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It is the club’s own fault but a transfer embargo and other player regulations mean the Rams can barely field a sideAt least Wayne Rooney was able to see the funny side when, on the eve of the season, a journalist asked whether he breaks games down into chunks of six or eight to target points. “In blocks of one,” Rooney replied, laughing, having already answered questions about the eye-watering sums attached to the Jack Grealish transfer, a world away from Derby’s financial predicament. “At the minute I can’t spend £100 on one player, let alone £100m.”After losing Colin Kazim-Richards to a long-term injury on Saturday, the club successfully applied to the English Football League for special dispensation to register a replacement, signing Sam Baldock, who spent pre-season training with the club, until January. Phil Jagielka has also signed a short-term contract, with the defender Krystian Bielik another long-term absentee. Until Baldock’s arrival, the teenager Jack Stretton, who was on loan at Stockport County earlier this year, was the only recognised striker in the Derby squad. “That’s where we’ve allowed ourselves to get to and that’s where we’re stuck,” Rooney said following defeat at Peterborough. Continue reading...