Ramrob

1st of July.. when the commentary got to that bit, I welled up. Not ashamed of it. Just shows how much a part of me DCFC has been since my first game back in 1961. I don't think I'll be the only one to feel that emotion. 
Always have been, always will be... Derby Till I Die

For those of a nervous disposition regards Saturday………here’s some chill medicine! 👍😁
Review of the match, pinched from the Carlisle forum.
Derby need a point for promotion and this can do funny things to you mentally. However, some pointers which may settle them down somewhat. There is staggering 69 point gap between the sides. They’re +78 ahead of us on goal difference. Home record for Derby, played 22, won 14, drawn 4, lost 4 – scored 39, conceded 18. Two of those home defeats came in August against Wigan and Oxford. They also lost against Peterborough on New Year’s Day and Charlton at the end of February – but since then have won their last five home games.
Last but not least, we have a Derby legend running our team. He has more appearances for the Rams and scored more goals than for any other club. Is he really going to be trying to win this fixture and potentially deny them promotion? Hmm…
Derby’s a decent away day, so those of you lucky enough to be in attendance - please take a second to take it all in, it may be a very long time before we “enjoy” a Saturday afternoon fixture in the sun at ground and club like this again, so make the most of it.

…………..all seems fair comment to me. 👍

After 45 games it all comes down to this. Us or Bolton? The Rams the red hot favourites, with the best defence in the division playing the team bottom and long-since relegated. And needing only a draw. You can see why the bookies have us 1000/1 on but as a Derby fan I'm still nervous and feel it's going to be a long week.
Thrilled to be there. Will be thinking of Daniel who I never met, but who I exchanged posts with on this forum, and whose calls to arms I always loved. Will be remembering being at the BBG 49 years earlier to see the Rams lift the First Division title against Carlisle. Am with some of the same friends who came to the Derby Crystal Palace game with me, and we recreated Robbie van der Laan's header with on the pitch afterwards. Will be remembering the time Stephen Pearson scored his goal to send us into delirium at Wembley.
Will be thanking David Clowes for saving our club when all seemed lost. Darkest before the dawn. He deserves a fantastic day in which, yet again, and for only the third time in our history, Derby lift themselves out of the third tier after a two-season stint. But we have to do it first. Let's hope the players keep their eyes on the prize, backed all the way by long-suffering fans who do deserve some joy after the last few years.
Come on you Rams!
 

Christ I knew Canada was a bit behind the times, but surely Anno Domini has reached there by now.
 

Just so you know, it ain't cool to bear grudges.  It ain't mature to swear in public.  It ain't uplifting to dwell on previous negatives.  It is not sagacious to disrespect the hierarchy.  
 
But come Saturday, from 90:00 and throughout the additional minutes... with the resuscitated Rams on the verge of a new life... throw all that in the bin, and let's give 'em the rousiest, passionest, Black & Whitest, most heartfeltest rendition of "They docked us 21 points..." British football has ever... EVER... witnessed.
 
To hell with dignity!  🐏

For me the division we play in is secondary to still having a club and a stadium to play in.

I have had a prank backfire this morning and I thought you lovely lot would appreciate a good laugh. My friend and I love winding up her mum, Jackie. Last week I saw a postal prank that made me laugh, so I promptly ordered it for our Jackie. There must have been an address mix up and it landed on my doorstep. I work from home and see our postman all the time, goodness knows what he thinks 🤣🤣🤣 
Tell me about epic pranks you have pulled off, or failed to. I need some more inspiration 😂

Saturday can’t come soon enough. I am driving my wife crazy…
Me: I have something to tell you.
Wife: What is it?
Me: It’s important. It’s big. It’s life changing.
Wife: Tell me.
Me: Promise me you won’t be angry or upset.
Wife: OK. Tell me.
Me: Are you sure?
Wife: You’ve lost your job?
Me: No.
Wife: You want a divorce?
Me: No.
Wife: You’ve been having an affair?
Me: No.
Wife: Well, what is it?
Me: RAMS ARE GOING UP, OLE OLE! 🎵
😂
 

He was a lovely lad and would have been so proud of the team.  
Hope the team can get promotion for the club and fans .
 

