Will did nothing to warrant a starting place for almost two years prior to being sold and at the time, when you consider the form he was in he was very fortunate to have a Prem Club come in for him.
Quite why his form at Derby had taken such a nose dive is open for debate but it remains a fact and anyone who thinks Will was outstanding over that period is viewing him through rose tinted spectacles.
I wasn’t sorry to see him go because he was not contributing.
He’s found a team who seem to suit his playing style. He’s got his confidence back and is doing great. So good for him. For me no regrets and we’ll get a bit of any sell on fee.

My own view on Will’s lack of form for us is that it has taken him this length of time to get over the injury and get his mojo back.

By the way market forces set the price and as there was no competition for him he went fairly cheaply.

That was your opinion Rameses, you could still see the quality even when he wasn't 100% fit. Worth his place every week.

GR never needed a midfielder like Will for the type of game he played. Just needed Hudz to play a long pass out to the flanks. When you think of the money that Forest received for Oliver Burke it doesn't make sense.

I was at the game when clough gave will his debut at 16. You could tell he was a class act even then, and I knew he would eventually end up in the premier league, obviously I hoped it would be with us and it very nearly was, but with all due respect to Watford, I always figured it would be to one of the bigger clubs, such was his precocious talent even at such a young age. It annoyed me that nomarks like Jake Livermore got England caps whilst will never got a sniff even though I genuinely believed will was a better player at the time. I never saw him after his injury as I had moved away by then, but for me even an off the boil will was still worth having in the team as he had the vision and skill to pick out a pass that none of his team mates had. I'm glad he's found his feet again with Watford, long may his good form continue and lead to that big move and England call up.

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11686/11485769/will-hughes-the-former-wonderkid-who-is-now-blossoming-at-watford

Nice article about him, echoing my thoughts

I was at the same game Harper, where Conor Doyle gave the worst performance from a footballer I have ever seen.

Rameses likes to call his opinion "fact". Clearly market forces determine the transfer fee but Rowett allowed this to happen by telling Hughes he did not want him at Derby. Rowett thought he had plenty of money to spend so he didn't particularly want to hold onto Hughes purely to try to increase his value. Morris backed the manager as he tends to do. Even when Hughes wasn't playing well I still thought his talent stood out a mile. I hear that he hasn't settled particularly well off the pitch in Watford so it's a pity he has been playing so well recently or we might have been in with a shout of getting him back.

It's ok vidal, when we get promoted we can get him back ready for next season in the Prem to replace mount who will have gone back to Chelsea

Mount will stay another season if we go up but I'm sure we can find a way to get both of them in the team.

comment by lastapostleofvidal (U1491)
posted 1 minute ago
Mount will stay another season if we go up but I'm sure we can find a way to get both of them in the team.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Can you have the same player on loan two seasons in succession?

Mount and Hughes, what a dream midfield duo, although I see Mount as more of an inside forward in the Kenny Dalgleish mould rather than a midfielder. Academic really because Mount is so good Chelsea will want him back.

Perhaps Rameses doesn't remember that Will was out injured for a season and when he came back he wasn't fully recovered, like we've seen with Forsyth. It takes a while to come back from those sort of injuries as Thorne has found out. And Gary didn't play him preferring Butterball, the idiot.

Selling Will for such a low fee is one of the worst things our club has ever done. It is nearly as bad as letting Brian leave and Charlie getting injured when we were doing so well.

Gary Rowett hasn't a clue what a good player looks like, he doesn't appreciate skill at all, he just likes a lump it forward type. Have a look at oatcakefanzine if you don't believe me. Even the Stoke supporters who are used to Pulisball can't stand GR.

I would love Will in our team now we have a decent manager, he would play well with Mount. As you all know I will be ecstatic when Will plays for England, he should be in the squad already when you see some of the deadbeats GS has chosen.

comment by I'm not Spartacus, to be quite Frank (U4603)
posted 1 minute ago
Mount and Hughes, what a dream midfield duo, although I see Mount as more of an inside forward in the Kenny Dalgleish mould rather than a midfielder. Academic really because Mount is so good Chelsea will want him back.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Spart I wrote my piece before I had read yours. I would hate you to think I was copying you re Mount and Will!

I often read that oatcake fanzine, just for the hilarity of all the hatred directed towards Rowett.

