Was it the romance of a ‘Clough’ being at the helm of Derby again? Did that blind me to what was really going on? Was he as poor a manager as some bleated repeatedly on forums and on radio talk-back?
Some may say yes but today I have never been surer that the owners of our club are a cold and callous consortium who would rather trample on our history than respect fans and what matters to us all in this debacle.
I wrote my match report slamming the move earlier today and I thought maybe I would calm, see another side and be willing to accept what has happened. Instead as the day wore on I have felt sicker in the pit of my stomach and ashamed of what the people running OUR club has done for what is intrinsically for OUR benefit.
Nigel Clough is by no means perfect and by no means the greatest manager that ever lived, that is a title held by another man with his surname.
But the reaction to his sacking has been mostly of shock and disbelief, with even those who had turned on Clough, appalled at the way in which it was carried out. All of the class and tact of a petty thug at a local pub glassing his victim from behind when they are least expecting it.
Perhaps GSE and those who steer the ship think us stupid?
If they had been planning to move on Clough, then did they think we are as shallow as to think that a loss away to our greatest enemy would provide enough emotional smoke screen for us to agree whole heartedly with their decision and hail them for such a decisive move?
It’s bad enough we lose to our greatest rival but then our board in its wisdom, invite them to further laugh in our face by proving what they always said — that we "didn’t deserve a Clough”. And today I am devastated that I am finding it hard to disagree.
Instead the act of sacking Clough looks cowardly and callous in its timing and venue with the Clough families’ recent personal issues and the hypocrisy of the club continually backing Nigel and the slow re-build that they themselves forced upon him.
Many threatened to march on the club in recent years due to lack of investment but it seems apathy and just giving up going to games has been the main protest as crowds dwindle and fans nearly expect a hard slog.
If you ever wanted to march on the club then now would be the time as the club has embarrassed itself and proven it wants one thing but unwilling to provide the tools to do so.
The owners threw money at Paul Jewell and left an absolute debacle in the wake of that decision for Nigel Clough to clean up. He has slowly built a young, talented squad on the budget provided but suddenly it seems it has not been fast enough. If another manager is appointed and given money to spend it will only make the resentment towards the owners deeper and the situation even more laughable.
Nigel cleaned up a terminal squad, trimmed the budget, made our academy one of the most admired in the land, brought on young talent that may one day be considered some of the best ever produced by Derby, as young International squads are littered with our clubs up and coming stars.
When we said he should scream for more money, Nigel instead towed the line and explained that this course of action would secure DCFC for the future. A slow but steady ascent that would build towards long term top flight football - rather than a monetary driven glory dash - that once again may only end in tears.
Whether Nigel got the best from all of his players, made all the right decisions, played the right formations and employed the right tactics is open to debate. Maybe he should have backed off his players publically as he sometimes went too far with his personal criticism after matches. Mind you, in comparison his father who we revere, was more cutting and unforgiving than most that have been before or since, yet we love him for that fact.
But whatever your opinion on these issues, it is hard to deny that he operated with one arm tied behind his back and if he had been given genuine support, in terms of transfer money, then it is anyone’s guess how much better the results may have been. But with his eye for a bargain, I would bet things would have been far better and perhaps we would already be playing top flight football.
The likes of Hughes, Hendrick and Bennett prove whole heartedly that Clough was spinning straw into gold. Bryson, Brayford, Martin, Russell and others proved that he had an eye for a bargain and despite there being as many misses as hits, that is to be expected when you are selling donkeys and hoping to get magic beans in return.
Those in charge continually backed Nigel and lauded his tireless work behind the scenes in building the club from the bottom up. His eye was over everything as his determination to make the club a viable force once again was evident to everyone — even his detractors. Sam Rush himself was glowing at the start of the season in regards to Clough’s work ethic and what he does out of sight of fans in the day to day.
For his hard work he was rewarded with a knife in the back after losing to our greatest of rivals. A decision that rivals the greatest of politically suicidal actions as it only turned the anger of the defeat on the board for their timing, hypocrisy and punishment of a manager who had been working from the mould that they created for him.
We had grown tired of attacking GSE and had begun to accept the slow rebuild and being responsible with our finances was the path being taken. Now they have awoken a sleeping giant with cynicism and bitterness replacing lethargy. The blind eye will now be replaced with a microscope in regards to every move they make.
Perhaps a look in the mirror followed by listing the club ‘for sale’ may have been a better decision as they are as much if not more to blame for the club not having achieved promotion under Clough.
Once again DCFC has rubbed the Clough name into the dirt, not you or me but those who supposedly act on our behalf. So that means they have, on our behalf, disrespected a family and legacy that means a great deal to most of us and that has taken more body blows than the success it produced deserves.
It was he and not them who was restoring the respect to DCFC when just over five years ago - we were the WORST EVER team in the top flight.
Until Saturday we were the BEST away team in the league and about a game from the top 6. One loss and a spineless ownership group loses its nerve after years telling us that we should hold ours in check.
Lower crowds, fan disenchantment and once again the Clough legacy is in tatters.
Well done DCFC— you have given us another messy chapter in our history, one that could have been so much better handled, avoided or even fixed.
If this is what football has become then I like so many others am fast becoming fed up with it. I know I am rambling but every time I stop, I get angry again and think of another point, another reason to attack this faceless group that has made a mockery of the history we hold dear.
What happens next is so important for Derby’s future and I hope that unlike the unrest of a few years ago, in regards to investment, this time it does not fizzle out and get replaced by lethargy.
Derby County is our club and once again, to borrow an infamous phrase from our recent history, it feels like we are being treated like a ‘train set’.
Goodbye and good luck Nigel — whatever we the fans thought or said in the last 5 years, you gave it your best and did so much for DCFC whether it was seen or behind the scenes.
It will always be a case of what might have been instead of what was.
Thank you.
Brian Clough once said:
"If a chairman sacks the manager he initially appointed, he should go as well".
With that quote in mind - there was a chant that reverberated through the streets of Derby in the seventies and frankly I think it is time that it did again.
"Clough In — Board Out”