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VulcanRam

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  1. Like
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Gritstone Ram in Coming to Derby. Advice please folks.   
    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.
  2. Like
    VulcanRam reacted to Ilkestonian in Coming to Derby. Advice please folks.   
    I went to Mount Everest a few weeks and loved it, food and staff were excellent and I enjoyed it much more than when I've been to the more expensive restaurants nearby - I'd definitely recommend it to anyone.
  3. Like
    VulcanRam reacted to NOTSA74 in Coming to Derby. Advice please folks.   
    It's a while since I've been to Mount Everest but I've always had a good meal there. The Nepalese dishes are very good though you can get a Madras or Korma etc. if you want.
  4. Like
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Nishfan in Coming to Derby. Advice please folks.   
    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!
     
  5. Clap
    VulcanRam reacted to Mucker1884 in Season Tickets 24/25   
    Not a struggle.  At all.
    Quite the opposite, in fact...
    Since I was young (clap, clap, clap, clap)
    I've followed 'em (clap, clap, clap, clap)
    DCFC (clap, clap, clap, clap)
    The team for me (him, her, us, them)
    Na, Na, Na, Naaaaa.....
     
     

  6. Like
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Rev in Season Tickets 24/25   
    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. Like
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Blackpoolmad in Coming to Derby. Advice please folks.   
    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!
     
  8. Like
    VulcanRam reacted to Crewton in Match Thread: vs Northampton Town (a)   
    But which of them could we have actually signed?
    Alfie May cost a fee and wanted to go to Charlton. Poku signed a 4 year contract for Boro in 2021 for "a substantial 6-figure fee" (BBC) and would have cost us allot more than that to sign. Dion Charles signed for Bolton when we were in Administration for £325,000. Devante Cole signed for Barnsley in summer 2021 when we were under a soft embargo in the Championship  - he'd have been out of our reach after Administration. Stockley went to Fleetwood last January for an undisclosed fee, Paddy Lane same to Portsmouth . Hoskins has been under contract at NTFC for 8 years continuously and they would have wanted a large fee for him too. Chris Martin probably liked the idea of staying in Bristol. Jordan Rhodes might well be on a bigger salary than Collins. 
    I don't see the point of fantasising about strikers we couldn't have signed.
  9. Like
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Archied in Season Tickets 24/25   
    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. 
  10. Clap
    VulcanRam got a reaction from LeedsCityRam in Match Thread: vs Blackpool (h)   
    If it’s a choice between Ward or Wilson at RB, I choose Smith.
  11. Clap
    VulcanRam got a reaction from MickD in Sonny Bradley   
    Football is a fickle game. Made a mistake and will pay for it with a ban. But he still has value to us.
    When he comes on as sub against Carlisle to nod in the winner that sends us up, everyone will be singing his name. 
     
  12. Like
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Premier ram in Sonny Bradley   
    Football is a fickle game. Made a mistake and will pay for it with a ban. But he still has value to us.
    When he comes on as sub against Carlisle to nod in the winner that sends us up, everyone will be singing his name. 
     
  13. Like
    VulcanRam reacted to angieram in Match Thread: vs Northampton Town (a)   
    Your matchday thread starters are a joy @Rampant.
  14. Like
    VulcanRam reacted to Rampant in Match Thread: vs Northampton Town (a)   
    Saturday 23rd March
    Northampton vs Derby
    Sixfields Stadium (KO 1500)
     
