ilkleyram Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Immeasurably stronger after the last few weeks from many angles, both short and medium term. The number of players turning up at Moor Farm for training is lower. Opportunities have opened up at U23 level and, perhaps, at first team squad level for the ones left. Those U 23s that have gone out have all gone to play proper football and some with clubs pushing for better things in their league. They will have to learn how to deal with that pressure, and the booing. The first team squad has ‘lost’ four big characters, three of whom - Bent, Martin and Shackell - weren’t featuring much, if at all, and one - JR - has had a consistently inconsistent season. Yet we’re still second. As GR has been at pains to point out on many occasions he has had no problems with any of the players not playing but the real risk is that that might have changed in-between now and May. That potential problem is now removed and Anya will have reasonable expectations of being around the first team squad for the remainder of the season.. Of the players that have come in, one is clearly for the U23s at the moment. The other two have both tasted promotion, both know this league and have had success in it and both appear to be positive characters, all of which will be important in the weeks to come. CJ has experience at PL level should we get that far. In addition we have players who will now have a greater value should we wish to sell in the summer, signed up on new contracts giving us a bargaining position that we might otherwise not have had. If we go up at season end (which I wasn’t expecting last August) then we are in an OK position with experienced players on the books and the space to bring in others to meet the PL challenge; if we don’t go up the U23s will come back and some will be pushing for first team places and we will likely have an experienced backbone on which to build for 18/19. This summer’s transfer window will still be a busy one but who we are selling and buying will depend upon the league we’re in. Well done Gaz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Kevin Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 5 hours ago, McWha said: I agree to an extent but we haven't had an attack that breaks down a thick defence since Wembley. Teams worked us out after that season and we've not found a real solution since Unfortunately we didn't have one at Wembley we lost 1-0 if I recall . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodle Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 1 hour ago, McLovin said: A very poor window for Derby County. An injury to Carson and we won't finish in the play offs- Roos and Mitchell are now where near good enough. We should have signed an experienced back up keeper. I was critical of Russell but when he was on form, he was very direct and he provided something different. We needed a winger before Russell left and we still haven't rectified that. Don't let anyone kid you, Palmer was a panic loan signing, he wasn't our first, second or third target. He's a talent but not what we need. He's not a winger, he's an attacking midfielder and Vydra will now suffer as a consequence as Palmer and Vydra will occupy each other's space. I do like Jerome but Rowett seems to prefer Nugent, who has severely declined since last season. We should have also signed another defensive midfielder with energy and creativity. Seems like not a lot of preparation was done for this window as our position seems to have surprised those associated with the club. We won't finish in the top 2 as we are lacking in too many areas. It's good that we are there at the moment but it isn't sustainable, the expected goals statistic had us finishing mid table as we were clinical in the first half of the season but that was not sustainable. We were playing to our maximum in the first half of the season, whereas teams like Aston Villa and Bristol City are coming strong now. At least we managed to reduce the squad size, which was the objective. I agree with most of the post, apart from Palmer being detrimental to Vydra’s game. If he gets on he will be shoved out on the wing and not in vydras way. There must be a very good reason we didn’t try and go for it, I assume that is FFP. I have no idea how close we are sailing to that particular wind but expect it’s very close. If we are that tight why buy Jerome? We could have got better, in a more vital position on loan. I expected us to finish 8 th pre season. The manager and team have far surpassed my expectations thus far, which probably makes the disappointment of the past few weeks feel worse than it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archied Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Mulled it over ,, we are no longer spending vast sums on players that don’t really improve us ,,,, that makes us far stronger in my book and my gut feeling is rowett will get more than two windows to be judged on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sith Happens Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Wonder what the vote would have been in August? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodleyRam Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Personally I think we are weaker losing Russell and Martin. Having a striker of Martin's callibre on the books always made us stronger on paper but if hes not played he might as well not be there. I thought Russell looked good this season but he wanted to go so you can't legislate for that. Jerome looks strong and effective as a foil but I doubt he'll bring the goals to take us up. I know nowt about Palmer so it's hard to judge him as a direct replacement for Russell. The other outs are fair enough and glad to have them moved on. Time will tell but I'm nervous that we've lost some mojo. A stonking win against Brenty will sort us right out though!