Fan Forum (not this one)

[Rev]

1 hour ago, David said:

Having been Twitter clean for over a month now, I haven't seen any of the tweets regarding the forum, only glanced at those posted on this forum.

I think it's fair to say that once the footage does come out, any opinions that have already expressed on what has and hasn't been said in this thread will remain unchanged.

Reason being, opinions have been formed and fully entrenched now where only a decent run of results will soften or run of bad results flip.

It's already been seen in this thread with accusations back and fourth over comments taken out of context, misquoted and general bickering back and fourth. 

Reason being, the content being shared will have the authors own half full or half empty slant on things. 

I will follow @Owen87ITK great advice, wait, watch it myself and probably not engage in this particular topic as it would be a monumental waste of time.

Sooner Saturday rolls around and we have a game of football to discuss the better, I will be watching from Sunny Spain sipping on a Pina Colada, win or lose I will not be logging on here 😂

Half fan!

[TomBustler1884]

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

Stephen Pearce was CEO in name. But his employer, Mel Morris, ran the show. I highly doubt Pearce had any option but to follow what Morris wanted. That's not to say he didn't make mistakes, of course, but we all know Morris was too hands on and ruled EVERYTHING.

Since then, I have no doubt he is under NDA. He will not be allowed to discuss any aspect of his employment by Mel Morris, even if he wanted to.

Instead, take note of people still in the club, who seem to have possibly even more respect for him through and following administration than they did before, and our new owner, a lifelong fan, who if he felt wasnt right for the job, could and can get rid at any point.

Time to move on imo.

[Stive Pesley]

2 hours ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said:

After listening to the Derby podcast from Radio Derby is it right that nobody asked Warne or the players about the stye of play? As in not much passing, not much possession and not much control of the games? As in is it by design or ineptitude?

No one asked him specifically but he did at one point describe his style of play as being "wanting the ball as much as possible and if we lose the ball get it back as quickly as possible". That and playing with wing backs as a standard 

[SaffyRam]

3 hours ago, MackworthRamIsGod said:

I remember sitting there drinking my free pint whilst Mel and Stevie P told us we would be close, but would be fine in respect of FFP.

I sat there whilst 2 men, one of which was still there, answering questions at another forum last night, bare face lied to me..

You wonder why people do jump to conclusions..there was a time Stevie P was trying to convince us the sky was green and marmite is made of chocolate and we fell for it.

I was at that forum too. I remember going home feeling very reassured and relieved that we didn’t have an FFP issue. I can’t believe he’s still at the club.

 

[RoyMac5]

6 minutes ago, SaffyRam said:

I was at that forum too. I remember going home feeling very reassured and relieved that we didn’t have an FFP issue. I can’t believe he’s still at the club.

 

He’s a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, you’d think he had something to do with the whole ‘plan’, I can’t see how Mel thought up our FFP wheeze? The idea that he was just going along with Mel’s demands seems far-fetched. 

[Loughborough Ram]

Let's not forget that the amortisation plan was not wrong, the EFL accepted it until that Middlesborough tw*t complained.

It's akin to what Chelsea are doing with their 8 year contracts, the difference is that they aren't going to be punished retrospectively like we were.

[RoyMac5]

18 minutes ago, Loughborough Ram said:

Let's not forget that the amortisation plan was not wrong, the EFL accepted it until that Middlesborough tw*t complained.

It's akin to what Chelsea are doing with their 8 year contracts, the difference is that they aren't going to be punished retrospectively like we were.

No, nor the selling your own ground - perhaps not ‘playing with a straight bat’ though? But keeping better notes (or any notes?) on the workings might have helped?

Edited September 13, 2023 by RoyMac5

[Guest]

36 minutes ago, TomBustler1884 said:

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

Stephen Pearce was CEO in name. But his employer, Mel Morris, ran the show. I highly doubt Pearce had any option but to follow what Morris wanted. That's not to say he didn't make mistakes, of course, but we all know Morris was too hands on and ruled EVERYTHING.

