Monday Musings - Did he do well?
Monday, 4th Feb 2008 12:34 by Paul Redfern

The ubiquitous transfer window is closed now until the summer.

Derby County are stuck with whoever we have got, regardless of whether they are fit or injured, until the summer. I would imagine that the first task is to avoid the embarrassing lowest points total ever and then to try and start re-building for next year.

So did our dealings help towards those two goals? Who did we get? Roy Carroll, Alan Stubbs, Emmanuel Villa, Robbie Savage, Mile Sterjovski, Laurent Robert, Hossam Ghaly and the unfortunate Danny Mills. And we have sold four, and let another four out on loan, plus cancelled one contract.

Of those we brought in, three were on a free, two were on a loan as we know to our cost when Man City refused to cancel it so we could get someone else. The other three were said to be a combined cost of just under £4m while we re-couped £2.4m so overall we were out by £1.4m (although that will rise with Savage’s fee rising to £2m).

Did those coming in improve the squad? Starting at the back – Roy Carroll is a vastly experienced goalie and was at one time good enough to play for Manure. He should help to settle some nerves at the back and if he bosses his area, then that is to the good. Alan Stubbs has been there and seen it all. Provided he doesn’t succumb to the collective fright of nerves (which I doubt), he should be another useful addition for this and next season. He will probably need to be replaced in next year’s January window as he loses his pace, but at a free, he is much better business than Todd or Edworthy were.

Hossam Ghaly has already started winning over some fans with his cultured skill but there’s probably a question mark over his long-term future so one for this season but not the next. But definitely better than who we had.

Laurent Robert is a gamble but even when playing at half his best, has more skill than anyone else available. So if he turns it on for four or five games and wins those for us – the gamble will have been worth it.

Villa looks an enticing prospect and with his goal on Saturday, will have alerted other clubs that we may have a potent force which will relieve the pressure on Miller or Earnshaw. Most certainly, he seems much more than an adequate replacement for that great pro, Howard. If he can produce and we can keep him for the next two seasons, he will be a very good acquisition that may even persuade Miller to stay.

Mile Sterjovski is a new one and again, it bodes well for us that we are looking outward to bringing in some international talent and not just from Scotland. From the sound of him, he is another great improvement on what we have got.

Mills would have added some steel at the back and it was unfortunate that he got injured and even more so when Man City played the role of the big meanie by refusing to cancel the loan. Again, for me, he represented an improvement on what we had even if it was only for a half-season with his experience and know-how.

Robbie Savage – more has been written about him than anyone else. He represents a huge gamble by Jewell as he was almost guaranteed to alienate some fans and whatever else happens this season, we can’t afford to lose too many punters – we need them for next season to lift us and also to keep the revenue flowing. Savage needed to show what he is capable of and win over the fans as soon as possible. So far he has shown little sign of doing that and many people will have doubted the wisdom of selling Oakley and buying Savage. Either he can show he can do the business or he can’t, in which case, he may well be on his way in the summer as PJ won’t want to hold onto a very expensive player that’s not performing.

Selling Griffin, Macken, Oakley and Howard was good business as none of them had shown the necessary qualities for this season however hard they may have tried. All four will have gone with good wishes from most fans.

For me, the best bit of business was the transfer that never was. The papers were full of how Giles Barnes would be moving on but the nearest he came to donning a different jersey was when Newcastle made a verbal enquiry and PJ sensibly turned it down promptly. Barnes is a very young man and will not reach his peak for another five or six years; it would be folly to let him go and then watch him flourish for someone else two or three years down the line just like we are now watching Huddlestone at Spurs. If we had sold Huddlestone this season, he would have fetched at least three or four times more than we sold him for. So I was pleased that we didn’t let Barnes go – as he still needs to develop and mature a bit more and he may as well do that with us, and then if he has to go, he can bring in a fat fee.

My conclusion is that overall, PJ has done well in getting those in and moving others out. Time will tell if we can manage to avoid the lowest points total and in doing so, restore some self-belief but the Birmingham game seemed a good start as we could have nicked it.