Anyone getting over it yet??

[FlaxholmeRam]

How do I feel?

Like Cinderella.

To start off, scrabbling round not really going anywhere, suddenly things get much better and end up getting invited to the ball, goes really well and get noticed by prince, have a cracking time etc even though have to leave early. Lose glass slipper on way out - but in final climax, prince finds me, glass slipper fits and prince grabs me in an embrace and softly whispers......

.....Sorry love, I'm gay.

Yep - still gutted :-(

[ilkleyram]

I agree with Eddie's wife.  Still not over it.  Still haven't watched or read a single moment of the day and match other than the words on here.  Doubt if I ever will.

 

I think the Board do trust the way in which the club is managed by both SR and SM; I think they do want standards raised and moving Nigel on was their way of doing so.  They have lofty ambitions and have spent money, covering significant losses if nothing else, but have also sanctioned investment in the team.  There are four different leagues - top 8/10 of the Championship, and three in the PL.  All need good coaching and different amounts of money to be successful but in the FFP world they all demand a good academy that produces first team players to use or sell 

 

We are at a different stage of our history than the Hillsborough semi final.  Then we were trying to stay at the very top rather than trying to get to the top.  Our Board were about to make a series of rash decisions that included Docherty, from which we didn't recover - arguably until Arthur and Maxwell came along, but certainly until Pickering and Jim Smith turned up.

 

While we do well Steve MacLaren's name will feature alongside every PL vacancy until we are in that league, and then against every top 10 vacancy until we get to that level.  Hopefully we will get used to it happening and him quietly rejecting any approaches

[MrsRam]

I've just put the programme in the cupboard - I didn't flick through it. 

[irobinson]

you are right Tommy Docherty got the job.

 

A job he didn't deserve - as he ridiculed our pitch, players and fans publicly  - on radio derby one night after a night match

 

my late father was so incensed he wrote to him - and got a reply - but alas.......... this team wasn't the same after Hillsboro

 

We surrended our season tickets from 1978 - and i was only to return  - when i stood on the Pop side with my mates

 

Then all the troubles on and off the pitch seemed to affect us.

 

Rams played so well on Saturday - i just cannot believe that happened to us - a club with a great fanbase and rich history

[Bald Eagle's Barmy Army]

I am over it and that is mainly down to seeing the feel good factor still within the club.  

 

A lot of teams would find it difficult to come back after losing in the manner we did but 95% of DCFC supporters know something special is happening and once we get where we are heading, we wont give it up easily.

 

Having all of the International debutants today will only help with experience going into next season.

 

If we get off to a good start i can see our average attendance being more like 30k next year.

[61GT]

Nope - not over it

Was sat with my 1975 Rams Charity Shield shirt in the 5th tier of Wembley - and totally gutted

My last major disappointment was the 1977 semi final at Hilsborough against Man U.

Totally gutted - and now fear that some of our players might leave and McClaren may have his head turned by Saints

I remember the sheer disappointment of the semi-final against Man Utd too so I guess we may be of a similar age!

Like yourself it is the biggest Football disappointment I can remember for a long time. If we'd been beaten fair and square by 4 or 5 goals that would have been easier to take but to lose in the manner we did to a Club who are so clearly in breech of the FFP rules and so heavily over-spent made it much harder to take.

Although I was born in Scotland and only lived in the East Midlands for a few years, Derby County is the only football team I have ever supported or ever will support - come what may.

2013/2104 has been a great season, here's to an even better 2014/2015.

[Gypsy Ram]

I think the management have done very well - almost like crisis management to bring the positive outlook back almost immediately. I salute them.

[Alf-Inge of Fudge]

There is a difference between ambition and optimism, Ed.

 

I hope we can keep everything ticking over, the same team pretty much with a few new faces which will come in with the same attitude and hunger for success. Although, I expect a summer of both elation and disappointment.

 

I have no doubts we're, at present, the most attractive club in the Championship. We're the team that clubs will want to loan players out too and we're the club players will want to join. We've earned an incredibly sought after reputation this season and we need to build on it.

 

Nevertheless, I don't quite think the investors share the same desire that Fawaz does at Forest, or Fernandes does at QPR.

 

 

When all said and done, all the investors can do is put their money where their mouth is. The two above have done that. They've trusted the wrong people, but they've put the money into the club. Which is why, to a point, I wasn't fussed over QPR going up. Tony Fernandes has dug really deep into his pockets for that club, and the amount he has had to spend to get promotion is staggering. So, well done to him.

 

We need to have loftier ambitions as a football club, no doubt. We have to start rolling the dice a bit more, trusting the management a bit more (something I think we will do) and raise our standards a bit more. 

 

Ultimately, the only way a team becomes really successful is by spending money. It's the same at any level in the sport. No team on our budget, regardless of how well-coached it is will win the Premier League. It's a money game, unfortunately.

 

Good post, but do you trust McClaren with such an investment though?

 

Davies invested very well and last season was a cumulation of bad luck through injuries and bad decisions by Fawaz which de-railed us. It wasn't Fawaz's initial investment that was poor, it was the failure to back Davies further in terms of non-financial support when the press started manipulating people's opinions about Davies.

