Short, mid and long term goals

[Chester40]

Feels like most people are looking at possible 'change' and the future... and not really concentrating on what happens in the here and now.

So what do you hope for? I would like a bit of fluency and dynamism for the last few games. Play with a smile and scores some goals. If we give a few young players a run out to see if they are up to it; great. Don't want to see players on the beach already or players who are obviously not part of the plans getting a run -out just to justify they 'were given a chance'. I want Rowett to know who he is sure about and weed them put quickly.

Over the summer..some fairly extensive  trimming of the squad. Move players on quickly and try to get 2/3 quality players on,  rather than numbers for the sake of it. Too many 'fair to middling' players who are interchangeable and not good enough to elevate us when we struggle. A Center mid and center back who can dominate and be real leaders would be my priority. Good as he can be, I am not sure Thorne is ever going to be the man for a full season..so we need cover for him as a priority.

Mentality needs to change. No more capitulations, no more head-scratching as we go on barren runs or keep conceding late goals or ship 4 without blinking. Need to be come back leaner and meaner.

By end of season..top 6...playing fast free-flowing football and heading into the play offs looking dangerous and tough...not weak and prone to collapse.

Not a lot to ask I don't think. Haven't gone into specifics of players too much as there are very few 'untouchables' and Rowett needs to translate what he sees in training into practice and I trust him to do that.

[Angry Ram]

Easier said than done.. The culture is the issue, I don't care who's name is on the managers door at the moment, we have a massive problem with the playing staff.

What do you do, shaft out 8 or 9 players and expect the same amount to settle in just as quick? Don't think so. Don't think we can fund that either.

We need to identify those that create that negative culture.. The club will know who they are, get them out, I don't care who they are.. Maybe one or two changes are all we need once the detractors are gone. Hard to see that at the moment but if you have someone dragging you down on a daily basis, who knows. 

We are miles off with this squad... Forget next season, we've cocked too much up over the last couple of years. I fear we will still look backwards instead of forwards, that seems to be the message from the club.. Martin etc. So it could be a long journey and more trips to places like Barnsley.

[RoyMac5]

2 hours ago, Angry Ram said:

What do you do, shaft out 8 or 9 players and expect the same amount to settle in just as quick? Don't think so. Don't think we can fund that either.

Why not? Is football played so differently at other clubs? As for funding it, why not Mel was happy to pay out to back his managers, so why not pay out to get rid to back his manager.

 

[Coneheadjohn]

No more capitulations  before the end of the season.

I still remember that awful 0-3 to Reading on the final day.

From what I've seen/heard from Rowett he won't stand for it.

I reckon he could get rid of 8 or 9,bring in 4 or 5 and look to improve it massively.

We can't just give up though.

[kash_a_ram_a_ding_dong]

2 hours ago, Angry Ram said:

Easier said than done.. The culture is the issue, I don't care who's name is on the managers door at the moment, we have a massive problem with the playing staff.

What do you do, shaft out 8 or 9 players and expect the same amount to settle in just as quick? Don't think so. Don't think we can fund that either.

We need to identify those that create that negative culture.. The club will know who they are, get them out, I don't care who they are.. Maybe one or two changes are all we need once the detractors are gone. Hard to see that at the moment but if you have someone dragging you down on a daily basis, who knows. 

We are miles off with this squad... Forget next season, we've cocked too much up over the last couple of years. I fear we will still look backwards instead of forwards, that seems to be the message from the club.. Martin etc. So it could be a long journey and more trips to places like Barnsley.

I can't buy into this negative players theory angry....These players are onto a massive bonus if we get promoted to the premiership and even if they were then sold onto another championship club after that,they would still be in the money.

I think it's more likely we are just not good enough...A cobbled together side that doesn't fit together well enough and hadn't done since Mac 1 (before that went to rat **** too).

We do need a clear out though but purely so we get players in that suit the system that the boss wants to play....The ones that fit in,whether that includes martin,Thorne etc will be staying because they fit rather than due to old allegiances etc.

Then we will see whether gr can actually measure up.....Personally i suspect that he will be not unlike clough....Very safe but resolutely unspectacular and we will end up around the top six next year or thereabouts.

Not sure it will be that exciting to watch tho....

[Gypsy Ram]

Just the freedom to play good football and go down swinging if losing instead of capitulation and heads down. Just play fearless football, nothing to lose. Dignity has died first with this lot, so they might as well start playing. 

Again, it is a buyers market, not sure clubs would want our under-preforming overpaid wasters. Plus, would they move for 20k a week when we are paying them 30k a week?

Tough couple of years coming ahead.

[Angry Ram]

51 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Why not? Is football played so differently at other clubs? As for funding it, why not Mel was happy to pay out to back his managers, so why not pay out to get rid to back his manager.

 

You still have to balance the books.. Do you think Morris will just throw money at it? Re-sell values for our assets, bar one or two, will not be that great. 

