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RamsWeek 4 - Time of the Season
RamsWeek 4 - Time of the Season
Sunday, 22nd Jan 2012 18:52 by Paul Mortimer

With five successive League and Cup wins under their belt, Derby County looked to continue their resurgence in their visit to Burnley FC.

Transfer stories circulated as the January ‘window’ progressed - and Derby recruited a Premier League player as temporary cover in attack. 20-year old Sunderland forward Ryan Noble has joined Derby on a month’s loan and declared that this time, ‘he was ready to make an impact’.

Hopeful words, as during a previous stint at Pride Park Stadium two seasons ago, no impact was made at all. At that time, he slipped back to the Stadium of Light with a back injury after managing one single substitute appearance for Derby.

Rams’ boss Nigel Clough will hope for much better from the player this time and must also seek clarification from Sunderland as to whether Noble can be included in Derby’s FA Cup squad. Ryan has been scoring prolifically for the Black Cats’ reserves so Derby will expect him to make an impression this time around when called upon.

The Rams have thus added fresh forward cover whilst anticipating that injury victim Steve Davies returns, whilst never-present Nathan Tyson (absent from duty against Coventry with a sore throat) had another ‘minor setback’ and missed the Burnley game. His groin strain is still troubling him.

Some fans are beginning to think that Ty’s move from Forest to Derby was a setback in terms of wasted expenditure - though if he returns to face the Trees next month and stars in a Derby win, they will forgive most things!

Noble’s arrival was underscored by decisions regarding Tomasz Cywka and Lee Croft in the manager’s plans at Derby. Cywka, labelled ‘a not very bright footballer’ by Mr. Clough a year ago, may be loaned out for the rest of the season, or could leave on a free transfer, possibly joining Polish League leaders Slask Wroclaw - a move that could be completed within the next few days.

Lee Croft was spirited away on loan to Scottish Premier League side St Johnstone until the end of the season. Like Cywka, Croft’s contract term expires this summertime and Clough has made it clear that their future does not include a new deal at Pride Park Stadium. Both players could ultimately produce only hit-and-miss contributions; disappointing for club, fans and players.

When signing these players, as with David Martin, manager Clough was searching for more pace, quality and consistency of delivery from the wings - but all were ultimately discarded.

Disappointingly, it seems that midfielder Paul Green might be snapped up by a late bidder without being offered an improved contract at Derby. The manager suggested that he wanted to bring in another loanee if that transpires. Otherwise cover in midfield and defence will look decidedly thin.

Whilst saying that Derby needed ‘another couple of players’, it does not seem likely that GSE would let Clough add the icing on the cake to recruit a Lewis McGugan, Billy Sharp or Nicky Maynard - all coveted players that may be moving up from struggling clubs very soon.

The Rams might sustain a top 8 place on current form come the day of reckoning at the end of this season. I fear, however, that a missing edge of quality and depth will deny them a top 6 finish. I also think that another tub-thumping DCFC season-ticket appeal (I fully expect at increased prices) in springtime will renew expectations from the fanbase.

Again, fans will invest in numbers but will want further investment during the summer to help Clough improve his squad.

January is a defining month in the football calendar. Apart from any transfer ‘window’ activity, it’s time to take stock of progress made during the season so far - and fans also anticipate pleasant diversions in the shape of an FA Cup run.

Our title theme, ‘time of the season’ was a 60’s hit for The Zombies - so very apt for last year’s Rams! Last January was a fiasco at Pride Park Stadium, as after an awful end to 2010 with the away defeat at Forest, Derby exited from the FA Cup at the first stop at non-League Crawley Town, and lost top scorer Kris Commons to Glasgow Celtic.

What a contrast there is in 2012! An unbeaten start to the year, FA Cup progress plus a tasty tie at home to Premier League Stoke City, the disposal of several unwanted players and the recruitment of squad reinforcements in the form of Naylor and Noble. It’s still wintry, of course, but even the January weather is kinder this year - and the club is in much better shape on the pitch.

Barring injury, Derby’s defence is finally settled and playing well and the manager will look to refine his forward or midfield options in the immediate future. Ward, Robinson and Ball have proved a successful combination and Mason Bennett has been making great strides.

Steve Davies, Ryan Noble and Nathan Tyson are further choices (when fit) and Chris Maguire may step up to the mark in time. American Conor Doyle is still around (I think) and there are other Academy boys showing excellent progress. The accent on youth development will continue.

Time will tell if that is enough to sustain a challenge because unlike previous seasons, the Rams look set to hit the ‘safety mark’ of 50 Championship points much earlier this season, which the club will hope can provide their platform for a top six place in April.