 

McClaren spent awfully at Forest though and hasn't got a great record elsewhere either. With him having one eye on Southampton, is he the man you give big bucks too?

 

Honest truth, if I was a Derby fan I'd be hoping for a good-moderate investment with McClaren. Say 3-5m. Giving McClaren any more doesn't play to his strengths and could well upset the apple cart with the likes of Massimo Macaroni for 8m, or Miller & Greening for 2m.

[Ambitious]

Good post, but do you trust McClaren with such an investment though?

 

Davies invested very well and last season was a cumulation of bad luck through injuries and bad decisions by Fawaz which de-railed us. It wasn't Fawaz's initial investment that was poor, it was the failure to back Davies further in terms of non-financial support when the press started manipulating people's opinions about Davies.

 

McClaren spent awfully at Forest though and hasn't got a great record elsewhere either. With him having one eye on Southampton, is he the man you give big bucks too?

 

Honest truth, if I was a Derby fan I'd be hoping for a good-moderate investment with McClaren. Say 3-5m. Giving McClaren any more doesn't play to his strengths and could well upset the apple cart with the likes of Massimo Macaroni for 8m, or Miller & Greening for 2m.

 

I trust him completely. 

 

He has also bought in some exceptional signings in the past too. Every manager makes duff signings and I can't agree that Davies spent very well last season. For example, your POTY and two highest scoring strikers were all McClaren signings.

 

Plus so far he has only made one duff signing for Derby and that was Keane.

 

McClaren signed Mandzukic from Zagreb for pretty much the same price as it cost you to sign Abdoun, Cox and Wilson. 

[eddie]

Good post, but do you trust McClaren with such an investment though?

 

Davies invested very well and last season was a cumulation of bad luck through injuries and bad decisions by Fawaz which de-railed us. It wasn't Fawaz's initial investment that was poor, it was the failure to back Davies further in terms of non-financial support when the press started manipulating people's opinions about Davies.

 

McClaren spent awfully at Forest though and hasn't got a great record elsewhere either. With him having one eye on Southampton, is he the man you give big bucks too?

 

Honest truth, if I was a Derby fan I'd be hoping for a good-moderate investment with McClaren. Say 3-5m. Giving McClaren any more doesn't play to his strengths and could well upset the apple cart with the likes of Massimo Macaroni for 8m, or Miller & Greening for 2m.

 

The Macaroni who single-handedly fired Middlesbrough to the UEFA Cup Final or the Ishmael Miller who scored more than any other forest player last season, but playing for a relegated side?

 

I'll give you Greening though.

 

Why on Earth would McClaren have 'one eye on Southampton', Alf? I'll take that with almost as big a pinch of salt as I do your usual pro-Davros rants that are so illuminating and yet so misguided, and the one source of regular amusement to just about everyone who ever ventures into the depressing cesspool that is LTLF.

 

Even Forest fans think that you are barmy in that area.

[Monkeytennis12345]

As a previous poster mentioned, this doesn't feel half as bad as Leicester in '94. 

Not that it still doesn't hurt............it does. I've now seen us lose three times at Wembley, missing 2007. I've promised my mates that I won't go again ! 

 

We WILL keep this squad together because we are a vastly different club from any other in our history ! The board can smell success and know what it takes to harness it and grow IT into an established and SUCCESFUL Premier league Club.

 

We've come a long way from the dark and dirty days of the 'Three Amigos' and Phil Brown and his team of journeymen loanees.

 

This is OUR club, and this time, it's being run properly.

 

I'm still not going to read the bloody programme, though !

 

YOUUUUU RAMS !!

[MrsRam]

One win in four at Wembley for me lol - I can remember sitting in the stands, having a fag at the old Wembley.  Doesn't get much easier but as you say Monkey - the future's brighter. 

[Alf-Inge of Fudge]

I trust him completely. 

 

He has also bought in some exceptional signings in the past too. Every manager makes duff signings and I can't agree that Davies spent very well last season. For example, your POTY and two highest scoring strikers were all McClaren signings.

 

Plus so far he has only made one duff signing for Derby and that was Keane.

 

McClaren signed Mandzukic from Zagreb for pretty much the same price as it cost you to sign Abdoun, Cox and Wilson. 

 

Billy signed some great players, Hobbs, Paterson, Lichaj, Henderson & De Vries all signed for less than 2m last year, overall he had a superb transfer window.

 

What have been his Derby signings so far exactly?

 

 

The Macaroni who single-handedly fired Middlesbrough to the UEFA Cup Final or the Ishmael Miller who scored more than any other forest player last season, but playing for a relegated side?

 

I'll give you Greening though.

 

Why on Earth would McClaren have 'one eye on Southampton', Alf? I'll take that with almost as big a pinch of salt as I do your usual pro-Davros rants that are so illuminating and yet so misguided, and the one source of regular amusement to just about everyone who ever ventures into the depressing cesspool that is LTLF.

 

Even Forest fans think that you are barmy in that area.

 

Yep, Macaroni who labelled McClaren as "two-faced", cost 8m and who's only just broke 100 league goals after 250 or so appearances aged 34.

