The weekend can be a depressing time after an unexpected defeat for the Rams. So, being a positive person I generally try to look for things that’ll cheer me up. This normally involves eating and drinking, spending more time with my family, or going for a walk in the countryside.
However, one thing that is an absolute necessity on the back of a loss is to avoid social media and the internet for a minimum of 48 hours. I think back to Jack Bauer in ‘24’ and how he avoided contact with anyone by ‘going dark’. This normally meant destroying his phone so no one could get hold of him. Now, I don’t go to such extreme measures, but I did leave my laptop and i-pad charging this Sunday.
I don’t look at the match reports, I don’t check out the post-match interviews, I don’t watch the re-run of the match on Channel 5, and, vitally, I don’t read the moaning posts that clog up my Twitter feed and Facebook page.
I just don’t need it. I know if we’ve played poorly – I don’t want to re-hash it again – at least not until I’ve had time to reflect and ruminate for a couple of days.
So what happened on Saturday? We changed manager, we changed formation, we changed our style of play, becoming more direct – but we didn’t change the result. It’s very early days to lay the blame for this at the door of Darren Wassall, but we do need to show we are a team again, not a collection of expensive individuals. One thing I did find frustrating was the lack of impact our substitutes had, particularly Bent and Weimann – we actually got worse.
I think what Derby require at the moment is a period of ‘dark’ as well. And I’d include the chairman in that. It seems that, however well-meaning, whatever he says is misconstrued or used as a stick to beat him with. I understand the desire to put his side of the story over and look for opportunities to put positive messages in the media, but it’s just not happening for him at the minute.
So, Mel, discard your phone, a la Jack Bauer; avoid any requests for interviews with journalists, even well-meaning local hacks; keep all club statements to a minimum, and try to create a siege mentality within the squad. The players, management and ownership of the club need to show a united front – even if it’s a quiet one.
Doing our talking on the pitch and leaving the speculation to others is the order of the day. Social media will blow hot and cold whatever statement you may or may not make – let’s not fuel the fire; ‘go dark’!
*Apologies to any ‘Death Cab for Cutie’ fans drawn by this headline. As a regular follower of #dcfc for Derby County purposes, I often see posts about this record and felt it worked well as a title for this post. Having enjoyed some of their music recently it just felt right to bring the two together!
However, one thing that is an absolute necessity on the back of a loss is to avoid social media and the internet for a minimum of 48 hours. I think back to Jack Bauer in ‘24’ and how he avoided contact with anyone by ‘going dark’. This normally meant destroying his phone so no one could get hold of him. Now, I don’t go to such extreme measures, but I did leave my laptop and i-pad charging this Sunday.
I don’t look at the match reports, I don’t check out the post-match interviews, I don’t watch the re-run of the match on Channel 5, and, vitally, I don’t read the moaning posts that clog up my Twitter feed and Facebook page.
I just don’t need it. I know if we’ve played poorly – I don’t want to re-hash it again – at least not until I’ve had time to reflect and ruminate for a couple of days.
So what happened on Saturday? We changed manager, we changed formation, we changed our style of play, becoming more direct – but we didn’t change the result. It’s very early days to lay the blame for this at the door of Darren Wassall, but we do need to show we are a team again, not a collection of expensive individuals. One thing I did find frustrating was the lack of impact our substitutes had, particularly Bent and Weimann – we actually got worse.
I think what Derby require at the moment is a period of ‘dark’ as well. And I’d include the chairman in that. It seems that, however well-meaning, whatever he says is misconstrued or used as a stick to beat him with. I understand the desire to put his side of the story over and look for opportunities to put positive messages in the media, but it’s just not happening for him at the minute.
So, Mel, discard your phone, a la Jack Bauer; avoid any requests for interviews with journalists, even well-meaning local hacks; keep all club statements to a minimum, and try to create a siege mentality within the squad. The players, management and ownership of the club need to show a united front – even if it’s a quiet one.
Doing our talking on the pitch and leaving the speculation to others is the order of the day. Social media will blow hot and cold whatever statement you may or may not make – let’s not fuel the fire; ‘go dark’!
*Apologies to any ‘Death Cab for Cutie’ fans drawn by this headline. As a regular follower of #dcfc for Derby County purposes, I often see posts about this record and felt it worked well as a title for this post. Having enjoyed some of their music recently it just felt right to bring the two together!