Regardless of opinion…

[cannable]

…questions need to be raised. Now from recent weeks it's clear that this forum is divided; either it's the players' fault or it's the coaching staff's. Now regardless of which opinion you take I think that there are huge question marks over our direction in terms of a club.

Mel's idea of 'The Derby Way' was for our new managers to come in and continue the work of the predecessor rather than cause massive upheaval. This would mean that improvement wouldn't be restricted to one specific tenure and that improvement would theoretically be infinite. This would also give our youth teams a model in which to base themselves off and thus allow the transition into the first team to be seemless.

In February we sacked Paul Clement for not adhering to this certain philosophy*. Part of the reason given for his sacking was that he wasn't including enough academy products in his squad but the main reason was that he was changing too much. We were a team that pressed high up the pitch, won the ball back ASAP and would then go for the jugular if possible and if not we'd control the game and speed things up the minute the opportunity arose. He transformed us into a team that sat deep, soaked up pressure and would then slowly pass the ball, hoping for an opportunity for somebody to produce some magic. We weren't improving under Clement, we were simply changing.

Mel wanted things similar to how they were under McClaren and so appointed Darren Wassall with this task. He was to undo as much of the damage as he could. He did this. He gave out wide men total freedom to inflict damage, we pressed high again and looked to play to our strengths again. We weren't at McClaren standards but any incoming manager would have seen that "this is how to get the best out of this group of players, this is what I shall build off."

Then comes the appointment of Pearson. In his press-conference Mel states that he believes that this current group of players has never had a full season at it. For one reason or another we have never been able to get the majority of our first choice starting eleven on the pitch for the majority of a season and that he believed that they deserved a crack. Pearson himself stated that we need tweaking. Things sound as if we're going to give these players another go at it. That Pearson was the man to get the best out of this squad.

And so two months later we find ourselves with the entire dynamic of our attack altered, our squad still seemingly half suited to possession football and the other half to counter-attacking football and out fabulous attacking team having only scored one league goal which was from a defender. 

What's happened? Everything that has happened thus far this season has contradicted the decisions made last season and thing things stated in Pearson's press conference. Clement was sacked for too much change and yet Pearson has altered more in two months than Clement did in seven and yet Clement was sacked for this! The justification for sacking Clement is now null and void. If Pearson has been told behind the scenes that he can re-mould the team then fair enough, but the time we spent under Wassall's stewardship was now pointless as well. We could have spent that time with Pearson in charge deciding who fit into his plans and who didn't. If Mel hasn't abandoned his vision well, it's too late now. We're past the point of the return. The time for making Pearson adhere to his vision or face the sack was weeks ago. 

Either Mel has abandoned a philosophy which has served clubs who started in the league below us so well or Pearson isn't adhering to it. Why? 

*If you think he was sacked for ulterior reasons then please don't bother replying. 

[CastletonRam]

Thank you for posting this. Encapsulates what I feel. 

[Jourdan]

Mel Morris and the Derby way, what a curious case.

To do what the likes of Southampton and Swansea have done takes courage, commitment but also tangible results. That's what a lot of people are missing. Those models only look good when the clubs are doing well on the pitch. If they were both to get relegated in May, there would soon be a new model to follow, a new flavour of the month if you will.

Football is results driven, at the end of the day. If the results aren't forthcoming, you are going to question if your vision is the right way forward.

That's all that has happened here for me. Mel came in with a strong vision but repeated failure to get out of the division has left him scrambling for a new magic potion.

If Mel truly believed in the Derby way, his tenure over the last 12-18 months is completely at odds with everything he set out to do.

So for me, all we can deduce from the last 12-18 months is that Pearson and Clement gave compelling and convincing job interviews that assured Morris that we'd be successful and Mel was naive or desperate enough to believe them.

But probably the biggest thing we should take away from this is that whatever Mel Morris says surely must be taken with a very large pinch of salt because much like any other owner, you're going to tell the fans what you think they want to hear in any given situation.

If Pearson leads us to promotion playing ugly, direct football, what's going to stop Mel from saying "And that, ladies and gentlemen...is the Derby way!"?

 

[Alph]

As a person that put faith in Clough to build a team, then enjoyed Mac evolving that team it was great to hear Mel wanted the club to continue evolution rather than revolution. 

I've not called for a sacking since Jewell. Not even Billy. 

I envied Swansea and Saints. And Watford and grudgingly Eddie Howe's way of recruit to fit. You take the knocks, you see where you're weak and you upgrade. It can take time. Anything can. 

I felt if we could jump from midtable losing seasons to play offs with McClaren then with financial power what else can we do. What can better managers than Mac do!!

