 | News
Comment | Weston's Wembley Report: 40,000 Rams Aghast - But We Will Come Again!
at 18:51:48
I tend to agree that the passion and support shown by the QPR fans has been rather misrepresented.
Both sets of fans were great...I'd opine that the QPR fans were tentative, nervous at the end of the first half and for most of the 2nd half...we had more excitement!
I must admit, I expected Wembley way to be littered with tear-stained, discarded little blue-and-white hand flags subsequent to the Rams vanquishing them during 'the siege of Wembley', as Derby pressed and probed the Hoops defence after O'Neill's dismissal.
However, the word 'ruthless' stays in my vocabulary until Derby can improve their quality at both ends of the pitch.
Harsh after such an entertaining and promising season, but when it mattered most - in converting the embarrassing level of 2nd half possession to make and take chances, and then retaining concentration to defend sternly against Rangers' only foray towards goal - that's my main reflection.
Bucko and Keogh allowed their concentration to momentarily slip when called upon to restore Derby's possession - but the ball was gruesomely presented to Zamora.
Rangers fans were suddenly in delirious disbelief, Derby fans in stunned silence, that's what I heard.
It wasn't an 'unjust' result because you have to put the ball in the net to defeat the opposition. There was far too much patting the ball around the half-way line between Wisdom, Keogh and Buxton, which allowed Rangers to predict and pick off any dangerous Derby approach work.
If two or three Derby players had done what Russell did, and more often, to 'go direct' into the heart of the defence, Rangers would surely have been put to bed with 10 minutes to spare.
Rangers fans leaving the stadium were in shock in a different way to exiting Rams fans...almost humble and apologetic, with no taunting or derision, which was respectful.
What a shame that hatchet-man O'Neill's 'tweet' about the benefit of his dismissal marked him out as low-rent and insulting - IMHO he brought the game into disrepute.
It will be interesting to see how (or if) he survives against Prem strikers next season! |
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Comment | What I.Saw: Heaven Help Us If We Need One In The Play-offs!
at 15:42:06
Yes, I would certainly take Forest in the play-offs!
They're disjointed, weakened backroom, piecemeal - surely, QPR, Wigan and others would be tougher opposition?
I'd especially dislike Ipswich or Wigan as opponents - physical, spoiling, uncompromising - those are the teams we've struggled to overcome.
Forest would have a huge complex about the deforestation that took place in the 5-0 mauling; the biggest thrashing we've given them in living memory!
Why, I'd take Forest in the Final and be feeling confident. Mac has it all under control ;-)
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Comment | Bill's Take: Would Sharp Have Blunted Rams Attack?
at 14:30:02
Sharp is playing in a mediocre, relegation-threatened team; I can't see how that might extrapolate to him being a failure had he signed for the Rams!
The Rams' team is a world away from Donny with its squad depth, midfield power, confidence and consistency.
I think Sharp would do well in today's DCFC team, not necessarily very well in Clough's cut-price plodders. Nigel chopped and changed plenty of 'promising' front-runners in his day...and Cywka didn't get much of a look-in against his old team last Saturday, did he?
All ifs and buts and opinions - that's the beauty of football!
Conversely, linking Southampton with Derby as the article has, we can speculate what might have happened at Derby especially as - more relevantly - we were missing a good centre-forward/target man for so long under Clough?
As Sam Rush told us at forums that DCFC turned down the chance to sign Rickie Lambert when he was available pre-Saints - might that have been a more significant 'loss'?
Maybe we'd have been closer to matching Southampton's climb back into the top flight...?
'Pure Journalistic speculation', as the sombre and straight-talking Arthur Cox might have said! |
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Comment | D.J's Match Preview: Rams Will Trash Tykes & Keep Dream Alive
at 10:45:24
Another game that confirmed that predictions of how Derby "will" trash their opponents need to be replaced with "should"!
The worry is that the strike force's profligacy in front of goal (not to mention so many wasted penalties this season) will cost us dear, in forthcoming play-off games where ruthlessness really counts.
We are unlikely to get 30 goal attempts against play-off opponents, as we did against Barnsley!
