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RamsWeek 3: Too Low For Zero
RamsWeek 3: Too Low For Zero
Monday, 17th Jan 2011 09:42 by Paul Mortimer

With some major upsets in the FA Cup 3rd Round last weekend, Derby County’s task was to visit non-League Crawley Town and ensure they did not become giant-killing victims themselves.

There were plenty of words, especially from Crawley players and staff, about how they would tackle Derby, plus references to Nigel Clough’s alleged demeaning words about Town some years ago. Nigel Clough started Miles Addison in midfield and restored Gareth Roberts to left back.

There were classic ‘underdog’ conditions: teeming rain, whipping winds, a slippery, fast pitch and a rabid home crowd, packed into the compact new Broadfield Stadium.

The game had all the ingredients of a traditional cup-tie, as Nigel Clough anticipated - and it was down to his Derby players to show their extra bit of quality. Conditions didn’t allow that to happen and it was Crawley Town, captained by ex-Ram Pablo Mills, that fought through to win. They played with the wind and rain at their backs in the first half and limited Derby’s forward progress.

This Derby team has shown itself well capable of being its own worst enemy and that was the case again on Monday night; the club now suffers the ignominy of featuring on all the future FA Cup TV trailers when the giant-killing goals are shown, as the Rams suffered their worst FA Cup humiliation for over half a century.

Derby threw away a glorious chance for an early advantage when Kris Commons’ tamely-struck 10th minute penalty was collected by goalkeeper Kuipers, who had unbalanced Chris Porter in the area. Town struck the lead though, when Derby’s dithering defence allowed McAllister to shoot through them all.

As with so many Derby goals conceded, it could have been prevented by someone simply putting his foot through the ball when it arrived in the danger area. It was a ‘route one’ goal - but Derby’s back line failed to deal with the orthodox 70-yard Kuipers punt. Crawley didn’t wait for the Rams to get their bearings and it was 1-0.

It was a mediocre Derby showing in the first half and they made little headway in the levelling conditions. Crawley had the fortune they needed too, as Tubbs was only yellow-carded for a vile two-footed challenge on Robbie Savage. The home side should have been down to ten men; even their manager acknowledged that afterwards. Perhaps the irony of Steve Evans labelling Clough’s Brewers team as a ‘pub side’ was not altogether lost on the Crawley Town manager.

Derby had more of the play after the break and Miles Addison, a towering presence in a team of pygmies, bulleted in an emphatic headed equaliser from a Kris Commons free kick. Crawley looked tired but nevertheless strove to summon some final momentum in the final minutes, when Derby looked content to hold out for a draw.

Cywka had come on for Pringle to little effect but Derby’s intentions of sticking it out for a tough draw were conveyed when defensive substitute Moxey came on for Savage; Steve Davies came on as only full-time approached - and the mercurial Alfredo Bueno wasn’t exposed to the nasty Sussex elements at all. Who dares wins!

The fateful moment came in stoppage time when Derby leaked a traditionally soft, preventable goal. Giving away a needless corner after 91 minutes in a hotly-contested, rain-sodden away Cup-tie isn’t the wisest thing to do - but that’s how Derby defends nowadays. The ‘head it, kick it, clear it’ mantra still hasn’t sunk home. If players can’t get rid of the ball, then get rid of those players.

To leave a Crawley man unmarked 18 yards out and allow the stoppage-time corner to travel straight to his feet for a clear, decisive shot was nothing short of criminal. Argentinean Sergio Torres swept the ball home for the storybook 2-1 finish.

Town manager Steve Evans observed that Derby defended weakly from set pieces and expected his team to profit from such shortcomings. Derby had mugged themselves by allowing Crawley to dominate stoppage time and fashion the late chance. Much later in the week, Clough bemoaned the ‘incredible naivety’ of some players, again noting their lack of their adherence to the basics.

Few Rams players emerged with credit; Addison was excellent - we just need 10 more of him. Green and Brayford battled away in a difficult night for defenders - but Derby did not apply enough pressure on Town at the other end of the park. They failed to create sufficient pressure and danger to dislodge the home defence and make clear opportunities needed to win the game.

