Jram

A number of reasons why we can't expect a good run at a top 6 place. 
There are more than 6 teams with much bigger budgets than we'll have. 
There are more than 6 teams who already have more players than Derby with recent premier and championship experience. 
There are more than 6 teams who don't need to rebuild like Derby have to.
There was a report highlighted on one of the topics regarding the average wage bill of teams promoted to the premier, it was over £60m, we will be no where near that. 
We're can hope and dream of a top six place, but to expect it, that's delusional. 
Or maybe your deliberately setting unrealistic targets, so you can say that the club have failed at the end of the season?

Don't flirt with relegation, and don't buy 5+ 30somethings to achieve that
Have the U18s & U21s kick on, and be comfortable enough in the league to give a few youngsters a proper run in the team.

Lower mid-table, a bit of a cup run, and a good kernel of a team to challenge in 2025/26 would do me

You could well argue that, as of this very moment with the players contracted to the club, we are the weakest team in the league. The expectation is we are going to be in a relegation battle with 8-10 different clubs even with significant investment. The hope is that we can smash recruitment out the park and potentially give ourselves a chance to look up rather than down, but it’s no easy task and everyone is looking to get ahead. 
£100 that Derby get relegated or finish top half.. I would say the former is more likely to happen. 

I fully expect CBT to be fit for the new season. He wasn't when he arrived and stayed that way. He has, indeed, been less than average apart from 1 decent cameo and his game against Pompey. If fit, we should see the player that did so well at Charlton.

My ambition is to finish comfortably in mid table and see some fresh academy players get significant minutes in league games. Sign players with high potential and sell on value. Would love a foreign import as well. 

Ipswich had a ready made team, built over two seasons without restrictions on wages or fees, that they were able to tweak successfully and managed to exceed everyone's expectations, including their own and the bookies.
We aren't in that position, having to move on from most of the players that were hurriedly signed after Administration. So anyone with an expectation of challenging for the playoffs or better this coming season is setting themselves up for a season of disappointment or, more likely in some cases, laying the ground to jump straight back on the Warne Out bandwagon at the earliest possible opportunity. 

Darren Robinson signed a new 2 year deal. 

Wildsmith offered 2nd contract turned down.
Warne now in for Johansson 

I actually don’t hate Forest that much. 

I actually don’t hate Forest that much. 

We should revert to chocolate, amber and blue colours.  Black and white is a bit boring and not even unique. 
It wouldn't be the worst thing if Derby, Forest and Leicester amalgamated into East Midlands All Stars if only the fan bases bought into it - 100k capacity  stadium in Castle Donington full every week - get it done in time for the European Super League.
 

After recent arguments on here. Not all including me 😄 , I thought maybe we could have a thread where people could post an unpopular or minority view, without anyone replying. Just letting it sit there.
It could be about present day Derby or previous players, managers, owners owners.
I bet we've all thought something and then thought maybe it's just me.
I'll start off with one. Whilst he had great charisma, was a good footballer and helped us move forward as a club, Stimac wasn't the greatest defender and its crazy he beat Todd into our greatest ever team.
It will be an interesting experiment to see if people can resist from relpying to someone's opinion.
 

Adam Lallana , just released by Brighton . Would take the P in the Championship . IF ,we can get Hourihane off the books . 

Let’s assume he hasn’t come through our academy and is a random young striker who’s had a good 3-4 months.  Would we really be suggesting we sign him and throw him in?  Would we really by looking at him thinking a Prem club will sign him for 8 figures in the summer?  Probably not.
@Chesterfield_Ram has given some good stats about other National League strikers who’ve scored hat loads at that level, but not so much in L1 or L2.  It’s about developing him at the right pace and not rushing him too soon.  I think the best next step is to send him on loan to L1 with the option to recall in January.

Fair enough. I don’t agree, I think he stood out as particularly technically gifted. I think he’s worth a punt on a year deal 

Numbers-wise he obviously didnt set the world alight with assists/goals but it was just his technical ability. His touch was always insane (that’s in comparison to the already relatively excellent players around him), he was rapid and he creates chances. 
 
I honestly think that if he could get fit, he could be a standout player in the championship 

Would John-Jules resign do you think? Absolutely class player if he can stay fit 

Would you rather we have an academy/squad full of players that nobody else is interested in?

Jordan Henderson to be our Championship equivalent of Hourihane 
can see sell him the Derby dream?

Bobby Clark on loan from Liverpool? Creative attacking midfielder 

He’d be our best player based on technical ability if we kept him fit. 
 
He’s out of contract isn’t he? Offer to put him through pre season to get him ‘Warne fit’ and if his body is robust enough to cope with that then offer him a reasonable wage (for us) with incentives for being available for selection added in to bring it in line with others at the club. 

Exactly what @Ram1988says. You cannot give the potentially brilliant John-Jules a contract unless it's based on appearances. I would love that to happen as I think he is the potential game-changer, but he has spent almost his whole career injured.
Hopefully he liked the club enough to go with this. Amazed if there are people prepared to gamble on a standard contract, but on the other hand there are desperate clubs with money... 

Woule need to be a contract based on his fitness for me. He is a real talent no doubt about that.