Reasons to still (hopefully) be positive...

[Kernow]

I touched on part of this in the match thread, and I am gutted to miss out although I feel like I'm less disappointed because of the circumstances. It's strange, if we'd completely capitulated and looked gutless, then I'd be fuming, but because it was down to an individual error/officiating error (again), it almost feels like well what could we do... We actually played really well, given the circumstances, deserved at least a point and showed a lot of fight. For me it's a lot different to previous seasons where we've just missed out on the top 6. I don't think "bottling" it comes into play this year. We just couldn't finish our chances, we could've won a hell of a lot more points without playing any better or any worse, just by putting away our chances. I also don't care what people say about bad decisions evening themselves out over a season, I think if someone did a case study on our season, it would show that's very far from the truth...

But other reasons to be positive:

- We'll have our first season in a long time where we can go into the pre-season with a bit of stability and certainty. We can look to build on the squad we do have with a manager who has had long enough to decide what we need to go up a level. It's not going to be perfect because of the circumstances we find ourselves under, but I think we should be in a much stronger position come August than we were last year. At least we won't have to wait another 2 months to know if we're going to be taken over, and start from scratch then. We won't have to miss out on signings and we can get started right now.

- The circumstances... we'll still be under the business plan, but we'll be into our last year. There's talk it'll be 'relaxed', Nixon (yes I know) has linked us to actually spending Great British Pound Sterling on a player, whether we will or not, when was the last time we even could?

- We're still a bigger fish in a smaller pond. I know we can't take anything for granted and big teams get 'stuck' down here. We have to take any opportunity we can to get out of this league BUT, we will be in a position where we are going to be a much bigger draw for players at this level than 90% of the opposition, and will be able to afford to pay them more too. In the Championship where we still have restrictions, I think we'd really struggle to build a squad and pick up results at the same time. I hope that just one more season at this level will set us up to have a much stronger future than a season of probably scrapping to stay up.

- Experience at this level. The novelty will have worn off a little, for us, and for the opposition, the first trips are mostly out of the way. We can learn from naivety, errors and mistakes made this season where we've dropped silly points. Wigan, Reading and Blackpool shouldn't pose as much of a challenge, the competition this year has been fierce. Wednesday getting 96 points and only finishing 3rd is crazy, the top 3 in League 1 are far stronger than the bottom 3 in the Championship this season in my opinion.

It's naturally disappointing to miss out however it happens, but I'm already looking forward to a busy summer and August rolling around again. It's been a long time since we've finished higher than 3rd in any division, wouldn't it be nice if this time next year that changes.

[Birdyabroad]

Good thread.

I would have, obviously, taken promotion but it was always a bit of a ‘free hit’ for me this season; we really had no idea what a squad assembled in a hurry from Liam R’s phonebook was going to do, and it was probably above expectation.

One other positive, I can’t help but think/hope that the teams dropping into League One, Wigan, Blackpool, Reading, will not be as strong as Plymouth, Ipswich and Wednesday (Most probably) - We may be one of the bookies faves next season 🤷‍♂️

Relax, enjoy your summer and UTR! 💪

[jimtastic56]

Reason to be positive - I thought our younger fans showed amazing support for the team today. At the end , there was no anger even though we had been shafted.Let’s have some new songs for next season , all positive . It could be Blackpool away first game .

[MarsdenRam]

Every reason to be positive. We are Derby County!

[Tyler Durden]

We still have a club

We seem to have an owner who actually understands the commitment of owning a football club and the absolute importance of proper stewardship.

We have a manager whom wants to elevate this club to where it belongs

We have loyal supporters whom turn up thick and thin.

Some folks should remember all of this. Rather than carping and moaning like drains. 

[Chopper]

Completely agree, this season we have found a sense of stability and to some extent found ourselves as a club again. We will remain a draw to players at L1 level, and I'd imagine even if the business plan isnt relaxed we will also be competitive there; Warne will probably have his list ready to go (he probably had 2 lists) and work on this can begin in earnest. We may even draw some Championship players and loanees who would rather guarantee matches and also maybe win more than they lose if only in L1.

I hope and think it will be the first summer in a long time I'll be able to sit back and look forward to what takes place; between managerial shenanigans, owner shenanigans and ... well ... just shenanigans in the past, I think (although as a Derby fan never sure) that by 7th May knowing what league, with what budget and what manager we will (should) have by August gives me a sense of hope that we can properly prepare for a new season with less distractions.

