Whilst most clubs were conducting transfer deadline day business, Derby we're handing a recently rejuvenated Stoke City a real pasting under the lights, and in in front of the cameras at pride Park last night!
This was our best performance of the season and whilst it's wise not to get carried away, I think most Rams fans would have gone home very happy!
The whole side from Ben Hamer in goal to Chris Martin up front played their part!
I was particularly pleased for Chris Martin who had been written off by many on social media as past it! He certainly isn't and once again he weighed in with a goal! He cost us nothing in transfer fees and has always given his best in a Derby County shirt!
Martyn Waghorn though not quite hitting the levels of last season maintained his place at the top of the Rams score charts with the opener. His work rate was very impressive too!
Wayne Rooney rolled back the years with his perfectly taken free kick to score in the second successive game and once again was the controlling force in midfield.
Jayden Bogle showed his attacking credentials with a brilliant goal to put us four goals up!
Every single player had a good game, but for me the best out there was Duane Holmes! Always busy and looking to be an absolute bargain of a signing!
I have said it is impossible to make an accurate judgement on Philip Cocu as a manager due to the fact that he has had very little cash to splash, but every Derby County fan will want him to do well.
We failed to add to the first team squad during this window, but past January's have seen some dreadful business! We may not be promotion bound, but there's long talent within the squad and with a few clever tweaks in the summer, we might just have a team capable going for a top six place again!
Yes I am as fickle as the next fan! I have been very critical of the team, but it has proved that it can deliver and not wanting to get carried away, but we are only seven points from sixth place! The dreaded away form being our downfall!
We have another busy week ahead with the FA Cup 4th Round Replay against Northampton on Tuesday night and then a trip top South Wales to face Swansea on Saturday.
We didn't play well at The Sixfields, but I'm sure a certain Mr Rooney will be fired up to make progress with a trip to his former club at Old Trafford being the carrot!
Friday 31 January 2020
Tuesday 28 January 2020
Slip Sliding Away!
Last night saw yet another disappointing performance from Derby County! Let's be honest we have been awful this season and should the EFL decision to charge us with failing P & S be upheld and a points deduction be applied, we are in serious trouble! We are staring relegation in the face!
Relegation would be a disaster for the club! We are losing money hand over fist already and dropping to the third tier will only make matters worse!
Mel Morris has tried to get investment to the club, but it's going to be a very brave individual or indeed group that will invest into us at the moment.
Years of bad financial management is now coming back to haunt us! I really believe that administration is awaiting on one of the roads ahead! No owner can keep on sustaining losses like we are and who is going to buy what is fast becoming a basket case of a club.
There are very few players that would attract any large fees and the manager has yet again been unable to invest in areas that are crying pout for it!
In tow days the transfer window will be closed and it's my belief that a couple of incomings are needed to help avoid the drop into League One.
The performance at Northampton in the FA Cup was gutless! Last night we lost to a very poor Luton Town side and there was no excuses!
It is indeed worrying times for Rams fans and there doesn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel! There's no escaping the fact that we are a very poor side and we have diddly squat to spend on bringing improvement to the squad! When Mel Morris says we are wanting to develop our own players and use them, what he means is that there won't be money for new players.
This club is in a mess both on and off the field! next up is a very tricky looking home match against a Stoke City side that has at last started to pick up! I am not optimistic about our chances.
Relegation would be a disaster for the club! We are losing money hand over fist already and dropping to the third tier will only make matters worse!
Mel Morris has tried to get investment to the club, but it's going to be a very brave individual or indeed group that will invest into us at the moment.
Years of bad financial management is now coming back to haunt us! I really believe that administration is awaiting on one of the roads ahead! No owner can keep on sustaining losses like we are and who is going to buy what is fast becoming a basket case of a club.
There are very few players that would attract any large fees and the manager has yet again been unable to invest in areas that are crying pout for it!
In tow days the transfer window will be closed and it's my belief that a couple of incomings are needed to help avoid the drop into League One.
The performance at Northampton in the FA Cup was gutless! Last night we lost to a very poor Luton Town side and there was no excuses!
It is indeed worrying times for Rams fans and there doesn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel! There's no escaping the fact that we are a very poor side and we have diddly squat to spend on bringing improvement to the squad! When Mel Morris says we are wanting to develop our own players and use them, what he means is that there won't be money for new players.
This club is in a mess both on and off the field! next up is a very tricky looking home match against a Stoke City side that has at last started to pick up! I am not optimistic about our chances.
