The long overdue wind of change has certainly been blowing through the Rams' squad for the last couple of weeks.

We're only just into June but already we have six new additions to the squad and with the promise of four or five more still to come, no-one can criticise Paul Jewell and Adam Pearson of wasting time. They've been saying their rebuilding plans have been well advanced for weeks and the transfer activity so far certainly seems to bear this out.

Having been relegation certainties for most of the second half of last season, Pearson and Jewell have had plenty of time to pinpoint their transfer targets and do the groundwork so we have to trust them on the players they bring to the club. Maybe none of the names are quite as well known or inspiring as some might have hoped but every one of them, from Ruben Zadkovic to Kris Commons is a player with a point to prove.

Commons for instance, knows he's going to get stick from the other end of Brian Clough Way whatever he does. He'll also know he's going to get stick from Rams fans if he doesn't do the business for us. Over the years, we've had a few come up the A52 to play for us and offhand, I can't think of anyone who hasn't delivered the goods. I'm sure Commons won't want to be the first.

The signing of Nathan Ellington also shows that Adam Pearson is no mug when it comes to operating in the transfer market. A season-long loan with a view to a permanent move was a pretty creative bit of business and if Ellington can regain the form that he showed at Wigan when Paul Jewell was in charge there, it might just turn out to be one of the best bits of business of the summer.

The one signing which has impressed me though, is that of Paul Green from Doncaster Rovers – even though I'd previously barely heard of him. Green was the last remaining member of the Rovers team which won promotion from the Football Conference back into the Football League. He only knows success through hard work. Every season in a new division, the focus of attention would have been on him. Could he make the transformation? Each season he would have had his doubters and each season he's proved them wrong. His signing illustrates to me more than any other just what qualities Paul Jewell is trying to bring to the club.

Things appear to still be in the balance with the Ferrie Bodde move but the fact that Bodde has now handed in a transfer request is encouraging. Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins called our initial offer of £500,000 rising to £750,000 as “laughable” but that hasn't put Adam Pearson off. Pearson says he's intent on pursuing it “until we have a successful conclusion.” Whether we land Bodde's signature or not, once things have reached this stage, Swansea fans can be pretty sure that Bodde won't be kicking a ball for them next season.

In the meantime, we're being linked with just about every out-of-contract player in the Football League, which in some ways is a bit irritating but in others, it's quite complimentary. I don't pay too much attention unless it's a central defender we're bing linked with though. I think that should be the next priority on PJ's list after securing the signature of Bodde.

Don't ask me why but for some reason I'd like to see us sign someone from Eastern Europe. Maybe it's because of the big, strong no-nonsense stereotype that we have of players from that part of the world. We were linked to Vyacheslav Hleb, brother of Arsenal's Aliaksandr at one time but maybe that was just “pure journalistic specualtion” as Arthur Cox used to like to say. Anyway, Vyacheslav is a midfielder and I think we probably have enough of those now.

It'll be interesting to see who we have to talk about in another couple of weeks or so.

Catch you soon.

© Steve Tickle 2008

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