If the limit of our tension is: will bids come in for Bird, Knight or Cashin? then we will be doing well.

[FKANorwichExile]

You know what's great? Anyone we sell this summer will go for market value, not pennies on the pound. If we get offers for Cashin, Knight, Bird etc we can judge them on their merits and not on how long the transfer fee will cover the wage bill for. Warne has alluded a couple of times that we'll be able to make some moves, and we signed a technical director (I think?) who can do that for us, not Steve McLarens son masquerading as chief scout.

We're sore now, but this time next season we might well be in for something special.

[Kernow]

12 minutes ago, Chopper said:

We will remain a draw to players at L1 level, and I'd imagine even if the business plan isnt relaxed we will also be competitive there; Warne will probably have his list ready to go (he probably had 2 lists) and work on this can begin in earnest.

It's not an excuse because we've been in the top 6 for a large part of the season, but it's a really good achievement to even be in the position that we have been in. I'm not going to say it's remarkable, because in terms of spending in this league, we are still paying our players well.

But those leaving on a free transfer at clubs around the country will have known for a while. We'll have contacted players, Warne will know who he wants, who is realistic and who isn't. Some may have been dependent on us going up, but we'll still be an attractive prospect.

This time last year, we would have spent the whole of the first 5 months desperately praying a deal got over the line, actually signing players would've been down the list of priorities. Then when Kirchner's takeover was "imminent", Rooney had players lined up, and we had players on trial. Come 1st of July when we were finally saved by David Clowes, we were on the back foot already. I'm just impressed we managed to get this squad together at all.

But because our preparation was so chaotic, it's no surprise we have shortfalls and gaping flaws. We desperately need some players with energy, players who can run and players in their prime. With various embargoes, failed takeovers and restrictions, we haven't been able to do that for years. I'm hoping this window will be our most exciting for a long time, even with some of the business plan restrictions in place.

[Amberram]

It’s hard tonight but what’s been said above is correct

[Osbaldwick]

We now have an extra two weeks to prepare for league one. All good. 

[Ramslad1992]

Reasons to be positive… we all have each other, we’re a special group but I wouldn’t be anywhere else…  next years our year 🐏❤️

[MackworthRamIsGod]

Reasons to be positive?

I think promotion would have actually harmed our long term future. I honestly think we would have struggled to compete next season.

Let Warne build his team and let's go and win the bloody league next year, no messing about with playoffs. Then we have a shot at the championship, free of debt, free of FFP strangling us and free of restrictions.

Also, I put 40 quid on Peterborough to make top 6. I did it because my betting luck is SO BAD I thought it would ensure we made it...so I have a few quid to drown my sorrows.

Edited May 7, 2023 by MackworthRamIsGod

[Andicis]

1 minute ago, MackworthRamIsGod said:

Reasons to be positive?

I think promotion would have actually harmed our long term future. I honestly think we would have struggled to compete next season.

Let Warne build his team and let's go and win the bloody league next year, no messing about with playoffs. Then we have a shot at the championship, free of debt, free of FFP strangling us and free of restrictions.

Also, I put 40 quid on Peterborough to make top 6. I did it because my betting luck is SO BAD I thought it would ensure we made it...so I have a few quid to drown my sorrows.

Sorry, I really hate the ''promotion actually would be bad'' angle, it's never been a good line.

The Championship is not **that** much more difficult than league one, teams are of a similar level and we would financially be significantly better off with promotion and we would obviously strengthen our squad. There is no guarantee we go up next year, and we are losing out on £10m a year each year we are here and not in the Championship. How could that have harmed our long term future? 

[May Contain Nuts]

Seeing as the manager himself isn't convinced we'll be any better next season than this and has already played down that expectation, I'm not sure I can really be arsed to think of the positives.

[MackworthRamIsGod]

16 minutes ago, Andicis said:

Sorry, I really hate the ''promotion actually would be bad'' angle, it's never been a good line.

The Championship is not **that** much more difficult than league one, teams are of a similar level and we would financially be significantly better off with promotion and we would obviously strengthen our squad. There is no guarantee we go up next year, and we are losing out on £10m a year each year we are here and not in the Championship. How could that have harmed our long term future? 

