ASSESSING SIZE OF THE JOB FOR THE MAN AFTER COCU
DERBY County had something of a four-point plan going into the summer transfer window.
Featuring prominently on the club’s wanted list was a goalkeeper, centre-back, wide attacker/winger and a striker.
They brought in a new number one in David Marshall from Wigan Athletic, who has been the pick of the Rams’ new faces.
Apart from his mistake in gifting Barnsley their first goal in the last game, the 35-year-old has barely put a foot wrong. His saves, notably in the team’s sole victory, away to Norwich City, and the draw at Bournemouth played a huge part in four of Derby’s six points and he is currently the toast of Scotland following his penalty stop in the shoot-out victory over Serbia that booked the Scots a place in the European Championship finals.
Derby were able to bring their reigning player of the year Matt Clarke back on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion and the central defender has started all but one of the 13 League and cup fixtures. He was surprisingly left out against Blackburn Rovers, a game Derby lost 4-0 and a selection mistake by then manager Phillip Cocu.
The Rams needed an injection of pace and menace in the wide areas and turned to Polish international winger Kamil Jozwiak, who arrived from Lech Poznan for an undisclosed fee, but the centre-forward position that is vital to the way Cocu wanted his team to line up and play remains an issue and tops the list of priorities for January.
The man who played as the number nine in 12 of the final 17 League matches of last season and whose game is suited to the position, Chris Martin, is now at Bristol City.
Derby have tried Martyn Waghorn, Wayne Rooney and Jack Marriott in the role and they have looked at Tom Lawrence and Jozwiak as ‘false’ nines.
They were in the market for a striker and they signed free agent Colin Kazim- Richards, who has been building his fitness. The 34-year-old has appeared as a substitute in five of the last six matches and it will be interesting to see if he is handed a chance in the number nine role.
The most recent transfer window closed only four weeks ago but, with Derby bottom of the Championship, already thoughts have turned to the January window and how they can add to their squad.
Who will be Derby’s manager at the turn of the year remains to be seen following Cocu’s departure, but tackling the centre-forward issue remains crucial.
The manager must also ask himself if there is sufficient creativity
The manager must also ask himself if there is sufficient creativity within the squad or whether a creative spark needs to be added.
within the squad or whether a creative spark needs to be added when the window opens, an attacking midfielder who can make things happen and open up opponents more often than we are seeing currently.
Derby have won only one of their 11 League games. They have scored only five goals in those games, have not found the net more than once in any of their 13 games in all competitions and have failed to score in six of their eight home fixtures.
Their return of five goals in 11 Championship matches is not only the worst in the division but it is the second-worst record in the three divisions of the Football League.
The team is crying out for a regular focal point of the attack to add balance to the side as well as a player to boost the small number of chances being fashioned because Derby have not shown enough craft and guile in the final third.
Here are three other areas that the new man in charge will have to address as soon as he settles into the job:
SETTLE ON A BEST 11 AND FORMATION
What is the best way of playing with the players available, what is the best-suited formation? The new manager has to find the answers.
Derby have lurched between 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-3 this season.
Injuries and players returning from injuries – notably Martyn Waghorn and Tom Lawrence – did not help Cocu but there was a feeling
towards the end of his tenure that he and his coaching staff were scratching around for their best team and formation.
Having different options when it comes to formations is important and needed over a 46-match programme but consistency of formation and selection is also important. Derby have used 24 players in their 11 League games.
GET THE BEST OUT OF THE PLAYERS
It is widely accepted that the squad at Derby should not be bottom of the Championship.
The Rams are bottom after 11 matches and manager Cocu has paid the price but the players need to take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror.
This is the squad the new manager must work with until January at the earliest and the team’s form – and results – need to improve.
It might be a case of the new manager putting his arm round some players but also shaking up others.
MAKE THE MOST OF THE JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW
January is not an easy window, nor always the best window in which to sign players, but Derby’s squad is in need of a boost, especially in the attacking and creative departments.
However, with a takeover of the club imminent and new owners in place before the window opens, the price tags on anybody Derby show an interest in are likely to increase.