Asanovic70

Only become the main focus of humour in a David Squires cartoon! ?
https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2021/aug/03/david-squires-on-the-football-leagues-return-and-the-rooney-blues

When many of the teams are of equal or similar quality, their season really can come down to the experience of the manager.
I don’t think Forest or Boro have particularly great teams (set of players), especially compared to say Fulham and West Brom, but in Warnock and Hughton they have managers who know how to get results at this level.
I think Bristol City will be one to watch as an unpredictable side. I really can’t call which way they’ll go with Pearson there. They were awful in the second half of last season.
I agree on Sheffield United. They may take a while to find their footing, similar to Fulham under Jokanovic’s first season. 
The Championship is an unforgiving league. And one where a third of the clubs will have different managers in charge come next May.

I think Sheff United & Jokanovic may take time to gel & what looks a good match up may actually end up backfiring.  He's inherited a squad familiar with one manager & his style of play. The likes of Brewster may thrive under the new boss, but the Blades are unsettled (Berge). I think Wilder's reputation took a massive knock after the owner revealed his side of the story. He basically said that he'd back him if they got relegated but asked questions about why some of the signings, like Brewster, were not working out. That seems a fair criticism. Wilder came across as a bit of a Billy Davies, pursuing his own agenda, agitating to leave a lot earlier than he did and clearly something must be amiss if WBA were divided about appointing him.
As for us, I think we are in a desperate situation. We have some talented players, but we also need the types flagged up by Steve Nicholson, 26-29 in age, experienced and in their physical prime to cope with a demanding league (know how). We, too, could receive a points deduction. If you flip things round and another side was in our predicament & experienced the close season we've had, you'd probably have them in the bottom three.
I think several sides in/around us last season have gone quietly about their business and have experienced managers who may not be spectacular but know football & the division. The likes of Coventry will be boosted by the return to the Ricoh, I agree about QPR, Blackpool have a promising manager, many of our rivals in our division play as teams (Luton). At the end of last season, we fell apart and were in freefall. 
I think Preston could struggle, if Alex Neil couldn't turn around things, the new boss may struggle and interim bosses struggle to continue making the same impact after getting the job on a permanent basis. Swansea have had a difficult summer and lost the spine of a team like we did under Frank Lampard: on loan GK Woodman, Guehi, Hourihane & Ayew in attack, whose contract came to an end. It's a good job & yet Eustace turned it down, perhaps because it'll be hard to maintain the momentum they've had for the last two seasons. 
Blackburn may struggle, Mowbray has done a great job but it seemed to fizzle out & there was speculation about his role - and if they lose Armstrong, he could be hard to replace. I also agree about Bristol City though they have enough experience to stay out of danger. They lack goals, but Weimann's return could be key.
You'd expect some of the promoted sides to struggle, Hull are under an embargo as well.
As for the top end of the divison, Fulham look most likely. Usually a side with a manager in situ for at least one season challenges. QPR & Middlesbrough perhaps with Warnock, love him or hate him.
 

QPR had an excellent second half of the season last year. I think they will fancy a run at the playoffs.
I think Coventry and Blackpool could surprise too with decent midtable finishes.
On the flip side, I see Preston struggling (I think they’ll go down) while Reading and Swansea may disappoint too. 
West Brom to win the league. Derby’s fate to depend on signings. Currently I find it tough to see three worst sides in the league, but that could all change before the transfer deadline.

Been some big changes at Sheff U since Wilder left. He set the club up from tip to top to fall in line with his ethos, so the change in itself may take them some time to adapt to. They've now a load of players at the club who were traditional, out on the piss after a win players, who Wilder unified with that mentality (one of the reason moral suffered with all the pubs & clubs shut). So I'm not so sure they'll be as motivated by the new setup.

I have no problem with Fulham doing what they need to in order to circumnavigate the rules. They have a seriously rich owner and as we've learned - FFP - isn't for the fair play of football at this level. They needed Liverpool to agree to the deal, assumingly they weren't thrilled at receiving no money immediately, so I really don't see the issue. 
The more ridiculous these rules are made to be seen, the better chance of a workable alternative. Ideally, we could do with the three relegated teams going straight back up - probably for a couple of seasons - in order for the rest of the league to take action. 

