Kathcairns

Not that it really means anything but Rotherham were relegated by 4pts in the 2018/19 season and by 2pts in the 2020/21 season.  Last season PW left them towards the end of September in 8th place and they managed to stay up with 50pts.  This season, their first full season without PW in a long time, they are currently a massive 20pts adrift at the bottom.
Normally wage budget is a good indicator of where you'll finish at the end of the season and Rotherham prove this time and again.  Didn't Nigel Clough hail Burton Albions success at remaining in the Championship for one his greatest achievements?  I don't know what Rotherhams Lg1 budget is like compared to the rest, but for PW to get them promoted 3x (and us 1x hopefully!) and keep them in contention throughout a Championship season shouldn't be underestimated imho.
I did say that normally wage budget is a good indicator of where you'll finish, but I think the circumstances of us coming out of administration counter that argument a little.  Did LR have a choice of player or did he just get who was available?  PW came in and inherited a squad of older players that needed to be managed and younger players that needed time to grow - one of his first interviews highlighted a lack of players in their prime.  
During his time with us his hands have been tied financially and he's managed an injury prone squad to the brink of automatic promotion.  I personally think if we go up at the weekend we're ahead of schedule.  Next season would have been his first legitimate attempt with a bit of financial muscle - hence DC giving him a 4yr deal.
Next season is going to be tough, we aren't an Ipswich who built a squad over several seasons and just need to add a few players to go again.  Its another rebuild with limited funds, we were warned at the recent Fans Forum that we'd be looking for stability first and foremost and to me that means just avoiding relegation next season.  Unless we get some outside funding I won't be shouting for PWs head at Christmas if we're struggling.  Bottom 6 at the end of the season would be a good building block to kick on from if we've got a core of players we can then add to. 
We're not throwing money around risking our existence like we used to.  Slow, steady and realistic progress is the way forwards.

How polite is that budgie?
"I don't care"!
 
The rest of us chant "We don't give a f*c*"!  🤣

Some of them aren't exactly hiding in the bushes are they?

I think we have to take into account a couple of other factors. 1) how much PW is liked by DC and 2) how much DC is looking to reset the whole club and the destabilising consequences any new management team coming in will be. 
DC has shown this season that he will trust his own judgement before that of (some) vocal fans and he clearly has a strong relationship with Warne - the noise then probably served to strengthen Warne’s position rather than weaken it. The club and management team bunkered down. Nobody is unsackable and PW will eventually go, but some are less sackable than others - see Lionel and Jim as an example. Promotion helped Jim’s position just as it will (hopefully) strengthen Warne’s. 

No, that was for the Baseball Ground!

I've really enjoyed this season, and wouldn't mind if it was extended for a few more weeks.
/runs

Life is too short when you are in your late 60s. I will, fingers crossed, relish this Saturday. I along with 10s of 1000s Rams fans were spoilt in the 1970s. We haven't had much to celebrate in the last 20 years or so.Embrace it. Pride Park will have 30000 very proud people there this Saturday. If,sorry,when we get promoted I am not ashamed to say I will be blubbing with happiness come 2.30pm. DTID!

He also got one of the Coro lads who was a Celtic fan 2 tickets for the Celtic end for their game at the City Ground in the UEFA Cup in 1983. For all his flaws, he was always doing that kind of stuff for people.

How can we even consider loosing on Saturday with such avian vocal support 🦜🦜🦜

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-derbyshire-68891288

I don’t know where you’ve been reading that but I suspect there is zero chance of a points deduction. It happens all the time when a team wins something or gets promoted. It’s already happened at least twice this season (Pompey and Wrexham) and I’ve not see any mention of such a sanction.
Wherever you read it, stop reading there.
I also don’t think the club should embrace a pitch invasion. They’ll probably expect it’s going to happen IF we seal promotion but they shouldn’t be encouraging it. Accept that some will run on the pitch but hope/aim to get them to return to stands for the lap of appreciation to take place. I’m not sure how the elderly and unsteady person on the row in front of me would be partying on the pitch. 😀
 

Why not?
The team finishing 3rd is certainly not good enough for promotion in that particular division. Hence why it always worked fairly before the football league grubby little fingers got involved to make more money. 2 up 2 down or 3 up 3 down, promotion and relegation is based over season not on whether you can finish 6th and get promotion.
 

Are these the same fans that were worried that the manager wasn’t good enough to get us promoted and wanted him sacked.

