100 days to Save Our Soul

[StarterForTen]

If Administrators are appointed in the next couple of days, as the media is predicting, we'll have 100 days until the January transfer window... and 'open season' for our young talent if we are still without a new owner.

With the points penalties that appear to be coming the way of the Club, realistically this season is a write off, but losing the young talent for fire-sale valuations will set the Club's recovery back by years.

Isn't it ironic that many of us were counting down to January 1st in the hope that we'd be able to strengthen the team - now the boot is on the other foot!

[Raich Carter]

Or.. our new billionaire, philanthropic, FFP-savvy owners go for Mbappe, Kante and Virgil as our new spine and build out from there...

Seriously, I hope we have new owners in place by then so hopefully won't lose those that we don't want / need to.

[QuitYourJibbaJivin]

A big concern of mine is how is the club going to pay the wages for the next 100 days. If Mels finally got his wish to stop funding the club, how is the club going to generate enough revenue each month to pay the bills? Be an absolute travesty if Mel is still expecting his rent for the ground each month as well.

[MackworthRamIsGod]

14 minutes ago, Raich Carter said:

Or.. our new billionaire, philanthropic, FFP-savvy owners go for Mbappe, Kante and Virgil as our new spine and build out from there...

Seriously, I hope we have new owners in place by then so hopefully won't lose those that we don't want / need to.

Are you trying to tell us that Tom Inces mum is going to be our new owner?

[Ruud Aralliss]

5 minutes ago, QuitYourJibbaJivin said:

Be an absolute travesty if Mel is still expecting his rent for the ground each month as well.

It would be difficult to defend that.

[curb]

Losing our ‘young talent’ is the least of our worries, there’s a real danger that there won’t be a club for them to play for.

[Bob The Badger]

I would *imagine* that anybody interested in buying the club knows what you/we know.

IOW, they will be keen because the price will be so low, to close the deal before then and hold onto young talent to protect their investment of a quid, or whatever it is.

I guess your scenario could happen, but I doubt it will.

[JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta]

The idea that we are safe from losing players until January isn't strictly true. If the administrators come in and the DCFC bank account is empty, and we can't find a buyer VERY quickly, then guess what? Asset stripping time. Get players off the books to reduce outgoings by any means necessary. Far worse than losing people for fees (even rubbish fees) in January, we might end up in a position where we are cutting deals to offload players simply to get wages off the books and backfilling the team with actual children.

Edited September 20, 2021 by JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta

[24Charlie]

Agents will be in the players ears right now. 

"You'll get a better deal if you are playing for a championship club than if you wait a year to help a League 1 club out. Don't forget it's you're career"

"There's no loyalty in football" - I particularly hate this one as an argument because between clubs and players this is true but loyalty is fundamentally the bedrock of the supporters. 

This club is now a completely different thing to what it was on Friday. We're a wounded beast who could either be finished off by the circling Hyenas or we could just about have enough life left in us to find somewhere to hide until the bleeding stops and slowly heal.

I'm not sure making a huge effort to stay in this league is the right thing to do if it means sacking ordinary employees to fund the playing staff. We should pay wages that our club can sustain while keeping as many jobs as possible. If this means licking our wounds in league 1 while things stabilise then so be it. We are supporters we can play the long game.

 

 

 

[Bob The Badger]

3 minutes ago, JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta said:

The idea that we are safe from losing players until January isn't strictly true. If the administrators come in and the DCFC bank account is empty, and we can't find a buyer VERY quickly, then guess what? Asset stripping time. Get players off the books to reduce outgoings by any means necessary. Far worse than losing people for fees (even rubbish fees) in January, we might end up in a position where we are cutting deals to offload players simply to get wages off the books and backfilling the team with actual children.

That's not asset stripping, that's reducing costs.

Any administrator will be looking to secure the kong term future of the club, plus they are working under different rules because of the EFL.

So letting saleable players go for free to reduce the overhead when they can sell them in January is just not going to happen.

No matter what we think of the EFL they don't want Derby to fold. 

[Alph]

13 minutes ago, curb said:

Losing our ‘young talent’ is the least of our worries, there’s a real danger that there won’t be a club for them to play for.

That's my worry. 

I used to go to football for the tribal pride, the enjoyment of the actual sport and a release of tension to just have a good time. 

Winning enhances that. Losing dampens the spirit. But still whatever the results I'd be there next week loud and proud.