So in your opinion, it seems that he absolved his responsibilities as a CEO to follow every direction given by Mel Morris, regardless of whether the directives given were right or wrong because Morris ruled everything. If what you are saying is right, Pearce was a mere puppet who acted upon Morris' demands regardless of the lawfulness of those demands; he aided and abetted Morris in any wrongdoings, if there were any, perpetrated by Morris. So as a CEO of DCFC, he was effectively a cardboard cutout? If that is your position it merely fuels the burning question of why he is still the CEO of our club. A CEO of due integrity would have blown the whistle when things were obviously out of control. There would have been many willing listeners in the EFL, HMRC and the fanbase if he had done the right thing and walked away. Then he'd have been our hero.

And please don't try to plead omertà on his behalf because that defence is not available to a CEO trusted with running a company with a multi-million pounds turnover.

[maxjam]

Just finished watching the Fans Forum in its entirety on youtube and imho Stephen Pearce spoke very well.  He kinda dodged the final question thrown at him but as he alluded to earlier in the evening, a lot of the finer details remain behind NDAs. 

Non of us know how much influence he really had under MM regime, or whether he had the rug pulled from under him at times with MM rash decision making.  All we can go on is DC trust in him and how the club has been building since exiting administration - and off the pitch, we've been doing really well.  Thats good enough for me.

I thought the evening as a whole was a very enjoyable watch.  It won't calm the fears of those anti PW, but to me at least, everyone spoke from the same hymn sheet and of building towards success.  Hopefully success will come this season as we hit our stride, but if not the groundwork is being laid for the future. 

Hopefully we can all get behind PW and the team and stop overreacting to every bump in the road.

[TomBustler1884]

46 minutes ago, Brailsford Ram said:

So in your opinion, it seems that he absolved his responsibilities as a CEO to follow every direction given by Mel Morris, regardless of whether the directives given were right or wrong because Morris ruled everything. If what you are saying is right, Pearce was a mere puppet who acted upon Morris' demands regardless of the lawfulness of those demands; he aided and abetted Morris in any wrongdoings, if there were any, perpetrated by Morris. So as a CEO of DCFC, he was effectively a cardboard cutout? If that is your position it merely fuels the burning question of why he is still the CEO of our club. A CEO of due integrity would have blown the whistle when things were obviously out of control. There would have been many willing listeners in the EFL, HMRC and the fanbase if he had done the right thing and walked away. Then he'd have been our hero.

And please don't try to plead omertà on his behalf because that defence is not available to a CEO trusted with running a company with a multi-million pounds turnover.

No, I said that in his time working for Mel Morris he has undoubtedly made mistakes and will have regrets.

But in administration he is credited by many who were involved in the process with going above and beyond to keep the club going.

And since David Clowes came in, he has been trusted to continue in the role.

So, in my opinion, I will park my personal feelings, and accept that he might not be the AntiChrist he is painted as by some.

And for those infuriated by him not speaking about the admin or past performance, I would assume he is legally prevented from speaking publically.

But who knows, maybe I'm wrong! That's the joy of having an opinion that very few people actually have inside knowledge on.

[Ghost of Clough]

Finally got round to watching thr Fans Forum. First off, I'll apologise for jumping to conclusion based off the feedback from individuals who attended and put their own slant on responses to questions. Having now listened to the foruk in full, these are my takes on what was said:

Pearce confirmed that Clowes paid above the minimum required to creditors upon exiting administration.

Warne acknowledged the lack of RBs and CFs at the club when he took over as manager - which begs the question why we did nothing to address those areas in January despite also losing a CF. In fairness, we have got the bodies in this summer - 2 RB/RWBs signed, and now 4 CF options. Warne mentioned 4 RBs are out long term (Ward, Wilson, Rooney and Bardell?)

On transfers in general, Warne believes we've built a good squad over the summer but feels we've been unlucky with injuries which have had an impact on our start to the seaso. Thinks the team will play better once players are back from injury. Got to agree, when you have the likes of Bird and Ward missing. Warne feels we'll be at least top 6 this season, possibly top 2 depending on how the team gels and what happens with injuries.

Warne and Pearce bother referenced 2-3 years to get the academy up to speed again. There's a focus on signing 15 year olds as U21 signings are expensive.

