 Monday, 13th Oct 2008 00:45 by Paul Mortimer The Rams had a fortnight’s break after the creditable win at Norwich, with the international calendar dominating the coming fixtures. Martin Albrechtsen underwent a scan on his groin injury after the weekend and has had a hernia operation; he’ll be missing from the team for at least a month. Derby will be preparing for their next game, at home to Plymouth Argyle on 18th October anticipating at least three team changes; with Albrechtsen absent of course, Dean Leacock has a one-game suspension after picking up five bookings already this season and Roy Carroll will be suspended for the game after his sending off at Carrow Road. I’d expect defender Lewin Nyatanga and goalie Stephen Bywater to fill two of those three places. Jewell issued a challenge to Claude Davis to step in and fulfil his potential, though the manager didn’t rule out a dip into the loan market. Davis is away with Jamaica (who play Honduras on Wednesday) until the eve of Derby’s home match against Plymouth, so the acquisition of some extra cover would be a sensible move. Claude was challenged by Paul Jewell to prove his worth to Derby but the Ram’s boss is worried about defensive resources and is praying that international games do not incur injury casualties. Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross is fancied by Jewell on a loan basis but the Rams’ manager had no encouragement from Potters’ boss Tony Pulis. Leicester forward Matt Fryatt is reported to be on Paul Jewell’s shopping list. Mo Camara’s loan spell at Blackpool expired last week; the Tangerines would like to extend his loan. Gary Teale may go on loan there too but postponed any move whilst anticipating a family birth. Ruben Zadkovich, the young Aussie signed from Sydney FC in the summer, finally started a game for Derby County when he appeared in the Reserves game at Walsall. Ruben scored to level the scores at 2-2 and earned Derby a draw. Giles Barnes was not yet ready for action. Lewin Nyatanga took part in Wales’ U-21 defeat at the hands of England, their 3-2 first leg victory in Cardiff gives England the edge in their 2-leg play-off. Paul Jewell quickly quashed suggestions that Scottish manager George Burley needed Derby playmaker Kris Commons to report to his squad for a medical assessment. “He won’t be going”, the Rams boss declared, and rightly so, as Kris is recovering from an obstinate leg injury and there is no point in him adding a 400-mile round trip onto his rehab, to debunk some misplaced suspicion about his fitness. Derby County published an apology to ex-Chairman Peter Gadsby for any distress he and his family suffered during their disagreements over the Rams’ alleged financial situation. Mr Glick and colleagues acknowledged Gadsby’s dedication and contribution to the Rams’ cause over the past two decades. The Rams’ board has resurrected the prospect of collaboration over development of the stadium and environs. Messrs. Glick & Gadsby perhaps recognised that the negative signals were not healthy for the club’s image; from the fans’ perspective the eruption of executive conflict was very dispiriting. It piled misery and confusion upon fans after the worst season in our history - the unseemly spat threatened to make the Rams a laughing stock both on and off the pitch. The hitherto displaced proposals for “Pride Plaza” initiatives were now back oh the agenda, which would - as originally intended - assist diversity of income streams for the club and enhance facilities for fans, citizens and tourists. Even though this will undoubtedly benefit Gadsby’s businesses, it is a wholly simplistic and incorrect assumption (or accusation!) on the part of some that property development opportunities were Peter Gadsby’s main motivation for gaining control of Derby County. The city and the club have benefited from his business acumen and resources since before he masterminded Pride Park Stadium and Moor Farm (not forgetting his endeavours in ridding the city of Sleightholme’s mavericks) - and Derby’s growth, attraction and employment will also be beneficiaries of the £20m Plaza proposals. The kiss-and-make-up this week was a positive signal that the club can move forward. Another positive news item was the club putting in a proposal to host the Women’s FA Cup Final at Pride Park Stadium next May. The Trees’ little ground hosted the event in 2006 and 2007. That has helped to heighten the profile of ladies football and there’s no doubt that Derby could have the potential to raise it further, with perhaps a 30,000 crowd, as we had done when hosting England Under-21 games and setting both stadium and international attendance records in the process. Arsenal are the current Cup-holders. Like other investors, he is enthused by Derby’s support and potential. He believes that a large untapped North American audience exists for European football and is well placed to widen Derby’s appeal there. If (hopefully when!) the Rams make it back to the so-called promised land of the Premier League, they will hope to avail themselves of Mr Wilson’s considerable fortune to build a competitive team. That might take a year or so and in the meantime I do respectfully suggest that W Brett keeps brushing up on the Rams’ history and English football in general! Some of the comments attributed to him are a more than a little cringe-worthy, even if they were borne of his new enthusiasm for our club and ‘real’ football…maybe DCFC PR needs to groom him a little! “It's a sport of hooligans, but the best hooligans in the world," he says of football in a Calgary Sun interview. Errrrr…. come again, Brett? The British stereotype carries a long