Foreveram

My second ever match as a 16 year old happy days

The whole of football has turned me off an awful lot since the onset of covid - no fans ( no atmosphere) no tackling allowed anymore, VAR destroying again the atmosphere of football and of course the cheating - I hate the cheating, oh he’s  been clever there oh there was a bit of contract let’s see them in the supermarket when granny goes for an orange, they will be falling all over the place.
football needs to be back to £10 a game to watch at the ground because a lot of people are not going to attend outside of the premiership and we will be lucky to get gates of 18,000 - 20,000 attending no matter what league we will be in next season 

I’m wondering, if as apparently stated by the club, we don’t fail P&S even with straight line amortisation, whether those restated accounts might actually form part of our sanction mitigation.
Rather than wait to see if part of their sanction is to make us restate them, preempt it and get them done anyway to show we didn’t gain any advantage in this time period doing what we did as we’d have been under the limit. It would prove our case that we genuinely thought it was a better way of accounting, rather than trying to gain any kind of unfair advantage, which is clearly why everyone assumes we did it.

The year arsenal won the league and we were the only team to do the double over them

The year arsenal won the league and we were the only team to do the double over them

The year arsenal won the league and we were the only team to do the double over them

The year arsenal won the league and we were the only team to do the double over them

O
 
Travelled overland independently by train, lots of snow around Banya Luka (October), but still arrived in good time at Mostar. Walked from the station to the ground in conversation (in French!) with a German, who recognised the Ram motif on my shoulder bag. Gateman at the ground was after Rams souvenirs when Stuart Webb arrived, we exchanged a few pleasantries, he showed his DCFC credentials and I was allowed in with him!  The team coach arrived shortly after and Alan Hill was struggling with the kit hamper across a pebbled area, so yes, just offered a hand to get it to the visitors dressing room. Most of the players had gone to have a look at the pitch, but David Nish followed us in. He had just moved into our village and had had conversations over the garden gate with my Dad, so that was a useful starting point until Zac arrived with his bit of typical Yorkshire forthright approach!
I bade my adieus, and walked out into the next room which happened to be the club bar, which, needless to say, was full of Bosnians and Serbs. My bag and rucksack singled me out as a Rams fan, and it was only seconds before I was besieged with more requests for Rams souvenirs. I had only two left when their inside forward Vidic, who had played in the first leg at Derby, came and sat down, and he ended up with a copy of the Football League Magazine which came out with the Rams programme.
Whilst waiting in the York Hotel outside the station for the train back home after the first leg, a tall smartly dressed individual wanted the phone, speaking in  reasonable English to the hotel staff, who of course had to get the call for him - in the 1970s it was necessary to wait for calls to be obtained to less popular international locations, in this case Mostar. I assumed that he was possibly the Mostar president or CEO perhaps, so in the bar I motioned to Vidic that I wanted to speak to the "President". He disappeared and duly returned with an ageing gentleman who was in fact the Club President. But the message had got across that we needed an interpreter, and shortly after the guy seen in Derby appeared. I recalled to him that I had seen him at the York, so we were well away! Drinks and food were provided gratis, courtesey of the club / President, and I could leave my rucksack there until after the game. The well dressed guy was the reporter for the local paper, and this was news, as Mostar had beaten one of the Moscow teams (? Spartak?) over two legs in the previous round, unbelievable for a town the size of Burton!
As it built towards kick-off, I made my way out to the Terraces, only to find that I was in the private part of the ground, with only a small three- step terrace which held about 20 people maximum! A programme seller appeared walking round the ground, the very guy who had been manning the gate earlier on. I called to him and rummaged in my shoulder bag for the last souvenir, one of those circular gold and dark blue DERBY COUNTY pin badges with a Ram in the centre - you might have one still, I haven't! I thought that offering it was an appropriate gesture to a guy who had been instrumental in what was turning out to be some totally unexpected "adventure", and he proudly pinned it on, safe in the knowledge that no one else had one!
The Rams of course lost 4-1, and it was almost dark as the firecrackers went of following their third and fourth goal, the latter a penalty against Colin Todd which was clearly ball-to-hand rather than the reverse, which the high profile and even more highly controversial Dutch referee, Charles Corver, duly gave.  (He was handing out photos of himself on the flight into Dubrovnik apparently - some ego!). Stuart Webb was beside himself at this unexpected setback, and on returning home made it clear that Derby would appeal against the firecrackers during the match, so I sent in some camera shots of them to him, and weeks later they were returned after the appeal had been turned down.
So, back to the bar, where the President came to commiserate - and celebrate that lightning did sometimes strike twice. In true English fashion I offered my congratulations, and eventually took my leave of them, reflecting, in spite of my disappointment, that I had witnessed what had been a momentous event in the history of this small club.
This must sound unusual to many of you, but the club is not like an English club. The dressing rooms and bar were part of what we would call a large two story club house, set back some 50 yards from the pitch and behind the goal. The directors / officials watched the games from easy chairs in a first floor "terraced room" with sliding -folding doors, looking out "onto all they surveyed". The 50 yards in between were flower beds with rose trees, neatly trimmed low privet hedges and a pebble path for the players to access the pitch. The opposite end was not spectator accommodation. The side nearest the road was terraced, and provided perhaps 15 steps the length of the ground, and the opposite side had 3 /4  steps of concrete terrace, with a small seated stand at the half way line. Beyond this, the (enclosed) hillside rose quite steeply into the far distance, and would have accommodated the population of the three East Midlands cities with ease.  Little did I know the horrific significance that this welcoming club was to play some 20 years later. During the dissolution of the old Yugoslavia, you may be aware of the subsequent ethic cleansing which took place: the Radavan Karadice saga / era, plus others.
That same pitch was used as a concentration site / camp for those unfortunate enough to be on "the wrong side"......
And no, I had no part at DCFC, I'm just a popside fan who took his chance when it came, this being the third "adventure" that being a Rams fan has brought my way. To me, DCFC has always been a Way of Life.
Thanks for reading - sorry if I bored you.

