Sussex Ram

Asking for advice. I am an away membership holder, my friend isn’t. Neither of us had any away games last year. If I try to buy us two tickets to Portsmouth (using his Fan ID and mine) do I need to wait until the date of general sale? Or does my away membership give me earlier access for both tickets? Given there are only 1,200ish tickets it could be make or break!

Am I right in saying that Portsmouth tickets aren’t yet on sale? I was expecting them to come online last week- running it close for those of us who can’t collect from Pride Park and rely on posting the tickets out…

Lots of consensus in these comments. The only blemish is the lack of a RB, but I’d deduct only half a mark for that given how well we’ve done elsewhere.

One positive feature which I haven’t seen celebrated enough is the fact we got our business done so early. It means we’ve picked up more early points than we otherwise might, fitness levels are up to speed quicker, we’re gelling sooner etc.

I wonder if the transfer business has, in some ways, been made easier by the financial limits? It means you’re signing players that want to sign for Derby, rather than sign for the money. I hope that leads to a strong character and spirit through the squad. A thin silver lining on a very large cloud, perhaps?

I still say the fans had a big part to play in our transfer business. Playing in front of 26,000+ passionate fans is a huge draw for players, compared with other league 1 and lower half championship teams. Particular when wages are capped!

Now the first window is out the way, it’s going to be interesting to see the club’s transfer strategy, both during and after business plan. We’ll have lots of contracts expiring simultaneously, in 12 and 24 months- but at least the club will have time to plan!

Derby 1 - 0 Plymouth

FRGS Hourihane

The mood music from Rosenior has changed on this topic. After the first or second game, when asked about Knight as a right back, he said that we were looking at the transfer market. Game 3 or 4 there was a comment about Knight’s professionalism, and I think Justin Walker said he was every manager’s dream- works hard, gives his all, does what is asked. Today Rosenior says he is “so comfortable” with the options he’s got at RB.

Reading between the lines, we haven’t been able to bring in a RB that fits in our budget, our culture, our system, or the right age profile (or maybe a combination of all four). Still a few hours to go if Rosenior wants to settle for something less than perfect, but I expect we’ll see Knight at RB until January, with Oduroh growing into the role as support.

U18s are 2-0 down after an hour. Lots of names in the lineup which I don’t recognise…can anyone shed any light?

https://uk.soccerway.com/matches/2022/08/27/england/premier-academy-league/manchester-city-fc-under-18-academy/derby-county-fc-under-18-academy/3895906/

Derby 2-0 Peterborough

FRGS Collins

Not sure if it has been mentioned, but I believe it is the plan to add another right back to the squad. This is based on two post match interviews with Rosenior, in one or both of the first two league games (from memory).

The conversation went something like: Rosenior waxing lyrical about Knight’s energy and professionalism; RamsTV asked if Knight at right back is a long term thing; Rosenior said “we’re still actively in the market”. This implies Knight is filling in temporarily.

There are still 11 days until the window closes, but given how well we recruited early on I suspect that they’ve struggled to find a RB that fits the budget and profile (good on the ball, quick, more experienced than Oduroh).

Rosenior has mentioned about loan deals becoming available late in the window, as Prem teams only know who they can let go on loan once all first team business is done. In the absence of any other obvious targets, I wonder if this is one where we’re biding our time? The natural question is- what happens if we leave it too late, and nothing comes up that fits the bill?? Do we add an imperfect RB, or stick with what we’ve got?

My personal preference is to add an experienced, specialist full back, even if they’re not perfect. Knight does a great job there, but could be be even better in the middle of the park.

Fleetwood 0 - 2 Derby 

FRGS Hourihane

I can understand some of the more negative comments on here, as it’s frustrating to be so dominant yet come away with only a point. But there are going to be games like this in League 1. The key is making sure it doesn’t become a habit- so Fleetwood on Saturday becomes a really important game now.

When we have 80% possession, it somehow feels like we should score 3 or 4. But in a game like this, where teams sit in and hit us on the break, a single goal is all it takes. That completely undermines their game plan, and forces them to play in a way they don’t want to. They are drawn out into a more open battle, creating more space, which allows our superior quality to show.

