The Tenure of Melvyn Morris

[Nuwtfly]

Well Mel, it's been quite a ride...

With the end of Mel Morris' ownership and leadership of the club drawing near, questions are soon likely to be asked, in hindsight, of just how good the Morris tenure was for our club.

For some of us, Mel has been that "One of Our Own" superfan who supporters dream about owning their club. He's fought our corner at every opportunity, in the face of the EFL, other clubs owners and dodgy businessmen trying to buy us.

For others, Mel has been a destabilising influence on a club that had, before his arrival, had been very steady (or a bit dull) under GSE. An owner that turned us into the club with the longest serving Championship manager, to a club that has a new manager (or two) every season.

What your thoughts are on Mel are your own, but I thought, as we come excitedly/sadly to the end, that I'd chronicle some of the highlights...and lowlights...

 

The Highs

- Massive amounts of money pumped into the club; both on players, wages, managers wages and an incredible investment in our academy and facilities. 

- We broke our transfer record four times under Mel. 

- The transformation into a club that regularly challenged for promotion. Fans who maybe weren't as involved in the Nigel Clough days (and before) might not remember what it felt like to not be a contender every season. 

- Attracting some incredibly big names to the club, such as a Paul Clement (then a big name after his years with Big Carlo), Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Phillip Cocu and, of course, Wayne Rooney. 

- The creation of RamsTV, which has been outstanding, and included two masterstrokes in bringing in Owen Bradley and Colin Gibson.

- Huge investment in the community, into charities, and into the city of Derby!

- A trip to Wembley under Frank Lampard!

- The consistent attempt (and you could argue success) at implementing a "whole club" approach, linking the academy teams and first team together in regards to playing style and player development. He gave us the groundwork to potentially grow into one of the best producers of players in the country...the Derby Way!

- ...And on that point, just how many academy youngsters have come through the ranks during Morris' tenure? I won't list them, but it's been a fair few, and plenty more to come!

- Fighting tooth-and-nail with the EFL to prevent points deductions, restrictions and punishments. Has a Championship Chairman stuck up and battled for his club as much as Mel has for us? Many, many fans in this league, and below, would love to have an owner like that.

- The creation of fans committees, Q&A events and the occasional forum visit to Moor Farm...we are very lucky to have been given that kind of access to our football club, as it's not common.

-Finally, a perhaps controversial one: managing to convince Darren Wassall to stay at the club after his time as interim manager after Clement's departure. I was no fan of that appointment (Wassalls) at the time, but I openly admit that DW has had an incredible impact on our club and academy and has been a huge factor in the recent success in our academy. DW is a guy who really genuinely cares about this club (we saw that in his final moments after we lost to Hull City in the play-offs) and is exactly the kind of person we need at the club.

 

The Lows

- The sacking of our best manager (in my opinion) in recent times...twice!

- Allegedly entering the dressing room and giving the players a dressing down during Clement's tenure; effectively undermining the manager.

- The managerial merry-go round. Under Mel, we have become a club that now celebrates starting and finishing a season with the same manager...not the sign of a well-run ship, some might say. 

- The Nigel Pearson debacle...

- The transformation into "Corner Flag FC" - it's not nice to have more club statements than highlights in a season, and that's what it felt like last year. Yes, you could argue that MM is not responsible for many of these, but they happened under his tenure, and he shares in the responsibility of this.

- The way we have acted during Mel's tenure in regards to following the rules in regards to spending, amortisation, etc. All the things that get Kieran Maguire going. Some may see this as cleverly working the system. Others, like myself, might feel really quite uncomfortable about it. I took absolutely no pleasure from the battle with the EFL personally, and felt very ashamed that our club had fallen into such a situation. In the last few years, we have had to sell our best players to stay in line, and often at prices well below their true value. That's not a good sign. 

- EFL charges, soft transfer embargos, potential points deductions; some extremely scary moments for us as fans. 

- The sacking of our club captain, Richard Keogh. Maybe you will see this as justice served, maybe you will see this as hanging him out to dry, especially after allowing Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett to remain at the club. Either way, it was a very sad way to end Keogh's association with this club after so many years of service. 

