[FM23-DCFC1] Thank you for saving our football club, Mr Clowes!

[Stuniverse]

Thank you for saving our football club, Mr Clowes!

A Derby County save...

Featuring Stu Stuniverse.

 

If this save inspires you to manage Derby County on FM23 yourself, then you may be interested in this thread [FM23-Derby County] Why manage the Rams? How are you getting on? where we discuss our Derby County saves...

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Derby County Relegated

After receiving a 21 points deduction from the EFL (12 for going into administration and nine for Financial Fair Play breaches), the inevitable relegation of Derby County has been confirmed.

Under manager Wayne Rooney, the Rams bravely battled to stay in the Championship and were, ultimately, relegated... but without the 21 points deduction, Derby County would have finished 17th and avoided relegation.

As it is, Derby County will play the 2021/22 season in League One... that is, if they don't get liquidated first.

Edited November 12, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Kirchner's Derby County Takeover - Collapses!

Monday 13th June 2022

American businessman Kirchner’s attempted takeover of Derby collapsed after he officially withdrew to buy the relegation Championship club on Monday.

That news came after doubts over the deal grew last week, with the multi-millionaire complaining of difficulty in transferring the funds needed to complete the transaction from the United States to the UK.

The deal is now dead in the water, plunging the club and the futures of their players and manager Wayne Rooney into uncertainty

Derby currently have just five senior players under contract, with pre-season set to get underway later in June.

The collapse of American entrepreneur Chris Kirchner's bid to buy Derby County has been described as 'a shambles' by those close to the deal.

And the EFL's dithering performance has been labelled 'a farce' that has significantly increased the risk of the Rams going bust.

The EFL may be talking tough now, pledging on Sunday to assume greater control of the Rams' fight for survival amid fears the club will be unable to begin their League One campaign next month.

But the league and Derby's administrators let almost two weeks go by without decisive action after months of delay and uncertainty, since the club went in to administration in September last year.

'Why would you do that?' asked one exasperated executive.

It is claimed the EFL and Quantuma were so desperate to avoid the blame if the unthinkable happened and Derby went bust, that neither had the guts to call a halt to the American entrepreneur's bid to buy the Rams, despite confidence in his ability to make the initial £22M payment to close the deal draining away.

The Rams have been in administration for nine months after multiple failed attempts – and overspending – to reach the Premier League.

The club were relegated from the Championship last season, thanks largely to a 21-point deduction - 12 for entering administration and a further nine for previous financial breaches.

In a protracted saga, Kirchner was eventually named the preferred bidder in the administration process in April and given 'conditional approval' to acquire the stricken East Midlands club in mid-May, with the EFL setting a deadline of May 31 to wrap up the deal.

But it didn't happen. And even though the American consistently failed to produce the money required, the deadline was constantly stretched until he finally withdrew his offer on Monday evening, leaving Derby County back at square one and in an even more desperate search for a buyer.

As a result, Derby is now closer than ever to going out of business.

[Stuniverse]

Rooney quits as Derby County manager

Friday 24th June 2022

Derby County manager Wayne Rooney has quit the club after 18 months in charge and says the time is right for the Rams to be led with someone "with fresh energy".

The Rams confirmed the former Manchester United player's departure in a statement this evening after Rooney met with administrators Quantuma earlier today.

Rooney has left the club with immediate effect having served the club with distinction since he was appointed Philip Cocu's successor in January 2021.

Despite being financially handcuffed by the club being in administration, he did a remarkable job and the Rams would have stayed in the Championship had they not been hit with two deductions totalling 21 points. Explaining his decision to quit, Rooney said the administrators had tried to convince him to stay but that his mind was made up.

Rooney said: “ Over the course of the summer I have been closely following developments regarding the ownership of Derby County. Today I met with the administrators to inform them of my decision that it was time for me to leave the club. In fairness to them, they tried tremendously hard to change my decision but my mind was made up.

“My time at the club has been a rollercoaster of emotions, both highs and lows, but I have to say that I have enjoyed the challenge.

“Personally, I feel the club now needs to be led by someone with fresh energy and not affected by the events that have happened over the last eighteen months. I will remember my time at Derby with great pride and affection and would like to thank all my staff, players and of course the fans for their incredible support. I will never forget you and hope to see you all again in the near future and in happier times.