    Parking: There is apparently parking available at the ground (NN5 5QA) for a fiver or at a place called Duston Mill (NN5 5FP).
    Opponents Bio: Founded in 1897, Northampton Town are well known by their nickname, 'The Cobblers', a nod to the town's historic shoe-making industry. Previously based adjacent to Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, their move in 1994 now sees them play home matches at the 7,798 capacity Sixfields Stadium.
    The swinging 60's was quite the decade to be a member of the Shoe Army as Northampton started the 1960/61 season in the fourth tier of the English game before three promotions and three relegations saw them back in Division 4 (ask your parents kids) in time for the 1969/70 campaign. Their one season in the top division was their only appearance at that level in their history so far. Indeed, since their relegation in 1966/67 from what is now the Championship, the Cobblers have played each of the subsequent 56 seasons in either the third or fourth tier. That run could have been broken in 1993/94 when they finished bottom of League 2 but they had a reprieve as Kidderminster Harriers' ground wasn't deemed suitable for the Football League.
    This season sees Town looking to consolidate a League 1 berth after their promotion from League 2 in 2022/23 and sitting in 14th place and well clear of the drop zone they have comfortably achieved their initial target. A decent run of results could see them finish in the top half as they are one of four sides on 50 points before this weekend.
    Opponents Gaffer & Dangermen: They are managed by an Australian, Jon Brady, who I know nothing about. 
    Top scorers for Northampton this season are Sam Hoskins (14 goals), Kieron Bowie (eight) and Mitch Pinnock (six, plus seven assists). They also have Huddersfield loanee Tyreece Simpson and another loanee is a certain Tony Springett who played a few times for ourselves last year.
    Other Titbits & Links to DCFC: Notable names associated with Saturday's opponents include former managers Herbert Chapman (of Huddersfield and Arsenal fame), Tony Barton (European Cup winning manager at Villa), Chris Wilder (when he was good), Ian Atkins (coming good again at Tranmere maybe), Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Aidy Boothroyd and Graham Carr (father of comedy twins Alan and Jimmy). Their most famous ex-player is probably former Liverpool and England full-back, Phil Neal.
    Derby links include Kevin Wilson (managed them) and those who played for both clubs include John Gregory, Ian Taylor and Marco Gabbiadini.
    Opponents Form: They've struggled over the past five games, picking up just two points from draws against Charlton at home and Cambridge away. They've lost two on the bounce, both without scoring, with a 1-0 defeat at home to Blackpool followed on Saturday by a 2-0 loss at Wycombe. 
    Their league record at home is respectable overall, reading: W8-D5-L6.
    Rams History vs Northampton: We tempted fate against Bolton by highlighting the fact that they had never won in the league at Pride Park in 10 attempts. Lets be bold again by stating that;
    Derby have never lost a competitive fixture against Northampton.
    It's true. Six FA Cup ties (four original and two replays) and seven League matches is the sum total of the two clubs' historical matches against each other but the Rams have managed eight wins and five draws thus far. 
    In League matches only, we currently stand at W4-D3-L0 with an away record of W2-D1-L0 on their turf.
    The match earlier this season at Pride Park saw Derby run out comfortable 4-0 victors in a game where we saw the best of Conor Washington and a brace by Max Bird.
    Likely Rams XI: We can possibly expect a change or two. Or maybe three? Assuming we maintain the back three then Warne has to decide between a recall for Sonny Bradley after illness or sticking with Fozzy. I'd be amazed if he didn't stay with Craig Maldini tbh. 
    There are obvious doubts over those withdrawn against Bolton. Gayle is surely out and Barkhuizen and Ward are possibly struggling too. The gaffer also needs to make a decision on Hourihane as we look better with either Smith or Thompson in the middle (or both ideally for me) alongside Ebou Adams who must surely be our transfer target #1 for the summer. 
    A return to the 18 for Conor Washington (MotM in the reverse fixture) would be welcome.
    Other Notable Fixtures: None. Certainly not as far as those chasing automatic promotion is concerned. We are the only one of the five involved in that battle for a top two finish to be playing so it's a perfect opportunity to apply pressure on those now playing catch up with us. Seven points with a game in hand has to seem psychologically further away for Bolton than the current four points and equal games played so hopefully we can turn that screw.
    COYR
     
  15. Like
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Tamworthram in Match Thread: vs Bolton Wanderers (H)   
    Ah I totally see where you're coming from - the answer to your question is this: if it brushes the arm of a player on its way into goal, then Waghorn will be ruled the scorer as it touched him last, same as if it brushed off his head or foot. I guess "brush" is subjective as it depends on the deviation of the ball, but that's another point!
    In that situation it will be deemed handball if the referee sees it (or particularly VAR picks it up) and deems it to have been contact, under Law 12 of it being an offence to score directly from a hand or arm.
    I think the grey area sits that technically the ball might brush the arm but its so slight that the on field officials miss it (my first reaction to my lad was that Waggy did well to get out of the way of it). I think it's one of those that the on field gives but when VAR looks at the stills they might rule out, similar to lots of VAR decisions we've seen.
    Hope that helps mate, tbh we've spent far too much time thinking about it but as a ref I love the intricacies of the laws. 
  16. Haha
    VulcanRam reacted to G STAR RAM in Match Thread: vs Bolton Wanderers (H)   
    I imagine it was like one of them goals where the fans are waiting for a VAR decision. 
    He punched all of the data into his luck spreadsheet and then had to wait for the results. 
    Imagine there were absolute scenes when the computer advised that the xG was less than 1 and if the header had taken place against an average opponent on a neutral ground on a windy day it would not have gone in.
  17. Clap
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Ram-Alf in Match Thread: vs Bolton Wanderers (H)   
    Thanks TR, I'm really not sure what you're getting at? If the ball hits a players arm/hand and goes in, it's handball and no goal. If it hits a players arm/hand and he goes on to score immediately, it's no goal. It's got nothing to do with anything else that might or might not have been happening or where the ball might or might not have been travelling. What's not straightforward about that? 
    The rule has actually been changed in recent years (again) - it used to be if the ball hit a players hand/arm (deliberately or not) and a goal was scored directly after by anyone, it was ruled out. It was changed to only being disallowed if it was the players whose arm it hit who scores. 
    Anyway, the goal was given to Wilson which means the officials obviously thought Waghorn hadn't touched it at all. If they thought it had his his hip then he gets the goal. If they thought it had hit his arm they would have to rule it out. 
  18. Like
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Ellafella in Derby V Bolton: Player Ratings   
    1Wildsmith 9 save of the season first half, and another great save second half, kicking was a bit off
    35Nelson 9 Outstanding performance 
    3Forsyth 9 Great to have him back, rock solid and good on the ball
    6Cashin 9 Head, head, slide tackle, head
    23Ward 6.5 Was having a decent game but obviously had a knock
    2Wilson 8 run - head - goal
    32Adams 9 If we'd had him from day 1 we'd be winning this league, has filled a big gap in team capabilities
    4Hourihane 5 doesn't have the legs for games like this
    16Thompson 7.5 his bundles of energy are well known, but he's got great feet too
    17Sibley 6.5 played well I thought, surprised to see him hooked
    20Elder 7 Great corner for the goal, looked to get forward more than previously
    7Barkhuizen 6 as a 10 he was ok, looked lost as a 9 and a natural sacrifice after Gayle's injury
    10Waghorn 6 led the line well enough
    25Gayle 6 so sorry to see him injured
    12Smith 8 again, came on and made a big difference with his passing ability
    11Méndez-Laing 8 consistently a threat, good defensive work
  19. Clap
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Archied in Match Thread: vs Bolton Wanderers (H)   
    Indeed, the more people bite at their nonsense, the more they will get a kick out of winding people up. Just ignore it and they'll go away.
  20. Like
    VulcanRam reacted to Steve Buckley’s Dog in Match Thread: vs Bolton Wanderers (H)   
    Ignore the result?
    Call me old fashioned but the actual result of a football match seems quite significant to me, especially when it comes to points and league tables and the like. 
  21. Like
    VulcanRam reacted to Caerphilly Ram in Match Thread: vs Bolton Wanderers (H)   
    What would bring you joy in football? It appears beating a promotion rival in what was essentially an evenly balanced game isn’t the answer. Here’s how I saw it as someone who likes seeing their team win football Matches, with some of the stats I can find online to support my view…

