There was a
pouring of outrage, shock, confusion and relief last night as news emerged that
Nigel Clough had been sacked as Derby County manager. Judging by the majority
of tweets and phone calls however - along with the thoughts of people such as
Robbie Savage - anger and upset edge out happy and excited in the emotion
stakes. But why?
Brian Clough’s
departure was the worst moment in Derby County’s history. Clough snr’s work put
Derby on the map. Sacking his son amounts to sacrilege in the eyes of
supporters who had to witness a messy and heartbreaking divorce the first time
round. “You should never sack a Clough” is something i’ve heard many fans say. The
difference is though, when Sam Longson and the Derby County board of directors
made Brian’s position untenable in 1973, Derby were deprived of the European
Cup’s Nottingham Forest later went on to win. When Sam Rush phoned Nigel Clough
last night (poor form if true) to sack him, he deprived the Derby County fans
of...another mid-table finish in the Championship and another season of
infuriating fluctuations in form. That’s the truth.
Despite his
legendary status at Forest, Nigel Clough is a Derby man and when he was
appointed in January 2009, i’m pretty sure 99% of Derby fans wanted him to
succeed, and the disappointing thing is that he didn't, at least not on the pitch anyway. Few managers will have the initial level of support in the stands that Nigel Clough was granted when he turned up almost 5 years ago. There should be no room for
sentimentality in professional sport, but if a sentimental appointment comes
off, it’s all the sweeter. I lost faith in
Clough last season, but his sacking still hurt me a little bit because it would
have been brilliant for Nigel to continue Brian’s legacy and take Derby into
the Premier League. When you realise that isn’t going to happen though, you
need to make hard decisions. It’s a bit like being in a relationship; if it’s
not working, you have to let her/him go. “It’s not you, it’s me/if you love
them, let them go/insert cliché here”
I mentioned Nigel Clough didn’t succeed on the pitch. Mid-table finishes were accomplished, but only after often intense flirting with relegation. Derby were never serious play-off contenders under Clough, despite promising starts to seasons. This is where the Clough fans make their point though. “Who else could have done better with no money?”. They have a point. Nigel did a superb job of cutting the wage bill, getting rid of the deadwood, and assembling a good, young squad by giving academy products a chance and buying some gems from the lower leagues. Would Will Hughes have played as much professional football under someone like Billy Davies? No. Would John Brayford be the Premier League star he is today if Nigel didn’t spot his potential (I jest, come back to Derby, John, you're brilliant!). Off the pitch, Nigel Clough did a superb job.
I mentioned Nigel Clough didn’t succeed on the pitch. Mid-table finishes were accomplished, but only after often intense flirting with relegation. Derby were never serious play-off contenders under Clough, despite promising starts to seasons. This is where the Clough fans make their point though. “Who else could have done better with no money?”. They have a point. Nigel did a superb job of cutting the wage bill, getting rid of the deadwood, and assembling a good, young squad by giving academy products a chance and buying some gems from the lower leagues. Would Will Hughes have played as much professional football under someone like Billy Davies? No. Would John Brayford be the Premier League star he is today if Nigel didn’t spot his potential (I jest, come back to Derby, John, you're brilliant!). Off the pitch, Nigel Clough did a superb job.
So, to answer
the question posed by Clough supporters, no, perhaps no-one could have done
better than Clough to get Derby where they are now. That’s when you have to ask the question “Who else could do better with
this squad of players?” The answer to that, sadly, is plenty. His lack of man
management skills and tactical nous saw Derby lose games that should have been
won. Sitting back on a one goal lead with a defence as fragile as Derby’s is
not the way to success. Openly criticising his players sits uncomfortably with
me and cannot do anything for the player’s confidence. The point is, Nigel did
a great job to set the foundations, but he took the club as far as he could. It’s
now time for someone else to take this talented squad to the next level. I’m
not going to go into candidates here.
The board are
going to get a slating for this from pro-Clough supporters and casual fans and
pundits. They haven’t given him millions to spend, but by no means have they
flat-out denied him either. Decent money was spent on Conor Sammon, Richard
Keogh, Jason Shackell, Johnny Russell and even Chris Maguire, to name a few. Attendances
have dropped alarmingly, and as an owner of the club who relies on income from
bums on seats, that’s a huge issue. Attendances were averaging around 28,000 on
Clough’s arrival. This season they are around the 22,000 mark. It’s a problem
that can’t, and hasn’t been ignored. The main issue I have is the timing of it.
It’s given the Forest fans something else to brag about. Agent Clough and all
that. Enough about them though.
It’s a sad
moment, but the head needs to rule the heart in football, and on this occasion I
believe it has done. So thank you Nigel. I, along with most Rams fans, am
grateful for you clearing up the mess left by Paul Jewell and Billy Davies and
giving us a great platform to build on, but it was time to move on. Best of
luck in the future. It’s not you, it’s me...
Christ, this
was a bit serious. Next time i’ll tell you about the time a Sun Care Adviser
convinced me to uncharacteristically spend 19 Euros on some Aloe Vera aftersun!
.