Derby County ended their losing streak with a draw at Portsmouth and faced Midlands’ rival Leicester City next. Off field, the club sought new players, had to handle fan unrest and a furore over the manager’s public behaviour.

The loan window opened and supporters decided not to hold their breath in anticipation of the promised loan player arrivals at Pride Park Stadium.

Manager Nigel Clough had publicly lambasted young forward Tomasz Cywka for his perceived role in gifting the ball for Portsmouth’s last-ditch equaliser. You can read plenty about the kerfuffle elsewhere on RamZone. 

Clough was scalded by the player’s union, PFA in their public reaction to the incident, which Gordon Taylor said “cannot be appropriate” and unless sorted, could be “an untenable situation”. It was not exactly the kind of publicity Derby County needed if they are (allegedly) attempting to persuade players to join Derby County, to play under Nigel Clough!

Strangely, there was no official statement from the club about the growing furore, as the PFA and many fans condemned the manager’s hostile, public criticism but a considered, conciliatory statement, ostensibly from the player himself, appeared in the media. It appears that Cywka himself did not make a fuss or contact the PFA. The conundrum remains: who did then report the incident to the PFA?

Just when I shook my head and prepared to consign the weird episode to posterity, Clough reiterated his condemnation of Cywka when asked about the reaction of the PFA and fans. Clough sounded very dour and monotonic - beleaguered, I’d say, when he asserted he meant what he said. Clough maintained that players like Cywka should be wiser and that Tomasz had spent 11 months at Derby learning the game, and still couldn’t follow repeated instructions.

Further, he declared that if the club were relegated by two point, the Fratton Park match would be ‘the first place I’d look’ when seeking a reason for the demise, and seemed to refer to Cywka as a ‘Wigan reserve’. Clough dismissed outside opinion and said he didn’t read the internet, the papers, or listen to the radio, and hadn’t even watched Match of the Day for several months. 

It all added complications to the week and showered negative press on the manager and club. You can’t help thinking that Clough, too, is still learning the game at this level, certainly in terms of his media handling and man-management techniques.

Derby made a signing on Wednesday - but characteristically, it wasn’t exactly what supporters had expected. It was announced that injury-plagued forward Steve Davies had signed a one-year extension (with a further year’s option) to his current contract, which runs out this summer. 

Unlike the Kris Commons saga, there suddenly seems to be a bit of a rush on here.  Steve has only managed 21 starts in two-and-a-half seasons. Manager Clough had said only a short time ago that he and Chris Porter would be playing for a new contract for the rest of this season, now that they were getting match-fit and making first-team appearances. 

Credit to Davies for the way he had battled back and (hopefully) now overcome his trail of setbacks. We need some goals! Then, Ben Pringle was also signed up on an extension to his contract. The young ex-Ilkeston-Town midfielder has figured probably more than manager Clough anticipated in the senior squad, due to squad shortages, injuries and loss of form. 

Pringle is captain of the Rams’ reserves, and scored in midweek in their League Cup 2-0 victory over Walsall. Tellingly, there hasn’t been the same rush to offer striker Chris Porter a new deal. 

The contract activity with Derby existing players activity displaced attention on the meagre loan window news from PPS; the only tangible progress there was the arrival as expected of Liverpool defender Daniel Ayala - he went straight into the squad to face Leicester City. 

The club insists that there is money for wages and players, and that it is availability that hinders the efforts of Clough and Glick in the loan market. Critics will point to the success of other clubs in landing their reinforcements. Deeds, not words are all that matter at this critical time.

Many other itinerant players are already making telling contributions to teams that are competing at the top and bottom of the Championship table. One man who won’t be an option any more is fans’ favourite battering-ram centre-forward Shefki Kuqi, released by Swansea City. He has landed on his feet after being snapped up for the rest of the season by Newcastle United.

New Toon boss Alan Pardew wants Kuqi to do exactly what Derby still need and what he did so well before Xmas - be a nuisance to opposing defences, a presence in the dressing room, and add to the manager’s squad options. 

I heard a Newcastle United fan on BBC 606 complaining bitterly that Pardew had replaced £35m Andy Carroll with Kuqi (although the first thing that Pardew had said about the signing was that Kuqi was not an Andy Carroll). Derby County fans would kill to have Shefki’s services for another three months...

Friday saw some welcome news for Derby fans in that the 2011-12 season ticket renewal prices will remain as per last year; seat regradings and price increases published last year. It added some small comfort to disgruntled supporters, who will want to know which division in which the Rams will be playing before they commit their hard-earned cash to the cause again.

The return clash with the furry Foxes came upon us with the usual rallying calls from Derby players to make sure that they were ‘up for the challenge’. Nigel Clough chose the cautious option of selecting Ben Pringle and Robbie Savage - with Steve Davies taking up the forlorn striker role.

