Once in a while, I like to look back and see which current Rams player have accrued the most League appearances against their name, as having players who've been around for a while, is important for several reasons.
Having a squad that includes long term members indicates a measure of stability at the club; it also shows we have players who are valued by the club and it suggests players have demonstrated the ability to perform consistently while having made the area his home and put down some roots.
I always harbor the hope that a current Rams player may one day join the ranks of the legends. Players such as Kevin Hector with 478 League starts or Jack Parry with 482 but instead the most recent Rams player to go close to that elite company was Michael Forsyth, who made the last of his League appearances in 1994.
To see whether there were any long-serving Rams players in our squad since Michael Forsyth left the club two decades ago, I looked at the archives to see who the last Rams player was to start 200 League matches.
I chose that number as I believe 200 appearances represent the beginning of a decent career with any one club. Unfortunately my search was fruitless, as far as I can tell the last two were Forsyth with 323 and Gary Micklewhite who finished a year earlier than him in 1993 with 223.
I realise that football has changed a great deal since the days of Kevin Hector, with players having much greater freedom to move, but is it no longer possible that we will see Rams players building up a significant number of appearances?
Certainly, I would have thought that with this being the Rams sixth season in the Championship, we ought to have enough stability that one or two players would have at least reached 150 starts. But instead it seems it may be a while before any current player challenges the legends with the current front runner in the present squad being Shaun Barker with 98 which is even more damning considering he has been out injured for nearly two seasons.
What is clear is that players are no longer building a career at Derby County. Why? The only answer I can come up with is rather sobering.
I can think of two recent players - John Brayford and Kris Commons - who left Derby because they felt the club was not big enough to suit their ambitions. A number of others, Jason Shackell, Rob Hulse and Dean Moxey among them, were moved on to raise money and Robbie Savage retired.
But in recent years - probably the last fifteen years - the rest essentially moved on because they were not good enough. It’s been like a revolving door; players arrived, played a few matches and left.
Perhaps we could call it the ‘Lee Croft Syndrome’. I believe this is at the root of why this club has underperformed for so long: we just keep signing players who are not good enough. Then replace them with others who are not good enough.
So, Steve; after you have taught the defenders how to defend, here is another item for your ‘To Do’ list - make sure that the club stops signing players who are not good enough.
Let's have a break for a few years during which we sign only good players.
Let's set some lads on the road to 300 League starts and you may be surprised at what results.