Great read, thanks for the link Harps.

That article says more about Gary Rowett than it does about Will.

I don't think I've ever been as disappointed with how useless GR turned-out at Derby, (excluding the Loony maybe)? I really had high hopes for him! He's well suited to Stoke.

You can loan a player again, why not?

I can't see Mount playing for Chelsea next season, look at players like Loftus-Cheek, England international but to get first-team football he was loaned out to Palace. The next stage for Mount is likely to be a loan to a Premiership club rather than Chelsea's first team.

No worries scouse.

While we are on the subject of deadbeats being picked for England over player who merit a call up, why on earth is Jack butland in the squad over Scott Carson? I've always thought Carson the better keeper and butland hugely over rated, but the usual thing of not playing in the premier league ruins any chance etc, but now butland is floundering around in the bottom half of the championship and, from what I've read, not exactly covering himself in glory, what possible reason does Southgate have to include him in the squad?

Simple reason Harper, Southgate is a tw@.

VC I do make mention of the injury. I even said it was probably what caused is loss of form.
I’m a season ticket holder and unless he was turning in fantastic performances away from home he did nothing to warrant a starting place for two seasons. Rowett only had him for a few games but previously he hadn’t done well either.
If Rowett had to judge him on performances under him then no wonder he wasn’t bothered if he stayed.
He was looking lightweight and easily pushed off the ball.
Spart VC Harps Vidal. How can you not have noticed that he was not contributing. As I said he was very lucky to have Watford come in for him.
We had this debate at the time and it just seems like opinions of the contributing parties to this article haven’t changed.
The “I told you so, look I’ve been proved right” brigade can blow me because 20/20 hindsight means nothing.
It wasn’t a short term loss of form, it was over two seasons.
Still glad he’s doing well though as it’ll mean more money for us.

comment by lastapostleofvidal (U1491)
posted 35 minutes ago
You can loan a player again, why not?

I can't see Mount playing for Chelsea next season, ........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------

You can't see the difference between a colt and a filly either Vidal.

That's just your opinion, Rameses. I don't see how you can call it 20/20 hindsight when talking of fans having that opinion of Hughes at the time, you are contradicting yourself there. If fans at the time that you say Hughes was playing poorly were of the opinion he would play well in the Premiership then clearly they have been proven right and not just with hindsight. I disagree that he didn't deserve a starting place and with your other comments. He was less effective than he should have been because of the way the team was set up and not because of his own failings, in my opinion. He's actually being played out of position at Watford but the manager there is smart enough to know that even out of position he is better on the pitch than off it. There is plenty more to come from him. In my opinion.

comment by lastapostleofvidal (U1491)
posted 38 minutes ago
You can loan a player again, why not?

I can't see Mount playing for Chelsea next season, look at players like Loftus-Cheek, England international but to get first-team football he was loaned out to Palace. The next stage for Mount is likely to be a loan to a Premiership club rather than Chelsea's first team.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
What might be a hope is that we get promoted and Mount so enjoys himself and is so popular and loved by Derby fans that he decides to stay. Of course if we are promoted, we could easily afford to pay his fee and his wages.

He was still poor under Maclaren2 and he knew how to play him.
Could, might, would’ve? He wasn’t doing it for us simple.

comment by lastapostleofvidal (U1491)
posted 2 minutes ago
That's just your opinion, Rameses. I don't see how you can call it 20/20 hindsight when talking of fans having that opinion of Hughes at the time, you are contradicting yourself there. If fans at the time that you say Hughes was playing poorly were of the opinion he would play well in the Premiership then clearly they have been proven right and not just with hindsight. I disagree that he didn't deserve a starting place and with your other comments. He was less effective than he should have been because of the way the team was set up and not because of his own failings, in my opinion. He's actually being played out of position at Watford but the manager there is smart enough to know that even out of position he is better on the pitch than off it. There is plenty more to come from him. In my opinion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the biggest sins committed by a Derby Manager was the leaving out of Hughes in that play-off round v Hull at Derby - which we lost.

Hughes has said that GR told him there was no place for him at Derby and he had no alternative but to leave.

Bennett’s the new Pele as well by all accounts. There’s a squinted view of our home grown talent by some, in my opinion. Bennett has done well so far in cameos late on against tired defenders and that could prove his niche.
But the second coming he ain’t.