That’s pretty much how I feel.  I just don’t have that buzz any more, or at the moment at least.  We might be in a poor way squad wise and financially.  Mel chased the dream in 15/16 and splashed the cash, it didn’t come off and we’ve paid the price ever since.
I’m really disappointed with the circus we’ve become, including Rooney as manager.  His performance hasn’t been great by anyone’s standards and managers have gone for less.  How on earth we’re paying a rookie a reported £90k a week is staggering.  I think since he’s come here he’s had very little respect for the club or fans in my view.  As a player he did Soccer Aid - imagine Fergies view if he’d told him he was off for a couple of weeks to do that - buying a watch and isolating, coming back clearly unfit, lack of leadership as captain yet somehow gets the managers job.  As a manager a woeful run and bad tactics, he’s continually talking about his bosses in public  and says he wants to restore “pride & dignity” to be plastered all over the internet the next day.  How are the players supposed to respect him.
Like you, I’ve often thought about not renewing but I have.  Now, more than ever, I feel really disillusioned.  I don’t want a millionaire takeover throwing loads of money at the club.  I’m not even that bothered about the PL.  I want a well run club.  I want stability.  I want a manager who I feel has loyalty and respect for the club and us, the fans.  I want to enjoy my football again.

Dont have another club but I tend to look out for ex-players. I'll always check out Watford to see how Will has performed. I'll even keep a look out for some of the young  players who didn't make it here. I'll look for Solihull Moors score too as I'm a Silhillian but don't count them as a second team.

Whoever is playing Forest that week

I applaud your optimism but afraid this season has dismal written all over it. Even with the trialists, we are hugely limited and lacking quality and energy in all areas. Add the circus / cloud enveloping the club for the last few years and it has all the ingredients for another relegation battle if not capitulation.
The only thing that might save us is some seige mentality but for that you need commanding leadership and I'm not sure the Rooney / Lawrence combo is going to give us that!
I'm normally very positive but I fear the worst.

With clumsy interventions (Knight), shenanigans with young ladies and the ready excuse that extraordinary circumstances render him blameless, it's increasingly like having Boris in charge. 

You've just summed up the last ten years of Derby County's strategy in seven words.

Or realistic perhaps ?
given how last season transpired and how we are meandering through the close season with no clearer indication to our ownership, financial future or efl embargo 
if we finished mid table with some more academy talents broken in I’d be delighted … I’m hopeful and perhaps optimistically thinking maybe Rooney can Create a lovely blend of old and young (assuming we can sign them)
but I’m sure as hell a little worried as to how this season may pan out
so much uncertainty surrounding us to not be worried imo  

Yes we will have to agree to disagree but, the facts remain that, regardless of how close Rotherham came to survival, they didn’t achieve it and finished behind Wycombe and so couldn’t possibly keep their place ahead off Wycombe. 

Wycombe gained one more point - after the event.  IMO, Wycombe do not deserve a reprieve either, taking into account the fact, as pointed out, that they went into the final day with their fate virtually guaranteed. You say giving Rotherham additional points is madness yet giving a reprieve to a side who needed a 13 goal swing makes sense? Rotherham came within 7 minutes of achieving safety, (two from normal time) though I accept the argument that nobody knows what would have happened in our game v Sheff W if the scores were level and we had to go for a win.
If relegation happens & Wycombe reprieved, well, there's nothing I can do about it. The lack of preparation, bedding in any new signings pre-season and the fact that we have not moved on from Survival Saturday  does not bode well . The only consolation should it happen, as mentioned by @LeedsCityRam, is that other big sides have regrouped, it might just be a good while/feel like treading water.
I think we will have to respectfully beg to differ. I'm not here to bang you into submission, but neither can I agree with you, it's just what happened to Rotherham sits ill with me, as did what happened to Wigan last season, final league standing, EFL rules, whatever. So we're coming from it from  different angles. I agree mine is the more eccentric, but no, I do not look like Vivian Stanshall.

