Having a Derby County season ticket for the last ten years, you do get used to failure and disappointment. Aside from the play-off campaign of 2004/2005 and promotion in 2006/2007, Derby have either been relegated from the premier league or flirted with relegation in the Championship. Managers have come and gone and the club have finally decided to stick by their man, Nigel Clough. Even after coming under serious pressure last season, Clough has started to turn Derby into a solid championship club with no debt to worry about. And all seems to be coming together, as for the first time in over a hundred years, Derby have won their first four league games. But is this all a false start?
Lets go back to the 27th November 2010 and a bitterly cold evening in Lancashire. Derby were due to play Burnley live on Sky Sports, and a win would have taken them to third in the Championship. Derby had taken 25 points out of a possible 33 and were the form team going into the game. But that cold night in Lancashire is what many rams fans blame for Derby’s slump in the league. Before kick off, key player Kris Commons pulled out with a sickness bug, and on loan Spanish forward Alberto Bueno was taken off 14 minutes in due to injury. However, against the run of play Derby scored. Bueno’s replacement Ben Pringle finding Luke Moore who crashed home a shot from the edge of the area into the top corner. With ten minutes to go Derby looked to be holding on for all three points when Burnley won a free-kick, and ex Derby full back Tyrone Mears curled home from the edge of the area. 1-1. Derby pushed forward for the winner with Chris Porter going close, but in the dying minutes, on loan Chelsea youngster Jack Cork nodded in from a cross to hand Burnley all three points. The Rams weren’t yet to know, but this condemned their season to yet another relegation scrap picking up only 19 points out of a possible 54. Relegation form. Derby’s early season ‘purple patch’ saved them from the drop.
Let’s move forward to pre-season 2011/2012 and Clough is ringing the changes at Pride Park, bringing in 10 new faces. These include, Frank Fielding, Jamie Ward and Theo Robinson, all of whom were on loan at Derby at the end of last season. Fielding has been considered as a steal by many journalists with the Rams only paying 300K for his services from Blackburn. Also joining the club were Kilmarnock captain Craig Bryson, Nottingham Forest striker Nathan Tyson, Barnsley stopper Jason Shackell, Aberdeen forward Chris Maguire, Republic of Ireland international Kevin Kilbane, Burton Albion goalkeeper Adam Legzdins and former Derby player of the year, Chris Riggott. These players were joined by Ben Davies, a January capture from Notts County.
Pride Park was full of optimism on the opening day of the season, a tough fixture against Championship newcomers, Birmingham City. Derby started well with some early possession, but failed to do anything with it, and Birmingham took advantage, Jordon Mutch swinging over a corner and Curtis Davies crashing the ball home. Groans and sighs could be heard around ride Park? Surely not another season of disappointment? But Rams Fans doubting the players were proved wrong. Last season’s player of the year John Brayford won a free-kick and Ben Davies swung it over to be met by captain for the day and debutant Jason Shackell, who headed the ball home. An equaliser. The fans could feel a comeback on the cards. And they weren’t disappointed. With minutes to go before half time Steven Davies found himself in space and let rip from 25 yards that flashed past Myhill into the top corner. The winning goal. Derby endured some pressure in the second half, with Chris Burke’s mazy run and shot re-bounding off the post, but Derby held on for all three points. This with young defender Mark O’Brien partnering Shackell at the back after Russell Anderson went off injured after half an hour.
Without counting the defeat to Shrewsbury Town in the Carling Cup, Derby were playing good football, and for the first time since Billy Davies was in charge, looked solid at the back. 1-0 wins at both Watford and Blackpool followed by a clinical 3-0 win at home to Doncaster showed that The Rams really mean business. It’s refreshing to see both Davies’s playing good football also. Steve Davies has struggled with injury since joining from Tranmere in 2008 but finally looks to be showing his full potential with 3 goals in 4 games. His namesake Ben, seems to have now settled in. He also found in difficult after joining from Notts County in January, but is now showing the fans what he’s capable of with 3 assists and a goal from his 4 games. Things look to be on the up for Derby, but fans mustn’t get carried away. I’d still take a solid mid table finish now, rather languishing at the wrong end of the table. Clough still needs to bring in an experienced midfield general to fill the Robbie Savage shoes, and a proven Championship goal scorer. I do believe both Davies’s, Tyson and Ward can notch enough goals between them, but with Steven Davies and Tyson so susceptible to injury, bringing in another striker would be sensible. Hopefully Clough can get Bywater, Leacock and Pearson off the wage budget before the transfer deadline so he can bring in a few more faces. It will be sad to see those three players go, after all they did in their promotion season, but I don’t believe they’re good enough, Bywater and Pearson especially. It’s harsh on Leacock, as he did put it a few good performances last season, but his injury record speak for itself. Out with the old in with the new!