That’s also why the ball goes side to side, over and over again. When (or if!) we do get the first goal, the opposition are drawn out with tired legs- making it even harder for them to go toe to toe with us in an actual football match.

This all hinges on us actually scoring a goal (!) and that’s where I share the frustration. We had opportunities tonight. Not loads, but there are never going to be loads. We need to show more composure in those clutch moments, and the away form will improve.

When watching him in the U23s, I always thought Cashin lacked agility rather than pace. Once he got going, he didn’t get left behind, and boy did he use his momentum well in the challenge! But often he got turned, and he seemed to take an age to react. I also felt like he was always on the stretch to make his passes, always looked like on the cusp of losing the ball.

But the way he has played so far this season, he’s put a lot of that to bed. He seems generally quite intelligent positionally for a player of his age (a few examples where he was sucked in, but no one is perfect). That means he doesn’t need to turn as quickly.

He has also retained the ball excellently, with great composure- and coupled with a notably accurate left foot, he’s actually a decent outlet to the wingers at times.

On height- I met him in hospitality at the Bristol City game last year, and we were all surprised at how short he was. 5’ 9” is about right. I must say, he was so polite and very bashful for someone nicknamed “Slabhead” by Sibley.

Final note- we were in DCFC hospitality that day to celebrate, as my four year old son was coming to the end of some health issues. Eiran was great with him, posed for photos, and four weeks later a squad signed shirt and handwritten note from Eiran turned up in the post. Shirt now framed on my son’s wall. Class touch, that.

With Sibley, I’d like to think that the manager takes into account tactics when deciding the line up. It isn’t all down to how well he played the game before.

My view, having watched the Barnsley game back, is that Sibley doesn’t offer as much defensively as Smith. His press is OK, and he has a knack for stealing the ball out a players blind spot (particularly late in the game). But Sibley often takes his eye off his man and follows the ball, leaving himself marking fresh air or in the middle of a triangle chasing the ball. He used to deal with that by jumping into rash tackles, which (credit to him) he seems to have changed this season.

When we’re expected to dominate the ball, I would say that’s a sacrifice worth making to get Sibley’s penetration skills in the side (keep it clean, please). That basically makes him favourite to start in most home games, and also away from home where the opposition are expected to sit in for a draw. I think Shrewsbury fit that bill- so for me, he starts.

Counter argument- Rosie has been very vocal about rotation and fresh legs.  The Carabao R2 game means we now play Sat/Tues/Sat/Tues/Sat, so expect changes.

Counter counter argument- Rosie (like Rooney before him) has form for saying they won’t change a winning side unless they really have to.

Heavens to Betsy, it’s a minefield, isn’t it?!

A decent solution to a difficult GK conundrum. We need someone to genuinely challenge Wildsmith to get the best out of him. Loach isn’t at that level, from what I’ve heard, and Foulkes isn’t at that level YET.

We can’t attract top loan talent if we can’t guarantee first team football every week, which narrows the pool. We also can’t justify (in my opinion) paying a decent wage on a permanent GK, if one of them is guaranteed to sit on the bench. So we’re left with a younger/cheaper loan option who is good enough to push Wildsmith. Let’s hope he fits the bill.

Crucially, this allows Foulkes to go out on loan and play a full season somewhere. It’s a long road, but we need to get back to the point of sending our top 5 academy products out on loan, so they don’t have to learn on the job in the Championship/League 1.

Shrewsbury 1-1 Derby. FRGS Collins.

4 missing through injury, 4 triallists not involved and 3 with the first team. Arguably if Rosie is looking to add roughly 3 to the first team squad, we’ll see numbers flow back down to the U21s (like we did yesterday with Oduroh)?

So there’s definitely numbers to add to the squad (hopefully), and on top of that surely there is an element of getting used to playing together? The first team have shown some of that rustiness already, and they have had more pre season games to iron that out. Patience is key. This is the start of a rebuild for the whole club, U21s and U18s included.

1-1 FRGS Collins

I’ve emailed the ticket office today, on the matter of timing of away tickets coming on sale. Taking Shrewsbury as an example, fans who cannot get to Pride Park and buy in person are essentially excluded from buying a ticket- unless they are away members with 5+ games last year. For anyone else, there isn’t enough time to post the tickets, as they come on sale either 3 or 1 days before the match (depending on whether you are an away member or not).

