Too many woes, too little progress
A YEAR that started in surreal fashion at Derby County developed into one of football’s strangest years.
Manchester United and England record scorer Wayne Rooney helped the Rams to a 2-1 victory over Barnsley on his debut in the Rams’ opening fixture of 2020. Seeing Rooney run out in a Derby shirt was a “pinch me” moment for supporters and almost 28,000 packed into Pride Park Stadium.
Rooney’s influence on the pitch and at the training ground was evident straight away. Performances and results picked up, young players blossomed at a quicker rate - Max Bird, Jason Knight and Louie Sibley, notably - and belief grew.
An “I was there” moment came when Rooney curled in a sumptuous free kick as Derby dismantled Stoke City 4-0 before wins over Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday, in which Tom Lawrence scored twice.
They were followed by a convincing 3-0 home victory over Blackburn Rovers. Sibley scored his first senior goal with a spectacular strike and the Rams sat mid-table with momentum and the promise of climbing higher.
But then the Covid-19 pandemic left an indelible mark on every facet of society, football included, and delivered a year like no other. It would be more than three months before Derby played again – 104 days to be precise.
When they did, on a warm June afternoon in South London, they won 3-2 against Millwall, thanks to Sibley’s eye-catching hat-trick. The game was played behind closed doors because of the coronavirus situation and fans have yet to return to the vast majority of grounds, including Pride Park Stadium.
Derby fans had to watch from a distance but wins against Reading and Preston North End, thanks to another excellent Rooney free kick, lifted the Rams to one point and one place outside the play-off places with six games left.
The unlikely had become a possibility, although the remaining fixtures always looked difficult.
And so it proved. A last-gasp equaliser by Chris Martin salvaged a point against Nottingham Forest, only for four successive defeats at the hands of high-riders
West Bromwich Albion, Brentford, Cardiff City and Leeds United to bring a dose of reality.
A 3-1 victory over Birmingham City in the final fixture meant Derby finished 10th, six points away from the top six.
The summer brought news of the EFL charge that had been hanging over the club since January. An independent commission cleared Derby of any wrongdoing regarding alleged breaches of profit and sustainability regulations.
The following month, September, the EFL decided to appeal against the decision of the independent commission with respect to the second charge concerning the amortisation of intangible assets (player registrations). That appeal is ongoing.
The date of Derby’s final fixture of 2019-20 was July 22. The 2020-21 campaign started on September 5 with a Carabao Cup tie against Barrow. A shorter summer break and shorter pre-season was always likely to test teams and Derby struggled badly in the opening three months.
One win in 15 League games – and that a rather fortunate one away to Norwich City – left the Rams bottom with precious few points or goals and in trouble.
The squad looked thin in numbers and experience. Senior players Martin and Tom Huddlestone had left and Scott Carson, Jack Marriott and Scott Malone had gone out on loan. Jayden Bogle and Max Lowe signed for Sheffield United, Mason Bennett for Millwall.
In came David Marshall, Nathan Byrne, Matt Clarke, Mike te Wierik, Kamil Jozwiak, Colin KazimRichards and Jordon Ibe. Five of the seven new signings starred in the 4-0 victory over Birmingham City a couple of days ago.
The manager who signed those players, Phillip Cocu, departed by mutual agreement in mid-November with Derby bottom of the Championship. They had gone seven games without a win and had scored only three goals in those matches.
Home defeats by Queens Park Rangers and Barnsley in the space of four days signalled the end of Cocu. The promise and renewed hope under his guidance earlier in the year had disappeared and change was needed.
Rooney and specialist first-team coach Liam Rosenior, assisted by Shay Given and Justin Walker, were placed in charge of first-team matters before defeats to Bristol City and Middlesbrough sparked another shuffle and Rooney was installed as interim manager.
Derby have won three and drawn four of his eight games in charge. They have kept five clean sheets and the 13 points have lifted them out of the bottom three for the first time in two months.
Derby played 42 League games during the last 12 months and picked up 53 points, highlighting a disappointingly average year during which struggle outweighed progress.
They sit 20th going into the New Year and Rooney is favourite to be named the club’s permanent manager once the proposed takeover of the club is completed.
The EFL charge, the takeover and the manager’s position all created uncertainty at different times during the year and the hope is that the uncertainty is removed as early as possible in 2021.