 Tuesday, 10th May 2011 14:07 by Daniel J Sewart Along with the confirmation that Frank Fielding had finally signed with the Rams – two other signings were made official in Jamie Ward and Theo Robinson. Can both players become an integral part of the plan to re-invigorate the Rams forward setup? Reports in the media suggest that the Rams have already spent close to a million pounds in signing all three players with more signatures expected soon. With Fielding charged with shoring up the goals - Ward and Robinson in particular are seen by Clough as integral attacking options in providing pace and goals. There is no denying Theo Robinson has pace to burn as well as great positional sense, he gets himself into the right places time and time again. The major criticism of Robinson, is he is often dispossessed and pushed off the ball too easily but more worryingly having got himself into perfect scoring positions, lacks the composure to finish when it seems the easiest part of the move he has built. At 22, Theo has time on his side and I am sure Nigel see’s the young striker as a work in progress. If Clough and his back room staff can give the youngster a bit more upper body strength as well as teach him to remain calm under pressure, Theo could easily become a terrifying prospect for opposition clubs. Add finishing to his pace and the boy could be a superstar. On the other hand Jamie Ward already has most of the required boxes ticked and will score goals - an impressive 5 in 13 matches for Derby during his loan spell. He seems to have the ability to not only fill the number that was vacated by Kris Commons but also the all action attacking and scoring role the Rams were missing. Ward has the potential to slip into the Commons role and for me also puts in a much better shift than the former Ram. Jamie works very hard for the whole match getting about and putting himself in positions back and front that he needs to be. Jamie also probably has a few more yards pace than Commons who if the opposition planned for him, could be negated by tight marking. His passion and willingness to get into the opponents face cannot be in doubt but he may have to curb his tendancy to lash out just a little to avoid suspensions. When speaking to the DET Nigel Clough was very happy to got business for the three signings finalised quickly: "We have stated our desire to keep Frank, Jamie and Theo for some time, so it is nice to be in a position now where we can confirm they will be part of our future.” "All three of them had been on our radar before they even joined us on loan this season. We've managed to get three of our long-term targets tied down very early in the summer, which is a massive bonus for us.” "I don't need to explain what they are all about, they have done that on the pitch and we see them all as big parts of our future." And Jamie Ward was glad to be a full time Ram and found a manger who appreciates him: "I'm very happy to sign, it was an easy decision to be honest, the manager likes me and that means an awful lot." "He has confidence in me and I think I've responded with some good performances and a few goals. I think coming here has revitalised me and people have been able to see that in my performances." "I've been happy with how I've played and five goals is a decent enough return. The fans have been good with me too, they've taken to me and I've really enjoyed playing in front of them." "The Gaffer has said he will be bringing players in over the summer, which is exciting. We have some good young players who have shown they can handle it at this level, and with a few new players too I think we can have a good year next year." RamZone wishes all the boys luck now they are permanent DCFC players and hope they are part of a journey that takes the club onwards and upwards!
As always we have updated our player profiles for the Rams latest signings. Below you can learn all you need to know about the Rams latest acquisitions: Theo Laroyan Robinson - Born on the 22nd of January 1989 in Birmingham and started on the road to a full time football career by graduating as part of Watford's youth academy. Before coming through the ranks at the Hornets Theo had very nearly walked away from football at the age of 16 when Stoke City released him after a season as a schoolboy. Luckily for Theo Watford had spotted him during an exit trial held by The Football League. Ironically that trial was held at Derby County's Moor Farm training ground in 2005. He was given a chance by Watford to train at the club and after a week impressed the club sufficiently to be signed on a two-year apprenticeship, which was followed by a professional contract in 2007. The Football League used his signing as an example in their promotions of how the exit trials were keeping young, talented players in the game. After signing his contract he was immediately loaned to Wealdstone for one month which was later extended for the rest of the season. His fantastic strike rate of 13 Goals in 16 games were crucial for the club as they staved off relegation from the Southern Football League Premier Division. After returning to the Hornets he found himself on the bench for their Premier League Clash against Newcastle in May of 2007. He made his debut after coming on as a second-half substitute. At the beginning of the 07/08 season Robinson joined Hereford United on loan until the end of the season. He finished the season as the clubs top goal scorer