The skills of Bueno and the not very bright but willing Tomasz Cywka remained on the substitute’s bench, along with recuperating Liverpool loanee Daniel Ayala. Leicester had half a team compliment of recent signings and loanees to call on, including Premier League strikers Yakubu and Vassell and had shot up the table. City’s squad has been substantially reinforced by ambitious owners and re-energised by the experienced Sven Goran Ericsson.

Squad quality and skill told from the outset, and Derby suffered another lesson from a quicker, smarter, stronger side. It was a dismal performance bereft of quality or imagination and Derby gave debutant Foxes’ keeper Ricardo the easiest debut - probably the easiest game - of his career. There was barely a Derby effort on goal to speak of. Read our intrepid home reporter OOE’s excellent match report elsewhere on RamZone.

Always second best, the Rams conceded two typically preventable goals before the break and the huff and puff of Derby’s second half ‘revival’ was ultimately ineffectual against a robust and comfortable Foxes back line. A Leicester attack on 28 minutes was half-cleared in two attempts by different defenders, to be delivered back into the path of the formidable Yakubu. He cushioned the ball on his thigh before firing past Tweetmeister Steven Bywater as he bore down on goal.

Just on half time, Leicester got their security goal as a pass split Addison and Barker for King to slip home, to ensure that the now-familiar boos of the disaffected home throng momentarily matched the booming Pride Park Stadium PA system, presumably cranked up to illegal levels to mask any in-stadium “Board Out” chants that fans might offer in the attempt to create their own entertainment.

Nigel Clough saw sense and added Tomasz Cywka to his font line after the break. He made a bright start and was cheered at every touch; the irony of the pro-Tomasz cheers no doubt added to the manager’s deepening gloom as Leicester cruised to victory.

Leicester strode on to a 2-0 victory in front of 26,200 Pride Park spectators, whilst the beleaguered Nigel Clough had to fight off speculation that he would depart the Derby scene. Derby slipped to 17th place and the sequence of bad results was extended.

The result left Derby fans nursing their already battered pride after the Rams have conceded league ‘doubles’ to both Leicester and Forest. Post-match protests outside the stadium erupted again, with owners GSE the brunt of fans’ anger. Only a reinforced team and better results to stave off the unthinkable prospect of relegation will defuse the frustration and anger of the Derby fanbase that, when roused, is as relentless as the loyalty that those same fans show their club.

There are so many issues that have coalesced into an increasingly problematic atmosphere at Pride Park Stadium. Fans really do fear for the immediate status of the club. The team needs an injection of confidence and new resources; the owners need urgently to redouble their efforts to secure players for Clough, however their frugal model of English football is fervidly pursued. 

Fans aren’t sure if the GSE master-plan will work - rather, they are damned sceptical at the moment. Supporters do know that time is running out unless things change PDQ - and that other teams are looking much healthier and more well-resourced than the Rams. 

Many suspect that the Rams’ ownership regime too (most of whom are remote from the situation) may know business, but not the business of football. The feeling is that GSE are still learning the game, too. It’s been a difficult lesson, now extending past three years. The promises espoused during their upbeat, breezy manner on arrival are now badly soured by season-upon-season of struggle and decline. Fans are tiring of repeat doses of the same unpleasant medicine.

Who knows the answer to Derby’s current crisis? Change the manager? Change the ownership? Change the lot? Stability and prudent operation is desired, but stagnation and downsizing has had alarming repercussions which threaten to be terminal for the credibility of the GSE regime - and things must change very soon. Sign some player, win some games, try and mend the biggest and most important ‘partner’ you could ever cultivate: the one between the club and the fans. 

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RamsWeek 7 last year saw fans hoping that Derby would ‘keep this fire burning’ after an upturn in performances and results. The 1-1 draw with Sheffield United was followed up by an emphatic if surprising victory over the Championship’s top team, Newcastle United.

Derby ran out 3-0 winners in one of their best performances of the season against a Premier League-bound side who hadn’t lost for 15 games. Hulse, Commons and Barker scored for Derby as they overwhelmed their illustrious opponents to give supporters hope for a more comfortable run-in to the season. 

The FA Cup came next, with a 5th Round tie against Premier League Birmingham City. Derby gave a spirited account of themselves but went out of the competition, beaten 2-1 as the Blues stole the tie with a last-minute goal from Kevin Phillips. Jay McEveley producd another of his crashing rives to give Derby the lead but Scott Dann levelled

Incoming loanees Javan Vidal and David Martin made cameo substitute appearances during the week and added to manager Clough’s resources. It was now up to the players to sustain their recent improvement for the remaining 16 games of the Championship. 

That’s pretty much the tonic the club needs right now in 2011 too - an improvement in results and a couple of new players to boost the squad. Last season didn’t actually end comfortably after all - and a similar or even worse conclusion to 2010-11 is something we’d rather not endure again, thanks.

Photo: Action Images

CountyDownRam added 10:36 - Feb 14 Good article. The comment Sign some player, win some games, try and mend the biggest and most important ‘partner’ you could ever cultivate: the one between the club and the fans, sums everything up so well!
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