The Worst Team in History

[DerbyJack]

Thanks Conn, yeah he is, unfortunate timings in injuries and a lack of first team football mean hes not lived up to the billing and has requested a transfer too.

Thanks banger, he's my Trequartista attacking midfielder, seems to be working well so far.

Cheers Taro, hopefully much more to come.

November might have been relaxing, however December certainly intends to make up for it, with six games in the league and an important quarter final in the League Cup all jammed in to the busy festive period.

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3rd December 2016
Barclays Premier League
​

+ Jeff Hendrick makes his third return to fitness of the season already.
+ Injury magnet, Chris Solly comes back to take over as our starting right back.
- Defensive midfielder, Ignjovski is ruled out with Tendonitis for 1 month.

Our push back into the top spots keeps gathering momentum as we grind out a result against a typically tough Stoke City. With Huth and Shawcross having both departed when the club where relegated they needed to strengthen themselves and with our own Mark O'Brien now plugging the gap, Allardyce has once again formed a bruising team that take no nonsense.

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10th December 2016
Barclays Premier League
​

+ Will Hughes is again nominated for the European Golden Boy award.
- Tom Cairney suffers back strain in training to bring an end to his run of good form.

+ 5 games unbeaten in the league

A match against our cross county rivals took a long time to burst into life but when it did it was certainly fun to watch. Junior Moraes opened the scoring just before the break to send us in to the break holding the lead but a clumsy challenge from the increasingly reckless Silva gifted Leicester a way back with a penalty but new arrival Moraes wasn't done yet quickly restoring a lead that we held to the final whistle.

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14th December 2016
Capital One League Cup - Quarter Finals

When this fixture was revelaed as our quarter final match, the people of Derby took it as a free pass into the semi-finals however plucky Brentford had other ideas. Our second string side pushed well throughout the game but lacked the cutting edge with Feruz and Alcacer both mis-firing continually as we were forced into extra time. Despite throwing on the big-guns we couldn't find the break through, with Brentford eventually striking lucky with two goals that completed our humiliation and exit from the cup.

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17th December 2016
Barclays Premier League

- Jack Robinson get his traditional 1 game ban for 5 yellow cards.

With the cup leaving us as the laughing stock of the league we returned to it in determined fashion and with two of our bright young hopefuls we made sure we continued our run of good form. Guidetti netted another goal just before the half-time whistle and Japan's defensive prodigy made sure of the victory with a well taken header shortly after the restart.

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20th December 2016
Barclays Premier League

- Silva picks up his 2nd red card of the season for an initial 1 game ban.

Well it had to come to an end at some time. Chelsea are a real dominant force under the returning Mourinhio having picked up both the Champions League and Premiership title two times in a row under the Special Ones rampage and the Blues are aiming to add to their tally as they hold a firm grip of the top spot with the combination of Dzeko and Lukaku dominating the league.

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26th December 2016
Barclays Premier League
​

- Ageing defender Tomkins picks up another injury with back strain taking him out of the game for a month.
+ Ignjovski is back to full fitness.

Our form against the big teams of the league has been pretty much nothing, having lost to every side the media billed as being title contenders and Spurs where no different. Having suffered a humiliating 15th finish last season, Tottenham are keen to restore their place among the big guns and new manager Ruud Guillit has certainly got them moving in the right direction. A snatched goal from a well worked corner continued their progress back up the league at our own expense.

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31st December 2016
Barclays Premier League

- Nakatani suffers a bruised rib and is out for a week.
- Ignjovksi might have cut out the red cards but his 5th yellow rules him out for the next game.

Having said that we then went and did this. Manchester City continue to be thwarted in their attempts at dominating Europe, with Pellegrini and Redknapp both failing and it appears new manager Roberto Martinez is set for the same fate with them struggling to match the pace of the leaders, slipping up against the likes of us, courtesy of a red card that gifted our Scandinavian youngsters the perfect opportunity to pick up the victory.

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December 2016
Barclays Premier League

Well December certainly lived up to the billing with the fixtures coming thick and fast, however we certainly managed to make something of it picking up enough points to find ourselves sky rocketing up to the dizzying heights of fifth. The top four have already managed to build a gap between the rest of the league and it seems we're now set for a brutal fight for the Europa League spots.​

 

[DerbyJack]

We've got six million pounds burning a rather large hole in my pocket and with a couple of our team-members looking for a quick exit from the I-Pro stadium it looks like it could for once be a busy January in Derbyshire.

