TLDR:

[SaintRam]

So, hey everyone!

I've been out of the loop for a few years, and while I obviously intend to look back on past seasons as I reintegrate with the sport, I was wondering if folks would be interested in sharing their more general opinions on where Derby is as a team, where it is as a club, what I have to look forward too & what I have to brace myself for.

That's all, really. Looking for a little jumpstart to my relevant Derby knowledge.

[Guest]

What does TLDR stand for? 

[Srg]

1 hour ago, oomarkwright said:

What does TLDR stand for? 

Too Long; Didn’t Read

[Chester40]

Well this is quite the introduction!

Gonna need some background and context I think!

 

[jono]

Where do you want to start, many have a more extensive archive than mine. 
In short over the last 10 years and in no particular order, we started by nearly making it back to the big time, but didn’t; resulting in the longest wait in a car park that I have ever experienced.

We have then had more managers than a XL bag of fruit gums including 2 England legends and a former Dutch Maestro, oh, and a second and third coming of someone who thought he might be Dutch but isn’t and a PE Teacher from Leicester.
We’ve been owned by business men and speculative gamblers, been on the verge of going bust, beaten Forest 5-0 on a memorable day with a certain player (who’s name rhymes with a popular brand of vacuum cleaner )getting a hat trick. William the Great (first of his name) went to Watford and never came back. There were some occasional appearances of someone called gorgeous George, and there was an unfortunate incident in a local hostelry frequented by woodworkers. A keen Golfer, named after a hotel chain, almost gave us another shot at the big time during a fine match in a place called Dirty Land in Yorkshire. We’ve had our youthful talent nicked, been bullied by the Head of PE, and had the ground pledged to money lenders. A big Ox called Colin and some others gave everything they had to keep us alive but it wasn’t enough as the PE teacher kept kicking us when we were down. That’s before we even get to arch supports and snakes in our trainers.

Then we picked ourselves up and started all over again thanks to a man (soon to be elevated to the sainthood) who’s initials fit the club he loves and saved us from extinction.

which is where we are now; managed by the king of bobble hats who by all accounts is a decent human being. 

Edited July 14 by jono

[SaintRam]

1 hour ago, Chester40 said:

Well this is quite the introduction!

Gonna need some background and context I think!

 

See Depression & Anxiety thread in Jim Smith Room. Don't wanna bring that all up here.

But I used to be active here and I miss it 🙂

[Day]

You’ve came back to an era of somewhat discontent in sections of the fanbase that are not happy with Paul Warne despite promotion.

His style of football is not what some would like to see from a Derby County team even though results have been impressive, breaking records along the way. There is a long term concern over allowing Warne continue building a team to his style which would set us back years of rebuilding once he departs, potentially wasting academy talent.

Question marks have been put in place over his ability to manage at this level with a club of this size, with fans pointing to his record at Rotherham. There is a belief that whilst he’s a League 1 promotion specialist, he’s also a Championship relegation specialist.

Any player that has played under Warne at Rotherham or been a previous target does not go down well.

We disabled polls on the forum last season due to the weekly in or out polls and introduced a singular topic titled Paul Warne in an attempt to contain it. The discontent had a tendency to leak into other topics and yeah there was quite a lot of frustration from both sides of the fence at the other side.

Warne’s personality has also split fans, he is I guess what you would call a quirky character that loves a bobble hat which hasn’t helped and has an habit of rubbing fans up the wrong way with his post match comments.

For a promoted side, it’s not been the party you would expect. 

I would personally urge you not try not to be swayed by anything on the forum and watch maybe the first 10 league games and see what side of the fence you sit on.

In terms of the squad, Cashin and Nelson at the back are universally loved, we have Jake Rooney coming back from an ACL that has shown promise before his injury. Blackett-Taylor was an in demand signing yet since joining hasn’t been able to cement a place in the team and James Collins up top divides opinion at the best of times.

Hopefully incoming Ebou Adams is largely credited with helping us get promoted, he’s an all action midfielder that was universally loved at the time, but now he has the same question marks that Warne has in that can he do it at this level and are we paying too much.

Tried to be fair with all this, not looking to cause a reaction, it’s just a summary of what I feel is going on.

[Chester40]

8 minutes ago, SaintRam said:

See Depression & Anxiety thread in Jim Smith Room. Don't wanna bring that all up here.

