samillyroy
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nice!
The Worst Team in History
- Thread starter DerbyJack
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Dannybell2010
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just read all the way though keep up the hard work
With our season gathering pace we enter the second month unbeaten, however with a tough start to the month and the ever present early cup competition to deal with it could prove to be a challenge to try and maintain that run.
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11th September 2017
Barclays Premier League
+ Junior Moraes is fit but has to settle for a place on the bench.
Our brief unbeaten run comes to an immediate end as we face the mighty Red Devils. With Chelsea now a dominant force in Europa, United have lost alot of ground on their title rivals, however with Moyes still in charge and a rampant Januzaj leading their way they certainly look set to give them a run for their money this season, however it took an unfortunate own goal from captain Craig Dawson to gift them a hard earned victory.
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17th September 2017
Barclays Premier League
- Veteran midfielder Tommy Huddlestone twists his ankle for a month out of the game
We make a quick return to winning ways against a Southampton side who are looking to balance life in the Premier League alongside their unexpected place in the Champions League for this season. The Saints have really lead the way for the Rams, giving us a prime example of how it should be done but for once we managed to get one over the Southerners with Will Hughes at least showing his commitment to our cause with a winning brace.
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20th September 2017
Barclays Premier League
Villa are floating around in the Premier League of late, settling for mid table safety whilst not making any impact upon the cup competitions, however they might just be looking at making a push this season with the continental competition spots seemingly up for grabs Villa might be an outside bet to rob a spot come the end of the season and with the West Midlanders securing a point despite being down to ten men they sure look like they've got the potential.
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26th September 2017
Capital One League Cup - Round Three
Our League Cup adventure comes to a quick end as we meet fellow Premier League outfit Reading. Not wanting to waste our efforts in the cups I fielded our second string side again and they certainly didn't let me down putting on a resilient display that eventually saw them unluckily lose out penalties but with our attention firmly set on qualification via the league its no great loss.
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September 2017
Barclays Premier League
Our first loss and a disappointing draw mean we slip down the table, however our place in the Europa League spots is still up for grabs as we look to make an early arrival and cling on to it for the rest of the season. Still plenty to play for and the league is certainly looking wide open this time around.
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With two months down its hard to gauge how our season will pan out this time around, however as we enter the business part of the season its time to start carving out our own route as we look to show the league we're serious about qualifying this time around.
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1st October 2017
Barclays Premier League
- Alberto Cerri is now 5 games without a goal.
Having knocked us out of the cup, Reading complete their domination of us with an absolute demolition job in the league. Perhaps sacrificing the League Cup wasn't such a good idea after all. Our usually reliable defensive pairing of Dawson and Tomkins showed some big cracks and with some promising youngster waiting in the wings it could be time to change up the defence.
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7th October 2017
Barclays Premier League
+ Exciting Japanese prospect, Nakatani is now fully fit again.
- Cerri might have ended his drought but Guidetti now replaces him with 5 games without a goal.
Watford are struggling to adapt to life in the top flight and gave us the perfect opportunity to return to winning ways following our convincing defeat. We lept back into action within four minutes courtesy of the record signing Alberto Cerri but it wasn't until the final five minutes that we eventually managed to take a deserved victory, courtesy of United targets, Nakatani and Hughes.
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23rd October 2017
Barclays Premier League
- Bacchetti suffers concussion in his first substitute appearance of the season and is out for a week
- Nakatanis ability to find an injury sees him twist his knee for another 3 weeks out of the game.
The international break gave us an opportunity to refocus and we continued to restore our pride with an unexpected two goal victory over fellow European chasers, Arsenal. Its hard to say we deserved the victory with us rarely crafting out any chances but the referee was more then generous to The Rams awarding us two penalties that Swedish sharpshooter Guidetti happily snapped up. It doesn't matter how we do it, just as long as we win.
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28th October 2017
Barclays Premier League
+ Guidetti nets his 5th of the season
Wow. The three goal defeat certainly has inspired the team and a six goal annihilation of the usually impressive Toffees capped a remarkable turn around in fortunes. The increasingly impressive Guidetti took to the floor, fresh from his brace against The Gunners and smashed home four more to almost single handedly take the points, whilst Derbys youth products Huddlestone and Hughes both took the opportunity to make it onto the scoresheet in a dream match for the travelling supporters.
