[Devongone]

Several other teams at our level are starting to sign new players, and renewing contracts that had run out .........

We're doing quizzes and hoping being in debt to Councils turns out to be better than Casinos.

Shouldn't we administratively and in terms of recruitment be leaving the starting blocks by now? Stockport players are going on to EFL careers and beginning to be replaced by promising unknowns. Are we even formulating ideas beyond furloughing Pembo for as long as possible to save money?

There'll be a lot of former EFL players desperate to grab a contract as impoverished clubs reduce the size of their squads for this season. For sure there'll be players left when we decide to start looking, but do we really want the pick of the picked-over rejects (or EFL players at all for that matter)?

Those clubs making moves now are getting the chance to grab those players who have performed well at lower levels. These players want to prove themselves. Ex-EFL players sometimes give the impression we should be grateful they decided to wear our shirt.

We need a few players all across the park. Surely we aren't going to re-sign Shwan Jalal are we? Cameron Mason was impressing people enough to gain England C selection - he was keeping clean sheets and he is apparently very popular at Curzon Ashton with their fans. We could even go for 22 year-old Kyle McKenzie-Lyle from Liverpool, who is huge, inexperienced but once played for Barnet - could be a better bet than a geriatric? If we wanted an old forward we might grab Nathan Blissett. Somebody younger try Tunde Owolabi. If Peterborough haven't grabbed him, Dion Sembie- Ferris might be worth a bet. Attacking midfield Lucas Rodrigues from Whitehawk looks the part, 13 goals and 14 assists in the truncated campaign speak for themselves. Ben Garrity at Warrington deserves the chance to play higher, has plenty of midfield energy. Jersey Bulls left back Giles is apparently a bit of a player. Maybe now he's fit right back Kane Smith might fancy leaving Boreham to play in front of a crowd (when there are crowds). Alex Brown's only at Buxton, but he has a touch of class across the defence. I'm sure Pembo can come up with good names, but it's a paid job for him.

Do you know anything about AFC Wakefield? Well they play at Cudworth, which certainly isn't Wakefield. Chris Turner helped form them I think. He was manager for a bit but now he's back to being a Director of Football. Like many others their aim is EFL status, but that's a long way from Sheffield and Hallam Senior. Before lockdown they signed Ify Ofoegbu and he played a few games. They are trying to turn up and develop young talent, so if we were ever interested in finding young talent it might be a place to look ........ and steal some. If we intend to continue as a football club surely we can't continue in the same vein that left us with a young Che Adams playing 20 miles down the road for Ilkeston and we couldn't be bothered to take a look. The names of the clubs watching him should have been enough for us to offer him a contract sharpish (even unseen like a Latin translation), but I don't think we ever knew he was there.

Thoughts on a Thursday. Jamie Vardy Stocksbridge. Chris Wilder Alfreton and Halifax. Chesterfield bubble-wrapped, Devon sunny. Thoughts, ideas?

By the way, this site comes up as NOT SECURE on my computer. Any idea why? Answers on a postcard. In blue.

[Dancingwilldoit]

Doesn't say anything on mine about security Dev. Must be those pesky Russian hackers.

I would be amazed if Pemberton hasn't already earmarked signings and had a quiet word. He's not the type to sit on his backside. He knows the league below well don't forget. We are of course assuming that he will still be manager after the takeover. He deserves it IMO. He also seems to have some good contacts in the game and seems well liked by other managers so I would expect some good loanees coming in.

We have a good keeper in Coddington for another year and until the trust know what is happening re crowd sizes etc it must be impossible to set a playing budget so assume we will just have to play the long game. Hopefully they will push the deal through sooner rather than later and we can shift some season tickets and get some income and players moving in.

[spireitematt]

Try refreshing the page Dev.

I suspect Pemberton would have written down potential players he wants to sign. I think with the takeover happening we need to finish in the top half of the table but not go for promotion straight away.

Rumour going around that the season will start again around mid to late September but there has been no word on grassroots football yet. There has been talk that when the season does go ahead then that might be crowds at about a 25-30% capacity which means we would be allowed 2,500-3,000 people in the stadium, obviously they would have to be all spaced out and socially distanced and if they did bring back crowds I couldn't see the concourses opening for food and drink.

[Devongone]

Crowds can go to stadiums in October all being well .........

Re Pembo - I'm sure he's not a sit on his bum man if his performances for Leeds were anything to go by. He was more like Derek Randall the cricketer, all ADHD and overlapping the overlappers. BUT if anyone at the club needs de-furloughing besides financial people and groundsmen it is THE MANAGER. It is a football club after all, that is the entire purpose of the enterprise (apparently).