Friday 17 January 2020
FFP and EFL BS!
Obviously the big talking point not only at Pride Park, but within the division this week has been the EFL decision to charge Derby with making excessive losses and not meeting P&S rules!
Now I have been critical of Mel Morris during his ownership of the club and let's be honest money has been wasted on some very average players. The way in which we have been managed financially has been careless to say the least! However, for the EFL to sign off accounts, approve the sale of the ground and the amount its sold for and then to come back eighteen months later change their mind is bang out of order and speaks volumes about the incompetence of the league!
The club have acted in good faith and have since planned their financial projections based on accounts approved by the EFL!
Of course I am far from happy that the books shows us making big losses month on month after such good housekeeping by the previous owners GSE. Mel Morris though has acted in accordance with the rules and should the EFL dock the club points it would be nothing short of scandalous!
The EFL aren't the greatest governors in the world of professional sport. They have had such twits as Brain Mawinney being their vocal mouthpiece in the past. The Football League is the oldest and most recognisable brand in the world being the original professional league and what do they do? They change it's title!
My take is that this is a knee jerk reaction to threats made by the likes of Steve Gibson who after years of splashing the cash sees his own Middlesbrough club struggling on the field and with a half empty stadium too!
If Morris still has written proof of the League's approval of the ground sale and the figure (Which was adjusted after a request by the EFL) I fail to see how they can then move the goalposts eighteen months later!!
An independent panel will make a ruling, but should this go against Derby County I would expect Mel Morris instructing his legal team to challenge this in the courts. This could drag on for months or even longer!
Should this end up in the courts, the league would be ill advised to apply any sanctions in the meantime! Imagine a points deduction, relegation and then Derby winning in the courts! A very large can of worms would be opened and then the EFL could see themselves paying massive damages.
Hopefully common sense will prevail and Derby County Football Club will move forward with new investment form Henry Gabay and a strategy to reduced losses! There is a at long last signs that the Academy is producing more goods and that within itself could and should ease the pressure on the finance department.
In the meantime all we fans can do is to keep turning up and cheering our team on from the stands! Being a fan of 50 years I can recall the days when we were minutes form going out of business. many fans will recall the days of the Three Amigo's! We have had bad dark days before and we were in a much worse place during those times! Get your backside to the games and keep the faith!
Now I have been critical of Mel Morris during his ownership of the club and let's be honest money has been wasted on some very average players. The way in which we have been managed financially has been careless to say the least! However, for the EFL to sign off accounts, approve the sale of the ground and the amount its sold for and then to come back eighteen months later change their mind is bang out of order and speaks volumes about the incompetence of the league!
The club have acted in good faith and have since planned their financial projections based on accounts approved by the EFL!
Of course I am far from happy that the books shows us making big losses month on month after such good housekeeping by the previous owners GSE. Mel Morris though has acted in accordance with the rules and should the EFL dock the club points it would be nothing short of scandalous!
The EFL aren't the greatest governors in the world of professional sport. They have had such twits as Brain Mawinney being their vocal mouthpiece in the past. The Football League is the oldest and most recognisable brand in the world being the original professional league and what do they do? They change it's title!
My take is that this is a knee jerk reaction to threats made by the likes of Steve Gibson who after years of splashing the cash sees his own Middlesbrough club struggling on the field and with a half empty stadium too!
If Morris still has written proof of the League's approval of the ground sale and the figure (Which was adjusted after a request by the EFL) I fail to see how they can then move the goalposts eighteen months later!!
An independent panel will make a ruling, but should this go against Derby County I would expect Mel Morris instructing his legal team to challenge this in the courts. This could drag on for months or even longer!
Should this end up in the courts, the league would be ill advised to apply any sanctions in the meantime! Imagine a points deduction, relegation and then Derby winning in the courts! A very large can of worms would be opened and then the EFL could see themselves paying massive damages.
Hopefully common sense will prevail and Derby County Football Club will move forward with new investment form Henry Gabay and a strategy to reduced losses! There is a at long last signs that the Academy is producing more goods and that within itself could and should ease the pressure on the finance department.
In the meantime all we fans can do is to keep turning up and cheering our team on from the stands! Being a fan of 50 years I can recall the days when we were minutes form going out of business. many fans will recall the days of the Three Amigo's! We have had bad dark days before and we were in a much worse place during those times! Get your backside to the games and keep the faith!
