Where has Chris Martin's Magic gone?

I think it's fair to say that Chris Martin has not had the best of seasons so far, with just the 9 goals by the end of January. Where exactly has it gone wrong?

It's fair to say that Martin could be doing a lot worse. With 9 goals he's still our top goalscorer and he does still contribute with assists, but for some reason, things aren't quite clicking. For a player who thrives off bringing other players into the game, his first touch has been poorer than usual this season and he's not holding up the ball as effectively as before.

There are some reasons for this that aren't necessarily down to him. After his breakout season when Steve McClaren first arrived at Derby, opposition teams quickly figured out Derby's game; dropping deeper and swarming around Martin. By not allowing him the time and space to bring the ball down, Martin would grow frustrated and give away fouls in his attempts to win the ball back. Even so, he still managed a remarkable 21 goals the season after, despite being a marked man and missing a chunk of the season through injury.

So we move to this season. McClaren left in the summer, replaced by the more cautious Paul Clement. It's clear that Martins role in the team has changed this season; no longer is he the focal point through which all of our play moves. Clement looked back at last season and saw our collapse without him in the team and decided we should have a Plan B. This new style of play introduced by the manager has been very successful defensively (until the last month or so), but at the expense of leaving Martin an isolated and peripheral figure, flickering in and out of games.

Chris Martin has hit a rough patch for the first time in his Derby career

I think looking at Martin's body language on the pitch he's not too happy at his role change. To further darken his mood, Referees have become wise to his antics; too often he will go down looking for a free kick that he might have received in previous seasons. Not anymore. It's sad to see a player who has single handedly bullied defenses for the past two seasons (and to be fair, on a couple of occasions this season) be so out of form. How does one overcome this predicament? Do you drop him and play someone else? Or just power through hoping he finds form again?

Watching Derby play Manchester United last night, it struck me like a bolt of lightning, although I'm sure I'm not the first to come to this conclusion. As Martin gathered the ball, something incredible happened. Something I've barely seen all season. A midfielder made a run past him. This remarkable occurrence has happened few and far between this season, so imagine my surprise when George Thorne, our defensive midfielder comes charging through to help the attack. Next thing you know, one lovely, lofted ball over the top later, Derby have equalised against Louis van Gaal's team.

Martin's best season since he arrived at Derby was when Craig Bryson (who coincidentally was on the bench last night) was consistently bombing forward, beyond Martin from midfield. This is no coincidence. Bryson's runs forward would often force the opposition defence further back, opening up space for Martin to work in, and the opportunity for him to thread balls in to players further forward. This obviously isn't quite as effective when the opposition plays deliberately deep, but there are ways around this.

Craig Bryson was instrumental to Martin's form (Laurence Griffiths)

The most obvious thing to do is to up the tempo. When Derby were at their swashbuckling best under McClaren they attacked like a pack of feral dogs; touches were kept to a minimum and every movement was decisive. This doesn't allow the opposition to get into a set shape that is difficult to break down and as a bonus, is a joy to watch. This can be difficult to do if there is a lack of movement up front, a lack of options to pass forward to. This can also be remedied by pushing one midfielder forward off the ball; Martin on his own up front isn't capable of that sort of movement, but in tandem with another player he is. It doesn't have to be Bryson who does this; the likes of Johnson, Hendrick and Butterfield are all more than capable of providing this service. Hell, even George Thorne can do it, as he has shown several times this season.

The downside to this is that it leaves you slightly more exposed if the ball is lost to the opposition. McClaren saw this and tried to fix the problem by bringing in Thorne (who was then cruelly injured in pre season) and then Omar Mascarell as a replacement. However, Mascarell wasn't a defensive midfielder by trade and when he played Bryson was told to sit deeper to help him out. The old adage of square pegs and round holes comes to mind. With Thorne fully fit (or at least able to run) this season this shouldn't be a problem.

We know this team is capable of playing fast football and obliterating the opposition, but it seems that there is a mentality holding this team back. A mentality of staying solid no matter what, and only attacking when golden opportunities present themselves. This conservative approach doesn't help Martin in the slightest, it does the opposite, hindering him and in effect minimising the impact he can have on the team.