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Or not. Despite wanting to maintain our position in the league, I opted to stick to the tried and tested method of not changing our team, with the current players already making the most of the opportunity to once again shock the Premier League.

The main focus of the January transfer window came to holding on to our current crop of stars, with teams from the Bundesliga and the Premier League taking a keen interest in some of our stars, so with no signings to show you, I'll once again give you a view of those we managed to keep a hold of.

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Apparently our Swedish striker has become hot property over in Germany, with Hoffenheim and Stuttgart both keen to take him from our hands, however we were determined to keep the lethal finisher with us. Having joined us with his contract being terminated by Manchester City, he has developed into a solid striker in this division, with a mean right foot he has made an instant impact at the I-Pro stadium.

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Paco hasn't had much of an opportunity as of yet, being kept out of the team by Russell and now Junior Moraes, however he's still got the potential to lead our team in the near future. Despite scoring just one goal since arriving to the club, he has somehow attracted the interest of Norwich and Stoke who both wanted to give him a shot at the first team and to be honest I would have considered it a good deal for both parties, however with the bids coming nowhere near our valuation, the Spaniard is in for a longer spell with the Rams.​

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When Ignjovski arrived at the club it was fair to say he was an absolute liability picking up cards left and right and centre as he spent the majority of his first season suspended, however the Serbian has matured with age and has become a dependable player within our team. His gritty and determined style might not take the plaudits when he is sharing a team with golden boy, Will Hughes but he too drew the attention of the Bundesliga as they hounded us to sell but a new bumper contract soon ended the links as we kept hold of our midfield general.​

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Once again it was a dull transfer window for the Rams fans as they were left disappointed by the transfer window but non the less for those behind the scenes it was another busy window with us doing alot of work to keep hold of our current Europa League chasing team.

​

 

[DerbyJack]

2017 is upon us and across Derby the people are hoping to carry on into a new year the same way they ended the last one as we look to secure our place in the Europa League spot with just half of the season to go.

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7th January 2017
FA Cup - Third Round
​

+ Islam Feruz returns to the match squad following injury.
+ Midfielder Tom Cairney returns to fitness.

Revenge. Of sorts. Having knocked us out of the League Cup we managed to get one over Brentford in the FA Cup with a narrow one goal victory. Brentford looked like they were about to humiliate us again but a late goal from Paco Alcacer saved our blushes as we moved into the next round and our second attempt at trying to take some silverware from the season.

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10th January 2017
Barclays Premier League

- Silva's third red card of the season results in a three match ban. Talented but aggressive.

We've grown to admire Reading, having been promoted alongside us they've lead the way for us over the last few seasons, joining us in the hunt for a European spot as both teams attempt to rejuvenate themselves in the top flight. A two all draw was a fitting result for a tight game, however we rode our luck, with a second half red card seemingly dooming us to defeat before Reading gifted us a point with a clumsy own goal.

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14th January 2017
Barclays Premier League

+ Junior Moraes nets the 10th goal of his impressive debut season

The Swans are struggling this season sitting rock bottom of the table, however they seem to have started the second half of the season determined to try and make their way back to safety. A Junior Moraes goal seemed to suggest they were in for another disappointing afternoon, however a late goal gave them a point to add to their painfully small tally.

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21st January 2017
FA Cup - Fourth Round
​

- Silvas ban is made worse by a back strain that rules him out for a month
+ James Tomkins makes another return to the first team.

The FA Cup is gathering pace and with a tie against Norwich we opted to field the first team in order to guarntee a spot in the next round and it certainly paid off. Junior Moraes continued to warm himself to the Rams faithful, netting a well taken hat-trick as we cruised past the Canaries and one round closer to making a long awaited appearance at Wembley.

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24th January 2017
Barclays Premier League

+ Guidetti bags his 10th of the season to keep up with his strike partner.
- Left back, Robinson sprains his wrist for 2 weeks on the sidelines.

Three draws in a row. Southampton look to be like serious contenders for a European spot this season, with the Saints somehow pushing Englands best teams all the way in an incredible season. Star striker Jordan Rhodes is leading the way, sitting top of the goalscorers charts and as a serious contender for player of the season already. If only he had accepted our contract back in 2014. Ah well.

