New Signings?

[swaledale]

rA, Thicky completely misses the point.

For start there is pressure in non league, I'm sure the manager of Matlock Town and the fans want to be competitive and win at their level. In fact I've taken to watching a local non league team, as I'm no longer in touching distance of Derby and don't go to matches much. The football is exciting and most teams have a decent chance of wining the league what's not to like?

The fact is that neither Forest (in their new mega rich promoted guise) or Derby are likely to be winning any major trophy in the next decade or beyond. Unless some billionaire appears who injects continuous amounts of cash into one of the clubs season after season.
I'd like to see Derby back in the championship, not so sure about the prem, the 2007/8 season was utter debacle.

Norwich spent £60 million, Fulham £100 million they bot went down. Burnley struggled on for 5 seasons and then ironically get taken over and go down.

[macstheman]

TTR, you're completely missing the brilliant point that DCFCA made when he pointed out that fans following clubs in L1 will do so through all circumstances.
They don't have to be in that PL or even the Championship to love and be proud of their club. We played Stevenage this week, they have never experienced the PL and don't need to have been to be excited about the new season. That doesn't mean they lack ambition, quite the opposite their ambition is to support their club despite the PL, despite the European adventures of other clubs. Forest are not better than them, Man U are not better than them nor are Barcelona. I have seen us in all of the top three divisions many times, I have seen us play Real Madrid, win Titles, get relegated, lose key games, win daft games. I reckon I have seen more than most footie fans have but I am looking forward to this season no less than if we were in the Prem and that doesn't make me unambitious! If I never see us in the PL again it won't bother me one iota, I want us to win every match this season, we won't of course but the PL is nowt compared to the joy I see on our fans faces and the faces of every clubs fans when the ref blows his whistle to start the game!
Good luck in the PL but I am genuinely not jealous, roll on Oxford is what I say!!

[Geoff Parkstone]

rA: I don't think I ever imply anything about TTR between any lines. If I think someone's being a **** I say so, as you have discovered in the past. I'm not generally one for subtlety.

Mostly I ignore TTRs extremes, leaving it to you and Swale to kneecap him, metaphorically speaking. I think he brings an interesting perspective to the debate, so long as you don't take him seriously 😄

[Trickytreesreds]

TTR, you're completely missing the brilliant point that DCFCA made when he pointed out that fans following clubs in L1 will do so through all circumstances.
They don't have to be in that PL or even the Championship to love and be proud of their club. We played Stevenage this week, they have never experienced the PL and don't need to have been to be excited about the new season. That doesn't mean they lack ambition, quite the opposite their ambition is to support their club despite the PL, despite the European adventures of other clubs. Forest are not better than them, Man U are not better than them nor are Barcelona. I have seen us in all of the top three divisions many times, I have seen us play Real Madrid, win Titles, get relegated, lose key games, win daft games. I reckon I have seen more than most footie fans have but I am looking forward to this season no less than if we were in the Prem and that doesn't make me unambitious! If I never see us in the PL again it won't bother me one iota, I want us to win every match this season, we won't of course but the PL is nowt compared to the joy I see on our fans faces and the faces of every clubs fans when the ref blows his whistle to start the game!
Good luck in the PL but I am genuinely not jealous, roll on Oxford is what I say!!

I didn't miss the point at all.
DCFCA, is trying to say, being in the top flight doesn't matter for many reasons.
True, it does and it doesn't.
You still watch football at any level. My son, plays a high level of amateur football, a busted knee kept him there.
But even his club, strives to be better and would grasp promotion in a heart beat.
Any club and its supporters wants to be the best it can be.
To even imply that being lg 1 is not making an iota of difference to being Prem league is bollox.
DCFC would love to reverse the situation, MM tried many ways to achieve it. Yes he ****ed it up, but boy were Derby fans lapping it up at the times.

My dear mate Stenson, was very good at pointing this out when McClaren nearly pulled out the dream.
We were ****e when you was in the Prem last, wouldn't you have preferred to stay there, or did you dream of swapping places with us?

[Andy_Faber]

I didn't miss the point at all.
DCFCA, is trying to say, being in the top flight doesn't matter for many reasons.
True, it does and it doesn't.
You still watch football at any level. My son, plays a high level of amateur football, a busted knee kept him there.
But even his club, strives to be better and would grasp promotion in a heart beat.
Any club and its supporters wants to be the best it can be.
To even imply that being lg 1 is not making an iota of difference to being Prem league is bollox.
DCFC would love to reverse the situation, MM tried many ways to achieve it. Yes he ****ed it up, but boy were Derby fans lapping it up at the times.

My dear mate Stenson, was very good at pointing this out when McClaren nearly pulled out the dream.
We were ****e when you was in the Prem last, wouldn't you have preferred to stay there, or did you dream of swapping places with us?

