The Playoffs - The Top Three

The end is near. After 46 games (44 at the time of writing) the teams ranked 3rd to 6th position in the table will compete with one another for a place in the Premier League. As Derby fans well know, the playoffs can either be one of the most joyous or most horrible experiences in the life of a football fan. With Derby's place in the competition confirmed a couple of weeks ago the only real question has been who will be joining them?

The Top Three
This season like many others before it has seen three teams jump ahead of the chasing pack and fight for the two automatic promotion places. However, normally one team breaks free to claim the title in the last few weeks of the season. This hasn't happened this season and it increasingly looks like the race will go down to the last game of the regular season - with two games to go Burnley, Middlesbrough and Brighton are all on the same points total with a goal difference of three separating them all.

Burnley, Middlesbrough and Brighton have surged ahead of the rest of the championship

Brighton
Brighton have very much been the surprise package this season, shocking everyone with their carefree, attacking football (much like Derby under Steve McClaren) under the tutelage of Chris Hughton.

The midfield duo of Beram Kayal and Dale Stephens have been a force to be reckoned with this season with the 35 year old Bruno Saltor defying his age to be the best full back in the division. When they played us earlier in the season I was impressed by the speed at which they attacked us - there was no hesitation and they were comfortably one of the best teams I've seen this year. It's interesting to note that Stephen's name was linked with us before we splurged money on Bradley Johnson and Jacob Butterfield in August.

They are very hard to beat. A lot has been made of their record breaking start to the season where they went 21 matches unbeaten, but I would argue that they've been even more impressive since the start of the January transfer window. After losing 4 straight games after boxing day they have only lost once - a remarkable 4-1 defeat to Cardiff on the 20th of February. They are the form team in the championship over the last 6 games and the last 10 games.

Key to this has been the signing of Anthony Knockaert from Standard Liege in January. The mercurial French wide man has played in the championship before with Leicester; he was a menace then and he's a menace now, having scored 5 goals and set up 5 more for Brighton since his arrival. The top scorers in the league show no sign of slowing down having scored an impressive 12 goals in their last 3 matches. Israeli striker Tomer Hemed can take a lot of credit for this having been involved in 23 goals this season, only Ross McCormack (Fulham), Andre Gray (Burnley), Alan Judge (Brentford) and Chris Martin (Derby) have been involved in more.

Tomer Hemed has contributed to Brighton's status as the league's top goalscorers (Paul Hazlewood)

Burnley
While Brighton have been this years surprise package, Burnley are right where everyone expected them to be. Having held on to the highly rated Sean Dyche, they have played exactly the same way they played in their promotion season several years ago - 'functional' would be the best word to describe them. This style of play doesn't win them many plaudits among neutrals and opposition supporters. Having lost only 5 games all season, they are the epitome of the phrase tough to beat.

A classic 442 team, they have plenty of bite in midfield in Joey Barton and David Jones, but it's worth remembering that there are plenty of talented players in that team. Derby fans will know just how well Jones can play and how much of a threat he is from set pieces, while it's no coincidence that Barton has played for England (even if it was just once). George Boyd and Scott Arfield are a talented pair of wingers and the pace of Andre Gray works well with the strength of Sam Vokes. Many people thought they would struggle having sold Jason Shackell to Derby in the summer, but they replaced him well with Michael Keane stepping up well to fill the void left by their former captain.

Bearing in mind all that has been said above, it should come as no surprise that 38% of Burnley's goals come from set pieces, the joint second highest in the championship with Bolton, but still way behind Blackburn (52%). For comparison the three lowest teams? Sheffield Wednesday (16%), Derby County (18%) and Hull City (19%). On the other hand, they know when to push their luck with the referee, accruing no red cards all season whilst only being booked 48 times. This would seem to fly in the face of the idea that they're a dirty team, when the stats seem to suggest that good old Leeds are the ones living up to old titles with an impressive 94 yellows and 3 red cards so far this season.

The signing of Andre Gray was a real coup for them in the summer; his 22 goals and 7 assists this season have really pushed Burnley on, with his pace and willingness to run in behind allowing him to stretch defences. This gives the likes of Boyd and Arfield the chance to cut inside, into the space vacated by Gray and the covering defenders.

