Flying Fokker

Just saw the goals on Quest.  It was so good to see the team step up to the plate.   Keep fighting.  Setbacks over the past couple of days but I'm rooting for you.  Come on your Rams.

Sean Flynn

Ray Straw  Before Reg Matthews.  Look him up 

How about this one?  

Charlie George's brief Highfield Road career - CoventryLive (coventrytelegraph.net)

And one of our old boys with us before moving to Derby.

I met Mick Coop in 1977.  At the Ryton Training Ground.  Very quiet and not really a superhero type but he did a great job for us on the pitch.

I was in the 1974 away leg at Highfield Road.  Sunday game.  Energy crisis  2nd game to be played in the modern era on sabbath.  2pm kO.  40k crowd.  0-0 bore draw.  Yawn.  You could win this game.  If you turn up.   

And the first game was?  On the same day but earlier KO...Without looking it up?  

I Won't mention who won at the Baseball Ground replay but we drew against QPR at home the following round and then lost 3-2 at Loftus Road.  

Rooney must be so tempted to put on his boots and play himself.  That could come.  

When Derby played the club I follow you looked good and we looked about the same (In the end).  But both clubs need quality strikers.  

I'm not a fan of Rooney generally but he is showing resilience and that is something I didn't expect.  I thought he'd be off and nobody would have been surprised in him doing so.  He's wayward at times but credit is due for him staying...Still don't like him but he's doing it the hard way unlike Stephen Gerard going to a tin-pot league.

Not sure this is fair?

Reading agree SIX point Championship deduction with the EFL | Daily Mail Online

Reading agree SIX point Championship deduction with the EFL | Daily Mail Online

This is the most galling part of administration.  Clubs should never sell their ground and the League structure needs to ring fence the asset.  It is for the community.  The ground should be as important as the golden share that the league holds.  

There are a lot of crooks amongst club owners nowadays.

18 minutes ago, IslandExile said:

WUM

Well, not really.  It is vital that your club has complete ownership of all assets.  Coventry City fans have a bloody Hedge fund that blew the opportunity to buy 50% share for a ridiculously low price but stressed the owner instead.  The company was owned by the council and a charity.  Both of whom sold out to WASPS because SISU capital pissed them off so much and tried to stress them as a company.

Divided the fans, exiled the club to playing in Northampton and Birmingham and then expected the fans to forgive....

You have the fans to fill the place, just make sure the bloke who holds control lets go of it..

Am I to assume that you think this is going to be a problem?   If it is then DCFC will be toothless.

11 minutes ago, JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta said:

We can complain when other clubs with more significant breaches get the same, without the added baggage of two years worth of EFL restrictions.

Our treatment has been so massively disproportionate by comparison.

It is an opportunity to clear the decks and start again.  Is it really disproportionate compared to others?  I can't be bothered to look up the details but the reality is that you have to move on now.   Football is a mess.  Derby County will have their day again.  A few weeks ago fans were talking about liquidation.  Some Coventry City fans even set up their own club with the thought that CCFC may go bust but fans would need to follow a phoenix club....In came Coventry United which had several promotions up the non-league pyramid.  They play in red...Not a good choice in my opinion.  

Anyway, as I have said in the past, County fans are the biggest asset. Even those who fall by the wayside will be replaced by new fans.  This is happening at Coventry and i for one thought it was impossible given how bad the fans had been treated.  The only significant difference is that your club stays in Derby...Hope you have your own ground because it causes so many problems if you don't.  

56 minutes ago, JPRamFan said:

Can't believe what I have just read and the sanctions imposed against us. These parasites want to bury us, as our treatment compared to other clubs is completely disproportionate. The EFL have slowly destroyed my love for football over the past two years, and now we are almost certainly relegated to league 1 now. ?

Each club's fans has totally different experience.  Most fans think they have been shafted from all directions.  Not saying you have not been dealt a horrible blow.  I just hope you keep abreast of the rules.  Some clubs get additional -10 pts due to coming out of admin when failing to agree with creditors.  

32 minutes ago, brady1993 said:

I suppose that's that then. 9 points for something undeserved and all but confirms we head to league 1. If this saga confirms anything is that once the EFL have decided you've done something wrong they will do everything they possibly can to make you bleed (as long as you are still under their jurisdiction). At least though it's done now and we can now actually start plotting our future.

From my point of view I think we should not only be thinking about league 1 next season but how do we recover long term and how do we go about our business going forwards. Because on the hand if we plan well I think we can bounce back pretty quickly but on the other hand if we don't we will be in for a long spell in league 1 and an even longer recovery. We need to essentially think about how we can use our time in league 1 to help develop us to a stronger place going forwards long term.

Personally I think one of the biggest mistakes we could make is selling off players to buy a raft of experienced league one pros in order to get a quick bounce back promotion. The problem with a plan like that it's by no means a guaranteed success as it requires players gelling and they won't be so much better than the league they are in to dig you out on raw quality, also even if you get promoted you are left with a squad that won't be properly equipped to take the club forwards from that point.