Just one point. Despite our many and varied disagreements I haven’t and wouldn’t (in fact not sure I could) ‘slapped rA down’

[swaledale]

I didn't miss the point at all.
DCFCA, is trying to say, being in the top flight doesn't matter for many reasons.
True, it does and it doesn't.
You still watch football at any level. My son, plays a high level of amateur football, a busted knee kept him there.
But even his club, strives to be better and would grasp promotion in a heart beat.
Any club and its supporters wants to be the best it can be.
To even imply that being lg 1 is not making an iota of difference to being Prem league is bollox.
DCFC would love to reverse the situation, MM tried many ways to achieve it. Yes he ****ed it up, but boy were Derby fans lapping it up at the times.

My dear mate Stenson, was very good at pointing this out when McClaren nearly pulled out the dream.
We were ****e when you was in the Prem last, wouldn't you have preferred to stay there, or did you dream of swapping places with us?

But that is not really what you were saying is it? You were implying that being happy to see the club in league 1 was in your eyes akin to the everybody gets medals at school sports days, you were saying that being happy to have a club to watch wasn't an ambition, but it bloody was for rams fans until a few weeks ago.

Yes if we had beaten Villa and Mel's gamble had got us to the prem, there would indeed been a lot of excited Rams fans - I and no doubt a few on this Forum would ahve been to an extent. But also the realism that in this age just getting to the prem is not even half the battle, its being able to sustain the cost of staying in the prem, yes the financial rewards are big, but so are the transfer fees and wages required to do it long term.

[macstheman]

I didn't miss the point at all.
DCFCA, is trying to say, being in the top flight doesn't matter for many reasons.
True, it does and it doesn't.
You still watch football at any level. My son, plays a high level of amateur football, a busted knee kept him there.
But even his club, strives to be better and would grasp promotion in a heart beat.
Any club and its supporters wants to be the best it can be.
To even imply that being lg 1 is not making an iota of difference to being Prem league is bollox.
DCFC would love to reverse the situation, MM tried many ways to achieve it. Yes he ****ed it up, but boy were Derby fans lapping it up at the times.

My dear mate Stenson, was very good at pointing this out when McClaren nearly pulled out the dream.
We were ****e when you was in the Prem last, wouldn't you have preferred to stay there, or did you dream of swapping places with us?

I can only speak on a personal level and, if I had the choice of L1 or the PL, then I would opt for L1.
You are right, of course, every club at all levels want to be the best they can and I am sure that Clowes feels the same and will make the PL his target but I must remind you that both DCFCA and myself are speaking on a personal level!
I first saw The Rams play way back in the mid fifties in the old Division Three North and loved it. It didn't have to be the top division for it to be great and that's the point! Having experienced the Top Division and the 2nd and 3rd tiers in all their guises I can honestly say I'm looking forward to this season just as much if not more than if we were in the PL! Sounds daft but that's the way I feel. It's not about the level or the glory it's about the love and loving football at see in is my ambition!

[macstheman]

The end of my last sentence should read 'loving football with all its warts is all that counts, that is my ambition'!

[Trickytreesreds]

I can only speak on a personal level and, if I had the choice of L1 or the PL, then I would opt for L1.
You are right, of course, every club at all levels want to be the best they can and I am sure that Clowes feels the same and will make the PL his target but I must remind you that both DCFCA and myself are speaking on a personal level!
I first saw The Rams play way back in the mid fifties in the old Division Three North and loved it. It didn't have to be the top division for it to be great and that's the point! Having experienced the Top Division and the 2nd and 3rd tiers in all their guises I can honestly say I'm looking forward to this season just as much if not more than if we were in the PL! Sounds daft but that's the way I feel. It's not about the level or the glory it's about the love and loving football at see in is my ambition!

Well I can respect that reply, thank you.

Owners buy football clubs to progress, make money, bring glory.
Your view is a bit unique, but I think most fans only want their club to be the best,
I saw my first game whilst in the old second division.
3 seasons later I was on a roller coaster. Little did I know that 30 years later, I would be a division down from where I'd started.
Of course I still supported my club. But enjoy it? Not on your f-ing nelly.

[Andy_Faber]

I can only speak on a personal level and, if I had the choice of L1 or the PL, then I would opt for L1.
You are right, of course, every club at all levels want to be the best they can and I am sure that Clowes feels the same and will make the PL his target but I must remind you that both DCFCA and myself are speaking on a personal level!
I first saw The Rams play way back in the mid fifties in the old Division Three North and loved it. It didn't have to be the top division for it to be great and that's the point! Having experienced the Top Division and the 2nd and 3rd tiers in all their guises I can honestly say I'm looking forward to this season just as much if not more than if we were in the PL! Sounds daft but that's the way I feel. It's not about the level or the glory it's about the love and loving football at see in is my ambition!

Well said Mac, especially about ‘it’s not the level’. My team will get me buzzing with a win over Forest Green just as much as they would if it was Liverpool