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28th January 2017
Barclays Premier League

+ With that we make it 5 games in the league unbeaten.

Having just knocked them out of the FA Cup we repeated the feat in the league. This time we wasted no time in showing the Canaries how its done, with three first half goals that saw us wrap up the game before the first whistle. Norwich look to be in trouble and Danish manager Morten Weighorst is certainly looking like a man on the ropes with the club sitting in the relegation zone.

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January 2017
Barclays Premier League

Not a bad month. We made it through unbeaten however there where certainly some dropped points that might come back to haunt us as the season wears on. The top four have all but confirmed their places in the Champions League now, with an almost unbridgeable gap but things are certainly about to heat up in the race for the Europa League, with Arsenal, Southampton and a resurgent Liverpool all hot on our tail.​

 

[Rootsey]

Going well with Derby mate, hopefully you don't choke and secure Europe for next season!

 

[DerbyJack]

Thanks Rootsey, I hope so to but I'm not exactly blessed at this game unfortunately.

The fixtures continue to come on thick and fast. Having made good progress through a jam packed December and going unbeaten in January it seems the fast pace of games is suiting us very well, however with another packed fixture list ahead of us, its another strong test for our high flying team.

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1st February 2017
Barclays Premier League
​

- Nakatani and Feruz both away on Under-21s duty for a series of qualifiers.

+ Will Hughes plays his 175th game for the Rams. A legend in the making.

A reality check for the Rams, having been on a relatively good run of late, we fully expected to increase our run with a match against a seemingly poor Aston Villa, however in a match where we struggled to trouble Brad Guzan at all we were punished by a goal in the dieing minutes of the game with our usually reliable back four falling asleep before the whistle.

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4th February 2017
Barclays Premier League

The disappointmen flows over into the next game as we once again fall well short of our usual selves with a lacklustre display against a relegation fighting Cardiff. Again we struggled to get shots in at goal and those we did left a lot to be desired with both Guidetti and Moraes being worrying shy infront of the goal. Six dropped points leaves our Europa League challenge already hanging in the balance. Its tight at the top.

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8th February 2017
Barclays Premier League

​

+ Jack Robinson returns to the first team following injury.

We manage to quickly stop the rot with a well earned point against Everton. Having been rocked by the departure of Martinez to Manchester City, The Toffees have understandably had a slow start to the season under new manager Ernesto Valverde however they are quickly making up for lost time, with another well earned point shifting them ever closer to the top half of the table.

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11th February 2017
FA Cup - Fifth Round

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+ Right back Chris Solly continues to yo-yo in and out of the team as he again returns to fitness.

+ Junior Moraes scores his 15th goal of his debut season.

With us being seemingly weak in front of goal in the league, The FA Cup gave us an opportunity to find the back of the net and it certainly didn't disappoint with us beating Courtois, however The Blues didn't exactly let us have our way smashing home six of their own in what has become a typical ruthless style for the current Champions of Europe. Looks like Mourinhio is set for yet more Silverware as we limp home to the I-Pro.

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19th February 2017
Barclays Premier League

​

- Goalkeeper, Colombi suffers knee tendonitis ruling him out for 5 months and us with only one first team stopper.
- Paco Alcacer request a transfer following another frustrating season.

Back to the league and a strong point for the Rams as we managed to hold our Europa League chasing rivals, Arsenal at the I-Pro. Craig Dawson and James Tomkins put on a resilient performance in front of our goal holding back the Gunners rampant attacks but it was defensive midfielder Ignjovski that stole the show cancelling out the likes of Wilshere and Carzola in efficent style. Perhaps is the start of a turn around.

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22nd February 2017
Barclays Premier League

- 5 games without a win.

Nope. United have been made to wait in the wings, whilst Mourinhio has turned Chelsea into a dominant force but the Red Devils are now determined to restore their place at the top with their veteran team keen to nip the Chelsea revolution in the bud. Despite being reduced to ten men almost immediately into the game we could do little to stop a determined United as they ran out comfortable three goal winners, with thirty four year old Robin Van Persie making our previously resilient defence seem non resistant.

