I distinctly recall, on Clement’s appointment as Rams manager a mere eight months ago, many comments about the quality of his CV: assistant coach at Chelsea, Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid; mentee of Carlo Ancelotti. Impressive credentials.
I’m sure I was not alone in dreaming that Clement’s contacts would perhaps bring the next Ronaldo to the i-Pro. But that never quite happened – we got Chris Baird instead.
So when Mel Morris relieved PC of his managerial duties this week I can’t say I was either surprised or upset. What began with real hope that we had employed someone for the long term (our Fergie) fizzled out with dressing room arguments and sterile tactics.
Morris has come in for criticism this week, a great deal of which is unfair. He is not without blame, but his mistake was in backing the manager too much, both financially and verbally. A spend of £25 million and a squad brimming with quality can hardly be regarded as a lack of investment from the chairman; however it does seem to have created a squad of individuals rather than a cohesive team. But is that the chairman’s fault or the manager’s?
The reason for Clement’s dismissal was given as a difference of opinion over Derby’s long term strategy. Ridicule has been thrown at Morris because he said ‘promotion wasn’t the priority’. But do you remember the embarrassment of our last Premier League campaign? That ’11 point fiasco’ that is dredged up by the media virtually every season as the team bottom of the Premier League limps past the total at about Christmas. Do we really want to be that team again?
I applaud Morris’s desire to be a sustainable Premier League team when we eventually do go up; a team playing with verve and passion, making Saturdays exciting again.
So why isn’t that something Clement would buy into? Is it because that achieving promotion would be a means to an end, another notch on the belt? It would certainly make bigger teams sit up and take notice. Perhaps that is what Clement actually wanted, another impressive CV entry, so he can use Derby as a stepping stone to something bigger. And if, as a chairman, you work that out – why, the sacking of the manager is the next logical stage.
For this reason I’m backing Morris. Sure the timing isn’t great and he’s been made to look like the bad guy, but you don’t get rich by being popular. Just because the media love Paul Clement doesn’t mean you should avoid the tough decisions. And Morris hasn’t. He’s certainly not bothered about being PC on his CV.
I’m sure I was not alone in dreaming that Clement’s contacts would perhaps bring the next Ronaldo to the i-Pro. But that never quite happened – we got Chris Baird instead.
So when Mel Morris relieved PC of his managerial duties this week I can’t say I was either surprised or upset. What began with real hope that we had employed someone for the long term (our Fergie) fizzled out with dressing room arguments and sterile tactics.
Morris has come in for criticism this week, a great deal of which is unfair. He is not without blame, but his mistake was in backing the manager too much, both financially and verbally. A spend of £25 million and a squad brimming with quality can hardly be regarded as a lack of investment from the chairman; however it does seem to have created a squad of individuals rather than a cohesive team. But is that the chairman’s fault or the manager’s?
The reason for Clement’s dismissal was given as a difference of opinion over Derby’s long term strategy. Ridicule has been thrown at Morris because he said ‘promotion wasn’t the priority’. But do you remember the embarrassment of our last Premier League campaign? That ’11 point fiasco’ that is dredged up by the media virtually every season as the team bottom of the Premier League limps past the total at about Christmas. Do we really want to be that team again?
I applaud Morris’s desire to be a sustainable Premier League team when we eventually do go up; a team playing with verve and passion, making Saturdays exciting again.
So why isn’t that something Clement would buy into? Is it because that achieving promotion would be a means to an end, another notch on the belt? It would certainly make bigger teams sit up and take notice. Perhaps that is what Clement actually wanted, another impressive CV entry, so he can use Derby as a stepping stone to something bigger. And if, as a chairman, you work that out – why, the sacking of the manager is the next logical stage.
For this reason I’m backing Morris. Sure the timing isn’t great and he’s been made to look like the bad guy, but you don’t get rich by being popular. Just because the media love Paul Clement doesn’t mean you should avoid the tough decisions. And Morris hasn’t. He’s certainly not bothered about being PC on his CV.