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October 2017
Barclays Premier League
The way Guidetti ended this month goes to show just how good he can be. Our Swede certainly has the ability to be a world class player, however we've struggled to get it from him until now. However with his new strike partner Alberto Cerri we seem to be forming a formidable partnership infront of goal. Hopefully they can fire us into Europe and beyond.
Currently my favourite player in the team is nineteen year old Rory Gibbons. A product of our impressive youth setup he's coolly worked his way into our first team operating alongside former Derby wonderkid Tommy Huddlestone in the middle of the field. Having adapted him from a left wing role it was a gamble to see if the rapid youngster could make it in the middle but he has taken to it with ease as the young engine house behind our counter attacking football.
The month might have started in a poor fashion but on the back of three convincing victories it certainly didn't end that way, with us shooting all the way from mid table into a surprising Champions League spot. Who knows maybe we'll hold on to this for the rest of the season? Time will tell.
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Another international break means that once again we're in for a relatively relaxed month, however there is certainly no need for any down time as we look to secure our place at the top end of the table with three more important games in the league.
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4th November 2017
Barclays Premier League
+ Real Madrid target, Nakatani makes a return to the first team.
- Roger Strutton twists his knee, ruling him our for 3 weeks.
- Jon Silva picks up a 1 game ban following his 5th yellow card of the season.
They're the dominant force in football at the minute and its not hard to see why. With a talented and expensive team at his disposal Mourinhio hasn't disappointed with his golden boy, Eden Hazard leading his Blues to multiple trophies of late and the Belgian made sure they left the I-Pro stadium with the spoils despite a brief glimmer of hope from Guidetti's early goal.
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11th November 2017
Barclays Premier League
+ Guidetti bags his 10th goal of the season in rampant fashion.
+ Want-away midfielder Will Hughes makes his 200th appearance for the Rams.
- Fernandez suffers a twisted ankle and is out for a month.
The Tractor boys seem to be out of their depth in the top flight and we showed them no mercy as we again returned to winning ways against one of the new boys, this time with our attacking duo both combining nicely to secure all three points. All we need to do is get them firing on a regular basis and we should walk our way into the top spots.
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25th November 2017
Barclays Premier League
- Central defender Mazur ends a spell in the first team with a dead leg ruling him our of todays game.
We round off a short month with a victory over West Ham and another goal for the in form Guidetti. Our Swede has started the season as one of the most prolific strikers in the league and its certainly seen him collected renewed interest with a host of Bundesliga teams now scouting and enquiring about the former City product. He's not going anywhere soon though.
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November 2017
Barclays Premier League
For saying we signed him on a free contract its easy to say that Guidetti has been the best signing I've made in my brief time at the Rams. In his two previous seasons with the Rams he grafted his way to a solid tally of goals however this season he looks set to blow those previous records away with ease.
We hold on to our Champions League spot all be it with Everton and Man City breathing heavily down our necks but non the less, we are certainly keeping ourselves well in the running for a spot in Europe next season. With the Reading result aside its been a near perfect start to the season. Long may it continue.
We've had it all so easy up until now with international breaks leaving us playing just twelve games in three months, however December once again is set to make sure we end the year in style. A mammoth seven games are set to played as we look to go into the new year with one foot into the continental competitions.
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2nd December 2017
Barclays Premier League
+ Our Japanese superstar, Nakatani is nominated for the AFC Young Player of the Year award.
+ Its my 200th game in charge of the Rams.
- Ignjovski returns to the book once more with a one game ban. Still a liability.
City are determined not to let Chelsea have the run of Europe and alongside their rivals United have begun to mount a serious challenge against Mourinhios men and they certainly aren't taking any prisoners with a comfortable victory seeing them scoop another three points whilst we returned back to the East Midlands with only a Guidetti goal and a red card for our efforts.
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5th December 2017
Barclays Premier League
+ With Ignjovski suspended its an instant return for Fernandez to the first team as he makes it back to full fitness.
Newcastle certainly know how to make the most of the Europa League, having picked up the trophy two seasons ago however its hard to follow their example, as the Magpies have sacrificed success in the cup competitions for performances in the league, usually opting for the safety of mid table but non the less they managed to have a say in our own efforts of qualifying holding us to a lifeless draw as we finally slip out of the top four.
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9th December 2017
Barclays Premier League
- Rory Gibbons suffers damaged knee ligaments and is set for 7 weeks out of the game.
