Sufferingfool

Didn’t think cider was supposed to have bits in it 😬 Btw my dad would find this funny. He was said he was tempted to sprinkle a bit of B4 in the sugar bowl in Pride Park’s away changing room last week 😂

Pompy are about to experience ‘nearly there’ jitters after so long in the div1/2 wilderness. They realise they are up against Mr ‘done it all before Warne’ who is hitting his stride at the right time, They will be feeling the pressure in front of an expectant capacity crowd. It’s a night all Derby touch turns to gold. The travelling hordes will be heard away in the Channel Islands. Pompy 0 Derby 3 never in doubt!

Hi Rams fans,
Have been following your forum for a wee while and thought I'd stick my nose in.
Registering took a while but I got there in the end, so.
To quote Neil Young, 'Tonight's The Night'. I guess tonight's game isn't pivotal, but things might be a little clearer..
Last night's results didn't help either of our clubs, in the end it's in our own hands.
Main reason for joining Rams board is the family split that exists....I am Pompey, my son is Derby., He and I have had
little contact due to past ructions between his mum and I...Last time I saw him he was a part time Celtic fan. (He was
born in Scotland, where I lived and was married for some 20 years. I took him to see a couple of Pompey games but
he wasn't impressed, took him to my school where I was a goalie...unimpressed. It was only when my ex remarried that
the Rams bug seemed to bite. Dunno if picture will show on this thread.
Tonight will be interesting, even if it's a dull game. A draw would suit us fine and I have to say that our final games fill
me with some dread. We had a 'blip' earlier in the season and recovered. This time, any blip will not be recoverable.
I have followed Pompey for over 55 years (youngsters refuse to believe me when I tell them we have an innate ability
to mess up just as we're about to cross finishing line. (I guess this is what attracted me to Hearts when in Edinburgh,
very similar ground, fan base and fatal flaws!) How you can beat us....classified I'm afraid but we have some very obvious 
weaknesses you can exploit. Don't go into game looking for a point, teams that have done well at Fratton have come out
and taken game to us.
Why are we top of the league? Many fans mutter 'They're nothing special..have seen much better' These fans are often right.
Many of our performances have been sub-optimal BUT the one aspect that has run through most games is a newfound
belief that, even if we o 0-2 down, the situation is recoverable. Games last 95 minutes or so these days...we manage to keep
believing the situation is retrievable. It's this that has sent us to the top...plus a pretty stingy defence, a creative midfield
and strikers who, on their day can tear any League One side to shreds. Last game against Wycombe their left back wanted
to go off suffering from 'twisted blood'. (Gag borrowed from Man Utd, George Best joke.) On their day, Kamara and Yengi,
supported by Bishop and Saydee are a real handful.
Lat night's results went pretty much according to form but previous games have shown all the maths and super computers
in the world simply cannot predict what will actually happen.
I hope you guys go up....Derby are a 'proper' club, part of the game's history BUT...so are we. Nobody has a divine right to be
'top of the tree'.....Anyone else remember the hushed tones from tv pundits when the mighty Man Utd were relegated?
It was as if there had been a death in the family.
Treat both success and failure as imposters....keep supporting your club. Good luck to all Rams making the journey down..
I see a few travelled down over the weekend and have already sampled some of our local beers.
All the best Rams...., Nick 
 
 

Caught the local bus down to Portsmouth harbour this morning and asked the bus driver if he'd accept my gold card. He said, "From God's own county - definitely!" He was wearing a Derby County lanyard and turns out he is from Allestree! Got to be a good omen, that. 

Pompy are about to experience ‘nearly there’ jitters after so long in the div1/2 wilderness. They realise they are up against Mr ‘done it all before Warne’ who is hitting his stride at the right time, They will be feeling the pressure in front of an expectant capacity crowd. It’s a night all Derby touch turns to gold. The travelling hordes will be heard away in the Channel Islands. Pompy 0 Derby 3 never in doubt!

Pompy are about to experience ‘nearly there’ jitters after so long in the div1/2 wilderness. They realise they are up against Mr ‘done it all before Warne’ who is hitting his stride at the right time, They will be feeling the pressure in front of an expectant capacity crowd. It’s a night all Derby touch turns to gold. The travelling hordes will be heard away in the Channel Islands. Pompy 0 Derby 3 never in doubt!

