Wednesday 27 November 2013

Sunday Athletics

We look ahead to this Sundays clash at Wigan coming off a very good three points from our south coast trip to Bournemouth. A very satisfying win and Bournemouth manager was full of praise for the Rams describing us as the best side they've played so far this season.

Wigan is likely to be a tricky game. They have underperformed so far this season and on e in their stride they should be challenging for the top six.

They are a side that has proved that you can be a smaller club and flirt with the higher echelons of the league. Of course this was helped by the millions of Dave Whelan, but it still required good managerial skills to steer them there.

They hit the big time a few years ago when Paul Jewell took them to the top tier. Jewell kept them there against the odds. He has though failed to repeat his Wigan success. Two awful spells in charge of the Rams and Ipswich has devalued his stock as a manager.

Roberto Martinez did a similar job before they were finally sent back down to the championship last season.

As a young schoolboy, Wigan Athletic were a name from the non league circles. They were competing in the Northern Premier. It was during the days of when the bottom four clubs in the fourth tier had to apply to be re-elected in to the league, that Wigan replaced Southport. Their rise has been impressive.

Derby hope to see the return of several players from the treatment room. Johnny Russell has already played since recovering and Jeff Hendrick, Mark O'Brien, James Bailey and Adam Legzdins are also set to return. Kalifa Cisse is back in contention after suffering with an infected toe.

Although I'd suggest that an unchanged side is likely, you can't beat a bit of competition about the club.

Monday 18 November 2013

iPro a go go!

Derby went into the international break with a 3-0 one sided win against Sheffield Wednesday and come out of it with a trip to the south coast at Bournemouth and a final fixture at Pride Park.

Sam Rush announced that iPro sports drinks are to sponsor the stadium with it becoming the iPro Stadium after the visit of Middlesbrough.

It seems quite fitting that Middlesbrough are the last side to visit the club where the Stadium is known as Pride Park given the similarities of the clubs two grounds.

So the renaming has been announced and had been anticipated for many weeks now and it was met with a mixed reception. Had this been the Baseball Ground I myself would have been one of the protesters, however I've never been a fan of the name Pride Park. I would have preferred a name that used Baseball in its title.

Some protest that £7m over ten years is not enough. Well it's a record deal for outside the Premier League by a third party. It's also free money! With the lead up to financial fair play, it could prove to be a good deal for the club.

Does iPro Stadium sound that bad? To be honest I don't think it does, but then again we all have our own opinions.q

On Saturday we face a trip to Bournemouth. They are a side that has surprised many and are doing very well in their first season at this level. Eddie Howe has done well since he returned from an unsuccessful spell in charge of Burnley.

The fixture is a tricky looking one, but Derby need to push on and keep the momentum going. Much improved performances under Steve McClaren need to be built on and a push made to get us into the top six.

Kalifa Cisse earning a short term contract is good for the club. Some much needed competition for John Eustace in the holding midfield role is very welcome. Eustace has looked good in front of the back four and Cisse looked a class act against the owls.

So on to Saturday and injuries allowing I'd be tempted to announce an unchanged side. There's nothing worse than chopping and changing the team. 

Come on you Rams!

Tuesday 5 November 2013

Racism from 1969 to Present

It was reading a column by John Barnes that finally made me write this after months of wondering what to put in and what to leave out. I don't intend on leaving anything out on purpose.

I have been a fan of Derby County since 1969. Since my 5th birthday. During the forty odd years of watching the game the examples of racism and racist chanting has risen and then fallen. It hasn't fallen as quick as it rose though.

What are you talking about? When did it rise! Is questions I have been asked often by younger fans.

Well, when I first started watching the game, there were so few foreign or even black players in teams. I remember Clyde Best of West Ham and struggle to think of another black player from those days.

Those were the days when Rudolph Walker and Jack Smethurst were two actors paid to trade black and white racist insults in the name of comedy! Love thy Neighbour was the show, and Walker and Smethurst were friends off screen. But the insults that they traded were real reflections of societies attitude to the Black community.

Warren Mitchell was a small screen star playing the small minded, bigoted, West Ham supporting Alf Garnett. Mitchell was nothing like the screen character and once told a racist fan of the show that he was taking the Mickey out of people like Garnett and not those at the receiving end of his abuse.

