As the Rams look to add more goals to their side, do they already have the perfect player in their squad?
Since Steve McClaren’s return, Derby County have enjoyed a tremendous turn around in form. From lingering just above the relegation zone, the Rams have climbed to 7th in the table, after a run of 9 wins from their last 12 games.
However, Derby County are also the second lowest scoring team in the Championship, with just Wigan Athletic scoring less. Clearly, the team needs goals, something Steve McClaren knows how to get.
Derby have brought in two strikers so far this season: Matej Vydra and David Nugent, with the first struggling to fit into Steve McClaren’s system.
The 4-3-3, which had been so successful in McClaren’s first spell at Derby, requires goals to come from the wide players, and so it’s no surprise to see Tom Ince as the Rams current top scorer, with 7 league goals.
Tom Ince
So where are the goals going to come from? Are Derby going to have to dip into the market for another forward or goal-scoring wide player? The answer may be a lot simpler and certainly a lot cheaper.
After a lengthy injury lay-off, Steve McClaren is on the verge of having former Reading striker, Nick Blackman, available for selection.
Since joining the Rams in January 2016, Blackman has only made 22 starts, scoring just one goal. However, Blackman’s time at Derby has been difficult, and his record in front of goal an unfair representation of the type of player he can be.
Reading’s Nick Blackman in action
Before his move to Pride Park, Nick Blackman enjoyed an extremely half-season with Reading, scoring 11 goals in 25 appearances. Playing on either the right or left flank, Blackman worked off the central striker in a way similar to that off Ince at Derby, and remained the Championship’s top scorer for most of the first half of the 15/16 campaign.
Clearly, under the right-system, Blackman can be a real goal-scoring threat. So why hasn’t it worked so far at Derby?
Derby’s Nick Blackman
Since joining Derby, Blackman has been forced to play under four different managers (including Steve McClaren), in a number of different positions. In just 22 appearances (not a massive amount for any player in the Championship), Blackman hasn’t really been given the chance to nail down his place in the side, or given a position to get familiar with.
Derby’s Nick Blackman in action
With Steve McClaren at the reigns now, Derby are back playing the 4-3-3, a formation which suits Blackman. With the wide-left position seemingly up for grabs, the former Reading attacker now has a real chance to make a position his own. However, after being shown little faith by his former Derby managers, the striker is likely to be low on confidence.
This is where the effect of McClaren can play a big part. Known to be a master of instilling confidence in players, most notably getting the best out of Derby’s Tom Ince, the former England and Newcastle manager might be just what the former Reading forward needs to kick himself back into the kind of form that got so many Championship fans off their seats.
Derby’s Nick Blackman scores from the penalty spot
So could Nick Blackman be the answer to Derby’s goal-scoring problems? Will he get given the chance to prove himself in a system that suits his style of play? Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure: under Steve McClaren, Nick Blackman has got the best chance yet since his arrival at Pride Park.
Derby’s Nick Blackman celebrates
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