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25th February 2017
Barclays Premier League
​

- Having performed well despite the results, Tomkins suffers Thigh strain for 2 weeks in the treatment room.

Well that was unexpected. We manage to finally pick up a victory with Will Hughes breaking the deadlock on the hour mark with a fine goal that brought a halt to the rapid rise of The Reds. Having started slowly, they have burst out of the blocks in the new year shooting back into contention for an already crowded position in the Europa League. Looks like we're in for a tough fight.

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February 2017
Barclays Premier League

Having picked up just one victory in a busy month, we have dropped well and truly out of the fifth spot, with Southampton taking up the mantle in fine style. One thing of note Newcastle United have already confirmed their spot in the Europa League, having picked up the League Cup. A tough ask for the Rams just got even harder.​

 

[DerbyJack]

With our back-up keeper, Simone Colombi suffering knee tendonitis and a five month lay off from the game, we're left with little choice then to try and find a replacement to give some cover to the team. With just two months left of the season, I opted to turn to a short term contract with one of the numerous players waiting for some first team football.​

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It has to be said there wasn't exactly a lot to chose from. A heap of young players all wanted a shot at trying to rejuvenate their careers with a once in a life time opportunity at making it into a Premier League team sheet, however I opted to go for experience taking on Oman's most famous footballer Ali Al-Habsi. Having had experience as a Premier League keeper with Wigan, he might not have the ability any more but he has atleast got a wise head on his shoulders.

All things aside hopefully we wont see Al-Habsi actually on the pitch, with Declan Rudd more then holding his own in the side and making a strong push for an unexpected spot in the England first team with a EURO championship looming next year.​

 

[DerbyJack]

The months of late have been absolutely packed full of games, however March gives us the perfect opportunity for a breather as we have just two games to contend with, courtesy of a very welcome International break.

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11th March 2017
Barclays Premier League

​

- 10 million pound man, Mats Moller Daehli suffers groin strain ruling him our for 3 weeks.
- Our first team keeper, Declan Rudd breaks his finger for 7 weeks out of the game.
- Ali Al Habsi doesnt arrive in time, meaning left back Jon Silva starts as a makeshift goalkeeper.
+ James Tomkins returns to fitness and will be needed to protect our weakened defence.

+ Will Hughes makes it double figures for goals for the second season in a row.

West Ham are doing all they can to escape from the relegation dog fight with the end of the season approaching ever sooner and quickly shot into the lead courtesy of us having no trained keeper in the entire team. They eventually let it slip as we reached the half way point of the second half as our home grown talents, Will Hughes and Rory Gibbons both seemed to send us to three points but with the last kick of the game Andy Carroll managed to smash home a late leveller to deny us the victory in a thrilling game.

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28th March 2017
Barclays Premier League
​

+ Match postponed due to International call ups.
+ Ali Al-Habsi arrives to fill in as starting keeper, having original been signed as emergency back-up.
+ Daehli makes a quick return to fitness.
- Attacking midfielder Vadala strains his wrist for 12 days out of the game.

- Alcacer pulls his hamstring in a rare appearance ruling the frustrated striker out for a month.

A comfortable victory has us cruise past Hull City having dominated the entire game. Our strike force continues to gel well together, causing the Tigers no end of troubles. Steve Bruce is certainly looking a worried man, with his team sitting precariously close to the drop zone and showing no desire to actually distance them self from it. Not that we're complaining, our push for the Europa League is back on.

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March 2017
Barclays Premier League

We're managing to keep up with the rest of our rivals, all be it with a points gap already to make up, however Spurs do enough to show us that it should prove no obstacle as their seemingly safe position in the Champions League has completely disappeared with Southampton continuing their rapid rise and leap frogging them in the league. If they can do it, so can we. right?​

 

[DerbyJack]

We might have been able to have a break in March but we're certainly going to make up for it with a busy end to the season. With a host of positions all up for grabs the entire league is paying close attention to the results around them, meaning we're in for a tense run in as we edge closer to the final game.

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1st April 2017
Barclays Premier League

The League Cup and reigning Europa League holders welcomed us to st James Park and were in for a real fight. We dominated proceedings but an unfortunate own goal from Japanese defender Nakatani, gave Newcastle an undeserved lead. Fortunately we weren't in the mood to lie down and let Newcastle ride their luck and Guidetti fired us back into the points with a goal shortly after the break. Unfortunately we couldn't push further and were forced to settle for a hard earned draw.

