Tuesday 31 March 2015 11:08, UK
In his latest column, Peter Beagrie looks at Derby's struggles and backs Bournemouth to go up after signing Kenwyne Jones...
Kenwyne Jones is a brilliant signing for Bournemouth. He is huge figure, brilliant in the air and when you play with such width and precision with your crossing as they do then it’s perfect for him.
Yann Kermorgant is excellent in the air as well and the signing means they are better equipped to deal with an injury to any of their strikers.
Eddie Howe was disappointed not to supplement his squad in the January transfer window but Jones strengthens their cause and they are genuine favourites for me to get an automatic promotion place.
Their 3-0 win over Middlesbrough last time out was a huge, nay humongous, result for them at this stage of the season. It wasn’t the win in isolation; it was the completeness of the performance.
They out-thought, out-fought and totally outplayed one of their nearest rivals. They dealt with the pressure and the TV cameras to keep the momentum and continue their six-game unbeaten run which leaves them in confident mood to take on sixth-placed Ipswich away.
They played free-flowing football, getting the ball wide, transferring through the thirds quickly, with confident and cohesive passing and options for the man on the ball always evident.
Their front four are a real handful, possessing pace, creativity and a goal threat, and they have partnerships all over the pitch.
Centre-halves Steve Cook and Tommy Elphick are solid and reliable, centre midfield pairing Harry Arter and Andrew Surman are dominant, progressive and mobile, and both very good game managers, controlling possession and the tempo and Arter also supplementing the strikers with his goal.
Matt Ritchie and Simon Francis are in perpetual motion down the right flank, combining and complimenting each other, with Ritchie rolling inside and Francis overlapping, both producing a conveyor belt of crosses and assists for Marc Pugh, Kermorgant and the excellent Callum Wilson.
Their squad is strong enough in depth to cope with injuries and any suspensions in the run in - Brett Pitman's scoring exploits recently testimony to that. It’s the story that keeps on giving and I am backing it to have a fairytale ending as they look every inch automatic favourites.
The international break could not have come at a better time for Derby County. Blighted of late by injuries and with a treatment room which has looked like emergency ward seven, the Rams have to regroup, recover and rediscover the form which saw them narrowly miss out on promotion last year and made them contenders this year.
Their style and pattern of play has always been heavily reliant on Chris Martin, both as a platform to build off and as the target while getting in wide areas beyond defences. He has been a huge loss for them and, to compound matters, his direct replacement Darren Bent was missing for the vast majority of the six-game winless run they are currently on.
They have also been without other vital members of their best starting XI, George Thorne and Jake Buxton to name just two. These players are the spine of the team and, more importantly, the leaders, talkers, organisers and physically the power, drive and solid base that Derby can spring from.
Other defensively-minded midfield players like John Eustace and Omar Mascarell are also out, which makes Derby’s back four easy to get at when the opposition overturn possession.
No card when it should have been a red. No advantage when the referee should have allowed Ince’s follow-up. And no points for the luckless Rams.
Bent was back for the Wolves game when Derby dominated possession, had 19 shots, eight on target, played well but lost 2-0 - not a good sign. The top teams, as everybody knows, win when not playing well.
A huge refereeing decision in the early stages of the game had a massive bearing on the outcome - Danny Batth took out Darren Bent, stopping him getting a through ball before Wolves keeper Tomasz Kuszczak. The referee gave a foul, produced no card and didn’t allow Tom Ince’s follow-up which was a nano-second later.
No card when it should have been a red. No advantage when the referee should have allowed Ince’s follow-up. And no points for the luckless Rams.
It was hard to take and left Steve McClaren incandescent with rage on the touchline, his face as red as my nose watching from the gantry on a freezing night at Molineux.
Derby are now six points off top and five points off the second automatic spot, but they can come again. They have found it very difficult to develop a plan B without the prolific Martin but good news seems to be round the corner with the big hitman likely to be fit for selection against Watford.
Thorne nearly made the squad against Wolves and is another plus alongside the experienced Eustace, but that is tinged with disappointment as Mascarell and, more devastatingly, Buxton look likely to miss the rest of the season.
If Raul Albentosa or Ryan Shotton step up and perform alongside Richard Keogh then Derby can arrest this decline and consolidate their play-off spot. If they are to have any chance of an automatic spot they must beat next opponents Watford, who alongside Bournemouth seem to be handling the pressure of the top teams the best.
This could be a season-defining game for Derby against the Hornets, who have definitely got a sting in their tail as only Bournemouth have scored more goals this term (82-78) and they will be looking to get back on track after their 1-0 defeat to Ipswich last time out.
Everything is poised for an incredible run-in. How’s this for a trio of games live on Sky Sports over the Easter weekend: sixth-placed Ipswich v leaders Bournemouth, fifth-placed Derby v second-placed Watford and Watford v third-placed Boro. Strap yourself in for the rollercoaster ride that is the Championship.
Shaun Derry was sadly the latest managerial casualty in the Football League, given his cards on Monday by Notts County, the club where he started his playing career and who last season he saved from relegation, masterminding six wins from the last nine fixtures to secure League One status.
In stark contrast, just three wins in the last 24 games sees County perilously placed just above the relegation zone on goal difference and in the battle with 11 other teams desperate to retain their third tier existence.
In the short term County are blessed to have the knowledge and experience of Paul Hart and Mick Halsall, who have both managed and coached at various levels and are capable of proving valuable assets to County’s cause.
Hart is no stranger to the youth academy set-up and has extensive connections throughout the Premier League and Football League, which is has already put to use by acquiring the services of Aston Villa forward Graham Burke and talented Liverpool midfielder Jordan Williams on loan until the end of the season.
Both will have a huge part to play in the run-in for County, who next face possible relegation rivals Scunthorpe, currently one point and two places better off in 18th.
This is the first of six games of their final nine where the Magpies can take points from teams in and around themselves to guarantee their League One future.
Here are those survival six-pointers: home to 18th-placed Scunthorpe (43 points), away at 16th-placed Walsall (46 points), home to 17th-placed Coventry (43 points), away at 24th-placed Yeovil (33 points), away to 19th-placed Crawley (43 points), away to 14th-placed Gillingham (48 points).
If Ronnie Moore keeps Hartlepool in the Football League it will be his greatest achievement to date and I think it would qualify as a minor sporting miracle. Pools have been as much as 10 points adrift of safety this season - 11 really when you take into consideration their woeful goal difference - but after wonderful wins at home to Mansfield, away to Oxford and at Morecambe, the seemingly impossible dream is a very possible reality.
Moore’s men have managed to claw back eight points on Cheltenham, six on Tranmere, seven on York and four on Carlisle in the last three games, which leaves just five points separating the bottom five and Pool one win away, depending on other results, of leapfrogging three teams above them.
They can improve their situation even more as next up are Cambridge, eight points and six places above Hartlepool, but defeat would drag them into the relegation mire and with one win in their last 10 they would consider themselves anything but safe.
This is a key game to increase confidence and maintain momentum as well as to improve their league position. I am sure that fixtures against York and Carlisle on the last day of the season are also two games the managers, players and fans have focused their attentions on.
I was pleased to see Ronnie back in football after adverse press and media focus, he always has a smile on his face and a story to tale whenever I bumped into him. He loves his job and the game and should he lead Hartlepool to safety the smile will stretch from ear to ear and the story would be one of epic proportions. Good luck Hartlepool and Ronnie.