with 16 goals which helped lift the club with promotion to League one. Robinson returned to Watford for the 08/09 season but failed to cement a spot and was once again loaned out early in 2009. He joined league one side Southend United for the rest of the season. After 7 goals in 21 appearances he once again returned to the hornets. In July of 2009 Theo signed for Huddersfield Town on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. The form of other strikers at the club found him struggling to make the clubs regular starting line up but when he finally did break back into the squad Robinson scored 7 goals in the last 10 games of the season. This made his final tally of 16 goals in 38 appearances for the season far more presentable. The next season did not reflect how he ended the 09/10 season as Huddersfield sent Robinson out on loan in September 2010. He returned to Huddersfield in early November through injury requiring an operation on his knee which cut the loan spell short. Despite the injury issue, Millwall manager Kenny Jackett expressed his desire to bring sign Robinson permanently and once he regained full fitness returned to the Lions for training at the end of December. Jackett got his man when Robinson signed for Millwall on the 13th of January 2011 for a fee believed to be around £300,000. Only a month later Millwall have shown great understanding in allowing the Birmingham born player to move on loan as he has struggled to settle in London away from family and friends. He joined the Rams until the end of the season on emergency loan during which he scored 2 goals in 13 appearances, which included 8 in the starting line up. Having agreed to personal terms with the Rams his transfer becomes official on July 1st.
Jamie John Ward - Born on May 12th 1986 in Smith's Wood, Solihull. Jamie was identified as a talented youngster by Aston Villa and began his career as a trainee. He was a member of their 2004 FA Youth Cup squad that was defeated in the Final by Middlesbrough. He was rewarded with a professional contract in July 2005 but not before having to come back from serious injuries he sustained in a car crash. Ward was identified as a future leader at Villa and was appointed Captain of the reserve but by the time he eventually left the club had not managed a single first team appearance despite assured performances in the second string. Ward was loaned to Stockport County in March of 2006 and made 9 appearances during the spell that lasted until the end of the 05/06 campaign. Aston Villa released Ward after returning from his loan at Stockport and he was promptly snapped up by Torquay on a 3 year contract at the start of the 06/07 season. However the move was short lived as when the club changed ownership and manager Ward asked for a transfer in December. He followed the former Torquay manager Roy McFarland to Chesterfield signing a two and a half year contract. After suffering some early injury issues he bounced back and netted a dozen times during the remainder of the 07 / 08 season. As the 2008–09 got underway he had become an established first team player at Chesterfield but was attracting serious interest from teams such as Derby and Sheffield United. After rejecting a new contract in early 2009 Barnsley had a £400,000 offer accepted that fell over when Ward failed to agree to terms. Ward instead ended up signing a three and a half year deal in January with Sheffield United for a fee believed to be around £330,000. Ward became a regular starting player for the team and made a good impression on the club and fans which was only soured when he was sent off in the Blades 2009 play-off final defeat against Burnley. He opened the 09/10 season in stellar form scoring 4 goals in his first 7 games. The rest of his season was stop – start as injury twice cut him down causing him to miss months of football with hamstring issues. His 10/11 season was a trial for the player after struggling to find form in a Blades team that has failed to fire this campaign. Things went to bad to worse after he fell out with the clubs new manager Mick Adams and subsequently was frozen out of the first team. One of his few appearances was as a substitute against Leeds United. His return to action resulted in him being sent off after a challenge on Neil Kilkenny. Jamie Ward has definitely scored his fair share of goals at a lower level with 9 from 25 at Torquay and an impressive 29 from 67 at Chesterfield. He has only managed 9 goals from 63 appearances since 2009 for the Blades but has often been used out wide and is a handy winger with impressive speed. Although born in England Jamie has plied his international career for Northern Ireland, qualifying to do so through his grandfather. After receiving caps at both under-18 and under-21 level he was finally capped at senior level in March 2009. Ward only made it as far as the bench for two World Cup Qualifiers against Poland and Slovenia and has not been capped since. The Rams completed the loan signing on February 16th with the player immediately joining the squad for his first training session where he was handed the number 10 shirt vacated by Kris Commons. The deal ran for the remainder of the season during which Ward scored five goals in 13 games including a screamer from 25 yards on the final day at Reading. He joins the Rams on a new permanent deal as they look ahead to the 2011/12 season.
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