Pull up a chair, this will be a long one.
Me and my wife Leanne have been together 8 years and 5 months, we have been trying for a baby for around 6/7 years. Nothing happened. Leanne has been desperate for our own little baby and seeing friends around us start families has been hard for her.
It’s been hard for myself as I later found out it was probably my fault following a sperm test.
Just before Covid we went to explore IVF options where I was given a sperm test, the results were basically I have swimmers, just not enough to put me in the “normal” range. Not impossible I could get Leanne pregnant, just harder than it would be for others.
Covid landed, lockdown, all non essential treatment and hospital appointments were cancelled, so our doctors asked us to come back once life returned to normal.
Fast forward to August 2023, we returned to the doctors knowing the clock was ticking, Leanne turns 40 this year and would already be classified as a “geriatric”, whilst myself a slightly younger Des O’Connor.
Anyway, they started testing Leanne, she was all clear, I was given another tube to fill and arrange an appointment with the hospital. Contacting them I was told there is such a backlog, we would be waiting until the new year, side note, we’re almost April and I’m still yet to receive a call back.
As I have mentioned elsewhere, October 27th our great nephews moved in with us under an emergency kinship fostering placement, since then we have been undergoing various assessments and training.
We go to the fostering panel to be confirmed foster parents on April 11th.
We was also willing to go down the SGO (Special guardianship order) route which would see them stay with us until they were 18.
Now, this is an important bit. We live in a small 2 bedroom house, me and Leanne looked at it and said maybe this is our calling, maybe we just weren’t meant to have our own and threw ourselves into the boys creating a special bond.
Monday 12th February, 2024, Leanne woke me up in tears saying we need to talk. My eyes had barely adjusted to the daylight before a positive pregnancy test was thrust into my face.
What. The. f***.
We quickly went to Morrison’s to buy another one, just to double check, this time a digital one. Both ClearBlue so super accurate.
The pregnancy was confirmed, 2-3 weeks it said.
We hadn’t bothered to be “careful” as we figured it was never going to happen naturally, but it had so now we was left with a huge dilemma. The boys were meant to be our future now. But it’s a 2 bedroom house.
It completely took the shine off what should have been the happiest time of our lives, Leanne’s family were also not fully invested into the joy with concern over what would happen to the boys.
After a few emotional discussions into the early mornings, exploring all possibilities, we ultimately decided to let social services know that we cannot be considered as long term placement if needed.
At this point and to this day, their mum is still waiting on her assessment to see if they can ever be returned.
We could not abort, we could not move as we have a small amount of debt that would prevent us getting a new mortgage for a much larger house.
March 9th, we visited the midwife who dated the pregnancy from Leanne’s last recorded period December 18th. A 12 week scan was booked for 21st March however she was told that she would be 13 weeks by then.
Sickness, tender breasts, the lot, this was all very real.
The wait for the 21st March seemed like forever.
The weekend prior, Leanne had very very light spotting and discharge which freaked us both out, quick call to the midwife and told not to worry, just come in if it’s heavy bleeding and she’s in pain.
On the 20th, I had a tattoo appointment, super excited and determined to bring some positivity to a stressed out wife, I get “Daddy” inked on my neck, at the neckline of a t shirt.  I was uncontrollably excited by this point.
Next morning we go in, soon called into the Ultrasound room, I bounce in rubbing my hands joking just the one please.
Monitor boots up, Leanne laid back with the biggest smile on her face unable to see the monitor.
I look up and the gestation sac is empty.
All life inside me just melted.
The midwife asked when we last took a pregnancy test, to which Leanne responded and was then asked if she would be happy to have an internal scan.
Whilst the midwife left the room I was in a daze, taking pictures of the screens.
Internal scan complete, we was simply told to get ourselves ready and we will be shown to the counselling room.
Both in tears, we was led away and left to sit in this room for half hour or so before another midwife appeared giving us 3 options.
Let it come out naturally.
Take medication to force it out which can be super painful.
Or surgery, which is a vacuum basically which sucks it out.
Period of silence followed and we was shown out the side door, absolutely devastated.
We sat in the car park at a complete loss. I had the announcement board ready to go, bought the little lamb rattle, we had it all planned and it was over.
After an hour we went home, packed our bags and basically ran away for the weekend leaving the boys with their Nan. We couldn’t face being “parents” surrounded by toys at this time.
Work were great, signed us both off with paid leave.
The weekend was spent crying, drinking, walking, crying.
We returned Monday, still an emotional mess but able to function at least.
The hospital rang asking if we had made a decision, on Tuesday Leanne booked the surgery for the Wednesday. That Tuesday night went to visit a friend who was questioning the dates, could they be wrong, is it earlier than we think, ask for a second scan to confirm.
On looking at the scan, the gestation sac was 1D 25mm, 2D 29mm and 3D 29mm. I’m googling sac sizes at 1am and see that is 8 weeks. 5 weeks earlier than what we was told.
Leanne’s now questioning if she forgot to record a period I said look, we’ll ask for a confirmation scan to be sure.
That morning, we go into SDEC (Same day emergency care), nurse calls us in, Leanne breaks down so I take over asking for a confirmation scan. They were great and said of course, booking us in for April 2nd.
I would have declined the 1st for obvious reasons.
We’re sat here now 99% believing we’ve lost the baby, however we need that 1% of doubt clearing away with this confirmation scan on Tuesday. Even a scan at an earlier date should have shown more than just the gestation sac and yolk sac.
I’m back to work on Monday, needing some normality back in my life, although Tuesday after the scan won’t be much fun.
This week that’s just gone, Wednesday 27th, the Boys mum had her assessment heard at panel, we’re now just waiting to hear from the social services to see how that went and would they be returned or not.
We have some difficult decisions ahead if she doesn’t, as now Leanne’s “oven has been warmed”, we’re desperate more than ever for our own little baby, yet fully aware Leanne turns 40 in a couple of months and I’m 42 myself.
It really needs to happen now, or not at all. Seeing Cameron Diaz having her second at 51 years old the other week, not sure how I feel as the old you get the more our bodies begin to tire and develop issues where running after children becomes more difficult.
All family options for the boys have been exhausted, so it’s either us, their mum or adoption. Being 2 and 3 they are the prime age to be adopted yet we would never see them again and that would f’in hurt, especially if me and Leanne are not successful in having our own.
I'm sharing this as men don't like to talk and when 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, many men will have been in similar situations and struggle in silence. Whilst the woman will ultimately bare the most pain and need the most support, it still f'in hurts....a lot.
So yeah, coming on here reading how Paul Warne is a terrible football manager, being 2nd is pure luck and all the rest of the negative hyperbole just hasn’t been at the top of the list to absorb. 
More to life than football has never been more true.
You know the old saying though, behind every successful forum owner, behind him is a team of amazing moderators. Big thanks to them for carrying the load whilst I spend time supporting the wife.

