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Derby did however spend £26.2 in wages during their latest brief stay in the Premiership and that is over 50% more than they spent in the previous season when winning the Play-off Final at Wembley.
The Rams wage bill however is no where near what the so called 'Big Four' pay out. Chelsea for instance spent a massive £172m on player wages. The average wage bill in the Premiership during the 2007-08 season was £60m. No wonder then that the debt owed by Premier League clubs during the same season was calculated at around £3.1billion.
Some sobering figures there for those who doubt the wisdom a prudence of the Derby County Board and owners in their purchase of players.
Most fans want to see Derby County back in the Premiership, but at what cost? Is it not better to try and fashion a solid Championship side before embarking on major signings and the huge wage bills that entails? For sure there will be no big name players and their huge wage demands coming into the club for the foreseeable future but there has to be some home grown talent out there that can be nurtured at the Moor Farm Academy.Nigel Clough's experience of the lower leagues may well prove to be invaluable.
Fans will have differing points of view on where Derby County are going but one thing is for sure the club does have a fantastic fan base and that at least should ensure their financial survival in the current economic climate. Let us hope that Nigel Clough can again bring back the magic on a shoe string budget that his father brought to the club during the 1970's...