Davies: It feels like massive weight has been lifted off
CURTIS Davies is walking towards the edge of the pitch at Derby County’s training ground, where Liam Rosenior is overseeing the final session of the morning.
A shooting drill has been arranged for the attacking players, who soon begin to demonstrate a level of finishing which is as high as the sweltering temperatures. The noise of rippling nets begins to increase with frequency as Rosenior, the club’s interim manager, stands back to roar words of appreciation.
But the energy being created here is not just reserved for the pitches at Moor Farm. From the canteen to the offices to the ground staff, there is a hum of excitement about the new season at a club that has finally been unshackled from crisis. After completing his takeover on July 1, David Clowes has not only brought Derby out of administration and 11 new signings, but a tidal wave of hope.
“It’s amazing,” says Davies, who is standing at the corner of the pitch having been through a gruelling session himself.
“It feels like a massive weight has been lifted off the club’s chest. We’ve been through that much hardship that it brings you all closer together.
“You can see and feel so much positivity right now. We’re starting a new season and we’re building a squad that looks really good on paper. All we need to do now is make sure it happens on the pitch.”
The buzz around Pride Park has certainly been welcomed given there were times over the last few months that it felt as if Derby were heading to the point of no return. Having been put into administration last September, Derby looked to have been saved when the American businessman Chris Kirchner began his ill-fated attempt to buy the club amid a sea of promises on social media back in May.
But having been unable to transfer the funds needed to purchase the club, the deal collapsed on June 13 sparking widespread anger regarding the time which had been wasted.
Kirchner’s dramatic exit guaranteed that he will not be welcome at Pride Park any time soon but it felt like the Rams had reached the tipping point.
Even though he had not parted with his cash, there was a heavy price to pay as a result. Wayne Rooney, who demonstrated remarkable leadership last season, quit as manager because he felt he did not have the energy to continue in the role after Kirchner’s deal fell apart.
In the absence of communication from the club’s administrators, Quantuma, which was criticised heavily by the supporters, speculation and anxiety filled the void.
As Derby waited for a saviour, the players had no knowledge of what was going on behind the scenes and Davies joined the fans by going through the daily grind of scrolling social media waiting for updates.
Now Clowes has come to the res
cue, the reset button has been hit and a new era is under way, one in which the Rams will look to be sustainable after years of over-spending left them on a financial precipice.
“Unfortunately during that whole period before the takeover happened, there was this situation where obviously the administrators were in charge of what was happening but they were not communicating,” said Davies.
“That’s not to say they’re going to call me as a player and do this and that, but there wasn’t much information coming out.
“It was difficult, whereas if other things are going on around the club, someone will filter it to the manager, he will filter that to the captain who then tells the players. That wasn’t happening.
“So every morning it was literally scrolling Twitter, searching Derby
County and waiting to see what the latest was. It was looking good at a point in early May and then it started to go a bit sour.
“I felt helpless. When I spoke to other lads they’d say have you heard anything and I would just tell them ‘no, I don’t have any information for you.’
“I’m a senior player and I’ve kind of had my career as such. I’m not by any means downing tools but you’ve got the young players like Eiran Cashin and Liam Thompson who established themselves last year.
“They are wondering, well, am I going to have a future at this club? Am I going to have to start again and rebuild my reputation elsewhere?
“It was more worrying for them but ultimately, everyone kept their heads. Fortunately, the chairman’s come in and done business really quickly and astutely, too. When the takeover (Kirchner’s) fell through, he was there and in place. He is a Derby man, a Derby fan, but also an astute businessman, which I think is key.
“It’s one thing to get a Derby fan who gets a bit giddy and treats it like Championship Manager, but he is a businessman first and foremost. And as much as he loves the club, he’s not going to do anything silly to trouble his own affairs.
“It will be steady building and if we are able to get back to the next level, it’s keeping it steady again.
“There might be a time when maybe the chairman does says we’ll have a little bit of a go but I think it’d all be done the right way rather than getting back to the Championship and all of a sudden, we’re spending stupid amounts of money and getting ourselves back into the same situation again.
“It won’t be gambling but a sustainable model. It will be back to building the youth team and the under-21s, again, because, obviously, we’ve been depleted of players we’ve had to sell because of the situation.”
Having signed up for another 12 months, Davies is so entrenched at the Rams in the five years he has been at Pride Park, that you cannot imagine him anywhere else.
As part of his contract negotiations, Davies put forward ideas to the club about potential roles he can have in the future but given the quality the 37-year-old still delivers on the pitch, it’s hard to envisage him hanging up his boots any time soon.
Rams fans love him. The feeling is entirely mutual.
“I was just relieved to get it (the contract) done to be honest,” he said.
“You always have to negotiate stuff but I wanted to be here and didn’t want to be anywhere else. I wanted it resolved so I could concentrate on football and not worry about fans Tweeting me every day asking me if I am signing.
“Obviously, I am on social media, but other than searching for Derby County, I just like reading the rubbish that you like to read, be it Love Island or whatever.
“But I remember getting a text from one of my colleagues who works for the BBC and he said, you’re trending. I was like am I? He’s like today is the day, they’re going to announce Curtis.
“I was like, no, we’re nowhere near mate. So it was funny checking your name, seeing you’re trending when nothing’s happened.
“But in all seriousness, I’ve got a close relationship and affinity with the fans and that means a lot to me.
“The time that was taken was simply to make sure everything was right. I want to be a player here for as long as I can. Touch wood, if I was able to play every game again, and we got promoted, I’m not going to say, that’s me and chuck it. I will probably want to go again. But If I was able to be an ambassador or whatever in the future, I want to be associated with football club.
“I just wanted to put those ideas out to them and see what their thoughts were.”