This made me 🤣  Sorry about the swear word 🤐
 

I 'just can't get enough' of Forest whinging.
I also can't wait for the next David Squires cartoon strip!

You tell em Ian Herbert 
But Forest’s preposterous and disgraceful outburst — ‘like a fan in a pub, embarrassing’, as Jamie Carragher observed — took them into the sewers of the game, flying in the face of the professionalism we would expect of any club.
The directive from those at the top of Forest that a tweet be sent, stating they had warned that VAR official Stuart Attwell was ‘a Luton fan’, comes a month after owner Evangelos Marinakas brought the club into disrepute by tearing down the tunnel after referee Paul Tierney following a late defeat by Liverpool. Football rages and seethes against perceived injustice every day, but Sunday was unprecedented. Who the hell do these people think they are?
Would someone care to point out that six players have been sent off against Forest in the Premier League this season, two more than any other club?
And that a number even more relevant to their dangerous league position is the lunatic £300million they spent on 43 players across three transfer windows after getting promoted — to no material effect.
That put them in breach of spending rules and rightly docked four points. They’re claiming that’s wrong too, of course.

Good weekend to be fair 🙂
and
 

Won 3-0
 
 

Looking forward to seeing Simmo - boy he scored some bangers for us…

Psstt. Anyone want to buy a flag?

Seen this proudly heralded on here and rightly so, but it does still seem to have gone under the radar a little, unless yours truly has simply missed it. Thirteen away wins in a single season is bonkers and in these lower divisions, it feels like it's even harder, with some teams pulling out all the stops to ensure their pitches don't encourage actual football. And that's before we mention the 'special attention' ritually handed out to any player with attacking ability.
Thinking about this a little, it wasn't that long ago that we couldn't buy an away win and even more recently, our home form was shocking with only our away day prowess keeping our noses in it. On reflection, I'm quite proud at how we've ridden the bumps, worked hard and have improved all the way to the line. Going into the last game we've a 14 to 13 split for home and away victories, so our home form in the second half of the season has actually been very good too.
Having a quick tot up as I read the article, a great stat emerged, no xG, I promise!; in winning the 13 away games, we outscored our respective opponents by a staggering 31 goals to 6 which yields an effective rate of over 5 goals scored for every one conceded. See! I told you it was a doozy! 
Have a read of the article linked below if you fancy a quick bask in the reflected glory. Handy way to distract yourself from how slowly this pesky working week is going.
Whadddya mean it's only Monday!?! It must be at least Wednesday by now!!! 😡
https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2024/04/in-focus-the-away-wins-that-set-a-new-derby-county-club-record

On X there is a DCFC fan of the season poll, gotta be Daniel B4?? 👍👍

The opportunity to win promotion at Pride Park, in front of a sell out crowd, after what the club has essentially gone through the last four years, is something that could create memories that will last a lifetime.
If, and hopefully when it happens, I'll definitely spare a thought for B4 and others who marched through the city to help keep the club alive but sadly won't be here to see this significant step in our rebuilding process. 