Chris Porter didn’t have the service or presence to lead the line effectively; Commons flitted in and out of the game. Much effort was expended by Derby players but not always wisely. The inability, for instance, to keep Crawley at bay in the late stages and secure a desperate replay demonstrated that some players just cannot carry out instructions. Hence - they just ain’t up to it.

Town created the best chances, won more corners, adapted best to the conditions and deserved to win the match. They showed more desire to seize the moment, to be heroes. The delirious home dressing room celebrations echoed long and hollow in the silent, barren visitor’s quarters.

Manager Clough reportedly locked his players into the dressing room (didn’t he do that at Forest, too?) then there was a ‘behind closed doors’, bunker mentality at Derby County Football Club. Derby fans must suffer the ignominy of being this year’s big non-league scalp but the club couldn’t muster a script of apology afterwards. The defeat goes on record as their most humiliating since the mid-50s Cup exit to New Brighton.

The post-match silence from the Rams’ entourage lasted until mid-afternoon on Tuesday. That proved unwise, because it fuelled speculation that Clough might have lost his job after the team’s poor recent form and the devastating defeats at Forest and Crawley. A quick, orthodox declaration of disappointment and apology could have avoided all that hot air generated by fans and media!

Instead, an apology from the manager through the club’s official website was eventually issued; local media had been rebuffed from all usual approaches during the day. Speculation arose; had Clough gone, or been sacked?  Had he demanded better players and some funding from the club to continue? Did the board finally concede that the squad was inadequate?

Characteristically, the only signing that Derby County managed last week was another club ‘pardner’, that of Derby High School. Surprise, surprise; Mr Glick’s daughter attends the school. Both pardners hope that the link can lead to football scholarships for pupils. OK, so much for networking; can we go out and recruit some first-team players, please?

Fans remain angry and disappointed and were initially left to sleep on the Crawley nightmare. Most demanded early team investment and some better players to give Nigel Clough the chance to build a consistent, progressive side. An on-field response from the team and management action to improve the squad was the only thing that would stop the season turning sour.

Amazingly, the most significant transfer news emerging was that Robbie Savage had received an offer to move to Vancouver Whitecaps in the near future - and that the offer being furnished by a GSE partner, Jeff Mallett. What’s goin on? Will the consortium please fund a ‘name’ midfielder for Derby, too? Or is all their money going into building up the Canadian MLS outfit instead?

Due to MLS schedules it transpires that Savage must decide soon, as his new Vancouver duties would commence in March. Derby won’t stand in his way and must look to the future. Savage is a character and a presence - but Messrs Cough and Glick will have to find new, younger leaders to carry the team onwards.

After all is said and done, Savage’s tenure has only seen the Rams go from the bottom of the Premier League to a moribund mid-table Championship berth.

Tom Glick, seen wisely disguised with a full beard and moustache, broke silence late on Tuesday after Clough’s ‘behind closed doors’ policy and - hey presto - the president and CEO talked about plans for January signings, and of ‘meaningful’ progress with Kris Commons on his new contract.

He acknowledged that the spine of the team was inadequate when declaring that the manager was seeking a central defender, a midfielder and a centre forward. Little real information was otherwise imparted but if the club fails to strengthen the squad and add quality, it will do so at its peril. Running out of steam and running out of cover, as we have done recently, is symptomatic of inadequate investment last summer; we’re too reliant on players who are ill-equipped for the job.

Supporter relations were nursed by DCFC throughout the rest of the week as bulletins multiplied about transfer talk and the positive nature of club-Commons negotiations. Nigel Clough explained on Friday that the staff just didn’t think they could speak right after the Crawley game. Nigel: silence isn’t golden in every sense, especially in football, given the rumour mill!

