Jayram

6 hours ago, Tyler Durden said:

Don't shoot me down....but am concerned how things could pan out over the short to medium term - together with the EFLs "help" Clowes is intending to run the club as a sustainable business (not a bad thing after the previous owner may I add).

However....in my humble opinion with this business model the longer we remain in League 1 the harder it then becomes year on year to escape from this league.

Attendances drop, which then affect the club's revenue which potentially cover the cost of players wages. Our better or best players get sold to cover running costs of the club and next to nothing of the fees recouped then are able to be reinvested even moderately for adequate replacements and this cycle continues with us effectively competing with the other x amount of League clubs on an even platform for bargain basement players. 

I'm not advocating going back to the boom and bust era of MM but reflecting on the game yesterday we are still desperately short of adequate - and I use the word adequate rather than stellar or world class - additions in a number of key positions.

If our budget is constraining these additions being made or its DC financial prudency then I fear for this season.

Having a competitive budget means exactly that nothing more nothing less. If we are constrained by not being able to pay even modest transfer fees as that limits the amount of players we can then being in then any advantage we may lever over other clubs has virtually been eroded. 

Again I'm not saying the above is a necessarily bad thing but there are definite consequences to it if Warne isn't able to transpose his magic from Rotherham to our club in putting together a team of players with virtually no cost AND galvanising them into promotion candidates. 

I got shot down for saying something similar (but much less eloquently than you) just before the season started. The fact is that despite our tribal loyalty eventually if we end up in a cycle of selling our best youngsters and signing players for nominal fees to stay sustainable people will just drift away. Who wants to pay £28-£33 a game just to watch the likes of Stevenage or Fleetwood every season? Revenues will erode and eventually we’ll be just bobbing along in this league year in year out like Burton. There has to be some ambition and that requires spending some decent money on the standard of player who will make a difference, starting now if possible.

15 minutes ago, IlsonDerby said:

True - absolute agree. the only caveat I’d say is how many of their players are new? 
 

 

Well they have lost 16 players from their first team squad since the end of last season so most of them!

Something has to change; play to the strengths of the players we have instead of trying to force a system on them for a start. Several of our players looked in my view out of position and were thus rendered ineffective (NML, Bird) and in midfield it was the same old same old. The number of times our players had the ball and were trying to find options but couldn’t was ridiculous. 
Wigan should have been there for the taking; they have lost 16 players from their first team squad since the end of last season including their top scorer and yet they looked much more comfortable, composed and well drilled than us all game. 
 

8 hours ago, rammieib said:

Imagine him with some decent players around him/in front of him

And a decent manager.

9 hours ago, CornwallRam said:

A manager with 3 promotions from this division. 

And 3 relegations the seasons after..

1 hour ago, The Last Post said:

Pop over to the Waghorn thread, I said fans will decide DCs tenure next season, Oooops looks to be a year to early, Coming out of the ground all I heard was Warne out, Fans are fickle/entitled and think they know best...one game in and the knives are out.

It takes time...but it looks as tho the clock is ticking already FFS 🙄

It was a disappointing result at home on the first day of a season with some of the same failings as before being seen, so it’s hardly surprising there is some disquiet. It been painfully obvious we need more creativity in midfield and other options up front but this still hasn’t been addressed for whatever reason. That said I don’t think DC will be bothered by a few fans venting no more than PW. 

Can only see a 0-0 or scrappy 1-0 but looking forward to going - fed up of football free Saturdays!

3 hours ago, Wolfie20 said:

"Our owner will need to understand..........".

Really?

Yes really, for the reasons stated. 

Pompey and Bolton for the top 2. Oxford, Charlton, Peterborough and possibly Barnsley giving them a good chasing all season. Pompey’s coach is highly regarded in football circles and Evatts record with Bolton speaks for itself. Liam Manning at Oxford has recruited well (they beat QPR 5-0 in their last pre-season friendly), Charlton are getting some decent players in and obviously Peterborough have retained the majority of their squad. Barnsley might fall away now their manager has moved on but all of the above are a good shout for promotion. 

1 hour ago, Tyler Durden said:

There's yourself and a handful of other forum members whom are regular malcontents with their posts that our recruitment is garbage as so far we haven't been able to get in this mythical pacey, proven goalscorer whom is available on a free, whose wages matches our budget and that no other scout in the entire football league has heard about. 