Another promoted team and another return to winning ways and it doesnt come much sweeter then doing it against your rivals. Leicester certainly made us work for the points though, holding us with some style but a rapid counter attacking move led by young Rory Gibbons, allowed our lethal finisher, Guidetti to slam home the eventual winner.
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17th December 2017
Barclays Premier League
With the games coming thick and fast we are struggling to keep up with the pace and another lifeless draw certainly gave the impression of two flagging sides longing for the final whistle. Non the less its another important point against what is actually a fairly strong Hull side.
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23rd December 2017
Barclays Premier League
- Alberto Cerri is now 10 games with a goal. Worrying signs for our record signing.
Another game and another dull draw. Spurs are having a torrid time of late in the Premier League unable to make themselves at home amongst the chasers of the European spots with some sloppy form costing them dearly, however they are not to be underestimated and can still pack a punch with Paulinhio and Eriksen still in their ranks so a point is not to be shrugged at.
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26th December 2017
Barclays Premier League
+ Will Hughes bag his 5th of the season in our 5th game without defeat.
We're not exactly prolific at the moment with just two goals in the last four games but atleast our defence can certainly rest easy, with the new partnership of Mazur and Dawson claiming their fourth clean sheet in a row. It took a neat goal from the problematic Will Hughes to finally break the deadlock however as he continues to give the Derby fans no end of worries as we near the January transfer window.
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30th December 2017
Barclays Premier League
+ Guidetti nets his 15th of the season.
- Jon Silva picks up a 2 game ban with his 10th yellow of the season.
Remember that solid defence I was talking about? We end the year in sloppy fashion letting our lead sleep in a poor second half for our usually reliable defence that gifted a poor Fulham side with an unexpected victory. Despite the defeat we can at least take something from it as our Swede makes a welcome return to the scoresheet with a well taken brace. Every cloud.
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December 2017
Barclays Premier League
We've slipped two spots and out of a guaranteed place in Europe but non the less we're definitely ending the year in a strong position. With the league now taking shape, were beginning to eye the teams around us with the likes of Arsenal and Reading now emerging as our main contenders to try and take a spot in Europe.
I wasn't planning on entering the January transfer window, however we didn't have much choice as a shock transfer bid forced our hand and left us once again scrambling to bring someone into the team for the remainder of the season.
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It was by no means a small transfer either. Our Argentinian left back Jonathan Silva has thrived since we brought him to the continent and with his undoubted potential he has gathered some strong interest from the best in Europe, with the seemingly bottomless pit of money at Monaco proving to be enough to trigger a transfer clause in his contract to send him on his way across the Channel.
With the transfer kitty again boosted by twenty five million and a hole in the squad to fill, its time to turn our attention back to the transfer market as we look to bring in a ready made replacement.
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Cost: 6,000,000____________________
From: Liverpool
With young Roger Strutton waiting in the wings we do have a future left back that will be more then able to operate at this level, however for the time being we've turned to a young but experienced Welsh man to take the first team spot and he has certainly got the ability to sure up our defence all ready. Ben Davies has plenty of experience of the top flight having been a part of Swansea, Norwich and Liverpools first teams so I'm confident we've definitely got our hands on a strong player for a cut price deal.
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I'm relatively pleased with this window, for saying I didn't even want to be a part of it. Jon Silva is certainly a great player and will leave a hole in the team but with Davies making an able replacement and a healthy twenty five million boosting our finances I can't really complain. Time to get back to business.
A new year and we start it with some good news. Our star midfielder and home grown product, Will Hughes withdrew his transfer request following the end of the transfer window. With the club well in the running for a spot in Europe and none of the big clubs in Europe able to meet our forty million pound valuation, Hughes opted to make the most of his time in the East Midlands. Time to make it worth his while as we start the second half of the season.
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1st January 2018
Barclays Premier League
News year day has us sobering up quickly with a trip to Anfield as we go toe to toe with our rivals for a place in the top six, Liverpool. With the Reds eyes firmly set on the Champions League and our own fixated on the Europa League both teams went for the win, however in a thrilling game we could only cancel each other out as we shared the spoils thanks to our South American players.
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6th January 2018
FA Cup - Third Round
With the league getting mighty congested around the continental spots, the FA Cup could still give us a sneaky route into the competition if everything goes wrong and we made sure to keep our interests spread thanks to a clinical performance against Bristol Rovers, with our young product Harry Barnes-Homer netting a well taken brace to guide us into the fourth round.
