£170m match Derby owner on play-off crunch
A tip-off from Harry Redknapp convinced Mel Morris to take a chance on rookie manager Frank Lampard. Now the club owner is dreaming of the big time for his beloved County, writes John Percy
Mel Morris is sitting in the Pride Park boardroom on a glorious spring morning, reflecting on the day that appointing Frank Lampard as Derby County’s manager first became possible.
It was creeping towards the end of May last year, when Harry Redknapp’s name flashed up on the Derby owner and chairman’s mobile phone.
Derby had suffered another defeat in the play-offs with Gary Rowett departing soon after for Stoke City, leaving Morris to appoint his fifth manager in three years.
Morris takes up the story: “Harry called and said, ‘Just go and meet Frank Lampard, see what you think, and decide after you’ve met him.’ I was sceptical, not about it being Frank, more about someone who had never done it before. But every managerial appointment is a gamble and whatever happens now, he’s made history here.
“Frank has brought the buzz back to the place. He has created a special environment. It wasn’t about him being a celebrity, it was about somebody giving us excitement. He has an aura, like all great managers. I called Harry this week and said, ‘Don’t for one minute ever forget your role in all of this.’ ”
That phone call will appear even
more significant for Morris if Lampard finishes his first year in management with victory at Wembley today.
Derby face Aston Villa in the Championship shoot-out, regarded as the most lucrative game in world football, and Lampard’s debut campaign has surpassed expectations.
He has already emerged as a genuine contender to take over at Chelsea, possibly even this summer if Maurizio Sarri leaves. Morris accepts it is inevitable that Lampard will eventually return to the club he served for 13 years, but the owner’s only focus is on the play-off final.
“One day he is going to be [back] at Chelsea, I am sure, because of the legend he was there. The longer he is here with success, the easier it is to go there without risk because Chelsea is a big club with massive expectations,” he says. “I would always be pleased we gave him the opportunity, proud of what he has achieved with us, and if that happened sooner rather than later I would just hope it works out for him. There would be absolutely no ill feeling and we’d understand it’s probably an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.
“But right now, in the short term, Chelsea have a massive game [the Europa League final] coming up this week, and so have we, and because of that both clubs would have to be ridiculous to even be having a conversation around that.”
Morris could have done without all this before the £170 million game, but nothing surprises him in football now. He has been Derby’s owner since September 2015 and it has proved a roller-coaster ride for the 63-year-old in his pursuit of the Premier League.
He is worth a reported £500 million, ranked at 268th in
The Sunday Times Rich List, after making his name through his backing of King, the firm behind mobile game Candy Crush Saga.
But after spending over an hour in his company, it is clear that he lives and breathes Derby County. He is gregarious, a raconteur, and comes alive when talking about his club, from Lampard’s training sessions to the burgeoning academy and future plans for the Pride Park stadium.
“My first match on my own, without a parent, was 1969. I was 13 at the time and it was Spurs at the Baseball Ground, with Jimmy Greaves, and we won 5-0,” he recalls, smiling. “I became a bit of a tearaway on the terraces. It’s a long affinity with this club and the support is huge in the city.
“I’ve worked away for many years and the club is always there.
‘One day he is going to be [back] at Chelsea, I am sure, because of the legend he was there’
You’re always wondering what’s happening. It’s a hell of a club.”
Morris has been seeking investment for more than two years but it is difficult to picture him stepping aside, especially if Derby finally reach the Premier League.
“It would be hard to move the club on but if I had to do it because I thought it was in the best interests of the club, I would,” he says. “I can’t say life as a Championship owner is anything but doom and gloom. There are no happy days, it’s paying out every month.
“I’ve probably spent 40-plus days since the season started having meetings to try and look at this unholy mess that is Championship football. The Premier League makes £600 million profit and the Championship loses £550 million. That is broken.”
Promotion would be lifechanging for Derby, and plans for either scenario after today’s game have been in place for months.
“We’ve seen so many clubs go up and then come down in financial ruin. [So] Let’s be really careful if we do go up, to craft those pieces, but also keep one eye on whether we might come down,” Morris says.
“You can’t afford to buy players that if you get relegated can’t cope with the Championship. You’ve got to go with a balance of Premier League experience and younger players. [It is] all about how you invest that money, and how much.”
Morris hopes this is finally the year that Derby end their play-off curse. He was at Wembley in 2014 when Bobby Zamora scored in injury-time to win the final for Queens Park Rangers, and this is Derby’s fourth play-off experience in six seasons.
But this year feels different, fuelled by the stirring win at Leeds’ Elland Road in the semi-final second leg.
“I have no doubt we will put in a performance worthy of winning,” Morris says. “I think with Frank we have come to expect that, and I am sure Villa will do just the same.
“We feel on balance we deserve to be where we are. It’s going to be quite an afternoon.”