Derby County had an extended break after their home defeat by East Midlands’ rivals Leicester City before travelling to face promotion-chasing Birmingham City in the Championship.

Supporters experienced a somewhat schizophrenic start to the week. There was a frenzy of optimism and enthusiasm among season ticket-holders choosing to renew early, who flocked to the stadium in order to take advantage of the club’s February marketing incentive.

Vouchers for a free Adidas home shirt and a further £50-worth of selected training and leisure wear from the 2011 range ensured busy tills and long queues in the ticket office and Shop DCFC at the end of last month.

A contrary mood has spread, however, with concern aired at the Rams’ losing run. The lack of goals and effective creative play from the side in recent defeats has nullified the Rams’ promised top-six challenge as the team slid down to mid-table.

The radio phone-in and message boards were laden with grumbles about the poor form, with fans questioning the squad’s capabilities; an air of frustration and disappointment grew as yet another season has slipped into mediocrity.

There was a contrast in other news, too - joy for Mason Bennett, the Rams’ Academy starlet, who hit 4 second-half goals in his team’s 6-0 under-18 win over Middlesbrough - but despair for Jamie Ward, who picked up a thigh injury in training with the Northern Ireland squad and became a major doubt for Derby’s game at Birmingham on Saturday.

Injuries to other key players, John Brayford and Craig Bryson deepened supporter conviction that the squad isn’t strong enough to fulfil promises made by the club last summer. Loan moves seem to have been ruled out, despite the team failing to measure up to their recent challenges and lacking in experienced or fit cover.

Some fans wonder if the club is mindful of the squad deficiencies, others conclude that the club and investors aspire only to Championship safety, the management fees are maintained and that season ticket sales roll in year-on-year. The Rams do not appear to be in danger - for a change - but are going nowhere fast.

Recounting the impending controls of the FFP legislation and pointing at clubs in trouble is laudable but it communicates to fans and players - and players that might be interested in joining DCFC - that ambition has stalled and that the investors dare not take the big step of operating the club in the Premier League. “As long as we’re safe” is the mantra, or so it seems.

Eight Championship games in March will test Derby’s resources to the maximum. Other clubs keep reinforcing their squads; Derby’s next opponents, Birmingham City have just acquired three new players; QPR defender Peter Ramage on loan, Irish striker Caleb Folan and defender Cian Hughton (son of Blues’ boss Chris Hughton).

That strategy seems to have been in anticipation of what followed - a transfer embargo imposed on BCFC this week by the Football League. The 2nd City club has failed to file 2010-11 accounts on time - and owner Carson Yeung is in Hong Kong fighting money-laundering charges.

Relegation-haunted Coventry City has also been placed under a transfer embargo for the same accounting failure and the Sky Blues suffered another blow as manager Andy Thorn was laid low with a virus. There’s trouble, sure enough at other clubs - Portsmouth being the other ongoing example in the Championship, whilst League Two club Port Vale look set to go into administration.

In contrast, Derby County operate fiscal control, tight budgeting and take yearly finance injections from their owners. Greater squad depth and a football product demonstrating progress with entertainment are needed. The patience of a large and loyal fanbase is again being tested, whilst this season’s Championship challenge evaporates after previous years of disappointment.

The Rams didn’t muster a goal during February, so either the assorted forwards returning to fitness must make their mark, or the management has to borrow a player who knows where the net is. Manager Nigel Clough commented that he now needs Steve Davies and Theo Robinson “to show more” in the goals department; he also acknowledged that Academy graduate Callum Ball is tiring after a run of games in his first season at senior level.

Perhaps Mr Clough’s Scottish striker signing Chris Maguire needs a run of games to find his feet, having been discarded and criticised publicly - or should Derby find a proven short-term loanee goalscorer, to make the final two months of the season a little more entertaining and productive?

Blackpool, playing at Derby on Tuesday, has taken ex-England and Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler on trial with a view to a short-term contract. Middlesbrough captured Wolves’ versatile midfielder Adam Hammill on loan and DirtyLeeds took ex-Pompey forward Danny Webber on a contract until the end of the season.