Wycombe gained one more point - after the event.  IMO, Wycombe do not deserve a reprieve either, taking into account the fact, as pointed out, that they went into the final day with their fate virtually guaranteed. You say giving Rotherham additional points is madness yet giving a reprieve to a side who needed a 13 goal swing makes sense? Rotherham came within 7 minutes of achieving safety, (two from normal time) though I accept the argument that nobody knows what would have happened in our game v Sheff W if the scores were level and we had to go for a win.
If relegation happens & Wycombe reprieved, well, there's nothing I can do about it. The lack of preparation, bedding in any new signings pre-season and the fact that we have not moved on from Survival Saturday  does not bode well . The only consolation should it happen, as mentioned by @LeedsCityRam, is that other big sides have regrouped, it might just be a good while/feel like treading water.
I think we will have to respectfully beg to differ. I'm not here to bang you into submission, but neither can I agree with you, it's just what happened to Rotherham sits ill with me, as did what happened to Wigan last season, final league standing, EFL rules, whatever. So we're coming from it from  different angles. I agree mine is the more eccentric, but no, I do not look like Vivian Stanshall.

Maddest thing ever? I think you should have look at how the EFL compiled last season's curtailed League 1 table.
League One reaction: Peterborough have been cheated says Barry Fry - BBC Sport
 
"I've been in the game 60 years and it's the biggest disappointment I've ever had," (Barry Fry )
"I feel my club has been cheated for the chance of promotion."
Peterborough - who had taken 22 points from their last nine games - finished seventh after the table was rejigged. Wycombe, who had a game in hand on Posh, climbed from eighth to third.
"Your form at home, your form away, they took nothing into consideration, I think it's been a disgrace the way it's been handled from day one," Fry added.
If you look at the fixtures played, Wycombe were one of three sides in the top 6 to play bottom side Bolton, Peterborough, meanwhile, had faced every top six rival home & away, bar one.
The most sensible thing is not to reward failure either, however that would lead to a lop-sided division. Another sensible decision, which is probably the most likely if we are found to have broken Profit & Sustainability rules, is to hand us a hefty points deduction to send a message that any financial irregularities will be dealt with in the most severe manner & not tolerated.
Yes, I agree the EFL could not do a lot more, forcing Rotherham to play with a weakened squad (like Bolton, Wigan in crisis) would have damaged the competition, giving a competitive advantage to their opponents, so the other option of playing every other two days became the only feasible one. There may have to come a time when Championship sides also play on international weekends, despite call-ups (perhaps in the same way some have to continue playing despite losing a player to Covid) rather than the intense schedule that seems to follow afterwards.
 

TamworthRam,
No, it hasn't. You said keeping Rotherham up would be the maddest thing. Really? I pointed out that the entire football industry is bizarre then. We could get relegated - retrospective unlikely - in the next month yet elite clubs can bend/break rules, or accrue loses in the hundreds of millions (Juventus).
I'm focusing on the final round because - as said already - three sides had a realistic chance to survive the drop and one of them wasn't Wycombe unless they scored 13 goals. Yes, 13 goal away wins are the norm, you see them every week on Quest. They were as good as relegated in name by Matchday 45. And yet that is the side who may be ultimately reprieved. I've already explained myself at length. 
I've pointed out to you how Wycombe won 5 games in 35? Does that sound competitive to you taking into account a whole season?  Rotherham lost to Wycombe at home, so they only have themselves to blame, but this is a side who allegedly created as many chances as Watford (flagged up on Quest). My main bone of contention is that one side was affected by Covid, rightly or wrongly calling games off, (no further action taken by the EFL), another was not. This is a factor not taken into account by a league table.
I've given you examples about how a backlog of games can affect sides, or rest between games can help footballers recovery time.
Don't you think sides, like Wycombe, knew through the football grapevine that Derby could still be relegated,? The whole farce is also tinged with cynicism. 'We're all in it together, one big football family, the Championship.' No, it isn't if you can find a way, any way to circumvent things. 
Why is it madness? I think it's mad that you don't seem to be taking into account the fact that this season has not been like any normal season in recent history. 46 games played between mid Sep to early May?  Really?  Where was the provision for any possible Covid outbreaks to be rescheduled? There were none because the EFL happily wended on their way because they have to keep tv companies & the public happy & entertained, the former, in particular, as its paymaster, a source of revenue to clubs . Why do you think the government were happy to have football back rather than arts & culture? Because it kept a restive public entertained in a time of crisis. 'The show must go on'.
Football without fans - which, to be honest, I found as pointless as the point about Rotherham, in fairness,  some posters seem to think I am making. Broadcasters putting artificial effects/crowd noises to generate atmosphere in games that looked liked glorified friendlies. You don't think that's odd? 
 