It was very entertaining on Monday, up until the final ball or the shot going in...even Russell's winner had an element of fortune with the huge deflection (though it seemed goal-bound, of course).
80 goals and I'm moaning...I know! Could have been 100 goals quite easily, let's hope Martin notches his 20th League strike and Bryson, Russell and Hendrick chip in with a few more before we're done! |
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Comment | What I.Saw: Excitement - A Promise That Never Came
at 14:24:06
I didn't see Hughes 'diving like a swallow' for the penalty; he'd beaten Clarke in a spurt into the area and may or may not have caught and crossed the ball - but was certainly tripped by the hapless defender!
A foul, so a penalty. All goals are good goals at this stage of the season! Both sides could also have had a penalty in the first half.
Huddersfield had studied what makes Derby struggle - as seen against the likes of Millwall, Bolton, Bolton & Blackburn.
The Terriers set to break the game up with stoppages, fouls and delays, play at low pace, break if possible.
I noted the first timewasting at only 5 minutes in, and the goalkeeper was ticked off by the ref, with Lynch booked for the obvious time-wasting at the throw-in after only half an hour.
Conceding that goal was a shocker! Happily, we overcame the deficit and the negative tactics.
Derby were very deliberate and protective at 3-1, recognising that the points *should* be safe but taking no risks - and anyway, with the two games in 3 days over Easter, and players to protect for the run-in and play-offs, the job was done even if a goal-fest never happened.
Common-sense conclusion to the game ultimately, if not an edifying spectacle....we've had that against Forest, thanks! |
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Comment | Bill's Take: Typical Of Forest To Spoil My Fun!
at 18:38:03
Davies dismantled the Derby reserve team and Academy as well. It has taken years to restore a fine Academy and thriving 'development' team. The fruits are now there to see, in such as Will Hughes, Jeff Hendrick, Mark O'Brien and a good few others.
When results turn, Billy seems to turn on the Chairman to make veiled comments about needing more or better players and exhorting his superiors to do more about it.
His specialism is creating the siege mentality, the 'Us & Them' team spirit - which can get you so far but is one-dimensional and won't work at all levels, beyond cobbling an initial group together for the cause to provide initial momentum.
He was utterly inept when recruiting for the top-flight after the Rams' Wembley win over WBA; when the team bombed at the start of the Prem season, he blamed possible interest in his players before the end-of-August transfer window deadline as an unsettling factor.
As soon as the window closed, he was desperate for the January 'window' so he could get better players!
He immediately crossed (new) Chairman Adam Pearson and contrived a get-out when he was called to order, in a rapidly-convened meeting. He briskly departed and IMHO, probably laughed all the way to the bank.
The media strife and internal/external conflict Billy inflicted at the City Ground had Rams fans nodding in recognition - and Trees fans might acknowledge that 'we told you so' when he was reappointed!
As BD has sometimes threatened to 'reveal all', hopefully a book is in the offing! It would make fascinating reading, though I'd doubt Billy would make a cent out of it, as the tables could be truly turned and there may well be much litigation to follow publication! |
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Comment | Bamford Is Another Who Dared To Be Both A Red & Ram!
at 10:56:09
Yes, maybe Ian Storey-Moore was the biggest A52 transfer waste of space!
Arguably of course, there wasn't a contract, as F*rest blocked the signing after the winger was famously and prematurely paraded around the Baseball Ground!
Tyson was an astonishingly hapless 'marquee' signing...it indicates the kind of transfer market that DCFC had to move in, and Ty had a lucrative but unproductive time at Pride Park and in my view was a self-pitying passenger as had no form and fitness.
Honourable mention to Terry Hennessey, too - yes a short stint blighted by injury, but he did exude class and authority in midfield and helped the club maintain success.
I don't subscribe to any stereotypical criticism of Kris Commons; he was a match-winner and exciting to watch, in a mediocre team. DCFC did a good job on rehabilitating him - and he didn't cost a bean in actual transfer fees.
I think he did *love* his time at Derby but with his talent, Derby's lack of ambition and lowly League performance, he deserved a bigger stage and more reward - as he's clearly demonstrated at Celtic (weak though the SPL is!)
