The week started with concern over Derby County’s dreadful performance at home to Southampton last Saturday.

Assistant Chris Hutchings, doing the talking in the silent Paul Jewell’s stead, reiterated his disappointment at the players’ efforts and said that things must turn around soon. No kidding?

Management must instil much more organisation, tenacity, determination and confidence somehow; that’s their job. Eight of the Southampton team that mauled Derby were 22 or under, they’d had a poor start to the season but they went out with purpose, discipline and determination to put it right against Derby.

A report this week about poltergeists, ghosts and spooky things in general from Supernatural Britain regarding 40 cities concluded that Derby is the most haunted place in Britain. You can certainly regularly encounter a collection of zombies on Saturdays mulling around on the Pride Park Stadium pitch!

The players have had several wake-up calls from the manager already this season and things still have to change on the pitch soon, or some serious disaffection will soon haunt the manager.

The Rams had two quick opportunities to show an improvement and banish their doldrums, with a League Cup tie at Preston North End on Tuesday and an away League game at Barnsley on Saturday. Team changes were mooted for the Preston tie but few expected 19-year old defender Miles Addison to be installed in central midfield, because Jewell already has more than a dozen midfielders to call upon.

Jewell recognised that the Rams must toughen up. “We have got to show more steel in there”, he declared. No kidding? Addison has apparently impressed in training, so was the latest candidate with a chance to convert a good showing at Moor Farm to a performance where it matters, in competitive fixtures. “We have got to get rid of the fear factor”, the manager said. Yes, you have, Paul, and soon.

With Miles among five changes at Preston, and Kazmierczak restored to midfield, Jewell did put Mears and his hapless fullback colleague Jay McEveley out of their misery by removing them to the subs’ bench. Personally, I don’t think either is a proper full back and that Derby would never succeed with them in those positions long-term. We must start to defend the flanks more tightly and aggressively.

Jordan Stewart and Paul Connolly - the latter handed the captain’s armband - took the full back slots and Robbie Savage was excluded from the squad. Dean Leacock returned to central defence alongside Albrechtsen. Hulse and Villa played up front, with Ellington unfit. Preston went into the game with a host of injury doubts, though had enjoyed a fine start to the campaign under Alan Irvine.

It was a mediocre first half with little to excite an 8,000 Deepdale crowd but gradually, the Rams emerged from their shell. Commons burst through after 38 minutes and from his pass, Hulse had an effort scrambled away, with Kaz slamming a 12-yard shot against the post on the follow-up. Better was to follow just two minutes later when Paul Green headed the Rams into the lead from a Jordan Stewart cross. It was the first time this season that the Rams had had a lead to protect.

They did just that, with a solid team performance that was far removed from the poor showing against Southampton. Derby were tight and combative, with Albrechtsen starring in central defence and Leacock competent, and Miles Addison gave a solid performance in midfield. Hulse and Villa battled well up front and the new full backs eliminated the slack, careless play that characterised Mears & McEveley.

It was a precious 1-0 win for Paul Jewell and the Rams have some rare League Cup progress as a bonus. On Saturday morning, Derby learned that they must travel to either Brighton & Hove Albion or Manchester City in the next round of the League Cup; Brighton and City replay in late September so no date for Derby is yet fixed.

The club looked forward to the Barnsley away game on Saturday with renewed optimism; the Tykes have had a poor start to their season with three League defeats so far - and if ever there was a chance for Paul Jewell’s men to break their League duck, this looked like one!

Tyrone Mears, before making himself an expensive outcast, didn’t have the ghost of a chance of any sympathy from me after he had trotted out the old “away games might be a blessing” interview, saying players feel pressure playing at home to large crowds. After calling for positivity (but declining to face the media last Saturday), Paul Jewell then – very disappointingly - reiterated the soggy sentiments.