Really reaching the PL was only really a goal because it meant more wins, more celebrations, more ammo to throw at other fans. It was never about the actual league and higher costs to follow

I reckon if you still have the football bug then you're going to enjoy all that the PL offers in League 1 or 2 or whatever. 

It will still be your Derby on the pitch with you in the stands. Does it really matter if the opponents are Man City or Man sfield? 

The real worry is that the club will be gone or left soulless and you know nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon than watching Premier League scores roll in

Edited September 20, 2021 by Alpha

[ossieram]

Have they got to wait for 4 weeks to announce new owners, to give supporters groups a chance to make an offer?

[StarterForTen]

2 minutes ago, Bob The Badger said:

Any administrator will be looking to secure the kong term future of the club, plus they are working under different rules because of the EFL.

So letting saleable players go for free to reduce the overhead when they can sell them in January is just not going to happen.

Absolutely. We have to remember that Administrators are very keen to maintain incomes as well as mitigate costs. Giving players away just to get them off the wage bill makes very little commercial sense and would be an absolute last resort.

[Tombo]

We will see players sold in Jan, but bear in mind that it makes no financial sense to just go "Jason Knight - 100k, Sibley - £200k, Bird- £200k" and get them gone dirt cheap.

Yes it will be low figures, yes we would get more in normal circumstances, but the administrators aren't stupid. We need money now more than ever, we'll get okayish money for them.

They won't sell the whole squad for peanuts, only make a tiny dent in the debt, and then have to fold the club.  They'll work with the footballing people at the club and do their own market research to do the right thing

[RoyMac5]

17 minutes ago, JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta said:

The idea that we are safe from losing players until January isn't strictly true. If the administrators come in and the DCFC bank account is empty, and we can't find a buyer VERY quickly, then guess what? Asset stripping time. Get players off the books to reduce outgoings by any means necessary. Far worse than losing people for fees (even rubbish fees) in January, we might end up in a position where we are cutting deals to offload players simply to get wages off the books and backfilling the team with actual children.

Like we did to Wigan with Byrne and Marshall. ?

[StarterForTen]

Pure speculation but I think we'll have a 'preferred bidder' by November, and if that is the case, they will not want to see the best talent leaving the club for peanuts. They are more likely to consider some funding even before the deal is finalised - that has happened at other clubs that went through an insolvency event.

[curb]

11 minutes ago, StarterForTen said:

Absolutely. We have to remember that Administrators are very keen to maintain incomes as well as mitigate costs. Giving players away just to get them off the wage bill makes very little commercial sense and would be an absolute last resort.

They have nine days to find c. £1 million to pay the players and staff.

what do you think the consequences of not paying players could be (hint - non fulfilment of fixtures)?

Edited September 20, 2021 by curb

[StarterForTen]

3 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Like we did to Wigan with Byrne and Marshall. ?

Perhaps not quite the same. They were acquired in an open transfer window; Byrne in particular had been 'on the market' for quite a while when he signed for Derby.

[Stive Pesley]

25 minutes ago, JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta said:

The idea that we are safe from losing players until January isn't strictly true. If the administrators come in and the DCFC bank account is empty, and we can't find a buyer VERY quickly, then guess what? Asset stripping time. Get players off the books to reduce outgoings by any means necessary. Far worse than losing people for fees (even rubbish fees) in January, we might end up in a position where we are cutting deals to offload players simply to get wages off the books and backfilling the team with actual children.

Anyone understand how a firesale would work in terms of players contracts?

If you're a player with 2 years left on a contract at £x per week - aren't you entitled to compensation if that contract is ripped up and you are sold to another club

And if you are being sold then you're not a "free agent" and therefore that transaction can't happen outside of the transfer window?

 

 

[Bob The Badger]

9 minutes ago, Tombo said:

We will see players sold in Jan, but bear in mind that it makes no financial sense to just go "Jason Knight - 100k, Sibley - £200k, Bird- £200k" and get them gone dirt cheap.

Yes it will be low figures, yes we would get more in normal circumstances, but the administrators aren't stupid. We need money now more than ever, we'll get okayish money for them.

They won't sell the whole squad for peanuts, only make a tiny dent in the debt, and then have to fold the club.  They'll work with the footballing people at the club and do their own market research to do the right thing

Yep, the reality is that if you have more than one club interested in a player then the market will still set the price no matter what.

If a club comes in and offers £100k for player X then the administrators advise other clubs and they can bid over that. They just don't take the first offer.

They're not selling some scrap metal and an old fridge.

There's plenty of elements to this to panic about, but giving players away isn't one of those elements.