BOB BIGGS

His Mother had died after a short illness two months previously. Hence the feeling at the time (from some) that it was harsh and badly timed.

His Mother had died after a short illness two months previously. Hence the feeling at the time (from some) that it was harsh and badly timed.

His Mother had died after a short illness two months previously. Hence the feeling at the time (from some) that it was harsh and badly timed.

His Mother had died after a short illness two months previously. Hence the feeling at the time (from some) that it was harsh and badly timed.

In my view he had just got us on the turn. Yes, McClaren might have done a few tweaks that elevated us a bit quicker, but after 3 or 4 years of rebuilding a club in (another) financial hole, with very little real money to spend, he had assembled a squad playing some good football, with players fully behind him. He deserved at least another year. To also sack him immediately after the Forest game was brutal. There is another matter I think that was spoken of a time, something personal in Clough’s life, but it escapes me Nick. Perhaps someone else can add their twopenneth, although we would be going remarkably off tangent if we turn this thread into a Nigel Clough debate. Going to enjoy my beer now. Will try to catch up again on Zoom soon ?

He’s never going to indemnify the club for EFL arbitration losses though. He’s literally just written a 4 page essay about how corrupt he thinks they are. 

The reason he has done it this way is to make it clear that the only way for there to be a fair hearing is through the high court.
If he just agrees to indemnify the claim, the EFL and Middlesbrough will continue to push for closed shop arbitration rather than a court decision, where they can select their counsel to get the result they want. Their track record of impartiality when it comes to Derby County is pretty damning.
Mel Morris doesn't trust the EFL to play fair. I don't trust the EFL to play fair either.

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

To those of you in despair or anger over today's announcement, stop.  However hard that may be try and stop. Think positive thoughts, deep breathe, talk, write on here, open the wine or whisky, kiss the spouse and children or dog, whatever it takes.  It was always going to be something along the lines we have heard and it is not (yet) bad news.  It could even be good news.
Every single negotiation I have been involved in - and there has been a fair few over my career much larger than that of our football club, though none as complex - has had one feature.  They’ve all gone down to the wire.  Every single one.  It’s human nature - all sides think they can squeeze a little extra.  Think Brexit (or every single negotiation with the EU ever).  We knew what was going to have to happen months and months and months out (and it’s still not finished) yet there they all were at one minute to midnight (and beyond) negotiating away, deadlines being pushed back and changed, deals being done, compromises reached. Think Northern Ireland or South Africa, Unicef or the United Nations. They’re all the same.
Our deal is about as complex as those given all the parties involved and all their different interests. There is no single ‘truth’ just as many truths as there are parties in the game. Cans will continue to be kicked down the road until the end game is reached and perhaps, just maybe, we are closer to the end game than we were this morning.  This is good news because it concentrates minds.  It’s also harder on us, who have considerable skin in the game but no direct involvement in the negotiations.
The reason we might now be in the end game come February 28th, is because that is when the Administrators say they run out of money.  At that point I suspect they have to liquidate us.  They can’t raise enough money by selling players in the next 4 days (which is good news) to run to the end of the season; they might be able to borrow funds but I suspect that option is reducing so I guess they are running out of options other than to agree a PB and get some funding that way.
The PBs will know that too and, if they stay interested, and why wouldn’t they having got this far, their opportunity to squeeze the deal is coming.
The incompetent EFL and their assorted hangers on are also having their minds concentrated.  I genuinely don’t believe the EFL want us out of business - there’s too much trouble for them in renegotiating the Championship table - not only prize money but also promotion and relegation.  We’ve taken good points off top teams; lost to lower teams - they’ll all have a claim in the outcome.  And by the end of February there will still be 30 points or so to play for, enough to change positions in the final table enough for our results to still influence.
So too Mel.  I don’t believe that he wants us to go out of business but he has a part to play and that will feed into his ego as well as his bank balance.  I have no idea how much he is currently worth, almost certainly a lot more than I am, but he has clearly signalled for a long time that his years of largesse were at an end so I would guess that he has much less than we all think he does and what he used to have. His is emotional attachment as well as financial.  So I don’t blame him one bit for continuing to have a role to play, if that is what he is doing (and none of us know).  And, unlike most I accept, I trust him still to do right by Derby County, despite the opprobium that goes his way.  We shall see.
But even when (if) a PB is announced, that is by no means the end of the game.  Negotiations will continue, possibly for months to come.  There will be good days and not so good. Cans will continue to be kicked but, hopefully, the immediate threat of liquidation will be temporarily lifted.  We will no longer have to think of Luton away as being our last match or Millwall as our last home match at Pride Park
We have a role - a really, really important one.  We have over the last 10 days successfully raised our case in all kinds of places that hadn’t thought of hearing or talking about us - Parliament, MPs, Council, BBC Breakfast, Talksport, Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 Today programme, national newspapers and all the rest.  Our job is to continue.  We HAVE to keep this going. They will all want to move on to the next big thing. Our job is to keep Derby County peacefully but consistently in the news. Keep the pressure on.   We need more from our local Radio station, our local celebrities and MPs; we need more from our councillors. We need to make the EFL and others understand the strength of feeling, feel the pressure again and again and again.  And we are the ones that can provide the pressure.

