Exeter Arms Talk

[abertawe_ram]

I headed down there tonight and really enjoyed the evening, did anybody else go along? 

 

I thought Paul Simpson was excellent to listen to, as others have alluded to after these events, he provides a good mixture of enthusiasm, positivity and honesty with the added bonus of a few nostalgic moments talking about the good times in the 90s.

I enjoyed listening to Sam Rush a lot more than I thought I would considering the interviews I'd seen and heard with him on videos and the radio. 
I'm going to make a confession now and say I don't really know who John Vicars is and what his role is with the club but he seemed to talk honestly about some tricky issues to be fair to him even he didn't personally possess some of the verve of the other two, not everyone has that.
Colin Gibson was also quite a good laugh in playing his relatively small role and it was particularly funny when someone put to him the analogy of going from being the poacher to the game keeper!

I arrived a little late and so struggled to hear some of the first half of the talk due to amount of people and the difficult layout of the pub but I'll list some of the issues I found interesting. (Beer battered brain permitting)
When asked if he could strengthen any position in the team, Simmo said that he would want to sign a player who could score 25 goals a season (despite "subtle" shouts of "left back left back" from the bloke next to me).
When asked by a southeast ST holder about the potential moving of away fans to that area and filling the south stand with rams fans, Vicars said that they were talking to police and the city council about the idea with a view to implementing it next season. He said a "gesture" would likely be offered to those who had to move from the south east corner. He said they were keen to hear fans opinions on this.
A topic I found interesting was naming rights of the stadium. Vicars gave the impression that we would consider offers with regards to naming rights but it would have to be the right deal. He also asked the guy who had asked the question how he would feel about it, maybe suggesting they worry how fans would react to such a deal. Also, I heard in a conversation he was having after the official talk had finished that they might consider something along the lines of "Rolls-Royce Arena @ Pride park". Pretty sure this was an example only so please don't think "oh my god they've renamed the ground argghhhh!".

Finally, when asked if he could now sign any player from the time that he was a Derby player who would it be, Simmo said Paul McGrath. He did also joke that we probably wouldn't be able to afford McGrath's bar bill though! He then went on to say he'd take Wanchope's individuality, Eranio's professionalism, Stimac's influence and McGrath's ability to mould into one player but that player might be a bit out of our price range! Made me feel almost teary eyed thinking back on those quality players.  
 

I hope my consumption of alcoholic beverages has not shaded my judgement too much in writing this, but if others who were there tonight would care to set me straight then I won't hold it against you (much).
If you get a chance over the next week or so I'd thoroughly recommend going down to one of the talks, having a pint, having a listen and asking the questions you want answered.

Edit: sorry about the ramble...

[abertawe_ram]

**** a duck, sorry to continue but I also forgot another thing I found interesting after someone asked about the DOF position (putting Jim Smith's name forward in the process), Sam Rush said that the appointment could be made over the next month and potentially it could be somebody not overly involved in the game before but who'd spent more time behind a computer. (Me and my champ manager skills looking pretty good now)
From his description of the role it sounded more like a chief scout/recruitment role and near no influence towards team selection and such.

[Ramsall]

Thanks abertawe. Appreciate the feed back. I went to the one at the Royal Telegraph with Sam Rush, John Vicars and Steve McClaren.

 

There is also 'An Evening With Sam Rush' at Derby Theatre on Wednesday night, 7pm, there's just over 50 tickets left. It's free but you need to book. Can also ask questions there too.

 

http://www.derbytheatre.co.uk/evening-sam-rush

[Alph]

Nice one abertawe.

On the naming of the ground bit. Like most people I'd accept it if it was something good and long term.

We don't want to 5 year deal with Bet365. Then a 3 year deal with webuyanycar.

If there was any chance that Rolls Royce would do it (which I always assumed there was no chance but just saying it now its been mentioned) I would happily take that.

Pride Park is a bit limp. And Rolls Royce arena @ Pride Park.... wtf?

Rolls Royce Arena/Stadium though would be great if it was for the foreseeable future. It's local and it's giant prestigious company.

[Neo]

Exeter arms does a fantastic pint of peddi or did not been in for years but a lovely fireside pub,was one of my real ale favs

[May Contain Nuts]

Thanks for the report, I was going to go but totally forgot about it! I know the pub layout (been enough times! Used to work next door, and now go in quite often for some pre match food and a few Dark Drakes ) and can't imagine where they were sat

[Bris Vegas]

Damn it they've spilt the beans over my new position at DCFC

[CornwallRam]

I went to the one at the Needles earlier.

 

I have to agree that Simmo is a particularly impressive individual.