“Finally, I am aware that the club still have interested parties who wish to take over the running of the club. To them I say this, Derby County is a great club with a great history and great fans. I wish you all the best and much success for the future.”

Rooney's departure comes on the same day that it was announced that David Clowes was closing in on a takeover of the club after purchasing the stadium from previous owner Mel Morris.

A spokesperson on the behalf of administrators Quantuma said: "The joint administrators are very disappointed that Wayne has taken the difficult decision to leave the club and we have spent some time today trying to persuade him to stay but understand his reasons for wanting to go. We are extremely grateful to him for his excellent work in the face of challenging on-field circumstances in the 2021/22 season and admire the manner in which he has led the team, the club and the local community through various off-field issues.

[Stuniverse]

Rosenior appointed Derby County interim manager

Sunday 16th June 2022

Liam Rosenior has been appointed as Derby County’s Interim Manager.

Derby’s players will return to Moor Farm Training Ground on Monday morning to start pre-season training and Rosenior will head up preparations for the upcoming 2022/23 League One campaign.

Rosenior, 37, will be supported by the existing first-team backroom staff.

Rosenior has spent the last three years on Derby’s coaching team, initially as Specialist First Team Coach before stepping up to be Assistant Manager to former manager Wayne Rooney midway through the 2020/21 campaign.

[Stuniverse]

David Clowes completes Derby County takeover

Friday 1st July 2022

Derby County's takeover by local property developer David Clowes has been completed, ending the League One club's nine months in administration.

The lifelong Rams fan, 53, already owns the club's Pride Park ground and had provided Derby with a loan to ensure they can start the upcoming season.

His purchase, through his company Clowes Developments, means a transfer embargo has been partially lifted.

"I could not stand by as the risk of losing Derby became real," said Clowes.

Clowes stepped in after a proposed takeover by American businessman Chris Kirchner collapsed.

That deal falling through led to Wayne Rooney quitting as manager, with his assistant Liam Rosenior being placed in interim charge.

Joint administrator Carl Jackson said: "We are very pleased to have achieved today's sale, in a deal which secures the long-term future of the club."

Derby will now be able to bring in players, but some restrictions will stay in place.

In a statement, the English Football League said: "The EFL welcomes confirmation from the joint administrators of Derby County FC, Quantuma, that they have today formally concluded the transfer of assets with Clowes Developments (UK) Limited to place Derby County under new ownership.

"Consequently, the EFL can now confirm that the club has met the requirements of the League's Regulations and Insolvency Policy and is therefore no longer in administration.

"As part of the conditions of continuing membership in the EFL, the club, whilst remaining under a registration embargo, will be permitted to sign new players in accordance with the terms of a business plan.

"The plan, which has been jointly agreed by the new ownership and the EFL, includes restrictions in respect of transfers fees, player wages and agents' fees. Any application to register players must comply with the terms of those agreed plans."

Derby's financial problems led to former owner Mel Morris placing the club into administration. The subsequent wait for new ownership has been costly.

Staff have lost their jobs, the Rams were hit by points penalties - which led to relegation from the Championship, Rooney left three days before the start of pre-season, and just five first-team players remain on their books for next season because of restrictions put on them as a result of the financial turmoil.

[Stuniverse]

Pre-season starts with five contracted players

Monday 4th July 2022

Derby County's players reported back for pre-season training today as the club began its preparations for the new season.

The League One campaign kicks off in a month's time with the Rams set to face Oxford United at Pride Park for the season's opener. Among the players that were due to report back at Moor Farm were Krystian Bielik, Jason Knight and Louie Sibley.

Interim manager Liam Rosenior was also there having been handed the job in the wake of Wayne Rooney's resignation. It is understood that players who returned had meetings and underwent checks on their fitness levels as part of the usual routine on the first day back.

Transfers will be high on the agenda given the lack of numbers in the squad, although it can be beefed up by players who are out of contract and taken on trial.

Derby County have just five first-team players on their books for this season because of restrictions put on them as a result of the financial turmoil. The five contracted for next season, which starts against Oxford United in four weeks, does not include a goalkeeper or any defenders.

Alongside Krystian Bielik, Max Bird, Jason Knight, Louie Sibley and Jack Stretton, two other players - Lee Buchanan and Nathan Byrne - have extension options on deals, but the club have not been able to activate those new contracts to date.

Among those whose contracts expire, but who still reported for pre-season training on Monday, were defenders Curtis Davis, Craig Forsyth and Richard Stearman.