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8th April 2017
Barclays Premier League

+ 5 games unbeaten in the league

Once again it was another tough game against the Potters but we managed to squeeze through courtesy of a goal from our midfielder Gibbons. Our young talent has developed into a solid player in the middle of the field, ironically doing well from the injuries from recent record signing Mats Moller Daehli. With the youngster already showing signs of being a future star at this level, he might just be ready to become a starter ahead of our false starting Norweigan.

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15th April 2017
Barclays Premier League

​

- Junior Moraes makes it two strikers in the treatment room with groin strain taking him out for 3 weeks.

Leicester where the inform team going into this game having turned there season around in rapid fashion, climbing up into midtable safety with ease, however we weren't going to let our rivals take the plaudits for much longer, thrashing the sorry foxes on their own ground, with our Swedish striker Guidetti and the ever present Will Hughes bagging a brace each to send us back to Derby with our heads still held high as the dominant force in the East Midlands.

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22nd April 2017
Barclays Premier League

​

+ Alcacer returns to fitness and to the first team.
+ Declan Rudd makes a long awaited return, replacing the suprisingly good Al-Habsi between the sticks.

- Ignjovksi initially banned for 1 game following a two footed lunge.

There has been alot of bad blood between Derby and Chelsea of late, with a war of words developing between myself and Mourinhio in the pre-match conferences and it seemed to spill onto the pitch as our epic clash in the FA Cup was soon forgotten amidst a dire match with the only highlights being provided by two red cards, including an unwelcome return to the referees notebook for former bad boy Ignjovski. Old habits die hard.

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29th April 2017
Barclays Premier League
​

- Ignjovksi's ban is increased by a further two games following a review.

Craig Dawson nets his fifth goal with another bullet header.

We round of an impressive month with a solid but tough victory over the Hornets. Watford have taken many by surprise this season and find themselves well clear of the relegation dog fight and given their performances at the I-Pro it was clear to see why. New manager Roy Keane has got the Londoners playing like a real unit at the back with some gritty performances and some real full blooded defending that only a leaping Craig Dawson could breach as we made the most of a corner.

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April 2017
Barclays Premier League

With an unbeaten month under our belts we are right back into the controlling position occupying the one guaranteed Europa League spot. London rivals, Arsenal and Tottenham both seem to be stumbling to the finish line with neither able to muster a real push for European football, whilst plucky Southampton have all but assured themselves a spot alongside the likes of United, Chelsea and City in the Champions League. They're certainly leading by example.​

 

[pembo3000]

good read mate all the best with derby

 

[DerbyJack]

Cheers Pembo, I appreciate it!

So it all comes down to this. A tense season with little quarter given by any team means the final spots in Europe are very much up for grabs, however our final two games of the season are by no means going to be easy as we go toe to toe with two teams both eye balling a spot in the intercontinental competitions themselves.

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7th May 2017
Barclays Premier League
​

+ Junior Moraes is declared fully fit in time for the season finale.

A real bruising encounter it would could potentially have been a Europa League decider ends in a draw. A fitting result in a match where neither team wanted to take any risks with a goal from Tom Cairney giving us a brief glimmer of hope before Eriksen quickly cancelled out our opener. Ironically Tottenham have handed advantage to their biggest rivals Arsenal as the mighty Gunners leap frog us both to occupy the much craved fifth spot, leaving us both needing a win in the last game of the season to stand a chance of pinching it at the death.

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14th May 2017
Barclays Premier League
​

- City target, Rory Gibbons away on International duty with England U-21s
- Chris Solly ruled out with back strain. again. Another month out for our injury prone right back.

+ Guidetti bags his 15th goal of the season against his former side.
- Alfred Duncan suffers a bruised rib ruling him out for a week.

It was always going to be a tough ask against the giants Manchester City. Having once again failed to take any silverware the Citizens have had another frustrating season but looked set to make sure we atleast ended on a high as we battled into the lead, courtesy of former City player Guidetti. However with an already under pressure Roberto Martinez riling them up for the second half, we struggled to hold back the rampant blues and they cruelly denied our already slim hope of qualifying for Europe with a goal just nine minutes from time.

