After losing at home to Leicester City amid mounting supporter dissatisfaction last week, Derby County looked to the loan market to reinforce their struggling squad.

Nigel Clough had to prepare his troops for three important Championship games in 10 days, commencing with a visit to relegation-haunted Scunthorpe United on Saturday. A home game with Hull City follows in midweek before a trip to Sheffield United rounds off February’s fixtures.

The week commenced - typically for Derby County - with dramatic developments off the field. On Monday 14th, ex-chairman Peter Gadsby was reported to have put in a bid for the club. Well, it was Valentine’s Day, and Gadsby always professes his undying love for his hometown club!

The move was dismissed by the club only as an approach - not a bid - via a third party, which went to DCFC chairman Andy Appleby. We’ve heard nothing else from Mr Gadsby up to press.

Mr Gadsby declared his intentions to make a renewed offer to purchase share capital in the club, saying that: “there is an increasingly urgent need for investment in the club and, as with my previous offer it contained a firm commitment for the immediate provision of substantial funds for the acquisition of new players”. This latest approach from Gadsby was dismissed by GSE.

Contact had been made to Rams’ chairman Andy Appleby via PG’s representatives some 10 days before the news of the approach broke in Derby, and the message was soon rebuffed by the club.

GSE’s method posits that the club will not follow ‘the debt route’ pursued by promotion contenders like QPR, Cardiff, Forest and others with heavy investment in their squads and the ability to attract experienced Premier League loanees. 

Gadsby had been interested in regaining control of the club last year, and at that time he promised an immediate £5m budget to be spent on players by manager Nigel Clough, plus a shareholding gifted to the supporters’ trust.

Fans await details about any new Gadsby offer, should it come to that. The club condemned Mr Gadsby’s tactic of apparently conducting business through the media and the letter to Mr Appleby reportedly contained no details about how Mr Gadsby might involve himself in the club again.

It appears that the approach to Appleby had come some 10 days previously; Tom Glick had however declared that there were no bids, and no known bidders for the club right up to the time that Mr Gadsby’s 2011 approach became public, including in a face-to-face meeting with supporters’ group RamsTrust on the afternoon of Friday 12th February.

Gadsby’s move brought the repeated response from Mr Glick that the club was not for sale and that the GSE partners remained 100% committed to Derby County - and they would continue with their plan. Mr Glick stressed to the trust that the GSE partners are not ‘splitting the dollar’ between DCFC and investors’ pet projects in the USA and Canada.

We have since read media disclosures that Mr Mallett’s Vancouver Whitecaps wanted to sign several Derby players. Along with the January linkage of Robbie Savage with the MLS club, this possible conflict of interests just adds to the Derby fans’ fury.

Anger has been stoked up by dreadful results, a depleted squad, inadequate transfer activity and GSE’s reluctance to provide a decent football product. Rams fans are loyal and patient but when passions are finally roused by their club’s fortunes taking a prolonged downturn, they will make their voices heard.

GSE have busied themselves developing countless corporate partnerships with every kind of organisation - but the partnership with the fans is the one that is most important and it will be damned hard to mend. Gates, whilst very good, have dropped and fans already threaten to vote with their feet at season ticket renewal time.

RamsTrust proposed to DCFC that they amend the ‘early-bird’ season ticket renewal deadline to after the season-end; then fans would know for which division they will be buying their ticket. It’s over to you, Mr Glick.

Whilst the threadbare Derby team struggles at the wrong end of the Championship and the evidence points to only economy survival measures, there remains unease about GSE’s credibility and serious doubts about their ability to deliver their grand promises of 2008.

Most of all, Rams fans want an end to year-on-year relegation struggles and a hand-to-mouth existence. They are angry, disaffected and frustrated - and unlikely to withdraw from making their feelings known to Mr Glick and his colleagues until they have a football team worthy of the club.

To date, there is no firm Gadsby 2011 bid known to supporters and no knowledge of how (or if) it differs from the 2010 challenge to ‘the GSE way’. It seems that at the moment, the revival of Derby County is a question of ‘building the perfect beast’ by different methods.