The League One campaign kicks off in a month's time with the Rams set to face Oxford United at Pride Park for the season's opener. Among the players that were due to report back at Moor Farm were Krystian Bielik, Jason Knight and Louie Sibley.
Interim manager Liam Rosenior was also there having been handed the job in the wake of Wayne Rooney's resignation on Friday. It is understood that players who returned had meetings and underwent checks on their fitness levels as part of the usual routine on the first day back.

Transfers will be high on the agenda given the lack of numbers in the squad, although it can be beefed up by players who are out of contract and taken on trial.

Derby are still waiting for clearance from the EFL before they can make signings plus offer contracts to those players whose deals have expired.

A number of them such as winger Tom Lawrence, Ravel Morrison and Curtis Davies are free to leave the club after becoming free agents on June 30. Loose discussions over new deals were had with previous manager Rooney, but the collapse of Chris Kirchner's takeover two weeks ago has only added to the delay in sorting their futures.

It has also affected deals for transfer targets such as Aden Flint who has since joined Stoke City although Tom Barkhuizen remains a free agent. It is hoped there will be further clarity on the ability to make transfers now Clowes Developments have completed its takeover.

Edited November 12, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Derby County - building a squad

Five Rams players have signed new contracts this summer to stay at Derby County.

Derby County also added to the first team squad with 16 new signings.

Edited November 12, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Hull City appoint Rosenior as Head Coach

Derby County are looking for a new manager after former Derby County interim manager Liam Rosenior has been appointed as the new manager of Hull City.

The former Reading defender has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the MKM Stadium and will replace Shota Arveladze who was sacked last month.

Rosenior's appointment marks a return to Hull where he spent five years as a player having made 161 appearances for the Championship club in 2010.

Hull City can also confirm the appointment of Justin Walker as assistant head coach.

The 47-year-old joins from Derby County, where he held the role of first-team development coach and worked alongside new Tigers boss Liam Rosenior.

[Stuniverse]

FM23 Pre-game Editor

This is the point at which I divert from real-life events to create my FM23-football-world for this save.

In real-life, Liam Rosenior was relieved of his interim manager duties and David Clowes appointed Rotherham United manager Paul Warne as Rams manager. Warne brought with him Richie Barker, Matt Hamshaw and goalkeeping coach Andy Warrington (which meant the Rams goalkeeping coach Jason Pearcey left the club).

In my save, none of that happened. Warne and his entourage are still at Rotherham United, Matt Taylor and his entourage have gone back to Exeter City and, sadly, Gary Caldwell is unemployed once more.

And Jason Pearcey remains Derby County goalkeeping coach... although Liam Rosenior is Hull City manager with Justin Walker as his assistant.

Edited November 12, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Save set-up

[Stuniverse]

Monday 28th June 2022

Stuniverse named new Derby County manager

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Punch]

Glad to see you back into it.

Hope the real life reversal of fortunes for The Rams breathes some new into your FM motivation.

Good luck with your save.

[Stuniverse]

2 hours ago, Punch said:

Glad to see you back into it.

Hope the real life reversal of fortunes for The Rams breathes some new into your FM motivation.

Good luck with your save.

Thank you very much, @Punch, I really appreciate your comments.

Last season was a terrible experience mentally and took its toll on me. I found it very difficult to get into playing FM22, although being the Derby County researcher did help me keep a certain level of objectivity about things.

When last season ended, and the Kirchner takeover collapsed, I really thought Derby County were going bust and I genuinely believe the club were very, very, very close to the brink!

In stepped David Clowes to save the football club and that was such a relief. Early signs are very positive and, hopefully, Derby County have a responsible owner again. 🤞

Come on you, 🐏s!

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Monday 28th June 2022

Club Vision and Supporter Profile

On my first morning, in my new job, I met the Derby County owner, David Clowes, and the Board (Ian Dickinson and Richard Tavernor). They made it clear that they were expecting the Rams to reach the League One playoffs this season.

Mr Clowes explained that the supporters would back the team in large numbers but the fans were also expecting automatic promotion.

How realistic are those expectations?

Daisy Roberts, my press officer, advises me that:

the media are predicting us to finish 6th...

... and the bookmakers have us 2nd (joint favourites with Sheffield Wednesday).

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Monday 28th June 2022

Backroom Staff Meeting

I also met with my backroom staff... well, what there is of it after Liam Rosenior and Justin Walker moved to Hull City as manager and assistant manager.

