davenportram Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 verbally agreed a 1 year deal not signed yetJohn Eustace agrees a one-year deal with Derby CountyDerby TelegraphJul 23, 2013 6:07AM DERBY County have verbally agreed a one-year deal with experienced midfielder John Eustace.The signing of the 33-year-old should be completed this week.Nigel Clough believes adding Eustace's know-how to the squad could help to improve Derby's poor away results.Only three clubs in the Championship won fewer away games and only three clubs collected fewer away points.Eustace is a free agent after leaving Watford this summer.He will become the fifth new signing at Pride Park following goalkeeper Lee Grant, left-back Craig Forsyth and strikers Chris Martin and Johnny Russell.Eustace has been with Derby all pre-season and Clough is delighted to have come to an agreement with the player."I think we are about there," said Clough."We have agreed verbally on something for a year, which is great news."I don't think we have got anybody like John in our squad, somebody to come in and sit in front of the back four."I think he will be especially useful away from home."We are looking at trying to remedy the away form of last season when we conceded a few too many goals on the road."He might help in that department."He is experienced and a calm head. He is such a good character to have around the place and a good influence on the younger players."We are not too blessed with that sort of experience and we are delighted John will be a part of the squad."Eustace has featured in the three pre-season friendlies against Bohemians, Port Vale and Bristol Rovers.He is expected to be in the squad for tonight's game against Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium (kick-off 7.45pm).Report Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boycie Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I don't feel overwhelmed with joy about this signing. I'm not dissing the bloke though. Just wish we could get that one well known trusted name in the back four to give us that final lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mostyn6 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 quite uninspiring as a signing, and somewhat deflating after the euphoric optimism when we signed Johnny Russell. I will hope he does well in a Derby shirt, but would much rather a younger player with a few years ahead of him was bought in. It seems this is just a 'paper over the cracks' signing, and whilst it's low risk in terms of finance and length of contract, all it means is that YET again, we will need new signings once the season is over. We are supposed to be building here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearl Ram Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Isn't building an ongoing project though ? Manchester United are the current champions yet they are looking to add to their squad. Whilst I concede Eustace couldn't be described as "one for the future" he could offer a bit of stability in the short term while the manager finds what he's looking for, for the long term. You know, I get the impression that if we went up in second place, it wouldn't be good enough for some because they'll think we should have gone up as champions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheron85 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 It seems this is just a 'paper over the cracks' signing, and whilst it's low risk in terms of finance and length of contract, all it means is that YET again, we will need new signings once the season is over. Or someone to come in and protect the younger players? Take some of the pressure off them and they may develop quicker... And he may be able to give Hendrick a few pointers on tackling etc Whilst I concede Eustace couldn't be described as "one for the future" he could offer a bit of stability in the short term while the manager finds what he's looking for, for the long term. Man Utd had Scholes and Giggs in their squad last season... And before anyone (like Bris) jumps down my throat I KNOW that Eustace isn't as good as them... but in relative terms if the champions of England can bring back a 37 yr old then what's wrong with signing a 33 yr old who's a decent top-end championship midfielder... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambitious Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 We know his job, he knows his job and Clough knows his job. Rather have a player who is focused on being a bit-part player than a player who'd want to play every game, get disillusioned and put in half-arsed performances! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMuffin Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 We'll see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mostyn6 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Or someone to come in and protect the younger players? Take some of the pressure off them and they may develop quicker... And he may be able to give Hendrick a few pointers on tackling etc Man Utd had Scholes and Giggs in their squad last season... And before anyone (like Bris) jumps down my throat I KNOW that Eustace isn't as good as them... but in relative terms if the champions of England can bring back a 37 yr old then what's wrong with signing a 33 yr old who's a decent top-end championship midfielder... Protect? the younger players? Seriously! Another myth in football! You cannot hide on a football pitch and there is no such thing in football. Each player has to perform himself and not rely on others, and besides, if he was 'protecting' anyone, it'd be the central defence, who are not young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheron85 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Protect? the younger players? Seriously! Another myth in football! You cannot hide on a football pitch and there is no such thing in football. Each player has to perform himself and not rely on others, and besides, if he was 'protecting' anyone, it'd be the central defence, who are not young. I mean from doing the jobs they aren't very good at... No-one's pretending that any of our current midfielders are decent ball winners, and you take that responsibility away from them then they have more time to do the things they ARE good at... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMuffin Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I would say Eustace could learn of Hendrick more than the other way around. Like how to play football Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aefevans Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 John Eustace is an incredible leader both on and off the pitch, and a calming voice in the dressing room. As a player he isn't afraid to take on his man, and while he may tackle a bit rougher than other players he certainly doesn't hold back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duracell Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 quite uninspiring as a signing, and somewhat deflating after the euphoric optimism when we signed Johnny Russell. I will hope he does well in a Derby shirt, but would much rather a younger player with a few years ahead of him was bought in. It seems this is just a 'paper over the cracks' signing, and whilst it's low risk in terms of finance and length of contract, all it means is that YET again, we will need new signings once the season is over. We are supposed to be building here. Haven't we signed enough young players with a few years ahead of them? Who was the last player Clough signed permanently above the age of 30? We need some experience somewhere on that pitch. Too many times in away matches in particular, inexperience in seeing a game out cost us dearly. Our players can not strike a balance between seeing the game out and defending for dear life. Not every signing has to be inspiring, this may not be, but pairing up what we want from a second-choice CM and the descriptions Watford fans have given him, I think this is a good signing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3232 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I haven't seen him play so can't say if it's a good signing yet, but we do need another CM and I think Clough has said he can slip into CB if needed so a useful addition..... Now I would love to see a young winger signed from the lower leagues to complete our squad and a CB on loan if O'Brien and Barker look like they're struggling later on in the season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodleyRam Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Solid signing. Will have a role to play on and off the pitch. I dont care that he's not inspiring, we have enough talent already, what we need now is a couple of pros who know how to get the job done. I think he's got a valuable role to play this season. Can't really see why anyone would be opposed to this as a signing. A quality CB needed and we're good to go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 We'll see Translation: BCO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 John Eustace is an incredible leader both on and off the pitch, and a calming voice in the dressing room. As a player he isn't afraid to take on his man, and while he may tackle a bit rougher than other players he certainly doesn't hold back. There are some on here who will twist ANYTHING into a knife to ram into Clough's back. You have no chance of convincing them of anything - they only want Clough to fail so they can say "Look - I was right". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramshankered Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I really don't see what the problem is - it's only a year. In football terms that's nothing. Best case, he'll bring much needed calmness and experience to a young side. Worst case, he gets injured or doesn't play well - by the end of the year he's off. It's a win / win for all involved. I'm quietly confident he'll be a signing of Kuqi quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramexpat Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 he'll play last 10 mins of a game, brings experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOB BIGGS Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I really don't see what the problem is - it's only a year. In football terms that's nothing. Best case, he'll bring much needed calmness and experience to a young side. Worst case, he gets injured or doesn't play well - by the end of the year he's off. It's a win / win for all involved. I'm quietly confident he'll be a signing of Kuqi quality. There isn't really a problem. It's just a few people positioning themselves. See Eddie's comments above. Nothing will ever be good enough for those who have their own agenda. Reality plays no part in such thinking. It could be that Eustace is all we can afford at present. If that helps us pick up a few more away points, then I'm all for it. It might not, I don't know enough about him. I continue to be amazed at such in depth knowledge of so many players on this Forum. Anyway, why am I rambling on. Clough and Board out irrespective . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich3478 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Centre back was surely a bigger priority than cover for covers sake in midfield. Starting another season with Buxton first choice doesn't fill me with confidence! Eustace covering him at centre back also doesn't! Just noticed of our five new signings, four already played for derby! Forsyth and Martin finished the season so that doesn't improve us. Grant I'm happy with, seems to have improved a lot since leaving. And eustace seems an odd signing to me!! Leaves a lot of pressure for improvement on johnny Russell! We look really light at centre back, Buxton would be fourth choice for me. O brien third and a new signing as a partner to Keogh. Barker is finished if we're honest about it isn't he Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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