I can only say these interviews REALLY enrage me! We get told how wonderful our (award-winning) fans are, thanked for our loyalty, the players say what a fabulous stadium it is, such great training facilities - that it’s great to be part of a big ambitious club - then they can’t wait to get away to play at places like Deepdale and Oakwell! 

It was only after the manager applied the hair-drier treatment in the half-time dressing room at Ashton Gate that the Rams woke up to fight back for an away point with an acceptable second-half performance. They then reverted to type with meek surrender to Southampton.

I’m done with half-baked excuses. The message back to the players is that they must APPLY themselves; show commitment, determination, aggression, and passion for 90 minutes, like Southampton did! Tyrone - you DID disrespect Rams fans, I am more than irritated by this blame shifting and I think Mears would benefit by being shipped out to a small club with the burden of playing in front of only 3,000 - 4,000 fans.

This is Derby County, however, and the ridiculous is often followed by the incredible or farcical. A story emerged in the press that Tye was on his way to Marseilles on loan without permission and that he’d even crept out of a Moor Farm window with his kit, behind the manager’s back! Incredibly, we learned that Mears had indeed vamoosed for a trial with the French club against the express wishes of the club!

Jewell was fuming, saying Mears will not play for him again; Adam Pearson & Jewell said they would not consider any such trial and that Marseilles’ “offer” of a possible free loan was “laughable”. Mind you, so is Derby’s valuation of £2m for such a mediocre player, even in today’s ridiculous transfer climate. Derby will loan out or sell Mears, who now faces ‘the most stringent discipline possible’.

I would ask you now - just what Mr Brian Clough would have made of all this? I expect it would be wholly unprintable! I’d doubt that players indulging in such excuses would get anywhere near the stadium again. In those days, Derby were top of the League, or faced the real pressure of a big European tie in front of a massive home or away crowd (as opposed to an ordinary 2nd division game).

Contriving such excuses and then his disappearing act make me wish he’d be shown the door, let alone crawl out of a window off to his French adventure! He would be one less passenger on the wage bill.

Jewell said some time ago that he needed to change the whole mentality of the club, commenting that he wished he’d been more ruthless from the start. Apart from removing Mears from the club, the manager needs to make players understand that basic discipline and respect toward manager, club and fans is paramount; everything follows from that and all must fight for one cause - Derby County.

There was a further media story suggesting that Robbie Savage, substituted at half time against Southampton after another ineffectual performance, wanted to escape to Dubai. Nothing would surprise me really; Savage’s disappearance wouldn’t worry me either, save for the fact that we allegedly pay the chump in excess of £1m a year…. and for what?

Despite such discontent and the media suggesting that Paul Jewell had only a short time to break his duck, Adam Pearson (speaking prior to the Preston match) declared that the board were “110% behind the manager”. It would be destabilising to jettison a manager that had just recruited a whole new team and Jewell will battle on. Some media sources still indulge joke stories and wind-ups at the Rams’ expense - but it is only good results that will divert their scurrilous attention elsewhere.

An e-letter from DCFC on Friday, declared: “Rams to wear something special at Barnsley” after a 6 am Saturday announcement. It’s high time all the players recognised that wearing a Derby County shirt in itself is special, but surprise, surprise…the announcement revealed yet another new Rams kit, the third launch this season. It’s light blue & white striped, looking more suited to Argentina or Coventry City than Derby County, though Derby sported such a kit in the Seventies, and Tito Villa will feel at home in it!

On Tuesday, a League tribunal finally set the transfer fee that Derby must pay Tranmere Rovers for Stephen Davies at an initial £275,000. Payments could rise to around £750k in total depending on Stephen making 65 appearances and on Derby’s future successes.

A young contender for Tye’s squad place, Ruben Zadkovich now faces a spell out of the frame because of requiring surgery on a groin injury. Having returned from Olympic duty with Australia, his busy summer football schedule has taken its toll and so Rams fans have yet to see him in competitive action.