Cardiff City benefited from Portsmouth’s financial nightmare by taking their captain Liam Lawrence on loan; Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers are planning to lay off players during their administration period; any chance that Derby County can sniff around those squads for a loanee?

Breath-holding is strictly optional. I expect Derby will plug away with the same assorted mismatch of forwards operating at various fitness levels, sometimes out of position due to the lack of an experienced centre-forward. The Rams hope to nick the odd game by scoring and then holding on to a goal - but they have to match the opposition for penetration and chance-taking to succeed.

Having pared down the squad to minimum levels during this season, the owners have at the same time restricted the number of loanees taken in comparison to previous campaigns, further limiting the manager’s options during the lapses in form and fitness.

Midweek saw a round of international friendlies, with Stuart ‘Psycho’ Pearce caretaking England for an inconsistent display against the Netherlands and he gave several young players a run out in the 2-3 Wembley defeat.

A poignant evening in commemoration of the late Welsh manager Gary Speed took place at the Millennium Stadium Cardiff, with new Wales boss Chris Coleman and an emotional crowd watching their national side lose 0-1 in a friendly with Costa Rica.

Jamie Ward’s injury with the Northern Ireland international squad sidelined him for Derby’s game at St Andrew’s Birmingham. Manager Nigel Clough had other injury woes with John Brayford out for the season and Craig Bryson less than 100% fit with his ankle bruise, though he declared before the game: “We can’t buy a win or a goal; let’s go and have a go at them”. I’m tempted to say: buy a goalscorer, and you can have ‘a proper go’ at every team we play!

Nigel Clough retained Paul Green in the emergency right-back position and used Carroll, Hendrick and Bryson in midfield. . Theo Robinson up front was flanked by Steve Davies and Nathan Tyson, with Callum Balled rested to the bench.

There was an 18,000 crowd at St Andrews (with over 1,400 Rams fans in attendance) and it’s not a big stretch to assert that there would have been 10,000 more had the game been played at Pride Park Stadium, as there had been more than 27,000 in attendance when Derby beat Birmingham 2-1 on the opening day of the season.

Since then, Chris Hughton’s side has stealthily negotiated the Championship after early-season Europa League exploits, and stood in 5th place. They recently went on a 15-game unbeaten stretch, have the meanest defence in the league and had let in only 8 goals at home.

The game followed a predictable pattern after a scrappy start; the home side gained the upper hand gradually, using possession more purposefully as Derby’s forwards fed on scraps. The Blues took the lead after 18 minutes following suicidal Derby defending from a corner.

Given their reliance on a tight defence, Derby’s rearguard work from set pieces has recently been very poor and cheap goals have been given away. The latest one was no exception; Brum took the corner short, Townshend was left unattended to thump it goalwards from the edge of the box and after a deflection or two, recent signing Huseklepp bundled the ball in at the far post.

Unlucky, it could be said - but Brum were given freedom from the corner and invited to cause danger.

The Rams could not muster a telling response and Blues keeper Boaz Myhill was untroubled during the remainder of the half, with Derby’s possession usually short-lived. Nathan Tyson took an ankle knock just before the interval when putting in a shot and he collided with Curtis Davis; the referee strangely decided that Tyson should also be booked for his trouble.

It didn’t take long for City to extend their lead; the Rams succumbed to a sucker punch after losing the ball on the edge of the Blues’ penalty area. Derby allowed Townshend to run more than half the length of the field from inside his own half, to slip the ball into Marlon King who slotted home.

There was a chasm on Derby’s right wing for King to run into and score, left-back Gareth Roberts stranded upfield as the Rams’ attack broke down, with inevitable consequences. Brum led 2-0 after 52 minutes, without having to over-extend themselves - and given Derby’s goal drought and characteristic lack of threat, it seemed a very long way back for the Rams.