At the recent 'Sign-Up Sunday', in the midst of a large Pirelli Suite attendance, one character embarrassed himself and the Rams' fanbase by haranguing Messrs Rush, Appleby and Wilson in the forum by chastising them for 10minutes about letting Hulse and Commons go!
With the audience shaking their heads and muttering 'get over it!', the Rams' board creditably handled him with great diplomacy.
Simply - both players moved onto more ambitious clubs that could pay more and offer playing success. Like any good talent - they deservedly got better jobs!
I spoke with Mr Rush and Colin Gibson at the event, and others came up and said the view was old news and not representative of what fans wanted to convey to the board nowadays.
Common did have a great deal on the table (comparatively) at Derby - but that £14k per week offer was put in the shade by Celtic's £20k per week package; that's what managers and agents are for!
The visibility Kris had playing with champions Celtic, perpetual European contenders also put him solidly in the Scottish international stakes - he would have been stupid, if very loyal - not to move!
He now has on-field achievements, medals and a more lucrative package...it's not a crime. |
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Comment | All Or Nothing - The Unbearable Build Until Burnley!
at 11:29:52
It's not a 'life or death' fixture....it might have been if it were at the end of April!
A crucial game, nevertheless and it can be an important indicator in how McLaren has overcome the poor mentality that some players showed in the collapse at Leicester.
A relevant point to digest: Derby have been picking points up at a faster rate than Burnley recently, and there is still a quarter of the season to go.
If we extrapolated McLaren's points' rate over a season, Derby would be gathering 100+ points - automatic promotion form, end of.
If we'd asked fans a fortnight ago if we'd be so far ahead of QPR and the Trees at present, they might have shaken their heads.
Consistency is the key - regardless of the (temporary) significance of the outcome of the Turf Moor fixture! |
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Comment | The Weston Report: Martin's Magic Leaves Cherries Ripe For Picking
at 15:57:03
Johnny Russell was voted star man, official MoTM whatever!
Eddie Howe's whinging about the free kick that led to the winner was churlish and irrelevant; Hughes has slalomed through the centre with defenders pecking at him, the referee waiting to see if he gained an advantage.
He didn't - and was felled again (tackle or not) and a free kick was correctly awarded. The defender(s) had gained an advantage by trying to halt Hughes initially by foul means.
End of - job done - credit to Chris Martin for a telling strike.
McClaren clearly sent a message to Bamford to toughen up and be more effective by withdrawing him...won't do him any harm!
Mac no doubt also told Dawkins, Sammon and Russell to run at defenders and stretch the game.
Taking Eustace off at H-T - whom Grabban was 'sitting on' in midfield to stifle his effectiveness as Derby's fulcrum - rather bamboozled Bournemouth, who found they had a whole new set of problems to try and focus upon.
They didn't succeed. They were prone to time-wasting and desperation towards the end (three bookings for fouls, in less that 10 minutes close to the end) and McLaren's boldness has won the day again.
That's two 'doubles' completed during the week...need a big result now at Burnley to set the table alight! |
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Comment | Bill's Take: Did Securing Sammon Cause Clough To Be Cast Away?
at 15:37:07
Just a thought, indeed, but rather tenuous, I think.
As players like Maguire and Tyson were duds at Derby, it was necessary and logical for Clough to sign the bustling, physical Sammon to get more presence up front.
Sammon was evidently the only sort of 'marquee' signing Clough was able to make, either through his own perception of squad requirements - or club restrictions.
Not forgetting that Messrs Glick and Appleby would have been the ones to ensure that the deal was acceptable, feasible and was thus pursued.
It seems clear that Sammon was and is regarded as an asset in the squad by most fans I know and meet at games and events.
Some will moan about Sammon's ultimate quality, but then some aren't able to see or be willing to appreciate how the output and effort of someone like Sammon can change a game, to make space amid defenders for creative players or true goalscorers.
The real reasons that Clough went IMHO (and I suspect the opinion of other regulars) are that fans gave Mr Rush direct messages that more squad quality, coaching / managerial ability & experience were essential to restoring interest and pride in the team.
You can read that in numerous Rush articles and comments.
He communicated the requirement for renewed club ambition and investment from GSE - unless they wished to dissipate all credibility and just sign off an £8m-£10m loss annually. Rush did not move to Derby to pootle around in second-tier mid-table anonymity.
