Missing Craig Forsyth

Amongst all the hullabaloo about the injury woes of Will Hughes and Craig Bryson this season, the loss of one player seems to have passed everyone by. I am of course, talking about our resident Scottish Left Back, Craig Forsyth.

First, A Bit of History
What a steal he has been for the club. Arriving on a free transfer from Watford under Nigel Clough, 'Fozzy' had previously been employed as a winger before being converted to a left back in our time of need - Gareth Roberts wasn't getting any younger. Watford fans were eager to see him go and it was easy to see why; his lack of explosive pace and an inability to deliver accurate crosses made him a poor winger. However, after being converted to a left back (the same position he played in his youth) delivered an upturn in form.

With Clough sacked and Steve McClaren brought in, Forsyth began to hit new heights, with his attacking play down the left becoming one of the cornerstones of the Derby team that reached the playoff final. The season after McClaren asked him to sit back a bit more often, leading a downturn in his fortunes and he finished the season in the worst form of his Derby career. A quivering mess, he looked like a man scared of the ball, which wasn't helped by McClaren moving him to centre back for several games late on in the season.

McClaren left in the summer and was replaced by newcomer Paul Clement. Clearly unsure of the quality of his new squad Clement took to rotating Forsyth with Stephen Warnock, with Forsyth playing primarily in home games and Warnock taking over for away matches. However, he appeared to be making the left back spot his own once again, when he cruelly got injured at home against Queens Park Rangers. Leaping over the sliding challenge of a defender, he twisted his right knee tearing his Anterior Cruciate Ligament and ruling himself out of action for the rest of the season.

With Forsyth out for the season, Warnock took over as first choice left back and in January Marcus Olsson was signed to provide further cover. Warnock is a good player; he rarely loses his one on ones with the opposing winger and has this knack of being at the right place at the right time when the ball is flashed across goal from the opposite side of the pitch. However, he simply doesn't bring as much to the team as Forsyth does.

Craig Forsyth in action (Andy Clarke)

Bringing the Ball out of Defence
When a team is being pressed high up the pitch, it can be tough to pass the ball out from the back, especially if some of your defensive players aren't  particularly comfortable on the ball (looking at you Jason Shackell). This either leads to players being caught on the ball, or long balls being played out from the back; something that I doubt is part of Mel Morris' 'Derby Way'.

Under Steve McClaren and under Clement to a lesser extent, one of our most effective ways of relieving pressure was to loft the ball to Forsyth, who would knock it on to the likes of Chris Martin and Craig Bryson. This was a superb use of his height; it's not very often you get a winger who could challenge 'Fozzy' in the air. It also helped getting the ball forward quickly in a way that you couldn't describe as being route one - it was easy on the eye. Say what you will about the likes of Warnock and Olsson, they simply aren't capable of putting this into practice, making it even more frustrating when we continued with this tactic months after Forsyth got injured.

Stephen Warnock (Andy Clarke)

Attacking Threat
As mentioned earlier, Forsyth doesn't have that rapid acceleration that you tend to find in wingers. What is though, is fast once he gets going. This made him a huge threat on the overlap; players like Bryson and Jamie Ward would simply have to knock the ball into space and there would only be one winner in the foot race between Forsyth and the covering winner. Olsson offers this to a degree, but Warnock either couldn't or wouldn't.

A staple part of Derby's attacking diet in the past couple of seasons has been the full backs whipping in dangerous balls, both from the byline and earlier. Forsyth in particular, was good at whipping it into areas where the strikers and onrushing midfielders should be. Let's not kid ourselves, there were matches when near enough every ball would be shanked behind for a goal kick, or stubbornly refuse to beat the first man. Those days where quite rare however, and in my opinion it's far more preferable to attempt those crosses and not quite pull them off, than to play it safe and not try at all. Warnock when he gets forward is far better at picking out individual players than Forsyth - the problem is he doesn't ever get forward. I have to be honest and say that I've not seen enough of Olsson to form a valid opinion of him with regards to this part of his game.