Coaching Team

Clearly, I'll need to look for an Assistant Manager as well as recruiting key positions for the first team backroom staff. For the time being, I've asked Darren Wassall, our Head of Youth Development, to assist me.

--

Recruitment Team

Our Chief Scout, Jon Howard, hasn't got much of a team to work with either so I gave him the go ahead to advertise the vacancies he wanted to fill and I'd work with him to get the right people in.

--

Medical Team

At least our medical team appears to be fully staffed under Chief Doctor, Amit Pannu, and Head Physio, John Hartley.

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Monday 28th June 2022

Head of Youth Development meeting 

I also met with my Head of Youth Development, Darren Wassall.

I told Darren that I was delighted with the work he and his staff had been doing with the Derby County Academy and congratulated him on being crowned the U18 Premier League National Champions in May 2019. I let him know that I understood that the decline in fortunes since then was down to the complications of financial fair play irregularities by the previous owner, transfer embargoes and Administration. In some ways, it was a positive that the top prospects had been fast-tracked into the first team squad, but that it was disappointing that the club had had to sell off it's prized U21 and U18 assets to keep the wolves from the door.

I reassured Darren that I wasn't going to interfere and wanted him to carry on as he had been doing and I'd help in whatever way I could as we look to build the Academy up again. Darren will oversee all things to do with the U21 and U18 backroom staff and will work with the recruitment team to sign players for the U21 and U18 squads. The only thing I want to have an input into is finalising contract negotiations with new players.

In terms of the U21 and U18 Backroom staff, I gave Darren the go ahead to place job advertisements and recruit any additional staff he needed.

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Monday 28th June 2022

Team Meeting

I held my first Team Meeting with the players and I was pleased with how it went. There were 30 players in attendance and, after the meeting, they all seemed engaged and bought into what I had said.

After introducing myself to the players, I let them know that I was going to be giving youth a chance and they seemed very happy with that. To be fair, given that there's only 12 players aged 23 or older I really don't have any choice. Our captain, Curtis Davies, said, "I think we're all in agreement."

I then told the squad that I thought we could get promoted as Champions this season and they all seemed to be on board with that. Our captain, Curtis Davies, said, "That's a target we can all get behind!"

Finally, I told them that I'd approved the Code of Conduct the group proposed. Jason Knight said, "The new Code of Conduct seems to be fine, no complaints here."

I then thanked the squad for their welcome and said I looked forward to working with them.

My Head of Youth Development, Darren Wassall, was in attendance and gave me positive feedback after the meeting.

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Monday 28th June 2022

Pre-season Schedule

Our pre-season schedule had already been arranged before my appointment but, having reviewed it, I'm generally happy with it and see no reason to change anything.

It's only my first day in the job and I have no idea yet what formation and tactics I'm going to deploy in our League One opener against Oxford United. There are six pre-season friendlies to help me decide that.

For now, these are the three tactics we're going to work on in training.

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Tuesday 28th June 2022

Derby could lose Knight?

[Stuniverse]

Tuesday 28th June 2022

Press Conference

[Stuniverse]

Wednesday 29th June 2022

Stuniverse's Derby County backroom team takes shape

Assistant Manager

--

First Team Coach

--

Recruitment Analyst

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Friday 1st July 2022

Pre-game: Swindon Town (away) - Friendly

Injuries

We go into our first pre-season game pretty much at full strength. It's a shame for Bartosz Cybulski and Connor Dixon that they have missed all of pre-season so far as I'm sure they would have been looking to impress enough to break into the first team squad for this season. Hopefully, though, both of them will be back in training before we kick-off our League One campaign against Oxford United at the end of the month.

--

 Team Selection

People really shouldn't read anything into the team that I select to play Swindon Town, nor the team I pick against Matlock Town on Wednesday, because these two matches are all about fitness. I intend to give 22 players, 90 minutes across the two matches. The players that start against Swindon will get 60 minutes and the other 11 will come off the bench for 30 minutes. We'll then switch it around against Matlock with those who came off the bench starting for the first 60 minutes before being replaced by the players who started against Swindon.

After those two matches, we'll then reassess the players fitness ahead of the next pre-season matches.