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May 2017
Barclays Premier League

A heart breaking way to end the league as our final day disappointment comes with the added sting in the tail of knowing that if we could have just held on for ten agonising more minutes we would have made it into the Europa League. A disappointing way to end another fantastic season at the club and now all eyes turn to trying to keep hold of our growing stars with the added pressure of no European football. ​

 

[banger93]

So unlucky mate

 

[DerbyJack]

Sorry for taking so long to reply, foolishly got myself a new job. It sure felt so banger. Hopefully karmas got my back.​

A painful season for the Rams and one that could cost us dearly with The Europa League slipping out of grip in the last few minutes. Despite the coming transfer season giving us some cause for concern for our star players it non the less been another remarkable and dramatic season in the Premier League and here's how it panned out.

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2016/17
Barclays Premier League

Once again Chelsea and Jose top the table as the Blues continue their dominance of England and European football, with the two Manchester clubs unable to do anything to shift them from the top spot, despite United running them close this season. The seasons main performers though are far and away Southampton with the Saints qualifying for the Champions League with ease following a great season.

The Europa League spots manage to cruelly avoid us as Hull and Newcastle take the league spots thanks to their performances in the cups, whilst Spurs manage to narrowly hold us at bay.

At the other end of the table its a goodbye to the physical brutes of Stoke City and the English Premier League says a goodbye to both of its Welsh visitors with Swansea and Cardiff both suffering disastrous seasons that seem them slide back into the Championship together.

 

[DerbyJack]

The cup competitions where cruel to us this season denying us a place in the European competitions, leaving us once again to watch from the sofa. With another season in the Premier League done here's how those cups panned out.

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2016/17
Capital One League Cup

Newcastle firstly claimed their spot in the Europa League with victory in the Capital Cup as they look to defend their title and it certainly served to show why we should take the competition seriously having been knocked out by lowly Brentford who went on to be destroyed by the eventual winners in the next round. Time to change priorities next season.

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2016/17
FA Cup

​

Despite losing to Man City in the final, Hull City stole that final Europa League spot from us, thanks to the Citizens spot in the Champions League. City certainly enjoyed this competition, over coming the dominant Chelsea on their way to victory and picking up some debut silverware for new manager Roberto Martinez.

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2016/17
Europa League

​

The competition feels like its set to cruelly avoid us for a long time yet but former giants, AC Milan certainly made our troubles look small, with last seasons runner ups once again suffering defeat in a repeat of the final last year in the cruellest of fashions thanks to a goal in extra time for PSG. Suddenly our season doesn't feel so bad.

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2016/17
Champions League

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With the Germans dominating last year, Chelsea finally suffered a stop in their rise to near dominance, however they soon returned to winning ways with a three goal thrashing of the one time European powerhouse, Barcelona in the final. Jose has certainly revitalised the Blues and has them looking stronger then ever. The Special One is certainly living up to his nickname.

​

 

[DerbyJack]

With our aim of European football now very much our primary goal, the transfer window is now of key importance however our aims in the window were dealt a huge blow, when attacking midfielder, club talisman and England midfielder, Will Hughes handed in a transfer request following our failure to secure European football. Devastating. However their is no time to feel shell shocked as we lept into action to try and get us onto channel five on a Thursday evening.

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Our transfer dealings got off to a quick start as we wasted no time shipping out our unneeded players. Defensive midfielder, Alfred Duncan and frustrated Spanish striker Paco Alcacer both left almost as soon as the season ended with Ipswich and West Ham quick to take advantage, whilst the mighty Arsenal came to us with a bulky eight million pound offer to steal away our left back Jack Robinson.

The next departures saw eight contracts come to an end, with three first team players departing the club, including stand-in stopper Ali Al-Habsi, striker Islam Feruz and one of the last remaining players from before my time, Jeff Hendrick saying goodbye to the I-Pro Stadium.

With that done the rest of our dealings came in the shape of loanees leaving for first team experience but their was still time for right back Aston Villa and goalkeeper Simone Colombi to both depart following strong bids from Cardiff and Catania respectively.

With a very healthy eighteen million pound profit from our departing players added to the kitty, we had plenty in the bank as we looked to strengthen our team in order to finally capture an ever elusive spot in Europe but the strongest part of our window comes from our determination to cling on to Will Hughes, despite bids of over thirty million from the best teams in Europe.