TamworthRam,
No, it hasn't. You said keeping Rotherham up would be the maddest thing. Really? I pointed out that the entire football industry is bizarre then. We could get relegated - retrospective unlikely - in the next month yet elite clubs can bend/break rules, or accrue loses in the hundreds of millions (Juventus).
I'm focusing on the final round because - as said already - three sides had a realistic chance to survive the drop and one of them wasn't Wycombe unless they scored 13 goals. Yes, 13 goal away wins are the norm, you see them every week on Quest. They were as good as relegated in name by Matchday 45. And yet that is the side who may be ultimately reprieved. I've already explained myself at length. 
I've pointed out to you how Wycombe won 5 games in 35? Does that sound competitive to you taking into account a whole season?  Rotherham lost to Wycombe at home, so they only have themselves to blame, but this is a side who allegedly created as many chances as Watford (flagged up on Quest). My main bone of contention is that one side was affected by Covid, rightly or wrongly calling games off, (no further action taken by the EFL), another was not. This is a factor not taken into account by a league table.
I've given you examples about how a backlog of games can affect sides, or rest between games can help footballers recovery time.
Don't you think sides, like Wycombe, knew through the football grapevine that Derby could still be relegated,? The whole farce is also tinged with cynicism. 'We're all in it together, one big football family, the Championship.' No, it isn't if you can find a way, any way to circumvent things. 
Why is it madness? I think it's mad that you don't seem to be taking into account the fact that this season has not been like any normal season in recent history. 46 games played between mid Sep to early May?  Really?  Where was the provision for any possible Covid outbreaks to be rescheduled? There were none because the EFL happily wended on their way because they have to keep tv companies & the public happy & entertained, the former, in particular, as its paymaster, a source of revenue to clubs . Why do you think the government were happy to have football back rather than arts & culture? Because it kept a restive public entertained in a time of crisis. 'The show must go on'.
Football without fans - which, to be honest, I found as pointless as the point about Rotherham, in fairness,  some posters seem to think I am making. Broadcasters putting artificial effects/crowd noises to generate atmosphere in games that looked liked glorified friendlies. You don't think that's odd? 
 

To be honest, if you think I'm mad, then I think you're unimaginative. Yes, to (a). The cynic in me thinks Paul Warne was also upset final day because results meant Rotherham would not even be in a position to benefit from any possible sanction against us (relegation) with the EFL charges/appeal still hanging over us. Wycombe's upturn in form in the last 11 is remarkable. How did they manage 6W when they could only manage 5 in 35? I think clubs at the bottom knew, going on from what happened with Barnsley, that finishing third from bottom could open that possibility.
I thought the entire schedule last season mad as the EFL was fixated in packing in 46 games, barely six weeks after the end of a curtailed season, within a set time frame, international breaks etc, with little room for flexibility.  Playing games over a short period of time does affect teams. Even half a day's advantage can matter in a tournament like the Euros (5live build up to Sweden/Ukraine). It's before my time, but Derby possibly benefited from Leeds playing on a Mon after the FA Cup win in 1972. 
How would you describe the notion of 'competition'? Your take on it is the conventional, common-sense one. Yes, the league table at the end of the season doesn't lie. I agree with you here. Then there is the notion of 'Last Man Standing', yes? Knock-out competitions. Which is essentially what the final day turned out to be. And last season was not like every season, was it? It took place against the background of a pandemic.
 