- Finally, a more controversial one: the celebrity cult. Starting with bringing in Harry Redknapp as an "advisor", to the appointment of Frank Lampard (who had no managerial experience), to the signing of Ashley Cole and the eyebrow raising, and slightly unsettling, deal with 32Red that led to Wayne Rooney's arrival at the football club. Some might say that, in recent years, we have become more interested in raising the profile of the club (potentially for a new investor) than in making more sensible footballing decisions, managerially and financially. I'm sure everyone will have a different opinion on this, and rightly so; I haven't quite made my mind up on all this yet. But whether or not, for example, the signing of Wayne Rooney, a man with a profile arguably bigger than the whole club, was a good thing for us (and especially Cocu) or a bad thing, isn't quite clear. Was he brought in just to make us a more attractive prospect to buy? You decide. 

So...

Whether you love Mel Morris and are absolutely gutted that he is giving up the reigns, or have been waiting for this moment for years, I think we can all agree that it has been one hell of a ride. I would personally like to thank Mel for all the years and money; bloody, sweat and tears, that he has put into this football club, and perhaps most crucially of all, for looking after us during the most challenging period of recent history. COVID has rocked the footballing world, but I have felt safe knowing Mel is there to look after the football club I love.

What comes next, who knows. Let's hope the future is bright. If it is...we'll all have Mel to thank.

All the best, Mr Morris

Nuwtfly x

[Chester40]

Can't disagree with much of that. 

Very well said. 

[bigbadbob]

Yea he's made a few mistakes and with benefit of hindsight I'm sure he'd have done things differently, but he's a Derby fan and there but for the grace of God go I. It hasn't worked out how he, and us, would have wanted but his heart is definitely in the right place and I want to thank him for at least giving it a blast and putting a load of his cash on the line. Cheers mel, a Derby lad and a true Ram. COYR

[Kinder]

Excellent post @Nuwtfly. ?

[Alph]

Felt safe with him in charge ?

[Steve How Hard?]

Great Post @Nuwtfly pretty much nailed it with everything but the thread title. That sounds like a gay porn movie. 

[Ram-a-lama fa fa fa]

think mel has done what most of us would of done with his money. brought Derby. 

i wonder if he had his time again if he’d still buy us

 

 

[Will Hughes Hair]

I’m just sad we never made it back to the Prem under him. There was lots to admire about his tenure for me.

Hoping he is still involved as we move into a new era ?

[Gritstone Ram]

If I was Mel I’d feel gutted for giving Sam Rush too much leeway. I think that was his biggest mistake. 
Manager appointments are a gamble look at Man Utd they have never replaced Ferguson.

I have always felt Mel has had the club at heart and may be that isn’t always the best thing when running a football club as a business. 
My feelings are sad that he is leaving without really reaching the desired target of the premier league. He has had my support all the way. I hope he has put us into the hand of someone who can make it happen and get us to where we want to be and keep us there.

[JayRam1]

Superb post Nuwtfly! Only time will tell if he’s left us in a good place, but the academy has been a real plus, hopefully the new regime will carry this on!

[falconram]

Great post, I think most Rams fans would agree with every word written 

[Ramfambo]

Its not been dull has it. Derby man through and through that's why we trust him implicitly and why we look forward with confidence. How many times have you wanted to give the team a rocket yet Mel the fan actually got to do it! Mel the owner shouldn't have really. Don't want to talk like he has departed wholly because he is one of us. Key moment gor me was the breakdown with Sam Rush for whatever reason as he was far more involved after that - publicly at least. You know what though we nearly did it. Would have loved to have seen what might have happened if we started with strikers and could erase the goalkeeper error at Wembley. Dream of a real fan owning the club in the PL. Wow, just Wow. Dont be stranger Melvyn!

[RoyMac5]

38 minutes ago, Nuwtfly said:

The Lows

- The sacking of our best manager (in my opinion) in recent times...twice!

That's more than enough.

[RoyMac5]

12 minutes ago, Alpha said:

Felt safe with him in charge ?

He's sold the stadium and left us penniless with a threadbare squad. Define safe.

[uttoxram75]

39 minutes ago, Nuwtfly said:

Well Mel, it's been quite a ride...