The fateful changes were made; the intentions are now clear and the investment group once again has a potential Premier League asset on their hands.
Their biggest challenges lie in the next stage of club development, given that promotion is finally the primary aim - consolidation and stability at the top level.
Succeed, win, enjoy, thrive, seize the moment...these words mean something again at Derby!
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Comment | Morley's Match Report: Derby's Dire Defence Waste Amazing Attacks
at 00:39:13
The home game against Yeovil and match at St Andrews (no apostrophe!) demonstrated Derby's deficiencies - unacceptably profligate in the opposing penalty area and then lapsing in concentration and application in other areas defensively.
I don't see that "a(n) horrendous Birmingham City" are "an awful side"; average, limited, and of restricted ambition, yes - but (unlike Derby) they stuck to their guns for the whole 90+ minutes.
Derby's more settled and talented team must become more ruthless all over the pitch.
Bearing in mind City's fiscal plight and the fact they had several last-minute signings making debuts against Derby, there is some fresh ability and spirit in their ranks and they might shuffle up the table a little.
Brum ultimately exhibited more cohesion and application than the Rams late in the game (despite Derby's commanding goal-flurry after the break!) and came out with a result they strove for, rather than collapsing in crucial areas at critical times as the Rams.
Those defensive frailties in the crucial last quarter of the game enabled Brum to draw reward for their battling grit - not pretty, but effective.
I'd reflect that near full-time against Yeovil with the score at 1-2, we'd have all settled for a point and then a win at Brum.
No doubt it should have been 6 points out of 6, though - and our players need to tighten up and remember their jobs, when the job's done and we (seemingly) have the points in the bag. |
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Comment | RamZone Wrap: Bryson & Bamford Save Blushes As Martin Wins It Late
at 12:35:40
Get well soon, Ryan.
Quite some second-half Derby performance, that....and we had thought the Ipswich recovery was the high-point for that sort of revival.
Martin's winning goal is a defining moment of this season. The players will believe they can overcome anything now!
Bring on the Brummy Blues! |
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Comment | 'Pride Park' Is A Silly Name But Is DCFC Selling Tradition For Treasure?
at 13:04:16
I think the whole iPro is interesting; a growing drinks' company and a football club whose owners seem to have (finally) thrown off the stifling mentality of moribund Championship existence.
I don't quite see the 'tradition' being thrown out when you remember that 'Pride Park' was simply a brownfield government redevelopment scheme that Derby plugged into under 'Tarzan' Heseltine.
You could say that Pickering, Gadsby, Loring et al failed to capitalise on naming rights in the mid-90s when the timing would have been perfect - promotion under Smith & McClaren and a new stadium boasting a Premier League product. Those were, though, very early days in UK stadium naming deals.
As DCFC apparently now intend to re-emerge and become an established Premier League team, the club has 'up-marketed' itself.
Realistically, GSE's ownership could otherwise be perceived as simply retaining a European 'satellite' out-base that served to assist their corporate networking marketing machine.
Glick was the glad-hander making connections, Rush is a more switched-on football operator who has no illusions that his and GSE's future - after years of stasis - has to be centred around and attractive football product.
One of GSE's key activities their naming rights division; when asked (three years ago) about plans for DCFC here, Glick only said: 'when the time is right'.
As Rush has said, marketing a Championship side, and a club without the attraction of a new stadium build, is disadvantageous - but this is that 'right time' regarding GSE's policy at Derby. Happily, the team is resurgent - though as far as is known, the iPro deal isn't renegotiable at Prem level status.
FIFA and Uefa club and international competitions are brimming with sponsor deals; there's hardly a stadium which hasn't got stands, roads, suites, or the stadium itself supported by key sponsorship deals, so an 'overall' stadium name is hardly an unexpected development.
If that £700k (per annum) helps Derby to sign another Bryson or sign a better deal with a Will Hughes or Jeff Hendrick, is that a bad thing? (Note anyway that time-scale of the DCFC- iPro deal is 'weighted' regarding how the club receive the £7m sponsorship).
It's 2013; many other clubs have benefited for years from significant naming rights' sponsorship.