Andre Gray has fired Burnley up the league (PA Archive Images)

Middlesbrough
On to our final team. Having lost out in the playoff final last season, Aitor Karanka's team will be hoping to go one better this time and hopefully avoid the playoffs all together. If one statistic can sum up Middlesbrough's season it's this one - 28 goals conceded. Sure, that figure is likely to rise before the end of the season, but even so it's an impressive number. With 21 clean sheets, Boro's defence has been their main asset this season, with Daniel Ayala (another ex-Derby player) being central to their success. At left back George Friend has been superb both in defence and in supporting the attack while on the opposite side of the defence Emilio Nsue has done a similar job.

The midfield pairing of Adam Clayton and Grant Leadbitter have proved that last season was no fluke and that they are a formidable pairing in this division. From afar it would appear that Stewart Downing has had a disappointing season. Signed for a fee of around £5.5 million last July, Downing has only scored/set up 8 goals this season which is a poor return for someone of his ability. Help me out here Boro fans - has he really been that bad?

The defensive mindset of Karanka has it's advantages and has it's drawbacks. This style means that Boro are very tough to score against, especially if they manage to score first on the break - they have only dropped 4 points from winning positions all season (in away draws against Derby and Burnley). The pace of Albert Adomah and the clever positioning of David Nugent makes this a successful strategy, whilst Friend is always eager to provide an overlap on the left hand side of the pitch.

However, this style also means that they find it difficult to break teams down when the opposition choose to sit in and play compact. The matches where points have been dropped tend to have been against teams that are lower down in the table; 2 losses against Bristol City, a loss and a defeat against Blackburn, and draws against Preston, Leeds and Rotherham. Should they fail to make it up this season, those matches will be looked back on as missed opportunities.

This was a problem last season and they have made strides to address this area of concern - signing Downing (£5.5 million), Nugent (£4 million) and Christian Stuani (£3.6 million) in the summer, whilst the prolific Jordan Rhodes (£9 million) was brought in in January along with Gaston Ramirez (loan) and Kike Sola (loan). That is a lot of money spent for not much end product; Boro scored more goals last season.

Has Stewart Downing had a disappointing season? (skysports.com)

Playoffs
One of these teams will not get automatic promotion - it is a mathematical certainty that 3 teams cannot fit into 2 automatic promotion places. One of these teams will most likely finish third in the table.

On the face of it Burnley hold all the cards - top on goal difference, they face mid-table QPR at Turf Moor before heading to the Valley on the final day of the season to face relegated Charlton. QPR could be a tricky proposition; since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's appointment as manager no team have drawn more games than QPR and a draw would certainly dent Burnley's hopes. A loss would be catastrophic, for reasons that will be looked at in a moment.

Middlesbrough and Brighton are far tougher to predict. Boro face Birmingham at St Andrews next, a game that depending on which Birrmingham side show up could either be an even match up, or a walk in the park for Boro. Brighton meanwhile host Derby at the Falmer stadium in a game that should be an even contest; a draw was the result between the two teams earlier in the season and if Brighton try to attack the Rams there will be space on the break for the likes of Johnny Russell and Tom Ince.

This leads up to the final match; Boro host Brighton at the Riverside on the last day of the season. It couldn't have been written much better to be honest. Both Boro and Brighton can lose in their next match and still go up if they win this one by a large enough goal difference. What will come out on top - the championships best defence or the championships best attack? I'd put my money on Brighton, but only if you put a gun to my head. Even then, if Burnley lose against QPR and both these teams win their respective matches, a draw will be enough to see both teams up. Tight margins at the end of the season.

My picks for promotion: Burnley as champions, Brighton in second place with Middlesbrough pipped to the line by one point. Even so, whichever team ends up in the playoffs will be the team to beat, just as they have been all season.

I can hear Boro fans shouting and howling at me already. I'm prepared for the inevitable backlash that would happen should I be proved wrong, but hey it's football in the most unpredictable league in the world. You've got to be prepared to be wrong some of the time. What do you think Burnley fans, going up as champions? How about you Boro fans, looking forward to proving me wrong? Brighton fans, can you prove people wrong one more time?

