Where did it all go wrong? Where can it all go right?

November 2010; Derby County were in 4^th place in the Championship playing some of the best football in recent history, about to play Burnley at Turf Moor. May 2011; Derby County finished 19^th in the league, rendering it a season that can only be described as absolute tosh. The Rams lost at Turf Moor that Saturday teatime and it was very much the sign of things to come. Four victories followed after that. 4 victories and 7 draws out of 27. If you are a mathematician you will know that is 19 points gained from a possible 81. If you aren’t a mathematician you will simply understand that to be nothing short of rubbish. Two of those four victories were against Championship world-beaters Preston North End and Sheffield United; that good they will be applying their trade in League 1 next season.

So where did it all go spectacularly wrong? To place all the blame at Nigel Clough’s door would be naïve. He had to cut the wage bill excessively and was given a very modest transfer budget. Some would say this is sensible ownership in a climate where many teams are in dire financial trouble, others would say the owners have not backed their manager. Agent Clough, as Nigel is referred to as by the Forest fans, has had enough money to build his own team that is capable of finishing higher than 19^th though. He has shown an eye for talent, particularly with the signings of player of the season John Brayford and hot prospect James Bailey, both signed from Crewe last summer. Clough had been after Brayford for quite some time, and his persistence was justified by Brayford’s performances this season. Earlier this season I read a blog on Sky Sports from Football League pundit Peter Beagrie who’s two top tips for a surprise England call-up were Jay Bothroyd (well done on that one Peter), and…John Brayford. I checked the date; it wasn’t April fools. I checked the time; it was 11am – I wasn’t drunk. And I’ve never been one for drugs. So it was genuine and my eyes were not deceiving me. I tapped my Ipswich Town supporting friend on the shoulder to express my shock and delight that a Derby player was being considered in some circles to replace the defensively poor Glen Johnson, but his reply was a standard one about Connor Wickham being the next England legend. So Fabio Capello didn’t listen to Mr Beagrie with his Brayford-for-England-right-back tip, but credit where credit is due to Clough and the Brayford signing.

So Brayford and Bailey are ticks in the transfer dealings box for Clough, along with the newly appointed captain back Shaun Barker, and recent signings Frank Fielding and Jamie Ward. Chris Porter however, Nigel’s first signing, was a terrible one. Bought from Motherwell, he was more or less injured for the majority of his stint at Derby. He is a player that has no attribute worthy of warranting a place in the team. No first touch, doesn’t win headers for a big man, and possesses no pace. Robbie Savage also offered very little in the talent department, but he was a leader and put 100% into every match, just about making him worthy of a starting place for his final season as a footballer. It was confirmed at the end of the season that Porter would not offered a new contract in news even less surprising than Ryan Giggs being revealed as the man behind all things terrible, including the current volcano erupting in Iceland.

Despite the odd bad signing, Nigel Clough has generally been quite good in the transfer market. Where he hasn’t been so good has been his tactics and man management; two fairly important components of management I’m sure you’ll agree. Any manager that is happy to play for draws at home, and who adopts defensive tactics as soon as a lead is established, is not going to get great results in my opinion (my opinion is reflected by the league table, strangely enough). All too often Derby came out after half time and defended, until we started losing (at which point he’d throw on a few strikers in the 92^nd minute – he’s not great at making substitutions either). Unlike the old Arsenal team who were famous for winning matches 1-0, we do not have David Seaman, Tony Adams and Martin Keown as a backbone, and watching a Derby team in the lead is very rarely enjoyable because you know that sooner or later, our defensive line will be deeper than Loch Ness.

As previously highlighted, Clough’s man-management, or lack of, is one of his annoying habits. If a player does something wrong in a match, Nigel will be the first one on the radio to tell everyone about it. Tomasz Cywka will tell you all about that. “He can go back to wherever he came from, until he learns the game” was one of Clough’s charming views on Cywka after a Derby conceded a late goal at Fratton Park against Portsmouth. Well, Nigel, he came from Poland, via Wigan, and I do believe we as a club are too skint to pay for his plane ticket back, so how’s about you fulfil your role as manager and teach him the game?

So what can be done to ensure Derby don’t suffer yet another poor season and avoid a trip into League 1 where our lovely rivals and two times Champions of Europe (ask one of their fans, they’d only be too pleased to tell you about it) Nottingham Forest spent a fair bit of time? A few new signings are required. Barnsley skipper Jason Shackell is on the most-wanted list, along with Aberdeen striker Chris Maguire. A Derby website will tell you that “Maguire scored 12 goals in 45 appearances this season and he helped Aberdeen finish ninth in the Scottish Premier League”. I’m sure I am not the only one entirely underwhelmed by that stat. Any team that finishes below third in the SPL would struggle to get out of League 2. Nigel needs to improve his managerial skills over summer too. If it gets to 10 games in and the Rams are in the relegation zone, it is time for Clough to go. He is only still in a job due to his father’s achievements with Derby, and the owners are doing everything they can not to tarnish the great Clough name, but I’ll leave you with an analogy my friend came up with that sums up why Nigel Clough got the job in the first place…

“When my dad retires from Rolls Royce, they aren’t going to ring me up and say ‘Ay up Dodge, come and build a jet engine for us will you cause your dad was really good at it’”. Well, DCFC rang Nigel up, and it’s about time he started showing something.