Derby County had a busy schedule and a mounting injury list after their 2-1 home victory over Plymouth Argyle.

The Rams had injury problems ahead of the away match at Blackpool on Tuesday, as well as players returning from suspension.

Young winger Steve Davies suffered a facial clattering early in the game and has had an operation on a fractured eye socket. He is now ruled out for between one to three months - it’s a nasty injury and a setback for Steve, who was settling into the Rams’ squad with some promising recent performances.

Playmaker Kris Commons, who took the game by the scruff of the neck with his dashing run to set up Rob Hulse’s first-half equaliser, had a knock and was doubtful for the Blackpool away game last Tuesday.

Goalkeeper Roy Carroll and defender Dean Leacock had served their respective suspensions and were available again. Stephen Bywater retained the goalie’s jersey and Dean Leacock replaced Nyatanga in defence; Kris Commons passed a fitness test and replaced the injured Steve Davies in the starting line-up.

Jewell wanted his players to be resolute and strong in the unforgiving conditions of the windy northwest but the Tangerines enjoyed the better possession and penetration in the first half. They gradually got on top and Derby’s sloppy defending enabled Blackpool to take a 2-0 lead into the break. Alan Gow scored his first goal for Blackpool on his full debut and Gary Taylor-Fletcher doubled their lead.

Things didn’t improve upon the restart - Derby had little spark, they were defending hesitantly and just couldn’t string passes together. The Rams did feel their way into the game eventually - and Kris Commons whipped in a fine free kick on 58 minutes for his first goal of the season.

Derby couldn’t make further inroads into the Tangerines’ defence during a good spell and the home side stretched their lead to 3-1 through Burgess, as Barazite lay injured; Paul Jewell later declared that when Nacer had been fouled seconds beforehand, the referee failed to treat the incident seriously.

Whatever, Rams’ defenders had again left generous spaces for Blackpool to exploit. Mile Sterjovski replaced Barazite and so had his long-awaited chance to play his part in Jewell’s plans.

It was then Blackpool’s turn to make a hash of defending, Sterjovski capitalising on a mix-up in the home defence with 14 minutes left to steer the ball home for his first goal for the Rams to make it 3-2. Derby finished the game strongly but couldn’t find another goal, so they surrendered their 7-match unbeaten run.

The defence played badly for the first hour of the game, too easily stretched and pulled apart by Blackpool’s attack - it left the team with too much to do to retrieve the game.

Claude Davis had a nightmare; unconvinced Rams fans saw nothing to cheer in his performance even though Jewell was a little prickly about criticism of the performance in post-match interviews. The Jamaican has had a busy international sortie and so his first team recall (out of necessity) wasn’t well timed. The Leacock - Davis defensive axis isn’t good enough on this showing, but needs must at present.

The attendance at Bloomfield Road was under 7,300 but the meagre crowd enjoyed their victory; Derby supporters among that crowd numbered 1,200 in that crowd - the Rams would take about 3,000 fans to the Saturday match at Coventry. Derby had dropped to 14th place in the Championship table. They also suffered another injury blow, as Nacer Barazite suffered suspected medial knee ligament damage.

Goalkeeper Lee Camp, who left Derby County for QPR last season after spells on loan at Loftus Road, has moved from Shepherds Bush to the Trees. He had fallen down the pecking order at QPR and declared he moved to Nothingham on loan “to further his career”. If he faces the Rams at Pride Park Stadium on November 2nd when the Trees visit Derby in the Championship, it’ll add more spice to the game!

Chairman Andy Appleby spoke of the club’s financial situation and said that the so-called ‘credit-crunch’ won’t affect his consortium’s investment plans for Derby County. This was, he said, because the group operating the Rams was a global consortium, there had been no ‘debt purchasing’ and the investment can come in from diverse sources. With several of the investors now named, other (as yet unidentified) consortium partners from Guatemala and Lebanon attended the Rams’ win over Plymouth Argyle.

Appleby stressed that the primary goal remained to restore Premier League status to Derby and that the Rams could become ‘a special club’ in the coming years. The Rams have one of the highest wage bills in the Championship but do enjoy the best attendances in the league at around a 29,000 average. Things are pointing in the right direction and expectations are rising.

Roger Faulkner spoke further about the links forged between Derby County and the Michigan Wolves-Hawks youth sides; the aim is to bring promising 15-18 year olds from the States to the DCFC Academy. This differs from links forged by such as Stoke City & Crystal Palace, who are mentoring players of 20 and older - Derby want to catch and coach much younger players. Faulkner thinks that there will be youngsters of sufficient quality from the Michigan link for Derby to develop for a future in Europe.

There was a Guardian feature this week updating the fraud case against members of John Sleightholme’s disgraced Derby County board. Northampton Crown Court must hear their pleas by November 21st. The Crown Prosecution’s case is that the group of five defendants “feathered their own nest and (took) some of it for themselves”. The trial is set for next March and may run for eight weeks.

As Derby built up to Saturday’s game at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, the injury news was slightly less bleak than it appeared earlier last week. Stephen Davies’ operation on the fractured eye socket suffered against Plymouth went well and he may not be out for as long as anticipated. He will still be missing for a couple of months, however.

