing the ball out wide and crossing it in. The front line were so static which only made things harder.  It's precisely why Crewe reserves found it so easy to defend against. I only counted once from 65 minutes onwards where we actually moved the ball through the middle into the box via a dummy from bird and it almost came off. 
 

I watched it and yes we were camped in their half. However, it's not just the amount of the ball we have but what we do with it that matters. Watching the Northampton game I wondered if the form and reaction of the fans had finally got Warne to reassess. We looked far more creative and menacing. Today, it was back to switching it to the flanks, putting a ball in and hoping something breaks for us in the box. Couldn't disagree more with angieram either, the second half lacked subtlety, movement, pace, or precision. It was one lump into the box after another and was far too easy to defend against. 

I watched it and yes we were camped in their half. However, it's not just the amount of the ball we have but what we do with it that matters. Watching the Northampton game I wondered if the form and reaction of the fans had finally got Warne to reassess. We looked far more creative and menacing. Today, it was back to switching it to the flanks, putting a ball in and hoping something breaks for us in the box. Couldn't disagree more with angieram either, the second half lacked subtlety, movement, pace, or precision. It was one lump into the box after another and was far too easy to defend against. 

In the second half all I saw was us camping in their half with our midfielders taking too many touches in the middle and being too slow to fashion a ball on the inside before playing the ball out wide and crossing it in. The front line were so static which only made things harder.  It's precisely why Crewe reserves found it so easy to defend against. I only counted once from 65 minutes onwards where we actually moved the ball through the middle into the box via a dummy from bird and it almost came off.