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13th January 2018
Barclays Premier League
- Goal shy record signing, Alberto Cerri suffers back strain in training and is out for a month.
As we welcomed Norwich to the I-Pro stadium, we expected a comfortable victory, however the Canaries have been a real surprise this season and they proved to be continuing the trend into the new year with a quick fire Van Wolfswinkel goal. Fortunately for us a controversial penalty gifted us a much needed way back into the game as we clung on for a undeserved point against an impressive Norwich.
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17th January 2018
Barclays Premier League
- Japanese sensation, Nakatani picks up a bruised rib following a hefty challenge, ruling him out of the next game.
United cant afford to slip up, with Chelsea again going about things in a ruthless fashion, if the Red Devils are to have any chance of ending Mourinhios run at the top they need performances like this one. Influential midfielder Juan Mata took things into his own hands with a brace and a magnificent assist with only Will Hughes doing anything to stop the rampant Reds with a goal that perhaps let him show to Moyes just what missed out on.
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20th January 2018
Barclays Premier League
- We are now five games without a victory in the league.
+ Bruising midfielder Ignjovski, picks up his 100th game for the Rams.
The loss to United was expected but a trouncing at home against a struggling Villa was not. Another early goal proved costly as we continue to ship in goals following the opening whistle but for once we couldn't find a way back into the game, with Villa easily holding us at bay to run away with the points in impressive style. This month is shaping up into a pretty disastrous one.
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27th January 2018
FA Cup - Fourth Round
+ We welcome to the return of midfield duo, Tom Cairney and Rory Gibbons.
Just what I needed in an already packed fixture list. The second strong side were again given a run out in the Cup and should have easily demolished a Portsmouth side who are clinging on to life back in the Championship but they couldn't break down a typically resilient Pompey with the seaside club forcing us into a replay back at Fratton Park. Joy.
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30th January 2018
Barclays Premier League
We end the month with another draw and a fortunate one at that. Southampton have struggled to balance life in the Champions League and the Premiership but still managed to open the scoring thanks to new signing Michu and looked set to take a needed three points, however reliable captain, Craig Dawson managed to salvage us our third point of a poor month with a last gasp header.
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January 2018
Barclays Premier League
An Appalling month comes to an end with us now languishing down in the mid-table spots. With the departure of Argentinian wizard Jon Silva being the only change in the team over the festive period it seems the gap he has left is larger then first thought as the usually reliable defence struggles to adapt to life with a new addition with our Europa League hopes now hanging in the balance.
With January welcoming us into 2018 without a single victory and just three points to our tally, we turn to February to try and get our season back on track with time rapidly ticking down. We need get back to form and quickly.
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3rd February 2018
Barclays Premier League
+ Alberto Cerri returns to fitness, looking to try and improve on just three goals this season.
- Nakatani misses another game due to international duty with the Japan first team.
+ Guidetti is set to start for his 100th game in a Rams shirt.
- Oldest member of the team, Tommy Huddlestone is out for 6 weeks with a Sprained Ankle.
New month, new form. Reading have joined us in taking the Premier League by storm, however with us needing an important victory and Readings seemingly set to watch their own European hopes fade we jumped at the welcome opportunity to take all three points with the front pairing of, Guidetti and Moraes putting the Royals to the sword as we get our selves back into the running.
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6th February 2018
FA Cup - Fourth Round Replay
With an unwelcome replay filling up our month, I hoped to put Portsmouth to the sword quickly by fielding a few of our usual first teamers that require fitness with both Alberto Cerri and Rory Gibbons entering the fray, however it still proved to be a tough challenge for the team with only a last minute goal managing to put the impressive Pompey away.
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10th February 2018
Barclays Premier League
Having seemingly returned to form against Reading I was hopeful of starting our rise back up the table but a visit to the Hornets ended those hopes with the newly promoted side holding us to yet another frustrating draw. Time is not in our favour at the minute, every point dropped is making the Europa League seem further and further away.
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13th February 2018
Barclays Premier League
Another dent to our hopes. Arsenal are relishing in our demise, having quickly leap frogged us in the league and have now turned their attention to a top four position. With a typically young team, The Gunners are certainly looking like they could be a team set to one day finally over throw their London Rivals, Chelsea, however for now they are by no means unbeatable. This loss hurt and could have put the first nail in our coffin.