What I think is the best long term plan is essentially lean on the academy and then judiciously (but minimally) supplementing that core with signings. We have a lot of talent in the academy and by circumstance a lot of players who look they could be ready for first team action by leaning on these you already have a high degree squad cohesion, more talent than you would typically get from league 1 signings but most importantly a platform from which you can progress as a club. What I mean by this is the players will develop over time getting better with the club and can eventually fetch decent price tags helping fuel a further rise.

With that in mind I think we need to do a few things pretty quickly (besides the obvious of getting a new owner):

• I think you need to gauge how committed Rooney is to a long term plan that will involve at least one season in league 1, I think he's done enough to be given more time but if he's not 100% committed is best we part ways now.
• Formulate a longer term plan of not only how do we get out of league 1 but how do we get from league 1 to the end goal of being an established premier league team.
• Do everything we can to keep a hold of the academy talent (I'm including the likes of Bird, Knight, Sibley and Buchanan in this) and play a team mostly consisting of them week in, week out so they can develop. 
• Any senior pro who wants to leave should be allowed to at the earliest possible moment and the only ones retained should be those who both really want to stay and understand that their game time for the rest of the season is secondary to overall squad development. Those with short term contracts should be allowed to have them run down, those who have high wages should be sold at the earliest opportunity.
• Completely reassess how we go about scouting and signings
• Assess gaps in the new look of the squad and begin to scout candidates for signings, if this can be done before January make them then but don't rush into anything just yet. 

It's imperative we use the rest of the season wisely in order to hit the ground running.

That is a great post...

One point of contention:

Just wondering why Derby will want to pay Rooney's wages in L1?   Is he on peanuts?  Or just a monkey?

35 minutes ago, Jram said:

I would like to think they’d lean heavily on the academy in League 1 but it’s entirely dependent on the owner and how much they want to invest in the playing squad

I personally think it wouldn’t be terrible timing for the likes of Thompson, Stretton etc who would perform well in league 1 and would get a lot of game time compared to if we stayed up 

League 1 is spit and sawdust.  Tough tackling and no-nonsense football.  It needs tough, established footballers with a mix of academy players.  One thing you may have to get used to is showcasing academy players and selling them for peanuts. 

No doubt you have several players on big money but they will have to move on to balance the books or they will be a drain on the club.

You will not come up unless the team strong.  Seen the likes of Southampton and Brentford over the years.  They shone over and above the seasons.     

If your manager is savvy he will know when to sell mediocre players.  Cov City have been doing this for years. Someone comes in for a player and offers a million or more.  Some of them go on to prove their worth. Callum Wilson for example.  The Gael Bigirimana's of the world end up playing in Irish leagues.    You may be a selling club for the next decade or so.   

10 hours ago, Boycie said:

We’re down.

Slow out from the back, no desire to get the tempo up from the defence.  Hollywood passes from midfield to the strikers.

Striker link up play depressing.

Forget the admin points, and the incoming ffp points, we’d be down anyway if Mel had stayed on.

 

I read through a few of the posts on this thread.  FWIW I think the players heads are in the wrong place.  I thought that as my team took point deductions/ transfer embargos and what seemed to be a bunch of demotivated high salary players in the team.  I know yours situation is not the same of course but it makes it a damn site harder when the team on the pitch can't win.  Things turn round at some point.  I think there is a race against time to get deals done before the transfer window.  You may just bounce back quickly even if you are relegated.    

26 minutes ago, DesertRam said:

Thought you could see why Coventry HAD their home record in the first 20 minutes, passing and

possession were great - but in the end they could'nt score from open play and needed a penalty

We held on and gained a point that not many other teams are going to do this season - fantastic

?⬆️

I'm a Sky Blue... Born Chaddy and moved to North of Coventry at the age of 2. Not sure I'm allowed a second team but have always looked out for your results and been a bit narked that DCFC never seem to make the big time despite the fantastic fan base.   My first game was a 0-0 in 1974 FA Cup tie at Highfield Rd.   Went today.  I agree with this comment and as the second half went on it looked like County would draw level.  A brief moment of entertainment in the stands was the side show before the goal.  Derby looked big in defence and fair play for commanding the best part of the second half.  City had a penalty call but it was waived away.  Hit the bar and had a goal disallowed.  But Derby were worth their draw.  Hope off the pitch problems get sorted out so that you stay up. 

5 hours ago, angieram said:

Firstly they want to see our demise (or as close to it as possible.)

Secondly, they will use our demise to hold up as an example that the current rules don't work, therefore the clubs and more importantly,  the EPL, must vote to change them.

It feels to me like we are collateral damage in a bigger battle.

The fact that we are a "big club" helps their case.

