Raich Carter

I think we need to reset our expectations. Player wages are still high (almost all of our signings were playing in the Championship last year - they must be on similar money to what they got at their previous club) and overheads are significant (E.G. Moor Farm) so yes we have big gates but the TV money is dreadful at this level and that's what makes the difference. I strongly suspect incoming transfer fees bolster the bank balance to pay for wages, agents fees, etc but not much else.
We've been living in a dream world with MM - spending huge amounts of money that we just didn't have year after year so every penny counts at this level. Clowes will, rightly, be very risk averse and will want to limit his exposure to financial risk as it's well documented that the quickest way to stop being rich is to own a football club (our very own Lionel Pickering is an example).
My opinion is that we have a tiny budget for transfers and given the number free agents and the standard of player we need at this level, I think there's enough to go at without throwing money around. Obviously that's not what fans want to hear but equally, I don't want us in financial strife yet again.
Yes, we're Derby County. But we're Derby County in League One... 

Free agents may not require a transfer fee to another team but they most certainly aren’t without costs. The fact that we’ve been able to pay agent fees this summer is probably the major factor in bringing in the players we have so far. I don’t know (obviously) but it would not surprise me if half of the Knight fee has already been spent on the recruitment to date.
A ‘competitive budget’ also does not translate to a ‘by far the biggest’ budget - possibly just puts in the top six in the division. Theoretically that should make the club capable of winning promotion as the Chairman said. 

I think we need to reset our expectations. Player wages are still high (almost all of our signings were playing in the Championship last year - they must be on similar money to what they got at their previous club) and overheads are significant (E.G. Moor Farm) so yes we have big gates but the TV money is dreadful at this level and that's what makes the difference. I strongly suspect incoming transfer fees bolster the bank balance to pay for wages, agents fees, etc but not much else.
We've been living in a dream world with MM - spending huge amounts of money that we just didn't have year after year so every penny counts at this level. Clowes will, rightly, be very risk averse and will want to limit his exposure to financial risk as it's well documented that the quickest way to stop being rich is to own a football club (our very own Lionel Pickering is an example).
My opinion is that we have a tiny budget for transfers and given the number free agents and the standard of player we need at this level, I think there's enough to go at without throwing money around. Obviously that's not what fans want to hear but equally, I don't want us in financial strife yet again.
Yes, we're Derby County. But we're Derby County in League One... 

Like McG?! Scored 134 goals in 504 games aged 35 - hardly prolific but had his best season ever under Warne after 15 seasons as a pro. Blimey lads, get real. 

Like McG?! Scored 134 goals in 504 games aged 35 - hardly prolific but had his best season ever under Warne after 15 seasons as a pro. Blimey lads, get real. 

I think we need to reset our expectations. Player wages are still high (almost all of our signings were playing in the Championship last year - they must be on similar money to what they got at their previous club) and overheads are significant (E.G. Moor Farm) so yes we have big gates but the TV money is dreadful at this level and that's what makes the difference. I strongly suspect incoming transfer fees bolster the bank balance to pay for wages, agents fees, etc but not much else.
We've been living in a dream world with MM - spending huge amounts of money that we just didn't have year after year so every penny counts at this level. Clowes will, rightly, be very risk averse and will want to limit his exposure to financial risk as it's well documented that the quickest way to stop being rich is to own a football club (our very own Lionel Pickering is an example).
My opinion is that we have a tiny budget for transfers and given the number free agents and the standard of player we need at this level, I think there's enough to go at without throwing money around. Obviously that's not what fans want to hear but equally, I don't want us in financial strife yet again.
Yes, we're Derby County. But we're Derby County in League One... 

Absolutely. If Sonny B is as good as I think/hope he is, he could have the Stimac effect. Obviously a very different player but in terms of presence, professionalism, grit, etc I think he's going to be huge for us. Nelson is a reliable, solid (and quick I think) player with Cash also being solid (and still developing) so I think we're going to be hard to beat. 3 hard b*stards at the back with athletic full backs and positionally good midfielders... that's going to work.
From watching Loach's interview, the team spirit and unity is spot on. When you get a group like that, at any level, they're a force to be reckoned with. Obviously a very different level but they have that Man City feels about them as a group - proper pros. It's clear from watching the interviews that PW's strategy is to create a group that fight for each other - I just don't see us signing flash Harry's or pure flair players - it'll be proper pros and for L1, that's exactly what's needed.
We just need those forward players and I'll be putting good money on us going up as league Champions. None of this play-off malarky! 
 

Eh? We haven't actually signed 'em so a bit of a premature moan!

Eh? We haven't actually signed 'em so a bit of a premature moan!

Absolutely. If Sonny B is as good as I think/hope he is, he could have the Stimac effect. Obviously a very different player but in terms of presence, professionalism, grit, etc I think he's going to be huge for us. Nelson is a reliable, solid (and quick I think) player with Cash also being solid (and still developing) so I think we're going to be hard to beat. 3 hard b*stards at the back with athletic full backs and positionally good midfielders... that's going to work.
From watching Loach's interview, the team spirit and unity is spot on. When you get a group like that, at any level, they're a force to be reckoned with. Obviously a very different level but they have that Man City feels about them as a group - proper pros. It's clear from watching the interviews that PW's strategy is to create a group that fight for each other - I just don't see us signing flash Harry's or pure flair players - it'll be proper pros and for L1, that's exactly what's needed.
We just need those forward players and I'll be putting good money on us going up as league Champions. None of this play-off malarky! 
 