Have you ever considered that there's a valid reason for this?

You and your cohorts just don't seem to want to move away from your stance. 

Hang on fella, not once have I come close to saying our recruitment is ‘garbage’ or anything of the sort. I’m that much of a ‘malcontent’ that I’ve renewed my season ticket even though I live around 120 miles away from PP as well as my away membership, but I’m entitled to an opinion on our failure to recruitment an adequate replacement for McGoldrick. And it is a failure, whatever the reasons might be. 

Just now, Caerphilly Ram said:

Who do you think would fit that role? Are there any examples you can add into the conversation as suggestions?

I am not employed by a football club as a scout or recruitment professional so I'll leave that to the people at DCFC who are. A fairly big deal was made of the chap we got from Oxford Utd who was supposed to be very good at this sort of thing, so maybe you should ask him.

8 hours ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Washington and Mendez-Laing are both pacey forwards, so are you sure it's a "pacey forward" which we need?

I mean a younger nippy striker who can make things happen out of nothing and knows where the net is. I don't think NML or Washington are that kind of player. 

Irrespective of the arguments around budgets it is patently obvious that we need a younger quicker forward who can slot in and make things happen on the occasions when Warneball fails, as it will from time to time. If we do not find that type of player either via a transfer fee or loan then we are going to struggle to make a dent in the top six this coming season. None of us know what is happening on the recruitment front but it is concerning that we are 6 days away the start of the season without such an option in the squad. This should have been sorted much sooner than it has and that in my view reflects poorly on the club recruitment/coaching staff.

5 hours ago, angieram said:

I'm prepared to spend £13.40 a game to watch a strong, competitive team that contains a mix of talented young players who have come through our academy and good pros who have been brought in for their ability to get us out of this division and at least give them a chance to do so  before I throw my toys out of the pram.

I saw no chunk of the fanbase missing last season and the attendances at this season's friendlies and early demand for tickets suggests there won't be much change this season.

If some of the occasional big game only fans stay away because we haven'tgot a star striker in yet, then I think we'll barely notice  tbh.

If and when Clowes and Warne's approach doesn't work, I will say so, but can we give the season a chance first? 

 

Of course we’ll give the season a chance first, that’s why people like me and my mate have renewed our ST’s again and are preparing for a 230 mile round trips every couple of weeks for the next 9 months!
However I think that the failure (so far) to bring in a decent young forward in the age range we were told we’d be looking for is a worry, so it’s fair to question why that is the case.

20 hours ago, MadAmster said:

... and why DC won't do it. Self sufficiency and sustainability are the key words going forward. We were on the brink a year ago. More recently Southend United and Scunny are in the mire. Bury went tits up. Brum were in the deep and sticky. Unless clubs realise they can't keep throwing money they don't have at the hope of getting promoted, more will either escape by the skin of their teeth as we did or go under a la Bury and others. The game cannot be run along those lines. 

I understand that principle but if we extrapolate that over the next few years are you prepared to pay £28-£33 for a match ticket to watch us spend season after season in this division, selling our best youngsters, paying nominal fees  and hoping for the best? If you are then that’s fine but I imagine a large chunk of the fan base are not and interest will fade rapidly. There has to be a balance between sustainability and ambition; no one is wanting a return to MM days but equally if we want to get out of this league anytime soon we will need to be competitive in the transfer market and that means occasionally having to pay the going rate. 

3 hours ago, Sparkle said:

Our owner sets the budget for all aspects of the club and hopefully we are determined to be self sufficient and not a debt ridden football club which means lower wages and hardly any transfer fees and selling when decent offers come in. 

Well our owner will need to understand that if that is his philosophy going forward, however laudable, it will probably lead to a certain level of pitch mediocrity, fans becoming disillusioned and a subsequent fall in attendances, revenue and interest. Sadly there doesn't appear to be such a thing in modern football (especially at this level) as a self sufficient club or at least a successful one. We will need occasionally to push the boat out to sign the kind of players that will get us out of the division otherwise we will end up being stuck here for years. 

7 hours ago, uttoxram75 said:

Thanks, even though you know its coming its still bloody awful when it happens.