Pompy are about to experience ‘nearly there’ jitters after so long in the div1/2 wilderness. They realise they are up against Mr ‘done it all before Warne’ who is hitting his stride at the right time, They will be feeling the pressure in front of an expectant capacity crowd. It’s a night all Derby touch turns to gold. The travelling hordes will be heard away in the Channel Islands. Pompy 0 Derby 3 never in doubt!

Pompy are about to experience ‘nearly there’ jitters after so long in the div1/2 wilderness. They realise they are up against Mr ‘done it all before Warne’ who is hitting his stride at the right time, They will be feeling the pressure in front of an expectant capacity crowd. It’s a night all Derby touch turns to gold. The travelling hordes will be heard away in the Channel Islands. Pompy 0 Derby 3 never in doubt!

Match Thread: vs Portsmouth (a)
Tuesday, April 2nd, Kick-Off – 8.00pm
Head to Head:
Two grand old clubs who first met way back in 1902 in the FA Cup, a game that resulted in a rather unsatisfactory 0-0 bore draw. The replay at saw us winning the replay 6-3 which doubtless gave the early Rams faithful a little more to cheer. Since then, there’s not been a deal between the two sides, with Derby edging the charts with 42 wins to Pompey’s 35.
Games won: 42
Games drawn: 23
Games lost: 35
The Status Quo:
Well, it’s looking good right now my fellow rams. Likewise for Pompey, who do look near to uncatchable now, though there doubtless remain some happy clappers like yours truly who will still be hoping Portsmouth slip up and what better place for them to begin their demise than in front of their own fans on Tuesday evening? That said, Portsmouth have arguably been THE most consistent side in the division, steadily accumulating wins after a minor, mid-season wobble. It’s fair to say that while they’ve continued their good form, our post-Xmas wobble saw us fall back a little, though if we look at the last half dozen games, we’ve actually outpointed them, indeed only Lincoln, who seem to lay waste to every team they meet right now, can claim to be in better form than our own beloved Rams.

