VulcanRam

10 hours ago, Ambitious said:

League One is a melting pot of smaller clubs who are relatively well run and then bigger clubs who are down there for a reason. It's an enjoyable league for the match-going fan and with 49 wins in two seasons there has been plenty of happy Saturdays, albeit those wins (a lot of the time) feel more like 'job done' than enjoyable and anything other than a win feels like we're playing well below ourselves. 

In two seasons we've probably been the underdog by the bookies in less than 10 of our 92 games which underpins the level of expectation. Expectation ultimately drains the joy out of football.

in hindsight, it's been an enjoyable experience (of sorts) but I'm in no rush to experience it again. 

This is a great point, and perhaps why Saturday didn't feel nearly as exciting as the Championship play off games we've had in recent year, Leeds away especially. I expected us to get promoted so while I'm happy that we did and enjoyed the occasion on Saturday,  the whole thing feels to me like we are righting a wrong more than achieving anything extraordinary.  

2 hours ago, Norman said:

No, no, no, no, no.

I don't like Warne's football, but I do like how he goes about his transfers. And I'd like to think all those ageing players on expensive wages, and no motivation to play for Derby, aren't on any list we compile. Obviously there is the exceptions in that list, like Burrows etc.

Sign Ebou, extend Sibley and Thompsons deals and then start targetting hungry players on low wages.

I think youth and agility will be the way forward now we can afford it.

6 minutes ago, NewEnglandRam said:

Small-minded? Ill-informed?? I very much object to those phrases; you obviously don't know what I have been or done in my life - so just to let you know, I have been (in no particular order)- engineer, metallurgist, museum curator (twice), broadcaster, medical librarian, textile technologist, aviation professional, etc etc. I am also currently on the main Board of a Registered Charity (with international reach) I suggest that an apology might be in order.

I'm not sure you've got a grasp of how this forum works 😉

2 hours ago, Archied said:

Yep and he also could have held out and gone for far less money if any if he chose and he could have not accepted a loan back or just gone through the motions, none of which he did , so ok let’s not re write history but let’s also not omit stuff to suit either 🤷🏻‍♂️

Indeed, but you didn't mention any of those in your original post.

5 hours ago, Archied said:

The boy did what was right for derby county , very good offer , money came in that allowed us to bring in vital cogs and he stayed on loan , busting a gut to get us up , so fitting he smashed that early goal in nearly busting the net ,,, the boy is a hero on a day for hero’s ,

max bird take a bow , a proper ram always , no matter where he goes on to play

He was offered a contract at Derby and chose not to sign it. He could have stayed if he wanted to but wanted to try elsewhere, which is his right. Let's not rewrite history here or pretend he was doing it for the good of the club.  

Good goal yesterday and hopefully for him he does well at Bristol. He's been a good player for us but I'd agree with him that it's time to move on for a fresh challenge.

10 hours ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

Speak for yourself. I’ll be smashing jaegerbombs as if my life depends on it.

Yeah but that's most Saturdays isn't it?!

I had a lovely fullsome pot of grass from the BBG post Palace in 96.

Then a couple of years later workmen came to replace the fence panels and inadvertently chucked it. 

Heartbroken. 

2 hours ago, Comrade 86 said:

I must be easily pleased, as I'll be celebrating like a mad thing if we clinch promotion on Saturday and right now I couldn't care less about Premier League football.

Fair point, and I'm with you and @Mucker1884 on that. It was probably just to illustrate the point. I always felt when we were at the top of the Championship it was the best place to be - I always felt to win it and not go up (but get some cash) would be ideal. But I suppose that's a stupid point of view because it kind of defeats the objective. 

3 hours ago, Tamworthram said:

I wouldn’t hold your breath for winning the FA Cup, I reckon the top half a dozen or so teams have got that pretty much sewn up despite their lack of interest in the earlier rounds. I also don’t think we’ll be back in the Premier League anytime soon.

For me it’s not just a case of celebrating any kind of achievement whilst you can but also a sense of relieve being back to where we belong. I guess some people will just politely applaud, as they may have done if we’d been able to attend the game when we narrowly escaped relegation (it could be argued that avoiding relegation is nothing to celebrate but, it’s the same, - it was an achievement of sorts and a sense of relief - albeit only short lived) but I’ll be cheering and applauding with vigour if we make it on Saturday.

Mate, so will I, and to be fair to @Carl Sagan I probably picked on the wrong post. But some of the "tear in my eye" and "spirit of 75" stuff is a tad over the top imo. I guess @Premier ram has me banged to rights. Bah humbug!

