We've moved back!

So we have finally moved back to the Championship section in JA606. It was depressing to have to find Derby in the League One section - took me a long time to get used to that. Back where we belong and long may it continue! I'm in no rush for a promotion push, now is the time for some stability, a reflection that the club has learned many lessons from its past mistakes and takes on a new, positive and successful direction.

Players

Are we in a market that benefits the players or the clubs? In the past I've thought players but I now think clubs hold their own too and wait to see what transfer movement by the more bigger clubs in the division is like before making their own move.

The number of players that become free agents can be relatively big,season before last there were some fabulous options and we benefited with McGoldrick and Hourihane. Last season was slightly more sparse but I think this season will be another great opportunity to find experienced pros. The longer the clubs holds off the more desperate a player becomes to secure their future and look to negotiate a deal. We benefited from that when we signed Nyambe with numerous Champ clubs interested in him but no one actually making a move.

Clearly I'm suggesting this due to our incredibly slow start at signing players and personally expected some signings as soon as the transfer window creaked open.

I'm not worried at this stage that we've not signed anyone but another two-three weeks of zero activity will make me twitchy. I'm resigned to losing 'not my favourite' Louie Sibley given there's been no updates on his contract and given the rumours of a reduced salary offer you kind of know what to expect there.

Same could be possible for Collins as he too hasn't put pen to paper on his new contact offer. With better CF options out there in the free transfer market it makes sense not to be too worried if we lost one or both. The one thing that you want to retain is the team spirit - I felt this was certainly not kept when we lost McGoldrick and the LB that choose to join us over Bristol City after his loan spell with us ended and his contract with Brighton.

Losing the experienced pros who generated the team spirit in the dressing room is extremely difficult to replicate.At PL level take a look at Chelsea and it's apparent that a lack of experienced heads and leaders is why they're struggling in games.

For this reason I do hope the first signing to be announced is Adams. He's our future leader if you take into consideration his drive and dedication. Follow that up with pace and power at this level as we'll need that in abundance to compete


Fixtures 2024-2025

Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Watford, Bristol City - What an incredibly tough start to August and a very early return to Pride Park possibly for Knight & Bird. When I saw those fixtures I tried to work out which teams we'd be getting points off. I think it's early days to do that considering squads are still being rebuilt and we don't know what we'll be facing from the opposition. Hopefully Rovers lose their midfield goal sensation and Middlesbrough have to sell their double barrelled name striker (Emanuel Spanish-Milk) who had an impressive season.

Vision

This is the big one for me. As a fan I've so many questions about what direction do Derby want to go. Of course upwards but I mean in terms of how do they want to approach their goals. What sort of model are they planning? What is Paul Warne's vision in terms of style of football long term? There's a certain style required for L1 and another for Championship so is he looking to adapt or look at more of the same but with players experienced at this level?

Is the club looking to be a buy them young and sell them off at profit? Something unheard of at Derby but i think this is something we really should be thinking of implementing after years and years of shocking mismanagement in the transfer market.

Are we looking at our Academy for the future of the club? Having lost so many prized assets during the 'Admin season' and also to lose coaches such as Wassall, Justin Walker et al,who nurtured these players what will the next batch of players be like ? Will we be looking at players from the academy who will be athletic,strong runners with power and strength or looking to produce the next Will Hughes, Max Bird, Louie Sibley etc who offer something different to what you'd expect in a Paul Warne side?



Thanks for reading,hope you're all doing well and enjoying the beautiful weather we're currently having.