The Key Threats:
There’s little doubt that Cody Bishop is their main striking threat with 16 goals and 2 assists to his name this season, but Pompey can boast other threats, none less than Paddy Lane who has netted 11 times this season, also weighing in with 6 assists. Abu Kamara and Marlon pack have 8 assists a piece, so it’s fair to say that Pompey have multiple attacking threats and they promise to provide us with our toughest game of the season and one in which Nelson and Cashin will need to be absolutely on their A-game if we are to leave with Fratton Park with anything to show for the game.
Team News:
Like most, I was delighted to see Collo return to the fold so swiftly and he looked pretty damn sharp to be honest. Perhaps the ‘rest’ has actually done him well! This is critical as for me, Wash and Waggy look some way off their peak and I suppose, given their lack of games this year, that’s easy to understand.
I was also delighted to see Korey Smith start and for me, he has to stay in the starting 11. He’s not entirely dissimilar to Hourihane, but his mobility gives us more stability, though that said, we did again leave gaps between the press and our back line against Blackpool and if we do so again against Pompey, we might find ourselves in some bother.
With a considerable injury list still hampering his efforts, Warne will again need to marshal his troops carefully and I’d expect a cagey performance from both sides where moments of quality will likely settle the game, rather than one side establishing outright dominance. I’ll drop another update on injuries etc, on this thread nearer the game, but I’d be looking at something similar to what we saw yesterday, with a couple of tweaks:
Firstly, I’ve assumed Elder is once more broken and that we’ll therefore need to use Sibbo in the LB role again. I’d have preferred him starting higher up the pitch, but we have so many missing that it’s a case of needs must. In so much, the back 4 pick themselves.
I’ve kept the same midfield as last week, with Smith again taking the starting role and Conor set to figure later in the game. Adams remains on fire and simply has to start every match now. The only other tweak I’d use would be to play Wash in behind Collo, assuming Jimmy is able to manage 60 minutes at this point in his return. That gives us something like the line-up below, but I do expect this to change, as I very seldom guess Warne’s selection correctly and I’m also hopeful we’ll have one or two more to pick from. CBT, now with some minutes under his belt, appears to be finding some good form and despite our injury situation, we'll have some interesting bench options all the same and perhaps he might even earn a start?


The Game:
I don’t think there’s any doubt that both sides have sufficient quality to punish any errors made and I think this will simply come down to which side best executes their game plan and who is most clinical with the chances they fashion. I’m going for a 1-1 draw with Nate to re-find his scoring touch and secure us another vital point. I think with both clubs and sets of fans riding high, it ought to be a great atmosphere though at present, there is some rain forecast. For anyone making a mini-break of it, please see some 'Things To Do' suggestions and links to some decent eateries below, as suggested by TripAdvisor:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g186298-Activities-Portsmouth_Hampshire_England.html
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g186298-Portsmouth_Hampshire_England.html
Enjoy the game my fellow Rams fans and safe journey to and fro.
COYR
BE MORE B4

Out of interest who has seen Derby play at the most grounds in their lifetime ignoring just focus on the current 92 which keeps changing. For example seeing Derby at both the BBG and Pride Park =2. Wembley counts as 1 as same site. 

Clearly it's a slow day for me 😂 After a quick count and including Wembley, I think I've seen Derby play at 120 grounds and bearing in mind I've seen them at 104 club grounds, 105 with Wembley, that's only 15 times I've seen us play away at the new ground of another club which I don't think is that many so I'm sure that there's someone out there who has done more (Mick Derby for definite) and congratulations to them, well done.
Maybe that's the type of away ground I should start to target next as on top of the 5 I've not been to, I think there's 14 clubs that now play at grounds I've not seen us play at. 🤔

The different prism’s through which we see games! 
FWIW I thought today’s performance was a distance away from some of those horrors earlier in the season and we looked to play some good football at times, if not always successfully. NML was lovely first half but tired as did Washington who made some good runs including one wrongly flagged offside, another where he would have buried a cross from Ward had it not been cut off and the chance when he was free was at an angle where you would only back a fully fit striker to score. For me he did fine and gives us something different.

That was a nail biting, glorious, low rent league 1 scrap. I loved it, and after April I never ever want to watch anything like it again.

The different prism’s through which we see games! 
FWIW I thought today’s performance was a distance away from some of those horrors earlier in the season and we looked to play some good football at times, if not always successfully. NML was lovely first half but tired as did Washington who made some good runs including one wrongly flagged offside, another where he would have buried a cross from Ward had it not been cut off and the chance when he was free was at an angle where you would only back a fully fit striker to score. For me he did fine and gives us something different.

The different prism’s through which we see games! 
FWIW I thought today’s performance was a distance away from some of those horrors earlier in the season and we looked to play some good football at times, if not always successfully. NML was lovely first half but tired as did Washington who made some good runs including one wrongly flagged offside, another where he would have buried a cross from Ward had it not been cut off and the chance when he was free was at an angle where you would only back a fully fit striker to score. For me he did fine and gives us something different.

The different prism’s through which we see games! 
FWIW I thought today’s performance was a distance away from some of those horrors earlier in the season and we looked to play some good football at times, if not always successfully. NML was lovely first half but tired as did Washington who made some good runs including one wrongly flagged offside, another where he would have buried a cross from Ward had it not been cut off and the chance when he was free was at an angle where you would only back a fully fit striker to score. For me he did fine and gives us something different.

