All this excitement, and talk and yet.....

[Mafiabob]

We haven’t talked about promotion at all hardly.

Feels like there is no pressure at all, we are all ready to enjoy the day, no little petty arguments, no putdowns, no trying to get one over each other. It’s as if we are going to enjoy the ride.

Instead of tomorrow being the be all and end all, and that we must win, it feels like a start of a new journey for this football club, not a culmination of something..... if we don’t make it this time, we will make it next season.

Yes I know full well I’ve contradicted myself and had visions of us struggling, but hey, even elite folk like me can get it wrong at times.

Onwards and upwards

The Mafia

[Coneheadjohn]

24 minutes ago, Mafiabob said:

We haven’t talked about promotion at all hardly.

Stop it.Don’t mention it.

[Mucker1884]

1 hour ago, Mafiabob said:

We haven’t talked about promotion at all hardly.

Feels like there is no pressure at all, we are all ready to enjoy the day, no little petty arguments, no putdowns, no trying to get one over each other. It’s as if we are going to enjoy the ride.

Instead of tomorrow being the be all and end all, and that we must win, it feels like a start of a new journey for this football club, not a culmination of something..... if we don’t make it this time, we will make it next season.

Yes I know full well I’ve contradicted myself and had visions of us struggling, but hey, even elite folk like me can get it wrong at times.

Onwards and upwards

The Mafiated

That's just it for me.  A free hit.  Massive bonus.  Unexpected from the start of the season.  Unexpected from two weeks ago!

Currently feeling far more excited than nervous.  Looking forward to it.  Feeling relaxed, but not in a cocky "we can't possibly lose" kind of way.  Very much a case of que sera, sera!  
I have to admit, the thought has even crossed my mind if I may have caught that fabled "small club syndrome", as I'm thinking "big day out", "Party atmosphere", "Smiles all round", "Ours to win, theirs to lose".  God forbid, I've even thought "The occasion is bigger than the result"!
I'm not proud of that, and it's not something I've experienced before, but that's how I feel right now.  

I love being near the top of the Championship, and I won't be devastated (for long) if we have to go through it all again next season.  But of course, I'll be rooster-a-hoop if we do make it up.  But I'll still see it as a bonus, after what has proved to be a rather topsy-turvey season.

Just one more game to go... let's just see what happens, and take it from there.

UTR

[S75 Ram]

Totally agree guys, been a good season, some cracking games and quite a few not so good.
It's all about loving and supporting our great club.

It's the end of the season and we have it all to play for.
Unlike our "Redtarded" near neighbours who once again only have a season of mediocrity to celebrate.
Must be a real pi$$er when all you have to look forward to is the possibility of another club having a bad day.

Setting off down South in a few hours, staying out near Tottenham.
Will be 8 of us at Covent Garden for a couple of cheeky pints and some singing tomorrow morning,
then on to one of the watering holes at Wembley.

COYR
? + ? + ⚽ = ?

[DarkFruitsRam7]

I’m sorry but I can’t understand the mentality of there being absolutely no pressure and the idea that it doesn’t matter if we lose. This is the biggest game of the season and, if we do lose, we’re missing out on an incredible high and a totally different footballing and financial situation. We’ll have to say goodbye to the loanees and (probably) Bogle (and perhaps even Lampard) for good, meaning we‘ll have a complete rebuild on our hands this summer.

Yes, this season has been great. But we can reflect on that in the weeks following the game. 

[Mucker1884]

1 minute ago, BurtonRam7 said:

I’m sorry but I can’t understand the mentality of there being absolutely no pressure and the idea that it doesn’t matter if we lose. This is the biggest game of the season and, if we do lose, we’re missing out on an incredible high and a totally different footballing and financial situation. We’ll have to say goodbye to the loanees and (probably) Bogle (and perhaps even Lampard) for good, meaning we‘ll have a complete rebuild on our hands this summer.

Yes, this season has been great. But we can reflect on that in the weeks following the game. 

Ah, that all important "Biggest game of the season".  Defining both our history and our future in one afternoon.

We have them every year, and regardless of the result, the club survives, the next season comes along, and the fans return year after year.  We won't die (if we lose).  We won't become the greatest club in history (if we win).

That's not to say those of my thinking are right.  That's not to say you and your ilk are wrong.  There is no right or wrong way to look at this.  It's all about age, experience, and perspective.
I love my club, arguably no more and no less than you, but some of us have been there before.  Some more than others.  We've been "devastated".  We've been "elated".  Many, many times for some.  That's football.  That's Derby County.

As I said earlier... Let's just see what happens, and take it from there.  UTR.

 

[Gisby]

I’ve got all of these emotions too .... not nervous just getting more & more excited and can’t wait for 3pm tomorrow afternoon. Have really enjoyed this season (even the lows) and more than anything I just want us to perform tomorrow and put on a footballing show so that we can all leave Wembley proud of our club\team come what may. If we do this and Villa still beat us fair & square then so be it, it will still have been a great season for me ...... having said all that there is another part of me that is desperate for us to win, for Frank & the boys (young & old) to achieve what they deserve and for us as fans, if we do win, to absolutely take the roof off Wembley stadium. C’mon let’s do this ???