Derby County’s U-18 Academy boys bowed out of the FA Youth Cup this week at holders Manchester United. Having eliminated the highly-rated Arsenal youth side in the previous round, the young Rams lost 2-1 after taking a first-half lead through Kane Richards.

Having registered their all-time biggest win in competitive games last season with a 14-1 win in the Derbyshire Senior Cup, the Rams eased their way into this season’s semi-finals of the DSC with a 4-0 win over Pinxton.

Chris Maguire might have attracted the manager’s attention with a hat-trick and Ben Davies scored the other goal. The game marked a return to action for Jeff Hendrick and Steve Davies.

Derby travelled to a windy, wintry Turn Moor in Lancashire on Saturday to face Burnley. With four Championship wins on the trot and an FA Cup passage for good measure, it’s been a ripping, 100% start to 2012 for Derby.

Burnley, just a point and two places behind the Rams in the table at start of play, has an in-form attacking team that was aiming for an eighth win in ten Championship games.

Nigel Clough was again able to name an unchanged Derby team; his substitute’s bench contained a good ability mix, with newcomer Ryan Noble, Jeff Hendrick, Ben Davies and Jake Buxton alongside goalkeeper Adam Legzdins.

Both sides had displayed a tight defence in recent weeks and the game started as expected, with attack-minded Burnley calling the tune and Derby weathering the early storm.

The swirling wind and rainy, slippery conditions made constructive football and the retention of possession difficult for both sides. Almost 900 hardy Rams fans braved the Lancashire chill amid a 14,300 crowd.

Theo Robinson created danger with a cross into the Burnley area but Callum Ball did not take advantage and then Paul Green put a header over the bar - then Robinson forced a save from ex-Ram Lee Grant from 25 yards. Burnley pressed without reward and the 0-0 half-time scoreline reflected the distinctly average fayre on offer.

Jeff Hendrick replaced James Bailey, who was apparently feeling ill, in the Derby midfield straight after the interval. The match resumed its first-half pattern, with Burnley looking more threatening and Derby resisting, absorbing pressure then playing mainly on the break.

The Rams gained better possession and forced several corners as they took advantage of the wind, which was now behind them. However, the Rams were unable to force a clear goal-scoring chance. In fact, the Rams forced 11 corners during the game so had their fair share of the attacking play.

Loan striker Ryan Noble debuted for Derby early in the second period, with Robinson replaced and carrying an injury. Ball and Barker collected bookings for Derby and referee Probert booked Burnley’s Mee and Marney, too. Barker might have connected with a fine Jamie Ward corner with 20 minutes left and Noble then wasted a headed chance from close in from another Ward kick.

Burnley piled on the pressure but Fielding rescued the Rams with a last-ditch clearance from a Rodriguez effort. Derby dug in to defend the point they hoped to win, replacing striker Callum Ball with Jake Buxton as the minutes ticked down but ended the game attacking the Clarets.

Derby saw out time successfully and a valuable away draw and a fourth clean sheet on the trot were achieved, even if a fifth straight League win evaded them. There was scant reward for the Rams for a solid performance at Turf Moor though, as other results saw them drop to 11th in the Championship table.

At the moment, post-match comments almost write themselves in praising the backline and the stubborn solidity of Barker and Shackell. Goalkeeper Fielding produced another fine performance and the energetic Ward and Bryson creating most of Derby’s danger at the other end of the pitch.

The Rams can take their excellent start to this year into their challenging 4th Round FA Cup tie against Stoke City next Saturday and supporters will be able to measure the progress of Nigel Clough’s team against an established Premier League team.

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RamsWeek 4 last January saw Derby’s season ‘slip slidin’ away’, as after the FA Cup humiliation at Crawley, the Trees came to Derby and nicked the points in a 1-0 victory courtesy of Derby reject Robert Earnshaw’s late goal.

Derby’s Dean Moxey was dismissed for hacking down the Welshman late in the game; that was just about Moxey’s last act in a Derby shirt as he was promptly sold on.

Things just seemed to be getting worse for Derby on the pitch, even though they had fought valiantly against Forest; they fell short in the end and surrendered a League double to their greatest rivals within the space of a couple of weeks.

The Rams captured midfielder Ben Davies from Notts County and hope to sign Liverpool defender Daniel Ayala on loan, as Nigel Clough pointedly commented on the savings he’d made and tight budget restrictions he worked under.

The fans were getting increasingly restless and it was becoming clear that unless the team was improved, the rest of the season would be a struggle.

Photo: Action Images



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