--

Initial thoughts on the squad

I think Liam Rosenior did a brilliant job in assembling a squad at all given that the football club only had five contracted first team players on the 1st July and two of those, Krystian Bielik (Birmingham City) and Jack Stretton (Carlisle United), are currently out on loan. I have to be grateful to Liam and his hard work that I even have a squad at all.

And in some ways, it doesn't matter what I think of the squad because that's the group of players I have to work with until the January Transfer Window [Note: first transfer window disabled] and it's my job, and the job of my backroom staff, to get the best out of them.

What I can say is I've had chance to meet with the players, collectively and individually, and we've trained for four days... yes, four days... and they are a great group. They're working hard on the training pitch, they are listening to what we're telling them, and they're trying to put that into practice.

The squad is a mixture of experience and youth but, unfortunately, the balance is wrong.

We have 10 players aged 30 or over, Tom Barkhuizen is 28, Joe Wildsmith is 26, and everybody else is 22 or younger. What that means is we hardly have any players in their peak years. I understand why. Nobody wants to give away players who are at their peak, so when the business plan for coming out of Administration only allows for free transfers and loans with no fees, it's almost impossible to sign any players at their peak.

--

No Right-back

The other challenge we have is that we don't have a senior player who can play right-back or right-wing-back. The only right-backs we have, who are even close to first-team football, are in our U21 squad.

Kwaku Oduroh joined us in the summer from Man City's Academy.

Max Bardell was our U21 right-back last season, but he's currently unavailable with a hamstring injury.

And Rhys Brailsford signed his first professional contract in the summer when he moved from our U18 squad to the U21s.

So I have to decide whether to blood a youngster as a starting right-back in the hurley-burley of League One or play one of James Chester, Jason Knight, Korey Smith or Richard Stearman out of position.

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Saturday 2nd July 2022

Swindon Town 0-0 Derby County - Friendly (1)

--

"The priority today, after only a week of pre-season training, was to get playing time into the players legs and improve their fitness. In that respect, we achieved our aim as the starters got an hour in their legs, and the substitutes got half-an-hour.

"Overall, I was pleased with what I saw from the players. I thought we were the better team, and created a lot more chances than Swindon did, but we only got 10 of 22 attempts on target and none of them beat Sol Brynn in the Swindon goal.

"There was plenty to be pleased with, and some things we need to work harder on in training, before we go again against Matlock Town on Wednesday."

--

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[anagain]

I thought I'd replied to this Saturday evening - I know I read it down the launderette - but I guess not. Damn this old, work-addled brain.

Good to see you back, Stuniverse. All the best with Derby. 

[Stuniverse]

16 minutes ago, anagain said:

I thought I'd replied to this Saturday evening - I know I read it down the launderette - but I guess not. Damn this old, work-addled brain.

Hehehehehe, I sometimes do that, type a message but forget to send it. 🤣

16 minutes ago, anagain said:

Good to see you back, Stuniverse.

Thanks, @anagain, it's great to be back after (as I said to @Punch), a horrible 2021/22 season for my football club that deflated my FM22 experience.

16 minutes ago, anagain said:

All the best with Derby. 

Thank you. I'll give it my best shot.

Come on, you Rams! 🤞⚽️🐏

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Tuesday July 2022

Knight signs new Rams contract

--

The contract negotiations were relatively straight forward, I think because Knighty really wanted to stay at the club.

Initially Jason's agent wanted a higher salary and a £15 million release clause, but we were able to talk him down to the same basic salary Jason's on now and excluded the release clause altogether.

--

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Tuesday 5th July 2022

Pre-game: Matlock Town (away) - Friendly

Injuries

Joe Haigh bruised his ankle in training but should be ok to play some part in the match against Matlock Town.

Otherwise, injury wise, we're as we were ahead of the Swindon Town game.

Team News

We'll probably use the same 22 players that played against Swindon Town with those who came off the bench starting for an hour and then the substitutes getting half an hour.

Tactics wise, after dominating the Swindon game but failing to score, we'll try the same approach against Matlock Town and see if we can do better in front of goal.

[Stuniverse]

Wednesday 6th July 2022

Matlock Town 0-1 Derby County - Friendly (2)

--

"It was good to get our first win of pre-season but, just like our previous match, we created far more chances than Matlock but only got seven out of 18 attempts on target.

"Lewis Dobbin and William Osula both had great chances, but Lewis blazed over the bar and Will headed over. Will then shot wide from six yards.

"Kwaku Oduroh was very unlucky when he hit the outside of the post from 35 yards.