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18th February 2018
FA Cup - Fifth Round
+ Alberto Cerri finally scores his fifth goal of what has so far been a poor debut season with the Rams.
Having made the mistake of underestimating Portsmouth I made sure to quickly end Sunderlands own FA Cup adventure with the first team easily finishing off the Black Cats with a comfortable victory and a second goal in two FA Cup games for new arrival Alberto Cerri. Thirteen million for an FA Cup expert. Not entirely sure that is good return for our money but with our League hopes fading it could prove to be incredibly valuable for The Rams.
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24th February 2018
Barclays Premier League
It was hard to see a way of getting past reigning title holders Chelsea but with The Rams now almost completely out of the running for a spot in Europe it almost became a must. Unfortunately for us its not that easy to get past Mourinhios men and once again Belgian golden boy, Eden Hazard proved to be a level above our promising team wrapping up the points with only Alberto Cerris first league goal since October at least giving us something to cheer about.
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February 2018
Barclays Premier League
Slap bang in the middle of the table. With only ten games left and the team seemingly in some of the worst form we've had under my reign as manager its looking like we're going to miss out on European football once again. Its going to take one **** of a turn around to bring our league hopes back into contention but at least we've still got the FA Cup to hold on to.
The new year has left us broken recently but with the league now coming down to the business end we're not completely out of the running just yet. Yes its a big ask but with a little bit of luck we might just be able to find a way of bringing Thursday night European football to the I-Pro stadium.
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3rd March 2018
Barclays Premier League
Barclays Premier League
+ Madrid target Nakatani returns from International duty to help us wrap up the season.
- Will Hughes rolls his ankle and is out until the end of the month.
With time ticking down its just the right time for a striker to finally find his form and hopefully our incredibley wayward Italian, Alberto Cerri might have just found his shooting boots. The record signing has struggled to adapt to life in England but is finally showing signs of his promise following a strong showing in the FA Cup and with a long awaited start in the Premier league he made sure to increase his standing with a well taken winner.
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6th March 2018
Barclays Premier League
The six goal thrashing of the Toffees earlier in the season feels a world away right now but at least we put on a strong performance. Cerri continues to show signs that he wants to prove his worth in a Rams shirt bagging a lightning fast goal but his efforts were cancelled out by a late goal conceded by our own Argentinian defender Daniel Mazur. Since replacing Tomkins he has barely had a foot out of place until now but there's no time to dwell on what could have been.
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11th March 2018
FA Cup - Sixth Round
+ Experienced Tommy Huddlestone returns to fitness but will be watching todays game.
Well that was over quickly. We knew Norwich were not to be taken lightly and fielded a strong team to fight the Canaries but it proved to have little effect as the rampant Yellows look determined to try and ****** the Cup. Mazur once again slipped up to find our own net as he looks to be having a wobble at a crucial part of the season but non the less it was a deserved victory for Sean O'Driscolls men and one that leaves now solely hoping on a Premier League minor miracle.
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17th March 2018
Barclays Premier League
+ Alberto Cerri rapidly moves on to 10 goals for the season.
Having watched them get routinely taken apart by Norwich hopes weren't high as we welcomed title chasing Manchester City to Derbyshire but we pulled off one of our best displays of the season, with the inform Alberto Cerri continuing to finally live up to the price tag with a game winning brace that finally puts us well and truly in within an outside shot at the Europa League spots.
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31st March 2018
Barclays Premier League
- Chris Solly stubs his toe and misses todays game.
+ Will Hughes makes a return to fitness and a spot on the bench.
- Leanardo Fernandez pulls his hamstring ruling him out for a crucial month
We round of a resurgent month with a hard earned victory over the Hammers. Again Cerri had a say as he remains a new found force in the Premier League but it took the club talisman, Will Hughes to come off the bench and net a much needed second goal as he sets about repairing his damaged relationship with the Rams faithful. If he can fire us into the top spots, I'm sure all will be forgiven soon enough.
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March 2018
Barclays Premier League
A stellar month for the Rams has us wrap up the Young Player of the month award with our young English duo taking the runner up spots but this month was all about Alberto Cerri. March proved to be the long awaited coming of age for our previously goal shy finisher but with our backs against the wall and hopes at an all time low, in came the Italian youngster to guide us back to snatching a spot in Europe. Talk about timing.
