World Soccer - UK (2021-10)

(Antfer) #1

B


efore theseasonhad
evenbegun,some
bookmakershad
stoppedtakingbetson
Derby Countybeing
relegatedfromthe
Championship.
Andwhocouldblamethem?The
clubhasspentthesummerinturmoil,
dealingwithfines,court casesand a
transferembargo.Lastseasonthey
stayedupthankstoa pointsdeduction
forSheffieldWednesday.
Itwas a raremomentoffortunefor
a clubthathassuffered onecrisis after
anotherin recentyears.Thepandemic
hasbeentoughoneveryEFLteam,
butnonehavehadtheirproblems
compoundedbybadluckandbad
decisionsquiteas much as Derby,
whoseissuespredateCOVID.
Howdidthingsbecome so bad?It is
difficulttoknowwhereto start.Owner
MelMorrishasbeentryingtosellthe
clubforat least12 months.Hissix
years in charge have seen theclub
contrive to throwawaypromotion
onmultipleoccasions,reachingthe
play-offsthree times.At thestart of this
year, he toldtheMailonSundaythat
owningtheclubhadcosthim£200m


  • certainlynotthe first persontothrow
    a fortuneatchasingPremierLeague
    promotion,andnotthe last.
    Themoneyhasbeenrunningoutfor
    sometime,withthe clubcomingupwith
    increasinglycreativewaystocontinue
    spending.In 2018 , Morrisboughtthe
    stadium,Pride Park, for£80mand
    leaseditbackinordertoboost income
    andaccountfor themountingdebts.
    Then,whenWayneRooney arrivedin
    August 2 01 9,heworenumber 32 – a
    reference to bettingsite 3 2Red,whose
    sponsorshiphelpedfundthesigning.
    InNovember 2020 , Morrisagreedto
    selltheclubtoSheikhKhaled,acousin
    ofManchesterCityownerSheikh
    Mansour. Things were goingbadlyon
    thepitch,withmanagerPhillipCocu
    replacedby Rooney,buttheprospect
    offreshinvestmentofferedhope.
    Butby December,the takeover had
    stalled,andplayers’salarieswerenot
    beingpaid.InJanuary,Rooney deferred
    hisown wages(believedto be around
    £90,000-a-week)toensurehisplayers
    werepaid. By March,thedealwasoff
    and,when a secondtakeoverbidfell


throughinMay,thefuturelookedbleak.
Justtoaddtothe financialwoes,that
monththeywerealsoorderedtopay
£2.3mtoformercaptainRichard
Keoghforabreachofhiscontract.
Havingnarrowlyavoidedrelegation,
theclubwerehitwitha£100,000
fineforfailingtocomplywith FFP
rules,andorderedtoresubmittheir
accounts for 2016 , 2 01 7 and 2018.
A points deduction,whichwouldhave
seenthemrelegated,was even on the
cards,and theclubwasplacedunder
severetransferrestrictionsuntilthe
accounts were in order.
Overthesummer, thebadnews
didn’tstop.Rooneymadeitontothe
frontpagesofseveralnewspapersafter
a seriesof photosofhimata partyin
a hotelroomwereleaked. In thesame
week, he wasall over thebackpages
forinjuringone of hiskey players,Jason
Knight,after joininginwithtraining.The
RepublicofIrelandmidfielderwas ruled
outfor threemonths– badnewsatthe

bestof times,butCounty’ssquadwas
alreadyseverelydepleted.
Duringpre-season, Knightwasone
ofjust nineseniorsplayerscontracted
tothe club.Severalfreeagentscame
inontrialand,just beforetheseason
started,manywerehandedcontracts.
Theonlyproblemwasthatno wages
couldbeoffered;untiltheclubcould
confirm what they wouldbeallowed
tospend,thepaperwasleftblank.
Deals were eventuallysorted for
a numberof players,includingformer
EvertondefenderPhilJagielkaand
Rooney’s oldManchester United
team-mateRavelMorrison.But in
anothertwist,ex-Turkey forwardColin
Kazim-Richards,whohad extendedhis
dealattheclubinFebruaryforthe
2021 -22season, tore hisAchillesinjust
hissecond league gameofthe season.
Inspite of everything,theseasondid
notstartas disastrouslyasexpected,
withfourpoints from thefirst three
games.There have been encouraging
performancesfromMorrison,among
others,andRooneyis hopeful he can
succeedwheresomanyothershave
failedingettingthe best outofthe
hugelytalentedmidfielder.
Offthepitch,thereis still much
toresolveand,atthetimeofwriting,
a pointsdeductionisstill possible.Itis
settobea longseason,probablythe
greatesttestof Rooney’s career.
JamieEvans

DerbyCounty

Championshipclubfaceanuncertainfutureafteraturbulentyear

PeoPleandPlacesinthenews

t...drby
r1 2 ubf
Mrr’rr

Fr jb...Ry
krgfdrby
nvmbr 2020
Free download pdf