Knight - last season he was 6-7/10 in most games. He really wasn't all that good when you actually watch him. I'm not knocking the guy but let's not get carried away. And anyway, we need the money and his contract situation so tough, we had no choice but to sell.
McG - he's 37... he was class but could break down any time.  He wasn't a 25+ a season guy when we signed him - this was his best season ever and the team have to have some of the credit for giving him the ammo to score.... And anyway, no choice but to let go.
£10m beast - utterly, utterly useless when a) constantly injured and b) too expensive to actually play for us. No choice again.
I think the squad is massively improved by Sonny Bradley alone. I have massive respect for Davies but for me, he was done for 2 seasons ago. We need a striker, I'll agree with that but I think the signings are spot on - almost all Championship players at a decent age.

said no one ever.....

I'll stick my neck out and say that a League One club on a tight budget, lead by a manager known for signing strong characters with proven track records won't spend (perhaps) 50% of his transfer budget on a young, unproven loanee. If this lad was good enough to justify that sort of fee, he wouldn't be loaned out to L1... 
However, if the £150k is wages (I.E. it's all in) then perhaps, as that works out to circa about £3k pw, it's a possibility but I don't see us paying significant loan fees.
 

I'll stick my neck out and say that a League One club on a tight budget, lead by a manager known for signing strong characters with proven track records won't spend (perhaps) 50% of his transfer budget on a young, unproven loanee. If this lad was good enough to justify that sort of fee, he wouldn't be loaned out to L1... 
However, if the £150k is wages (I.E. it's all in) then perhaps, as that works out to circa about £3k pw, it's a possibility but I don't see us paying significant loan fees.
 

But it's all relative isn't it. When we were challenging for the Prem, of course we're looking at big name players, exciting youngsters (look where that all got us!). Now we are where we are, of course we're looking at lesser known players. We're signing players who have played regularly at a higher level than we're at - for me, given where we are, that's good news. What did you expect exactly...? More over-priced, money chasing luxury players like Lawrence and Johnson? (meeeeooow! ;))
Also, factually incorrect to call him a backup player when he's played 163 games in 5 seasons for Luton. 4 seasons of which was in the Championship. 

I'm not sure my point got across well at all. Bradley is a decent signing as is Washington and I certainly don't expect/want or think we deserve big money signings. What I meant is that Bradley is seemingly thought of as akin to Dave Mackay signing and transforming us to the best club in the country, whereas Connor Washington is the reinacrnation of, well, Connor Sammon. Neither of which is true (well hopefully not the second one anyway) and is not really based on anyone actually watching them. 
I'll judge a player when I watch them, and as I don't really know any of our signings then I carry no real preconceptions about them into this season. 

But it's all relative isn't it. When we were challenging for the Prem, of course we're looking at big name players, exciting youngsters (look where that all got us!). Now we are where we are, of course we're looking at lesser known players. We're signing players who have played regularly at a higher level than we're at - for me, given where we are, that's good news. What did you expect exactly...? More over-priced, money chasing luxury players like Lawrence and Johnson? (meeeeooow! ;))
Also, factually incorrect to call him a backup player when he's played 163 games in 5 seasons for Luton. 4 seasons of which was in the Championship. 

But it's all relative isn't it. When we were challenging for the Prem, of course we're looking at big name players, exciting youngsters (look where that all got us!). Now we are where we are, of course we're looking at lesser known players. We're signing players who have played regularly at a higher level than we're at - for me, given where we are, that's good news. What did you expect exactly...? More over-priced, money chasing luxury players like Lawrence and Johnson? (meeeeooow! ;))
Also, factually incorrect to call him a backup player when he's played 163 games in 5 seasons for Luton. 4 seasons of which was in the Championship. 

McG was hardly mobile was he... right place, right time, etc. Just saying.

Totally agree. There are far too many fans who don't see to have noticed that at the moment, we're a mid-table league one club. We were spoiled with big name/money deals in the past, and that wasn't going to last forever.
 
It's even dafter when people here are calling players not good enough, before they're even kicked a ball for us.

But it's all relative isn't it. When we were challenging for the Prem, of course we're looking at big name players, exciting youngsters (look where that all got us!). Now we are where we are, of course we're looking at lesser known players. We're signing players who have played regularly at a higher level than we're at - for me, given where we are, that's good news. What did you expect exactly...? More over-priced, money chasing luxury players like Lawrence and Johnson? (meeeeooow! ;))
Also, factually incorrect to call him a backup player when he's played 163 games in 5 seasons for Luton. 4 seasons of which was in the Championship. 

But it's all relative isn't it. When we were challenging for the Prem, of course we're looking at big name players, exciting youngsters (look where that all got us!). Now we are where we are, of course we're looking at lesser known players. We're signing players who have played regularly at a higher level than we're at - for me, given where we are, that's good news. What did you expect exactly...? More over-priced, money chasing luxury players like Lawrence and Johnson? (meeeeooow! ;))
Also, factually incorrect to call him a backup player when he's played 163 games in 5 seasons for Luton. 4 seasons of which was in the Championship. 

McG was hardly mobile was he... right place, right time, etc. Just saying.

McG was hardly mobile was he... right place, right time, etc. Just saying.

Absolutely. If Sonny B is as good as I think/hope he is, he could have the Stimac effect. Obviously a very different player but in terms of presence, professionalism, grit, etc I think he's going to be huge for us. Nelson is a reliable, solid (and quick I think) player with Cash also being solid (and still developing) so I think we're going to be hard to beat. 3 hard b*stards at the back with athletic full backs and positionally good midfielders... that's going to work.
From watching Loach's interview, the team spirit and unity is spot on. When you get a group like that, at any level, they're a force to be reckoned with. Obviously a very different level but they have that Man City feels about them as a group - proper pros. It's clear from watching the interviews that PW's strategy is to create a group that fight for each other - I just don't see us signing flash Harry's or pure flair players - it'll be proper pros and for L1, that's exactly what's needed.
We just need those forward players and I'll be putting good money on us going up as league Champions. None of this play-off malarky!