Derby County Barometer – January 2015
I think it’s fair to say it’s been a rollercoaster few weeks for the Super Rams. I’ve had loads of articles in mind good to go but it seems there’s been stuff happening almost daily and the general mood has swung more than Paul Jewell on a night out with Billy Davies!
Coming to the conclusion there’s never a right time to post about DCFC, here’s a Rams Barometer which from 9.30pm on 28th January to when Steve Nic fires up his laptop tomorrow morning is about as relevant as I can make it. Enjoy.
Mel Morris – Arrived at the club with no noise or fanfare, but it becomes clearer every day that his presence and investment in our club has been a game changer. Yes income is up across the piece but the immediate development of Moor Farm, retention of the entire squad and the arrival of quality like Darren Bent didn’t come from the play off final and being on TV a few times. His private jet even helped clinch the Albentosa signing! Respect.
The Rams very own “Power Up” courtesy of the Candy Crush Millionaire.
Plan B – It’s long been the Achilles heel of McClaren’s Derby that we have no plan B. The games we lose are generally when teams press us high and suffocate us into submission. With the arrival of Bent we not only have a plan B but we have a whole new dimension to the team, which makes us a very dangerous prospect indeed for our competitors.
Will Hughes – With all the recent noise around Eustace, Ibe, Russell and now Bent, the recent form of Will Hughes seems to have gone under the radar. To my mind he’s playing the form of his life at the moment. His ability we know about, but his sheer drive and determination to win is unreal. Ignore Steve, if he stays on the pitch versus Forest we win 3-0 minimum. What a player. Enjoy him whilst you can folks.
Birmingham Away – Bit late with this one but what a fantastic away day this was. The Rams comprehensibly thrashing the form team in the division on their home turf with a brand of high tempo, champagne supernova football that was simply immense. Happy Days.
Jordan Ibe – Another fantastic young player who is surely heading for the top. Pace, power and ridiculous feet Jordan was so exciting to watch and was getting better and better. At Birmingham he was almost unplayable. It remains an utter travesty that he wasn’t allowed to stay with us and see the job through. Which brings me onto…………
Brendan Rogers – Unless Ibe ends up with Premier league loan in the next few days, I don’t see any benefit whatsoever in recalling him from Derby. Especially with immediate effect before our biggest game of the season. The token 5 minutes he played at Villa only made it worse. This was a selfish, desperate move from a manager clutching at straws with no consideration for the players development whatsoever. Wanker.
“Derby County are delighted to announce their new official matchday beer partner”
Game Management – I really hope the old Clough conceding late goals syndrome isn’t returning. A bit of accepting what we had and a bit more cuteness against Wigan, Brentford, Norwich and Forest and we would be 5 points clear!
Leon Best – He’s gone now, so I feel ok to say that I think he was possibly one of the worst players I have ever seen wear a Derby County shirt – and I’ve seen some shite! Contributed absolutely nothing to the cause, played with lead in his boots (and no studs judging by the amount of times he fell over) and never ever looked like scoring a goal even against Southport! Shocker.
Ipro Stadium Beer – Ok I know beer at event venues is never great but the standard of the Ipro pint has absolutely plummeted this season, in a direct tangent to the price going up. The lager in particular is so flat it looks like a pint of Iced Tea. Bloody horrible. Someone needs to give Derbyshire Cricket Club a ring where, conversely, the beer is consistently tremendous.
The Forest Fiasco – Just a horrendous day all round. Losing to a side so poor in injury time was bad enough but the way we surrendered the game, the general atmosphere, the afters, the player persecution and the subsequent meltdown of our fans online and on the radio was awful. Let’s make sure we go up this time so this day gets buried as the blip that it was.
Posted on January 28, 2015, in Ramspace Barometer and tagged brendan rogers, derby county, jordan ibe, Liverpool, ramspace, Steve McClaren, the rams, will hughes. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
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Excellent blog – had not really thought about the Mel Morris impact – good shout !
Excellent article. The barometer is my favourite having read your stuff since the Baseball Bat. I was wondering though. When you say “general atmosphere” at the F****t game, what does that refer to? I’ve heard several people comment on it being flat but I thought the first half was buzzing and the second half was just a reflection of the game and subsequent demise.
Hi Patrick an old skool reader!!! Quality. I thought the atmosphere never kicked in properly and there were just too many who thought it was going to be another 5-0 without trying. When the going got tough the red dog fans rose to the occasion and IMO on the day, too many of ours didn’t help the team when they needed them most.
Love the site. Think its ace. My first port of call for satire all things Derby County unless you include the beyond bitter post match analysis of my old man in the car on the way back to Coventry. And I think most people would agree with you. Certainly that was the consensus in the Alexander after the game, that it was flat compared to your normal East Midlands. My take on it was that it was about par until the level of ineptitude became apparent in the second half. And I don’t say that lightly because not only do I think the team are as exciting to watch as anything since 1998-1999 but they are also incredibly likable. But there was a moment 50 mins in where Keogh was trying to tell Grant to calm down after a shaky opening to the second half and instead of unity they ended up at each other. To me the whole thing reeked of bottle job from way before the equalizer and I think that nervous energy transmitted to and from the pitch and stands in equal measure. But one thing I 100% agree with is if ever a team deserved a break from the supporters its this Derby side. Should this team win promotion automatically this year after the horror of May and the Throne injury then it has to be achievement of the season throughout the football league. And one things for sure, they’re giving it a right good go!
Keep up the tip top work.