Tuesday Musings - The bigger picture Tuesday, 23rd Dec 2008 11:36
I would imagine that after the dire and shockingly abysmal display
against Charlton, many people – apart from the wrist-slashers or the
anti-Jewell brigade – will be relatively content going back to work
this week.
That simple fact emanates from the win against Watford. Not so long ago, they were in the Premiership and giving their all, and many people tipped them for a quick return after relegation to the Championship. It was not to be and eventually Aidy Boothroyd apparently decided that he had gone as far as he could with the present squad. Cue Brendan Rodgers, a hungry man from Chelsea, and with him they had two wins under their belt.
So it was never going to be an easy game – are there any in the Championship? Two things changed for us, and I wonder if they will turn out to be pivotal for the season. Addison was made captain and Connolly was replaced by Albrechtsen at right back.
By all accounts Addison gave a fine display – almost as though he revelled in the additional responsibility. I didn’t see the game against Watford (family commitments), but I felt that against Charlton, he was just about the only person who tried to pass the ball along the ground to another Derby player.
Connolly saw much of the ball at Charlton and in my opinion wasted just about all his options, until very late in the game when he started venturing upfield and attacking Charlton. It was hugely disheartening to watch someone with time on the ball just punting it into the penalty area. And utterly boring.
Unfortunately with the Championship level of football, where everybody crowds into a small part of the pitch every time the goalie takes a kick, and where the opposing team spend a lot of time closing down people, you are going to find that the people with more time on the ball are the back four, and especially the full-backs.
I don’t doubt that Connolly is made of stern stuff and gives his all, but against Charlton, he seemed to have no idea of how to orchestrate the play. I would imagine that Albrechtsen, with Tomkins next to him, will offer considerable more alternatives. Unless of course, it is part of the game plan to whack it upfield, something that will find a lot of fans grumbling.
But perhaps this is what Jewell means about going back to basics; grinding out a win or a draw so that well before March, we know that we aren’t going down, but neither are we going to catch Wolves, and nor do we want to.
And hopefully at the same time, the backroom team are working on the training ground with the players, developing a game plan or alternatives. And more importantly, finding out what works and what doesn’t.
After all, Clough in his first season made some errors and narrowly escaped relegation. Even after getting Mackay in the second season, he still didn’t start winning until a little combative midfielder with a pudding basin haircut called Carlin arrived and suddenly the team gelled. Clough made some errors? Oh yes, Pat Wright was one. He only played 12 games, and he was a real shocker and so was moved on speedily.
So while we fans, agonise through every game, plumbing the depths of despair when we lose abjectly, and feeling mightily relieved when we win or draw, get through each game as it happens, the backroom team should have a long term aim with objectives. That for me includes playing the ball along the ground as much as possible, either waiting for an opening, or creating openings with slick passing. And if we’re winning, withholding the ball from the opposition so they can’t score.
For me, Albrechtsen is more likely to hold onto the ball and pass it when it needs to be passed rather than wellying it upfield. So I hope Tomkins and Nyatanga can forge a decent partnership which leaves Albrechtsen where he is and we can start retaining the ball more, just as Clough used to bark at his players something along the lines of: “Here is the ball – treat it as your friend, and keep it!”
Photo: Action Images
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