Ramrob

Watched it last night. Enjoyed it but wasn’t as revelatory as I was expecting. The studs story was a bit nothing really - sure players have done much worse. It was on Terry so … 
Great story from the streets to the saviour. Although I thought it was ‘by numbers’ sports documentary - imagine what Asif Kapadia would have done with the same story? 
Vivid memories of the England matches mentioned - debut, Portugal x2 and Algeria. He had some truly wonderful moments but he also had some games when he couldn’t control the ball, non more so than that Algeria game (still didn’t deserve the boos though).
Maybe he was judged too highly because those moments of genius and sometimes that pressure for him to perform was too much.
You could see why he’s stuck around with us though - never gives up.
One other thing - thank god VAR wasn’t around in those days! 

I loved the boy when he cracked in his first goal for Everton when his hunger, passion for the game was clear to see.
I loved how that boy gave us England fans that hope especially in the Euro's 2004 in Portugal which I was at, when it was great to see his family there in full support.
I loved how he reacted to the corporate fans, the new breed of England fans that fancied a holiday in Cape Town South Africa for the World Cup 2010, that opted to boo their fellow England players off the pitch.
I will never boo any Derby County or England players off the pitch.
I loved how he joined Derby County and played for our Derby County.
I loved how he has managed Derby County so far and I will continue to love how he manages our club.
I don't buy newspapers and I don't believe everything I have read in any newspaper in the past, I don't believe everything I read on the internet or watch on the news or on or social media or on TV, on the radio and all the rest.
I have made many mistakes in my life, I hope to learn from my mistakes, and I admire down to earth, honest people that hold up their hand and admit their mistakes, as I don't see that as a weakness, but a strength, and I especially admire team players that try to help others become stronger and better people on the pitch, off the pitch and in all walks of life.
I love Wayne Rooney and I believe he will do his very best to build this club and make it great again and he will do that treating everyone at the club, with kindness, love and respect and will get eveyone working hard to achieve the desired goals we all crave, with plenty of smiles and laughter along the way.
D.C.F.C. Love, Life & Unity.
Billy Bragg - It Says Here.
It says here that the Unions will never learn
It says here that the economy is on the upturn
And it says here we should be proud
That we are free
And our free press reflects our democracy

Those braying voices on the right of the House
Are echoed down the Street of Shame
Where politics mix with bingo and tits
In a money and numbers game

Where they offer you a feature
On stockings and suspenders
Next to a call for stiffer penalties for sex offenders

It says here that this year's prince is born
It says here do you ever wish
That you were better informed
And it says here that we can only stop the rot
With a large dose of Law and Order
And a touch of the short sharp shock

If this does not reflect your view you should understand
That those who own the papers also own this land
And they'd rather you believed
In Coronation Street capers
In the war of circulation, it sells newspapers
Could it be an infringement
Of the freedom of the press
To print pictures of women in states of undress

When you wake up to the fact
That your paper is Tory
Just remember, there are two sides to every story
 

Watched it last night and thought it was OK.
His missus is the reason he is still going strong and not stumbling and slurring his words like Gascoigne. 
I reckon having a manager that has been there and done it and made mistakes along the way is good for all the young lads we have coming through.

Inspired song choice
 

They were deducted 25 points after going into administration, leaving them 20 points adrift at the bottom of the table. 
They finished 6th, 24 points ahead of 9th and 10th.
Their joint second top goalscorer with 8 goals?
This man.

Finished The Responder last night.
Best thing we've watched since Time and maybe even better than that.
British/BBC drama at its best.
Fabulous acting, perfect pace, gritty and at times. highly amusing dialogue, really interesting characters and a seemingly realistic look at what it can be like being a cop working a run down drug-riddled area of a biggish city.
David Nish/10
 

Other Ales are available..
 

 
both better than cats piss lager..
 

Missed this match as I was persuaded to go shopping in Nottingham with my new girlfriend. All ended well though, I was soon back watching the rest of the season. My girlfriend became my wife. She still says I talk too much about football but we have been together for fifty seasons.

Added a column for league position of opponent just to give a bit of extra detail - plus it will auto update after each round lol..

No sele Ebosele!