Having salvaged our season with just a handful of games remaining its still going to take one **** of an effort to ensure a spot in Europe with our hopes of qualifying even potentially resting on the fate of the two domestic cups but non the less we're back in the running and hot on the heels of Norwich and Arsenal as we look to worm our way back into the Europa League.
Loved reading this through! You've done amazing to get yourself to where you are. It's a shame you haven't managed to sneak into that European spot yet, but you'll get there soon enough.
Enjoyed reading your transfers especially. To start with they were a little shaky, but now you have a good scouting team I'm guessing, and you're picking up some brilliant players for the team
. Keep it up mate!
Enjoyed reading your transfers especially. To start with they were a little shaky, but now you have a good scouting team I'm guessing, and you're picking up some brilliant players for the team
. Keep it up mate!
Alberto Cerri has almost single handedly given us renewed hope. Thanks to his remarkable month and the poor form of the seemingly unreachable leading pack, we've found our way back to being within touching distance of the Europa League for next season. With just two months remaining our young Italian still has work to do.
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8th April 2018
Barclays Premier League
Cerri might not have taken the plaudits for this game but another familiar face did as Will Hughes took to the floor against Newcastle and continued our winning streak. We blasted our way to a two goal lead with Hughes and an own goal giving us breathing space, however our talismanic midfielder once again found the net, unfortunately via a deflection to give the Geordies a brief glimmer of hope, however our reformed defence held out through a gritty second half to secure another three points.
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14th April 2018
Barclays Premier League
- Goalkeeper Declan Rudd damages his Knee Cartiledge and is ruled out for 5 weeks
Leicester are all but certain to return back to the Championship and we had the privilege of pushing them further into the dropzone with a comfortable two goal victory over our rivals. The usually reliable Schmeichel flapped at a dangerous cross and gifted us an early lead, with our own Tommy Huddlestone increasing his status amongst the Rams fans with a second ten minutes from time. The streak continues!
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21st April 2018
Barclays Premier League
- The out of form Guidetti ends a torrid second half of the season with a sprained ankle and will miss our final three games.
We're well and truly on a roll now. Hull are one of the hardest teams to break down in the division but we expertly found a way through their defence to smash home three goals and secure another victory. Our homegrown midfield duo of Huddlestone and Gibbons shone against The Tigers passing their way through the backline and picking up a goal a piece as we now breath heavily down the necks of Arsenal in the guaranteed European spots.
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28th April 2018
Barclays Premier League
+ Defensive midfielder, Fernandez returns to fitness to see out the season.
And the streak is over. Spurs are in a right slump over the last few seasons and have turned from a growing force in Europe to a mid table side with little to play for, however they still managed to put the breaks on our own rise to glory with a last minute penalty robbing us of a point and ironically giving Tottenhams fierce rivals Arsenal a bit more breathing space in the league.
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April 2018
Barclays Premier League
Norwich and Arsenal continue to hold us at bay but as the inform team in the league they certainly are beginning to look over their shoulders with increasing worry as it comes down to the final two games of the season. With the League Cup not handing out a spot in the Europa League and the FA Cup seemingly set to do the same it looks likely that sixth place will be enough to ensure a spot in Europe. Its do or die time.
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A season of high drama comes down to just two games. With Arsenal and Norwich still leading the way into the Europa League, our fate isn't entirely in our own hands with fans across Derbyshire all hoping that one of them somehow slips up to allow us to cap a fantastic turn around in fortunes. Lets do this.
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5th May 2018
Barclays Premier League
- The impressive but injury prone Nakatani ends his season with a damaged shoulder.
+ Will Hughes snatches his 10th goal of the season.
+ Norwich lost to City, with Arsenal leapfrogging them in the standings. The Canaries are looking worried.
The perfect way to get our two game challenge launched as we pick up a resounding victory over an already relegated QPR. Our typically young players guided us towards the victory with Hughes and Mazur both showcasing their individual talent with a goal but it was the Thirty year old frontman, Junior Moraes that did the damaged picking up a brace having taken the starting spot from an injured Guidetti. Not a bad way to make an impression.
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13th May 2018
Barclays Premier League
+ Craig Dawson makes it 150 games in a Ram shirt.
So it all came down to ninety minutes of football. We went up against a Fulham side who comfortably ended their season in mid table and expected to be given a free passage to the points, with the Cottagers having nothing to play for but we were met by an extremely resilient team. The unexpected savior of our season, Alberto Cerri though did managed to squeak home a winner that we gladly held on to as we greeted the final whistle knowing we had done all we could. It was down to the rest of the results now as all eyes turned to Norwichs game at St James's Park.