Relegation permutations ahead of final round of Sky Bet Championship matches | BT Sport
What do Wycombe need to do to survive? Win 13-0 and hope Wednesday win by one goal at Derby.
Like that was ever going to happen. 13-0 away wins. (Well, they may happen the way the EFL are treating us, I fear for the morale of a squad desperate for additions)
"So, yes, the maddest thing".
Hmm, again, we seem to differ in our concept of madness. You seem to think what I suggest is mad? It's OK for Wigan to get relegated within the EFL framework due to a negligent owner, but elite clubs within a wider framework to flout rules (PSG, Man City) get a slap on the wrist, a fine/temp. ban on transfers and then spend £200m in another window, or report losses of £275m (Juventus)? Yes, it's another argument entirely, but maybe the entire game is mad altogether, a bizarre Tea Party out of Alice in Wonderland with Robbie Savage running around in midfield as the Mad Hatter.

I agree, Nuno looked a better fit for the Everton job, he seems to be a player's manager (in the mold of Pochettino & Ancelotti) . He was perhaps let down last season by his board after selling a key player and then losing another to serious injury.  Benitez will have to overcome the doubters, but he's done it before to a degree when he managed Chelsea for a brief period.
On another tangent, I think Wolves will struggle this coming season. Nuno left at the right time, whether he has joined the right club, only time will tell.

Ultimately Derby need a working relationship with the efl.
It wasn't the fault of the efl, that Derby did the amortisation.
The real unfairness is the parachute payments to clubs relegated from the Premier league.
These payments make fair competition in the championship impossible.
So clubs who are not given an equal shout, take risks in an attempt to compete.
The efl want to be seen to have power.
At the moment the efl are reflecting on either taking points from the club, but with a transfer embargo on buying players and not paying high wages for free agents means Derby could be relegated next season instead of this. They have basically put Derby in a place where nothing works for them.
If Wycombe stay in the championship instead of Derby, Wycombe will be relegated next season, they don't have the fan levels of Derby nor the ability to fairly spend enough to compete with the other teams in the championship.
Wycombe are rubbish, don't see how they are meant to get better.
If Derby are relegated they will lose an estimated 10 million a year, as opposed to Wycombe 2 million a year.
If Derby are relegated, Mel could expect to sell Derby for 20 million, who would pay more.
Wycombe are estimated to be worth 7 million.
 

Absolutely disgusting. I hope Derby County get a points deduction from the EFL for this.

Maddest thing ever? I think you should have look at how the EFL compiled last season's curtailed League 1 table.
League One reaction: Peterborough have been cheated says Barry Fry - BBC Sport
 
"I've been in the game 60 years and it's the biggest disappointment I've ever had," (Barry Fry )
"I feel my club has been cheated for the chance of promotion."
Peterborough - who had taken 22 points from their last nine games - finished seventh after the table was rejigged. Wycombe, who had a game in hand on Posh, climbed from eighth to third.
"Your form at home, your form away, they took nothing into consideration, I think it's been a disgrace the way it's been handled from day one," Fry added.
If you look at the fixtures played, Wycombe were one of three sides in the top 6 to play bottom side Bolton, Peterborough, meanwhile, had faced every top six rival home & away, bar one.
The most sensible thing is not to reward failure either, however that would lead to a lop-sided division. Another sensible decision, which is probably the most likely if we are found to have broken Profit & Sustainability rules, is to hand us a hefty points deduction to send a message that any financial irregularities will be dealt with in the most severe manner & not tolerated.
Yes, I agree the EFL could not do a lot more, forcing Rotherham to play with a weakened squad (like Bolton, Wigan in crisis) would have damaged the competition, giving a competitive advantage to their opponents, so the other option of playing every other two days became the only feasible one. There may have to come a time when Championship sides also play on international weekends, despite call-ups (perhaps in the same way some have to continue playing despite losing a player to Covid) rather than the intense schedule that seems to follow afterwards.