'Is football played so differently'.. No but if I follow you logic why can't the 8 or 9 here play better as a team then?

8 or 9 square pegs in square holes, the right mentality, the right character, the right positions.. Yes maybe.. Our record on this front ain't so great though is it.. Watch YouTube, buy a player and then try and fit him in..

[Angry Ram]

9 minutes ago, kash_a_ram_a_ding_dong said:

I can't buy into this negative players theory angry....These players are onto a massive bonus if we get promoted to the premiership and even if they were then sold onto another championship club after that,they would still be in the money.

I think it's more likely we are just not good enough...A cobbled together side that doesn't fit together well enough and hadn't done since Mac 1 (before that went to rat **** too).

We do need a clear out though but purely so we get players in that suit the system that the boss wants to play....The ones that fit in,whether that includes martin,Thorne etc will be staying because they fit rather than old allegiances etc.

Then we will see whether gr can actually measure up.....Personally i suspect that he will be not unlike clough....Very safe but resolutely unspectacular and we will end up around the top six next year or thereabouts.

Not sure it will be that exciting to watch tho....

I get what you are saying and that should be right.. But something is wrong at the club on the playing side.

Yes professionally they should be wanting the best, to be the best. It's pretty much universally agreed we don't have enough leaders in the team, without being on the inside, it's all guess work anyway.

Yes they get promoted, will their next Championship contracts be  as good? How many will be good enough for the PL?

[RoyMac5]

25 minutes ago, Angry Ram said:

You still have to balance the books.. Do you think Morris will just throw money at it? Re-sell values for our assets, bar one or two, will not be that great. 

'Is football played so differently'.. No but if I follow you logic why can't the 8 or 9 here play better as a team then?

8 or 9 square pegs in square holes, the right mentality, the right character, the right positions.. Yes maybe.. Our record on this front ain't so great though is it.. Watch YouTube, buy a player and then try and fit him in..

They are the wrong 8 or 9 players.

Morris has indeed thrown money at it.

What we have seen is the manager makes some difference, but needs to be in charge.

[cannable]

30 minutes ago, Angry Ram said:

I get what you are saying and that should be right.. But something is wrong at the club on the playing side.

Yes professionally they should be wanting the best, to be the best. It's pretty much universally agreed we don't have enough leaders in the team, without being on the inside, it's all guess work anyway.

Yes they get promoted, will their next Championship contracts be  as good? How many will be good enough for the PL?

Clubs have to pay off a players contract when they sell them, so they'll still be in the money 

[Angry Ram]

13 minutes ago, cannable said:

Clubs have to pay off a players contract when they sell them, so they'll still be in the money 

Agreed but long terms they could well be worse off.

I don't think many have to worry about money too much.

[Angry Ram]

28 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

They are the wrong 8 or 9 players.

Morris has indeed thrown money at it.

What we have seen is the manager makes some difference, but needs to be in charge.

So you think Morris is just going to fund 8 or 9 then? FFP? Or does that no apply to us? Hmmm.

Who will be doing the recruitment? The team that did it before? 

We must be nailed on for next season.. New team, gel straight away, Morris millions, Martin back.. Roses everywhere..

[RoyMac5]

29 minutes ago, Angry Ram said:

So you think Morris is just going to fund 8 or 9 then? FFP? Or does that no apply to us? Hmmm.

Who will be doing the recruitment? The team that did it before? 

We must be nailed on for next season.. New team, gel straight away, Morris millions, Martin back.. Roses everywhere..

I'd hope Morris had heard of FFP before now. Who will do the recruitment, Rowett? He did at Brum. We were nailed on this season and the one before and...

[BramcoteRam84]

I think it's right to expect a big push for the top 6 next season, but it's by no means guaranteed and Rowett certainly shouldn't be sacked if we don't make.

A passionate team fighting and scrapping for every ball, with some exciting football and a general feeling we are building something exciting for the future that is sustainable, that will do me for next season.

I trust Rowett will get it right, but he'll need some of the current squad as signing 8 or 9 players is not the answer. We've been down this road spent lots of money and gone backwards. And with FFP it simply is not affordable.

[Sparkle]

1 hour ago, BramcoteRam84 said:

I think it's right to expect a big push for the top 6 next season, but it's by no means guaranteed and Rowett certainly shouldn't be sacked if we don't make.

A passionate team fighting and scrapping for every ball, with some exciting football and a general feeling we are building something exciting for the future that is sustainable, that will do me for next season.

I trust Rowett will get it right, but he'll need some of the current squad as signing 8 or 9 players is not the answer. We've been down this road spent lots of money and gone backwards. And with FFP it simply is not affordable.