"We finally broke the deadlock when Osula placed his shot in off the far post, after winning possession in the penalty area when their centre-back, Sharman, failed to intercept a high, long ball from Oduroh.

"It was an opportunity to take a closer look at some of the U21s my Head of Youth Development, Darren Wassall, has recommended to me. With our issues at right-back, I was able to have a closer look at Kwaku and Rhys Brailsford playing there.

"Harry Evans, made two superb second-half saves to maintain our one-goal lead. 

"George Nunn thought he'd doubled our lead, after great passing interchange between Joe Haigh and Osazee Aghatise put him clean through, but the goal was ruled offside.

"Jake Rooney, Leigh Kavanagh, Darren Robinson, Harry Hawkins and Olamide Ibrahim all played well as second-half substitutes."

--

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Friday 8th July 2022

Pre-game: Crystal Palace (Home) - Friendly (3)

I don't mean any disrespect to Swindon Town or Matlock Town, but this friendly at home to Crystal Palace represents a big step-up in terms of the quality of the opposition and will be a real test for us.

I'm really looking forward to managing my first Home game at Pride Park Stadium in front of our passionate Rams fans.

Injuries

Joe Haigh has shaken off his ankle knock and we have no new injuries.

Team News

As we look to step-up our fitness, the intention is that the 11 who start will play the entire match and a completely different 11 will get 90 minutes in the following friendly away at Northampton Town.

In both our friendlies so far, we've created plenty of chances but failed to work the opposition's goalkeeper enough. We need to get more attempts on target to increase our chances of scoring goals and, against Premier League Crystal Palace, that's going to be a big ask!

We're up for the challenge though.

Edited November 13, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Saturday 9th July 2022

Derby County 0-1 Crystal Palace - Friendly (3)

--

"We knew Premier League Crystal Palace were going to be a difficult challenge for us and so it proved. They had a lot of possession, and at times we couldn't get the ball off them, but for all their possession and attempts at goal, they had the same problem as us that they couldn't get their attempts on target, and didn't really trouble Joe Wildsmith in our goal.

"For the most part, I thought we worked hard, competed with them, and made it very tough for them. When they did score, the only goal of the game, it was totally down to the individual skill and brilliance of Ebere Eze. Sometimes you just have to take your bobble hat off, clap your hands together, and say, 'Well done! That was just too good for us.'

"We did create a few chances, with the best of them falling to James Collins, but we have to work harder on our finishing in training because we only had one shot on target and that isn't enough. Nowhere near enough.

"After the break, we dropped David McGoldrick back a bit and went more 4-2-3-1 than the 4-2-4 DM Wide we started with, and I thought we looked more compact in the second-half.

"We had to take Nathaniel Mendez-Laing off after 65 minutes with a contact knock. It was more precautionary than anything and we probably won't risk him against Northampton Town on Monday. Hopefully, Nathaniel will be back in contention for Lommel SK next Saturday."

--

First-Half Tactics

Second-Half Tactics

Edited November 14, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Sunday 10th July 2022

Season Ticket Sales

[Stuniverse]

Monday 11th July 2022

Nicholas-Davies faces injury lay-off

Edited November 14, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Monday 11th November 2022

Pre-game: Northampton Town v Derby County - Friendly (4)

Injuries

Injury wise we're as we were with Bartosz Cybulski expected back in training in about 10 days time.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing has shaken off the knock he picked up against Crystal Palace last time out and will be on the bench. It's unlikely we'll risk him though and will look to involve him more against Lommel SK next time out.

--

Team News

With us having played Crystal Palace only two days ago, none of the players who started that game will start against Northampton.

We'll probably change our starting formation and make some tactical changes. 

Overall, having conceded only one goal in three friendlies, we're satisfied with how we are defending but, at the other end, we've only scored one goal as well. We're creating plenty of chances, but not getting anywhere enough on target and we have to do something about that.

--

Connor Dixon

It looks like Connor Dixon will be sidelined until early next month with his hamstring injury.

For now, I've moved him into the U21 squad as an overage player. We have plenty of midfielders in the first-team squad right now, and with youngsters Darren Robinson, Joe Haigh and Osazee Aghatise already part of the first-team squad, I'm not sure Connor will get much playing time to help him regain fitness so he'll be better off, for now, in the U21 squad.