The owners and would-be suitor Gadsby (like the fans) want the same thing - a successful Derby County team, though fans are yet to be convinced by either of these alternatives.

GSE won’t invest significantly after spending and then economising; they have allowed key players to move without providing the manager with replacements or adequate resources; they aim to build carefully. Gadsby sees a need for prompt, substantial squad investment - so which regime is best suited to lifting Derby to former heights? Are they both ‘yesterday’s men?’

It is a choice between either the frugal GSE method of self-sufficiency for the club with minimal investment in the playing squad - or a new broom (well, a refurbished one!) from a different owner who promises immediate funding for the squad.

GSE think heavy investment is a gamble - but some say might they are already gambling heavily with the future of the club by paring down the squad to the bone. The regime could face total rejection and mass opposition from fans if they presided over relegation.

Gadsby’s intentions appear to be more directly upward-looking, ambitious and imaginative and of course the club’s rapid renaissance after the Three Amigos were banished was exciting. Fans will be sceptical about Mr Gadsby’s ability to sustain the club if and when the serious business of buying Premier League-standard players, that would be a prerequisite this time.

Regardless of the funding amounts, until summer and for only a few more weeks, Derby can only sign emergency loanees. Mr Glick has had to respond to the needs of the manager and calls from the fans to get moving in the loan market, having had a wretched January on and off the field.

Such is the negative publicity of a bad run of defeats, the manager’s public beration of players, and the unattractiveness to would-be loan players of the prospect of joining a relegation battle at Pride Park Stadium, that the Rams aren’t attracting players that can capture fans’ imagination.

We are capturing only those unwanted or out-of-favour bodies that can reinforce the ranks and hopefully make a contribution for 93 days (or for however long they are billeted to Pride Park Stadium). They aren’t Derby players but can return to their ‘parent’ club with the bonus that they made a mark and resuscitated their own careers, to earn a squad place or secure a new move.

Some modest cheer was delivered with the news that Sheffield United striker Jamie Ward was joining Derby County on an emergency loan. The forward is out of favour at Bramall Lane; just one of new manager Micky Adams’ many problems - so hopefully, Jamie will enjoy leaving one unhappy club at the wrong end of the Championship for another one with its own troubles.

Fans hoped that Ward, who cost the Blades £333k from Chesterfield in 2009, would feature in a 4-4-2 at Derby, so that either Davies or Porter would no longer run around fruitlessly chasing their own flick-ons all afternoon. Birmingham-born Jamie still lives in Chesterfield, where he first came to prominence.

He’s had a busy week, with the birth of his son being followed by the loan move to Derby. Ward could join Derby on a permanent basis at the end of the season.

His spell marking time on the sidelines at Bramall Lane was interrupted by the challenge of fatherhood and his next new challenge was to join Derby’s squad to travel to Scunthorpe.

Manager Clough hopes to add more recruits on an emergency loan basis and sought the services of Preston North End striker Paul Hayes. This deal has stalled for the moment, however. It was reported that Swansea City - having nicked Luke Moore from under Clough’s nose - refused Derby’s move for Swans’ Craig Beattie, and that West Ham’s Benni McCarthy was on Derby’s shopping list.

Defensive cover needed due to injury absentees and the surprise sale of Dean Moxey might see Blackpool defender Rob Edwards join Clough’s crusaders.

With Liverpool reserve Daniel Ayala expected to make his full debut at Glanford Park and more loanees shoring up the ranks, the club as acting on the angry message from Rams fans. Apologies and ‘nearly deals’ won’t do; if Mr Glick remained unsuccessful in reinforcing Clough’s squad, fans would sustain protests as the team edged towards the relegation zone.

Edwards had a loan spell at Derby several years ago when still an Aston Villa rookie. Though I’ve dredged my memory, I failed to remember him to any great degree, but he did figure in the Tangerines’ rapid rise to play-offs and promotion last season. Norwich City also wants to sign Edwards; they are going forward and might prove to be a more attractive proposition for him.

None of the signings will have fans rushing to the merch desk for named shirts (what Derby player does these days?) but they do give Clough some cover and choice as he copes with poor form. He can now tinker with his formations in order to stabilise the team and win some points.