But I used to be active here and I miss it 🙂

What was your picture?

Not a Dallas Cowboy helmet?

How long have you been absent.

[Chester40]

16 minutes ago, Day said:

You’ve came back to an era of somewhat discontent in sections of the fanbase that are not happy with Paul Warne despite promotion.

His style of football is not what some would like to see from a Derby County team even though results have been impressive, breaking records along the way. There is a long term concern over allowing Warne continue building a team to his style which would set us back years of rebuilding once he departs, potentially wasting academy talent.

Question marks have been put in place over his ability to manage at this level with a club of this size, with fans pointing to his record at Rotherham. There is a belief that whilst he’s a League 1 promotion specialist, he’s also a Championship relegation specialist.

Any player that has played under Warne at Rotherham or been a previous target does not go down well.

We disabled polls on the forum last season due to the weekly in or out polls and introduced a singular topic titled Paul Warne in an attempt to contain it. The discontent had a tendency to leak into other topics and yeah there was quite a lot of frustration from both sides of the fence at the other side.

Warne’s personality has also split fans, he is I guess what you would call a quirky character that loves a bobble hat which hasn’t helped and has an habit of rubbing fans up the wrong way with his post match comments.

For a promoted side, it’s not been the party you would expect. 

I would personally urge you not try not to be swayed by anything on the forum and watch maybe the first 10 league games and see what side of the fence you sit on.

In terms of the squad, Cashin and Nelson at the back are universally loved, we have Jake Rooney coming back from an ACL that has shown promise before his injury. Blackett-Taylor was an in demand signing yet since joining hasn’t been able to cement a place in the team and James Collins up top divides opinion at the best of times.

Hopefully incoming Ebou Adams is largely credited with helping us get promoted, he’s an all action midfielder that was universally loved at the time, but now he has the same question marks that Warne has in that can he do it at this level and are we paying too much.

Tried to be fair with all this, not looking to cause a reaction, it’s just a summary of what I feel is going on.

I think up till November maybe that's a fair reflection. 

The noisy majority wanted him out.

The 'stay patient' minority got bigger and bigger, punctuated by the occasional defeat. By the time promotion was gained there was little opposition and any minority voicing concerns are understandably just murmuring. 

However, the ferocious nature of their opposition before Xnas means it won't take much to return.

Most fans see mid table as the target and see the transfer activity so far as decent.

Edited July 14 by Chester40

[IslandExile]

It's currently the close season. What more do you need to know?

[Mucker1884]

We're not splashing out any more, so don't expect multi-million pound incoming transfers, and widely familiar names. 
We now groundshare with Morecambe.
The manager has been likened to Pep... and The Devil, depending on which posters you have on ignore.
We did get docked 21 points at one stage, but nobody gave a 🦆, and we've just completed one of those promotion thingies, so we're back to where you left off, give or take a play-off spot or six.

We've lay awake worrying, we've cried, we've marched in defiance (Oh, how we marched! 🐏), we've received CPR, and we're now safely out the other side.  Our health is improving day by day, and the future remains promising.  All hail David Clowse.

Matchday threads seem to have more moans, lots of "FFS"s, and much less actual live updates/running commentary from posters watching for posters unable to watch... the latter of which you were famed (and appreciated) for.  Thunderbirds are still very much FAB, so at least we know when we've scored! 😁

Hats are the must-wear matchday accessory both at the ground and on here during a game.  Wooly pom-pom's and sombreros seem to be the go-to choice.  

From a forum perspective, Polls have been deactivated, which means we no longer have the ability to vote whether to bring them back or not.  Democracy is dead, long live democracy.
It turns out @RoyMac5 has been a lady all along, the boss (of the forum) has hung up his child's scooter, got married, and changed his name to @Day, to avoid being confused with the other boss (of the club itself).  The sale of sofa cushions, antimacassars, and reclining armchairs have gone through the roof, particularly in the Southern supporter section.  @i-Ram is still a hunk, and @Boycie is still re-wiring @Day's kitchen (I assume he's been on day-rate?)
@Foreveram and @angieram still top the match attendance tables, as they remain massive (but seated!) everywhere we go, but sadly we've lost the third member of that elite group, as we've lost not only  "One of our own", but arguably our biggest forum cheerleader, having had to say our truly sad and final goodbye's to @B4ev6is.  😢   

Greggs@PPS has just completed a makeover, as has the western approach road (surface) to the stadium.