Glass half-full?  I saw a lot of this angst being played out on Coventry City Forums.  I think you will survive.  You have the best supported club in the Midlands apart from Vile.  Passion makes up for lack of bums on seats.  One way or another you will get through this as a group of supporters.  Derby had points deductions for Admin in the past.  

I just hope you move forward once out of Admin.  The prem needs more clubs from the Midlands in it. 

7 minutes ago, Elwood P Dowd said:

I don’t want Derby to get Points deducted but ask yourself this, of all the 72 clubs why is it only Derby that Covid has driven into administration.

Remember that not all clubs took up or were eligible for the EFL loan.

I simply think its unlikely that Derby’s Challenge will be successful for the reasons I have previously given.

Slightly better management?  Luck or a similar path of make-believe at best?  Or perhaps the others are better at covering their tracks.

 

47 minutes ago, Tamworthram said:

I suspect you’ll find most, if not all, professional footballers have an innate desire to win every game they play in regardless of pointless it may seem. Also, from a personal perspective, I would imagine they will want to impress in order to enhance their chances of a more favourable transfer.

I know nothing about Derby County Contracts etc. I agree that players have an innate desire to succeed and that they may play for contracts elsewhere.  But there comes a point when they have another club lined up and start protecting their future interests.  I know the squad may be carrying some big contracts but there are also some who have to be paid off as well.  So it's a mixed bag of commitment.  If a couple have the hump then you'll be playing with 9 committed players.  

On 18/09/2021 at 14:57, ariotofmyown said:

I'm really struggling to understand why we are going into admin.

We gambled too much on promotion and tried to find loopholes to escape the FFP rules. Whilst it was a stupid thing to do, it made some sort of sense. If/when it failed, it means points deductions and probable relegation. But it's not because the club ran out of money, it's because we spent more money than we were allowed.

How have we suddenly reached the point now where we don't have enough money for the club to continue functioning? Has Mel literally got no money left to keep the club going? If not, why has he now decided to stop funding the mess he created. Can't he just carry on paying the money until Jan, sell any high earners, sell the whole first team, and have a cheap team of kids? Or are most of the outgoings now just servicing debt with no end in sight? Just hope there is something else going on and this is necessary to push it through.

The likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Man U, Villa, Spurs, Everton, and others trade with big debt but can cover it somehow. I think it takes one blip and the house of cards falls.  There may be a few more clubs in the EFL to follow County.  Sheffield United next? 

32 minutes ago, Phoenix said:

And it still pisses me off. Big time.

It pisses me off as well.  Several other clubs did it.  ahem....    Leicester pisses me off because they bounced back.  Portsmouth deserved all the bad luck they get because of the ridiculous levels of debt they built up.      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administration_(British_football)#:~:text=information. (March 2017)-,Club,27 November 2020[136,-]

1 hour ago, Malagaram said:

How many clubs have been in the same situation we are now facing,and what became of them ?

And have any teams ever been bought out by their supporters,and did they survive

Only the weak die.  Accrington, Macclesfield, Bradford Park Avenue, and perhaps Dover in the near future.  Plenty of clubs go into admin and survive in one form or other.  You are a well supported club and your future will be bright(er).  Coventry City/ all other admin. clubs all fear liquidation.  I think you will come back although you may have to fall further like we did.  I'm certain the players withdrew their labour when things got messy.  Whereas you are bare bones at this stage. You could bounce back quickly providing you don't pay stupid wages. How on earth a club like yours managed this is certainly a head scratch.  Hold on to your playing venue.  Owning the ground is essential for any company in charge.  It could be the best part of 12 months before you are out of admin.  Coventry City fans were shafted by the owners rebranding and buying the club out of admin and then still managed to duck it up by trying to stress the ground owners.

Administration (British football) - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administration_(British_football)#:~:text=information. (March 2017)-,Club,27 November 2020[136,-]

7 minutes ago, Rambalin said:

It means someone is telling porkies... EFL would have to appeal and then a lap impose that. 

Yes., looks like your'e right.  Sorry, genuinely hope not. The fans suffer most.

6 minutes ago, Flying Fokker said:

Does this mean anything to you guys?  I posted on here a few days ago but we have this thread on our site now.  If so its gulp time and really hard on the fans...again.

 

skybluestalk.co.uk    

(7) Derby | Sky Blues Talk       No link but search skybluestalk.   Suggestion that it is 4 pts deduction for season just gone.  No idea if this is true but hope not.

rexo87

Well-Known Member

41 minutes ago

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#4

Its baalocks. Some guy made it up on Twitter and managed to get loads of retweets


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Deleted.  False story...Apologies some bloke tweeted it out and it's gone wide.

Does this mean anything to you guys?  I posted on here a few days ago but we have this thread on our site now.  If so its gulp time and really hard on the fans...again.

skybluestalk.co.uk    

(7) Derby | Sky Blues Talk       No link but search skybluestalk.   Suggestion that it is 4 pts deduction for season just gone.  No idea if this is true but hope not.