There really is no way of getting around it; the Coca-Cola Championship league table does not make good reading for Rams fans right now.
Derby County are 19th with 17 points from 17 games, above our next opponents Reading (20th) on goals scored and Scunthorpe United (21st) on goal difference. Plymouth Argyle (22nd) are third bottom on 15 points, which means the Rams are potentially just one bad result away from dropping into the relegation zone.
And bad results are exactly what we have become used to this season with 10 defeats already this campaign, and an average of one point per game which is usually considered relegation form. Talking of form, one win and four defeats in our last five games, does not fill me with confidence.
Nigel Clough, Tom Glick, and the now departed Adam Pearson, all sang from same hymn sheet when they stated that the ambitions for this season were to financially get our house in order and consolidate and improve on last season’s 18th place finish.
It doesn’t surprise me that Derby County are struggling at the moment. There is no doubt that a horrendous injury list which, at its worst, had 16 registered players unavailable for selection has taken its toll. If mid-table was the expectation for a competitive squad, then a squad short of key players for a prolonged period was always going to under-perform against those expectations.
It’s not just Derby County though. In the Coca-Cola Championship, Sheffield United have a crippling injury list almost, but not quite, as bad as our own. The Blades were hotly tipped to challenge for automatic promotion, after losing last season’s playoff final to Burnley, but they find themselves in 14th place just four points above us.
In the Premiership it’s the same story. Both Merseyside clubs have long injury lists and both are under-performing against expectations. Liverpool have won just two of their last 11 games, are 7th in the Barclays Premier League, and have already been eliminated from the European Champions League. Everton are 14th, four points above the relegation zone, and are heading in the direction of a relegation survival fight.
Talking of Everton, it was refreshing to hear their manager David Moyes refusing to blame injuries for their poor form. Instead, in the build-up to their game last night against Hull City, Moyes talked about how disappointed he was with the fringe squad players who had failed to take their chance when handed an opportunity to play in the first team. They failed again as Hull City won 3-2.
The same could be said of Derby County’s fringe players but therein lies the rub. Fringe players, by the very definition, are not good enough to start if everybody is fit. Play one fringe player and he may be able to raise his performance levels due to the first choice players around him, but play a lot of fringe players and the overall team performance will almost certainly suffer. And so it has proved this season for Derby County.
But what really bugs me right now are the performances. Even the fringe players are professional footballers and they should be able to string more than four passes together without losing possession. They should be able to run into space and look to receive the ball. They should be able to close players down and tackle. These are the basics and now, more than ever, this is what Nigel Clough, Gary Crosby, Andy Garner and Johnny Metgod should be drilling into the players on the training ground.
Once again Saturday’s game is a huge one. Derby County are home to a Reading team who have the same number of points as the Rams. It’s still early in the season but, with a difficult looking set of fixtures in December, this is a game the Rams desperately need to win.
Five times this season Derby County have proved they can win at Pride Park Stadium, but the Rams have also lost at home on three occasions too.
Against Reading, the players need to find the same level of performance they produced in beating Coventry City 2-1 the last time they played at home.
Nothing less will do!
Stuart Hughes
26th November 2009
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