The potential playing budget is going to be impossible to estimate in any case. We are not going to know how much we can afford. BUT we do know we need at least 20 paid players to function and we know how many we have on the books now. We need to pay our recruits as little as we can get away with, whilst still attracting decent players. Players desperate for a job and keen to progress in football will probably accept a little less ........ but we need to seize that moment. And maybe compensate them for lower pay with an incentive scheme?

The only EFL players I would want would be ex-Academy rejects trying to prove they were Jamie Vardy at Wednesday or Kevin Davies at the Blades. Even if Coddington is good and isn't going to be permanently injured, we have to have a second keeper, that's why one of my suggestions was the 6'8" ex-Liverpool boy who only ever made their U-23 side twice. My trouble is Coddington has never held down a place anywhere and we didn't think he was better than Jalal last season ......... The only way we could keep Jalal would be to assign him a part-time goalkeeping coach role (if we want our keepers ruined in that way!)

The other reason we need Pembo back being paid is, like most clubs, we have to make cuts backstage. How small a staff can we function with? Who do we prune? And what are our aims? Obviously we try to win every week, but realistically do we look to cement our National League place with a view to a future promotion bid, having perhaps invested in a few young and improving players? What sort of club do we want to be? Are we happy to be the stuck-in-the-mud club that finally couldn't really envisage anything higher then EFL One and followed similar recruitment routines year-in-year-out, or do we try to be a bit different, produce players, climb higher if we can, but always remember we are part of a community, so fans can feel a part of it, and be proud of any progress that is made ....... and that we have a future. Like AFC Wakefield we could dream our club could fly, but if the most we were ever to achieve is the equivalent of a bunny hop, that's okay if it's our bunny hop and no one is telling us that is all we could ever have.

[spireitematt]

Stockport have signed some quality players, they should be favourites for next season.

[Dancingwilldoit]

Trust takeover expected to go through by month end (which month it doesn't say) according to our friends at the Derbyshire Times.

Mike Goodwin says they will be open and transparent. Wont that be a change.

[spireitematt]

Our current squad is 11 players. 4 Strikers, 1 Goalkeeper, 2 Midfielders and 4 Defenders.

David Buchanan
Josef Yarney
Will Evans
Laurence Maguire
Joe Rowley
Curtis Weston
Liam Mandeville
Luke Coddington
Scott Boden
Jack McKay
Tom Denton

Also Bakewell Town tweeted a picture which looks like we could be playing them in Pre-season. They play in the Central Midlands league. I thought they used to play in the Hope Valley League.

[Devongone]

Shouldn't that conveniently be 1-4-3-3 ......... which looks suspiciously like a team?

Surely Mandeville, Weston and Rowley are all midfield players?

The big question is whether McKay is a player at all, or the biggest contractual mistake of all time?

Re Stockport Matt you have to remember they lost their best players to the EFL too.

Re our squad - we did have youngsters on the verge of re-signing like Sharman and the little winger and whatsisname who goes on loan round Derbyshire and South Yorkshire at centre forward.

Bakewell in the Hope Valley, we used to go in the river afterwards to clean up. Loved it. Better than watching Messi (he didn't play in the Hope Valley!) I just looked them up, Bakewell play in the Central Midlands League Division One South. Chesterfield Town play in Division One North. Mickleover Reserves were top of Bakewell's League when play stopped.

Matt you should do a Derbyshire Football website bringing all these teams together alongside Derby, Chesterfield, Alfreton, Matlock and Buxton etc. It would create a lot of interest and perhaps help spark a reawakening in local football. I think you would attract advertisers too, who couldn't get a pitch higher up, but whose clients anyway were predominantly within the county. It's a small county. It's manageable. Make a name for yourself (well obviously you do already have a name ...) You could call it PEAK TO BLEAK.

[spireitematt]

Matt you should do a Derbyshire Football website bringing all these teams together alongside Derby, Chesterfield, Alfreton, Matlock and Buxton etc.  It would create a lot of interest and perhaps help spark a reawakening in local football. I think you would attract advertisers too, who couldn't get a pitch higher up, but whose clients anyway were predominantly within the county. It's a small county. It's manageable. Make a name for yourself (well obviously you do already have a name ...)   You could call it PEAK TO BLEAK.

There's something around like that already.

[Devongone]

Wassit called Matt, I've never seen it ...... I'd be interested.