The different prism’s through which we see games! 
FWIW I thought today’s performance was a distance away from some of those horrors earlier in the season and we looked to play some good football at times, if not always successfully. NML was lovely first half but tired as did Washington who made some good runs including one wrongly flagged offside, another where he would have buried a cross from Ward had it not been cut off and the chance when he was free was at an angle where you would only back a fully fit striker to score. For me he did fine and gives us something different.

The different prism’s through which we see games! 
FWIW I thought today’s performance was a distance away from some of those horrors earlier in the season and we looked to play some good football at times, if not always successfully. NML was lovely first half but tired as did Washington who made some good runs including one wrongly flagged offside, another where he would have buried a cross from Ward had it not been cut off and the chance when he was free was at an angle where you would only back a fully fit striker to score. For me he did fine and gives us something different.

It's been a good afternoon if that's all we've got to complain about! 

That’s what I meant, no glaring errors as such but felt like he wasn’t letting the game flow and anything that could be deemed a 50/50 or “coming together” became a foul when it didn’t need to be. 

Pompey fan, in peace.  I read (a lot) and posted (a little) when you were having issues with the ownership.
I just wanted to pass on my belated condolences for B4's passing - as an outsider it was clear how much he cared about your club.  It's lovely to see how much warmth he commands and how he's being remembered.
I'm sure it doesn't need explaining that I hope my club gets up, but having read some of this thread I hope you manage to make it up with us.  It's also a great reminder that football clubs are all about the people who support them.  Raising a glass to Daniel this evening. 

Fine win against a team who came to play which made for an entertaining game. Whole team put in a real shift despite several being below full fitness. How Adam’s puts in such a performance whilst not eating or drinking during daylight is astonishing. The wide players really put in a shift with CBT looking like the player we expected. Wilson was a real problem for them at RB. Sibley again good at LB and Cash and Nelson are imperious. 
Smith was my MoM his positional sense was excellent and Wildsmith has hit a rich vein of form since returning. Washington worked hard and made some good runs despite a lack of match fitness. All the subs then put in a shift and we saw the game out easily. Finally the support was great again, a win which makes the win against Bolton even more significant given results elsewhere. 
B4 would be ultra optimistic Pompy we are coming for you 😁 COY🐏

When Daniel died I kept seeing rainbows everyday. I know how science and weather works but I like to think that’s his way of saying hello… or guiding dcfc to the back of the net 😂 I got to write a message on the dcfc changing room white board for the team to read today. I asked them to score a goal for Dan. Ebou delivered 🐏❤️🐏

Well we got the points, and Blackpool went away happy with a record medals haul for their second sport of Olympic Diving! Actually, with Blackpool coming to play it was quite a good match of football in the most part, and our whole squad played their part. I don't think anyone played badly, with Hourihane perhaps with the worst bit near the end when he made a typical Hourihane clearance which was a hoof over his shoulder vaguely in the direction of the Blackpool half, with height attained seemingly more important than the fact that it went straight to a group of 3 opposition players. But he did ok during his cameo appearance, so no bother!
I thought Ward and Wilson worked together really well today, and the back 4 did a great job. And although people on here have talked about the Blackpool chances on the first half, I never felt that they threatened hardly at all. Apart from the Wildsmith save from  free kick, they didn't actually threaten from open play until the 86th minute. ell done you Rams! They were handy with the ball, and maybe had mor possession, but actually did very little with it, while Derby did look threatening on a number of occasions. 
The holding off and not pressing was a tactical decision by Warne who told them to hold station because when they did press, Blackpool were able to "pick them off (Warne's words), and the tactics worked well. Good on you, coaches!
Re the ref - some people say that he was quit good. I think it would be more accurate to acknowledge that he wasn't the worst we have had, and didn't make any match-changing gaffes, although it seemed that the linos were doing their best to balls things up. But the truth is that he gave an enormous number of soft decisions in Blackpool's favour, hence my opening hint  at their falling to the floor so easily, with the ref falling for it most times, yet not punishing Blackpool players for a series of bad challenges. And we were all shouting for a penalty when Ebou hammered the ball home, because it was a blatant handball. He clearly didn't intend to give it, so well done Mr Adams! I was expecting the ref to rule the goal out and give the penalty after all, but thankfully he didn't. Which would have been a shame, because the goal was a cracker!
And at last, it was satisfying to be at a match where we were trying to do football, and where we were relatively comfortable, and where I didn't feel worried or scared for the whole match long.