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

You won’t be surprised to hear you’re not the first with that?

You won’t be surprised to hear you’re not the first with that?

Glad you are feeling better Bob. It must have been horrible over the last 5 weeks with both the EFL and your catheter taking the piss.

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was admitted to A and E with sepsis and water retention, spent 5 days there, and then had to put up with a very unpleasant catheter for 5 weeks before having it removed earlier this week. 
 
So, my mood has been swinging around a bit more than usual. I’ve imagined how I might fit a catheter into various people connected with Middlesbrough and Wycombe. That eases the tension for a while?
I can’t expect anyone else to appreciate that line of thinking but I’m sure they will have their own release.
if there’s any justice in the world, we will survive this nightmare. Stay strong everyone and keep up the pressure!!

What have Quantuma done? They didn’t just release a statement on Friday night, they released a hand grenade which has exploded spectacularly, fans have latched onto it creates momentum and within 2 working days parliament are involved. They’ve not spoken because they haven’t needed to.
EFL have nearly spontaneously combusted with their statement last night. Basically implied their insolvency rules are open to interpretation and subject to change, in other words they make it up as they go along ???
Boro come out today citing systematic cheating as the basis for their claim on a set of arguments already settled and ruled upon by disciplinary commissions (ie stadium sale) and also the same arguments as the case they brought to the LAP which was ruled against, no systematic cheating was found in ANY of the judgements in the original IDC, subsequent LAP, and final IDC ruling, all they have is subjective opinion.
Wycombe, while RD gave Couhig the platform to prove he’s a sharp lawyer, they also let him reveal his reasons for the action, which proves they absolutely have no case at all because the IDC did not rule on the Derby sanction, the fine of £100k and the restatement of accounts until after the season had ended, therefore there is no way the points could have been applied earlier, the whole process we also know was delayed by Boro’s failed action, the LAP judgement told us this.
They have all questioned the actions of Quantuma, of course they are going to!! They want to deflect from the weakness of their arguments and all those parties are concerned about how they’re being portrayed. Are Quantuma bothered, maybe/maybe not but it’s not about saving public face it’s about getting a deal done no matter how dirty it gets. They’ve not spoken to Boro and Wycombe because they don’t believe the claims and have a legal way around them potentially, so they weren’t priority, doing a deal with HMRC was absolute priority, while Pauline Latham said we wasn’t entirely happy about her meeting with the administrators, I’m sure I read another post say she believes it has implied Quantuma have a deal with HMRC. In fact we go back to Quantuma’s statement last Friday and that also implies they have a deal in place with everyone (or at least a route forward) except Boro and Wycombe. The events of the last few days have refocused everyone and led all parties to say they’re willing to come to the table to try and sort this out - maybe that is what they wanted and exactly what was needed.
The MPs are now challenging ALL parties to get this deal done and that is the right approach and Quantuma will be under pressure to deliver on their requirements.
 