1. We haven't had any points deductions yet, so conjecture. 
2. How bad would what have been? Would it not be better to see if there is any punishment before making claims like that? 
3. Mel probably has had enough of the EFL and what appears to be a vendetta against him and the club. 
4. Again, what points deduction? And what quality in the squad? Currently we have a couple of average keepers, a decent full back and good prospect, no centre backs, a few good prospects yet to hit their full potential, an experienced workhorse and an injured star in centre mid, a couple of inconsistent wide players and 1 ageing striker.

So you "met" someone you thought looked like Clooney, then got "chip grease" on his Bentley seats. I think the rest of us in the car park saw something a little different. Was a good night out though.

Can I be your manager I’d like a slice of the action

But at least she will focus on getting to the end and finishing the task off rather than leaving it half finished to do something else ?

Disagree.
I've always backed Keogh to the hilt, even after the incident. I think he wrongly wore the 'calamity' label long after he stopped being a calamity (circa 2015). I also think the likes @angieram had similar opinions to me, but our views have been dramatically shifted as a result of his actions here.

Exactly this ... how the argument that all 3 should suffer the same consequences when 2 out of the 3 could continue to fulfil their employment contract but the 3rd could not simply confounds me!!!! I’ll never be convinced of this argument as it is not logical ?‍♂️

The other two could continue fulfilling the terms of their contracts after suspension.....Keogh could not!
Keogh was offered a club paid taxi home, which he refused.
Keogh was not wearing a seatbelt in the accident.
Keogh was not fired on the spot.
Keogh started rehab with the clubs support.
Keogh was offered a new contract at a reduced wage, offering him some security, despite him almost destroying his own career.
What else should the club have done?

2 were still able to play , 1 rendered himself unable to play . If all three were either fit or unfit i am sure all 3 would have had the same sanctions.

The other two could continue playing and fulfilling their contracts after suspension.
Keogh’s career was considered potentially over at the time, he certainly could not fulfill the duties in his contract.
Bit of a difference

All true but I have backed the man whilst playing for us but I don’t wish to see him again at anything Derby county

The problem here is going to be the optics of getting shot of Keogh, but not Lawrence and Bennett.......even through Keogh couldn’t play and the others could, it gives the EFL the gap they need to hammer us!
I don’t see why there’s criticism of Mel here:
- Keogh wasn’t fired on the spot
- Keogh was offered rehab
- Keogh was offered a new contract at a lower wage to reflect the fact that the injury was “career threatening”, but give the player some security.
What else could the club really have done for a player, who at that stage had potentially destroyed their own career?????????

Exactly this.
The article says: "The PDRC [Player Related Dispute Commission] held that Mr Keogh had not committed gross misconduct, that he had not brought the club into serious disrepute and that he had been wrongly dismissed by the club.”
What utter drivel. And contemptuous that Keogh wouldn't take the proposed pay cut but wanted to sit on his arse collecting his millions for what should be clear to anyone was committing gross misconduct and bringing the club into serious disrepute. He even knocked Theresa May's Brexit deal off the front pages!
He knows it was entirely his fault and his actions now risk the future of the club and the community that surrounds it. If I ever see him at Pride Park he'll get the mother of all booing. Shame on him.
 

2 of them could play the other one couldn't, he was not competent to complete his employment contract.  The club offering to continue his rehab on reduced wages until fit to work was more generous than many employers would have offered

Keogh winning the legal case was inevitable - I'm not angry at that, it was always obvious that from a legal perspective the club had bodged it.
You're confusing Keogh having a solid legal case with Keogh actually being in the right though, and morally justified in his actions and attitude. That's something he will never be.
Yes, Keogh will sleep easy regardless of what we think, but so what? Doesn't make him any less of a Bamford.

I don’t care if he had a good case or not.
If I was the club captain, got pissed, got in the back of a drunk’s car and ended up putting myself out of action for 12 months, I’d grow some balls, take some responsibility and accept the inevitable sacking as punishment for my stupidity.

I think if you got into a car with a clearly drunk driver who technically is under your care as he was captain, were drunk yourself, didn't put your seatbelt on and got injured and couldn't work for 6 months you be severely disciplined, you might keep your job but you wouldn't get paid, you'd be on SSP and if you then kicked up a fuss demanding to be paid i suspect you would be out the door.
I wouldn't want you, not would I hire you for any other position as your judgement is clearly abysmal, the fact he's had two transfers since and got a wage he should be bloody grateful and leave it at that 

He was unable to fulfill his duties. Really is that simple.