[Stuniverse]

Monday 11th July 2022

Northampton Town 2-2 Derby County - Friendly (4)

--

"We learnt a lot about the players and the way we want to play tonight. We scored two goals - a delightful brace from William Osula - but at the expense of our usual tight defence as we also conceded two. We were twice behind, and showed great character to equalise twice, but we just couldn't get our nose in front.

"We got caught out early with a long ball over the top and Appere out ran our two centre-backs to break the deadlock.

"We had a great chance to equalise when Will smashed the ball against the crossbar after being put clean through by Louie Sibley.

"Then Will did equalise, after great work and a low cross by Lewis Dobbin down the left.

"Appere looked offside when he restored Northampton's lead, but we should have done more to stop Hoskins running with the ball through the centre of our defence in the build up. We just kept backing off and backing off.

"It could have been worse for us, but Hoskins saw his header bounce back off the crossbar.

"We changed things then. We went with a lower defensive line as Appere was too quick for our back line and we looked to work the ball into the box instead of passing into space.

"After the break, Osazee Aghatise put Will away with a lovely pass but Osula's shot crashed back off the post.

"Wiill equalised with a fine header from Osazee's great run down the right and cross to the far post. On another day, Will could easily have had a hat-trick.

"The closing minutes were frenetic, end-to-end, and either team could have won it. A draw was, probably, a fair result in the end."

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Edited November 14, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Monday 11th July 2022

Recruitment Team Applications

With one Director of Football vacancy and two Scout vacancies, hopefully, my Chief Scout, Jon Howard and I should be able to fill those vacancies from these applications.

Edited November 14, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Thursday 14th July 2022

U18 Physio Applications

Head of Youth Development, Darren Wassall, has two U18 Physio vacancies and, hopefully, he can fill them from these applications.

[Stuniverse]

Friday 15th July 2022

Derby County add to Recruitment Team

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Edited November 14, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Saturday 16th July 2022

U21 and U18 Sports Scientist Applications

We have vacancies for one U21 Sports Scientist and one U18 Sports Scientist.

[Stuniverse]

Saturday 16th July 2022

McLoughlin and Gorling join Rams U18 Medical Team

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Edited November 14, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Saturday 16th July 2022

Derby County Squad Numbers

[Stuniverse]

Saturday 16th July 2022

Pre-game: Lommel SK (Home) - Friendly (5)

Injuries

Tom Barkhuizen pulled his pectoral muscle lifting weights in the gym earlier this week. Our medical team say he'll be ok to play but we may take it easy with him against Lommel SK. 

Joe Haigh is still building up his fitness but, I think, it may be time to make him available for the U21s to increase his playing time.

Bartosz Cybulski remains our only absentee and it'll be the end of this month, at the earliest, before he can return to training.

 

Team News

With only two pre-season friendlies remaining (although I am tempted to arrange another one after the FC Twente game before our season opener with Oxford United), our focus moves from fitness to thoroughly preparing for Oxford United on the 30th July.

We'll be trying a couple of new things today. One thing that's become evident is that our backline is quite slow and that lack of pace cost us against Northampton last time out. We've been working on something new in training with the aim of not getting caught out like we were by Louis Appere (Northampton Town) moving forward.

We've also been working on getting more creativity out of the two midfielders in front of the back-four so I'll be very interested to see how that goes against our Belgian Challenger Pro League visitors Lommel SK.

Edited November 14, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Saturday 16th July 2022

Derby County 2-3 Lommel SK - Friendly (5)

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"Against a very good Belgian Challenger Pro League team, I thought we acquitted ourselves very well and pushed them all the way, out-playing them at times.

"Korey Smith put David McGoldrick away with a delightful free-kick but Didzy's shot went over the bar.

"Conor Hourihane found James Collins with a great pass, only for the goalkeeper to save Collo's shot.

"Collo headed Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's cross over the bar.

"We had been the better team in the first 35 minutes, until Lommel hit us on the break five minutes before half-time when Hardy ran in behind Curtis Davies to receive a pass and gave Joe Wildsmith no chance with a powerful finish.

"Just as we were about to go in at half-time trailing by a single goal, Eiran Cashin pushed Wuytens in the back and it's a penalty. Joe almost got to the spot-kick but David's shot had too much power for our goalkeeper.

"We started the second-half brightly, I thought. After a great through ball from Jason Knight, Collo shot narrowly wide.