    - The team we all (supposedly) support showed grit and determination to earn a key result yesterday, big plus for me there.

    - The possession stats are fairly even (44% to us 56% to them) which backs up what I saw during the game, they had spells with the ball and we had spells with the ball.
    - The attempts on goal, well we had 10 shots with 3 on target and they had 6 shots with 3 on target, so they didn’t create massively more than we did in terms of attempts which tallies with what I saw yesterday.

    - 6 corners and 1 yellow card a piece, pretty balanced there.
    - we made a total of 280 passes with 62% accuracy, they made a total of 385 with 67% accuracy so they won there…I did however notice our players intentionally standing off their defence and allowing them to have the ball which seems a tactical decision to allow them the ball, so my simple observation there is we allowed them to pass it more and they didn’t do much with it…
    - the stats I’ve found say we had 1 big chance each and missed 1 big chance each…. Balanced again.
    - we had 3 blocked shots, they had 1. Our keeper made 3 saves, theirs made 2. So while our keeper was busier they blocked some of our efforts which could have resulted in their keeper making more saves…
    - we made 9 interceptions to their 3 and 32 clearances to their 25, backing up the work our defence did to keep them out.
    - we scored 1 goal, they score 0.
    So in summary, as I thought yesterday and still today having looked over the numbers, it was a balanced game between two teams at this level, both had chances, both defended well, each side approached the game slightly different to the other and we scored from a set piece to win…. Hooray! 
  22. Like
    VulcanRam reacted to Anag Ram in Bolton sellout.   
    If a group of blokes are in a pub, swearing and threatening passers by, it’s frightening and will lead someone to call the police.
    Being in a football ground doesn’t affect that. It’s not a hiding place for criminals.
  23. Clap
    VulcanRam reacted to Wanderlust in Bolton sellout.   
    That's true. Even today we (BWFC) have a few idiots but attitudes towards them have changed substantially since Sharon Brittan saved us from oblivion and took over 4 years ago. The woman is dead set on us being a "community club" that attracts families and community groups so over 50 lifetime bans have been handed out to trouble-causing d******** so far. With more and more families coming to our home games and occasional "Community Days" where tickets cost a tenner for adults and much less for kids and other concessions (including away fans) nobody tolerates the idiots any more. Home games are like a village fete for the masses.
    That said, the club can't ban idiots from going to away games, but for the most part our away support is big, vocal and peaceful - but there's always one with ego problems, isn't there?
  24. Like
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Kathcairns in Match Thread: vs Reading (H)   
    Not just that, I'd like to think any player playing at this elite level while observing Ramadan fasting deserves huge credit and support. Had the club communicated it I'd think Adams and any of the other players on the pitch would have received an excellent reception on resumption on the game.  
    Instead, everyone around me at first thought the keeper was playing up again or something. Didn't take long for the penny to drop, but could have been far better managed by the club. 
  25. Like
    VulcanRam got a reaction from Kathcairns in Match Thread: vs Reading (H)   
    Totally agree. Embarrassing and unnecessary. Makes us every bit as classless and stupid as Birmingham, which I hoped I'd never have to say. Thankfully not many joined in, it was just the usual meatheads who can't wait to have a go at our own fans if the atmosphere dips.
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