Rival Watch

[Coppells Lost Coat]

The EFL need to update their rules. Seems like clubs are getting more and more clever in moving the money around. Employing better accountants and lawyers to ensure they stay within the rules or find loopholes.
Maybe Derbys dodgy stadium sale is going to come back to haunt them.

I think our saving grace is that we have brazenly over spent, held our hands up and not tried to hide it from EFL.

[Zip]

The whole derby thing utterly confuses me. EFL have to give proper clarity on what they can and can’t do. Much as I’d happily see them go down of course it doesn’t seem the treatment they are getting is particularly helpful

I don’t think the EFL are being very helpful towards us right now. I don’t know how many senior professionals Derby have but we are not in a much better place than they are.

[Westwood52]

I am sure I read last season that 10 Championship clubs were in financial trouble and were going to be subject to sanctions this season ? Any idea how events have developed with the other eight ;albeit one of those were Sheffield Wednesday.

[Stranded]

The whole derby thing utterly confuses me. EFL have to give proper clarity on what they can and can’t do. Much as I’d happily see them go down of course it doesn’t seem the treatment they are getting is particularly helpful

I don’t think the EFL are being very helpful towards us right now. I don’t know how many senior professionals Derby have but we are not in a much better place than they are.

Derby have 9 or 10 senior pros and one of them is out for 12 weeks or so.

[Zip]

The whole derby thing utterly confuses me. EFL have to give proper clarity on what they can and can’t do. Much as I’d happily see them go down of course it doesn’t seem the treatment they are getting is particularly helpful

I don’t think the EFL are being very helpful towards us right now. I don’t know how many senior professionals Derby have but we are not in a much better place than they are.

Derby have 9 or 10 senior pros and one of them is out for 12 weeks or so.

We have 14 fit senior pros excluding McNulty. So not much better off.

[Snowflake Royal]

The whole derby thing utterly confuses me. EFL have to give proper clarity on what they can and can’t do. Much as I’d happily see them go down of course it doesn’t seem the treatment they are getting is particularly helpful

I don’t think the EFL are being very helpful towards us right now. I don’t know how many senior professionals Derby have but we are not in a much better place than they are.

Think we've got about double them.

[Zip]

The whole derby thing utterly confuses me. EFL have to give proper clarity on what they can and can’t do. Much as I’d happily see them go down of course it doesn’t seem the treatment they are getting is particularly helpful

I don’t think the EFL are being very helpful towards us right now. I don’t know how many senior professionals Derby have but we are not in a much better place than they are.

Think we've got about double them.

They have 9 or 10. We have 14 fit and available at the moment. I can’t recall the club going into a new season without a single new signing.

[Snowflake Royal]

I don’t think the EFL are being very helpful towards us right now. I don’t know how many senior professionals Derby have but we are not in a much better place than they are.

Think we've got about double them.

They have 9 or 10. We have 14 fit and available at the moment. I can’t recall the club going into a new season without a single new signing.

I make us on 17, including all those who've started a league game for us, regardless of fitness. Plus there's a few more who have started a cup game. Stranded's number for Derby included injured. So in terms of how the FL will be looking at it, unless Stranded hasn't included younger players who have actually started games, we're in considerably better shape on squad size, and knocking in at close to, if not quite, double.

No signings is what happens when you mis-manage your finances for the best part of a decade.

[Zip]

Think we've got about double them.

They have 9 or 10. We have 14 fit and available at the moment. I can’t recall the club going into a new season without a single new signing.

I make us on 17, including all those who've started a league game for us, regardless of fitness. Plus there's a few more who have started a cup game. Stranded's number for Derby included injured. So in terms of how the FL will be looking at it, unless Stranded hasn't included younger players who have actually started games, we're in considerably better shape on squad size, and knocking in at close to, if not quite, double.

No signings is what happens when you mis-manage your finances for the best part of a decade.

I think we have something like 17 senior pros with McNulty not wanted and Meite and Araruna injured, Derby apparently have 9 or 10 with one of those out injured.