 

Here's some of what I can remember:

 

Performance v QPR - pleased that we nearly matched them, the difference was that their defenders are Premier League players and ours aren't. Forsyth had a torrid time, but mainly due to him being pitted against the best right winger in the league - every left back would have struggled against Philips on that form.

 

Promotion - Simmo doesn't feel that the squad as it is are likely to get promoted, but he ES and SMC will try all in their power to change that. Promotion asap is the aim. Wouldn't commit to saying which players were good enough for the PL. Said it is so hypothetical as the squad would be likely to be so different. He also hinted that the squad would be likely to be very different come February 1st 2014.

 

Squad - generally pleased with the squad but feels it lacks both depth and organisation. Although injuries aren't helping, Simmo feels that it is ridiculous that certain players face no completion for their shirts - goalkeeper and left back mentioned by the crowd, and Simmo said 'among others'. He then went on to say that Will Hughes is 18 and seriously needs to be rested, but we have no other players capable of doing his job, and the team would be pretty uncompetitive if the rested Hughes - which is a ridiculous situation. Davies, Hendrick, Legzdins, Whitbread and O'Brien could all be back after the international break.

 

Money - DCFC always spend in the top half of the division (he got away unchallenged on the net/gross spend bit) and that would continue. The aim is to out-compete all the non-parachute teams.

 

Plaza/Velodrome - feasibility study into the Plaza due to be completed in the next fortnight. The club are still looking at potential plans - I got the feeling that they were cooling on the whole concept. Also noted that they don't believe that the Velodrome will affect things - other than having tidied up that end of the site. The VD is apparently more of a community facility than top sporting venue. We should view it as a leisure centre with a club standard cycling track around it.

 

OAP/disabled fans - prices were too cheap but the club got the transition wrong over the summer.

 

Forest allocation/away fans - Forest to get fewer tickets but the actual allocation yet to be decided - a long way to go before March. Simmo said (to paraphrase) 'if you lot want to keep the Forest fans out then you need to make sure that you buy enough tickets to sell out Pride Park with Derby fans.' Looking to move away fans to SE corner, but need agreement from police, council and fans.

 

Technical Director - on the way and will be answerable to SMC. Sam Rush said that dealing with agents takes up a ridiculous amount of time for a manager, which can detract from his other duties if not managed properly. Also felt that we have had a weak scouting set up and are consequently missing out on quality affordable players. The TD should solve both these issues. I also got the feeling that they thought that Nigel worked himself silly, but they didn't think that was a particularly clever thing to do.

 

I know that I've missed some other things, but that's as much as I have time for now.

[Mostyn6]

I'm glad now, a few weeks after the first one and I was all impressed by Simmo, that a few others have seen the same thing. He seems to just ooze the level of intelligence, charisma, humour, desire and professionalism we need.

[Alph]

Can he play LB?

[CornwallRam]

Can he play LB?

Actually he did joke that he was Forsyth's main competitor

 

It did feel like the Paul Simpson show, with John Vicars and Sam Rush there to support him

[abertawe_ram]

Exeter arms does a fantastic pint of peddi or did not been in for years but a lovely fireside pub,was one of my real ale favs

Yep, I was on the pedigree last night. Very nice. Seems to have given me particularly pungent farts though, unfortunately for my colleagues...

 

 

Thanks for the report, I was going to go but totally forgot about it! I know the pub layout (been enough times! Used to work next door, and now go in quite often for some pre match food and a few Dark Drakes ) and can't imagine where they were sat

 

 

It was my first time there and I liked it a lot, though it isn't the best layout for this type of event. Best description I can offer is they were sat in the room opposite the bar with all the arch ways in it to the right, so there were people in front and behind them. It was ok once I got into the main room after the break but before that I struggled to hear as I was stood nearer to the bar.

 

I'm glad now, a few weeks after the first one and I was all impressed by Simmo, that a few others have seen the same thing. He seems to just ooze the level of intelligence, charisma, humour, desire and professionalism we need.

I think we're all in love with Simmo 

[HeyHudson]

It did feel like the Paul Simpson show, with John Vicars and Sam Rush there to support him

 

The one at the Royal Telegraph felt like the Steve McClaren show. Rush and Vicars (especially Vicars) just sat there for the most part.

[Gary Teale]

Don't we all want to hear from Steve Mc and simo most though.

[HeyHudson]

Don't we all want to hear from Steve Mc and simo most though.

 

Oh yeah, absolutely. It was just a marked contrast from the previous ones they did where Rush was the main focus of things.

[Stive Pesley]

Am I the only one who finds this all vaguely troubling?