Someone can use this as a starting point if they want...
Timeline of events, beginning with the introduction of financial regulation in the Championship.
1.       2012 - FFP Rules (monitored over 1 season) implemented
2.       24/05/14 - Derby lose to FFP cheats QPR in the Playoff Final
3.       November 2014 – P&S rules (monitored over 3 seasons) voted in to replace FFP rules for the 16/17 season onwards.
4.       Summer 2015 – Derby change amortisation policy for the 15/16 season (after discussing the change with the auditors)
5.       07/04/17 – 15/16 accounts are submitted to Companies House
6.       06/04/18 – 16/17 accounts are submitted to Companies House
7.       Spring 2018 –2016-18 P&S information submitted to EFL (within limits)
8.       12/04/18 – Revised 2016-18 P&S information submitted to EFL due to differences between FFP and P&S calculations (£5m over the limit)
9.       04/05/18 – DCFC placed under embargo
10.   May 2018 – Stadium valued at £81.1m (profits basis) and £74.4m (DRC basis) by JLL
11.   June 2018 – Discussions with EFL to agree on stadium sale and how much to be included in the accounts)
12.   28/06/18 – Stadium sold for £81m. Revised 2016-18 P&S information submitted to EFL (within limits)
13.   03/07/18 – Embargo lifted
14.   04/07/18 – EFL confirmation that DCFC met their P&S requirements for the 3 year period to 2018.
15.   15/02/19 – EFL Executive confirmation that £81.1m was fair value for the stadium.
16.   06/03/19 – placed under embargo for late submission of P&S statements
17.   29/03/19 – 2019 P&S statements submitted to EFL (within limits) and embargo lifted. New embargo placed on club due to being close to the limit.
18.   05/04/19 – 17/18 accounts are submitted to Companies House
19.   April 2019 - MFC queried, “in forceful terms”, the legitimacy of such a sale and leaseback arrangement
20.   15/04/19 – EFL query why amortization fluctuates so much between seasons.
21.   13/05/19 – Meeting between DCFC and EFL to discuss amortization, EFL stated “it is an acceptable accounting policy” with the EFL stating large future impairments are a risk for the club to take on
22.   24/05/19 – MFC submitted a claim against Derby, stating we cheated P&S by selling the stadium for too much and it wasn’t arms length.
23.   09/07/19 – MFC claim PPS should have been sold at a fair value of £22.8m
24.   11/07/19 – Embargo lifted
25.   30/07/19 – MFC officially threatened the EFL and DCFC with proceedings unless the EFL initiated disciplinary action against DCFC
26.   06/09/19 – MFC servered notice of arbitration to get profits from stadium sales excluded from P&S calculations (including those in the past)
27.   02/12/19 – EFL hired expert valued stadium at £42-50m. Expert had not visited the stadium but deemed the facilities to be “bog standard” and drew comparisons to Morecombe’s 6476 stadium with 3 terraced stands.
28.   16/01/20 – Derby charged with selling the stadium above it’s true value and for using improper amortization policy, resulting in exceeding P&S limits in the 3 years to 2018
29.   Early 2020 – Derby placed under embargo
30.   25/08/20 – DC cleared of overvaluing the stadium, found guilty for 1 of 5 particulars relating to the amortisation policy (not worded it adequately in the accounts), but insisted the policy was compliant with FRS102. DC panel consisted of accountants
31.   07/09/20 – EFL appealed against the DC decision
32.   07/09/20 – Boro started an arbitration against Derby and the EFL, in particular regarding the stadium valuation which allowed us to sign Waghorn
33.   22/10/20 – Boro’s application rejected
34.   30/11/20 – De novo hearing held and dismissed (EFL wanting draft 18/19 accounts submitted after DC decision to be considered)
35.   15/12/20 – EFL application for new evidence to be considered (18/19 draft accounts), dismissed 22/01/21
36.   July 2021 – LAP decision resulting in a restatement of 15/16 accounts onwards with a compliant amortization policy and a £100k fine. LAP did not consist of any accountants.
37.   22/09/21 – Derby enter administration
38.   16/11/21 – Administrators agree 9-point deduction due to EFL’s claim of a P&S overspend, a result of the EFL rejecting our new amortisation policy
 
Other noteworthy events:
EFL stated as wanting the points deduction against Derby to be applied in 20/21 to cause maximum punishment (relegation) when the season had already concluded.
Embargoes: 04/05/18-03/07/18, 06/03/19-11/07/19, early 2020-present