I don’t know about you but I am tired. Tired of the regular Rams slide, tired of McClaren talking rubbish & being fired, tired of the management roundabout and tired of seasons wasting away to nothing.
In his post match chat after Brighton when Steve was trying to explain away obvious problems with nothing statements, I could not help but think decisive ones were needed.
As soon as I heard Steve suggest that; ‘it wasn’t time to panic’ and ‘he and his team had the full support of the Chairman’, I knew it was all over. This sounded like a man convincing himself & his boss more than anyone else, a tactic that frustrated not just fans but obviously the man that counts most.
When McClaren was at Newcastle, his defence of obvious problems and poor performances became almost comedic and after the Brighton debacle; that same routine was rolled out for the Rams. Obviously I was not the only one fed up with it.
I remember rolling my eyes when I realised he thought that De Sart & Butterfield were a midfield that could take it up to Brighton. With the likes of Hughes, Bryson and Anya on the bench — very few would have come to that decision given the opportunity to choose. I could hear the wheels creaking and 90 minutes later they had totally fallen off!
In his post match comments, if McClaren had come out firing, not necessarily slating individual players, but instead damning the effort of the group as a whole, perhaps he would have commanded more respect from all watching. The fact he did not, made him look weak and also quite lost as to what he could do to rectify the situation.
Fans, and I count the owner as a fan, want to be confident in their leader and believe they have the fire burning to turn it around. Unfortunately Steve sounded like he barely had a spark let alone the inferno that we all wanted to witness after the shite that was served up.
I personally never really wanted him back after Pearson but was willing to give him a shot and was well and truly eating my words when he went on a winning run. Unfortunately the implosion that seems to follow many of his management positions, once again returned to haunt him and his lack of results and ramblings proved to be his downfall.
It is hard for me to blame Mel Morris as I genuinely believe he is trying to do the right thing, and yes he may be a bit rash in both appointments and sackings but the fact is results were not there and not many highly paid jobs in or out of football allow for failure, especially when your tenure seems to be in an alarming freefall.
If a Manager / CEO was running a business and it was losing millions each week, I doubt many owners would give you more time and money without an unwavering belief in that person. I doubt many of us, let alone Mel could genuinely say they had that belief in Steve on Friday night at 10pm.
Not bringing a couple of players in during January and stating that his squad was fit for purpose, also weighed on Steve in the end. If you say you don’t need players and you are happy with the squad, only for the squad to fall apart and play terribly, you cannot really be surprised if your judgement is then questioned.
Do you rely on someone to rebuild the squad next season who was happy with that same squad only months earlier?
Now Mac who was back, gone, back, is now gone again, the club has appointed another former Rams player in Gary Rowett.
Rowett comes with a good pedigree, did very well at Burton and also at Birmingham before he was sacked in ridiculous circumstances by the Blues. After a good start to the season, it has proven to be a massive mistake by Birmingham as they have since slid from a game outside the playoffs in 7th to a dismal 17th.
Is Rowett the answer for Derby? We all hope so but frankly who knows. So many other things will affect his tenure as he tries to balance a lot of balls that are constantly in the air at Derby now. Morris is believed to be a big fan so that may help him out, as if he cannot work with our illustrious owner it will only end one way.
The one thing you can’t say is that Mel does not back his managers initially, and I am sure Rowett will get the same investment should he require it.
We can sure there will be a clean out of as many players as possible that are underperforming, even if it means the club cuts its losses and takes a hit before it can move forward. If Rowett can’t work with them or get them going — they will be on their bike plus others will no doubt come in — one of whom should be Chris Martin — that’s if he still wants to come back now Steve has departed
The simple fact is that Rowett had better get DCFC promoted sooner than later because that is, no matter what is said to the opposite, the measurement of success from this point forward for the powers that be.
Looking at Brighton it was obvious what Derby need to be to genuinely be a contender in this league. We need to replace players who can only bully lesser opposition, with players who will scrap and graft against all, put their stamp on a manager’s game plan and demand selection, instead of the revolving squad door during the last month as form fluctuated wildly.
Whatever happens I am tired, I will wake from my slumber for the trip to Forest and watch Gary’s first outing with interest but I feel a long hibernation following that will last until next season.
Then once again, I like many others, will be lured by the hope of a new dawn and the dream that one day DCFC can again become the powerhouse its fans deserve it to be.
Rowett our saviour — one can only hope — but really it just feels like déjà vu.