I understand your frustration at wanting to see exciting, flowing football through all areas of the team with midfield dominating and passing through the lines. But I would argue we just haven’t had the players to do this the way you want.
The first point I would make is that you are assuming that at every stage of every game, the players are doing exactly what is asked of them by the management team. I don’t believe this. They don’t encourage players not to pass to each other - they don’t encourage them not to attack the opposition. I have lost count of the number of times in his interviews after the game where he has “criticised” his players for not being braver on the ball and in games. The matches at the end of the season are slightly different as all that matters is gaining 3 points (e.g. Cambridge).
the fact is that our midfield (until Adams arrived) was weak - physically, aggressively and pace wise too. We were bullied off the ball too much, waltzed around by younger, quicker players (Peterborough). We just did not have the right players in there to compete. Before Adams arrival we didn’t have anyone in there who could be aggressive, have any pace or could tackle. Fornah was tried for a while but ran out of steam and made mistakes. At least playing 3 at the back, gives you more potential bodies in midfield with the wingbacks available to help out, but even them, unless it was Forsyth or Nayambe, they we’re not tacklers. Added to this was poor movement off the ball and poor passing. Unfortunately, Hourihane is no longer mobile enough to dominate midfield and we have looked better since he has not been in the side.
Our midfield needs a complete overhaul in the summer. Hopefully we can get Adams in permanently but we need others of similar ilk and also a good playmaker. I think Warne was trying very hard to get the right midfielders in, but it just didn’t happen until Adams arrived.
Finally, I would add that with all the injuries we have had this season (Ward, Elder, Forsyth, Rooney, Bird, Waghorn, Washington, Nyambe, JJ,Embleton,Thompson,Gayle,Barkhuizen), Warne has done a remarkable job in patching us up but still managing to pick up points. Admittedly, not in the exiting way we would all want to see, but there have been some good footballing performances too. Plenty of goals have been scored too (9 more than last year despite losing our talisman McGoldrick). 
All in all, I think we have done pretty well, but I think you are wrong to lay all the Blame on Paul Warne for our less exciting displays - much is down to the players too. I am sure we will recruit well during the summer.

To make the playoffs more justifiable they should be done something like this.
Top two automatic promotion
Whoever finishes 3rd has to play the team 3rd bottom from the league above. This then proves whether they are capable of playing in that league above.
I hate to think a team finishes 3rd is beaten in the playoff final by the 6th place side just because they had an off day or too many injuries.
Premier league and championship would be a straight swap. Bottom. 3 for the top 3.
It's not about fairness it's about the football league's grubby little fingers making money.

It'll be bittersweet for me come Saturday.
My lads decided to make a new life for himself, literally on the other side of the earth.
So we'll hopefully be celebrating, but in my mind I'll be thinking it may be the last time we ever stand together at Pride Park, at least for the foreseeable. 
Still, we've had a good run, what better way to sign off than a promotion?

Ive always thought that, how is it a team in 6th can go up. Dosnt matter about that though its all about money. Dont agree with parachute payments either.

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.

Ive always thought that, how is it a team in 6th can go up. Dosnt matter about that though its all about money. Dont agree with parachute payments either.

Love the man. Properly down to earth and humble, but there's a steely determination that's palpable and you can tell what was in part, an act of mercy, has now now morphed into a grander vision. Far from feeling the pressure and weight of fan expectation, the man seems positively enthused. Seems to me he's loving it really and I did worry about that a little. That said, he is a fan himself, so he's every right to feel chuffed!
As for the vision, well it seems that these days more than ever, sustainability is absolutely key to a successful football operation, so to hear him echo that ethos is also really reassuring. It's not sexy, but for me, above and beyond all other considerations, are the checks and balances that ensure we never make the same mistakes again. And talking of mistakes, I really hope I'm not wrong again, as Clowes does seem to me at least to be the perfect custodian for this grand old club of ours. Please can I not be wrong again!
In all seriousness, I do have enormous faith in the man. Listening to him talk, I think it's safe to assume that there won't be the overnight change that some seem to expect, but rather incremental growth, built on solid foundations. I get that some folk want to see us challenging in the Championship straight away*, why wouldn't they, but slow and steady is all music to my ears, as I believe that a more measured and strategic plan is far more likely to yield longer term success, than the bang or bust approach adopted by so many clubs these days. And if Clowes, whose first year losses amounted to £7 million, is prepared to be patient enough to build this club back up the right way, as well as footing the bill, surely the fan base should be too? It's food for thought.
*Irrespective, we do still have a game to negotiate on Saturday and hopefully all the players and coaching staff are fully focussed on that right now, as this is potentially a huge step back towards whence we came and if any supporters are due a party, it's us lot 😋
COYBR

Brought a tear to my eye. That march was so emotional. 

The bit that makes me blink, is D.C retelling the story of how he got the nod on a London business trip, him and wife welling up in tears on the tube; yep we’ve all been there, it’s that realisation of a special moment just happened, that causes full grown men to blink hard, as something is in their eyes.
Great reminder @BuckoBeast

Who knows who will be around when we reach the prem again or win a cup. These last few years have shown that you have to appreciate these possible moments.