New arrival Marcus Olsson (Andy Clarke)

Defending
Left backs should be defenders first and foremost, at least that's what they used to be. It's an interesting one, comparing the likes of Forsyth and Warnock defensively because they are very different in their styles. Forsyth uses his considerable frame to great effect; never diving in, he stands up to his opponent forcing them wide out to the byline where he will often block the attempted cross in. Warnock however is far more confrontational; he will dive in, attempting to win the ball quickly before the opposition winger can get closer to the penalty area.

Both styles have there drawbacks. Forsyth in the past has struggled against pacy wingers when they attack from deep, exposing his poor acceleration. Warnock's style is very high risk, especially for someone of his experience; all it takes is one touch from the opponent and they are away into pen space whilst Warnock is lying on the floor. In his defence though, Warnock is very rarely off in his timing. Olsson is very much an unknown quantity in this situation. From the little I've seen of him, I think he's leans more to Forsyth's style of play, using acceleration instead of height to stand up his opponent.

Forsyth fending off Simon Francis (Getty Images)

Defending in the penalty area is what I like to think of as the last line of defence, if you miss out here or get your timing off the odds are you'll be relying on the goalkeeper to make the safe or the opposition to miss the target. Warnock is absolutely superb in this area, almost always able to make a vital interception when the ball is flashed across goal or leap to head the ball clear when crossed in. This is mainly down to his superb positioning; he knows where to be to help maximise his chances of dealing with every possible situation. Forsyth is also good at this, but I've noticed that he often tend to drift more centrally when the ball is on the opposite side of the pitch, knowing that if the ball is whipped in high, his height can help him deal with it.

From what I've seen, Olsson is definitely the weakest of the three at this part of the game. Against Fulham on his debut he was slow to sort his feet out, conceding an own goal as a result, whilst against Wolves he was caught under the ball for their second goal. There's no doubt in my mind that Warnock and Forsyth would have cleared chances. However, it's early in his Derby career and I'm sure he'll improve with time as he gains more of an understanding with his teammates.

I have to say I miss Forsyth. He offers so much to this team and despite the fact he can be one of our most frustrating players, he was absolutely key in playing the way I assume Mel Morris wants us to play; fast, attacking football that is capable of carving up the opposition. Warnock was probably the ideal player for Clement and his style of football; thinking of defending first and second and then attacking third. Olsson appears to be an improvement over Warnock in an attacking sense, but I do wonder about his defensive capabilities.

The sacking of Paul Clement

As the fans left the away end after the Fulham match I heard one man loudly proclaim two things. The first was that the fans "shouldn't clap that s**t" as the payers walked past the Putney End towards the tunnel. The second was that Paul Clement was "inept" and that he "wouldn't go to another away match" whilst Clement was still manager. He could have done with toning down his language (there were children around), but still, he got his point across to everybody in earshot.

This man I can only assume is now very happy at the events that took place last night, as Paul Clement was relieved of his duties by Mel Morris only eight months after taking the job. The statement released was bizarre to say the least.

Morris explained:

"promotion this season was not the primary target. The priorities were building on the Derby way and style of football enjoyed in the past two seasons; adding depth and strength to our playing squad; and, developing and improving player and team performance." 

  

CEO Sam Rush added:

"Our focus is to get the team back on track, delivering the style of football and performance we know they are capable of."

The idea of a 'Derby Way' seems to have been met with scorn amongst some areas of the press and supporters of other teams, but Morris explained many times in the summer what he meant by this. The idea was that everybody; from the under 8's up to the first team quad would play the same brand of expansive attacking football introduced by Nigel Clough and fine tuned by Steve McClaren. For this to work, everybody on the club has to be on the same page and there has to be a clear pathway from the academy to the first team.

Mel Morris (Andy Clarke)

Some fans have undoubtedly been unhappy with the more cautious approach of Clement that has frequently led to dull matches; the antithesis of what Mel Morris wanted. Fans go to watch football to be entertained and I don't truly think that many have been entertained this season - it's typically been a case of Derby not playing too well but grinding out the result with their superior quality. None of the quick, incisive play that blew teams away during McClaren's reign. The statement above explicitly states that was the aim and I think it's fair to say that Clement hadn't achieved that and wasn't about to anytime soon. You can get away with dull football if you get results, but there's nowhere to hide if your style of play is poor and doesn't pick up points at the same time.

