The Big Kick Off!

Will take timHere we go again! Another season has finally got under way at the iPro Stadium and we have a point on the board. 

Brighton are amongst the favourites to win the division and quite rightly so! They only just missed out on automatic promotion last time out and then had to, like Derby, suffer the agony of being eliminated in the play offs. 

It's a much used saying, but the game on Saturday is the type of game I have seen us lose time and time again. We didn't lose and for me we may well look back at the end of the season seeing it as a point that is very valuable. 

Nigel Pearson has been in charge for one league game and an EFL Cup match with Grimsby. We edged through against the Mariners and the record books do show many failures in this competition against lower league opposition. 

I'm convinced Pearson is the right pick to be boss, but like most new managers will need a little time to get going. 

Last season we had five points after five games yet we're top by Christmas. I'm certainly not going to form any sort of opinion of the guy until he's had a really good crack of the whip. 

Had has promotions on his cv and that for me gives him some time to get us motoring and challenging for the top six again. 

What we do have to consider is he is changing formation too! 4-3-3 was good when it was working, but teams soon got wise to it and it appears to be easier to defend against. 

Switching to 4/4-2 or indeed 4-4-1-1 we take time and maybe 2 or 3 new signings too. We need to be patient and let the manager get on with the task in hand. 

Various players have been linked with us, but I think we just need to sit and wait for signings. Nigel Pearson doesn't seem to be the type of manager to comment on speculation. 

A trip to Barnsley is next up on Saturday. The Tukes have just returned to the championship and this promises to be an interesting fixture. Of course a win will be very good and move us up into the next gear. One thing is for sure and that is that there will be a good following from the Derby faithful. 

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Squad Numbers 16/17

1   Scott Carson

2.  Cyrus Christie

3.  Craig Forsyth

4.  Craig Bryson

5.  Jason Shackell

6.  Richard Keogh

7.  Johnny Russell

8.  Jeff Hendrick

9.  Chris Martin

10 Tom Ince

11 Darren Bent

12 Chris Baird

15 Bradley Johnson

16 Alex Pearce

17 Lee Grant

18 Jacob Butterfield 

19 Will Hughes

20 Abdoul Camara

21 Kelle Roos

22 Nick Blackman

24 Andreas Weimann

25 Max Lowe

26 Jamie Hanson

29 Marcus Olsson

34 George Thorne

35 Jonathan Mitchell 

Season Preview 16/17

On to another campaign in our quest to return to top flight football. 

Nigel Pearson has taken the reigns and brought former Rams player Chris Powell with him. 

We have just finished pre season and look forward to our opening day clash in which we welcome Brighton to the iPro Stadium. 

There's been a few departures from the club. Ryan Shotton has completed a permanent move to Birmingham City after a successful loan spell there last season. 

Cult hero Jake Buxton has moved on to Wigan Athletic. Bucko attracted a lot of goodwill messages from Rams supporters when the moved was announced. Quite rightly too. 

Not the most gifted of players when it came to natural ability, but his decimation and determination more than made up for it. Good luck Bucko! You'll be guaranteed a warm welcome back when visiting with Wigan. 

A third centre half, Raul Albentosa has returned to his native Spain. He struggled to settle in at Derby and the move back comes as no surprise to anyone. 

Their would have been another player moving out had Burnley had their way. They made a few offers for Jeff Hendrick who, after a great Euro 15 tournament has seen his stock rise considerably. 

On to the season ahead I am predicting a top six finish for Derby. 

The relegated teams I expect to finish also in the top six with Newcastle strolling towards the title. 

Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton I expect to make it into the play off zone again. 

I see big improvement at Fulham and our rivals Forest, but just not quite enough to go up. 

Newly promoted Burton Albion will find life very tough and I'm expecting to see them drop straight back down again along with Barnsley and Preston. 

My lull prediction is.....

Newcastle

Norwich

Brighton 

Sheff Weds

Aston Villa

Derby

Fulham

Birmingham

QPR

Nottm Forest

Wigan

Wolves

Ipswich

Leeds

Cardiff

Blackburn 

Reading

Huddersfield 

Bristol City

Rotherham

Preston

Burton

Barnsley

Tweaks or Wholesale Changes?

There's no doubt that Nigel Pearson will have his own ideas about which players he will retain and those who he will wish to move on. 

Going through the list, my own opinion is

Goalkeepers retain

Scott Carson

Jonathan Mitchell

Let go

Lee Grant

Kelle Roos. 

Full Backs - retain

Cyrus Christie

Marcus Olsson

Craig Forsyth

Max Lowe

Let go

Chris Baird

Centre Halves - retain

Richard Keogh

Jason Shackell

Farrend Rawson

Let go

Jake Buxton

Raul Albentosa

Alex Pearce

Midfield - retain

Will Hughes

Craig Bryson

Jeff Hendrick

George Thorne

Jacob Butterfield

Jamie Hanson

Let go

Bradley Johnson

Forwards - retain

Chris Martin

Andreas Weimann 

Johnny Russell

Tom Ince

Let go

Abdoul Camara

Nick Blackman

Darren Bent

Obviously some are preferably retained unless an irresistible offer is made and obviously a better player is bought in to replace some of them. 