3 hours ago, Carl Sagan said:

After 45 games it all comes down to this. Us or Bolton? The Rams the red hot favourites, with the best defence in the division playing the team bottom and long-since relegated. And needing only a draw. You can see why the bookies have us 1000/1 on but as a Derby fan I'm still nervous and feel it's going to be a long week.

Thrilled to be there. Will be thinking of Daniel who I never met, but who I exchanged posts with on this forum, and whose calls to arms I always loved. Will be remembering being at the BBG 49 years earlier to see the Rams lift the First Division title against Carlisle. Am with some of the same friends who came to the Derby Crystal Palace game with me, and we recreated Robbie van der Laan's header with on the pitch afterwards. Will be remembering the time Stephen Pearson scored his goal to send us into delirium at Wembley.

Will be thanking David Clowes for saving our club when all seemed lost. Darkest before the dawn. He deserves a fantastic day in which, yet again, and for only the third time in our history, Derby lift themselves out of the third tier after a two-season stint. But we have to do it first. Let's hope the players keep their eyes on the prize, backed all the way by long-suffering fans who do deserve some joy after the last few years.

Come on you Rams!

 

With respect I'll be saving all this for when, or if, we ever get promoted to the Premier League. Or win the FA Cup. Something that really signifies over-achievement or something truly special. I don't think this is it.

Don't get me wrong, I'll be delighted come 5pm when we're out of this lousy league but we're only going back to where we should always have been except with a poorer squad and - from what I've seen this season of the Championship - a higher standard of football generally than when we were last in it.

We should never have been docked 21 points imo, and never have been relegated. But we were, and massive well done to Paul Warne and the players for getting us out after two seasons. With the squad we have we should be challenging at the top of the table. I went to the end of season awards last night and it was great to have such a positive vibe in the room.

But, in my humble opinion, it's not worth some of the overly emotive stuff I've read on this forum in the last few days. 

Was surprised to hear it was his first ever visit to PPS. Which was the only bit of the HT interview I could understand. 

6 minutes ago, Gerry Daly said:

Anyone copy and pasting your list doesn't give a mark for Thommo. Which is a shame as he played really well. 

And Ebou is in twice!

Anyway:

1Wildsmith 7

35Nelson 7

5Bradley 8.5

6Cashin 8

2Wilson 8

12Smith 8

23Fornah 6

32Adams 8

10Waghorn 6

17Sibley 7

32Adams I know he's everywhere, even on here!!

Thompson 80 - which he probably would have scored by now taking the number of posters

4Hourihane 6

9Collins 7

14Washington 6

11Méndez-Laing 7

7Barlhuizen 6

Win this and we'll be massive favourites for autos with two home games and Cambridge away left. It's a huge game. 

0-1

NML

Lucky sods got to play on a much better pitch than Pride Park is.

Nelson and Cash for me. It's a bit depressing that Young Player of the Year has only 3 choices, one of whom has only started a couple of games.

5 minutes ago, Caerphilly Ram said:

It’s unreal how dismissive you are of the club and team you claim to support.

Current top 6 are Portsmouth, Bolton, Barnsley, Peterborough, Lincoln and us. 

Against Portsmouth this season we drew home (1-1) and away (2-2).

Against Bolton we lost away (2-1) and won at home (1-0).

Against Barnsley we won at home (3-0) and lost away (2-1)

Against Peterborough we won away (2-4) and lost at home (2-3)

Against Lincoln we won at home (3-1) and drew away (0-0)

As you mentioned Stevenage I’ll include them and Oxford too as they were in and around the play off positions most of the season;

Against Stevenage we lost away (3-1) and won at home (1-0)

Against Oxford we lost at home (1-2) and won away (2-3)

To me my original point stands that this season we’ve done better against the teams around us than we did last season, I can’t be bothered looking for the stats but if I remember correctly one of the big criticisms last year from certain quarters was that we didn’t compete well enough with the teams around us. This year I think we have, the results back that up, the fact we are second in the table with 4 games to go backs that up, the fact we’re one of the best scoring teams in the league and the best defences backs that up….. so I’ll carry on being a happy and optimistic little ram while you…. Do whatever it is you do 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

I don't think at any stage they have claimed to support Derby? I've always assumed it's just someone from another club enjoying a bit of wummery.

7 minutes ago, Crewton said:

The Offside - it certainly looks like it.

The handball - he even moved his arm to control it.

From that angle if anything he looks onside via Nelson's left shoulder. Certainly nothing obvious and therefore I have no issue with no flag. 

Deffo handball though. He used his arm to control it and stop it going out of play.

He was great last night with the ball first half, but needs to do a lot more without it in this team, where at the very least everyone puts a shift in. Defensively very timid and half hearted at best. Even Smith was giving him a right talking to when he just stood off from getting involved at one point.