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Cost: 7,500,000
From: West Ham

One of the best left backs in the country is nineteen year old Roger Strutton. A product of West Ham's impressive youth setup, we have had our eye on him for quite some time but with West Hams finances struggling thanks their floundering status in the league we were keen to take advantage and swooped with a bargain bid to snap out one of the hottest prospects in Europe.

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Cost: 13,250,000
From: Cagliari

We needed a striker to bolster our ranks, with our own Barnes-Homer joining our ranks from the youth squad but we turned our attention to Italian, Twenty One year old, Alberto Cerri to make a more permanent impact. The youngster has been absolutely prolific on the international stage and made a good impression from a struggling Cagliari side but the striker is more then ready for another step up in level, arriving as our leading striker for a testing season in the Premier League.​

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​

Cost: 6,000,000
From: Boca Juniors

With Duncan departing following a frustrating spell with the Rams and Ignjovksi proving to still be a liability we needed a defensive midfielder we could rely on and once again our man in South America came up trumps with Argentinian, Leandro Fernandez. The Twenty year old has powerful defensive attributes and will be a tireless thorn in many players sides for years to come but at just nineteen the rigours of the English top flight could prove to be a step too far too soon for a player yet to experience European football.

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​

Cost: 5,000,000
From: Hull City

The return of our former wonder kid. Tom Huddlestone has done well in the Premier League, having taken a while to bloom at this level he has developed into a fine midfielder and with a keen eye for a pass. With our team looking rather baby faced and with the majority of players in their early Twenties, his level head and experience of the game will prove extremely valuable for seasons to come.

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Cost: 8,000,000
From: Atlas

Another hole in the squad and another Argentinian to fill it. Daniel Mazur is once again a product of our scout in South America and another player who is again unfamiliar with life in Europe. Despite that he too has the abilities to be an absolute rock at the heart of any top flight defence. Strong strength, stamina and the ability to head anything the lofty teenager is going to be a world class defender in a short space of time.

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​

Cost: 4,000,000
From: Stoke City

The final arrival of a busy window comes in the shape of Englands second choice stopper, Jack Butland. With our usual first choice keeper Declan Rudd unfortunately falling short of his potential we opted to go for a tried and tested replacement with Stokes former stopper filling the gap perfectly. At just Twenty Four he's already got the ability to be a sturdy stopper at this level but more importantly he is going to be able to do the job for years to come.

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​

Once again its been a productive window. With the devastation of Will Hughes transfer request putting an early dampener on our pre-season, we certainly needing something to booster our morale and with a host of young prodigies now in the squad we've certainly got a season to look forward to, especially with Hughes still in the squad...all be it begrudgingly.​

 

[banger93]

Good transfer window hopefully you can do it this year bout time an update was here too

 

[lan lodger]

Maybe you should think of selling Hughes?? You could buy 2-3 top quality players with the money sold from Hughes

 

[DerbyJack]

Thanks Banger, guess I should apologise again, been a bit busy the whole job, missus and most importantly World Cup thing have been getting in the way.

For a brief moment I did Ian but Hughes is literally one of the best midfielders in Europe at the minute, so if we're going to sell him its going to be for 40 million or nothing. Besides I want to see him lift the Champions League trophy in a rams shirt one day!

The Europa League continues to allude and frustrate us but this season we are more then determined to try and make an impact. With the squad suitably strengthened with the new arrivals and a young squad hungry to prove themselves, the Europa League is again our main goal for the coming season.

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28th July 2017
Friendly

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+ Youth product Barnes-Homer signs a professional contract with The Rams.
+ Colombi, Solly and Duncan all make a return for fitness for the pre-season.

- Right back Nakatani pulls his hamstring for three weeks out of the game.

We start our pre-season in Germany taking on Budesliga side, Mainz. With our aim this season to qualify for the Europa League, this is exactly the type of opposition we look forward to playing and we certainly put on a positive display. Despite fielding a relatively weak team we held the Germans at bay and our young prodigy Harry Barnes-Homer made a real nuisance of himself through-out the game.

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31st July 2017
Friendly

​

- Cairney damages his foot in training for 2 weeks out of the game.

