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 Tickle Tackle - A Loan Again, NaturallyWed 25th Mar 2009 18:21 by Steve Tickle Nigel Clough has just one day left to try to bolster the Rams' beleaguered squad. Whether he'll be able to do that remains to be seen. It's a thankless task trying to bring someone in on loan at this time of the season. Anyone who's half decent will be wanted by their club as they step up their efforts to climb the table, either to get away from the relegation zone or to consolidate/break into the playoff places. So while he still has to give it his best efforts, Nigel probably doesn't hold out much hope of bringing anyone in.
And there's no point in bringing someone in just to bolster the numbers. Our squad is too big as it is but yet several players just don't feature - anyone coming in has got to play first team football for us. It never ceases to amaze me how many times a player has moved to a club on say a month's loan and then never got a game before returning to his own club. Where's the sense in that?
Somehow, I can't see Nigel making that mistake. If he does manage to bring a loanee in I'll be very surprised but we'll wait and see. At least the international break gives us chance to get our walking wounded back fit again. I'm not quite sure why Kris Commons had to trek up to Scotland to be told he's not fit to play for his country but at least he's now back at Moor Farm where he can concentrate on getting fit for the Burnley game.
We've missed him over the last six games, it doesn't take me to tell you how he adds options to our game that just aren't there when he's missing. It's at the back though where we're struggling. The clean sheet against Barnsley was gained at the expense of rarely looking like we were going to score. That's where the manager is looking to bring in a loanee but as I say above, he'll be doing well if he can get someone who he thinks can do a job for us.
No, I think the hard graft is going to have to be put in on the training pitches to try remedy the problem. We need to get through this season and allow the manager to bring his own players in (but how many times have we said that this last couple of seasons?).
I do expect next season to be different though. Brian Clough built his teams on sound defences. That won't have been lost on Nigel and you can bet he's setting his stall out already.
In the meantime, results matter more than performances. A tight 1-0 win will be more pleasing than a 3-2 win (for me at least). A clean sheet in each of our remaining games and there'll be no cause for butterflies in the stomach.
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