Unless we sell our better assets and people will want the likes of Ince and Lowe and possibly Hughes ( I fancy Brighton to come in for him) so we will see what Rowett wants to do

[kingsy1884]

In Lehmans terms my objectives woudl be the following:

Short term:

- Try and end the season strongly making full use of the team to identify those who dont fit.
- Clear out those who are not part of DCFCs future I am thinking a heavy cull of circa 8 or 9.
- Through the door 3 or 4 first teamers which hopefully combine a desire to battle but have quality or experience to back it up.

Mid Term:

- Consolidate our position within the league I think next season is going to be one of the hardest yet with the likes of Villa, Wolves, Leeds, Huddersfield, Fulham, Reading, Sheff Weds all looking strong if we they do go up.
- Being in contention for the play-offs is about what I expect nothing more. The idea will be to build the foundation and improve the culture of the squad

Long Term:

Promotion simple as. This will be built on a strong spine of pros who have the desire to win and battle for everything. They combine qualities which could see them compete in the prem.

[Chester40]

Pains me to say it..but in spite of (because of) all the investment in infrastructure, spending heavily on players, smashing our transfer record,  going for managers with a track record and demanding success....

We are no further along.. I really cannot see us challenging top 2 no matter what happens in the summer. We really need to go back to basics and build solid foundations. Not very 'sexy' but in chasing quick fixes whilst we may not have built on sand we have definitely thrown money at it and created a bit of an expensive hotchpotch that needs looking at and a clear identity from top to bottom agreed. 

The 'Derby Way' has become a joke ... but in principle I think that's what we need, just without the corporate ring to it. A manager with a clear vision, players who fit into it and a lean hungry squad that the fans can get behind.

 

[Sexydadbod]

Short term is simply getting rid of the dead wood and buy players in the key positions in the summer. Medium to long term is to build a certain style because I currently don't have a clue what our style is. Is it counterattacking or are we aiming to be a possession based team again? Also to gradually dripfeed the under 21s into the squad and eventually the starting 11 because that's what why we have spent as much as we have on the academy

[archied]

Scouting , scouting and more scouting ,, that's the most important thing now short term ,,, the rest of the season ?,,,, well there's absolutely nothing that can be learnt from the rest of this season that we don't know already ,, we know that a team can be picked from our squad that can win games and perform decent in 4/3/3 or 4231 formation when nobody thinks we have a chance to do anything promotion wise , we have had our last chance to see what this group of players can do once they are in a position of pressure and in with a shout ( wilt) we could go out and play like gods until the end of the season now and it will mean nothing and tell us nothing , I believe a biggish rebuild is required not least for the fact that the crowd / stadium are always expecting / fearing the inevitable things to go tits up as I think a lot of the players subconsciously are and that has bred an anxiety into us / the players and the club, there's a big job on to build a team and culture at the club to take us up and keep us up

[Rev]

Very short term - I'd like to see some of the better youngsters really given a chance.

I know some already take part in some training sessions with the 1st team, I'd like to see a couple given squad berths in the last few games, and starts if possible, relegation at u-23s seems assured, so let's see the brightest 2/3 given a real chance, not 10 mins at the end of a game long since won or lost.

Short term, over the summer.

This will hurt, but if we think clubs will be queueing up for the likes of Blackman and Olsson you're dreaming.

Ince, Hughes, possibly Carson and Martin will be most likely to attract interest, and it may be they'll have to be the sacrifices we wouldn't really want, in order to subsidise disposal of other squad members, who although attracting interest, will be hard to move on without a financial hit.

Players in that category would include Johnson, Butterfield, Vydra, Anya, Olsson, Bryson, Shackell, Keogh and Wiemann.

I'd class these as players we may wish to keep, but would be happy to let go of the offer is right.

Bent and Baird out of contract, I'd be amazed if they were offered new deals acceptable to them. Shame in Baird's case, i think he's well worth another year but he's an easy out to free up wages.

Beyond those players, you've the likes of Christie, Hanson and Russell, and possibly Camara, who I'd expect would interest a few clubs without us making millions on the deal, maybe harsh on Russell, who had an offer last summer and wanted to go, only to be blocked by Pearson, so maybe there's a few quid to be made there.

Then we're left with this squads Connor Sammon, a player who we've got no real chance of moving on, step forward Nick Blackman, we will never get close to washing our face on his purchase, but if he can get fit we may be able to use him as an impact sub, or loan him at a loss to lower league sides until his contract expires.

I'm in no way advocating the sale of all these players, in fact it will piss me off no end if we lose certain individuals, but it's what will happen, so in Gary we must trust.

Medium term - until Xmas.

We'll replace any departures with defensively solid replacements, regardless of position played.

When defending, Row Z will be first and foremost, when attacking most balls will go back to front directly down the channels, where we'll look to be first to the second ball and build from there. It will be attacking football, just started in the opponent's half rather than by our keeper.

Honest endeavour will be order of the day, and individual skill will be sacrificed for the good of the team as a whole.

Long term - until a manager gets at least 3 windows, seems pointless to speculate.