With the end of Mel Morris' ownership and leadership of the club drawing near, questions are soon likely to be asked, in hindsight, of just how good the Morris tenure was for our club.

For some of us, Mel has been that "One of Our Own" superfan who supporters dream about owning their club. He's fought our corner at every opportunity, in the face of the EFL, other clubs owners and dodgy businessmen trying to buy us.

For others, Mel has been a destabilising influence on a club that had, before his arrival, had been very steady (or a bit dull) under GSE. An owner that turned us into the club with the longest serving Championship manager, to a club that has a new manager (or two) every season.

What your thoughts are on Mel are your own, but I thought, as we come excitedly/sadly to the end, that I'd chronicle some of the highlights...and lowlights...

 

The Highs

- Massive amounts of money pumped into the club; both on players, wages, managers wages and an incredible investment in our academy and facilities. 

- We broke our transfer record four times under Mel. 

- The transformation into a club that regularly challenged for promotion. Fans who maybe weren't as involved in the Nigel Clough days (and before) might not remember what it felt like to not be a contender every season. 

- Attracting some incredibly big names to the club, such as a Paul Clement (then a big name after his years with Big Carlo), Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Phillip Cocu and, of course, Wayne Rooney. 

- The creation of RamsTV, which has been outstanding, and included two masterstrokes in bringing in Owen Bradley and Colin Gibson.

- Huge investment in the community, into charities, and into the city of Derby!

- A trip to Wembley under Frank Lampard!

- The consistent attempt (and you could argue success) at implementing a "whole club" approach, linking the academy teams and first team together in regards to playing style and player development. He gave us the groundwork to potentially grow into one of the best producers of players in the country...the Derby Way!

- ...And on that point, just how many academy youngsters have come through the ranks during Morris' tenure? I won't list them, but it's been a fair few, and plenty more to come!

- Fighting tooth-and-nail with the EFL to prevent points deductions, restrictions and punishments. Has a Championship Chairman stuck up and battled for his club as much as Mel has for us? Many, many fans in this league, and below, would love to have an owner like that.

- The creation of fans committees, Q&A events and the occasional forum visit to Moor Farm...we are very lucky to have been given that kind of access to our football club, as it's not common.

-Finally, a perhaps controversial one: managing to convince Darren Wassall to stay at the club after his time as interim manager after Clement's departure. I was no fan of that appointment (Wassalls) at the time, but I openly admit that DW has had an incredible impact on our club and academy and has been a huge factor in the recent success in our academy. DW is a guy who really genuinely cares about this club (we saw that in his final moments after we lost to Hull City in the play-offs) and is exactly the kind of person we need at the club.

 

The Lows

- The sacking of our best manager (in my opinion) in recent times...twice!

- Allegedly entering the dressing room and giving the players a dressing down during Clement's tenure; effectively undermining the manager.

- The managerial merry-go round. Under Mel, we have become a club that now celebrates starting and finishing a season with the same manager...not the sign of a well-run ship, some might say. 

- The Nigel Pearson debacle...

- The transformation into "Corner Flag FC" - it's not nice to have more club statements than highlights in a season, and that's what it felt like last year. Yes, you could argue that MM is not responsible for many of these, but they happened under his tenure, and he shares in the responsibility of this.

- The way we have acted during Mel's tenure in regards to following the rules in regards to spending, amortisation, etc. All the things that get Kieran Maguire going. Some may see this as cleverly working the system. Others, like myself, might feel really quite uncomfortable about it. I took absolutely no pleasure from the battle with the EFL personally, and felt very ashamed that our club had fallen into such a situation. In the last few years, we have had to sell our best players to stay in line, and often at prices well below their true value. That's not a good sign. 

- EFL charges, soft transfer embargos, potential points deductions; some extremely scary moments for us as fans. 

- The sacking of our club captain, Richard Keogh. Maybe you will see this as justice served, maybe you will see this as hanging him out to dry, especially after allowing Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett to remain at the club. Either way, it was a very sad way to end Keogh's association with this club after so many years of service. 