Now I feel it's the end of an era. Maybe I'm wrong but it feels that the evolution from Clough has ended. 

And I'm utterly depressed about it. It's not about any individual players. I don't really get too attached. It's just the whole growth of the club has stopped and is now being sewn again. 

It's just deflated me. Need some good football to watch. I just want to enjoy football. It's a break from life. I don't want to be bored like I am now. 

I've got little faith in Mel Morris. I appreciate him. I just don't feel confident in the way we do things right now

Ah well. 

[Guest]

The transfer window when we sold Tom Huddlestone for a fiver was depressing, This one is intriguing, people need to get a grip, imo.

[deano180]

Wonder when the next breakfast club is called upon so mel can influence his power on here again?

Control freak.

[Alph]

How is selling Tom Huddlestone more worthy of losing a grip than completely rebuilding a squad that's spent the majority of 3 years in the top 6? 

 

[ollycutts1982]

Agree with OP. Clough had a remit to lower wages, size and age of the squad. He did that, Mac took us to the next level. Clement damaged the team, Wassall and Harry got it kind of working again. As stated the team needed tweeking not ripping up and starting again. I for the large part have really enjoyed the last few years and the football that has been served up. I just feel that we are now back in a rebuilding phase and will again have to go through the motions of grinding out results and trying to get back to where we were not so long ago, recently expectations have risen and play offs is a minimum requirement for us. I really hope I'm wrong but so far haven't seen anything to  convince me. Over to you NP. 

[Ted McMinn Football Genius]

2 hours ago, Alpha said:

How is selling Tom Huddlestone more worthy of losing a grip than completely rebuilding a squad that's spent the majority of 3 years in the top 6? 

 

Ok, but for all that time spent in the majority of the previous 3 years we still remain in the Championship. We haven't had that ability to finish the job in all that time, the squad had developed "an annual bottle it mechanism" and something had to change to make that final step. Hopefully this is it and by the end of the season I hope we are all singing NP's, MM's & SR's praises. 

[NewhallRam71]

After what seemed like years of decline in the Prem, relegation, embarrassment, promotion, embarrassment and then more stagnation, the football served up under Mac was a breath of fresh air, as was the relative success it brought.

With the exception of half or dozen or so games over the last few years, we can at least say that it has been a pleasure watching the Rams. We went from mediocrity to becoming one of the bigger fishes in the Championship and the fast, fluent, attacking football was great to watch.

Although I'd love to see the Rams back in the Prem, there is a part of me that has enjoyed our status in recent seasons. We've been big spenders and have won more games than we have lost and have challenged to the end. Not to mention mostly 3pm Saturday kick-offs and greater ticket availability for away games at more sensible prices than the top flight.

Losing Chrissy Martin yesterday just feels like the end of an era. As Ramage has said often enough on Radio Derby, he has been our Kingpin. When he has played well, we've been superb.

I guess this is where the problem is though, when did Chris Martin last have one of 'those' games? The better teams realised that to stop Derby, they just had to stop the ball going into Martin. I thought we would look to find a way round this under Pearson, but I think that Martin's body language at Burton told a story, he wants to play his way, and Big Nige wanted more from him. Martin was completely owned by the £250k centre half from MK Dons. Macfadzean is it?

We can only hope that Big Nige has identified Chris Martin as being part of the annual bottle problem and his exit will allow others to flourish. Perhaps Ince will now step up?

COYR

[Alph]

Why did we have to 'bottle it.'

Why can it not just be we weren't quite good enough. We suffered injuries to even our back up for our back up. 

Why can we not just ask for some better players to fit in with what we're about?   Why can't we ask for a bit better luck with injuries?

And even if we did 'bottle it' why can't we manage it differently under a different manger. 

Why is it a total rebuild. 

Anyway, no good keep going on as cannable says. What's done is done and now we have to stick by Pearson. We can't afford someone to rebuild his half rebuild. Never get anywhere. 

Not happy but on we go. 

 

[ariotofmyown]

Another way of looking at it is that a) we've sold Jeff for crazy money who isn't even a guaranteed starter and b) Martin has left. 

There could be lots of reasons why Martin has been let go, but they aren't all that Pearson is ripping everything up and we are starting from scratch.

If we had sold Hughes and Bryson too then maybe your post would make more sense. We've loaned out one of our first XI and sold one of our many midfield options. Revolution.

[JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta]

24 minutes ago, NewhallRam71 said:

After what seemed like years of decline in the Prem, relegation, embarrassment, promotion, embarrassment and then more stagnation, the football served up under Mac was a breath of fresh air, as was the relative success it brought.