The Rams have entered the Reserve League Cup, played initially on a 4-group basis with the Rams group comprising Walsall, Mansfield and Oldham.

So, another topsy-turvy week at Derby came down to the important business of the Saturday League game at Barnsley. Last time they visited Oakwell 18 months ago, the Rams were top of the table on their way to equalling a club record of 12 away wins, a 2-1 win delighting the 7,400 travelling fans. Barnsley were struggling then - and went into Saturday’s game bottom of the table after four straight defeats.

Paul Jewell named an unchanged side for the first time this season, with Robbie Savage again excluded whilst ex-Rams John Macken, Darren Moore & Rob Kozluk lined up for Barnsley. Rams’ outcast (sorry, loanee) Gary Teale didn’t play against Derby because of the loan conditions.

It was a combative first half with both sides desperate for a result, but neither goalkeeper was greatly troubled in a scoreless first half, though Green and Kaz struck a few reasonable shots between them

The game opened up as the second half progressed and the Rams looked menacing with more close efforts. However, there was a feeling that Derby should have made more of their opportunities, which was underlined when Barnsley took the lead after 69 minutes. Derby allowed Hume to slap a fierce long-range shot past Carroll to surprisingly put Barnsley in charge.

Jewell brought on substitutes but little changed as Derby failed to impose themselves on the Tykes, who extended their lead when Foster headed home after 82 minutes for 2-0. The Rams petered out in a deeply disappointing defeat and their win at Preston had proved another false dawn. With a fortnight’s break due to the international schedule, Paul Jewell’s side will now be stuck in bottom place in the Championship.

Derby folded again after having plenty of the play. Rams fans, increasingly sickened by the winless run will now witness its anniversary - yes, a whole year without a League win - when Derby take on Sheffield United at home in a televised game on 13th September.

Paul Jewell thought Derby deserved better - but ineffectual football doesn’t bring results. It’s immaterial that Barnsley’s first goal was their first real strike on target when there is no response from his team. Truth is, it’s better if your own striker is Man of the Match, not their goalie. I’ve plucked out a classic old quote to sum up Derby’s week from Howard Wilkinson: “If they hadn’t scored, we’d have won”.

A week of rhetoric, turmoil, tears and toil ultimately produced nothing of the essential ingredient - Championship points. Fans need to see more than flickers of improvement after long promises of a stronger, more resolute team.

The Rams must exhibit more consistency & success before the season goes horribly flat - again. If some Derby players don’t like pressure, they’ve just heaped plenty more onto themselves for the next home game. If they can’t handle it, they are in the wrong jobs.

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Last year, Derby’s struggle continued as they endured an embarrassing week of defeats. RamsWeek 35 in 2007 saw Derby throw away a winning position at home to Blackpool in the League Cup, allowing the Seasiders to equalise 2-2 at the death and survive extra time before eliminating Derby on penalties.

The Rams, imperious away from home in the Championship the previous season, found once more that in the Premier League it’s much more a case of ‘hard nose the highway’, with the 0-4 reverse at Spurs being followed by a 6-0 pasting at Liverpool. Derby were dismantled; pedestrian, embarrassing.

The Reds had the extravagantly talented Fernando Torres, their exciting new forward captured for a mere £26m; he helped himself to a hat trick against Derby…. whilst the Rams boasted Bob Malcolm and Mo Camara in midfield!

Derby had managed to secure the services of Celtic striker Kenny Miller for £2.5m, who graced us with his presence for a few weeks before his wanderlust turned him towards his Glasgow Rangers mission.

Bully for him; he scored twice for ‘Gers against Celtic today and it seemed like every ex-Rams player we know scored for their clubs this weekend, whilst our strikers have yet to score in the League this season.

This time last year then, four straight defeats and a palpable lack of quality and competitiveness had cast an air of inevitability over the season, with criticism levelled at the manager and board for their inability to sign enough players up to the job.

Photo: Action Images

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