Three Centre Backs, Two Matches and One Angry Fan

It's amazing the difference 72 hours can make. At 10pm on Saturday evening I was furious and to those who know my relationship with football, that should come as a shock. I don't tend to get angry when it comes to Derby County; why bother being angry about something that is beyond your control? At 10pm on Tuesday I was on a high, having just seen Derby thrash Hull 4-0 at the iPro.

I had thought about doing a post on Saturday but that would have been a straight up character assassination of several people at the club; I would rather not have my name associated with that type of work. Thankfully, the result on Tuesday has given me the opportunity to do a classic compare and contrast - why did everything go so wrong on Saturday and why did everything go so right on Tuesday?

It would be very easy to say platitudes about round pegs in round holes. There is no doubt that team selection plays a part, but they don't explain such a huge difference in the level of team performance. They do play some part though, so I'll mention them. There were two differences in the team that beat Hull from the one that tamely surrendered to Cardiff. Jamie Hanson was replaced by Cyrus Christie and Johnny Russell came in for Jacob Butterfield. This was not a like for like swap (as can be seen below); Johnson was moved into central midfield where he's far more comfortable whilst Ince took up a position on the left wing. Hanson, a player that I have high hopes for is not a natural right back, especially when compared to the far more experienced Christie.

Against Cardiff, Johnson's lack of first touch and pace made him an ineffective outlet. This combined with Ince's one footedness hindering his ability to create with the ball at his feet. Hanson, for all of his defensive solidity very rarely made it past the halfway line and his distribution was poor. Compare this to what we saw against Hull. Johnson playing the centre of the park was able to use his strength and overall physical prowess to good effect, supporting the attack through middle. Ince on the left of the front three was able to go both inside and outside of Moses Odubajo, as opposed to just cutting inside like he does when played on the right. The introduction of Russell also added some much needed urgency to the front line. Russell also cuts inside most of the time but unlike Ince, Russell's darting runs are done at a quicker pace and are less intricate in their construction giving the opposition less time to double up on him.

These positional changes do influence results, but not to an extent that it can explain a 5 goal swing. Players, both ours and the opposition play their part. 

Cardiff
Cardiff set up with a classic 442 with two energetic central midfielders in the shape of Joe Ralls and Stuart O'Keefe who were first to every loose ball and Anthony Pilkington dropping deep to pressure Thorne. This prevented Thorne and Derby from dominating the midfield, and indeed has become a common and effective tactic used by many teams this season. Craig Noone was also very diligent in tracking back to help cover Olsson's supporting runs on the left flank; the one time Olsson slipped through he set up Martin for our goal. Ince was guided inside to the waiting Ralls by Scott Malone time and time again, and with Hanson rarely overlapping was too easy to dispossess. I can't help but feel that with an ageing Peter Whittingham on that wing Christie would've had a field day.

Bruno Manga dominated Chris Martin and scored one goal (walesonline.co.uk)

Now I'm going to go on a bit of a rant. Cardiff's two centre backs were absolutely dominant in the are with Bruno Manga being the standout and this is absolutely fine; you come up against teams like that sometimes. In the first 5 minutes it became very apparent that Martin would win nothing against Manga. With this in mind, it should have been obvious that if balls up to Martin were going to pay off, he'd have to play against Sean Morrison, the other centre back. However, every single long ball, whether it be from Carson's goal kicks or Shackell's hoofs, went in the direction of Manga. At one point Martin had moved across to Morrison's side in an effort to free himself of Manga and Carson just kicked it straight to the Gabonese! I wondered if there might some truth to the idea that footballers don't have brains. This was confirmed in the second half when no man was put on the back post for Whittingham's corners despite the fact that Cardiff's first goal had gone in at the back post. Lo and behold, the Cardiff winner goes in at the back post. Two very preventable goals, softly conceded.