Don't ask me about players though... I ain't got a clue what the eff is going on, or who is who.  Ain't nobody got time for dat!  

Welcome back buddy.  🐏🍻

[RodleyRam]

Depends on how far you want to go back.

Most recently we just got promoted breaking lots of club records in the process/we were very fortunate to be marginally better than a bang average league. Warne is a terrible/fantastic/improving manager with a squad of over/under achievers. The signings close season have been encouraging/underwhelming and we've missed out on some top drawer/inadequate players to rivals so far.

Expectations for the coming season are that we should be challenging for promotion/mid table/lucky to avoid relegation.

On the finance front we seem stable after a universally accepted horror show under the previous ownership.

The sausages at the training ground have understandably reduced in quality as a result of a more prudent financial outlook but the coffee is significantly better. Transfer funds have been boosted by an unexpected boost in bobble hat sales...

[RoyMac5]

39 minutes ago, Mucker1884 said:

We're not splashing out any more, so don't expect multi-million pound incoming transfers, and widely familiar names. 
We now groundshare with Morecambe.
The manager has been likened to Pep... and The Devil, depending on which posters you have on ignore.
We did get docked 21 points at one stage, but nobody gave a 🦆, and we've just completed one of those promotion thingies, so we're back to where you left off, give or take a play-off spot or six.

We've lay awake worrying, we've cried, we've marched in defiance (Oh, how we marched! 🐏), we've received CPR, and we're now safely out the other side.  Our health is improving day by day, and the future remains promising.  All hail David Clowse.

Matchday threads seem to have more moans, lots of "FFS"s, and much less actual live updates/running commentary from posters watching for posters unable to watch... the latter of which you were famed (and appreciated) for.  Thunderbirds are still very much FAB, so at least we know when we've scored! 😁

Hats are the must-wear matchday accessory both at the ground and on here during a game.  Wooly pom-pom's and sombreros seem to be the go-to choice.  

From a forum perspective, Polls have been deactivated, which means we no longer have the ability to vote whether to bring them back or not.  Democracy is dead, long live democracy.
It turns out @RoyMac5 has been a lady all along, the boss (of the forum) has hung up his child's scooter, got married, and changed his name to @Day, to avoid being confused with the other boss (of the club itself).  The sale of sofa cushions, antimacassars, and reclining armchairs have gone through the roof, particularly in the Southern supporter section.  @i-Ram is still a hunk, and @Boycie is still re-wiring @Day's kitchen (I assume he's been on day-rate?)
@Foreveram and @angieram still top the match attendance tables, as they remain massive (but seated!) everywhere we go, but sadly we've lost the third member of that elite group, as we've lost not only  "One of our own", but arguably our biggest forum cheerleader, having had to say our truly sad and final goodbye's to @B4ev6is.  😢   

Greggs@PPS has just completed a makeover, as has the western approach road (surface) to the stadium.

Don't ask me about players though... I ain't got a clue what the eff is going on, or who is who.  Ain't nobody got time for dat!  

Welcome back buddy.  🐏🍻

TL:DR

[Leicester Ram]

6 hours ago, SaintRam said:

So, hey everyone!

I've been out of the loop for a few years, and while I obviously intend to look back on past seasons as I reintegrate with the sport, I was wondering if folks would be interested in sharing their more general opinions on where Derby is as a team, where it is as a club, what I have to look forward too & what I have to brace myself for.

That's all, really. Looking for a little jumpstart to my relevant Derby knowledge.

Good to have you back Saint 🍻

If I was going to catch you up, I’d say we have a manager that’s just had one of the most successful seasons in the clubs history but isn’t considered entertaining enough.

Regardless of where people fall on his style/personality, he clearly prioritises character in his signings and it feels like we have a unified, hungry dressing room like we had before the Mel era.

This is maybe typified most by David Clowes, the man who saved us, who stuck by Warne when he lost the majority of fans early on in the season - it was a time that felt all to familiar, a time where Mel would have chopped off some heads. Clowes not only stuck by him but has made canny, sensible decisions in the running of the club that mean you can sleep safe at night.