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May 2018
Barclays Premier League
The results aside we made it three Young player of the month awards as Daniel Mazur picked up his first in the Premier League following another impressive month. The Argentinian has thrived at this level, having replaced James Tomkins earlier in the season. Our defence might still be my one point of concern for this team but Mazur certainly looks to have made himself a permanent fixture at the heart of my back four already.
We did it!
Norwich crumbled under the pressure losing out to Newcastle in the final game, whilst Arsenal capped their own impressive run of form by stealing a Champions League spot from a deflated Liverpool. Its a remarkable achievement for a team that looked set for mid table at the start of the year and one that must go down as my best since starting with the Rams.
Fittingly its the Eleventh year anniversary since we slumped to an all time low of just eleven points. Now the club stands on the brink of European glory. Justice.
I guess you'll just have to upgrade it and ensure you've got some great youth coaches. Fantastic work on making it into European football, going to be a massive challenge next season but hopefully you can sign some good players with the extra draw of that and push on . Keep it up!
. Keep it up!
Its been a stand out season for the Rams fans. Having looked set for a solid yet unrewarding place in midtable at the turn of the year, a huge turn around in form saw us take a huge leap all the way up to a spot in the Europa League in the most dramatic of styles. However their was certainly plenty of other high drama in the Premier League this season.
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2017/18
Barclays Premier League
He might have requested a transfer at the start of the season and lost his god-like status amongst the Rams fans but nothing can be taken away from the Golden boy of English football. He continued to play with passion for the team despite longing for a move to one of Europes biggest teams and eventually saw fit to remain with the Rams as he guided us towards a place in the Europa League. Despite everything he's still the first name on the team sheet.
Hes done it again. Mourinhio clinches the title all be it by the skin of his teeth. Roberto Martinez managed to push him all the way as his Citizens miss out on a long awaited return to the top of the table by goal difference alone. None the less they'll be happy to have easily qualified for a Champions League spot, whilst Arsenal will be counting their blessing with a last day grab of the fourth spot, pushing the unfortunate Liverpool into the Europa League with us.
In the end England had a whopping four slots in the Europa League this season. Southampton join us via the Cup competitions and Newcastle perform another feat of brilliance in Europe picking up a second Europa League title. Not bad for two teams in mid-table.
At the foot of the league its an immediate return for our rivals Leicester City and QPR, whilst a shocking second half of the season see's Hull City finally bow out of the league having punched well above their weight for half a decade.
The Premier League certainly lived up to the billing this season but their was still some great suprises in the cup competitions. Here is how they panned out.
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2017/18
Capital One League Cup
Having had a torrid time balancing life in the Champions League with their standing as one of the best in the Premiership, Southampton certainly managed to salvage something from the season, picking up the League Cup having thrashed runners up Manchester City in the final. I think its safe to say City were concentrating more on the league then the cup this time around.
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2017/18
FA Cup
A dominant era in English football is certainly emerging. Having usurped United as the champions, Chelsea have taken the Premier League and Champions League by storm of late and once again added to the trophy cabinet with victory in the FA Cup. For Liverpool its certainly been a season of what could have been, as their last minute loss of the Champions League spot is capped by defeat in the final.
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2017/18
Europa League
Newcastle have become experts at making the most of the cup competitions. Having never finished higher then midtable since we arrived in the league they've still managed to pick up the Europa League trophy and managed to repeat the feat with a four goal thrashing of Twente in the final. If only they could do this in the league. The Northerners could reign supreme once again!
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2017/18
Champions League
Monaco and Madrid blasted their way into the finals, destroying Atletico and Barcelona on there way but when two of the richest clubs in Europe clashed for the trophy it produced one of the most boring finals imaginable. In the end it came down to the lottery of penalties, with Madrid returning to glory and denying the French club their long awaited goal.
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2018
World Cup
Russia played host to a great tournament and one that finally saw England exceed expectation. Having scraped their way all the way into the final, they came up against one of their fiercest rivals, Argentina. With both teams unwilling to throw caution into the wind it went to extra-time with Argentina eventually having the legs to break through breaking English hearts with a two goal victory.