This doesn’t just include non-Derby based fans; it includes anyone who can’t get to Pride Park due to mobility issues or lack of transport.

My proposed solution would be to give only 24 hours between each “tranche” of fans (20/15/10/5 games) getting access to tickets, rather than 48 hours. This (rightly, in my opinion) still gives the more travelled fans priority, whilst also giving all fans a fighting chance of getting a ticket on general sale.

I know that a lot of away games will sell out before they get to general sale, due to small allocations and lots of loyal fans, but the principle is important. And there will be matches with larger allocations where this could be a real problem- we could end up with tickets going unsold as they don’t leave enough time to post out tickets to those buying on general sale.

Thoughts welcome.

Charlton 1-0 Derby

If you put a buymobiles.net logo on the third kit, it’s basically the 2013-14 away kit, no? Not complaining, just can’t understand the 1996-97 comparison when 2013-14 is so much more similar.

The pictures also remind me just how much the sponsor logo plays into the aesthetic of modern football shirts. I understand why some people prefer kits clear of commercial influence (it’s the club you follow, not an arbitrary brand) but for me personally, it reiterates that the sponsor can make or break a kit.

TBC whether the sponsor improves the design or not…

1-1 FRGS Hourihane

Mine is also working fine- and it also has a very useful squad page in the menu, which is actually quite up to date, and includes Amadou Diallo, Kemar Roofe, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

OK, only one of those is true- I’ll let you guess which one…

Thought I’d check the Kemar Roofe thread, and the conversation seems to be about employer NIC, Paul Kitson and Mark Pembridge. That’s probably a good indicator of how likely it is we’ll actually sign Kemar Roofe.

We still have 6 and a half weeks of the transfer window to go, and we only have a few more spots to fill in the first team squad. Given the position we came from in administration, I think the most impressive feature of our transfer window is the speed at which we’ve got our business done. Being able to get the group together for a number of friendlies should have a big impact, and help us make a quicker start than if we were still scouting the market in late August (obviously)!

The other way to look at that is we still have 6 and a half weeks to fend off advances for players we want to keep…but I keep myself happy by pretending that if anyone wanted to leave they would have done so by now!

Another pleasing feature is that only one of our loan spots has been taken up so far. I expected us to lean heavily on the loan market- partly due to financial restrictions, but also we are a VERY attractive proposition to a Prem academy looking for somewhere to send their top talent on loan (facilities, playing decent football, experienced squad, and of course top support every week- home and away). Loan moves tend to happen a bit later, I think, so maybe there is more to come there.

Finally, I hope there will be at least a handful more brought into the U21 squad. We’ve got such a good track record of finding discarded gems in the past few years, so surely it’s a case of rinse and repeat. I’ve long said that we should be sending more of our top academy prospects on loan, if we want them to develop more quickly. No idea if the budget allows for that many players, but I really hope that’s where we can get to in the next few years. 

Does anyone know if there will be priority access for away membership holders when booking any potential trips to Wembley? The main reason I purchased in the past was to put some money into the club, but also on the slim chance we made the play off final (let’s not start that conversation!). This year, theoretically we have 2 chances- play offs and the EFL Pizza Slam Bang Trophy (or whatever it’s called).

That’s assuming we don’t make it to the final of the FA and League Cups… even I’m not that optimistic.

I’m generally a positive poster- really, I am- but am I the only one to be a little suspicious of the “Bielik’s knee is a bit sore” line? For the first time ever, I hope he HAS got a sore knee, and this isn’t a yarn spun to hide an upcoming departure.

On the other hand, his wages must now be the biggest in the squad (?); he’ll attract a few if we sell rather than loan; he is just too good for League 1; he’ll have the World Cup in mind (and I think the Poland manager said he needed to play a higher level?); and we are awash with options at CM. Knight played on the wing and Sibley upfront, and Hourihane didn’t play at all.

Assuming we keep hold of Bird and Knight, how do we feel about losing Bielik ? if it opens up wages/funds for 2-3 other names on the roster?