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RamsWeek 38 - Welcome to the Premiership!
RamsWeek 38 - Welcome to the Premiership!
Sunday, 23rd Sep 2007 22:07 by Paul Mortimer

Billy Davies and the fans couldn't wait for the Monday Newcastle game to arrive.

Newcastle were unbeaten with a substantial squad, new finance, and the successful Sam Allardyce installed as manager and The Toon as yet unbeaten this season. England golden boy Michael Owen had just dismantled Israel and Russia and notched his 40 th international goal.

No matter - the Rams roared back into action with a tenacious and committed performance akin to many of their battles of last season and the Wembley final to show what they were truly made of! The pride flooded back into the stadium with a vociferous and delighted 33,000 crowd witnessing Kenny Miller's instinctive 35-yard strike, to hit a debut goal fit to win any game.

“Whoaa - Welcome to the Premiership!” I heard co-commentator Dean Sturridge exclaim that on Radio Derby's commentary in my earpiece, alongside the cacophonous live Pride Park roar that accompanied Kenny's Miller's superb crashing drive – and Derby's winless run was then put asunder with a very timely victory.

Hurray! Players like Pearson, Griffin, Howard, the ever-improving Tyrone Mears and especially Miller emerged as battling heroes in a convincing and deserved victory that would have set a few pundits stroking their chin. Many media commentators however dismissed it all as Newcastle's intermittent mediocrity and Allardyce whinged about international call-ups being disruptive.

Funny – half of Derby's team were away with their countries, too (including contributions to the Scots' great victory in France), so that doesn't explain why Derby bossed of the game from start to finish – but Rams fans won't care if a dozen more wins like that get chalked up between now and May 11th 2008!

Defender Michael Johnson, barely on the fringes of the action at Pride Park Stadium nowadays, has signed for Championship side Sheffield Wednesday on a month's emergency loan

There was to be no resting on laurels for the Rams as they had to visit League leaders Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium for their next Premier League fixture, with Davies expecting his players to pick up where they left off on Monday. The Rams can't compete with Arsenal on many parameters at the moment and Davies reflected beforehand that he knows his team ‘are still finding out who they are'.

Billy acknowledged the glittering array of continental talent at other clubs like Arsenal and also admitted that it will take some time for the Rams to establish a scouting and research network to facilitate Derby County moving away from a mainly ‘Home Nations' squad composition, through operating more widely in the transfer market.

It was an unchanged team that Davies sent out against Arsenal – with Giles Barnes named among the substitutes. Giles got a second-half cameo appearance and the Rams didn't lack effort or spirit but were still comprehensively beaten 5-0 by a formidable Arsenal team that will drub more than a few teams at the Emirates Stadium in the coming months.

Derby had an opulent and courteous setting for the North London fixture but their hosts were not as welcoming and obliging as Newcastle had proved a few days beforehand! It was back down to earth with a bump and a further lesson - another ‘punch in the face' – for Rams players chasing shadows yet again.

Derby simply couldn't cope with such as Adebayor and Fabregas – few teams can – and the loss of Thierry Henry has been admirably compensated in the emergence of bright young Arsenal stars that already look like world-class players. Derby won't face such skill, pace and power every week. The Gunners top both Premier League and their Champions League group and seem in the mood to hand out footballing lessons to all they encounter at the moment.

So, the elation of chalking up our first win of the season against Newcastle was quickly dissipated and the Rams reverted to bottom of the League because Bolton Wanderers managed a home draw against Tottenham on Sunday. Promoted Birmingham fought out a creditable 0-0 draw at Derby's last burial ground, Anfield, and Sunderland's spirit shone again in taking a 2-2 draw with a last-minute equaliser at Middlesbrough, so there was no comfort elsewhere for beleaguered boss Billy Davies.

There are bigger battles for Derby to face amongst the contenders lower down the League table and they must (again) wash the result from the memory, learn from the experience and prepare to defeat Bolton Wanderers at Pride Park Stadium next weekend.

For the time being, however, it seems that the ‘learning curve' Billy refers to stretches way beyond the Pentagon Island but down through the North Circular and all points on the Premiership route map as the Rams struggle to cope with life on the top circuit.

Prior to the Emirates trip, the national press carried a story claiming that ex-Hull chief Adam Pearson, backed by internet entrepreneur Peter Wilkinson (who made his fortune via the Freeserve internet facility) are mounting a takeover bid for Derby. Wilkinson is worth over £260m and the alleged £90m deal is said to comprise £30m for the club and £60m for the stadium and property developments. Pearson sold Hull City FC last summer and the would-be Rams' bidders were also among those trying to acquire debt-strewn third tier club Leeds United a few months ago. They have no particular links with Derby County.

It all adds another twist to the Rams' current predicament - successful beyond their resources and two years in front of their declared schedule, they aspire to consolidate and progress yet find the demands of today's Premier League - in terms of squad depth and ability - currently somewhat beyond them.

We will have to await any club reaction to the stories and see if the Rams' regime is about to be ratcheted up into a far stronger finance gearing to gain new ownership partners to propel the club into the financial super-league.

I personally don't see these suitors as being any more capable financially than such as Gadsby & Kirkland - and neither do they seem to be much more than itinerant investors, hungry for any given club either in the market or such tempting targets as DCFC with almost-ready profit streams. I'm also hopeful that such speculation will never be linked to passengers of the deposed Pride Park regime and their acolytes.

Whether the stories are true or not, extra wealth cannot benefit us substantively until the January transfer window and so it is still Billy Davies' target to make sure that the Rams are in touch with safety when the New Year comes - when the club can try again to persuade new players to come to the city.


This time last year, RamsWeek 38 carried the headline of Howard's End because Steve Howard, bereft of goals for the first few weeks of his Rams career, scored in 4 consecutive games as Derby picked up the pace and moved into mid-table, already established as the division's form away team.

It's just a shame that Stevie wasn't able to grab his chances against Newcastle United in 2007 to kick off his Premier League goal tally.

The Rams were beaten by Doncaster Rovers in the Carling Cup last year (picking up red cards for Lupoli and Barnes to boot), courtesy of an unsuccessful penalty shoot out, so history did repeat itself with the Blackpool AET reversal one year later…

Photo: Action Images



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