After their unbeaten start to 2012, Derby County took a break from Championship action to take on Premier League Stoke City in the FA Cup.

With the future of midfield dynamo Paul Green still uncertain and manager Nigel Clough aiming to bring in midfield reinforcements on loan, one replacement target was snapped up when Stoke City’s Michael Tonge joined Derby’s Championship rivals Barnsley.

Tonge had an impressive loan spell at Derby two years ago and it has always been a conundrum why the Rams did not pursue the midfielder further. In the kind of ironic twist that football can often throw up, Tonge could make his Tykes’ debut against Derby County when the sides meet in the League at the end of January.

Republic of Ireland international Paul Green, influential in the Derby team’s good run of form since his return from injury may well move on before the end of January, with manager Clough admitting that a for a new contract at Derby, Green “would probably want a bit more than we can afford”.

Some fans think it’s a great pity that GSE’s ongoing economy drive will deplete a successful midfield - and there’s sure to be criticism if the Rams fall short of the top-six spot that Tom Glick promised for their team in 2012, when it was tub-thumping season-ticket renewal time.

There’s even media speculation about James Bailey attracting interest from Prem and Championship clubs; if he went too, just where are Derby going to get players from? Ohh yes, the ‘emergency’ loan market opens next month, as the January transfer window closes in a few days.

Nigel Clough has now completed three years in charge at Pride Park Stadium and feels that his squad is better, leaner, and fitter than when he came. That’s probably true - although some may say those are not particularly difficult things to achieve! Credit where due, however; under such budget restrictions, overhauling the squad and sustaining Championship status is an achievement.

The Derby manager has seen over 60 players depart from the club’s permanent ranks or through loan turnover and he has overseen the arrival of 50 players too. His time has so far been plagued by long injury lists, inconsistent form and patchwork selection availability. Only one player remains from the time of Clough’s arrival in his current first-team choices - that’s Paul Green.

Rams fans have certainly had to be patient in seeing progress, which has been inhibited by the financial realism and prudency of the GSE strategy. They will not after all deliver the original five-year plan of Premier League consolidation and the ascendancy of Derby County to a global brand.

Derby’s top-of-the-table reserve team played bottom team Burton Albion on Tuesday night but the Brewers turned the table on its head as they won 4-1. Derby’s goal was scored by Chris Maguire when the Rams were already 0-3 down; Steve Davies returned to action but was withdrawn when his face mask came apart. Derby has also trialled midfielder Oliver Lee (20). He’s a West Ham junior, who is the son of former Derby captain Robert Lee.

Maguire may soon be loaned out by Derby, having made little of the impact anticipated from him when he signed as a Scottish Premier League star with Aberdeen FC. As another under-achieving Derby forward, Tomasz Cywka, is already on his bike to Championship rivals Reading, Clough’s squad gets thinner by the week.

Cywka spent almost 2 years at Derby including his initial loan period. “He’s not been an ounce of trouble,” said Clough, who a year ago called him “a not very bright footballer” and said he might as well get back from whence he came.

Tomasz had conceded possession late in one game, contributing to another late-goal Derby defeat. Cywka certainly didn’t give opposing defences the trouble that was expected; let’s hope that continues when the Rams meet the Royals next month!

The Polish 23-year old reportedly left the Rams on a free transfer, this being denied by Nigel Clough. It’s probably only a nominal fee and unimportant to Derby fans in the scheme of things, as any income probably won’t contribute to a significant attacking signing to watch in replacement.

Cywka is hoping to revive his first-team career with the Royals and even make sufficient impact to be part of Poland’s plans for the European Championships this summertime. Experienced Blackburn striker Jason Roberts has also joined Reading this week - just the sort of physical (short-term) striking presence that Derby County might well have benefited from. Que sera!

One Derby player who is now firmly established in the Rams’ first team - goalkeeper Frank Fielding - may gain more international honours this year if he is picked for Stuart Pearce’s Team GB Olympic football squad. Fielding did get selected for the Championship ‘Team of the Week’.

The Olympic competition is for under-23 squads and Frank could be picked as one of GB’s three permitted over-23 year-olds. Frank, already included in Fabio Capello’s full England squad, but may be too far down the goalkeeping pecking order to figure in his plans for Euro 2012.

