Clarity, finality, realism of sorts – now on to what happens next
FINALLY, there should be some clarity around Pride Park, even if the reality is utter heartbreak.
When Derby County and the EFL confirmed that the club would be docked a further nine points, it had taken the better part of two years to finally come to a decision.
There will be no more appeals, no more sanctions, no more speculation. Just humbling, heartbreaking and, in many ways, soothing finality.
At least it brings with it clarity. Even Wayne Rooney found it hard to be his usual optimistic self. He did say there is “a chance” that Derby can survive and remain in the second tier, but he urged realism.
And that realism is that Derby County could be a League One side by the time the 2022-23 season rolls around.
So now it is about the rebuild on the pitch. How do Derby go about it? Who stays? Who goes? What about Rooney’s situation? Who from the academy might be able to step up and help the club as the need for cutting costs becomes more pressing?
CONTRACT SITUATIONS
Several of Derby’s key players are out of contract at the end of the season: Kelle Roos, Ryan Allsop, David Marshall, Richard Stearman, Phil Jagielka, Curtis Davies, Lee Buchanan, Craig Forsyth, Nathan Byrne, Graeme Shinnie, Ravel Morrison, Louie Watson, Tom Lawrence, Sam Baldock and Colin Kazim-Richards.
Had a chance to catch your breath after reading that list out? To put it another way, only seven players in the squad have a deal that runs beyond 2022 and some of those may not want to stick around to experience League One football (Krystian Bielik, Kamil Jozwiak and perhaps Jason Knight).
It is very likely that some of the better players who are set to be free agents at the end of the season fly the Pride Park flock for pastures new.
Shinnie has proved he is a very good Championship midfielder, likewise Byrne and Buchanan in defence, and Lawrence is a talented full international in his peak years. Teams will sniff around them for certain.
Davies and Jagielka may be convinced to stay on for one more year with the promise of first-team football likely and their advancing years meaning there is a slim chance they get the same week in, week out opportunities to play as they would at Derby.
It would also aid the Rams to have a fair amount of experience in the ranks as they look to rebuild.
Kazim-Richards could be convinced to stay, too. The striker is looking towards his next challenge by embarking on a journey to get his coaching badges. A chance to stick around Derby in some sort of player/coach role is an appealing one for both parties.
Keeping even a small handful of the senior players out of contract this summer is a solid building block for attacking League One and trying to bounce back at the first time of asking.
YOUTH PLAYERS WHO COULD STEP UP
Festy Ebosele, Louie Watson and Jack Stretton are givens, they have already made their mark on the first team. Their inclusion here is more for completeness as they are not week in, week out players.
Defenders Eiran Cashin and Dylan Williams could be given more opportunities – the duo are out of contract at the end of the season but could be convinced to stay with the promise of more first-team football up for grabs, especially with the number of potential outgoings in their respective positions of centre-back and left-back.
The midfield trio of Jordan Brown, Liam Thompson and Isaac Hutchinson could also be given more game time.
They have featured sporadically over the last 18 months or so, but the club have high hopes for them and they could help fill the voids which could be left by the likes of Shinnie, Morrison and company.
Brown is an especially versatile piece who can slot into centre-back if needed and Hutchinson is an exciting if raw, marauding midfield talent who could be moulded into a solid starter for the Rams.
All of this, of course, comes with the caveat that these players are all still very raw, inexperienced and yet to fill out into their adult bodies (some of the aforementioned players were born after the first
Harry Potter film was released. Feel old?)
Mistakes will be made on the pitch and some will cost points. But having a squad stuffed with talent Rams fans have watched grow up before their very eyes could be an olive branch to keep Pride Park packed if (probably when) they are trekking around the third tier.
ROONEY’S SITUATION
Rooney is a fighter, he has been all his career. He is sometimes perhaps too stubborn but he has never been one to back down from a challenge. In his first interview since the news broke that Derby would be plunged into negative points, he spoke of the need for progress, the club to move forward, his job to bring stability and restore pride. He did not sound like a man who was going anywhere fast.
One can very well assume Rooney would like one season with Derby where he has a decent budget to work with to recruit and then see what his vision looks like on the pitch once he has players top of his list of targets in black and white.
But in football, nothing is certain. Rooney has made no secret of his ambition as a manager.
At the end of last season and going into the pre-season for this cam
paign, the former England captain said he wanted to make a real run and take Derby back to the Premier League.
One can easily imagine Rooney washing his hands of the club and trying to enhance his managerial reputation elsewhere.
After broken promises, transfer targets heading to other clubs due to Derby’s financial restrictions, a relegation battle that went to the wire and now a likely relegation to League One, few would blame
Rooney if he wanted a fresh start.
He has conducted himself with great pride and been a slim ray of light in one of Derby County’s darkest hours.
Other clubs will have taken notice. That, coupled with his name value, will have Rooney pencilled in on some managerial shortlists.
If American businessman Chris Kirchner does indeed buy the club, the discussions between him and Rooney will go a long way to deciding the fate of the Rams manager.