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.