Pride Park Stadium
KO - 12.30
Ticket Update: Forgeddaboutit
Match is  also live on Sky Sports
What it is to be a Derby fan. After Northampton, even yours truly was feeling a tad deflated. With Blackpool, Pompey and Wycombe next up, my mood was more pensive and hopeful, than upbeat, as many others seemed to feel that we'd blown another golden opportunity. In fairness, that was understandable, if only to a point. Happily though, it appears that Warne and the chaps did not get the memo informing them of their impending capitulation and decided to go on an 5 game unbeaten run instead. That effort not only cemented us in the top 2, as others buckled under pressure, but now sees us teetering right on the edge of promotion glory; agonisingly poised, we have one foot in the sunlit uplands of the Championship (*shudder), the other remaining firmly planted in the nightmarish possibility of yet more play-off induced football terrors. But need we really be worried? 
After recent history and the near demise of our great club, I think it's understandable that some Derby fans might adopt a mildly cautious outlook and demeanour. In recent years, whatever may go wrong, typically has done and in so much, it's fair to say that a robust constitution is a mandatory requirement for a group of fans who've had more than their fair share share of emotional kickings over the last decade. Most Rams will confess that in some ways, it's hard not to expect the worst, based on recent history, but then isn't the dream what it's all about? After all, if you strip away the hopes and dreams, what do you really have left? It's been a season to test our nerves, that much is clear, but despite a lot of infighting, we've hung it all together in the end and here we are, fate firmly in our own hands. Remember too, that for some of our young 'uns, Saturday is a potentially momentous day. Automatic promotions don't come around every year and many won't have experienced one in their lives to date and for our elder statesmen and women, this could be an emotional roller coaster too. 
Outside the club itself, expectations are sky high. The bookmakers have all but closed the book on our promotion chances and after all, a single point is all we require against a Carlisle side who remain 10 points adrift at the very foot of the table and with seemingly nothing other than professional pride at stake. The oddsmakers are undoubtedly right from a statistical standpoint, but playing devil's advocate for a moment, Carlisle will view this as a free hit and will play without pressure (think Wycombe) and for some, the game provides an ideal opportunity to showcase their talents in a high-profile game with the Sky cameras watching on. Summer moves may beckon, for any player who shines.
Worthy favourites then, IMHO, but doubtless a good few will still be anxiously awaiting Saturday's outcome.
Not me mind. I’ll be drunk from @noon on Wednesday.
The Permutations:
Quite simple now, on paper at least; a win or a draw and we say, 'hasta la visa, baby' and kiss this league goodbye, hopefully forever. A loss, by a single goal would leave Bolton needing to beat Posh 3-0 in order to break the hearts of the Rams faithful, snatching 2nd place by virtue of having scored more goals. Not quite the proverbial slam-dunk then, but we're strong favourites, all the same and rightly so IMO.
Elsewhere, we, along with Bolton, will be hoping Posh slip up midweek; Posh will be hoping they don't and Barnsley and Lincoln will be nervously looking over their shoulders with both Oxford and Blackpool snapping at their heels. I'd dearly love to see Blackpool snatch the last playoff slot! 
 