Nigel Clough had to wait all week to learn whether Sunderland would permit loan striker Ryan Noble to be included in Derby’s FA Cup squad for this weekend. On Friday, the Derby manager was told by Sunderland that Noble would not be allowed to play, so no thanks to the Black Cats for that lack of courtesy.

It seemed a very ‘ignoble’ act to leave the Sunderland-born Derby manager in limbo about Ryan all week, even a slight on father Brian Clough’s glorious goal-scoring Roker Park legacy. Whatever; ‘parent’ clubs call the tune and their squad plans can displace any that ‘host’ clubs might be making. If Noble manages to appear in a Derby shirt, let’s hope he is worth the wait.

The ‘away end’ at Pride Park Stadium was crammed with almost 5,600 Stoke City fans on Saturday, as Tony Pulis’s successful Premier League team aimed to emulate or exceed their FA Cup exploits of 2011 (when they were beaten finalists), in the 4th Round Rams vs. Potters clash.

With Noble unavailable and Theo Robinson unfit, Nigel Clough moved Craig Bryson forward to support Callum Ball in attack and recalled young Irishman Jeff Hendrick in midfield. Clough’s 7-man FA Cup substitute bench included striker Chris Maguire and forward Nathan Tyson.

Stoke expected to make Cup progress at the expense of Derby County; why wouldn’t they? The Potters’ happy hordes have plenty to cheer about at present and their splendid, lusty support was rewarded with a regulation 2-0 victory at Pride Park Stadium.

Derby, beaten to the punch by a well-drilled and efficient Stoke side that put in a typically robust and methodical performance, had their FA Cup hopes snuffed out right from the kick-off.

City won with a degree of comfort and proved stronger all round, with plenty in reserve. They scored an early goal then coped with whatever the Rams mustered in response - then delivered the knockout blow as defender Robert Huth thumped in the 2nd goal with 10 minutes left.

After only 4 minutes, Premier referee Clattenburg ignored offside infringements by two Stoke players, including scorer Cameron Jerome, and a statuesque Rams defence allowed him to bundle the ball home from close in. Fielding made a couple of fine saves later but might have done better when allowing Huth’s shot to squirm underneath him to seal Stoke’s victory near the end.

The Potters’ athletic, physical presence enables them to cope with far more attacking fire and fury that Derby can offer; the Rams’ lack of midfield power and creativity was also clearly exposed.

Derby looked what they are - an energetic Championship side that is holding its own at that level. Tony Pulis’s pre-match comments in praise of Nigel Clough’s work at Derby summed it up:

"He's brought in a lot of younger players who can run around and that's important. Derby are a very solid team and a very young team. Nigel has done a fantastic job, especially when you see the players he's brought in.”

Compared to many players that he’s moved out, Clough is now getting more value from most of his own recruits. In relative terms, however, the chasm in depth, quality and muscle between the Stoke and Derby squads was stark enough on Saturday, and the result in truth never in doubt.

The game was reminiscent in many ways of most of the Premier League battles that Rams fans endured in the fiasco of a season under Davies and Jewell; energy and endeavour but little style from Derby, frequently infuriating decisions from match officials and a more powerful opposition making their strength and quality count to win against an ultimately inadequate side.

In truth, the knockout blow of an early opening goal looked enough for Stoke, who weren’t troubled by a largely punchless Rams attack. Despite a spirited end to the first half when the impish Jamie Ward set the burly Stoke defenders some problems, City kept Derby at arm’s length.

Potters’ keeper Begovic had one of his easiest afternoons of the season and despite the efforts of Ward, Bryson and the manful battling of Callum Ward, Derby were second best in every department - as the match statistics will show.

Though Stoke remained comfortable as they eased their way through to the 5th Round, they reinforced their threat by bringing on three attacking substitutes in Jermaine Pennant, Kenwyne Jones and Ricardo Fuller.

Derby had no such big-hitters with which to trade punches against Stoke’s strength in depth; Nigel Clough responded, in trying to save a Cup tie, with the half-fit Nathan Tyson and defenders Jake Buxton and Tom Naylor, the latter making his Derby debut.