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlsonDerby Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 We didn’t ‘go for it’ because throwing money at it in January has never worked for us! Damn near gave us the biggest capitulation in our history in the billy Davies season! Bloody hell were second and none of none of the players who has left have been vital to the run that got us there. I went for stronger not based on personnel but based on the dynamics this window has left behind. Rowett now has his 18/19 outfield player squad with everybody hungry because they all have a realistic chance of playing. We have a tight knit unit. We’ve made shrewd signings that are more suited to the Rowett way than those let out plus both with recent promotion experience! End of the day, it was pretty much agreed that Rowetts job was to overhaul and trim the squad whilst remaining competitive and competing for the play offs. He has done exactly this and will continue to do exactly this. Im excited about what the rest of the season brings, im also excited to see what the summer brings if we don’t go up this season. We have made a profit I believe(?) in the last two seasons in terms of transfers and yet we’re as high as we were under MAC1 etc. We’re finally starting to see some nastiness and grit that will see us through rocky patches rather than seeing us plummet. Coyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kash_a_ram_a_ding_dong Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 2 hours ago, archied said: Mulled it over ,, we are no longer spending vast sums on players that don’t really improve us ,,,, that makes us far stronger in my book and my gut feeling is rowett will get more than two windows to be judged on Whilst I appreciate that we aren't spending vast amounts of money on players that don't improve us,we also aren't spending vast amounts on players who would either. How is that making us stronger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramblur Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 17 minutes ago, IlsonDerby said: We didn’t ‘go for it’ because throwing money at it in January has never worked for us! Damn near gave us the biggest capitulation in our history in the billy Davies season! Bloody hell were second and none of none of the players who has left have been vital to the run that got us there. I went for stronger not based on personnel but based on the dynamics this window has left behind. Rowett now has his 18/19 outfield player squad with everybody hungry because they all have a realistic chance of playing. We have a tight knit unit. We’ve made shrewd signings that are more suited to the Rowett way than those let out plus both with recent promotion experience! End of the day, it was pretty much agreed that Rowetts job was to overhaul and trim the squad whilst remaining competitive and competing for the play offs. He has done exactly this and will continue to do exactly this. Im excited about what the rest of the season brings, im also excited to see what the summer brings if we don’t go up this season. We have made a profit I believe(?) in the last two seasons in terms of transfers and yet we’re as high as we were under MAC1 etc. We’re finally starting to see some nastiness and grit that will see us through rocky patches rather than seeing us plummet. Coyr You're probably right there. It was interesting to read Gary's recent revelation that we aimed to make a surplus this year,from the off. I don't know if this was in part to do with FFP (impossible to say),or with giving Mel a partial 'refund' on his past heavy expenditure,or a bit of both. If you link this to his other recent statement that Mel had spent a load of loot in the past and would like us to concentrate more on getting the best out of what we already had (or words to that effect),then the latter part of my third sentence doesn't look particularly unlikely. I'm pretty sure I read both in DET articles,but I don't have links (if not there,it would have been Rams TV). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverurie Ram Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 4 hours ago, McLovin said: A very poor window for Derby County. An injury to Carson and we won't finish in the play offs- Roos and Mitchell are now where near good enough. We should have signed an experienced back up keeper. I was critical of Russell but when he was on form, he was very direct and he provided something different. We needed a winger before Russell left and we still haven't rectified that. Don't let anyone kid you, Palmer was a panic loan signing, he wasn't our first, second or third target. He's a talent but not what we need. He's not a winger, he's an attacking midfielder and Vydra will now suffer as a consequence as Palmer and Vydra will occupy each other's space. I do like Jerome but Rowett seems to prefer Nugent, who has severely declined since last season. We should have also signed another defensive midfielder with energy and creativity. Seems like not a lot of preparation was done for this window as our position seems to have surprised those associated with the club. We won't finish in the top 2 as we are lacking in too many areas. It's good that we are there at the moment but it isn't sustainable, the expected goals statistic had us finishing mid table as we were clinical in the first half of the season but that was not sustainable. We were playing to our maximum in the first half of the season, whereas teams like Aston Villa and Bristol City are coming strong now. At least we managed to reduce the squad size, which was the objective. Nobody is trying to kid you, other than yourself. Lover of Derby County on your profile photo. Roos and Mitchell can be good enough, if required, and we've got this far with Russell, maybe we'll get even further without him. Palmer has not played for us, so how can he already be not what we need. Nugent has delivered, has been promoted with other clubs from this division and will carry on to deliver for us. Seems like your having a guess about the preparation the club did for the window and how much work the club put in. We are not lacking in too many areas. It's good that we are there at the moment and it is sustainable. Statistics are not facts, our players are capable of getting the results we require for promotion. How do you know that we have already played to our maximum. It's a sport, and it's always 11 v 11 for the next game at kick off. The recent performances I've seen of Aston Villa and Bristol City in the league are not better than the performances Derby County are delivering. Here's hoping our own fans support Derby County for the business end of the season, when the club needs them most to stay loyal, to encourage and to produce the required positive noise levels players respond to that helps them and us push together over that winning line. Lover, Lover, Lover come back to me when we have been promoted, which is the objective. Ram or Mountain Goat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1of4 Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 At the moment I'd have to say weaker the loss of Russell will leave our attack a lot less dynamic. Hopefully I'm proved wrong and the acquisition of Palmer proves to be what our attack needs to push us on and win promotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyD Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 The long term future of the club is in good hands as far as I am concerned. Brilliant moves by the club to give its aspiring youngsters really good , genuine, top level experience. Having supported the club since 1968 (yawn, yawn) my horizons go beyond next May. Its not often we get owners totally in tune with what fans want (IMO). Enjoy it whilst it lasts......