The key fixtures for the final rounds, with promotion hopefuls underlined, are as below:
Tuesday 23/04-2024
Cheltenham vs Peterborough - 19.45
Saturday 27/04/2024
Barnsley vs Northampton - 12.30
Exeter vs Oxford - 12.30
Lincoln Vs Portsmouth - 12.30
Peterborough vs Bolton - 12.30
Reading Vs Blackpool - 12.30
My guesses are Posh to beat Cheltenham and draw with Bolton. Barnsley to beat Northampton, Oxford to turn over Exeter, Lincoln and Pompey to draw and Blackpool to beat Reading. Make of that what you will! 
Our Opponents – A Brief History:
Founded in 1896 as Shaddongate United, Carlisle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cumbria, who have played their home games at Brunton Park since 1909. The club's traditional kit is blue with white and red detail, whilst the badge takes elements from the city's coat of arms by including two Wyverns. They are nicknamed the "Blues", due to their kit, as well as the "Cumbrians". The club is the northernmost English professional football club seated close to the Anglo-Scottish border. Crowned Lancashire Combination, Division Two champions in 1906–07, they entered the North Eastern League in 1910 and went on to win the league title in 1921–22, before being elected into the Football League in 1928. 
Head to Head:
Sadly, Carlisle have a pretty decent record against our beloved Rams. Twenty-three competitive fixtures have seen Derby win 9, draw 6 and lose 8. Our first fixture, in the old Division 3 North back in 1955, saw Derby win 3-0. More recently, the two teams have met three time in the last decade with Derby bookending the decade with 2-0 wins, with a 1-1 between them.
Games Played: 23
Games Won:9
Games Drawn:6
Games Lost:8
Our last Meeting:
The corresponding fixture at Brunton Park was way back in September with a James Collins brace giving the game a rather more comforting veneer than was perhaps warranted. Carlisle looked tidy and Gibson and Moxon in particular, gave Derby plenty to think about. On that performance, you might have been forgiven for thinking Carlisle would do ok this season, but it’s fair to say that things have not gone well for the Cumbrian outfit and their relegation was a formality from some way out.
Carlisle United - Recent Form:
Carlisle's recent form has been distinctly patchy, with their last 5 games comprising a 3-1 home loss to that awful club near Henley, another home loss by the odd goal to Blackpool, a hard-earned away win at Cheltenham, before consecutive losses to Northampton and Lincoln. 
Saturday 20th April
Carlisle United 1 Wycombe Wanderers 3
Saturday 13th April
Carlisle United 0 Blackpool 1
Tuesday 9th April
Cheltenham Town 0 Carlisle United 1
Saturday 6th April
Northampton Town 2 Carlisle United 0
Monday 1st April
Carlisle United 1 Lincoln City 3
Carlisle United - Key Players:
Quite a relief that we won’t be facing Owen Moxon, snapped up by Pompey in the January window. Most of what was good about Carlisle seemed to start with him, but in Jordan Gibson, they still retain some meaningful threat. He's tricky with ball at feet, looks to attack and has a shot on him. He tops the scorer’s chart with 7 goals and 3 assists whilst Sam Lavelle with 4 assists is a goal provider to note. Mellish with 5 goals and Butterworth and Garner with 4 a piece, round out the principal Carlisle goal threats. it would be remiss not to mention also that their current manager, is none other than the much respected, Paul Simpson. Nudge, nudge, wink wink, Paul! The other ex-Rams fun fact would be that Luke Plange had a brief and unremarkable spell with the Cumbrians this season, before seeking warmer weather with HJK Helsinki.
Rams Team News:
Some will be itching for change after a stuttering performance at Cambridge. My own thoughts on that game are that Cambridge fought ridiculously hard and we had to try and match that extreme intensity before we could even think about playing our game. The pitch looked both short and narrow to me had clearly been subject to a hosepipe ban and I think all of these factors led to a feisty and extremely combative game, from which we did well to emerge with maximum points. Back on home soil, a larger pitch and a (marginally) better surface, I’d expect us to look rather more fluid.
Sadly, this will be the last time we get to watch young Max Bird play for the club. There’s been some really silly stuff written about our most technically gifted footballer and I have to confess that seeing him leave for Brizzle will be like a kick to the gut. That said, the fee garnered enabled some key signings and it could be argued that in hindsight, this was smart business. Nah, I'm not convinced either, but needs must? Quite possibly. Irrespective, I’d love to see him among the starting 11 for his swansong. I’m sure the Derby faithful will give him the send-off he deserves, in what may be a somewhat bittersweet celebration, for both us as fans and Max himself, lest we forget.
With that in mind, here’s my team selection, which will of course in no way resemble the gaffer’s:
 

 

The defence really needs to remain unchanged. A more determined and obdurate back 3 you’d struggle to find. Wildsmith retains the #1 jersey, despite some idiosyncratic ball distribution. To my way of thinking, he makes saves that matter and that outweighs his wayward passing.
I’ve drafted in Bird to replace Korey Smith, who would perhaps be hard done by should Warne follow suit. Max would partner the irrepressible Ebou Adams, a pairing that ought to give us a solid foundation in midfield. Working hard on the flanks, I’d have Wilson and Sibley, two players I absolutely love. The latter especially, has really matured over the course of the season, proving yours truly and others wrong in the process and he has oodles of ability if this progress and work ethic can be maintained.
Thommo is also retained and will hopefully sit a little higher and rat like his life depends on it. He and Collo put in Herculean shifts against Cambridge, doing the work that seldom attracts the plaudits, but is often key to our success. He can also interchange with a front two of Collo and Nate, who should give Carlisle plenty to think about. Barks, Gayle and Smith appear the obvious change-ups, with Hourihane, Vickers and Elder in reserve, but much will depend on who is truly healthy on the day.
And that, ladies and gentlemen is me done for the season. I’m fancying us for a decent performance, with a little style on show after an early goal to settle the nerves. 3-0 is the call with Collo, Nate and Sibs my fancies as the scorers. After some 55 games across the season, this one has definitely felt like something of a marathon, but in spite of the divided fan base, I’ve enjoyed seeing us tough it out. The football has been mildly bipolar, great one week, not so much the next, but I think all sides at this lowly level are inconsistent, only us and Pompey slightly less so than the others. Should we progress, of course we will face different challenges, but we will also have a very different playing roster. Doubts about the style of football will persist, but personally, I don't think Clowes will even contemplate letting Warne go and as such, Warne will retain my support until such time as he doesn't! 
Here’s hoping then,  for a resounding win, a respectful but joyous celebration of an important and healing day for all connected with the club and one that the majority can safely enjoy. Also, calm and stress-free journeys for any fans travelling significant distances and a bright and shiny, new future for Derby County Football club.
COYR
BE MORE B4
 