 

And Miller's up there in the worst 5 signings we've ever made. A terrible player who hit a purple patch at a team which is at his level.

 

That's my whole point with McClaren - he can get players having purple patches and is OK for cup runs or seasons like last one where no-one expected anything. Is that someone who you're happy to see spend a massive amount of cash? Surely you'd be better of spending a modest amount of around 3-5m and seeing how he does first? You can always back further in Jan.

 

We'll see what happens with Southampton though. My biggest fear is that should McClaren jump ship you chaps have the sense to recognize how good Davies is now and re-employ him. With him at the helm you'll walk the league.

[ladyram]

One win in four at Wembley for me lol - I can remember sitting in the stands, having a fag at the old Wembley. Doesn't get much easier but as you say Monkey - the future's brighter.

How does the new Wembley compare to the old one Mrs? I'd have loved to have seen the towers before they got wrecked.

[Monkeytennis12345]

Well, I'm hoping that SM has learned his lesson from overspending at Forest.

The thing was, the board backed him and he did appear to be like a kid in a sweetshop !

 

Our board aren't quite as (and I'm not having a dig at the Red Dog board) stupid as that. We saw what Silly Billy did in 2007 and the utter dross that he lumbered the club with. There are still people in very influential positions that remember how long it took the club to get back on a financial even-keel and won't ever let that happen again.

 

If we have to spend a Million or two to get the right type of player to the club, then that's what they'll sanction, but I can't ever see us doing what happened in 2011 at the wrong end of the A52 !

 

YOUUUUUUU RAMS !

[Ambitious]

Billy signed some great players, Hobbs, Paterson, Lichaj, Henderson & De Vries all signed for less than 2m last year, overall he had a superb transfer window.

 

What have been his Derby signings so far exactly?

 

 

Henderson and De Vries, you sure? Hobbs and Paterson are good, Lichaj is okay.

 

Thorne, Wisdom, Bamford and Dawkins. Were the four I was eluding to.

[MrsRam]

I just remember the concourse as being quite dark and the massive steps you had to go up which was a bit of a squash.

The new Wembley's obviously a lot better facility wise - but we didn't have the parking trouble we had - but then we never had that in 2007 either so that was obviously just a 'logistical' error.

 

I suppose it's like comparing the BBG to the Ipro - times move on, some are better, some are worse. 

[Alf-Inge of Fudge]

Henderson and De Vries, you sure? Hobbs and Paterson are good, Lichaj is okay.

 

Thorne, Wisdom, Bamford and Dawkins. Were the four I was eluding to.

 

All 4 of those signings for less than 2m is brilliant business though. All of them do their job - e.g. Hendo's an off the bench, mix-it-up thug type. He'll never be a main striker, but for free he does that role superbly and scores a fair few too. Davies' signings were brilliant value for money and business.

 

And 3 of them are loan signings? The permanent one is hit and miss at best. Totally different ball game. How many times have you seen loans get poorer once they sign permanently? From what I've seen and heard about Dawkins he's a decent example. Loan players tend to play that extra 10-20% as they're out to prove a point.

 

It's not faith in McClaren's ability to judge player ability which I wouldn't have, it's his ability to judge players attitudes and personalities. Miller is fast, strong, and a menace - but his attitude wrecks all that and makes him *****. Time will tell I guess, but players coming in on loan come with and keep the right attitude 99% of the time.

[davenportram]

Welcome back Alf - been away a while licking your wounds waiting for the slightest chance to get a wind up in.

Come back when : Forest get to Wembley

Forest pay their bills on time

Forest have a manager that wants to manage them rather than having to be persuaded to join them.

[Ambitious]

All 4 of those signings for less than 2m is brilliant business though. All of them do their job - e.g. Hendo's an off the bench, mix-it-up thug type. He'll never be a main striker, but for free he does that role superbly and scores a fair few too. Davies' signings were brilliant value for money and business.

 

And 3 of them are loan signings? The permanent one is hit and miss at best. Totally different ball game. How many times have you seen loans get poorer once they sign permanently? From what I've seen and heard about Dawkins he's a decent example. Loan players tend to play that extra 10-20% as they're out to prove a point.

 

It's not faith in McClaren's ability to judge player ability which I wouldn't have, it's his ability to judge players attitudes and personalities. Miller is fast, strong, and a menace - but his attitude wrecks all that and makes him *****. Time will tell I guess, but players coming in on loan come with and keep the right attitude 99% of the time.

 

Dawkins is a very good prospect. Extremely talented, hard-working but was unfortunate with injuries towards the end of the season. That's not even up for discussion.

 

I don't understand how anyone can judge McClaren's judge of player based on a handful at Middlesbrough and the Forest lot.

 

Why must we be worried, why can't we wait and see? I'm not at all bothered to be honest, but I've always been a more 'the proof will be in the pudding' man.

 

I don't write signings off until they fail to perform and I don't big signings up based on their previous experience. It's just purely speculation.

 

It's no different from me saying Stuart Pearce signed Samaras for £6m  So, both managers have failures in their closet - but for Derby, so far so good.

 

His signings, along with his coaching made us the second best side in the division (during his tenure)