Jones was a forward that was briefly mooted to be joining Derby in the wee Scot’s brief and disastrous Premier League spell; nowadays, Nigel Clough may wish that his club’s billionaire owners would allow him to spend a quarter of Jones’ value on a proven goalscorer. Footnote: the aforementioned Jason Roberts scored a winner for Reading on his Royals’ Championship debut.

Stoke had collected 4 yellow cards in halting Derby's progress but during the last third of the game, Derby lacked the attacking personnel and impetus to unsettle the Stoke defence. Hence, Derby did not exploit any possible further indiscipline committed that might have seen a Potters' defender get dismissed to open up the game.

In deploying the defenders in preference to the in-form reserve striker Chris Maguire, Clough spent Rams fans’ last hopes of a comeback or consolation goal. Perhaps it also signalled the end of the seldom-used Scot’s brief Derby County career?

These were disappointing and some may conclude defeatist substitution decisions by Clough - though Maguire’s fate was probably sealed earlier in the week when Clough chose to substitute Chris for the now-departed Tomasz Cywka in the ‘public disgrace’ stakes.

Despite a rapid half-dozen goals for the Rams’ reserves in recent weeks, Nigel made reference to how many times Maguire gave the ball away in a match against Cardiff City several months ago. Quite a motivator that comment must have been…

Stoke City are an unfashionable provincial club with an uncompromising, physical style. That has served them well in recent years and has allowed them to consolidate their Premier League status and build on established and successful foundations under Pulis. However, they have far more style and guile that (say) a Wimbledon-style rise to the elite division might suggest, and their footballing qualities are often underplayed.

Stoke as a city is depressed with industries in decline; perhaps in a way it mirrors the Derby of Brian Clough’s day when the Rolls-Royce crash shocked the town and led to hardship, whilst the football team marched on to glory? For decades, Stoke have mostly played in the shadow of Derby’s status and achievements in those times - but now the roles are firmly reversed.

The greedy, corporate egoism of the Premier League will prevent the Potters getting anywhere near the glories achieved by Derby County under Brian Clough and Dave Mackay but given the present-day financial elitism of the EPL, Stoke will be very happy with their current resurgence. The Potters now travel to Crawley Town in the Cup’s 5th Round, an interesting prospect indeed!

Today, Stoke are the top Midlands’ club in England; Aston Villa are in mid-table transition, WBA and Wolves remain perennial yo-yo clubs flitting between Premier League and Championship.

Downstairs, Derby promise their fans a top-six Championship finish on a shoestring, Leicester spend relentlessly in pursuit of The Dream. Chris Hughton works quietly at Birmingham to repeat the feat he worked at Newcastle with an immediate ‘bounce-back’ - you know, the instant promotion promised to Derby fans 3 years ago - whilst Forest and Coventry prop up the division.

In a different scenario, with sufficient investment and judicious expenditure in the same latter-day time span, it might instead be Derby County, not the Potters sitting today in the top ten of the Premier League enjoying Cup runs at home and in Europe. Stoke are fully exploiting their potential, Derby are not - and GSE must narrow the gap between potential and achievement.

For a dozen reasons, the Potters and not the Rams enjoy top-flight status and far better on-field resources. At the moment, the Rams remain established underdogs by comparison and must toil for several more years yet to attain anything like the same status or level of achievement.

So, that’s the FA Cup over for another year as far as Derby are concerned but a higly successful January in the Championship can be concluded with a good result and performance at Barnsley on Tuesday. Then it’s the long-awaited return game with Nothingham Forest next Sunday (12:15 pm), when the Trees visit Pride Park Stadium. Bring it on!

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RamsWeek 5 in 2011 saw Derby sitting out the FA Cup 4th Round after the Crawley debacle and we contemplated ‘the money shuffle’ as Derby struggled to recruit loan players whilst accepting a £300k bid from Glasgow Celtic for top scorer Kris Commons.

The club marshalled the bad news in saying that the income would be made available to the manager to make signings - but £300k doesn’t go far, does it? None of it was spent during the transfer window.

The poor form and lack of signings accelerated unrest in the Derby fanbase, who wanted the club’s wealthy investment group to prove they could furnish a successful team and put some long-awaited fun and entertainment back into Derby football.

Photo: Action Images

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