Signs are that Derby will keep Kris Commons. They’ll certainly face the fans’ wrath if they fail - and if Mr Glick does lose Commons, he truly will have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Commons’ publicly-declared desire to stay at Derby was reinforced when the player disclosed in interview that he had not spoken to any other clubs - saying he would regard that as ‘unprofessional’. Although he recognises that it will be a very important contract for him (at 27 years of age and in his prime), he apparently has no wish to go elsewhere.

So...the player wants to stay, he hasn’t spoken to any other suitors, the manager wants him to stay, the chief executive repeats ad infinitum that the club is doing everything it can to keep him; this extends back ever since negotiations were ’on track’ back in September! So, Tom: make sure that good money is there to retain the best player at the club.

The Commons’ story has taken on the proportions of a footballing soap opera....strangely set in a plot where no-one seems to disagree, or has knives out for one other! No doubt should the saga be dramatised, the theme tune would be performed by The Detroit Spinners.....!

Meanwhile, other players are busy moving to Championship improvers and contenders, whilst Messrs Glick and Clough plough on with their alleged recruitment drive.

Bearing in mind that Clough had declared even before the Millwall game that he might make an immediate January signing, the absence of transfer-market success has irritated fans. The club has a fortnight left to secure their ‘most wanted’ trio as stated by Mr Glick - although Clough has already mentioned the refuge of the February ‘emergency loan’ window. Ho hum.

Luke Moore (a Clough target - but we didn’t keep him) is now at Swansea, Jon Parkin is at Cardiff, Matty Fryatt went to Hull, and Yakubu is at Leicester, among many deals done at other clubs. Leeds, Leicester, Pompey, Cardiff, Scunthorpe, Doncaster, QPR, Norwich, Preston, Sheffield Utd, Hull, Millwall, and Palace have all made signings in January. Derby? It’s just talk, so far.

Notts County’s Ben Davies has been revealed as a Derby target with figures under negotiation. He’s an experienced midfielder that Derby failed to sign last summer. Whingeing Notts County manager Paul Ince accused Derby of unsettling the player.

Davies is 29 and has a belated chance to move upwards - and Ince ignores the fact that Derby made enquiries on the player well before Ince popped up in his latest management role at Meadow Lane!

Derby announced a probable loan deal for a ‘pacy’ striker, subject to the parent club avoiding injury crises over the weekend - and a central defender was also imminent. Whoever he is, he’s apparently injured at the moment, so it seems we won’t see that character until February.

The Rams’ reserves won 2-0 against Rotherham United in midweek, in a game that gave injury rehab Jake Buxton some more match-time. Greg Mills and Callum Ball scored the goals and invisible Derby wingers Lee Croft and David Martin put in mystical appearances.

Sad news arrived of the death at 85 of Bolton and England centre-forward Nat Lofthouse. He was one of the game’s greatest strikers, a one-club man who had a goals record matched or bettered by very few players in the history of the game. RamZone fondly remembers Nat’s greatness and we hope he can rest in peace.

Having reported on ex-Rams’ players and staff getting the chop recently at various football clubs, it’s refreshing to wish Chris Powell well as the new manager of Charlton Athletic, a club which is close to his heart. Powell was a Rams’ favourite in Jim Smith’s cosmopolitan mid-90s Premier League team, and we wish we had a left back half as good nowadays.

The reappearance of Paul Jewell at Ipswich Town makes me wonder how he’ll revive another aspirant Championship club with a large loyal fanbase, having made such a pig’s ear of everything at Derby County. He gained promotion and consolidation with Wigan Athletic and Bradford City...but the Tractor Boys’ challenge might be another case of biting off more than he can chew.

A trip to in-form Watford was next on the fixture card for the Rams on Saturday; the next home game is the return clash with Nottingham Forest. They are two big tests for squad and manager, no doubt.

Manager Clough swapped midfield grafter Pringle for Spanish crafter Bueno, in the only team change from Crawley for the game at Vicarage Road. Polish forward Cywka was omitted from the squad. Watford, in 6th place, had won their last six games on the bounce.