Nigel Clough responded by replacing the injured Tyson with Ben Davies. Ty’s Derby County career is becoming either a joke or a nightmare, depending on your point of view. The change worked, though - as Derby scored immediately. Ben recovered his early-season form and put the irrelevant Tyson to shame, as he immediately put in an accurate cross; ‘Iron Man’ Steve Davies headed home without fuss, those metal plates in his skull clearly proving very useful!

Football is a simple game and Derby must work to convince themselves of that - and at least the Rams’ goal drought was over! Even stranger, Derby battled back to make it 2-2 only minutes later, when Birmingham-born Theo Robinson converted a splendid pass from Paul Green.

The St Andrews’ faithful were stunned and the travelling Derby army had to pinch themselves to recognise that their side had nicked two goals in a game. It’s not too often that the Rams have recovered so comprehensively in a game where they trailed and the side showed great character by ‘snatchin’ it back’ in fine style.

Clough’s men had responded with a brave fightback - so unexpected after a moribund performance in the first 60 minutes. Special credit goes to Steve Davies, returning after four months out with a fractured skull; his accurate and emphatic header sparked the revival and showed that he has no fear or lack of confidence in returning to play a full part up front for Derby.

The second half saw a more even game, though City built up some late momentum. Callum Ball came on to replace Steve Davies as Derby held their own. During four nervous minutes of stoppage time, the Rams were hanging on by their fingernails as the Blues pressed - but hang on they did, to earn a creditable point. The losing sequence was broken and goals had at last been scored, in a difficult away game against a top-six side.

Paul Green, recalled to the Republic of Ireland squad this week in their 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic, had an excellent all-round game as well as setting up Robinson’s equaliser. Though manager Clough makes reference to Green’s age, as if seeking a younger, cheaper equivalent in his stead, Paul is 28 and in his prime.

Greeny would surely be an asset to the Rams for several more years should he stay at the club beyond this summer. Funny; the manager was happy to retain the slow, expensive 35-year-old Robbie Savage in a lumbering and unproductive midfield role for long enough at one time...

The Rams can take heart from this display as they launch into a busy March fixture programme. It may have been a good time to play City, perhaps preoccupied with their important home FA Cup replay against vulnerable Chelsea on Tuesday. Derby won an important point at St Andrews.

Even such a welcome result left Derby in 16th place in the table, as the teams close to them enjoyed victories on Saturday. With three home games in a row - Blackpool, Watford and Forest - in the space of eight days from Tuesday, the Rams now have the chance to revive their season whilst sealing Championship safety on a much earlier timescale than recent seasons.

__________________________________________________________________

In RamsWeek 10 last year, manager Nigel Clough put on a brave face after a disappointing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Doncaster Rovers. Captain Robbie Savage called his team’s performance “absolutely disgraceful”.

Their proven goalscorer Billy Sharp made the difference with two goals and in words we’ve also heard in 2011-12l after defeats when chance-taking has let down the Rams, , Nigel said: ‘that’s what you get from a £1m striker; he puts the ball into the net”.

Clough had tried his own latest permutations: Cywka, Bueno, Steve Davies, and newcomers Jamie Ward and Theo Robinson, but it was a disjointed performance with a second-half collapse.

The next weekend, the Rams played out a lifeless 0-0 home draw with Barnsley that at least rendered a precious survival point and a clean sheet. The Rams were 19th in the table, six points clear of the drop zone.

Former first-choice goalkeeper Stephen Bywater was loaned to Cardiff City with loanee Frank Fielding displacing him in the Derby team (with another loanee, Hull’s Matt Duke, joining as Derby’s standby keeper). Midfielder Ben Pringle went on loan to Torquay United.

Manager Clough declared he needed 6 players of proven Championship quality if the club was to move forward; a year on, and he’s still waiting for some of those. Mr Glick put on a brave face with the media, saying that there was no contingency plan in place for relegation - as it was not anticipated that Derby could go down.

Photo: Action Images

Derby County Polls