Malone could be useful

[richinspain]

1 hour ago, duncanjwitham said:

That's pretty much my take on it - he's a functional championship left back. The problem is, we bought him from a prem club, for prem money, on prem wages.  He's just (one of) the most recent example(s) of our stupid transfer policy of buying average players at the top of their value, not using them properly and then giving them away for nothing.  Any blame and anger should be aimed at the people that set that transfer policy and sanctioned his signing.

If we genuinely thought Lowe or Buchanan were going to be good enough but weren't ready yet, and we wanted cover for Forsyth, we should have got a loan for a season, or picked up a 30+year old on a free for a season or something.  There seems to be so little thought or long term planning in our transfers, you have to wonder if anyone knows what they are doing.

I agree with everything you've said, however the part in bold type. If Mel had said no and later things had gone to pot (ageing player getting injured etc) he would have been blamed for not backing his manager. Mel has made many mistakes, and only in hindsight can some (many) of "his" signings be picked up on.

[duncanjwitham]

4 minutes ago, richinspain said:

I agree with everything you've said, however the part in bold type. If Mel had said no and later things had gone to pot (ageing player getting injured etc) he would have been blamed for not backing his manager. Mel has made many mistakes, and only in hindsight can some (many) of "his" signings be picked up on.

It's not about saying "no" or not backing your manager, it's about the overall direction we're going in.  Mel was clear from day one about he wanted - he wanted attractive football played on the floor, and a clear route from the academy to the first team.  He then set about seemingly doing everything he could to make sure that never happened - appointing hoofball managers, changing managers every 5 minutes and splashing cash on so many players the academy lads got nowhere near the first team until the last season or so etc etc.

If we really wanted the whole "Derby way" thing to work, it should have been formal club policy that we play football on the floor, that we don't pay proper money for players older than say 28/29, that we don't give long contracts to players who will be in their 30s at the end of them, that we don't pay money for players in positions where we have academy lads who are ready for the first team and so on.  (You can nitpick on the details obviously.) 

You then simply don't appoint managers who don't buy into it.  That way "backing your manager" never really comes into it.  If Nigel Pearson says he wants to turf out the footballers, sign 30 year old Anya for a load of cash and hoof it to Darren Bent you just don't give him the job.  If Rowett wants to sign a load of 30 year olds on 3 year contracts, not play Will Hughes and hoof it to Nugent, you don't give him the job.  I don't care if they're good managers, or flavour of the month, if they don't buy into what you're trying to do you're just asking for trouble.

[Rampage]

11 hours ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

He wasn't a great signing but is he really as bad as the pasting he takes on here?

 

No.

[MrPlinkett]

We need a new groundsperson. 

[Yani P]

11 hours ago, duncanjwitham said:

11 hours ago, duncanjwitham said:

That's pretty much my take on it - he's a functional championship left back. The problem is, we bought him from a prem club, for prem money, on prem wages.  

 

 

Derby would have identified Bitcoin at 0.0000014p and bought in at 65 quid..