Passion! 
BTW, if you're on X, Georgia Knight is well worth the follow. Takes some great photos.

He's my hero. Saved our club and looks like undoing the bulk of the damage endured under MM in only his second season as owner. Deserves all the plaudits he gets in spades IMO.

Two of David Clowes’ aims when he took over the Club were to bring integrity and also establish ourselves in the Championship within 5 years. We didn’t get promotion last year, much to many fans angst. On reflection, it was probably a good job we didn’t. We would still have been working to a strict business plan which would have tied our hands in the transfer market to some degree and made the season very difficult.
We have recruited quite a few players this year who will be able to play in the Championship next year. Some recruits haven’t been quite so successful. We will have a reasonable pot for transfers this year we have been told. Probably, Wildsmith, Nyambe, Cashin,Nelson,Elder,Ward,Wilson,Mendis-Laing,Blackett-Taylor,Sibley,Forsyth,Rooney should be ok in the Championship - I personally have more concerns about Smith, Collins, Barkhaizen, Thompson, Fornah, Gayle, Washington, Vickers.  We will lose Bird and Adams (for now?)
I think, with some shrewd business, we should be able to put together a competitive squad.
in terms of integrity, I think our progression has been amazing. There has been hardly any, if at all, negative news regarding our club in the media. The Management team all absolutely appear to be working together to a common goal. We have recruited (not to everyone’s like) good people, who want to play for the shirt, not just here for the money, as in the past. The Academy has made good progress in its rebuild and the are a few players who look to have good futures, hopefully as Derby players.
At our best and most confident, we do play some exciting football, score goals and don’t concede many. Yes, we would like to see more of the exciting times but our main aim has been to get out of this difficult league this year. Too often in the past we have had a soft underbelly and have struggled against strong, aggressive teams. We currently have a side, which mainly, doesn’t buckle against this type of side.
So I am happy with the progress of Derby County this last two years and look forward to what will happen next. David Clowes is a quietly shrewd business man and I think Paul Warne is an intelligent manager, who is a lot shrewder and football wise than many give him credit for. Not only this but he is a fantastic man-manager and team spirit builder.
Can’t wait to see what happens next.
 

Most away wins in a season, most points in a season, a promotion (we hope) and getting the best defender in the league to sign a new long term contract in his first full season. All of this with very little spend and spotting some gems in the rough (Adams and Wilson). 
 
When we talk about the success under Jim Smith or Clough, we rarely talk about style but the results they had. If we go up this year I think Warne will be remembered in 10-20 years for the results he achieved. 

@Archied Forum regulars will know that for some of us there is more riding on Saturday than securing the points for promotion. It feels very much a tribute to those who aren’t here who have stuck with DCFC through thick and thin. 

I’m really excited as I haven’t seen a DCFC promotion. When I last held a season ticket Derby were in the Premier League. I can’t imagine just how excited Daniel would be right now, but I bet he would be saying “I told you they would do it”
I’ll be thinking of you and your dad on Saturday ❤️🐏