Derby County - The Bigger Picture

Article by e-Derby County Correspondent Ross Lowe

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So – after weeks of speculation, rumour and Tweets aplenty, Craig Bryson put pen to paper and signed a 5 year deal to stay at Derby County.

Do not for one second underestimate the importance of this deal.

Yes - it retains the services of our Player of the Year, a player of such quality that he was voted into the Championship Team of 2014-15 and of course a player that will forever be remembered for banging home ‘that’ hat-trick in ‘that’ 5-0 demolition of Forest in April. His goals from midfield and countless assists and energetic running were a key component of Derby County’s third place finish and Play Off Final appearance last season.
 

Bryson Signs

But that’s all in the past. With those credentials, Premier League clubs were bound to come sniffing. Newly-promoted Burnley had an offer turned down and Play-Off Final victors Queens Park Rangers were also said to be interested.

The Rams, to their credit, publicly stated that they had turned down Burnley’s offer and that they themselves were in talks with Bryson to put together a new deal. Silence then followed. As we know, silence usually leads to panic in the Twittersphere and so it was.

Understandable in many ways. In the past, Derby County built themselves a reputation as a bit of a ‘soft touch’ with the sale of many of their stars for a pittance. Huddlestone and Rasiak to Spurs. Idiakez to Southampton. Tommy Smith to Watford. There are many more.

But as I’ve pointed out before, this is not the Derby County of old. The club has spent a number of years now under their American ownership working to build and lay foundations, slowly and methodically. It has not been easy – in fact on many occasions fans have vented their ire at a board with a perceived lack of investment or ambition. We know it’s true that the Rams don’t have the megabucks of many other well-supported (and often less well-supported) clubs – but what we do have has, seemingly, been spent well and wisely.

Crucial appointments – notably those of Chief Executive Sam Rush and the management team of Steve McClaren, Paul Simpson and Eric Steele (and let’s not forget that they haven’t even had a full season at DCFC under their belts yet) have been an integral part of the ongoing Derby County re-birth. Special mention also has to go to Nigel Clough, McClaren’s predecessor too. His pruning of under performing high-earners, the ability to get the best out of Robbie Savage to steer us clear from League One and the signing of many of the current Rams squad – including Mr Bryson – were a huge part of getting Derby County to where they are now.

So – where are we now? As the pre-season friendlies get under way and we begin to turn thoughts to the new season, we are back where everyone else will find themselves in August – no points on the board, no goals scored, none conceded.

However, there’s much more to it than that. Despite losing at Wembley in May, the mood in Derby remains chipper. Immediately after the defeat to QPR, McClaren stated to Sam Rush his desire to keep hold of the nucleus of the team. At the Derby County of the past, it is doubtful that this would have happened in such an emphatic fashion. In the last ten days, we’ve seen Jake Buxton sign a new three-year deal while internationals Craig Forsyth and Jeff Hendrick along with the Football League’s Young Player of the Year Will Hughes have all signed four year deals. And then there’s Craig Bryson’s five year deal too.

McClaren got his wish. I’m willing to bet that Burnley and QPR could have offered much more financially than Bryson will be getting at Derby. No doubt his weekly pay-packet will be much improved from what it was, and rightly so. But when you consider that Bryson is now 27 and in the prime of his career, it makes his commitment to Derby County all the more impressive. He clearly feels that his Premiership opportunity will come with the Rams – a massive statement of belief in the club that brought him south from Kilmarnock three years ago. McClaren himself has admitted that he thought we could lose Bryson – and that feeling of inevitability hung over the city of Derby over the past fortnight too.

It hasn’t worked out that way. The boys are back in training, the team is still very much together and there’s still time for a new face or two to be added before the season begins.

The bigger picture is looking good.

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