The activity (or lack of) at Pride Park is without doubt sending some people’s blood pressure into dangerous areas. 

Should the season not start well, it is likely that some GP surgeries around the Derbyshire district will be filled with fans complaining of anxiety and demanding bulk prescriptions of Prozac.

What is this activity?  Basically there are apparently some worrying indications that Nigel is out of his depth – giving a trial to Kisnorbo who is said to be a walking crock, giving a trial to Deeney – seemingly a very mediocre goalkeeper from – where else – Burton.  And of course, the famous comment that £1m was a lot of money for a centre back.  All this has not been helped by the fact that the first two signings were from Burton (again!) and Ilkeston – hardly hotbeds of Championship material.

Plus, of course, the football management team, with the exception of a few like M. Metgod, has generally been recruited from the Pirelli Stadium. 

These seem to be the main happenings that have resulted in some fans raging or slashing their wrists.  For them, we need some reassurance that we are aiming upwards and not downwards.  The apparent constant gazing towards south to the home of Marstons Pedigree Ale, not unlike that of the previous yearnings of one BD towards Deepdale and beyond, has undoubtedly unsettled some people.

The expectation along with the illusion that there is some parachute money floating around was that we would be recruiting some solid defenders and certainly someone with a stout heart who can also pass it along the floor to close the alarming gaps that yawned too often last season.  Hence the desire for the club to spend big and get some “names”.  Interestingly enough, one of those big names touted around was that of Duberry from Reading who has now ended up at Wycombe in League One.

Against that are the two signings of Croft and Moxey – both solid performers who are likely to be good additions to the squad and the whisper that Arsene is loaning out one of his starlets.

But still on the deficit side, Carroll and Davis (he of Clod fame) are apparently proving difficult to shift off the payroll with their respective alarming tendencies and virtually nil contributions to squad harmony or team achievements. Plus no-one outside of Pride Park seems to know what’s exactly happening with Albrechtsen or Stewart - yet there have been sightings of both at Moor Farm.

So are we moving inexorably towards an iceberg and then crashing down to meet Burton in League Two as Nigel finds his true level, or are we akin to a glacier, gradually moving to bigger and better things and growing as we go along?

The result at Burton is unlikely to help those with bi-polar tendencies as the game ended in a one-nil – not sufficient to reassure everyone that we are on the right lines, but just adequate enough not to be embarrassing.

From some reports, it sounds as if there are major changes to the footballing style which isn’t surprising.  Metgod and Clough were both on the floor footballers and who were most definitely not cranially challenged as so many other footballers are.  Although it doesn’t always follow that cultured players becoming managers follow the same bent (Revie was a cultured player who created just about the most hated team ever), it does seem that Clough is aiming for a way of playing that requires patience, both on the part of players and fans.

Again, this suggests that we are on the glacial route rather than the Titanic slipstream, which will require much fortitude on the part of the American owners as they are likely to be bombarded with demands for more money (as if throwing money at players ever worked), and on the part of the football management team as they attempt to groom a squad capable of playing in a cultured way and also surviving in the Premiership in the rather distant future.

For my part, this appears eminently sensible as for far too long we have lurched from one crisis to the next all the way back to Jim Smith when he suddenly took leave of his senses by appointing a long ball merchant as his coach to work with a team composed of players who were basically wedded to a style of short balls and passing.

There is still quite a bit of time before the end of the transfer window and I have no doubt that both Pearson and Clough are very clear as to what they want to achieve before then.  Until then, it will be a time of patience on the part of all Rams fans, something that is clearly in short supply in certain quarters.

It certainly makes for an interesting and fraught time as we wonder in anxiety and wait in the hope that we are really moving forwards in glacier-like fashion.

Photo: Action Images

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