Last Monday saw the Rams’ CEO Tom Glick announcing that season ticket prices for season 2008-09 would be frozen at last season’s tariff.

Tom asserted that it was “great, great value” and the intention was to reward fans for their loyalty. Or, compensate for their disappointment this time around!

This was probably quite wise timing by Derby County with daunting fixtures ahead of the Rams - away versus Chelsea and Manchester United at home, which could have further depleted fans’ goodwill towards the team, given that last weekend several Championship clubs in FA Cup games gave such an emphatic demonstration of how to play against Premiership teams!

Chelsea was another predictable disaster; Manchester United at home was a refreshing, entertaining and thankfully gutsy display by the Rams and must have given Tom and the other watching VIP investor guests a warm glow.

They saw a packed stadium responding to the team’s valiant efforts and it will have given them a tantalising glimpse of what they can work to achieve at our famous old club in the future.

It’s easier to renew tickets with great flexibility of payment options, as there was the welcome re-introduction of credit card purchasing and facility for easier online applications. The four-instalment direct debit payment plan is available again as is the 10-month Zebra Finance credit plan. Season ticket renewals for 2008-09 on the ‘same seat, same price’ promise apply from March 15th to April 12th 2008.

Ever the supreme optimist, Tom declared too that there would be an additional 1,000 season tickets on sale above the record 24,000 sold this season. Don’t hold your breath, Mr Glick! The club is looking towards 20,000 or more renewals and who knows, if we do rocket back to hold a promotion place, Tom might find that ‘half-season tickets’ become an incredibly popular Christmas present in Derby!

It was most important to fill the stadium to capacity every week, Tom said. I don’t think we will achieve that by any stretch when facing the unglamorous prospect of Championship football again next August and fans I meet would have baulked at a season ticket with a price rise attached.

I personally would expect that the average gate would take a 4-5,000 dip next season though 27,000 would still guarantee Derby County a place in the top group of Championship clubs in terms of support.

After the dire fare on offer this term, the fans’ first wish is to just see Derby County regroup with a worthy team and win games - because watching them in 2007-08 was largely an embarrassing chore. Then, fans will be expectant that Derby can mount an early promotion bid to hope that they will plan ahead to invest more heavily in players before any place in the Premier League is contested in earnest.

That will take money - and fans will measure the new investors’ ambitions by how Paul Jewell is immediately backed up with funds. Whilst the Premiership windfall won’t arrive instantly, the £50m GSE injection is presumably accessible as required, as the manager has a long summer of recruitment and reorganisation ahead, for which we’re told that preparations are already well under way.

Paul Jewell has already sold or loaned out a dozen unwanted players and most fans could readily name ten Rams players that they don’t see fit to serve the club - even at Championship level. Expenditure will be controlled and sensible, with Adam stating that Jewell can spend the money he generates from outgoing transfer on new recruits, plus a kitty on top of that.

Director of Football Operations Adam Pearson said that there would be approximately 14 transfer transactions in and out of the club in the close season. In the context of the total squad overhaul required, a lean and high-quality squad is envisaged and supporters are eager for substantial change too.

So, it’s expected that the month of March will see the mathematical confirmation of our immediate return to the Coca Cola Championship. The next few weeks, up until the 12th April ‘early bird’ season ticket renewal deadline will allow the new owners the chance to gauge the loyalty and durability of the Derby County fanbase; Mr Glick and Co are unlikely to be disappointed.

Fans will re-live their hopes and dreams with him even if this season has tarnished the appetite for some fans to tolerate a humbling time.

Promotion - and even a good recovery - will be no cakewalk. The Championship may well contain clubs like Sunderland, Birmingham or Newcastle; moneyed clubs like Watford and Charlton could figure and perennial under-achievers like Wolverhampton Wanderers, Crystal Palace and Southampton remain ambitious.

Derby’s experience in 2007-08 will remain a sobering prospect to all clubs declaring that they can make it to the big league; we have shown that even that arduous task is actually just the easy part!

Although the Rams will be installed as promotion favourites as soon as they are relegated, it will be difficult to bounce back at the first attempt. The first sobering thought to take on board is that the Rams’ initial target is to survive in the Championship.

That requires almost 50 points; that’s five times the number of points that Derby have managed to amass in 3/4 of the 2007/08 season! They will need 75 points to reach the top six play-off places and almost 90 points for automatic promotion.

Fans have tolerated the shocking meltdown of the Sleightholme era and disappointment felt at the instability and disharmony of Gadsby’s tenure, compounded by the ultimate inadequacies of Billy Davies’ management at the top level. The root problem last season was that the club under-invested both in January and summertime 2007, in terms of quality and quantity of squad recruits.

The club was also inadequately staffed commercially and operationally and ill equipped for life as a Premier League club. Then-manager Billy Davies badly under-performed regarding the scope & capability of his scouting efforts and the calibre of players and staff acquired.

The narrow outlook and mediocre negotiation skills left the club vastly under-prepared for life in the Premier League and the short-time scale and modest finances at hand in the last close season compounded the problems and left Derby County exposed to the humbling and debilitating season that we have witnessed.

Whether the new American style can inveigle the British consciousness regarding ‘the matchday experience’ is dubious in my opinion.

Whilst pre-match and half time entertainment needs improvement and can be made (freely) more inclusive of ordinary fans, Tom shouldn’t realistically anticipate that he can prolong the fans’ patronage of the stadium for more than 2 or 3 hours; British families are unlikely to spend the whole day at their chosen local sporting event in the manner seen at Stateside football and baseball events.

Despite Tom’s enthusiasm and promise of rolling out different attractions, pre-match & half time music and activities, that’s unlikely to happen straight away in Derby (or England!)

Certainly in the short term, realistically, fans will just want to turn up, watch the necessary business in hand of Derby County regularly beating Championship opposition, and look forward to getting back into the Premier League where the real interest and growth lies.

Mr Glick will enjoy renewed loyalty from the fanbase in 2008-09, though this would soon be eroded by poor on-field recovery. Derby football is not the only leisure activity on offer and live music, cinema and other attractions are currently more entertaining!

Supporters now want the club to regroup, utilise the inward investment from GSE and Premier League revenues wisely and build a club that is truly sustainable in the Premier League. It is vital that the impetus of fresh and enthusiastic management allied to the loyal fanbase is not squandered once again.

“We’re about to embark on a great journey here at Derby County and we want our supporters on board for the fantastic times ahead”, said the effusive Mr Glick. Steer us wisely and honestly Tom - and Derby will show their gratitude. Fans don’t have reason to look too cynically at the club right now and should feel that it is a journey worth taking.

This is because although Derby County may remain a ‘train set’, it is for a new set of personnel, who are putting their money, skills, reputations and ambitions into the club to create a solid future. They do have a positive direction and a plan - and a huge opportunity to drive Derby County onwards to success.

WE ARE DERBY!

Photo: Action Images

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