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uttoxram75 Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Just to be clear, i voted weaker in the poll because of Johnny Russell. I don't value JR on his goals or assists alone, his ability to pick the ball up deep and run with it is absolutely invaluable as it gives the team time to regroup and breathe while he makes 3 or 4 opposition players race back into their defensive formation. It doesn't always end up in a chance but it often does and tends to get the crowd excited. The comments about him not wanting to be here are out of order, if Gary wanted him to sign a new contract he would have done. No criticism of Gary btw, i trust him to get us to the Prem if not this time then definitely next and if he believes he dunna need Johnny to achieve that then thats fine with me. No need for fans to pretend it was JR wanting to leave though, thats just disrespectful to a top player who has given his all to the DCFC cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van der MoodHoover Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 I'd like to vote "duller". Johnny was at times infuriating, but on the whole his unpredictability made our play a bit more interesting - he gave us a bit of flair. Gary Rowett has achieved some good things with this squad but in terms of fair, his main achievement (vydra) has just gone off the boil recently and his main signing (lawrence ) has disappointed so far. We are therefore down on flair. Good luck Johnny - and thanks for some great memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayram Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Does anyone else find it a bit strange that there has been no comment from Russell yet about the move? Normally you get a ‘thanks for the great support/loved my time here/looking forward to a new challenge’ type stuff but so far not a word from JR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 7 hours ago, uttoxram75 said: The comments about him not wanting to be here are out of order, if Gary wanted him to sign a new contract he would have done. Johnny was offered a new deal, Rowett did want him to stay but he wanted to leave, even reported he's taken a pay cut to do so. "Is it disappointing to lose him? Yeah, it is. I said to him that I'd love him to have stayed to try to get us promoted," said Rowett. "But if someone has said they're not going to re-sign, what do you do? "You don't want to be in a position where that player has to play and you're unsure whether they're thinking, 'I don't really want to get injured because I'm going somewhere else at the end of the season'. "I think you have to make a sensible decision for your own club and that's to not have any grey areas going into the last 17 games." https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/johnny-russell-kansas-derby-mls-1145827 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MackworthRamIsGod Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 1 hour ago, Jayram said: Does anyone else find it a bit strange that there has been no comment from Russell yet about the move? Normally you get a ‘thanks for the great support/loved my time here/looking forward to a new challenge’ type stuff but so far not a word from JR. Trust Me, this has been rumbling on for some time, Johnny hasn't been happy at derby for a while. Some say it coincides with the arrival of his latest child and him having a rethink about life, my opinion is he has lost the love of football, hence why he is giving up the opportunity for premier league football to play in a tin pot league and still earn a wage. He allegedly alienated himself from the rest of squad, which was the polar opposite of the Johnny we first signed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistoldPete2 Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 8 hours ago, uttoxram75 said: Just to be clear, i voted weaker in the poll because of Johnny Russell. I don't value JR on his goals or assists alone, his ability to pick the ball up deep and run with it is absolutely invaluable as it gives the team time to regroup and breathe while he makes 3 or 4 opposition players race back into their defensive formation. It doesn't always end up in a chance but it often does and tends to get the crowd excited. The comments about him not wanting to be here are out of order, if Gary wanted him to sign a new contract he would have done. No criticism of Gary btw, i trust him to get us to the Prem if not this time then definitely next and if he believes he dunna need Johnny to achieve that then thats fine with me. No need for fans to pretend it was JR wanting to leave though, thats just disrespectful to a top player who has given his all to the DCFC cause. If Johnny was offered a new contract why would you think GR didn't want him to sign it? Don't you think it was GR who offered him the new contract? It still seems a mystery to me why JR would want to leave at this stage of our season and to go to the States at this stage in his career. I don't think the club could do anything more except maybe insist he stays til the end of season, which would mean no transfer fee and a dis satisfied player for the next six months. I agree tho that JR offered us something no one else did and I'm sorry to see him go. But i do think jerome and Palmer will improve us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 9 minutes ago, MackworthRamIsGod said: He allegedly alienated himself from the rest of squad, which was the polar opposite of the Johnny we first signed. Another "allegedly" to come out the chip shop, through the hairdressers, round the pub, on to social media? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scarlet Pimpernel Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 7 minutes ago, MackworthRamIsGod said: Trust Me, this has been rumbling on for some time, Johnny hasn't been happy at derby for a while. Some say it coincides with the arrival of his latest child and him having a rethink about life, my opinion is he has lost the love of football, hence why he is giving up the opportunity for premier league football to play in a tin pot league and still earn a wage. He allegedly alienated himself from the rest of squad, which was the polar opposite of the Johnny we first signed. At the end of last season when interviewed he sounded like he had had enough. He seemed inconsolable and was saying "its not good enough". I thought then he might not be around this season at Derby and was surprised when he stayed. He just seemed like he'd lost the will to try anymore.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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