It looks like yet another season of transition for us Rams fans. It’s funny how the players and club only come out and say that after the season starts. Robbie Savage saying last week that the Rams have to: “earn the right to be a big club on the field” is not telling us something Rams fans didn’t know when he was still a comedy villain elsewhere.

Fans acknowledged that this was a transitional season before 2008-09 actually started but the fans are disgruntled about the wayward performances and low investment. That is very difficult for the DCFC board to market, however.

The Rams’ board are to be lauded for their efforts to get the club back on an even keel financially and reports suggest that we should be safe from boom and bust of the past. Their efforts to improve the match-day experience shows that American marketing expertise can be used to good effect in the modern game.

The one area they seem to have skimped on is on the pitch. The club has to live within its means  - nobody disputes that - but for a club with ambitions of being established in the Premier League we have not invested much in the squad.

Nigel Clough’s contention that 22-23 players would be enough for a season is now looking absurd and the level of injuries to players is alarming. There is an over-reliance on the ageing Robbie Savage to be the lynchpin of the team.

So far this season, the frustration with the team’s inability to perform consistently is palpable and this must get to the players. The drubbing by Cardiff last week could be seen coming from a long way off and though it’s pleasing that we then beat Sheffield Wednesday in convincing manner, the question being asked after the match was “can we do the same in the next game?”

So far, Derby fans have been patient - far more patient than many other fans would have been. The club keep asking for patience but my feeling is that this year will see the patience of many fans break.

Another relegation struggle will see some fans finally giving up and walking away. A few hundred travelling Rams witnessed the Cardiff game; the same night, Plymouth managed to take over 400 fans to Ipswich. In a good season, we would have taken a few thousand away.

The club is moving the right direction on off-field matters but wouldn’t some of the investment be better spent in on-the-pitch matters? The new Rammie head may look smart but I’d rather have a new defender half and keep the threadbare costume. The opera singer is good but Robert Lindsay’s “Mockney” accented voice on “Steve Bloomer’s Watching” is adequate, if it means we have another midfielder!

Okay - those savings wouldn’t pay for another player but new, experienced players (not loan signings) and a successful side on the pitch would fill the stands far more readily than dancing girls at half time.

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