Warne made a joke about not wanting to be quizzed on who the academy players are (faces on a wall and naming them). This has irked me, as he should make it his job to know every single one of the U18s and U21s, so he knows who's likely to get through into the first team. He did however say he wants as many players to come through the academy into the first team. Either the club generates cash from sales or they form part of thr first team. In both cases that's more budget which can be put towards the rest of the squad. Suggestions that not many academy players were involved in training last season, but a lot more already this season. Buxton tells him a lot about where U18 and U21 are in their development. I got the feeling Warne really likes DBrown, so we should see him get opportunities this season.

Warne watches U21 and U18 games, (but didn't get the score right for the U21s earlier that day). Tries to watch the first half of U21 games on Saturdays prior to first team games.

On style of play, Warne's desired style of play has been mentioned a few times on here and sounds like it will be good to watch. However, I still have reservations that we'll see that we'll see that until we move on from a sqaud with a lot of over 30s in it. Potentially won't see it work until next season.

On transfers, we haven't paid any upfront fees this summer. Sounds like we are recruiting based on stats. Club thinks it would be difficult to sign players from overseas whilst in League 1. The signings we make are with a view to disposing of them before they become a burden on the wage bill. Hard to argue with this, but you would have hoped there are more players we could have signed eith potential who would grow with the club. With Warne wanting to play 352, we should have signed another LWB with neither Elder nor Forsyth being suited to the role.

On signing Waggy, he said he didn't want to sign Waghorn mostly due to age. "Wasn't interested at all". However, he liked how he interacted with the rest of the squad when here for the testimonial. Contradictory to his previous comments regarding 'ego'. 

Sibley is back in training. Best finisher at the club. Warne thinks he will be at his best playing as a 10 (inferring a 3421). However, Warne also stated his preference for playing 352. Sibley may not be ready for Portsmouth, but likely to be in the sqaud next week. Thompson was the fittest player in the squad in pre-season. Warne didn't think he did enough in training last season and didn't deserve to play.

Hourihane said small teams raise their game when they come to Pride Park and we need to deal with them better. Felt invincible when on the good run last season and struggled to pinpoint the downturn in form (a small hint that he thinks it was due to burnout).

Hourihane wants to be in a system which results in him being around the edge of the box for shots and crosses. Waghorn doesn't want to play out on the wing. He wants to play in an attacking team playing on the front foot. Both mentioned players need to be adaptable to the manager in charge if they're to have a career in football - a strong message to academy players who want to get a chance in the first team.

 

Overall, I like what Warne wants to do, but I need to see more of it becoming a reality rather than just words.

[Gee SCREAMER !!]

I think we can know safely assume the player who 'had his head turned' was Cashin and the the club played hardball after he was 'consulted on a move' prior to any correct approach.

[angieram]

It's usually the u 18s that play on a Saturday, not the 21s @Ghost of Clough? 

[Ghost of Clough]

Just now, angieram said:

It's usually the u 18s that play on a Saturday, not the 21s @Ghost of Clough? 

I swear he said U21s, but could be wrong.

[angieram]

Just now, Ghost of Clough said:

I swear he said U21s, but could be wrong.

He might have done, as you say, got the score wrong from earlier in the day! 

He's a bit of a fidget, kept getting up for more water, was right in front of us ( we were front row) and Pearce made a joke about him doing so at one point.

[Blondest Goat]

19 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Finally got round to watching thr Fans Forum. First off, I'll apologise for jumping to conclusion based off the feedback from individuals who attended and put their own slant on responses to questions. Having now listened to the foruk in full, these are my takes on what was said:

Pearce confirmed that Clowes paid above the minimum required to creditors upon exiting administration.

Warne acknowledged the lack of RBs and CFs at the club when he took over as manager - which begs the question why we did nothing to address those areas in January despite also losing a CF. In fairness, we have got the bodies in this summer - 2 RB/RWBs signed, and now 4 CF options. Warne mentioned 4 RBs are out long term (Ward, Wilson, Rooney and Bardell?)

On transfers in general, Warne believes we've built a good squad over the summer but feels we've been unlucky with injuries which have had an impact on our start to the seaso. Thinks the team will play better once players are back from injury. Got to agree, when you have the likes of Bird and Ward missing. Warne feels we'll be at least top 6 this season, possibly top 2 depending on how the team gels and what happens with injuries.

Warne and Pearce bother referenced 2-3 years to get the academy up to speed again. There's a focus on signing 15 year olds as U21 signings are expensive.

