Players may yet find that Nigel has shocks in store

Wednesday 21 January 2009

THERE is an intriguing picture from 1967 on the main staircase at Pride Park, showing the new manager meeting some of the players he inherited.

It was a nervous time. Brian Clough had no doubt about where he intended to take Derby County and stands as though the main purpose of the photograph was to show him. As indeed it was.
Players are wondering what the appointment will mean for them. The two seniors, Billy Hodgson and Gordon Hughes, only a few months younger than their new boss, eye Clough speculatively and were right to do so.
Of the 11 on view, only two, Peter Daniel and Ron Webster, survived to play a part in the two League Championships of the 1970s.
Daniel did not appear when the Rams won the title in
1971-2. His season of glory was under Dave Mackay in 1974-5, when he stood in for the injured Roy McFarland and ended as Player of the Year.
Clough and Peter Taylor completely reshaped the team after they assessed the quality at their disposal. Some players lasted longer than may have been expected because they were needed for the run to the semi-finals of the League Cup.
The relevance is that Nigel Clough faces a similar task. As soon as he took over as manager, he made it clear that he felt there were too many players floating around for no good reason.
His list may have been extended by Saturday’s dismal performance against Queen’s Park Rangers (I refuse to drop the apostrophe, even if Rangers have binned it).
In its way, it was as alarming as the home defeats by Southampton and Ipswich Town under Paul Jewell and indicated that Clough’s priority is to avoid a battle against a second successive relegation.
Much as he wanted a winning start, Clough may find the result of more use to him than a scrappy victory, simply because it shows so clearly what needs to be done.
Even so, the contrast between the Carling Cup victory over Manchester United and the utter feebleness of the next display defies explanation.
Clough did not mention Burton Albion directly after the match but they were in his thoughts when he referred to things he had taken for granted in recent years, that the front players would hold the ball, those on the flanks would stay wide and provide crosses and, in a home match, the whole emphasis would be on going forward.
Something has to happen quickly, because clubs who floundered before Christmas are coming up for air, notably Nottingham Forest under Billy Davies. That Davies is making an immediate impact comes as no surprise.
The QPR debacle told Clough he had to strip down the engine and rebuild it. He also has to persuade the players they are not as bad as Saturday suggested.
Perhaps players lulled by the image of the quiet, polite Clough may be in for a shock. For some, he will turn out to be nasty Nigel.