Wistaston Ram

Yet another all Premier League FA Cup snore fest. At least there isn't the constant ultra contrived 'atmosphere' of last night. Looking forward to some better ties over the weekend.

I'm home and just cracked open a nice bottle of German Christmas beer in celebration. Guess it has all been said, but nights like tonight make the life of ram all worthwhile, this was better than Port Vale last season. I hope I get my voice back tomorrow, maybe the beer will help.

It's bloody drafty!

Cracking view of the carpark. No buses parked tonight hopefully.

1Wildsmith 6 24Nyambe 7.5 35Nelson 8.5 6Cashin 8.0 3Forsyth 7.5 2Wilson 7.5 22Fornah 6.0 8Bird 7.5 4Hourihane 7.5 5Bradley 6.5 20Elder 6.0 7Barkhuizen 7.0 19Sibley 6.0 11Méndez-Laing 6.5 9Collins 7.0

Back home after a very satisfying performance, just lacking the goals we deserved. Sat with the home fans who were very impressed with how we played, less so with Wigan who were a shadow of the team who played at Pride Park. Looking forward to Oxford and nothing to fear if we can reproduce the performance, desire and hard work of today.

Last time I predicted a run of three games, I was castigated for saying that I would be happy with a point from Stevenage (might have been useful in hindsight), so to spare me the wrath of 'the spirit of the 70s champions' I'll say nine points (although I would be happy with a point from Oxford!)

0.0 based on the result of the last game I couldn't make it to.

I think both players are available as the cut off point for five bookings was last week?

Unfortunately I did not know this and ended up coming back to a ticket on my car after the game. I cannot recall seeing any obvious signs and having checked the Derby Council website, Zone 39 - Wilmorton is the only Zone that you cannot click on to see a map of permitted streets. I'll ring the council on Monday to get some clarification and see if it is worth appealing.

Cambridge at home and Shrewsbury away, cannot think of the last one.

Is that the last of the 1000 extra tickets or is there another small block to open?

I think Wigan only started home ticket sales yesterday, so maybe they are waiting to see how these sales go before extending our allocation. Seems strange as it is unlikely that they will get anywhere near capacity particularly at £30 a ticket.

4.2 to the rams FGS Collins

Apologies I missed it! Good response though.

Phew, just managed to get one!

It has been a pretty good November for the rams (Crewe aside). DavesaRam mentioned in another thread about how we traditionally do well in November. It is something I have long suspected, certainly in my time following Derby since the late 70s, so while idly flicking through my copy of the complete record I thought I would see how true it is. Apologies to our younger viewers, I have only looked at the 80's and early 90's so far (1979-1990). A very turbulent time in the history of the club with a fall and rise in fortunes over the the decade. Out of a total of 53 games played in November we won 26 (49%) drew 18 (34%) and lost 9 (17%). Some memorable home wins during that period were v Forest 4.1 (1979), v Lincoln 7.0 (1985), Man City 6.0 (1989). Away wins included v Stoke 2.0 (1986), v Southampton (2.1) v Spurs 3.1 (1988),2.1 (1989), v Villa 2.1 (1988). I was lucky enough to have gone to most of these games, which is probably why I think November is such a good month as a Derby fan. Be interesting to see if the theory still holds for more recent seasons, but I cannot be arsed!

oh good we can continue to chant 'how s**t you must be you be, you sit down away' to the poor unfortunates in the lower tier.

I wonder how it will work in the away end, where the majority (2.5k) of seats will have rails. Quite a few away fans who have come to Pride Park this season prefer to sit - hence the 'how s**t must you be song..! The SS might have to come up with something different.

Rams Are My Sunshine ... my only sunshine...

I agree. The Bulls Head has a good range of Titanic beers including the wonderful Plum Porter, but it felt very much like a home pub last year. A random PV fan bought me a pint, probably not realising I was a Derby fan! so probably best advised not to wear colours (unless it's a generic B & W scrave) if you plan to visit this pub.

They charge away fans £25 for most games (silver category), which is the most expensive ticket price available to home fans. I assume we must be in the super platinum category!

ATG 1Wildsmith 7.0 - Important save just before H/T, but not very busy. 24Nyambe 6.0 - OK 35Nelson 7.0 - Fairly solid game 6Cashin 7.0 - some great tackles, occasional sledge hammer pass when a bit more finesse was required 17Sibley 6.5 - Had a better second half after switching position. Did not look comfortable at left back. 4Hourihane 6.0 - Just feel he has so much more to offer, but often takes the easy option 7Barkhuizen 5.5 - Largely anonymous 2Wilson 6.5 - Added another option to our otherwise predicable attacking play 12Smith 5.5 - Did not not impose himself in midfield and largely out muscled 22Fornah 7.0 - Great to see him set up ML with a great pull back. will do his confidence the world of good 8Bird 6.5 - Mixed bag 5Bradley 5.5 - Did not seem to know his role at the F/K that led to the equaliser, trying to get guidance from the management 11Méndez-Laing 8.0 - A great display of power and pace, nice finish for the winner. 9Collins 6.0 - Worked hard on scraps in the first half 10Waghorn 6.0

I remember seeing them at the BBG in the old second division in the early 80s