With the 2009-10 Championship season finishing on a satisfactory note for Derby County with a victory over play-off contenders Cardiff City, the Rams focussed on squad development with players released and new signings imminent.

The relief felt by Rams fans that another truly mediocre season has ended with Championship survival secured with a bit to spare has soon subsided into hope for the next season, as interest now focuses on how manager Nigel Clough will progress in the transfer market.

Clough is close to making signings in defence and attack and is also moving on players to free up wages and to dispense with those who do not form part of his future plans.

Winger Gary Teale and defender Jay McEveley learned that they will not receive new deals at Derby County when their contracts expire shortly. Both have had their careers revived by Nigel Clough - he got some value out of the players who were cast aside and farmed out on loan by Paul Jewell.

Both were signed expensively by Billy Davies in his ‘mad January’, when he added to his table-topping Championship squad with a host of players that unbalanced the dressing room.
Such players added numbers to Davies’ squad but did not necessarily bring strength in depth, as was clearly demonstrated when the pair were called upon to perform at Premier League level.

Teale is coming to the end of his playing days and McEveley, at 24, has received notice that Clough is (thankfully) looking for a better left-back, as well as a saving on wages. Good move.

Clough is set to replace Teale by adding Millwall winger David Martin in the Derby squad on a permanent basis, and also sign Doncaster Rovers full-back Graham Roberts. Martin is picking up experience at this level and appears to have plenty of potential for his step up to a bigger club, flashes of which we saw in the final game of the season against Cardiff City.

Roberts - a Welsh international - is now 32 and the signing is a move borne from Derby’s intentions of austerity in wages paid as opposed to the over-rewarded McEveley. Whilst he’s not a long-term prospect, Roberts can bring his steady experience to improve an often loose Derby defence.

Step by step, Clough is working towards a leaner, meaner squad that have desire and potential. Let’s hope the tight budgeting doesn’t sacrifice the quest for real quality, as there is precious little of that in the squad at present. Let’s hope the savings made on outgoing players are put towards a prolific goalscorer up front and a creative midfielder who can score goals, too!

Rams’ midfielder Paul Green - who played with Roberts at Doncaster earlier in his career - is set to join a training camp later this month with the Republic of Ireland, through qualification on his grandmother’s side of the family.

Greeny will deserve an international call-up and the experience would benefit him. If he can recapture his best thrusting, energetic form in 2010-11 then he will be a very important component of the Derby County midfield.

The Rams have a number of players undergoing medical attention, most of whom the manager expects to be fit and ready for pre-season preparation at the end of June.

Apart from Dean Leacock and Miles Addison who are in rehab after their latest operations, defender Shaun Barker has undergone ‘routine’ knee surgery and David Martin is having a minor knee operation shortly.

Stephen Pearson has had more involved knee surgery whilst Rob Hulse has had a hernia attended and Steve Davies had an ankle operation. Additionally, Chris Porter has had treatment on his hip injury, goalkeeper Stephen Bywater is recovering from his damaged ribs and Kris Commons is still working back to fitness after his various setbacks.

There are of course no games to contend with thankfully, as we still therefore have nine players under treatment. Did I miss anyone out? Probably! Will it ever end? Let’s hope that all those expected to report back fit for pre-season are ready and raring to go for 2010-11.

The pre-season schedule will not now feature a friendly game against Italians Fiorentina on July 31st, as the game has been cancelled. The Rams will instead play Premier League Birmingham City on the same date. The Rams’ pre-season fixture schedule commences on July 17th at Burton Albion (where else?)

Ex-Ram and man-mountain Darren Moore is set to sign for Burton Albion, having been released by Barnsley. The Brewers will get a whole-hearted honest player who is a formidable force in defence. Albion had a very successful induction into League football, with a ‘rookie’ management team, too. Here’s to some more solid progress for them next season!

Darren is yet another link in the football chain between Derby County and Burton Albion, with Paul Boertien, Kevin Poole, plus of course the management team of Peschisolido and Rowett and other ex-Rams on the staff, the linkage continuing even at director level with Don Amott!

The Pirelli Stadium is a good second home for Rams fans to see League football from a rising side in a nice stadium, with familiar faces liberally scattered on the pitch and in the stadium!

We still have the World Cup to look forward to, if England players can get fit and behave off the field. Tall order, I know! Prior to that, we’ll watch how the Trees fare in the Championship play-offs (first blood went to Blackpool, who beat Forest 2-1 in their home leg; the furry Foxes lost 0-1 at home to Cardiff City.

The Tangerines came from behind to take their one-goal advantage to the City Ground whilst Leicester City were aggrieved to have several penalty claims denied. As the Tuesday evening second-legs unfold, we will know which teams will be Wembley bound for their bid to reach the Greedy League via the so-called ‘£60m’ play-off final. We did it, and then we spent it all...on nowt!

Add to that schedule today’s almost unbearably thrilling climax to an ‘exciting’ Premier League season, as we sat on the edge of our seats to witness if Chelsea of Manchester United would claim another title, and your football cravings haven’t been entirely frustrated.

Both Prem sides thrashed their respective opposition; the Blues of Stamford Bridge annihilating Wigan Athletic by 8-0, whilst Manchester United clobbered Stoke City 4-0. Of course, ‘Arry has taken Spurs into the top 4 at the expense of a wobbly Liverpool.

It’s all several light centuries away from where Derby County appear to be (or aspire to be) but I do admit that Chelski claiming the Prem title with an eight-goal win and notching over 100 goals in a season is a formidable achievement.

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RamsWeek 19 last year reflected on the expensive player syndrome inflicted on the club by previous managers as the first tranche of releases from the Derby County squad were announced. Several ‘money for nothing’ players were set to be shown the door in Nigel Clough’s first big clearance sale.

Andy Todd, Mile Sterjovski, and Paris Simmonds would soon leave and loanees Ellington, Eustace and Kazmierczak would not be sought for new loan periods.

Derby were seeking to sign winger Lee Croft and Burton Albion defender Jake Buxton with other departures and incoming deals said to be in the pipeline.

Pride Park Stadium hosted the Women’s FA Cup Final, with Arsenal Ladies beating Sunderland 2-1 in front of almost 23,500 fans, to record their 10th FA Cup win. The Gunners’ victory was part of a domestic treble with both the League Cup and Tesco Women’s Premier League title already in the bag.

Photo: Action Images

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