An amazing Golden anniversary. If more reason was needed to preserve this amazing Club. Testament to what can be achieved when a legendary Striker takes over a Club on its knees and lifts them, through sheer determination, character and personality ( I could be talking 2022 as well as 1972)

As soon as we get new owners in I will be writing to them with my Rams Heritage Trust hat on and asking that something is sorted for the final game of the season, hopefully it can be a staying up party and and a massive show of appreciation for what those lads did for our club and put our Derby County on the world footballing map !

Roger Davies has replied to a post I put on Facebook saying that the club are arranging something! The other lads didn’t seem to know about it so hopefully someone is setting something up, they need something on the pitch aswell as a private get together to give all of the fans an opportunity to remind them how well thought of they all are.

Will be watching tonight first thing when I get in. 
From the snippets I've heard in the press, it's taken some balls to come out and do this.
This tweet from Coleen is also great whilst sad she's felt had to make it.
Coleen has been widely criticised in the media for standing by him, accusations of in it for the money, which makes little sense when a divorce would ensure she would never have to work again, why a couples relationship is newsworthy or magazine worthy is beyond me.
It's why I chose not to be a footballer, I didn't want the intrusion that came with being a global superstar. 
 

Something my Auntie wrote, thought it only right to share it on here for her....
----------------------------------------
For all you Derby County Football fans, here's a little something for you. 
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
Black and White
What’s black and white and read all over?
Derby County football news.
What’s black and white and heard all over?
Loyal supporters’ views.
The beating heart of Derby city pulses through its club.
The family it weaves together creates a social hub.
From Baseball Ground to Pride Park.
The fans hold fast in light or dark.
Eleven players in the team.
Thousands watch and dare to dream.
However the season began. 
There is always hope for the Ram.
Derby will fight to the end.
Its  beloved club to defend.
The skill and passion on the field.
 True supporters who will not yield.
What’s black and white and felt all over?
Derby pride and loyalty.
So let’s get behind our club and keep them safe.
For without them there is no city. 
Carol Clarke 
Copyright Feb 2022.
 

I had the privilege and the pleasure on Monday to meet up at Seven restaurant in Derby with some DCFC royalty.
I had been approached by a national newspaper (not the sun) sports reporter to ask if i could assist him in inviting some of the legends of the 1971/72 team, they are not just legends of Derby County but 1970s football in general, household names in the footballing world until this day and men of god for those who follow Derby County and forever revered in these parts.
What he wanted to do was to something that nobody else in the press seems bothered about and that is to bring the story of what those players did under the auspices and guidance of Brian Clough & Peter Taylor into the headlines and to freshen up and relive the story.
It has been such bad timing that the club is in such a mess that it can not honour these fine gentleman (another victim of the poor management of our club) so i was more than happy to get them together and sit in on what was a great three hours spent over lunch and a couple of drinks in a private room reliving not just that season but the seasons that followed.
its not for me to tell the stories as that honour falls to the reporter and in should be in print a little nearer the end of the season but needless to say there were some funny moments, some very honest and truthful moments and some sad moments.
Kevin was supposed to join us but had to pull out at the last minute but he was ably covered by the others, Messrs Mcfarland, Durban, Gemmill and O'Hare !
50 years ago they were Champions of England and will be forever Champions of Derby !

Agreed ? 
When I look at Wycombe, I see a club that was promoted in a dubious manner from league one (efl fault for the way their promotion was calculated, the season ending early due to covid).
Then I also see a club wanting to blame us for their season of poor performances, they weren't strong enough to compete in the Championship.
Now to try and get money due to losses sustained when they were relegated, they have unfairly targeted derby due to their belief that they wouldn't have been relegated if derby resubmitted accounts earlier than deadlines for resubmitted accounts given to derby by the efl.
 

