A price on the head of Barnes, the Rams still chasing two previous targets, Dickinson, Ellington and Villa on their way out and Leicester City are having a laugh.

Derby County has made a clear statement to clubs interested in signing Giles Barnes. Pay up or no player!

Hull City had approached the Rams for a season long loan of Barnes in a cheeky move that verges on stupidity considering the club has been making it clear that they are happy for the player to move on.

I suppose there is no harm in asking but there was never much chance of Derby risking a loan and having to go through the same process in a year’s time should Barnes break a nail or worse still not live up to the hype.

Media outlets have reported that Nigel Clough has told both Hull and Fulham (who are apparently still interested) that if they wish to take Barnes, £2 million pounds is the only figure to be bothered bringing to the table.

This type of digging in of the heels is a nice change from the bargain basement sales the club has held in past seasons. The other reason for standing firm is that a fit Barnes would probably be more than worth the figure on his head. If no one is willing to pay then on the flipside if he stayed and contributed he may be instrumental in a tilt at promotion.

It would be a risky move if as reported the player wants top flight football but if no one will pay the amount needed for his signature he would have no choice but to prove over the first half of the season he was worth every cent.

If he had to knuckle down and produce some of the form that once had him listed as a future England superstar, then Derby could benefit greatly. Even if the player had an ulterior motive and all the time hoping someone would come in for him in January, it could end up being a mutually beneficial situation. On the other hand he may just get injured again and bugger it up for everyone.

In other player news Nigel is determined to get reinforcements for his leaky defence and is still keen to land Barker and Brayford from Blackpool and Crewe. Previous bids for the players have been turned down by their respective clubs but recent statements by Clough suggested that the iron is still in the fire for both:

"They are a couple we would like in and we will have to wait and see how that goes in the next few weeks."

Liam Dickinson looks to be heading out on loan again as a League 1 striker with rumblings that he will shortly make a season long move to newly relegated Norwich.

Chairman Adam Pearson confirmed the possibility in the DET:

"There are bits of interest in Liam but I think at this stage, it could well be that he goes out on loan for another year."

"There is certainly a lot of interest at the bottom end of the Championship to buy him but not at a price that we think is right,"

"If we loan him out, we might want to put him into League One, where we think he will score a lot of goals and his value will go up,".

"Would he be part of the plans here? It's doubtful, because he would be fifth or sixth choice striker and that is no good for Liam at the moment."

If Liam becomes a Canary then a Canary also looks to be fluttering our way as Pearson also confirmed Lee Croft is on his way to Derby and stated that a deal to sign Croft is as good as done.

When speaking to BBC Radio Derby, he said:

"Lee will join us next week when he comes back from Egypt."

Croft although coming from a relegated team, is an exciting prospect for Derby. The Canaries captain and player of the year last season provided the only light in an otherwise dismal season for Norwich fans. Their loss seems likely to be Derby’s gain.

In the same interview Pearson also confirmed Ellington will return to Watford after his season long loan to Derby and the wheels are in motion for Villa to make his way out of Pride Park.
And in the world of comedy, the bluearmy.co.uk have reported that Foxes chief executive Lee Hoos has challenged Leicester City fans to match support received by Derby County.

Hoos apparently said Derby's current status as the best-supported club in the Championship rankles with him (awwwww!!).

Our beloved Rams were number on in the second tier with nine sell-out games with a 30,000+ attendance for an average attendance of 29,440 for 08/09.

In comparison our foxy neighbors had an average home gate of 20,233 with more than 30,000 for the final game of the season (Wow!!.... sarcasm intended).

Hoos said: "I would really love us to emulate Derby. They have a reputation as the best supported club and that rankles with me. They have the same-sized stadium and had 29,000 in the ground every week and I would love to see our average capacity up there”.

"It is close to 21,000 now, and it is a goal to be better supported than Derby. We'd love full-houses every week. We want to replicate that great atmosphere in every game".

"We're where we were this time last year with more than 10,000 season tickets sold, but less than 15,000. We're quite pleased with the good sales, we're still selling and there is plenty of enthusiasm. It's giving us something to work with."

A Derby spokesman put things into perspective for Hoos who was clearly dreaming:

"Our fans have been phenomenal when, to be honest, there has been little return on the pitch for their loyalty. We have a great history and heritage and, like Leicester, we are a one-club city.

"As much as the manager plays it down, there is the (Nigel) Clough factor because his name is football royalty,"

I think that says it all.

Long Live the King!!

Photo: Action Images

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