[Sith Happens]

Why what's happening tomorrow? 

[Mckram]

10 minutes ago, Paul71 said:

Why what's happening tomorrow? 

England v Afghanistan - ODI in London at the Oval!

[BaaLocks]

8 minutes ago, Mckram said:

England v Afghanistan - ODI in London at the Oval!

Thank God for that, for a moment you were all taking a rather creepily deep level of interest in the shelves I need to hang in the garage. I was starting to feel the pressure.

[Sparkle]

We go into the game as a championship club and we may finish the game as a championship club but it’s my club and I will be there  whatever league we are in next season and the championship is brilliant to watch as a fan but yes the club and the owner need the finances of the premiership to keep going ultimately so it would be nice to get there again.

i would swap a place in the premiership if I could watch Derby county win the FA cup at Wembley though ( a year after we got there) 

[jono]

The roar if we make it will be deafening, the fun we are going to have on here over the summer, speculating, hoping, arguing, joking is going to be interesting, fun and incredibly enjoyable. 

If we don’t, I can see most of us being philosophical and just hopping Frank stays and gives it one more try. We are Derby and will pick ourselves up, we always do

Beyond the dreams I just hope we put up a fight worthy of the occasion 

COYR

 

[sage]

2 hours ago, BurtonRam7 said:

I’m sorry but I can’t understand the mentality of there being absolutely no pressure and the idea that it doesn’t matter if we lose. This is the biggest game of the season and, if we do lose, we’re missing out on an incredible high and a totally different footballing and financial situation. We’ll have to say goodbye to the loanees and (probably) Bogle (and perhaps even Lampard) for good, meaning we‘ll have a complete rebuild on our hands this summer.

Yes, this season has been great. But we can reflect on that in the weeks following the game. 

Age gives perspective. That isn't meant to be patronising. It just an accumulation of battle scars.

 

[Steve Buckley’s Dog]

Everything’s going to be alright.

[DarkFruitsRam7]

30 minutes ago, sage said:

Age gives perspective. That isn't meant to be patronising. It just an accumulation of battle scars.

 

That’s fair enough, but I have seen us suffer from a fair few disappointments in recent years, none more so than that day in 2014. Of course, you and many others have seen worse than just missing out on promotion, but it’s all relative.

However, I don’t think I’ll ever go into what is essentially a cup final (with untold riches riding on it) without any nerves, no matter how old I am. Click on the link below to see just how huge tomorrow’s game could be:

Of course, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll end up like Blackpool but it will be very bloody difficult to mount a challenge after another rebuild this summer.

This is something that I’ve been heavily invested in (emotionally and fincancially) all season, so I’m absolutely desperate to top it off with our first true success in 12 years.

[G-Ram]

Before QPR i wasn't nervous at all.. There was no doubt in my mind we'd win... Thst obviously went well 

This time round im nervous that we might not win & after last time im nervous that we might be back in the premier league ??

[derbydaz22]

15 minutes ago, Steve Buckley’s Dog said:

Everything’s going to be alright.

Great username are you from Long Eaton by any chance? I used to see Steve walking his dog all the time years ago.

[DRBee]

2 hours ago, BurtonRam7 said:

I’m sorry but I can’t understand the mentality of there being absolutely no pressure and the idea that it doesn’t matter if we lose. This is the biggest game of the season and, if we do lose, we’re missing out on an incredible high and a totally different footballing and financial situation. We’ll have to say goodbye to the loanees and (probably) Bogle (and perhaps even Lampard) for good, meaning we‘ll have a complete rebuild on our hands this summer.

Yes, this season has been great. But we can reflect on that in the weeks following the game. 

There is pressure but its too much to give active thought to and we suppress thinking about it. I feel sick at the prospect of the game tomorrow, there is so much at stake.

[G STAR RAM]

I'm sat on the fence with this one. 

As much as I see this as a free hit, because I didn't expect to be here less than a month ago, and the result will not really define our season, I have to agree with @BurtonRam7 that a loss could see a complete reset of the club.

I think a lot of people have deployed the safety mechanism of pretending they are not too bothered but let's be honest this would be only our second victory at Wembley in a long long time, these days just don't come round too often. I'm 40 years old, seen us play at Wembley 4 times of which we've won once.

All that being said, from a footballing perspective I think the Championship is much more exciting than the Premier League even though it is quite a few notches behind quality wise.

[sage]

22 minutes ago, BurtonRam7 said:

That’s fair enough, but I have seen us suffer from a fair few disappointments in recent years, none more so than that day in 2014. Of course, you and many others have seen worse than just missing out on promotion, but it’s all relative.

However, I don’t think I’ll ever go into what is essentially a cup final (with untold riches riding on it) without any nerves, no matter how old I am. Click on the link below to see just how huge tomorrow’s game could be:

Of course, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll end up like Blackpool but it will be very bloody difficult to mount a challenge after another rebuild this summer.

This is something that I’ve been heavily invested in (emotionally and fincancially) all season, so I’m absolutely desperate to top it off with our first true success in 12 years.

Oscar Wilde wrote a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. I feel it's like a country's progress and greatness being measured by GDP and growth rather than happiness and health.