And they’re off - McClaren is Ahead

Dominating a League Cup tie at Leicester and losing, going down to our biggest rivals in a Forgettable East Midlands Derby and all change in the managerial positions.

Nigel Clough was fired after the loss at the City Ground with the Sam Rush thanking him for the achievements he had like bringing the wage bill down and his involvement with the now excellent academy but felt that it was right to move on to another chapter.

I’m not against Nigel’s removal. He has done wonders on a shoestring, but I feel that he had run out of ideas. I wish him well in whatever he does in the future and I’m grateful for his commitment to the club.

The appointment of Steve McClaren raised a few eyebrows and immediately had the Red Half of Brian Clough Way taking to social media in an attempt to ridicule their rivals due to his failure at Forest.

A few of these were the same fans who blamed the board when the same man quit the City Ground.

It’s without question that McClaren is acknowledged as one of the games great coaches. On his appointment at Derby People like Harry Redknapp and Joey Barton (Yes him) were quick to express their gratitude for his time coaching at QPR over the last few months.

He was Alex Ferguson’s number two during the best three seasons of this reign. He was Middlesbrough’s and Twente’s most successful ever boss. Things didn’t work out at Forest where he took over a team that had seen play-off football the previous two seasons. However, was it his bad management! Was it because Billy Davies’ side weren’t as good as people think? Davies certainly has the ability to lift teams to achieve more than others might. Was he fully backed by the board? We can only speculate why?

He failed at Wolfsburg, but can you name any English manager that has had success in the Bundesliga?

The rot started to set in at Derby years ago when McClaren left to take up the position with Manchester United. Jim Smith just couldn’t find the same quality replacement.

I was not initially excited by his appointment on Monday. He was not my choice! However, I am prepared to support him and give him a fair crack of the whip! I hope Tuesday night is a pointer for how well he is going to do.

Derby 4-1 down at half time and Steve McClaren who was not in charge went down to see interim boss Darren Wassall and the team. He immediately made changes to the formation, two substitutions, spoke to the players and Derby produced their best half of football since I don’t know when!

It’s easy to get carried away, but we must wait and see who I’d going to get the position of Director of Football, who we bring in and let go and obviously results! With coaches like Paul Simpson and Eric Steele being brought in, he is showing intent.