distance! Hauling the Rams’ squad over to Canadian training camps is an expectation, which he envisages will be great for global branding and can raise the club’s profile in North America - but the manager’s requirements for serious pre-season preparation should always take precedence, one hopes. The journo in this feature really grates me; he claims WBW says that ‘he hopes that within a few years, Derby is known well beyond its Midlands home’. Sheesh, please - someone give that scribe a crash course on Clough & Taylor, Hector, Mackay, McFarland, Todd, the Seventies... and Steve Bloomer! I’m sure Brett will know a little bit more about the history of his investment than to demean it so lazily. Happily, in these financially turbulent, worrying times, Rams fans back home could cheer and crow because more than one Rams legend was in the news this week. The local media was dominated by Steve Bloomer, the Rams’ greatest goalscorer - and in the writer’s opinion, the greatest player in the history of Derby County. The official site, DET and BBC Derby websites carried stories of Steve’s incredible history and images of “The Destroying Angel”, and artist Andy Edwards’ commission to create the bonze bust of the legendary Derby & England pale-faced assassin. It is exciting to finally contemplate the prospect of one of football’s greatest ever strikers observing, from his pride of place adjacent to the home dug-out, all the would-be goalscorers in black & white shirts that purport to follow in his illustrious footsteps. It is almost 6 years since the trust first proposed a proper stadium memorial to Bloomer as a heritage objective when Steve Eyre and Ian Hayes approached then-Chairman Lionel Pickering. Credit to Ian for persevering throughout Derby’s off-field turmoil and to all participants and contributors; it is also pleasing to see Mr Glick and his board endeavouring to deliver on their oft-stated enthusiasm for heritage. The £17,000 bronze bust project does need further donations to hasten completion and you can access the appeal fund for your contribution at the official DCFC website and Derby County-Mad. It is well worth a tour of the websites to see all the coverage of the newly energised Bloomer project: when you’ve had a glegg, please do consider donating to a very worthy cause to recognise a real football superstar. Yours truly enjoyed a very enjoyable day at Cradley Day last weekend on behalf of the Bloomer appeal - the West Midlands’ town in B63 was of course the birthplace of Steve Bloomer and RamsTrust has contributed a Steve Bloomer display on the last three Cradley Day festivals, which occur every two years. At the 2008 event, staged less than half a mile from the street where Bloomer lived until he was five, we were surprised and delighted to receive a £100 donation for the Bloomer appeal from the Cradley heritage group, and it is clear that Cradley folk share our respect and pride for Bloomer’s achievements. “Well they say: time loves a hero, but only time will tell”, Lowell George sings on Little Feat’s 70s classic (Time Loves A Hero) - and surely, 70 years after his death, this incredible goalscoring machine truly is a “Legend from Heaven”, such as Lowell sings about - and time certainly dictates that Bloomer is deserving of proper recognition for his immense talent. Speed the day when “Steve Bloomer’s Watching” will come true at Pride Park Stadium! I did say ‘more than one footballing legend’ - and (Sir) Brian Clough was also honoured this week by the National Football Museum. It is only very recently that Steve Bloomer was inducted into the Hall of Fame and Clough was recognised for his European achievements, alongside a raft of other management greats that have brought trophies back to British clubs. So we have recently seen the Rams’ greatest player and greatest manager deservedly taking their places in the annals of football immortality. Hooray! It’s always good to record a win over Nothingham Trees and the Rams’ Under-18 side beat F*rest 2-1 on Saturday. Well done lads; let’s hope it’s a prelude to a similar result on November 2nd. It does almost seem an age since the Rams overcame Norwich at Carrow Road and fans will hope to see the unbeaten run (how nice it is to chuck that phrase back into RamsWeek!) continue at home to Plymouth Argyle next weekend. Before then, we have another international round to enjoy. Maybe England can stride further ahead of the others in World Cup European Qualifying Group 6, as Paul Jewell crosses his fingers on globetrotting defenders returning intact whilst scouring his contacts for a loan or two! In RamsWeek 41 last year, there was ‘nowt stirring ‘cept the coffee’ as the Premier League took a break due to international action. US coffee franchisers Starbucks had been allowed to take over the Baseball Bar & Grill premises at Pride Park Stadium, to the disappointment of this fan and a fair few others. The disappearance of the football-themed restaurant, festooned as it was with classic Rams’ memorabilia and historic photographs, removed Derby County’s great heritage further away from public access. Chairman Peter Gadsby publicly gave his full support for manager Billy Davies and the manager spoke of adding some foreign flair to the squad when the January 2008 transfer window arrived. Three Derby Premier League fixtures were moved for television scheduling and another (vs. Everton at home) was shifted 24 hours forwards to a Sunday due to the Toffees’ EUFA commitments. This year’s corresponding news seems a whole lot more interesting, given that summary, eh what? Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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