There have been rumblings that Morris was unhappy at the lack of academy players in the match day squad; it was stated in pre-season that the aim was to have three academy graduates in the squad every week and each would be involved, at the very least from the bench. The loss of Will Hughes inevitably set this back, but there has still been a sense that Clement hasn't got much time for youth. The likes of Jamie Hanson would have hoped to be getting more game time, especially with George Thorne's patchy injury record. Indeed Mason Bennett (currently on loan at Burton Albion) seemed to suggest as much in an interview last week after leaving for the League One leaders. 

Perhaps inevitably, there have also been the typical 'lost the dressing room' rumours that swirl around after a sacking.  People claiming to be in the know have suggested that several players went to Morris directly to lay bare their unhappiness. This is just a rumour and should be taken with a pinch of salt, but I know that Clement looked like a lonely man walking back to that dressing room on Saturday. The fact that no players have publicly thanked him for his efforts (as is usually the case after a sacking) is very telling.

Question must be asked of the senior management on the back of this decision. Exactly who has the final say with regards to transfers? Derby's approach over the last two transfer windows appears to have been throw money at whoever has just hit career best form, with only Jacob Butterfield and Scott Carson having really proved their worth. If Morris really wanted more academy players in the squad why did allow Clement to sign the likes of Johnson, Camara and Blackman, pushing those academy graduates back down the pecking order? Or indeed, were any of those signings Clement's? Was he saddled with a bunch of expensive players that he felt obliged to play because of their price?

Paul Clement may rejoin Carlo Ancelotti at Bayern Munich (Andy Clarke)

What next for all parties involved? The smart money would be on Clement rejoining Carlo Ancelotti at Bayern Munich as his assistant. At Derby it has been announced that Director of the Academy Darren Wassall will take charge of the team until the end of the season, but I doubt he'll last that long. The most likely scenario is that he'll take charge for a couple of games and then a replacement will be brought in. There have already been several names floated around; the likes of David Moyes (who has watched some of Derby's recent matches), Gary Rowett and Brendan Rodgers have all been linked. If Morris is being truthful when he says the problem was the style of football then he should go for a Rodgers type manager (not that he'd necessarily get Rodgers) who is more idealistic in his approach. 

My first reaction to Clement's sacking was one of shock, followed immediately by anger. I've cooled down a bit in the process of writing this blog. Clement will be judged based on the remit he was given when he was brought to the club in July. Looking at the terms he agreed to when he signed his contract I think it's fair to say he failed:

• Play attacking, expansive football in the style the fans have become accustomed to over the past couple of seasons. Failed - Clements football was dull, with the buildup being far too slow an the attacking play not intelligent enough to break down defences. It's arguable that performances were getting worse, not better leading up to his sacking.
• Introduce talent from the academy into the first team. Failed (Sort of) - At the start of the season Jamie Hanson was getting regular playing time in midfield, but then the likes of Johnson and Buterfield were brought in for big money, pushing him down the pecking order. This also pushed Hendrick, another academy graduate, out of the team and the January signings of Camara and Blackman got rid of any slim chance Mason Bennett had of playing first team football. Like I said above, everyone is culpable in this. If Clement wanted to sign the new players Rush and Morris should have slammed their feet down and told Clement to use the academy. If Morris and Rush were forcing these signings on Clement then he should have put his foot down and said no, as Clement was supposed to have the final say on transfers. 

Notice that promotion was not a requirement this season, just a broad improvement in terms of style and academy involvement; the idea being that promotion would be a natural result either this season or the next. On those counts Clement was failing and although I probably would have given him more time to show he can turn it around Morris obviously doesn't have that patience. With no obvious signs of improvement - Clement still didn't know his best team over half way through the season - you could say the decision was harsh, but not completely surprising.

I must say however that replacing him with Wassall reeks of a decision made in haste. They should have had a replacement lined up to take over immediately - a promotion push is still a distinct possibility this season. Remember, this team is only five points from the top of the table with 16 games to play, more than enough time for form to pick up. We'll have to wait and see if Morris and Rush have played their cards close to their chests and already have someone lined up. 

One thing I can say with certainty - on the pitch or off it, it's never dull being a Derby fan.