Derby went to Scunthorpe with 10 defeats in the last 13 games - only points matter now in order to escape being dragged into the bottom three. The Iron had ended Nothingham Forest’s 10-game unbeaten run in midweek, so they perked up at precisely the wrong time for Derby!

Meanwhile, Non-league Crawley Town, conquerors of Derby County in the Third Round of the FA Cup last month, went to Old Trafford in the 5th Round to face Manchester United. The non-Leaguers gave a good account of themselves, with ex-Ram Pablo Mills the Man of the Match.

With a one-third share from the gate receipts of the 75,000 attendance at their 1-0 Old Trafford defeat, Crawley probably earned a good £600,000 gate money - plus TV fees and unprecedented merchandise spin-off sales. I’d estimate that Crawley stand about £1m better off this week.

Remember Mr Glick’s declaration that losing to Crawley in the FA Cup didn’t mean much to the DCFC business plan? Well, (assuming that the Rams would have been good enough to overcome Torquay United in the 4th Round), that amount of FA Cup money would have meant a lot in the transfer market, I’d say.

Whatever - instead of Old Trafford, Derby went to Scunthorpe.

Manager Nigel Clough was able to use two new players at Glanford Park. Defender Daniel Ayala partnered Sean Barker in the centre for his full debut, enabling Miles Addison to move into midfield and new striker Jamie Ward debuted alongside Stephen Davies.

Ben Pringle was left on the Derby bench and Stephen Pearson dropped out with an injury and Robbie Savage made his 500th career start. Clough selected only 6 players on the bench; making a point, perhaps - but why not include junior striker Callum Ball for more experience, after he scored a hat-trick in midweek in the Academy team’s 4-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday?

Scuthorpe started on the front foot and forced Stephen Bywater into early action on two occasions. The Iron continued to press on a soggy, uneven pitch, as Derby struggled to make any impact. Jamie Ward had Derby’s first worthwhile effort after almost half an hour.

Derby had to  stick to restricting Scunthorpe’s chances at the other end in a scrappy first half, which ground to an uninspiring 0-0 stalemate at the interval. A crowd of fewer than 5,700 watched the spectacle, with over 1,300 Derby fans present. As ever, the Derby County board cannot complain about a lack of support for this team.

Derby netted on the restart as Paul Green shot home - but the effort was ruled offside; the Rams made a bright start to the second period. United didn’t show the zest of their first-half showing and the Rams looked more comfortable, gaining confidence as the match wore on.

Duffy had the Derby goal at his mercy but Bywater saved his shot; Derby however had the better of the play in the second half, looking resolute at the back for once, with Barker (still carrying an injury) and Ayala forming a promising partnership in the centre of defence.

The Rams took a well-earned point in the 0-0 draw and will look to build on the result. Jamie Ward had a lively debut and Miles Addison lent his strength in midfield in a much more compact team performance that of late. Caution is advised, as Scunthorpe are a poor side.

Good results against Hull City and Sheffield United in the next week can see Derby looking up the table again.

Ironically, Derby dropped a place to 18th in the Championship table after Saturday’s results but moved a further point ahead of the bottom three. It was Derby’s first ‘clean sheet’ for 7 games.

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RamsWeek 8 last season saw plenty of action on and off the field. Full-back Jay McEveley got himself into a night-club fracas and was detained by police; no charges were pressed. McEveley also got himself sent off against Swansea at the weekend for two yellow card offences.

Then captain Robbie Savage took exception to Radio Derby’s analysis of the Rams’ poor discipline, expecting the local media to be supportive of the club regardless of the facts. Sav was quite disrespectful to match commentators and fans were divided over his forthright attitude.

The Rams beat Preston North End 5-3 at Pride Park Stadium in midweek; the scoreline suggested a close-fought encounter but Derby should have scored double figures. Amazingly, Preston grabbed and early lead, Paul Green equalising before the break. Goals from Commons, Hulse (2) and Barker put the Rams out of reach in the second half.

The Rams the lost narrowly 1-0 at home to promotion-chasing Swansea City in front of 31,000, the Swans ending Derby’s mini-run of good results.

Photo: Action Images

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