Downfall of the Rams

Last updated : 04 May 2015 By Bloomeram

C:WindowsTempphp5A2F.tmpWell, it has been a rough few weeks to be a Rams fan, and yet again the season ends in heart ache after promising so much.

Odds on with bookies just a couple of months ago the Rams fall from the Championship promotion race has been dramatic and very hard to take after last season’s final minute ending to fans dreams of promotion.

Could this season’s slide have been prevented? Many fans have their own theory on how we could have avoided finishing 8th after being in the top six spots since September 2014. How many theories would have worked, we will never know.

Speculation of Steve McClaren leaving the club could have been a de-stabilising factor and remains so until Mac or someone in authority at Newcastle United can categorically say “yes I am going”, or “No I am staying”. Why we have had to have several months of speculation on this subject is beyond the comprehension of most Rams fans, but is certainly part of the problem the Rams seem to have had since speculation began. Hopefully a resolution will be found immediately and we can all move on to next season.

Injuries have to be a major factor in the Rams nose dive from the promotion places, Chris Martin was missed so badly with his hamstring problems, George Thorne, injured before a ball was kicked of the 2014-15 season had begun was also a huge dent in the Rams squad. Eustace was an excellent stand in but the old legs were never going to stand up to a full season and so it proved. Bringing in a Real Madrid youngster may have seemed a logical and mouth-watering prospect but Omar Mascarell failed to live up to the hype surrounding his loan to the Rams. His efforts going forward were ok but he was bought in as a midfield stopper, a defensive midfielder he sadly was not.

Jordan Ibe was a superb loan signing from Liverpool and was brought to the Ipro on a season’s loan.  Loan signings are ok as they go, but they have a nasty habit of turning against you. Derby had set the squad up to play with wingers and Jordan Ibe played his role to perfection, creating chances and scoring some great goals. His return to a struggling Liverpool squad was a huge blow for Derby County and it soon became evident that no one in the Rams squad could fill his role. Loans of Ince, Lingard and Bent made a difference but by that time the balance and style of play of the Rams was in dis-array and so the slump in results.

Derby received what they deserved in the end by finishing a lowly eighth. Hopefully as Richard Keogh keeps reminding us, “We have learned from this” and we can go out again in three months’ time and recapture the team spirit and form we exhibited  when odds on favourites for promotion.