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Overall it sounds like the tour went well with victories over Yeovil Town (2-0) and Exeter City (3-1), either side of a 0-0 draw with Torquay United. Before that, it was disappointing to lose 1-2 to Chesterfield but a Rams XI did produce a quality display beating Belper Town 7-2.
I must admit I'd expected to come home from Scotland to discover we'd added to the squad and moved a few players out but that was not the case. When I saw Mark Randall had gone on the tour I assumed we'd taken him on loan from Arsenal but, once again, I was incorrect as Derby County have since decided not to take him on loan, with Nigel Clough stating we need a different kind of midfielder, one who can challenge Paul Green, Stephen Pearson and Robbie Savage for a place in the team. In other words, despite the hype surrounding the young lad, once the gaffer got to see him close up, Randall obviously wasn't good enough.
The one player I thought was nailed on to join last week was John Brayford from Crewe Alexandra, a player Clough obviously knows very well from his Burton Albion days, and a player I always rated highly whenever I saw him play for the Brewers. The latest appears to be that this is ongoing but unlikely to happen until we have moved some more players out. Although I find this frustrating, I also find it refreshing that we have a manager who has a good eye for the budgetary constraints he has to operate under and is keeping the moths firmly in his wallet. Without doubt, Paul Jewell and Billy Davies would have let those moths fly by buying first to take us over budget and then hoping to offload players afterwards.
We also missed out on Patrick Kisnorbo who signed for Leeds United last week. Although initially disappointed because the Australian impressed me against Burton Albion, I'm not sure he would have been anything other than a squad player behind Shaun Barker, Miles Addison and Dean Leacock - a squad player on a high salary as well I'd wager. Missing out on Kisnorbo would have been a bigger blow had we not signed Barker from Blackpool.
I think you have to give Clough credit though for his dealings in the transfer market. In Lee Croft, Shaun Barker and Dean Moxey he appears to have signed his main targets ... and I remain hopeful that John Brayford will follow in due course - even if not within this particular transfer window. Additionally both Jake Buxton and Ben Pringle have looked good in pre-season games.
On the out front, both Lewin Nyatanga and Liam Dickinson left Pride Park as I was packing my bags for Scotland. Being as Nyatanga is a Burton lad, my home town, I'm disappointed he hasn't been able to make a success of himself in a Rams shirt but I feel he has had enough chances (18 months approximately as a first-teamer in the Coca Cola Championship with Barnsley plus senior International appearances for Wales) but he was never able to eradicate the mistakes and inconsistencies from his game. Some may argue that Liam Dickinson was never given a chance at Derby County but I feel the mistake was in signing him in the first place. Whenever I've seen Dickinson play he looked raw and naive with a lot still to learn. Certainly I wouldn't have picked him ahead of Rob Hulse, Chris Porter, Kris Commons, Luke Varney and Steve Davies ... and I wouldn't have wanted him depriving the young lads Henrik Ojamaa and Aleksandar Prijovic of opportunities to develop and improve.
So preparations for the new season continue a pace and a Rams XI beat Matlock Town 3-2 last night. There's plenty more friendlies to pick from this week and I think I'll be taking in the Notts County, Burton Albion and Stoke City games. I'm really looking forward to seeing Barker for he first time.
After that, it will be all focus on Saturday August 8th and the first league game of the season when we entertain Peterborough United at Pride Park. I think next week could be busy as the Rams look to bring in loan players (a goalkeeper, a defender and a midfielder are being talked about) as well as moving players out to allow for another attempt to sign Brayford
As Sherlock Holmes would say (well, actually, he never did): The game's afoot!
Stuart Hughes...