Hull
Hull on the other hand went for a 451 formation with Mohamed Diame playing behind Sone Aluko. I can only assume Steve Bruce's plan was for that high energy front two to try and nick the ball off the feet of Thorne or one of the centre backs. This can be the only reason he left his top goalscorer Abel Hernandez (a very talented finisher, but poor workhorse) on the bench. This would be fine if Hull had more than two players pressing the ball, but they didn't. In ex-ram Tom Huddlestone and ex-coke head Jake Livermore, Derby came up against one of the least mobile midfields in the Championship. Ideally, one of them needed to push up and help Diame and Aluko press, but such assistance wasn't forthcoming. Thorne was able to push up into the space that Diame had vacated whilst pressing and Livermore and Huddlestone couldn't move up quick enough to pressure him. As a result Thorne had the freedom of the iPro.

Still, Bruce's game plan would've been fine if Hull hadn't shot themselves in the foot - after all, the onus was still on Derby to score. Curtis Davies, one of the best centre backs in the league slipped allowing Bryson to nip in and Derby took advantage. After that it was one way traffic as Hull panicked and left spaces for Derby to exploit as they looked for an equaliser. In contrast to the laboured forward movement against Cardiff, the team against Hull was fluid and played with a swagger reminiscent of the 13/14 season. It seemed to these untrained eyes that everyone knew their role, knew they could do it well and as a result they did. 

Curtis Davis' mistake against Derby changed the complexion of the match (skysports.com)

Jason Shackell
What to do with the enigma that is Jason Shackell? After the match on Saturday I was convinced that he should be nowhere near my club. There are good things about Shackell; he's solid defensively, very good in air and is a leader (supposedly). Against Cardiff we aw the very worst of him. Going forwards seemed to mean in his mind passing the ball five yards sideways to Keogh or twenty yards backward to Carson. For Cardiff's first goal, he assigned Keogh to mark Manga,a decision I cannot fathom. Shackell must surely know that he's our best defensive header of the ball, so why pass on the opposition's biggest threat to a poorer defender?

What really made my blood boil though was his reaction to an incident late in the first half. Shackell challenged one of the Cardiff players (Pilkington I think), who went down easily. The ref blew for the foul and while Pilkington was on the ground, Shackell kicked him. Kicked him. Whilst he was 2 yards in front of the linesman. If that linesman knew how to do his job he would've told the ref to send Shackell off and if I was Wassall I would've dragged him off at halftime. For one of our most experienced players, a player who is supposed to be a cool head, a man who many were calling to be our captain to do that is unacceptable. Words cannot explain my rage upon seeing that.

To give him his due though, Shackell was much improved against Hull. Jake Buxton had obviously decided to have a word with him in training as his passing forward actually went into the opposition half of the pitch for once. And not only that, but most of it was accurate, to the chest of Martin and as a result actually giving him a chance to bring other players into the match.

Jason Shackell was much improved against Hull (Action Images)

Final Thoughts
The annoying thing about those 72 hours is that they show just how well we can play, yet there was no sign of that level of performance against Cardiff. I'm trying to be as respectful as possible when I say this, but Cardiff are no great shakes. A functional team that punished us from set pieces, like a less efficient Burnley. They were there for the taking and we didn't do that. The important thing to do going forward is to remember what gave us this great result against Hull and what gave us this terrible one against Cardiff.

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.

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.

Being thankful for what we have

Things are looking less than peachy for Derby at the moment, with the team in something of a slump. I find that in moments like this, as a fan who cannot influence the outcome, sometimes the best thing to do is look around at our peers and see how good we have it.

The obvious place to look is at Bolton Wanderers, rooted to the bottom of the table, 7 points from safety. When Derby played them on the opening day of the season, I was there in the stands, silently passing judgement as Will Hughes and Craig Bryson left the field due to injuries (innocuous in both cases). I had some thoughts leaving that match regarding Bolton:

• My main memory of the match will always be Gary Madine elbowing Jason Shackell and Richard Keogh every time he leapt for the ball and the referee letting him get away with it. That probably sounds like sour grapes, but I can assure you it isn't - I love a competitor as much as the next man. 
• Bolton did play some good stuff, and actually dominated us for long stretches of the match. Their main problem was actually putting the ball in the net, which they seemed unable to do. 
• They were as a team very physical, much like Neil Lennon in his playing days, or so I'm told. Committed and physical but never outright dirty (Madine being the exception), with some talented players. 