Edging towards 50 I can recall many people with that attitude in the past. Thankfully the worst racism I have experienced at football wasn't at my beloved Derby County. That's not to say I haven't heard such filth coming out of fans mouths at the Baseball Ground or Pride Park.

The worst example I ever saw was at a then fourth tier club.

Whenever Derby aren't playing I often feel the need to watch a game somewhere else. I love the game and could even spend an afternoon watching a Sunday league side.

I actually live in Lincoln and they have often been graced by my presence in the stands when the Rams haven't had a fixture. My brother is a regular at Sincil Bank.

Back in the seventies I witnessed their home fans harass Cec Podd of Bradford City,with racist chants all the way through a game. The player was obviously upset by the sickening comments coming from the terraces.

A few years later, a friend at work invited me to watch The Imps one Wednesday evening. Although the racist comments were not as loud on the previous occasion, they were this time aimed at a home player. Devon White getting racist abuse from his own supporters.

I don't mean to pick on Lincoln City as I have encountered such behaviour at nearly all grounds over the years.

Nowadays we have the kick it out campaign, but it is worthless and meaningless if our own pro players  themselves are caught using racist language. Even more meaningless if any of their fellow pros show the offender support.

With so many players now in the game coming from so many different cultural backgrounds it is surprising that there still are so few black managers. Some aren't even getting to the interview stage when jobs are up for grabs! Why? There's plenty of talent out there waiting for a chance. The Late Keith Alexander, Paul Ince and Chris Powell have done good jobs for various clubs, yet so few black pros are given a second look. 

Michael Johnson the former Derby, Notts County and Birmingham player is a great pro. The guy gave his all on the pitch. He is a gent off the field. I'm amazed that such a professional is not in a senior coaching position.

In the NFL clubs must at least interview a black applicant for coaches positions. This is called the Rooney Rule. It itself has been challenged and called racist itself!

The fact that we are now in 2013 and we have to discuss these issues shows us all how in
the last 40 years we have failed to make enough progress against racism or any other kind of bigotry.

Homophobia has hardly been touched on! 

I myself hate all discrimination, racism, sexism, homophobia and all other forms.

Sunday 3 November 2013

Positives from Defeat.

Normally a defeat has Derby fans letting their feelings known by moaning and groaning on social media immediately after defeat.

We lost yesterday 2-1 at QPR. Only our second away defeat of the season and we became the first away side to score at Shepherd's Bush since the opening day of the season.

Instead of the usual moans and groans fans were actually praising the way the team battled hard against a team loaned with players of premier league experience.

I haven't seen the game yet as the full ninety minutes has yet to be put on our club website, but the response from fans is certainly different to last season when away drubbings were the norm.

The one downside though was John Eustace picking up another booking. This means he misses next Saturdays home clash with Sheffield Wednesday. Eustace has played an important role in front of the back four and will be missed. Those who point out that the Owls are a week side surely must have had that illusion shattered by their 5-2 demolition of Reading yesterday.

There are many options to cover for Eustace's absence. The most logical one could be to play Wisdom in his holding role and recalling Freeman or Smith to Right Back. Personally I prefer Freeman as his defensive skills are superior to Smith. Adam Smith is a threat moving forward, but the first job of a defender is to defend.

Kalifa Cisse continues to be monitored. The club has been looking at him in training. There does need to be some competition for Centre Half. Richard Keogh has failed to reproduce the form he showed last season and Jake Buxton who always gives his all is not the long term solution.

The signing of Cisse and the return of Zak Whitbread when fit will give some much needed options in the middle of defence.

The most worrying position for me is left back. Craig Forsyth simply isn't a left back. We have struggled with the position for too many years now. Michael Hoganson is a left back, but Nigel Clough seemed reluctant to play him. Steve McClaren has only used Forsyth so far, so perhaps he too isn't convinced that Hoganson is ready.

If our defence was tightened up a bit make no mistake this would be a top six side. Shaun Barker is chomping at the bit to return, but fans should not have high expectations of a player coming back from such a horrific injury. To expect him to simply come back and return to his previous form straight away would be like living in cloud cuckoo land.

What was good to see yesterday was that we were showing intent with making attacking substitutions. No sign of sit back and defend. Fans will always respond better from positive play.

On to Saturday and the visit of Sheffield Wednesday. Despite their thrashing of Reading yesterday I fully expect a home win. However, it's essential that the defence is tightened. We don't want any repeat of last season that saw two games with them, leading 2-0 in both and only managing two draws.