Well we stayed in the South Stand for 10 minutes or so after the final whistle to applaud the players, aand just chill fater such a great night. EEven walking out of the ground I havn't known such a happy atmosphere after  match since the play-off semi against Brighton! I've being watching DCFC since 1973, and can't think of abetter time to be a Ram!
The stats said it was a fairly even game, with one set saying that Hull had moe possession, but apart from the opening 10 minutes, and a cople of spells in the second half, there was only one team threatening to do the business. Ebosele was obvious as MOM, and that was clear even before he scored. Yes his maurauding runs scared the life out of the Hull defence, but he made some tremendous tackles and dispossessions in defence as well. He produced some good crosses and passes and has finally hit the net. Just how many of our players have madeprogress this year? It seems that Rooney and Rosenior have got most of them playing way better than we have ever seen before - Captain Tom  being a great example. It is getting that 1 game out of every 7 he is as good as he is in the other 6!  I could go through the whole squad like this. Admittedly it wouldn 't take long, thanks to the EFL,Brilliant coaching!
A key part to us ccongrolling so much of the game was overcoming the itnial flurry from Hull then pressing and harrying all over the pitch, for the entire 90 minutes. And did you see Luke Plange's double nutmeg, played behind himself while he scurried around the two defnders to pick the ball back up again? Brilliant. That's not Rooney, it is natural talent. And Ebew???? new guy but those defenders by threading the ball along the goal lineand running past them because they weren't expecting anything like it! Probably the wrong thing to do when we were holding the abll in the corner to run the clock down. But the lad has got talent, so why the hell not! Som of our past managers would have him playing it back to Allsop from there!
ANd here we go - you kno you've been waiting for it! Some on here reckon the ref was ok tonight. He was, in thaat he wasn't as bad as the troach we've had dished up for the past few months, but he let so much go, yet booked Beilik when a hull player fell over with absolutely no contact. Their number 10 should have been off the pitch by half-time because he spent the entire match kicking lumps of flesh out of the Rams, and only got carded for taking Max Bird out late in the second half. Yet Max only committed his first foul in time added on, but it was an instant yellow. Come on, EFL, no agenda against us?
But the officals were irrelevant with what happened on the pitch. And another lasting memory was the video of the afterr match interview with the grinning Wayne Rooney. Its the happiest he's looked since getting here. Long may it continue! 

Except when they close sections of the A14 on the journey home! 
Thanks for driving @Pikeyram ?

Imminently.

Except when they close sections of the A14 on the journey home! 
Thanks for driving @Pikeyram ?

Except when they close sections of the A14 on the journey home! 
Thanks for driving @Pikeyram ?

The morning after the night before… and what a night!
It was my first game since pre-Covid days and not a bad one to be at. I've read a lot about the recent atmosphere on here but it was something else, barely stopped all night from where we were in the South Stand. And most of the ground by the sounds of it. 
Find it hard to fault anyone after that performance. My brief take on things…
Allsop – had little to do (apart from the first save which I've only just seen on the highlights as we missed the first couple of minutes!). Very calm and passing was excellent – both short and long when needed. 
Davies – head on everything, experienced 'head' continuing to do the business. 
Buchanan – thought he was superb too, particularly for a 1st senior game at centre back. If he can continue that sort of performance Stearman will struggle to get back in.
Byrne – brilliant, some lovely touches both in attack and defence.
Forsyth – looked like the Forsyth of old, marauding down the left. Beautiful bullet header. Bit unfortunate for the own goal I thought, Festy should've really stopped the cross.
Ebosele – please let us keep hold of him! Hull just couldn't handle him when he had the ball. Did the defensive side too (cross for the goal aside). For his goal – thought the chance had gone after his first touch but hit it so sweet into the side netting. Missed his somersault celebration as someone somersaulted over me from the row behind in the aftermath! 
Knight – everywhere as usual.
Bird and Bielik (B&B?) – put these together as they worked really well as a pair. Didn't feel like Bielik did a lot but every time he had the ball he looked effortlessly calm. Praying he can stay fit. Heart in the mouth when he went down towards the end. Thought it was his shoulder again but looked like a knock above the eye as he came off? Hopefully not too serious. Bird playing beyond his years. 
Plange – held the ball up well, particularly for someone so young. Ball didn't quite fall for him but worked hard all night.
Lawrence – left the last word for Tommy. He's had a lot of stick on here and in other quarters, some of it arguably deserved. But think he just shaded the MOM from Ebosele for me. He worked soooo hard – in attack, midfield and defence. Multiple clearances in our own 18 yard box. Scored one from being in the right place at the right time and threaded the pass through for Festy's goal. Superb captain's performance.
Thanks to @admira who I met on here for inviting me along.
"They docked us 21 points but we don't give a duck, cos we are Derby County and we are staying up. Allez, allez, allez."
Loved it. COYR 
 
 

Yes big up for the driver - always gets us there and back safely (even if he doesn't look where he is walking)!