Neil Lennon has a tough job on his hands at Bolton

 Over half a season later it would appear they have the same problems on the pitch. They've scored only 21 goals, the joint worst tally in the league - along with Charlton. They also have an abysmal goals against record, having conceded 45 goals in 27 matches. However, they are in the middle of pack for near enough every other measurable statistic; possession, shots taken, shots against, pass success percentage. This suggests a weak underbelly, with Bolton being too easy to score against on the counter. I must admit, looking at some of their highlights it looks like there is simply a lack of steel in their defensive midfield, leaving their centre backs far too exposed.

Off the pitch, things look even worse. Facing a winding up order from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC), with near £172.9 Million of debt and wages not being paid on time, Bolton could be in worse trouble by the end of the season. Although owner Eddie Davies is looking to sell up and has offered to wipe off all the debt upon the sale of the club, a buyer doesn't appear to be forthcoming. To keep to books open various sections of the club are being sold off, with the likes of Preston and Wigan interested in buying the club's training ground. This will inevitably affect matters on the pitch as Neil Lennon is forced to sell promising young players like Zach Clough to try and balance the books. But with no salvation in sight, it appears from afar that things will get worse before they get better.

Joining the Trotters in the bottom three are Charlton Athletic. Like Bolton, Charlton are struggling at both ends of the pitch having conceded a stunning 53 goals in 27 matches - the most in the league. I have to be honest, having not really paid attention to Charlton last year and having only really seen them when they visited the iPro, I was initially surprised to see them near the bottom. They looked organised at our place, difficult to break down and had several players who impressed me; Simon Makienok was a handful in the air and Tony Watt buzzed around the pitch menacingly. Even though it was early days, I thought that if they improved their finishing they might be an outside bet for the play offs. 

Unfortunately, like Bolton they are also facing problems off the pitch with fans unhappy at the mismanagement of the club by owner Roland Duchâtelet and chief executive Katrien Meire. Duchâtelet bought the club in January 2014 and with the club sitting at the bottom of the table sacked Chris Powell in March of that year. On the face of it this seems to be a completely justified sacking, but there were rumbling that Powell was sacked, in part because of his refusal to listen to
Duchâtelet's opinions on team selection. After going through managers like wildfire in the next two years, Jose Riga was appointed as head coach of Charlton for the second time in January 2016.

Katrien Meire hasn't endeared herself to the Charlton faithful.

This managerial upheaval is a symptom of mismanagement at board level. The club has no Director of Football, no Chief Scout and Meire has come out and said that going forward the club will fund itself by selling it's youth products. This system can work for teams, with Peterborough being one of it's most successful exponents, but fans of bigger clubs such as Charlton would quite rightly see it as a sign of lack of ambition. Having already sold the likes of Diego Poyet and Joe Gomez to Premier League teams during their tenure at the club they have had some success, but the talent pool will eventually dry out. From the outside looking in, things look bleak with Duchâtelet and co. taking a route similar to the Oystens at Blackpool; both in terms of cost cutting in the playing staff and from a public relations stand point - Meire has recently called fans "weird" for feeling they should have a say in how the club is run. It would appear that Duchâtelet has no intention of selling up either, having repeatedly rejected requests for meetings from former Chief Executive Peter Varney who is willing to bring in new investment to the club. For Charlton, it will be a case of staying up in spite of their owner, not because of him. 

 

Derby fans know all about mismanagement having had several periods of mismanagement in our history; the most recent of which being the tenure of the Three Amigos. It's always good to take stock and see what could have been if we had been taken over by the wrong sort (SISU, the owners of Coventry City were at one point interested in taking us over). Sometimes you don't even have to look that far. I sincerely hope that Bolton and Charlton are able to improve both off and on the pitch; as is often the case in football, it's the fans who have the most to lose when things go wrong.

The 2015 DCFC Oscars

As 2015 comes to an end it has become clear that it's never dull following Derby County. I was originally going to review each month of the year in depth but work has been getting in the way so instead I'll do something a little different. Allow me to introduce The 2015 DCFC Oscars.

