A ball hasn't yet been kicked but already, Paul Jewell and Adam Pearson have gone a long way in restoring my faith in the Rams.
Last season was a real trial of faith, wasn't it? But although we're still a few weeks away from the opening of the new season, Paul Jewell and Adam Pearson have given me back my enthusuasm for the Rams for next season. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating of course but the Rams have certainly been one of, if not the most active club in the transfer market this summer.
The focussed way that the club has gone about its business this summer has given us back some self respect, I think. Messrs Jewell and Pearson have set about what they promised to do, ie. rebuild the squad and although most of the players brought in probably wouldn't have been in my initial list of targets, I'm impressed that they appear to be trying to bring players in who all have a point to prove and want to prove it in a Rams shirt.
Even the attempt to bring Ferie Bodde to the club is encouraging although it still appears to be work in progrees. We've made several improved offers to Swansea but now appear to be standing firm. Huw Jenkins, the Swansea chairman is steadfastly claiming he can and will make Bodde see out his contract but in reality, once a player decides he wants to move on, there's little point in trying to enforce the contract and the player usually ends up leaving.
This is where I think Adam Pearson has been quite clever. He's pretty much put the ball in Bodde's court. If Bodde wants to come and play for us, as I've said above, Jenkins may as well bite the bullet and agree a deal with us. If on the other hand, Bodde really is happy at Swansea, well he doesn't fullfil Paul Jewell's prerequisite of players really wanting to play for us anyway.
There'll be a Plan B though. All too often in recent years the club has seemed to get strung up on completing one particular signing and somehow that seems to have manfested itself the following season. I don't see that happening this summer though.
Considering there was a lot of pressure on Jewell and Pearson to completely rebuild the squad, they appear to have "sold" the club really well and not allowed themselves to be drawn into a seller's market. I suppose what really encourages me is that the club seems to have a strong sense of purpose again. After all, much of last season was spent just drifting, waiting for the season to end so we could start over again.
Now hopefully we have two or three more "major" signings to look forward to, according to Adam Pearson, before the squad is as they want it to go into the new season with. It will be intriguing to see who we buy or at least, are linked with. Are we waiting for the Euro 2008 Championships to come to an end? Well I doubt we're in the market for anyone still in the competition but are we already in negotiations for a player or players whose nation has already been eliminated?
In any event, I somehow doubt the subject of any such negotiations will become public unless and until it suits the Rams.