It was a scruffy game on a bobbly pitch, on a soft surface and a whipping wind. Derby’s unsteady defending saw them 3-0 down at half time. Derby’s fate was again sealed by scrappy, gift-wrapped goals, gratefully accepted by the Hornets in another thoroughly dispiriting outing for the Rams.

Danny Graham, Will Buckley and Marvin Sordell in the Hornets’ attack presented plenty of problems for the Rams’ back four, where Roberts regularly failed to keep his feet, as Watford’s goals were assisted by Derby defenders losing their concentration, or footing - or both - and letting yet more soft goals in.

Roberts fell over again after 35 minutes and Will Buckley was able to clip the ball under Stephen Bywater for 1-0. Then, within five minutes, a cross travelled to the boot of the Championship’s top scorer, Danny Graham for 2-0. The Derby flank was again exposed and Graham, 14 games on loan without a goal for Derby in his early days, volleyed it home. After a fairly even initial half-hour, Derby fell apart and Watford found themselves in a commanding position.

For good measure, Derby leaked another goal seconds before the interval with defenders half-clearing and half-capsizing, leaving Marvin Sordell with a simple chance. 3-0; there had hardly been an effort on goal at the other end but Watford had easily unhinged Derby’s defence. You know, that’s the one that Clough told to keep a tight ship at Watford and recover from the Crawley disaster.

Derby’s defending is diabolical, comical; the centre is a soft underbelly and the space that Gareth Roberts leaves players on the right flank is unforgiveable. Things must change!

Clough put Stephen Pearson on for Kris Commons and Dean Leacock for James Bailey straight after the break. That allowed Green and Brayford to resume their correct positions as Derby switched to 4-4-2. Although Derby did better and had more possession, Scott Loach in the Watford goal did not have a save to make all afternoon and the Hornets coasted to a very easy victory.

Watford did not need to score more goals, so they did not bother themselves to raise their game further; they just kept Derby at arm’s length and nullified any threat. The result had already been handed to them on a plate by Derby’s unprofessionalism. So, not a single shot on target from Derby and one solitary corner in the whole game - that was the measure of Derby’s ‘response’ to the humiliating FA Cup defeat at Crawley.

Derby’s positive goal difference has now been all but wiped out by frequent defeats and bad defending. It was a tepid, inadequate display to cap a miserable week for Derby and their fans. The difference in Derby’s two Championship displays against Watford in 2010-11, just over two months apart, encapsulates the Rams’ schizophrenic season.

The Rams had put Watford away with ease at Pride Park Stadium in October but succumbed meekly to them at Vicarage Road on Saturday. The downturn has been stark as Derby slipped to 14th in the table, with a barely-positive goal difference. We need new faces ASAP - and some purpose, concentration and tenacity from the existing players, if they have it within themselves.

“We’re on our arses or even lower than that at the moment”, said Clough afterwards; pretty uplifting stuff. So, that’s it then - we’re ‘too low for zero’. This is Nigel’s summary after two years of ‘progress’. It is all utterly dispiriting, as we prepare for the visit of Nothingham Forest next week.

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RamsWeek 3 last year was a ‘watershed’ as Nigel Clough expected a response from his players after poor results (sounds familiar....) “It is black and white now - if you are not doing your job now, off you go,” he told them, after the shocking display against Scunthorpe.

The FA Cup replay against Millwall was a chance of redemption for the squad, which they took by the slimmest margin with a 1-1 draw after extra time (Steve Davies rescuing the Rams very late on) and then shooting through on penalties. The game was watched by a crowd of just 7,183.

Nigel Clough signed out-of-contract Sunderland defender Russell Anderson (31) until the end of the season whilst Derby’s mercurial young midfielder Giles Barnes went on trial with West Bromwich Albion.

The Rams went to struggling Peterborough and managed to get some Championship points on the board, with a comfortable 3-0 victory. Posh had two players sent off by half-time; Derby won a penalty from one of the offences, and Steve Davies netted the spot-kick They went 2-0 after the break as DJ Campbell scored, then he added a third after 75 minutes - and that was that.

Photo: Action Images



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