Wednesday 15 January 2020
Team Selection and Transfer Window
Last Saturday saw us gain a valuable point at a resurgent Middlesbrough. After a very abject first half, we regrouped well in the second half to play some nice football.
Prior to kick off many fans, myself included though were questioning the team selection of Philip Cocu. Now I am a member of the jury that is till out on whether he will be a good manager for us. The time to make a sound judgement will be a few games after the summer transfer window, unless of course we went into freefall and was staring relegation in the face.
We have thus far signed no one in this window whilst Keiran Dowell and Jamie Paterson have returned to their parent clubs. Dowell has since been ;loaned out to Wigan.
We all want to see 2/3 new faces, but it is important that any such signings are in positions of need. We have many talented youngsters within the club now, but there is a feeling that Centre Half is a position in desperate need of strengthening.
Curtis Davies and Matt Clarke are our current central defenders and though are both capable and experienced, we would be in trouble should one of them get injured. Clarke has recently returned from injury.
With Krystian Bielik coming the latest member of the Derby ACL club and looking like being out for up to a year, the situation has become rather desperate! Craig Forsyth has filled in but his primary role is Left Back.
Filip Benkovic of Leicester City continues to be linked, but a loan is reliant on Leicester being able to recruit themselves.
It's likely that 2/3 is the maximum number of new faces that we can expect to see before the end of the month. Well that's what is being indicated.
I think with the influence Wayne Rooney is having on the team that 2/3 may just be enough to see us climb into the top half of the table. Although we are only eight points away from the play off places, it is still a task order for us to make the end of season knock out for a Premier League place. To do this we would have to go on a run better than what Aston Villa accomplished last season.
Getting back to team selection for the trip to the Riverside stadium I was very surprised to see Jayden Bogle selected ahead of Andre Wisdom. It was understandable for the cup game at Crystal Palace as we made nine changes, but I thought that Wisdom had earned his place in the starting line up!
Another surprise was the omission of youngster Louie Sibley from the eighteen, yet we had two left backs on the bench. Sibley would have started had it been me picking the team. Tom Lawrence though got the nod after returning form suspension.
Lawrence cost us a significant fee, but is still to show us any kind of consistency! I am in the camp who have completely run out of patience with him. I feel that he has now had enough chances and perhaps it's time to cut our losses on him.
There no doubting he has the ability, but for me he goes missing far too much.
It's a Thursday morning as I write this and our next home game is in two days time at home to Hull. There's no sign of any new faces and therefore I think Cocu will have to field his best eleven on form players this weekend.
Hopefully we can collect three points and extend our unbeaten run.
Prior to kick off many fans, myself included though were questioning the team selection of Philip Cocu. Now I am a member of the jury that is till out on whether he will be a good manager for us. The time to make a sound judgement will be a few games after the summer transfer window, unless of course we went into freefall and was staring relegation in the face.
We have thus far signed no one in this window whilst Keiran Dowell and Jamie Paterson have returned to their parent clubs. Dowell has since been ;loaned out to Wigan.
We all want to see 2/3 new faces, but it is important that any such signings are in positions of need. We have many talented youngsters within the club now, but there is a feeling that Centre Half is a position in desperate need of strengthening.
Curtis Davies and Matt Clarke are our current central defenders and though are both capable and experienced, we would be in trouble should one of them get injured. Clarke has recently returned from injury.
With Krystian Bielik coming the latest member of the Derby ACL club and looking like being out for up to a year, the situation has become rather desperate! Craig Forsyth has filled in but his primary role is Left Back.
Filip Benkovic of Leicester City continues to be linked, but a loan is reliant on Leicester being able to recruit themselves.
It's likely that 2/3 is the maximum number of new faces that we can expect to see before the end of the month. Well that's what is being indicated.
I think with the influence Wayne Rooney is having on the team that 2/3 may just be enough to see us climb into the top half of the table. Although we are only eight points away from the play off places, it is still a task order for us to make the end of season knock out for a Premier League place. To do this we would have to go on a run better than what Aston Villa accomplished last season.
Getting back to team selection for the trip to the Riverside stadium I was very surprised to see Jayden Bogle selected ahead of Andre Wisdom. It was understandable for the cup game at Crystal Palace as we made nine changes, but I thought that Wisdom had earned his place in the starting line up!