Defender Martin Albrechtsen, recovering from his hernia op, is back in light training. He could see first team action by December. Arsenal loanee Nacer Barazite’s medial ligament injury isn’t as severe as feared; he stayed at Derby for treatment rather than returning to the Emirates and resumed training by Friday. He could even figure next Saturday against Nothingham F*rest (who lost again on Tuesday).

Midfielder Giles Barnes is back in training after shaking off his latest niggly problem, a thigh strain. One Rams’ youngster in meaningful action and thriving is Liam Dickinson, who netted another two for Huddersfield Town in his loan spell, which continues until mid-November. Adding those two to the squad over the next few weeks will give Jewell some interesting options!

Jewell made forced and unforced changes for the game at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena; Paul Green was missing with a neck injury and so Kazmierczak came in; Aussie Mile Sterjovski replaced Barazite and Nyatanga was preferred to Claude Davis as Dean Leacock’s partner in defence.

The match was a rather low-key event, sparsely attended as regards a home crowd; the large stadium was looking distinctly under populated, more like the “Echo” Arena to me! Coventry needs circa 24,000 gates to break even and the 18,500 crowd included over 3,000 Derby fans.

The home side huffed and puffed without much to show for their efforts. Derby were comfortable but never spectacular and stole the lead just before the break, when Kris Commons dinked a slick cross onto Rob Hulse’s head, enabling the centre forward to take advantage of Coventry’s poor marking to claim his 4th goal of the season.

City plugged away and had the better of possession for a spell after the interval but Bywater impressed in goal and Derby gradually exerted a grip on the match, looking as if they would take all three points home.

Coventry mounted late attacks and Bywater kept them at bay with more saves - but you got the anxious feeling, perhaps exacerbated after Dean Leacock - nursing a calf injury - had to be replaced by Davis, that when the home side pressed more as the game drew to a close, they could yet force the issue.

After a flurry of substitutes and a few injury stoppages, the game moved into 5 minutes’ added time. Annoyingly, Derby players ‘lost it’ temporarily, getting irate when a throw-in was awarded - maybe incorrectly - to City. Instead of playing to the whistle, some allowed themselves to be distracted indulging in remonstrations with officials, whilst Coventry simply made rapid progress down their left flank and worked the ball across the area for substitute Clinton Morrison to rap in the equaliser from close range.

For the Rams to have ‘switched off’ at a perceived injustice was unprofessional, especially with the game all but wrapped up. Players must remember that relying on officials is a fool’s game and that teams make their own luck - as Coventry gladly demonstrated by getting on with things. Just remember, you Rams - it ain’t over ‘til it’s over!

It was a lapse as amateur as any defensive mistake they made last season - it cost Derby dear but a draw was a fair result in the final analysis. The Rams had also ‘switched off’ at Blackpool last Tuesday when Barazite lay injured - and the Tangerines had played on to score a crucial third goal.

Derby lacked the drive of Paul Green in midfield, as Kaz isn’t a suitable deputy. Sterjovski was rather anonymous as well, and Barazite’s skill and thrust was also missed. Stephen Bywater has successfully reclaimed the goalkeeping jersey from Roy Carroll. In a good performance with some important saves, along with Addison and Hulse, he starred for the Rams. Commons has had a bright return to action, too.

It was a huge disappointment to the Rams’ travelling faithful that their team couldn’t hold out a few more seconds for all three points. A win would have been very useful in Derby’s rehabilitation this season after the loose, lacklustre showing at Blackpool last Tuesday.

However, that point gained at Coventry will look even better if the Rams can take maximum points from winnable back-to-back home games against Norwich and F*rest this week. The Trees lost yet again on Saturday at home to Cardiff City and face Crystal Palace away in midweek.

If they were to lose that game and are then defeated at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday, it could be a case of needing Torchwood - not Calderwood - to rescue them from a rapid return to the third tier!

Bring ‘em on!

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In RamsWeek 43 last year it was more of the usual and a case of ‘everybody hurts’ after a predictable defeat against a stronger fitter faster Everton team, who were the latest to confirm Derby’s status as no-hope sight-seers.

The 2-0 margin secured by the Toffees didn’t look like a chasm but it was in reality and Billy Davies characteristically in his defeatist, siege mentality rumbled on about Everton’s greater resources, experience and strength in depth at this level. He promised ‘plenty of new faces’ come January 2008 yet again - which no doubt magically motivated his current moribund crop of players no end.

We used to think that Phil Brown was a chump but he never utters such negativism in the face of similar odds - he’s making the best of what he now has at Hull - evidenced by the fact that the Tigers are set to double Derby’s points total from the whole of last season before November 2008 is out.

God help the next manager of Derby County when, if we’re promoted, he tiresomely undersells and demeans the squad and club perpetually - I just won’t be responsible for my actions!

At least Giles Barnes made his long-awaited return to first team action after injury against the Toffees (sounds familiar?) even if he was deployed in about 4 positions, as Davies desperately shuffled his formation all afternoon in a forlorn attempt to stem the blue tide of Everton progress.

Off field, rumours strengthened that ex-Hull chief Adam Pearson was investing £4.5m in Derby County and would soon fill the gap left by here today, gone tomorrow Chief Executive Trevor Birch.

Photo: Action Images

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