My sympathies mate; my dad was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer recently and is about to start his treatment so I can understand how hard it must have been/is at the moment for you all.
Let’s hope the Rams can bring some cheer for us with a promotion winning season (though it won’t for my dad, he’s a Millwall supporter!).

31 minutes ago, richinspain said:

Sorry, but I have to disagree. We've sold Bielik after making zero appearances last season, so although he is a quality player the squad hasn't gone backwards from last season.

We've sold Knight, who is obviously a very good player played all of the minutes he could have done. However he played those minutes either at right back where we have brought in two specialised wing backs, or at centre mid where Smith is now available in his preferred position.

I don't think that the squad has gone backwards for those two sales.

We released several aging centre backs, and replaced them with younger better suited players for the preferred style of play.

McGoldrick decided to move on. He will obviously be difficult to replace, however he limited a little our style of play due to us being forced to play to his. We have signed an experienced forward who plays to Warne's preferred style.

Last season we finished 7th on goal difference. We were hardly treading water. It is to be seen if we have recruited as well as it would appear, but I don't think for one second that we have gone backwards.

I wasn’t really thinking about Bielik, more the loss of Knight and McGoldrick. Neither in my view have been replaced by better quality players in Smith or Washington. The problem we have is that Warnes preferred style is easily countered if you press/nullify the wing backs. Once you’ve done that and stopped the crosses coming in our current strikers are dead in the water, so we desperately need another more mobile/quick forward who can makes things happen in other ways. I appreciate we are restricted financially but without this option I think we are going to be lame ducks next season. 

28 minutes ago, Srg said:

 

That is so disappointing to hear. Two of our best players have gone from a squad that wasn’t that strong to begin with and now we learn that there’s next to nothing to spend to replace them. Well that to me says we’ll be treading water next season. 

1 hour ago, RoyMac5 said:

Not gonna happen this season is it? 😞

It’s simple really. Without decent investment up front we will struggle for goals and it will be a hard slog next season. I honestly think we’ll be on the outside looking in as the likes of Pompey, Peterborough, Bolton, Charlton, Oxford and Barnsley bypass us. I’m clinging to the hope that we will get a striker in who is under the age of 30 and is a decent prospect before the opening game but the vibe from the club doesn’t really fill me with confidence. 

1 hour ago, MACKWORTHRAM said:

We're in League One with next to to money whatsoever.

There's absolutely nothing out there in the free agent market.

This bloke has scored just over 200 goals in just over 400 games and some of us are saying no.

I'm intrigued as to realistically you'd want us to sign? Or would fit in a wage budget? 

I'm not saying he's a world beater or I'd be excited. But it's league one. We are where we are. Personally think he could comfortably score between 10-15 goals at this level.

Also Knight hasn't even been gone a week yet and some people are panicking that we've not replaced him. 

I think people are entitled to feel a bit underwhelmed at us being linked to yet another 30 something journeyman forward. We are pouring money into the club via season ticket sales etc, we are apparently no longer under embargo and we’ve just sold Knight so surely there is enough finance to make it viable to sign someone relatively young and with a decent scoring record. Without investment up front of this kind I honestly don't think we’ll trouble the top six next season; we simply don’t have enough quality goal scorers. 

We have better balance in the squad now but not enough quality. Can’t see us troubling the automatic places without at least one proven goal scorer, and I don’t mean another one over the age of thirty. I just don’t see where the goals are coming from and I think we should show a little more respect to some of the other clubs in this league; the likes of Oxford, Bolton, Charlton and Portsmouth are all building decent squads and both Barnsley and Posh are still here. I’m quietly confident that we will be around the top six but really we need to be aiming for autos and that means spending a few quid on quality up front. 

No thanks, bang average and no better than what we’ve got already.

Warne has now got a transfer budget and therefore the ability to bring in his own players. He is supposed to be a League One promotion specialist so I expect promotion; there is no reason now we are competing on a level playing field that we shouldn’t achieve it. For me anything else in such a weak league would be failure.

We wore blue and white during one of the most dismal periods of our history in the late 70’s/early 80’s so I have no affinity for it. White shirts, black shorts, white socks, red numbers on the back. Simple.