Win all four and it won't matter. Wycombe looks to me to be the banana skin we need to avoid. Horrible place, horrible team and the sort of place we struggle at. Win that and my confidence levels of autos will be through the roof. 

2 hours ago, BatRam said:

Morning chaps , i didnt get chance to watch the game. Now everyone has had chance to sleep on it , what do you reckon? personally i would have bitten ya hand off for 1 point against league leaders but i am concerned with the chasing pack. Who performed well/bad and what do you think should of been done differently 

It was an excellent first half, I thought we played really well and carried a greater attacking threat than Portsmouth, even though they had more of the ball. Smith, Adams, CBT and Ward all excellent.

Second half imo was, in complete contrast, a dirge and such a missed opportunity. Decided from the very start of the second half to just sit in our defensive third and not even bother coming out and trying to attack. It's such a dangerous tactic and one that ultimately failed. Very negative, the pace slowed, the game became boring, and no-one on here will ever be able to complain about teams coming to PPS and parking the bus, time wasting or playing "anti-football" as some call it. 

Would I have taken a point before ko? Absolutely. But watching our first half performance, I thought Portsmouth were vulnerable at the back and we chose not to exploit that further. So ultimately, a decent point, but felt afterwards and still feels to me like two points dropped.

4 hours ago, Gritstone Ram said:

Come to Matlock Bath it’s a bit like Blackpool without the sea. You’ll have the added bonus if the weathers good of sitting in traffic for a few hours and no where to park. 

I was there today for an hour as it turns out, it was empty and raining, so I managed to park on the main road (that’s a first) outside a very nice cafe. I must go there more often when it’s cold and wet.

4 hours ago, NOTSA74 said:

I went to Anoki last weekend and they're really pushing a limited menu for March which I didn't think was good value. I think the Viceroy is on a par with Anoki but I'd also mention Mount Everest on London Road for a good Nepalese and Gurkha beer.

The Pepperpot restaurant has just opened on London Road https://www.pepperpotderby.co.uk/

 

Was thinking about trying Mount Everest so I'm interested in what you're saying on that.

Anoki is hugely overpriced for what you get imo. Lots of better Indian restaurants out there.

12 hours ago, Blackpoolmad said:

My second trip this season to your great club, but this time I'm treating my Mrs to a couple of nights in Derby.

We are staying in a hotel 5 minutes walk from the ground, but we will be doing the tourist bit and was wondering if any of you good Derby folks could give us some good places to visit and any welcoming pubs too. We are late 50's, so no skate board parks or teeny bopper boozers please. 

Thanks in advance and see you Friday 😄 

Has she been particularly naughty, because that's some punishment.

Anyway, just on the off chance that she doesn't have a beard, a beer belly and open toed sandals (though its fine if she does), there are other non real ale pubs available which might add a bit of life or glamour to your stay. (The Neptune and Jorrocks are not among them, by the way, imho). Most of the restaurants around Derby are on Friar Gate, and the Distillery or Orange Tree (George St) are popular. Lorentes is a great tapas bar on Friar Gate but its tiny and gets very booked up. Pierre's is always decent.

The shopping centre is ok for a wander around but its just like every other shopping centre, it has a cinema, a bowling alley and a crazy golf thing. Plenty of food choices from Wagamamas to Nandos.

Other than that if you really want to walk through the town centre, which is much like any other town centre in that its a bit miserable and run down, as others have said the Cathedral area is the nicest bit. The Cathedral itself is lovely, and if the weather is ok a walk by the river is nice. Dolphin is a decent pub, the Museum of Making is ok if you're interested in that kind of thing.

On Pride Park, as others have said, Niccos and Seven are the best pick, but a bit pricey in the evening. Harvester, Frankie and Benny's, Merlin are the others, food ok but only ok. You may wish to treat Mrs Blackpoolmad to a game of padel; there's a really good setup there on the old JJB complex next to the stadium. 

Enjoy your stay and enjoy the game!

I'll be renewing my two in the SS but as things stand won't be able to go to too many games next season due to another commitment.

But I hope that sometime in the next 15 years we'll be decent so don't want to lost my seats for that one moment. Think of all those lifelong Newcastle fans who chucked in their ticket in protest at Mike Ashley and who now can't get anywhere near the stadium. Best to keep your hand in the game. 

7 hours ago, YorkshireRam said:

Why are people preferring Ward over Wilson at RB? Neither are defensively amazing but Wilson has looked more solid there to my eyes (and gives away less penalties).

Playing Wilson at fullback gives him the space to use his greatest strength- progressive dribbling, whilst Ward as a winger would still be able to utilise his crossing. Given that Wilson sometimes lacks end product, this way round seems more sensible to me?

If it’s a choice between Ward or Wilson at RB, I choose Smith.