Because had we been relegated next year we have to rebuild again. And relegation would have been fairly likely given the fact we couldn't spend a penny and currently have a team that has struggled to compete in the top 6 of league 1.

And, if say Leeds, Forest, Southampton, everton or Leicester come down, how are they comparable to league 1 football clubs? 

Next year most likely would have been very painful. 

Book mark what I've said and come back in a year and let's see where we are. If we manage to achieve promotion next season after winning league 1, you would then think missing out this season weren't that bad after all.

[Andicis]

Just now, MackworthRamIsGod said:

Because had we been relegated next year we have to rebuild again. And relegation would have been fairly likely given the fact we couldn't spend a penny and currently have a team that has struggled to compete in the top 6 of league 1.

And, if say Leeds, Forest, Southampton, everton or Leicester come down, how are they comparable to league 1 football clubs? 

Next year most likely would have been very painful. 

Book mark what I've said and come back in a year and let's see where we are. If we manage to achieve promotion next season after winning league 1, you would then think missing out this season weren't that bad after all.

Who says we can't spend a penny? We'd have to operate within a business plan, but it'd be relaxed if we were in the Championship.

So 3 teams? Sure, they'll be towards the top. What about QPR, Rotherham, Plymouth, Ipswich, Huddersfield, Birmingham. Do you really think we can't compete with that? 

No, I wouldn't. We still lose £10 million. We are not guaranteed to go up. We are guaranteed however to have lost £10 million revenue. This is not a good thing. 

[Mrso]

8 minutes ago, Andicis said:

Who says we can't spend a penny? We'd have to operate within a business plan, but it'd be relaxed if we were in the Championship.

So 3 teams? Sure, they'll be towards the top. What about QPR, Rotherham, Plymouth, Ipswich, Huddersfield, Birmingham. Do you really think we can't compete with that? 

No, I wouldn't. We still lose £10 million. We are not guaranteed to go up. We are guaranteed however to have lost £10 million revenue. This is not a good thing. 

Don't quite follow this.  First of all we didn't really compete with Plymouth and Ipswich this season over 46 games.  Second, the extra Championship money is not free cash.  It has to be used to strengthen the squad - the Championship is famously full of broke clubs in a way League 1 is not.  Staying in this League gives time to strengthen before promotion - so there are real positives as you'll see next season.

[Andicis]

Just now, Mrso said:

Don't quite follow this.  First of all we didn't really compete with Plymouth and Ipswich this season over 46 games.  Second, the extra Championship money is not free cash.  It has to be used to strengthen the squad - the Championship is famously full of broke clubs in a way League 1 is not.  Staying in this League gives time to strengthen before promotion - so there are real positives as you'll see next season.

Sure, they were better than us this year. On the head to heads vs Plymouth at the least, we were fairly matched sides. Not much in it there, the home game we threw away entirely also. The main point is that there are many teams that are going to be scrapping in the bottom of that league that we could certainly compete with, I'm not going to argue specifics for a fictional scenario. 

You're basing your entire point on some misguided guarantee of promotion next year. No such guarantee exists. It's a tough old league. We would generate significantly more revenue in the Championship. The revenue doesn't "have to be spent" on anything, we would have more room for manoeuvre on our business plan. I've no time for this rubbish spin about it being better to be in a lower league. It's just that - rubbish. 

[Gee SCREAMER !!]

You take opportunity when it arises.  There's no such thing as a season of consolidation. Lose McGoldrick who's getting 25 goals.  Lose Roberts, that's 2 -3 fullbacks needed.  Lose Knight that's one 95 min engine.  3 central defenders leaving/retiring.

That's a lot to find on an embargo budget, without adding to a small squad anyway.  

Championship is a basic league and you only need to finish above 3.  Last year we'd have been comfortably mid table with a right motley crew of put together parts.

[Jayram]

9 hours ago, Ramslad1992 said:

Reasons to be positive… we all have each other, we’re a special group but I wouldn’t be anywhere else…  next years our year 🐏❤️

Love this. I’ve been through thick & thin with this club for the last 42 years and was gutted at the final whistle yesterday. Then 5 minutes later me and my mate were discussing our away trip schedule for next season! COYR.

Edited May 8, 2023 by Jayram