Jack Bryan is a football writer and life long Derby County supporter.
So, last Monday afternoon the inevitable was finally confirmed, Derby County will be playing in the third tier of English football next season, for the first time in nearly forty years. It happened in perhaps the most Derby way possible, as we conceded a late goal against QPR to fall to an agonising defeat, and Reading came back from 4-1 down to draw 4-4 with Swansea after a 96th minute equaliser.
After a tame first half, Derby were on top for most of the second half, but lost control after a system change in the last five minutes of normal time, as they went for the win.
As I tweeted on Monday evening, and many others have also said, the emotions surrounding Derby’s relegation are unusual for the situation. My overwhelming feeling is one of pride in the staff and the squad, made up mostly of youngsters, many of whom have been thrown in at the deep end, and free agents who took pay cuts to join the club. To still have had a chance to stay up going into our 43rd game of the season is remarkable, as is the fact that we would be safe without the 21 point deduction, when you consider the barrage of obstacles thrown at the team this season. Let’s not forget that we have also pulled off some shock results this season, beating Bournemouth days after the further nine point deduction was announced, and holding Fulham three days later. On Good Friday we surprised The Cottagers again, coming from behind to earn a win that illustrates the club’s potential, and who can forget Curtis Davies and Krystian Bielik’s late equalisers against Reading and Birmingham respectively.
Personally, it has actually been an enjoyable season in terms of what has happened on the pitch. I accepted that we were probably going down to League One when we entered administration. In fact, I would still snap your hand off for the opportunity to watch Derby play in League One next season, or even the next few, given the precarious position the club have been, and to an extent still are, in.
If a takeover is completed, the club has an opportunity to rebuild, and run sustainably for the long term. Wayne Rooney has said multiple times that he is staying, and on Friday told the media that he wants to keep 95% of the squad, and that the entire squad want to stay. Of course, that probably won’t be possible given the fact that only four players have contracts that run beyond the end of the season, the restrictions that will be in place under the business plan upon exiting administration, and the salary cap that is placed on all League One clubs, but it would be a great situation to be in, and we then wouldn’t need to add too many more players to the squad. It is also testament to the culture that has been created at the club, where fans gather at the training ground to applaud players returning from an away game after which their relegation was confirmed.
Whilst we should remember that League One is a difficult league to get promoted from, just ask Sunderland, let’s look at the positives. The fanbase is brilliant, the squad is Championship quality, having only been relegated due to the previous ownership, and we have a top-class academy, which will once again be looked to against Bristol City. This isn’t a normal relegation, could it actually be the start of something special?
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