Rather than the emotive 'whore' or 'prostitution' labels, it should be acknowledged that a major tenet of the DCFC deal is to give the club higher revenues NOW - and with it, more comfort against FFP regulations and headroom in the transfer/salary market.
We can go a little further to pay better players and reach that Premier League goal. God knows, economic strictures have strangled the club for long enough!
I hope iPro succeed as a company, I hope DCFC gain Premier League status - that income would make the iPro deal just one of DCFC's growing income streams.
The iPro deal would almost pale into insignificance financially (in the Prem) but both 'brands' can grow. Other sponsorship and corporate interest will multiply.
However you look at it - at present, 'ordinary fans' cannot sustain the club; there are only so many expensive Kappa replica shirts or £230 season tickets you can sell to Derby supporters, aren't there? |
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Comment | Chris Evans To Be Appointed Rams Technical Director Today?
at 09:49:55
Had me worried there; when I saw the name, I shuddered....thank heavens that it's not the cloyingly tedious BBC presenter Chris Evans!
His very voice or appearance makes me rush for the 'off' switch!
After Saturday's pre-match interviews, I'd be disappointed if it wasn't Stefano Eranio - keen to come back to England. Who knows, Stef may end up with new links to Derby via a related football or scouting appointment? |
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Comment | McClaren Chasing Swedish Superstar To Become Rams ‘Ronaldinho’?
at 10:35:04
Much ado about nothing?
The local media report - probably more accurate than excitable remote sources - says the Derby linkage with this player is 'wide of the mark':
http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/Links-Derby-County-Uganda-s-Ronaldinho-wide-mark
I think we'd all be surprised if Steve Mac didn't cast his net wider for players.
Few teams win owt nowadays with just 'home nations' players - even at Championship level.
I for one do hope that the apparent grass-roots changes planned by the football hierarchy to increase the quality and percentage of home-grown players bring results.
However, Derby has been far too introverted and parochial in squad recruitment, due to the unambitious and inadequate scouting regime, so I look forward to seeing the 'new cosmopolitan' Rams' the Mac will recruit! |
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Comment | Good Luck At United Nigel - "A Change Is As Good As A Holiday"
at 20:34:44
I don't think Clough was harshly treated - it was the timing of his departure was just harsh from his perspective.
However, DCFC comes first - and progress needed to be hastened. A promotion push now seems under way - at last.
The timing from Derby's point of view was good, as an international break enabled McLaren to regroup the squad.
A fresh outlook and work to remedy common failings seen for weeks and months in the performances is starting to point the club upwards at last.
As Sam Rush and others have said at the recent public forums, the club acknowledges Nigel's exceptional work to pull the club through from a difficult situation.
The departing management team were well rewarded and no doubt have the benefit from their severance package; most of them are straight back into work. That's football!
Good luck to Nigel, and Sheff Utd (unless we play them!) but I'm a Derby fan, my second team is England :-) |
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Comment | Steve's Start At Derby Will Be Damned Dirty (Leeds)!
at 20:39:13
Oh dear; Francis Lee *hates* that clip - surely there are better memories of Rams vs. Leeds clashes to promote?
I had the pleasure of Meeting Franny some years ago at a function, and a fan interrupted us and clamped a hand on Lee's shoulder, and declared: "well done for clobbering Hunter that time", which made Lee cringe.
"All those great games and goals, and that's all they want to say to you", he mused.
I told him that the fight with Hunter had been edited out of the (then-new) DVD release of Rams' 1970s highlights, which pleased him enough to ask me to send him a DVD for his son's collection.
Lee sent me a letter of thanks later, and expressed his delight that just the football itself, and not Leeds' thuggery and provocation, was contained on the DVD!
We have some great new memories of beating Leeds again today, anyway :-)
Here's to win No. 11 on-the-trot, up at Elland Road next May. |
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Comment | What The Hell Have I Done? - The RamZone Wrap
at 09:32:45
Fortunately, we were only 3 goals down, not 4 - I think if it had been 4, it would have been curtains :-(
What a comeback! It will be interesting to see how Mac executes his sort-out, as we can't go on with that kind of defensive (1st half) performance. |
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