Warne made a joke about not wanting to be quizzed on who the academy players are (faces on a wall and naming them). This has irked me, as he should make it his job to know every single one of the U18s and U21s, so he knows who's likely to get through into the first team. He did however say he wants as many players to come through the academy into the first team. Either the club generates cash from sales or they form part of thr first team. In both cases that's more budget which can be put towards the rest of the squad. Suggestions that not many academy players were involved in training last season, but a lot more already this season. Buxton tells him a lot about where U18 and U21 are in their development. I got the feeling Warne really likes DBrown, so we should see him get opportunities this season.

Warne watches U21 and U18 games, (but didn't get the score right for the U21s earlier that day). Tries to watch the first half of U21 games on Saturdays prior to first team games.

On style of play, Warne's desired style of play has been mentioned a few times on here and sounds like it will be good to watch. However, I still have reservations that we'll see that we'll see that until we move on from a sqaud with a lot of over 30s in it. Potentially won't see it work until next season.

On transfers, we haven't paid any upfront fees this summer. Sounds like we are recruiting based on stats. Club thinks it would be difficult to sign players from overseas whilst in League 1. The signings we make are with a view to disposing of them before they become a burden on the wage bill. Hard to argue with this, but you would have hoped there are more players we could have signed eith potential who would grow with the club. With Warne wanting to play 352, we should have signed another LWB with neither Elder nor Forsyth being suited to the role.

On signing Waggy, he said he didn't want to sign Waghorn mostly due to age. "Wasn't interested at all". However, he liked how he interacted with the rest of the squad when here for the testimonial. Contradictory to his previous comments regarding 'ego'. 

Sibley is back in training. Best finisher at the club. Warne thinks he will be at his best playing as a 10 (inferring a 3421). However, Warne also stated his preference for playing 352. Sibley may not be ready for Portsmouth, but likely to be in the sqaud next week. Thompson was the fittest player in the squad in pre-season. Warne didn't think he did enough in training last season and didn't deserve to play.

Hourihane said small teams raise their game when they come to Pride Park and we need to deal with them better. Felt invincible when on the good run last season and struggled to pinpoint the downturn in form (a small hint that he thinks it was due to burnout).

Hourihane wants to be in a system which results in him being around the edge of the box for shots and crosses. Waghorn doesn't want to play out on the wing. He wants to play in an attacking team playing on the front foot. Both mentioned players need to be adaptable to the manager in charge if they're to have a career in football - a strong message to academy players who want to get a chance in the first team.

 

Overall, I like what Warne wants to do, but I need to see more of it becoming a reality rather than just words.

Good summary.   Warne has always talked a good game.   If only what we saw on the pitch matched up to the words.  Some good performances and results and it will all seem like a lot less hot air.

[Curtains]

I think Paul Warne has a great sense of humour and I really enjoyed listening to that. 
 I am happy he’s at Derby 

[WystonRam]

2 hours ago, Loughborough Ram said:

Let's not forget that the amortisation plan was not wrong, the EFL accepted it until that Middlesborough tw*t complained.

It's akin to what Chelsea are doing with their 8 year contracts, the difference is that they aren't going to be punished retrospectively like we were.

Derby’s issue was we backloaded the final year of the players contract with too high a value , when a football player asset ends up as zero value at the and of their final year, as they can walk away from their contract for free. The policy itself is completely acceptable in financial reporting, but assumes an asset has a value at the end of a contract term, like a medical dwvice for example, but for X and after a 5 year depreciation it could be sold for Y, as it still has a financial balue.  The panel that decided our eventual punishment was scathing that we were not clear enough we had changed our amortisation policy, to have a players value disproportionately loaded to the final year of said contract. This is how we we were able to spend big money on so many players, and had them on long term contracts, some shorter but with the club having the “option to extend”. Kieron Maguire was the person who exposed us as afar as i recall.

Chelsea are doing similar to us  but i am sure their end of year 8 asset/player valuation will be near zero. 

[Curtains]

The Papa Johns Trophy last season was difficult and I really do remember that Man City player that no Derby player could get anywhere near. 
 

He was like grease lightning and must have gave Paul Warne nightmares.

 

[EnigmaRam]

Surprised nobody asked about the mystery free transfer Warne was after