Player of the Year
There's been some stiff competition this year for the top award. In the first half of the year the forwards proved their worth, with the likes of Chris Martin dragging us kicking and screaming towards the play-offs. When Martin got injured Darren Bent and Tom Ince took up the slack scoring goal after goal to make up for our leaky defence. In the second half of the year our defence improved dramatically, showing us what we had been missing in the second half of last season.

Honourable Mentions:
Tom Ince - Admittedly not everyones cup of tea but thanks to his goals last season we nearly made it to the play-offs and his goals this season have been invaluable in our rise to the top two.

Richard Keogh - Has been superb since the arrival of Paul Clement and despite what people were saying, played well enough at the end of last season trying to hold together a defence with no holding midfielder, a confidence shot Cyrus Christie next to him and a different CB partner every week.

Winner:

Chris Martin

Chris Martin - There was no doubt in my mind when it came to this. Derby were hovering safely in the play-offs when he got injured against Bournemouth and we were unable to replace him. Coming back into the team towards the end of the season about 2 stone overweight he still nearly guided us in. This season, despite playing a slightly different role he's still our top goalscorer and invaluable to the way we play and I'm confident he'll get his third twenty goal season in a row.

Signing of the Year
The most important thing I like to look for in a siging is impact on the team and value for money. For instance, January siging Tom Ince would have won this comfortably had we not spent £5 Million on him in the summer, which is a bit too dear for my liking.

Tom Ince has been influential in the year since he arrived at Derby

Honourable Mentions:
Tom Ince (Overall) - Slotted into the team seamlessly when he first arrived scoring a very impressive 11 goals in 18 games. Struggled a bit more for goals this season, but has contributed a lot more defensively and has been targetted by opposition teams.

Stephen Warnock - Despite having an incredibly shaky start to his Derby career (I don't think I'll ever truly forgive him for that sending off against Reading), he's proved a lot of people, including me, wrong this season. The very definition of a solid defender, he's alsoo started contributing more going forward.

Bradley Johnson - £6 Million. I'll just let that sink in. I never thought we would spend that much on someone, but here we are. He's taken to this Derby team like a duck to water and his sheer presence seeems to drive the team forward. However, he's wasted when played deep. Get him forward and let him wreck havock on the opposition.

Scott Carson - I have to be honest, I thought we might need a new goalkeeper this season, but I didn't think we needed him. He's proved me wrong commanding his box with an authority we just don't see from Grant and pulling off some cracking saves. 

Winner:

Jason Shackell (Andy Clarke)

Jason Shackell - I didn't realise how much we've missed him during his 3 year detour in Burnley. His organisation of the defence allows everyone else to just get on and do their jobs, and he's so effective that I have to focus on him to see what he actually does. A defence of Keogh and Shackell is what we should have had 3 years ago.

Goal of the Year
There have been some truly great goals scored this year; long range screamers and passing masterpieces.

Honourable Mentions:
Tom Ince vs Huddersfield

Jeff Hendrick vs Millwall

Chris Martin vs Preston

Chris Martin vs Wolves

Tom Ince vs Bristol City

Winner:
George Thorne vs Huddersfield

Best Young Player of the Year

Jamie Hanson

For the past couple seasons Derby's outstanding young talent has been Will Hughes and in many ways he still is - he hasn't even reached his 21st birthday yet! However, for this one I'm going to go for Jamie Hanson. Although he's only made 10 appearences this year and most of these have been from the bench, he's made an ipression on me. Scoring and performing admiraly on his debut against Norwich last season, his tenacious style of play and his passing give me high hopes for the future.



Most Improved Player

Cyrus Christie

There can be only one winner of this one. At the start of 2015 most Derby fans were begging for Cyrus Christie to be removed from the squad as his indecisiveness kept getting the better of him and was beginning to take it's toll not only on him, but the team as well. What a difference it is now, with him being one of our best attacking threats and solid (for the most part) defensively. His gallops down the Derby right are a joy to behold and he has developed a really good understanding with Tom Ince. Next area for improvement Cyrus? Crossing.