Bill's Take: New Additions Freshen Up Rams Tired Attack
Thursday, 7th Jan 2016 13:05 by Bill Riordan

Firstly, Bill’s Take wishes a Happy New Year to all Derby fans. It has not been entirely a happy new year on the pitch for the Rams with the Middlesbrough result, but more of that later.

A couple of weeks ago in this column, I was looking ahead to what January might bring in the way of signings. My forecast was that the Rams would bring in an understudy left-back with good prospects, an attacking central midfielder, a wide man and a striker.

It seldom hurts to ask, does it?

Then came the match at Middlesbrough, where the Rams were very much second best to an excellent Boro side. For me, the match was for the most part much more of the same that we have seen for a while.

The Rams again played very well defensively; but the midfield was lacklustre, the wide men offered little threat and Chris Martin was again isolated and ineffective.

In the second half I was wondering whether we might see a substitute to liven up the attack and it was at that point it really struck home how few attacking options the Rams have; all we had on the bench were Bent, who has been out of favour all season and Weimann who offers next to nothing.

The verdict was in, and the Rams were in dire need of attacking reinforcements.

The first week of January has seen a couple of quick moves by the Rams to bolster the attack; winger Abdoul Camara has arrived from France for something over a million pounds and striker Nick Blackman has joined from Reading for well over two million pounds (see highlights of what both players can do at the end of this article).

These moves do several good things for the Rams; they add a couple of fresh options to a tired-looking attack, they add speed and potential scoring power and Blackman should provide an effective partner up front for Chris Martin.

I do hope though that this is not the end of the January reinforcements.

Without Craig Bryson and Will Hughes, there is a shortage of spark and invention in the Rams’ midfield; I think the players we have are too similar in style and our midfield is too defensively oriented. We will see if anything transpires the rest of the month, but I think the work is not yet done.

On a completely different subject, I have decided this New Year to reverse, if only for the time being, a long-held belief of mine. For many years now, I have avoided wishing relegation on any team. I realize that relegation is essential if we are also to have promotion, but its effects on a club can be so devastating that I am extremely reluctant to hope that a particular club — even Forest or Leeds — will be relegated.

This year I have decided to change that. In the first half hour of our opening fixture at Bolton, as we all remember Will Hughes and Craig Bryson were removed from the action with serious injuries. That had a massive impact both on these young men, especially in respect to their careers and in turn the Rams’ season. That being the case, I have decided that when Bolton Wanderers’ relegation is finally confirmed, I will permit myself a small smile.

Saturday brings a break from Championship action for the Rams, with a third round FA Cup tie at Hartlepool. This should provide an opportunity to see a couple of different faces in the team for the Rams, before returning to league matches on Tuesday with Reading at home.

So we now have an opportunity to get that first victory of the New Year behind us and bring it up in style.

COYR

Abdoul Camara Highlights — pace and fast feet — something the Rams can use.