[andrew1957]

I was just reading about Derby’s woes and the article said that they can increase the squad to 23 players of a professional standing. The definition of a professional standing is that the player has played at least one game in league, FA cup or League Cup. As has been said above we have 17 senior players but we also have 6 Academy players who have played at least one game for the first team which equals 23.

This makes me wonder if by giving Academy players a chance last season we have inadvertently already been deemed to have a squad of 23 available players. This would seem very unfair but could account for the long negotiations with the FL.

[andrew1957]

I was just reading about Derby’s woes and the article said that they can increase the squad to 23 players of a professional standing. The definition of a professional standing is that the player has played at least one game in league, FA cup or League Cup. As has been said above we have 17 senior players but we also have 6 Academy players who have played at least one game for the first team which equals 23.

This makes me wonder if by giving Academy players a chance last season we have inadvertently already been deemed to have a squad of 23 available players. This would seem very unfair but could account for the long negotiations with the FL.

Looking into this further and reading various Derby news reports and FA statements, the reason Derby we’re not allowed to sign players initially was that they had played a large number of youth players against Chorley in the FA Cup. The FA have specially discounted these youth players because of the specific issues with that game - provided they had played no other first team games for Derby. But it seems that normally Academy players who have played one game for their club definitely count in the 23. In fact we have 24 as we have loaned out Melvin Lambert but even if you loan a player out they still count in the 23. Presume this will apply to McNulty too if he is loaned out.

Looks like we might be unable to sign any players at all unless the FA relent on this rule and allow us a special dispensation to sign some players. This would account for the lack of any signings as the FA have yet to agree.

[Sutekh]

Would suggest the definition of a professional standing is a little absurd, 1 game (and does a 2 minute sub app. equate to 1 game?) hardly makes a player to most people. At least the cup games should be excluded as so many teams use them as a testing ground these days.

[Hendo]

Would suggest the definition of a professional standing is a little absurd, 1 game (and does a 2 minute sub app. equate to 1 game?) hardly makes a player to most people. At least the cup games should be excluded as so many teams use them as a testing ground these days.

Agree, that does seem pretty crazy definition to me.

Should probably be "more than 60 minutes" or something.

[andrew1957]

Would suggest the definition of a professional standing is a little absurd, 1 game (and does a 2 minute sub app. equate to 1 game?) hardly makes a player to most people. At least the cup games should be excluded as so many teams use them as a testing ground these days.

Agree, that does seem pretty crazy definition to me.

Should probably be "more than 60 minutes" or something.

Totally agree that although this does seem to be the rule it is quite unfair. I am sure the club have been making the case to the FA. Although the FA could in response make the point that the club got into this overspending mess and so deserve what we get.

[Zip]

Derby have signed a few today. I’m struggling to understand why talks between us and the EFL are ongoing.
Surely it’s reached a stage whether we can or cannot sign any players

[STAR Liaison]

Would suggest the definition of a professional standing is a little absurd, 1 game (and does a 2 minute sub app. equate to 1 game?) hardly makes a player to most people. At least the cup games should be excluded as so many teams use them as a testing ground these days.

Agree, that does seem pretty crazy definition to me.

Should probably be "more than 60 minutes" or something.

Have heard direct from EFL that the definition is FIVE matches (maybe starts, not sure) not one, as mistakenly reported on BBC and elsewhere.

[Hound]

tbh would much rather sign no one than the three Derby have just announced

[genome]

In news that might be up there with the most tinpot thing I've ever seen, Ipswich have given Ed Sheeran the no. 17 shirt for the season.

https://twitter.com/IpswichTown/status/ ... 6676558851

[Hound]

In news that might be up there with the most tinpot thing I've ever seen, Ipswich have given Ed Sheeran the no. 17 shirt for the season.

https://twitter.com/IpswichTown/status/ ... 6676558851

Tbf he has probably donated some of his huge fortune for the privilege

Anyway #13 Reading fans is hardly the stuff of dreams

[AthleticoSpizz]

In news that might be up there with the most tinpot thing I've ever seen, Ipswich have given Ed Sheeran the no. 17 shirt for the season.

https://twitter.com/IpswichTown/status/ ... 6676558851

hasn’t he sponsored those shirts for a season or two?