Mansfield welcomed us back into the East Midlands in some style as the League One side gave us a good run out in a thrilling game at Field Mill. The star of an end to end game was once again the young but impressive Barnes-Homer, picking up a neat brace alongside new Italian arrival Alberto Cerri as he makes a quick start to his Derby career.

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3rd August 2017
Friendly

More European opposition and this time its Belgian champions, Anderlecht. Belgium have become somewhat of a force in international football however it doesn't seem to have improved their domestic football by any means as we returned to Blighty on the back of a crushing four goal victory thanks to a brace from the increasingly impressive Alberto Cerri. We might actually be able to make an impact in the Europa League if we can make it.

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6th August 2017
Friendly
​

+ Rory Gibbons and Nakatani both sign extended contracts to secure their future at the club.

Our brief tour of Belgium continues to gather momentum and we claim another convincing victory this time over Belgian heavy-weights Club Brugge. The increasingly frustrated Will Hughes gave a sign that he was atleast willing to help us despite his lack of willingness to stay at the club but it was Swedish poacher, Guidetti who won the game with a brace to keep him on pace with new arrival Cerri. Potential deadly partnership in the making?

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9th August 2017
Friendly

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+ Cairney makes a return to full fitness.

Having made a successful tour of Belgium we continued our travels with a brief hop to....South Africa. A mix up in the team we were facing saw us choose the wrong Ajax. The minnows were excited to welcome us to Africa with a bumper crowd watching us romp to a comfortable victory courtesy of some more ruthless finishing from our duelling strikers.

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12th August 2017
Friendly

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+ Nakatani makes a late return to fitness just in time for the start of the season

Our globe trotting comes to an end as we round off the pre-season in South Korea. As the reigning K-League champions Pohang are by no means a club to be taken lightly and soon taught us a lesson as they sent us into the season on the back of a humiliating three goal defeat. Brazilian striker Moraes made sure to keep his name in the running for a starting spot with the only positive of a disappointing game.

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So not a bad pre-season, we marched our way through Belgium with ease defeating three quality European teams on our way. We certainly look like a team ready for the Europa League, now there's just the small matter of actually qualifying for it. ​

 

[DerbyJack]

Another season in the Premier League and one that hopefully proves to extend our steady rise up the rankings. With the Europa League firmly set in our sights and the squad itching to go following a strong pre-season we're ready to rock.

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21st August 2017
Barclays Premier League
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- Brazilian striker, Moraes twists his knee and is out for 3 weeks.
- Roger Strutton arrives with a one game ban in tow from his spell at West Ham.
- Right back Chris Solly damages his elbow in training and is our for two weeks.

- Jon Silva picks up a fractured rib following a strong challenge and is out for 6 weeks.



Our season almost gets off to a flying start as new signing Alberto Cerri finds the net on his first team full debut but his dream start is spoiled with an extremely late goal from Liverpool youngster Hobson who scores his first ever goal to spoil our early celebrations. The first game of the season sure involved a lot of firsts, shame it didn't include a victory.

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26th August 2017
Barclays Premier League

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- Central defender James Tomkins bruises his jaw and is set for a week on the sidelines.
- Will Hughes bruises his rib and is out for a week.

Our steady start to the season sees us bag our first victory on the road with Swedish striker Guidetti bagging a goal in the second half to see off a spirited Norwich side. We might only be two games into the season but our early push for the Europa League spots is at least off the mark.

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29th August 2017
Capital One League Cup - Second Round
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+ Chris Solly is fully fit in time for some cup action.

- Teenage striker Barnes-Homer is out for 10 days as he nurses a strained neck.
- Nakatani fractures his rib and is set for 6 weeks on the sidelines.

With the Premier League season under way our attention briefly turns to the League Cup. League One's Notts County were our opposition and managed to put on a strong show against our second string side, however our young stars eventually proved to be too much for the Magpies as we eventually cruised to a comfortable victory and the next round of the competition.

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August 2017
Barclays Premier League

A win and a draw mean we don't quite make it into the Europa League spots straight away but non the less its an unbeaten start and one that means we are well in the running to hopefully end the season in them. With thirty six games left to play in the league however their is certainly no time to be relaxing.​

 

[banger93]

Not a bad start mate keep it up and Jesus I've missed the story lpl

 

[Average Joe]

How good is Cerri for you mate?