 

Having sat through a couple of fan forums with Rush in the latter days of Nigel, I heard so much said about what a great squad we now had, the best squad Nigel has ever had, how we wanted a lean and hungry squad and would only consider loans for injuries, how Russell would be the goal scorer we are missing, we would definitely be aiming for top six etc etc

 

And now the new guys have come in and are now pretty  much saying that we can't get promoted with this squad, we don't have the depth and competition we need, we still need a 25 goals a season striker and we're loaning players in all over the place.

 

What troubles me is that Rush can't have it both ways – he either has to agree with the new coaches and admit that the strategy he forced Nigel to take was WRONG (and yes I think we all accept that Nigel always appeared to be working on a shoestring with one hand tied behind his back?) and that the fans were RIGHT all along or he tells the new coaches to pipe down and get back on message regarding spending little and wisely.

[Mostyn6]

Am I the only one who finds this all vaguely troubling?

 

Having sat through a couple of fan forums with Rush in the latter days of Nigel, I heard so much said about what a great squad we now had, the best squad Nigel has ever had, how we wanted a lean and hungry squad and would only consider loans for injuries, how Russell would be the goal scorer we are missing, we would definitely be aiming for top six etc etc

 

And now the new guys have come in and are now pretty  much saying that we can't get promoted with this squad, we don't have the depth and competition we need, we still need a 25 goals a season striker and we're loaning players in all over the place.

 

What troubles me is that Rush can't have it both ways – he either has to agree with the new coaches and admit that the strategy he forced Nigel to take was WRONG (and yes I think we all accept that Nigel always appeared to be working on a shoestring with one hand tied behind his back?) and that the fans were RIGHT all along or he tells the new coaches to pipe down and get back on message regarding spending little and wisely.

 

 

I think you're half right, half wrong. I believe that Rush was heartfelt and sincere when Clough was around, simply because that was his brief/remit from above, and below! NOW, the whole philosophy has changed, I'm convinced the penny has dropped with the owner/investors, and in turn, Sam Rush's brief/remit will have changed, similarly so will the information/feedback he is receiving from beneath.

 

It's a fact that ALL new managers see things differently when assessing the players left behind from the manager before. Where Nigel thinks player A is good enough, that will be playing the Nigel way, McClaren could think player A is not equipped to play the McClaren way. (this is not a criticism, it's just a fact that happens at ALL clubs under ALL new managers)

[Day]

What troubles me is that Rush can't have it both ways – he either has to agree with the new coaches and admit that the strategy he forced Nigel to take was WRONG (and yes I think we all accept that Nigel always appeared to be working on a shoestring with one hand tied behind his back?) and that the fans were RIGHT all along or he tells the new coaches to pipe down and get back on message regarding spending little and wisely.

 

Was Nigel forced tho?

[Gary Teale]

Am I the only one who finds this all vaguely troubling?

Having sat through a couple of fan forums with Rush in the latter days of Nigel, I heard so much said about what a great squad we now had, the best squad Nigel has ever had, how we wanted a lean and hungry squad and would only consider loans for injuries, how Russell would be the goal scorer we are missing, we would definitely be aiming for top six etc etc

And now the new guys have come in and are now pretty much saying that we can't get promoted with this squad, we don't have the depth and competition we need, we still need a 25 goals a season striker and we're loaning players in all over the place.

What troubles me is that Rush can't have it both ways – he either has to agree with the new coaches and admit that the strategy he forced Nigel to take was WRONG (and yes I think we all accept that Nigel always appeared to be working on a shoestring with one hand tied behind his back?) and that the fans were RIGHT all along or he tells the new coaches to pipe down and get back on message regarding spending little and wisely.

To be fair to rush I think that was more Glicks plan and we don't know how much Nigel wanted that. Nigel to be fair ran a small squad at burton and did speak quite often that if a player was out of the 18 they weren't in the plans. None of us know what rush told Nigel to do to be honest or how much is/was available.

If the old management thought this was there beat squad was good enough then they would say that 4 years down the line, also most new managers come in and want to make a few changes and stamp there authority on the squad.

[Stive Pesley]

Yeah – I would be more worried if they came in and said they saw no need to change anything!

 

I suppose the root of it is that the Anti-Clough brigade such as yourselves must find it frustrating that what you've been saying for ages is now accepted as right and the Pro-Clough brigade must find it frustrating that they bought into the previous strategy and now somewhat duped.

 

Bottom line is that it now feels like we're about to write off ANOTHER season (you can hear it now "it's been a season of transition", "we were never going to make the play-offs with such an overhaul of the squad in mid-season" etc)