Pearson in!

Earlier in the season before Paul Clement's team hit a purple patch I had my doubts as to whether he would last as boss. I admit I was one of those who did for that period start to believe that he just might prove my initial fears unfounded. 

However, we all know what happened next. My initial first choice was Nigel Pearson to replace Clement. I have blown hot and cold with regards to his appointment, but will go on record now and say I think that he is the best option available. 

He's not known for his people skills, but he is known for commanding respect and installing discipline into teams. It's discipline that we have lacked as a team. At our best we look very formidable, at worst we look like a disjointed bunch of headless chickens. 

The play off games against Hull showed both the Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde teams. They were a perfect demonstration of our season. 

I cooled on the idea of Nigel Pearson when it became obvious that his back room staff of Steve Walsh and Craig Shakespeare were not going to join him in his next job as they signed new deals at Leicester. 

I decided to speak to a few Leicester fans who said that us appointing Pearson was a 'no brainier'. They stated that he would easily be able to replicate his success at the KP with staff that he trusts. They went on to say that he can take much credit for their clubs march towards the premier league title this season. 

He brings former Derby favourite Chris Powell as his assistant and leaves Kevin Phillips and Pascal Zuberhuler in their current roles. 

Instilling confidence and belief goes a long way in the search for success and Pearson has a good record in this department. 

What is definite is that we will need to offload a few players and bring a couple in. We need to be able to play a 4-4-2 formation and that will require adjustments. 4-3-3 may be pretty, but it has limitations! 

So we open a new chapter on Derby County's efforts to hit the big time again. This time I am cautiously optimistic. 

Situation Vacant

The next big announcement from Derby County is obviously revealing who will be our next manager or Head Coach as it's often called nowadays. 

 

The guessing game will continue until Mel Morris appoints the man in charge of first team affairs. 

Darren Wassall will obviously in the running having been in charge since the sacking of Paul Clement. We have seen some good games and results under him, however his decisions at times have been questionable and is it really good business giving a permanent position to a rookie number one again?

Tim Sherwood had bags of enthusiasm and passion for the game, but has just seen a very poor season at Aston Villa. Not for me!

Neil Warnock could be an inspired choice for a season. He is a master of getting clubs promoted and would surely love to manage a club like ours. He is however an outspoken character who wouldn't meet with the approval of all fans. 

Nigel Pearson is a name that many fans would pick going on his success at getting Leicester promoted and laying down the foundations of their historic season just gone. The downside is the fact that he would have to step into the breach without Steve Walsh and Craig Shakespeare who have just signed new contracts at the KP Stadium. 

Gary Rowett a former Ram did similar at Burton and has been successful in turning things round at Birmingham despite a distinct lack of cash. Would he be a manager that could spend well should Mr Morris open his wallet again?

Gary Monk, Roberto Martinez, David Moyes are all names that have been mentioned or maybe indeed a foreign appointment. 

One thing is for sure! Sooner rather than later is the preferred timescale for most fans. 

KO at the KCOM

So we ended our interest in the play offs at the first hurdle. 

Two totally different performances and a 75% success record in four games v Hull City, but sadly not good enough to make progress. 

It is very disappointing for us to go out in these circumstances. The home leg being the killer. 

An inept and pitiful performance at home left us with a mountain to climb in the second leg and despite a spirited attempt, it just wasn't quite good enough. 

This season has been very disappointing. Yet again failing during the run in and that's after investing heavily in the transfer market. 

There has to be some serious questioning of the decisions behind a few of the signings too. 

Of course Tom Ince was going to be pursued after a very impressive loan spell last season. He hasn't been a total flop either and again hit double figures in the goal scoring charts. 

What is concerning is the fact that we can't play him in his strongest position dye to the fact that the make up if our squad prevents any real alternative to a 4-3-3 formation. 

Abdoul Camara and Nick Blackman came for 1.5 and 2.5 million respectively. Neither have shone! I know that chances have been scarce, but the fact remains that Blackman has looked out of place when he has been on the pitch and Camara has often failed to even make the bench. 

Darren Bent was given a deal after his loan spell last season and he must have the easiest job in the division! I haven't any stats in front of me that state his actual minutes in the field, but he is bound to be on hefty wages and hasn't been called upon often enough to be able to justify them. 

Bradley Johnson became the clubs record signing at £6.5m! So far he has looked like being the clubs most expensive flop too! Very poor return from him after we paid so much for him. 

Jacob Butterfield and Andreas Weimann were too both big money signings, but often were left kicking their heels on the bench. Both showed flashes of brilliance but not enough to become automatic picks. 

We have a very large squad, an expensive squad, but the evidence is overwhelming that we don't have enough versatility within it to change formations when the need arises. 

After failing to gain promotion for three years on the trot, it's time for some serious reorganisation. Certain players will be needed to be moved on and certain roles will need filling. 

First big decision will be the appointment of the new manager. Mel Morris has had plenty of time to decide who is on his list. He needs to install the new boss sooner rather than later so that due preparation can be made for next season in good time. 

The next appointment by Mel Morris could  define his tenure as the clubs owner. Let's hope for the sake of the 25,000 plus fans who loyally supported us this season that it's a good one!