It came as a huge surprise to me that when last season ended, I fell into an emotional heap akin to a puppet whose strings were cut.  

As the season progressed I came to terms with where the team was and where they would be the following year. I thought I was dealing with the reality of the situation fine, with new manager and owners at the helm, even though the short term was bleak, the future was surely bright.

Maybe it was the grind of churning out articles week after week that slowly became like drawing blood from a stone. When doom and gloom was easier to write about and trying to put a positive spin on events for the sake of my own sanity (oh and did I try!!) became impossible, I should have seen the signs of things to come. The wall of denial I built around myself, telling myself and others that the darkness of the season was like water off a ducks back, taking on all critics with a shrug and a “just happy to have made it”, may have taken a little more out of me than I thought.

With the Aussie Rules season at full throttle during the off season I focussed on that and gave less thought and interest to Derby than ever before. New signings and off field drama that I usually watch with great interest, failed to raise a pulse. In previous years they produced pumping adrenalin and impatient expectancy. Is it because after years of just wishing and hoping to return to the promised land that when it finally happened and turned out to be a catastrophe, it more than ever before tested the resolve of this usually positive and optimistic fan.

My beloved Aussie Rules has no relegation; neither does Australian Rugby League or local top flight football. No matter how badly you perform the next year the slate is clean and you get to start from scratch. I don’t think in my acceptance of the Rams relegation I took into account the degradation to my state of mind it caused. To lose all hope, fight and passion so early in the season weakened my spirit and only now am I coming to terms with it.

There is no doubt that many of our new signings show great potential and Paul Jewell could be forming an elite Championship squad perfect for the way the game is played in this division. The flip side could be that they could be shown up as a team of players either on the way down or lower division players found out when stepping up to the next level.

With the lack of a ‘name’ signing there has been little razzle dazzle to the long list of names joining the team and perhaps that has also played a part in re-igniting the passion in my black and white soul. There is nothing like a marquee signing to get the blood pumping in the off season but history shows when the battle commences and reality sets in, a former Premiership player (usually the case in our situation) may not be the ingredient that ignites a quick return to the top flight.

When taking a look at our squad, what many jaded fans may be missing is there may already be those players in the ranks. The memory of last season and a group of players emotionally beaten before they took the field may be masking the potential skill many of those players possess. Robbie Savage has a massive point to prove, Mile Sterjovski is a very talented player who showed glimpses and has performed well for his country since seasons end and Villa is a perfect fit for this division with the possibility of being the teams Howard this time around. Feilhaber has never really been given a chance to develop, Nyatanga might finally get his chance, Mears and McEveley could be anything with more consistency, Leacock may become a midfielder and Davis will ooze class at this level if the crowd keep off his back.

One other name I haven’t mentioned is ‘Barnes’. The club could have shopped his round for a quick buck, even if injured but have been brave enough to hold onto him. We saw what he was capable of in the promotion season and glimpses of genuine class shone in the Premier league but injury and games playing in a team that were already beaten did not help his development. He alone could lift the Rams up at first attempt if an early season return eventuates and Giles matures into the player we all know he could be.

With the possibility of these players finding the form that took them to this level and beyond in the first place, then things are not so bleak from day one. That on top of some genuinely talented signings such as Kazmierczak (a player with genuine class and great pedigree), Commons, Hulse, Ellington, Connolly and Stewart, could form part of a very strong Championship squad if they are at their best.

For me the one to watch this season besides ‘Kaz’ is Liam Dickinson. He is young and showed great potential but many doubt if he will be able to take this sizeable step up. Every year a young player with a desire to succeed steps up, he fits the bill perfectly. A team with a reasonable strike force may find their pot of gold under the freshest rainbow. Only time will tell.

For nearly two months I haven’t cared. Flat and uninspired, at times I thought I wouldn’t muster another article for this site let alone be able to generate interest in the start of a new campaign. I was very, very wrong. The fire is lit, the flame may be small but I suddenly feel things may be warming up. In two weeks time I think I may have a raging fire to deal with and I love it.

C’mon Ewe Rams :0)

Photo: Action Images

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