"53 minutes and we were back in it. Knighty finished off a brilliant counter-attack, led by Korey Smith down the right, by calmly shooting past their goalkeeper to pull us back to 1-2.

"Hourihane went close with four free-kicks, three well saved and one narrowly over the bar.

"We equalised when Nathaniel hit a cross beyond the far post, Collo's header beat the goalkeeper and struck the top of the post, and Lewis Dobbin reacted quickest in the six-yard box to slot home.

"We had our chances to win it. Collo fired wide from 20 yards after great work by Dobbs and Hourihane.

"Louie Sibley, on as a sub, blazed high and wide from inside the penalty area when he just needed more composure.

"Pushing for the winner in added-on time, we got caught on the counter-attack and Barry grabbed the winner for Lommel SK.

"It's disappointing to have lost a game at the death that I thought we had the better of. Against a very good team, we had considerably more possession, created more chances, and worked the goalkeeper more. Having got back level from two goals down, it's a real kick-in-the-teeth to have lost it so late in the 94th minute.

"There were a lot of positives, for sure... but also a lot we need to work on back at Moor Farm training ground."

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Edited November 14, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Sunday 17th July 2022

Season Ticket Update

[Stuniverse]

Monday 18th July 2022

Derby County will end pre-season away at Notts County

Edited November 14, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Tuesday 19th July 2022

Rams Academy add two Sports Scientists

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[Stuniverse]

Friday 22nd July 2022

Pre-game: FC Twente (away) - Friendly (6)

Injuries

Max Bird felt a tight hamstring in training this week so we'll be careful with him against FC Twente tomorrow.

Tom Barkhuizen is fit again after pulling a pectoral muscle last week and missing the Lommel SK friendly.

There's no other injuries so Bartosz Cybulski remains the only long-term absentee but he's getting closer to a return to training.

 

Team News

There were a lost of pleasing signs in our performance against Lommel SK, despite the result, so we're likely to play a similar way against FC Twente tomorrow.

We are delighted to be hosting Eredivisie club FC Twente at Pride Park Stadium. It's probably our most difficult game of pre-season so, having had a mixed bag of results so far, we've arranged one more friendly match away at Notts County on Tuesday.

[Stuniverse]

Saturday 23rd July 2022

Derby County 3-0 FC Twente - Friendly (6)

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"Wow! In what promised to be our most difficult game of pre-season, we produced our best performance so far in front of our own supporters inside Pride Park Stadium. I'm really proud of the players, they gave everything they had and got the better of an excellent Eredivisie team.

"We took the game to Twente from the first whistle, but we rode our luck on 33 minutes when a rasping shot from Tzolis hit the inside of both posts but didn't cross the line.

"Nathaniel Mendez-Laing played a lovely ball into James Collins but his shot flew narrowly wide.

"40 minutes in and Korey Smith unleashed a thunderbolt from 30 yards that rocketed into the back of the net.

"Five minutes after the restart, Collo headed Conor Hourihane's corner against the bar.

"On 64 minutes, a lovely move involving Jason Knight, Curtis Davies and Hourihane, saw Tom Barkhuizen receive Hourihane's pass and calmly convert to double our lead.

"At times, we played some scintillating football. After a wonderful passing move involving most of the substitutes, Osazee Aghatise curled a shot wide from the edge of the penalty area.

"The icing on the cake came on 89 minutes when William Osula pressed the goalkeeper, forced an error, and rolled the ball into an empty net.

"I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting that good a performance. I hope the Rams fans enjoyed it as much as I did."

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[Stuniverse]

Monday 25th July 2022

Derby County Captains

[Stuniverse]

Monday 25th July 2022

Pre-game: Notts County v Derby County - Friendly (7)

Injuries

Max Bird needs to get playing time in his legs to build up his fitness.

Bartosz Cybulski still hasn't returned to training but, hopefully, it won't be too long now as he's making good progress with his rehabilitation.

 

Team News

We round off our pre-season schedule with a short trip to Meadow Lane to play Notts County.

The performance and result against FC Twente has changed the complexion of this friendly against Notts County. We arranged this game, at short notice, because we weren't entirely comfortable with how our pre-season was going, but the performance against Lommel SK, and the result and performance against FC Twente, has changed that.

We'll look to play a similar way to those last two matches but, instead of what we were planning to do, we'll go instead with players who haven't got as much playing time into their legs as they would've liked this pre-season.

Edited November 14, 2022 by Stuniverse