Having made our long awaited arrival into the Europa League, I was hopeful that the ever reliable board would back our efforts in the continent with an increased set of budgets, however I was to be disappointed as a I was given an Eighteen million pound budget. With a defence that needs some serious investment and the midfield looking patchy its not exactly what I needed with the addition of European football to our schedule. Non the less. Lets get down to business.
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Not many departures of note from the team, with only two first team players leaving the I-Pro stadium.
Unsurprisingly it was our defence that saw the only changes, with experienced central defender James Tomkins being the first depart, signing a contract Fulham. Having rarely featured in the team he was glad to ****** the opportunity with the Cottagers.
Joining him out the door was Loris Bacchetti. The youngster arrived with the technical abilities of a solid defender at this level but unfortunately couldn't back it up on the field, struggling to hold down a first team spot and spending the majority of the time on the bench, like Tomkins he too was pleased to see the back of us, grabbing a first team spot with recently promoted Ipswich.
With two departures and no real investment back into the transfer budget we set off to try and find two able replacements to add some much needed depth to our back line.
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From: Dynamo Kyiv
An absolute bargain for seven million. Andrievskyi is one of the hottest prospects in Europe, having smashed his way into the Ukrainian first team and impressing in their recent World Cup campaign he had plenty of suitors for his signature, fortunatley we made our move early, snatching up the Twenty Year old with a healthy wage and an instant place in the first team. With those defensive abilities and the stamina of a race horse its not hard to see we've landed a future world class player here.
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From: Barcelona
With Andrievskyi already bolstering our back line, the arrival of Yusuf ensures we've got one of the strongest in the league. The Nigerian had a set patch as part of the Barcelona setup but opted to take a shot at first team football in England when we came in with a surprise bid. With the ability to win nearly everything in the are, our Twenty Year old Nigerian is going to be important at both ends of the pitch. Hopes are high that he and Adrievskyi will form a solid partnership at the heart of our team.
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Job Done. We might not have been able to stretch to a midfielder but we certainly managed to shore up the defence with two signings that could hopeful be an incredible combination at this level. All in all a successful window. We managed to knock back the predictable bids for both Hughes and Nakatana and certainly look stronger as we embark on our debut season in Europe.
Our biggest and busiest season is coming towards us very quickly, with just five weeks to get the team up to speed our pre-season has probably never held such importance.
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10th July 2018
Friendly
+ We start the Pre-season with a fully fit team.
- 10 of our stars however are way on international duty in the 2018 Word Cup.
We start our pre-season fittingly against European opposition as we go up against fellow Europa League qualifiers Pandurii. The Romanian club certainly has a way to go until they look at making a dent in the competition but provided us with a suitable warm up for the start of the season. With our star players away in the World Cup it gave our fringe players a chance to shine and they certainly did just that with a comfortable four goal victory.
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14th July 2018
Friendly
We return to the I-Pro stadium and again go against one of the teams we could soon face in the Europa League. Bundesliga club, Frankfurt certainly looked like a stern test for our team but once again with both teams missing key players in the World Cup it was a battle of the fringe players and again we showed our apparent strength in depth as we claimed a comfortable two goal victory. This is European football lark is simple.
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21st July 2018
Friendly
With the world cup over our brightest stars returned to the fray but failed to make the expected impact as we fall to an unexpected defeat against second tier German side, Furth. Having cruised past Frankfurt we fully expected an easy victory but the plucky team more then matched us running away following a frantic opening to claim their own solid win. Perhaps Europe isn't quite so simple after all.
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28th July 2018
Friendly
- The inform Moraes injures his groin in training and will miss the next 3 weeks of football.
Having tested ourselves against some of our potential European opposition we return to familiar territory with a local game against neighbours Mansfield. The Stags are a solid League One side and we duly showed them just how big the gulf in class was between our two clubs as we romped to a five goal victory with Guidetti and Cerri both finding the net as they look to improve on their debut season as a partnership.
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4th August 2018
Friendly
We round off the warm up games with another solid victory, this time over non-leagues Newport County. Our home grown talent took this opportunity to showcase their talent, with striker Harry Barnes-Homer netting a well taken brace whilst the ever impressive and now club legend, Will Hughes rounded off the victory with a sensational solo goal. Not a bad way to end the pre-season.
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As is becoming an increasingly regular tradition is been another positive pre-season, however it all counts for nothing when it comes down to kick off for the first game in one of the most important seasons in Derbys recent history. With more games, tougher opponents and even more potential silverware available its certainly going to be an interesting season for the Rams fans.