Defensive record so good but more goals are needed
CHANCE TO TAKE STOCK BEFORE RETURN TO ACTION AFTER BREAK
THE second international break of the season is a time to take stock of Derby County’s campaign so far.
Derby are bottom of the Championship on two points having been hit with a 12-point penalty after the club went into administration although the administrators have now lodged an appeal against the points penalty.
The team’s form without the deduction would see them midtable and four points outside the top six.
Here is the summer/autumn Rams report card:
■ How has the season gone so far?
It is Derby County and so a rollercoaster ride is nothing new.
The season so far has been about two separate stories inextricably linked.
Off the pitch, the club went into administration last month and with that came an automatic 12-point punishment that sent the Rams crashing to the foot of the Championship.
Derby were making a good fist of swimming against the tide on the pitch before that happened and now they are having to swim even harder as they battle the odds in their bid to stay up this season.
They are seven points from safety, as things stand, but they have the possibility of a further points deduction hanging over them although the club has decided to fight the 12-point penalty.
An appeal has been lodged with the club arguing the situation was caused by the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The matter has been referred to an independent arbitration panel who will consider representations from both parties before making a determination.
The Championship table will remain unchanged while the appeal is ongoing.
■ Verdict on the new signings?
Derby County were only able to add six free agents to their squad for this season due to the vice-like grip of their transfer embargo.
Four of the six arrivals are defenders Phil Jagielka, Curtis Davies and Richard Stearman, and goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, and so the improvement in the team defensively is no real surprise.
Jagielka and Davies, who have a combined age of 75, have exuded experience, as has Stearman in his four starts in the League. All have performed solidly.
Allsop, number two to Kelle Roos going into the season, had a shaky opening to his Derby career when he started in the Carabao Cup ties against Salford City and Sheffield United. This saw worried eyebrows raised but he impressed in the most recent League games against Reading and Swansea City, helping to keep clean sheets in both.
Ravel Morrison has displayed composure in possession and, at times, real quality but there are also times when Derby have needed more from him. He has the ability to control games and produce more assists and goals.
Striker Sam Baldock has scored once in his seven starts, the winner at Hull City, and his tireless work for the team cannot be questioned but Derby are short of goals and much of the responsibility for scoring them lies with the attacking players.
■ How has the manager performed so far?
Wayne Rooney is approaching a year as a manager and what a baptism of fire it has been.
Not only has he had to cope with trying to piece together a squad while shackled by a transfer embargo, he has also seen a steady start to the campaign of 10 points from eight matches that had the Rams sat mid-table snatched away when the club went into administration.
A 12-point deduction sent Derby tumbling from 12th to bottom of the table on minus two points. Four points from the three games since have lifted the points total to plus two.
The spirit and togetherness within the squad, instilled by Rooney and his staff, gives Derby a fighting chance of staying up, although the possibility of a further points deduction is a concern.
Rooney has had to be a leader of matters on the field and a beacon of hope and inspiration amid the club’s troubles off the field.
He has juggled both extremely well.
■ Biggest surprise so far?
The defensive record. Derby, despite being bottom, have the joint best goals-against tally in the division along with leaders Bournemouth. Both teams have conceded only eight times in 11 League fixtures.
Derby have recorded five clean sheets and only Peterborough United and Birmingham City have scored more than once against the Rams, and Peterborough’s two goals came in the 11 minutes of added time in the clash at the Weston
Homes Stadium.
The experienced central-defensive pairing of Phil Jagielka and Curtis Davies has played a key role in this but the work ethic all over the pitch is a key factor.
■ What is the team missing?
While Derby can boast the joint best defensive record in the Championship, they also have the joint worst scoring record.
They have found the net only seven times in their 11 matches, matching Barnsley’s measly tally.
The Rams have scored only four times in their last eight League outings and that will need to change if they are to climb off the foot of the table.
Struggling to score goals is not new for Derby. They were the lowest scorers in the division last season with 36 in 46 games.