- Finally, a more controversial one: the celebrity cult. Starting with bringing in Harry Redknapp as an "advisor", to the appointment of Frank Lampard (who had no managerial experience), to the signing of Ashley Cole and the eyebrow raising, and slightly unsettling, deal with 32Red that led to Wayne Rooney's arrival at the football club. Some might say that, in recent years, we have become more interested in raising the profile of the club (potentially for a new investor) than in making more sensible footballing decisions, managerially and financially. I'm sure everyone will have a different opinion on this, and rightly so; I haven't quite made my mind up on all this yet. But whether or not, for example, the signing of Wayne Rooney, a man with a profile arguably bigger than the whole club, was a good thing for us (and especially Cocu) or a bad thing, isn't quite clear. Was he brought in just to make us a more attractive prospect to buy? You decide. 

So...

Whether you love Mel Morris and are absolutely gutted that he is giving up the reigns, or have been waiting for this moment for years, I think we can all agree that it has been one hell of a ride. I would personally like to thank Mel for all the years and money; bloody, sweat and tears, that he has put into this football club, and perhaps most crucially of all, for looking after us during the most challenging period of recent history. COVID has rocked the footballing world, but I have felt safe knowing Mel is there to look after the football club I love.

What comes next, who knows. Let's hope the future is bright. If it is...we'll all have Mel to thank.

All the best, Mr Morris

Nuwtfly x

What would you like us to change the title to?

[Topram]

Worst mistake was Sam Rush and most fans fell for it aswell, what he did paying tom Inces mum etc was embarrassing 

[Rammy03]

You can't say it's been boring. What a rollercoaster! Thanks for the memories Mel

[DanS1992]

1 hour ago, Nuwtfly said:

The Lows

- The sacking of our best manager (in my opinion) in recent times...twice!

 

In my eyes, McClaren was the best manager we have had in my time supporting the club. The playoff final season under him was "total football", we witnessed some of the most sublime attacking play I have seen at Derby. I count myself lucky to be able to have witnessed such football. If Cocu wants to play the "dutch way", my advice to him is take a a piece out of Mac's book. It will be a fair while before we see football of that calibre played again.

[neil62uk]

He came , he tried , put his money where is mouth was , tried everything in his power to achieve to ultimate goal ( promotion )  but just fell short at the final hurdle - top man Mel ?

[Rev]

He'll be judged on the hands he's left us in.

He took over with unambitious owners who'd done their dough.

He leaves as an ambitious owner who's also done his dough, with small improvements to the infrastructure, a tiny fraction of his overall investment all told, but we now no longer own our own ground, possibly not the training ground either, so on shakier foundations than he inherited us.

The team is far weaker than when he took over, in relegation trouble for the first time in a while, certainly since he manned the helm.

The rest of the EFL dislikes us, the only friend he's made is the nob who used to own Palace, we've roared through managers at a Watford pace of knots, without their success on the pitch.

We seemingly can't refund the fans who've paid upfront for season tickets, or even away tickets from last season their duly owed money, yet pay a fading granny shagger god knows how much a week to waddle around the centre circle.

Hides behind Sam Rush, yet was quick enough to elbow his way front and center when 'Big Sam, always gets his man' pulled off a masterstroke.

Like the signing of Thorne. £2.5m upfront and £10k a game upto £4.5m max was an incredible deal, no two ways about it.

Ince, Bamford, Dawkins, Ibe, the American centre half with blond hair, and (something) Keane all amazing loan signings due to Big Sam.

Yet he was shown the door, with the promise we'd look forward to facing him in court. We ended up wimping out and paying him up!

Big bad Sam Rush, has just seen his firm bought out by Andy Appleby, now there's a successful combination if ever I've seen one!

That is my roast of Mel Morris, in keeping with the American tradition.

 

 

Yet, as an English fan of Derby County, I wouldn't change a thing.

He dared to dream, took us along for the ride, involved us like no owner before, provided access we'll never see again, and has been the best owner of Derby County in my lifetime.

It's a massive shame it's not worked out, for him and us, but he's given more than anyone could ask. 

I'd be amazed if this takeover leaves us worse off, and if that means Mel owning the infrastructure of the club on our behalf, I'd welcome it