With the exception of half or dozen or so games over the last few years, we can at least say that it has been a pleasure watching the Rams. We went from mediocrity to becoming one of the bigger fishes in the Championship and the fast, fluent, attacking football was great to watch.

Although I'd love to see the Rams back in the Prem, there is a part of me that has enjoyed our status in recent seasons. We've been big spenders and have won more games than we have lost and have challenged to the end. Not to mention mostly 3pm Saturday kick-offs and greater ticket availability for away games at more sensible prices than the top flight.

Losing Chrissy Martin yesterday just feels like the end of an era. As Ramage has said often enough on Radio Derby, he has been our Kingpin. When he has played well, we've been superb.

I guess this is where the problem is though, when did Chris Martin last have one of 'those' games? The better teams realised that to stop Derby, they just had to stop the ball going into Martin. I thought we would look to find a way round this under Pearson, but I think that Martin's body language at Burton told a story, he wants to play his way, and Big Nige wanted more from him. Martin was completely owned by the £250k centre half from MK Dons. Macfadzean is it?

We can only hope that Big Nige has identified Chris Martin as being part of the annual bottle problem and his exit will allow others to flourish. Perhaps Ince will now step up?

COYR

Well put together post. I agree with pretty much all of that.

[Orphanram]

I suppose in the bubble of Derby County this is our version of Brexit. Things are going to change and were a bit uncertain about whats going to happen and that can always lead to a bit of hysteria.

Quite a few people mentioned when we first appointed pearson that breaking the team up, shifting on some big charachters and shaping the team his way is part of his 'way' and lots of Leicester fans were very critical of him at the start of his tenure. Collectively as a group of fans patience is probably unachievable but I think we should give him time and see if he can get us playing like the Leicester team that he got promoted.

[GreenwichRam]

I was pretty gutted about the sale of Martin, however despite my admiration for the player, getting that much for Hendrick I think was a great bit of business by us. 

Having had time to sleep on it and think about the implications of yesterday, I'm quietly optimistic. As great as he could be on his day, others are right to say that since the Halcyon days of October 13 - Feb 15, playing CM upfront limited the way we could play. More predictable, easier to stop, and ultimately, more boring. Had teams 'figured us out', had Martin lost interest, were those 18 months just a fluke/the peak of his career? Who knows, but the reality is, Chris hasn't looked like the player he was for some time now. 

It is time for a change in the way we do things, and if that means we play a quicker game, moving the ball from defence to attack more quickly (note that this does not necessarily mean longball..!), I'm all for it. 

ANYTHING but more of the turgid, passing it around for 5 minutes before giving it back to the opposition that we've seen in the last few games and through the worst games of the McClaren/Clement/Wassall tenures. 

[sage]

SDSR has reported the players are 'disgusted' and thought yesterday was a 'shambles'. I have heard (almost) from the horse's mouth that one of the departees was glad to get away from Derby as the atmosphere at Moor Farm was toxic.

Unhappy players don't make for high performing players. 

[Srg]

8 minutes ago, sage said:

SDSR has reported the players are 'disgusted' and thought yesterday was a 'shambles'. I have heard (almost) from the horse's mouth that one of the departees was glad to get away from Derby as the atmosphere at Moor Farm was toxic.

Unhappy players don't make for high performing players. 

Maybe they should have put a bit more effort in to begin with, then the boys club wouldn't have been sold

[AndyinLiverpool]

7 minutes ago, sage said:

SDSR has reported the players are 'disgusted' and thought yesterday was a 'shambles'. I have heard (almost) from the horse's mouth that one of the departees was glad to get away from Derby as the atmosphere at Moor Farm was toxic.

Unhappy players don't make for high performing players. 

They should probably get on with their ******* jobs and stop whining like a bunch of spoilt brats then. 

A couple of their mates have gone. Boo ******* hoo. 

[Day]

7 minutes ago, sage said:

SDSR has reported the players are 'disgusted' and thought yesterday was a 'shambles'.

I'd love to know what they thought about Friday v Burton. Shambles doesn't come close to it, whilst you can argue the tactics wasn't right, they didn't look like they could be arsed to be on the pitch. 

Looks like it's the start of a much needed clear out. Round up those that are disgusted and get them on eBay for January, can't keep blaming the managers and letting the players off the hook. 

[ashram]

4 hours ago, Alpha said:

How is selling Tom Huddlestone more worthy of losing a grip than completely rebuilding a squad that's spent the majority of 3 years in the top 6? 

 

Who's completely rebuilding the team? We've sold a striker who hasn't been scoring in a long time. Ince has scored more in the last 20 or so games. And a midfielder from an overstocked midfield. Calm down everyone.