Another surprise was the omission of youngster Louie Sibley from the eighteen, yet we had two left backs on the bench. Sibley would have started had it been me picking the team. Tom Lawrence though got the nod after returning form suspension.
Lawrence cost us a significant fee, but is still to show us any kind of consistency! I am in the camp who have completely run out of patience with him. I feel that he has now had enough chances and perhaps it's time to cut our losses on him.
There no doubting he has the ability, but for me he goes missing far too much.
It's a Thursday morning as I write this and our next home game is in two days time at home to Hull. There's no sign of any new faces and therefore I think Cocu will have to field his best eleven on form players this weekend.
Hopefully we can collect three points and extend our unbeaten run.
Saturday 4 January 2020
Friday 3 January 2020
Into The New Year!
Well New Year has arrived and Wayne Rooney has finally made his debut for Derby County, but the fans still have plenty to chat about and that is the opening of the ~January Transfer Window.
Rooney will bring some much needed bite to the Derby attack, but it will take more than his influence to transform our performances.
The goalkeeping department is one area that many have claimed we need to make improvements and at the moment Ben Hamer is getting the nod over Kelle Roos between the sticks. In my opinion Hamer is a short term fix and we need to be looking for more experienced hands. Asmir Begovic has been mentioned by many sources as a payer who could be on his way into the club, but it remains to be seen if it's just idle gossip or in deed has substance.
In defence we are covered at Right Back by Andre Wisdom and current starter Jayden Bogle. Bogle is attracting the interest of several Pemier League sides. The Left Back slot is open to competition with Max Lowe looking favourite to be first choice if you are going by recent performances. Scott Malone and Craig Forsyth are also available, but the youngster for me gets the nod.
In my opinion we need some width brought to our attack and hopefully a recognised wide man can be amongst the deal that we conclude during the month.
Jamie Paterson and Kieran Dowell have returned to their parent clubs with Dowell then switching to Wigan and that gives us three loanee spots that are available to fill.
Many youngsters who have come through the clubs academy are now starting to break into the first team squad. Max Lowe, Jason Knight, Morgan Whittaker, Max Bird and Louie Sibley are now getting included in the match day eighteen. In my opinion it won't be long either before the likes of Jayden Mitchell-Lawson and Jamal Hector-Ingram also feature.
We have over the years borrowed many talented youngsters from Premier League Clubs with last season a prime example when Harry Wilson, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori all be came key parts of the Frank Lampard scheme, but do we need to borrow from other clubs?
Last season our own Under-18 team were National Champions so why not use our own youngsters?
Any loan signings that we do make I am hoping are experienced players rather than youth players. Mel Morris has poured millions into our academy and at long last it is looking like that may have started to pay off!
Rooney will bring some much needed bite to the Derby attack, but it will take more than his influence to transform our performances.
The goalkeeping department is one area that many have claimed we need to make improvements and at the moment Ben Hamer is getting the nod over Kelle Roos between the sticks. In my opinion Hamer is a short term fix and we need to be looking for more experienced hands. Asmir Begovic has been mentioned by many sources as a payer who could be on his way into the club, but it remains to be seen if it's just idle gossip or in deed has substance.
In defence we are covered at Right Back by Andre Wisdom and current starter Jayden Bogle. Bogle is attracting the interest of several Pemier League sides. The Left Back slot is open to competition with Max Lowe looking favourite to be first choice if you are going by recent performances. Scott Malone and Craig Forsyth are also available, but the youngster for me gets the nod.
In my opinion we need some width brought to our attack and hopefully a recognised wide man can be amongst the deal that we conclude during the month.
Jamie Paterson and Kieran Dowell have returned to their parent clubs with Dowell then switching to Wigan and that gives us three loanee spots that are available to fill.
Many youngsters who have come through the clubs academy are now starting to break into the first team squad. Max Lowe, Jason Knight, Morgan Whittaker, Max Bird and Louie Sibley are now getting included in the match day eighteen. In my opinion it won't be long either before the likes of Jayden Mitchell-Lawson and Jamal Hector-Ingram also feature.
We have over the years borrowed many talented youngsters from Premier League Clubs with last season a prime example when Harry Wilson, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori all be came key parts of the Frank Lampard scheme, but do we need to borrow from other clubs?
Last season our own Under-18 team were National Champions so why not use our own youngsters?
Any loan signings that we do make I am hoping are experienced players rather than youth players. Mel Morris has poured millions into our academy and at long last it is looking like that may have started to pay off!
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