Derby County

I have, for a long time. refused to comment on the performance of my beloved team because frankly I have had nothing to be proud of. I live in an area where most of my friends are Leicester City season ticket holders. They are signing players for large sums and their pre season programme includes fixtures against teams like Valencia.

Derby County have signed a plethora of players on the cheap like they did last year. Many of them are free signings from clubs that were happy to get rid of them. Some of them have been priced at a few hundred thousand pounds when teams like Leicester are signing proven Premiership players. That is what we need and we have come up with only one fringe premiership player Jason Shackell (a million possibly) who immediately gets injured.

Nigel Clough is sending a plethora of teams to lower division and non league outfits and guess what they cannot win a game! We are being defeated at Matlock and Crewe (this evening), I am sorry but Derby County is a big club and we should have ambition! What the hell are we doing even playing these teams in pre season? How can any Derby County XI lose to Matlock Town?

None of our summer signings has raised a ripple of interest in the mainstream media. We have a couple of signings from Scotland a few free transfers and players who need a club like Nathan Tyson and Theo Robinson. So suddenly we have eight more players who then lose to Crewe and cannot beat Macclesfield or Morecombe. Nigel Clough has had people who should be in the first team squad playing at Eastwood Town for heaven' sake.

What is his first team? Does he know it? Are they training together? Who are the new signings who cannot beat division two teams? I am appalled at the pre season results. Things will have to get a whole lot better if we are to even stay in the championship.