Burley the Hero

Well! What a big difference in the Rams fortunes since I last wrote my ramblings. A complete turn of fortunes that has seen us unbeaten in four matches. In fairness the two draws included could easily have been another win were it not for Mart Poom’s majestic header and the referee’s faulty stopwatch. So what is going on down at Pride Park?

Off the field it’s the same old same old, rumours of possible takeovers reach this office on a weekly almost daily basis, but still nothing is signed, the Chairman remains silent. A bonus perhaps was the agreement by Mr Pearson to do a ‘u-turn’ and stay on at the club. As to if we should read anything more in to this decision is of course like all off field Rams matters, just speculation.

On the field though, the Rams seem to be getting their act together, long time readers of this column will know that my gripe under Jim Smith was a lack of fighting spirit and the old 39 points mentality. I begged fans to give George Burley a chance and thankfully he has now proved that he can pull things round. However, we shouldn’t get carried away its not all plain sailing and there is an awful lot of work still to be done. George, though, seems to have struck the balance between reality and motivation. Keying up a side to survive by winning every match is different to aiming for that points total. Add to the mix some very canny signings such as Junior and Svennson (who we all hope will become a permanent signing), plus the very exceptional young talents of Huddlestone and Holmes and things seem to be cooking.

At Pride Park there has been a spectre hanging over the club for at least four years, the poor motivation (in my opinion) in Jim Smiths latter years, the Fuertes fiasco and latterly the controversial John Gregory sacking have not helped the certainty or continuity of the playing staff. Somehow, George Burley has knuckled down and attempted a ground force style makeover with a knife and fork and some sticky back plastic. More amazingly he seems to be on track to finish the job. In this world of high wages it is easy to say that a manager can not get results without money, we have seen a succession of managers of the ex player ilk who have walked in to high profile jobs, been given pots of money and then failed. Being a manager at whatever level is a far bigger responsibility than that. It’s about many other things including assessing talent and skills and potential talent, player management is also about managing the various personalities involved and motivation. It has been alleged that Glenn Hoddle was ‘cold’ towards certain players and didn’t speak to players for ages and when he did he spoke to them as if they were children. On the face of it, we are seeing George as a manager who is able to get the best out of limited funds and then get across his ideas and motivation. Now we have to wonder what he would be able to do with sufficient funding. My biggest wish is that if there really is a new owner out there that they are considering the purchase that includes George Burley as an integral part of that package. I would hate to see the current settling team disrupted yet again; I also believe that Burley is as good as any other manager currently available and better than many others.

Finally, much controversy over the new blue kit worn at the sh*tty ground on Saturday. Many Rams fans ask why? There was no colour clash, was it has been alleged by some fans a cynical marketing ploy on behalf of the club to aid sales of the new away kit? A lot of fans are annoyed that this traditional clash was denied the traditional red v white. Common Derby any other time yes, but don’t destroy our traditions for the sake of a couple of quid.

Norm Anton

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