Most painful yet confirms the worst start in 28 years
DERBY County have made their worst start to a League season in 28 years.
Three consecutive defeats, against Reading, Luton Town and Blackburn Rovers, have left the Rams without a point from three fixtures in the Championship campaign so far.
Their latest defeat, 4-0 at home to Blackburn, is the most painful.
NO HIDING PLACE
Phillip Cocu called it “unacceptable” and questioned the attitude, passion and desire of the performance against Blackburn while Wayne Rooney said the display was not good enough.
Neither the manager nor the skipper attempted to make excuses – nor could they, because the 90 minutes and the stats are damning enough.
This showing, after a bright opening 10 minutes from the Rams, was shocking.
Rovers had 23 efforts at Derby’s goal and 10 on target – a chastening set of figures for a home team – and goalkeeper David Marshall was the Rams’ man of the match by some distance.
Rovers, but for Marshall, could have scored six or seven and it would not have flattered them. They impressed, take nothing away from them.
Yes, Derby were edging it before Rovers scored and had Max Bird’s effort found the net rather than being blocked close to the line, the outcome might have been different.
There were also fleeting, brighter moments in the second half but Rovers were better than Derby on the day, as were Reading in the previous home League game. Both sides had too much for the Rams, in and out of possession.
RAMS OUT-THOUGHT AND OUTFOUGHT
Questions have to be asked as to why Derby have found themselves out-thought tactically and outfought in consecutive home League games, against Reading and Blackburn.
Eight goals conceded in their three League fixtures is clear evidence that Derby are too easy to get at and to score against.
In an article on Friday, I warned how all the excitement over new wingers and strikers should not mask the defensive issues that blighted the team in the closing matches of last season and at the beginning of this, and how the Rams needed to tighten up defensively all over the pitch.
They have to defend better in wide areas, in their penalty box and also on second balls. Against Rovers, former Rams midfielder Bradley Johnson twice scored from 20-odd yards with little or no opposition. That cannot happen.
Both Rovers and Reading gave the Rams a lesson in tempo, with and without the ball, and on pressing.
The set-up of Derby’s team never felt right, nor did the balance of the back four.
WRONG CALL OVER CLARKE
Team selections always fall under the microscope following a defeat, but Phillip Cocu’s selection against Blackburn was questioned as soon as the team sheet appeared an hour before kick-off.
Matt Clarke might not have had one of his best games in the defeat to Luton seven days earlier but he has been Derby’s best defender consistently during 2020.
To leave him out and to recall Mike te Wierik after his one-match suspension was a surprise call by Cocu – and the wrong one, in my opinion.
Te Wierik has made a shaky start in his first taste of English football. He will need time to acclimatise, which is understandable, but he struggled against Rovers – although he was not alone.
Starting Andre Wisdom, normally a right-back or right-side centreback, in the left centre-back position was also a surprise and did not work.
Also surprising was the decision to replace Jack Marriott at half-time.
Marriott had barely had a kick in the first half and needed to get himself more involved, although the service to him was pretty non-existent.
However, at three-down, surely the man who has scored your only League goal this season was worth keeping on.
EARLY ALARM BELLS BUT EARLY DAYS
We are only three games into a 46-match League campaign. Nothing is won or lost in September.
There are a lot of moving parts in Derby’s team at the minute – new faces, young players, individuals trying to find some form, players returning from injury and others absent through injury. To say the side is unsettled is an understatement.
The team could look very different in a few weeks’ time, once injured players are available again, once others get up to speed and another new face or two arrives.
But that is for then. The now is the pressing issue and what happened here has to be a wake-up call.
DERBY MUST PUT IT RIGHT
Managers tend to shoulder the blame for poor results and performances and Phillip Cocu is under fire from some fans following Derby’s sorry start to the season.
Putting things right, finding solutions to problems and winning matches is a collective responsibility that falls on Cocu, his coaching staff and the players.
Cocu used the words “attitude, passion, desire” after the thumping by Rovers. Those things have to come from the players but managers and coaches have a part to play in shaping and instilling a different mental approach, if that is needed.