Regardless of what happens with Warne, we’re well run again, heading in the right direction and after years of chaos, the safe pair of hands of Warne/Clowes mean it’s a great time to jump back into the Rams.

Edited July 14 by Leicester Ram

[MadAmster]

We are where we are, we do what we do, we're Derby County, and we're coming for you.

2 new strikers in of whom I knew little. Kayden Jackson and Jerry Yates. As with CKR, Didzy and Collo, their stats didn't look good. Based on their showing at Matlock on Friday, both look quick, skilful and know how to find the back of the net.

New Dutch midfielder in Kenzo Goudmijn. Looked questionable the opening 5 minutes after he came on, settled in and produced some lovely passing. having seen him for AZ, Sparta and Excelsior, I was, and still am, happy with his signing.

Former tree hugger midfielder and former DCFC season ticket holder Ben Osborn has also been signed. Still carrying an injury from the back end of last season so yet to be seen in the black and white. Once fit, I expect him to play a vital role this season.

 

[jono]

1 hour ago, Mucker1884 said:

We're not splashing out any more, so don't expect multi-million pound incoming transfers, and widely familiar names. 
We now groundshare with Morecambe.
The manager has been likened to Pep... and The Devil, depending on which posters you have on ignore.
We did get docked 21 points at one stage, but nobody gave a 🦆, and we've just completed one of those promotion thingies, so we're back to where you left off, give or take a play-off spot or six.

We've lay awake worrying, we've cried, we've marched in defiance (Oh, how we marched! 🐏), we've received CPR, and we're now safely out the other side.  Our health is improving day by day, and the future remains promising.  All hail David Clowse.

Matchday threads seem to have more moans, lots of "FFS"s, and much less actual live updates/running commentary from posters watching for posters unable to watch... the latter of which you were famed (and appreciated) for.  Thunderbirds are still very much FAB, so at least we know when we've scored! 😁

Hats are the must-wear matchday accessory both at the ground and on here during a game.  Wooly pom-pom's and sombreros seem to be the go-to choice.  

From a forum perspective, Polls have been deactivated, which means we no longer have the ability to vote whether to bring them back or not.  Democracy is dead, long live democracy.
It turns out @RoyMac5 has been a lady all along, the boss (of the forum) has hung up his child's scooter, got married, and changed his name to @Day, to avoid being confused with the other boss (of the club itself).  The sale of sofa cushions, antimacassars, and reclining armchairs have gone through the roof, particularly in the Southern supporter section.  @i-Ram is still a hunk, and @Boycie is still re-wiring @Day's kitchen (I assume he's been on day-rate?)
@Foreveram and @angieram still top the match attendance tables, as they remain massive (but seated!) everywhere we go, but sadly we've lost the third member of that elite group, as we've lost not only  "One of our own", but arguably our biggest forum cheerleader, having had to say our truly sad and final goodbye's to @B4ev6is.  😢   

Greggs@PPS has just completed a makeover, as has the western approach road (surface) to the stadium.

Don't ask me about players though... I ain't got a clue what the eff is going on, or who is who.  Ain't nobody got time for dat!  

Welcome back buddy.  🐏🍻

Well I enjoyed that very much, but I think it’s a bit “bodyist” to comment about @angieramand @Foreveram being well built. 

[Mucker1884]

6 minutes ago, jono said:

Well I enjoyed that very much, but I think it’s a bit “bodyist” to comment about @angieramand @Foreveram being well built. 

I wouldn't dare! 😲

... But you knew that, yeah!  😁

[May Contain Nuts]

You've been missed, but you've not missed out on much worth watching or reading!

Through unenviable circumstances (glad to hear things are looking up) you've achieved an enviable result - not having to actually witness football that's been barely more appealing than getting bleach in your eyes, against what could often be described as joke opposition or no opposition at all, and now being able to come back into the fold with everything seeming fresh and new!

[Foreveram]

6 minutes ago, jono said:

Well I enjoyed that very much, but I think it’s a bit “bodyist” to comment about @angieramand @Foreveram being well built. 

Depends who you compare me with.

[Chester40]

1 hour ago, Foreveram said:

Depends who you compare me with.

Disgrace that one of them was until recently a fine figure of a man.... and the other of course is Wayne Rooney.

Sorry.