The Club Who Were Play Off Candidates Are Stuck For Ideas: What Needs To Change?

The Club Who Were Play Off Candidates Are Stuck For Ideas: What Needs To Change?

Ten games. One win. That’s Derby County’s story so far this season - and it’s a miserable one. For a club that was once consistently in the play-offs and chasing promotion, you’d be forgiven for wondering if this team even knows what it’s trying to do anymore.

Yes, Derby County have had their troubles off the pitch in recent years, but this start just isn’t good enough. And my question is… When will fans start asking questions of the manager?

A Toothless Attack

If football matches were decided by sideways passes or back-to-the-defender resets, Derby would be top of the league. Sadly, they’re not. In ten games, they’ve struggled to create meaningful chances and look like a team that can score goals.

Their “only threat,” Carlton Morris, has gone ice-cold in front of goal. It’s hard to blame him when he’s being starved of service like he’s on a goal scoring fast. You can’t score if the ball never arrives, and Morris has been feeding on scraps. He’s a proper striker - a poacher, a finisher, a man who thrives on chaos in the box - but you need someone to create that chaos first.

And now, the data backs it up. Derby have created the lowest xG (expected goals) in the league. That means they’re producing the fewest and poorest-quality chances of anyone. They’ve also created the second fewest “big chances” and had the second-least touches inside the opposition box.

And it gets worse. While creating next to nothing, Derby are conceding the fifth-highest xG and have managed just one clean sheet all season. So not only are they blunt up front, they’re leaky at the back. That’s a nightmare combination. You can’t win football matches if you can’t score or defend - Derby are doing neither.

When you’ve got a team that doesn’t shoot, doesn’t cross, and doesn’t go forward, you’ve got a problem. The tactics have to be questioned. What are Derby trying to do? What are they trying to achieve? What’s their game plan? I’m really, really unsure. Does John Eustace?

Is The Manager Starting To Come Under Pressure?

Derby fans started the season full of belief. Talk of a top 10 finish - maybe even a play-off push - filled the pubs and the forums. Fast-forward a couple of months, and those same fans are now justifying dull draws and poor defeats as “part of the process.” But what is the process? Because whatever it is, it’s not working.

The manager’s style of play has to come under the firing line. The game plans are rigid, predictable, and as joyless as watching paint dry in the rain. People used to moan about Paul Warne’s football being too direct, too blunt. But ask yourself this: is what we’re watching now any better? If anything, it’s worse - it’s boring and painful to watch.

There’s no identity. No rhythm. No spark. You can’t tell what Derby are trying to do from one game to the next. Are they a passing team? A pressing team? A counter-attacking team? Nobody knows. It’s like watching a band that hasn’t decided on a genre - just a load of noise and no decent vocals.

At what point do fans stop settling for “it’ll come good eventually” and start actually asking questions of the management team.

Bobby Clark Off To Celtic?

Derby fans should be driving him up to Scotland tomorrow.

The youngster who was supposed to bring a touch of Premier League flair to the Championship. But so far? He’s looked off the pace, off the ball, and off the mark. He’s so weak in challenges, he’s slow in transitions - it’s been a tough introduction to the rough and tumble of the Championship. And now, there's rumours going around that he’s off to Celtic in January, you have to think - is that a blessing in disguise? Losing him might sting on paper, but it would free up a loan slot for someone who can actually influence a game. Clark’s talent isn’t in doubt, but he’s simply not been good enough yet for this level. Maybe a change of scenery helps him - and maybe it helps Derby too.

Because if we’re being honest, Derby need players who can deliver now, not in two years time.

Changes Behind The Scenes

The off-field situation at Derby is starting to raise a few eyebrows. It seems a bit strange to me. Is it just a reshuffle? Is David Clowes not happy with the direction of the products coming through the Academy at Moor Farm?

Or is this a signal of how poor, on reflection, Derby’s recruitment has been?

Senior Transitional Coach Jake Buxton has left to join Alfreton Town. Head of Talent ID Mark Thomas has departed by mutual consent - and he only joined in February 2023 from Oxford United. Now Academy Manager Matt Hale is set to leave at the end of the season after less than a year, due to personal reasons.

That’s a lot of turnover in key positions. A lot of change behind the scenes. You can dress it up as “transition,” but it’s hard not to see it as instability. And it raises big questions about the club’s direction. The clubs recruitment needs spotlight. Was it really as good as fans thought at the start of the season? Because if these are the results, maybe the problem isn’t just the players coming in - maybe it’s the way they’re being utilised, and the way they’re being asked to play.

Either way, someone has to take responsibility. You can’t keep pointing fingers at bad luck or early days forever.

A Chance To Put Things Right

The only good part for John Eustace is that he’s got time to put the poor start right. The Rams host Norwich this evening, and it’s a game that looks, on paper, winnable. With one win in ten, every match now feels like a mini-crisis. The players look nervous, the fans are restless, and the atmosphere is poor. It’s not just about losing - it’s how they’re losing.

Something has to give soon. A spark, a statement, a performance that reignites belief. Because if not, Derby risk slipping into a spiral they might not climb out of easily.