Groundwork

Ryan Hills

Description

When Jim Smith took charge of Derby County in the summer of 1995, he joined a club needing to balance the books after several seasons of failing to reach the Premier League. Little was expected of him. Yet alongside Steve McClaren, Smith oversaw a transformation that took Derby to a new home, a new division and to the brink of European competition for the first time since the days of Dave Mackay. Smith built a side capable of matching the very best in English football, amassing an array of international talent almost never before seen in the British game, alongside hugely impressive home-grown players. This is the story of Jim Smith's Derby County, told with the exclusive insights of Smith's players, coaching staff, friends and supporters. Rams legends including Igor Stimac, Stefano Eranio and Steve McClaren speak in depth on what made that Derby County side, while those closest to Jim reveal what the legendary man-manager was like to deal with, both in and out of football.

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781801503037
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2022
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Ryan Hills, 2022
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Any oversight will be rectified in future editions at the earliest opportunity by the publisher.
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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 9781801500883
eBook ISBN 9781801503037
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CONTENTS
The Bald Eagle (poem)
Foreword by Steve Mcclaren
Foreword by Igor timac
A Disclaimer
Acknowledgements
1. The Eagle Has Landed
2. Bow Down
3. The Promised Land
4. Body and Mind
5. Consolidation
6. No Hair, Don t Care
7. Old and New
8. A Professional Zone
9. Forza
10. What Happens at Raynesway
11. Closer
12. Adjusting to Loss
13. Downfall
14. The Hardest Goodbye
15. Bonus Chapter: Play the BBC Athletics Theme Tune
16. Remembering Jim
Bibliography
Derby County: The Jim Smith Years
Photos
THE BALD EAGLE
The Bald Eagle landed then conquered armed with the tactics the players responded switched the narrative to change the story from years in the shadows to top-flight glory restored our Pride before we moved to the park the Baseball Ground that Sunday one mighty roar the limbs were flying as Van Der Laan scored a next-level squad those players we saw from Igor timac to Paul McGrath thrashing the Arsenal against all odds he led us to victory as underdogs to hear you ve sung your final swansong has hit this fanbase like a bullet through the heart never forgotten always revered gave those that remember some of our best years as you take your final flight Bald Eagle you ll always be here from our hearts Jim Smith you ll never disappear
Poem by Jamie Thrasivoulou
FOREWORD BY STEVE McCLAREN
DERBY COUNTY is a very special football club for me. When I look at my career, I ve been there as a player, an assistant, a manager (twice) and in a consultancy role as well. But for everything I have achieved in my career, it wouldn t have followed the same path if I had never met Jim Smith. My time as a player had come to an end when I first became acquainted with Jim at Oxford United. I ll never forget that when he came to visit the club, I would essentially be his waiter. I d ask for his order and without fail it would be whisky and water, three ice cubes. I never knew where that simple act would take me, nor did I know how quickly it would lead to success that neither of us envisaged when we stepped foot onto Raynesway for the first time.
Myself and Jim came to Derby with a remit of rebuilding on a budget. The ask was never to achieve promotion, but it became clear to us quite early on that the squad we had built was something special. The mercurial Igor at the back with Dean Yates and Gary Rowett. Robin van der Laan alongside Darryl Powell, Gabbiadini and Dean Sturridge at the top. We couldn t believe what we had stumbled upon with that formation at the back. I remember we did one session on the field where we used it. We played just a little practice, worked on some things and... oh my God, we ve got it.
Jim was just ahead of the game and everywhere he went, he was loved. That was the beauty of working with him. I went everywhere and saw the love and the affection that everybody gave him. Others will say the same for themselves, but Jim was like a second dad to me.
What we achieved in those years at the Baseball Ground and then Pride Park is something I will forever be proud of.
FOREWORD BY IGOR TIMAC
DERBY IS my home, it s my home. When you mention Derby County, the first word which comes to my mind is home. That s my home. I m not there but it s my home. Simple as that. My time at Derby County was something I didn t really expect to happen. When I first arrived at the Baseball Ground, I knew very little of the club - I didn t even know the division they were in. But from the moment I arrived, I felt like I was in the right place for me.
What we managed to achieve in a short space of time was incredible and I will forever be proud to be a part of a side managed by Jim Smith. He trusted me, and I loved him as a human being. I considered him as a father. But above this, the main memory I will always have is with the supporters of Derby County. You made me feel welcome from the first day and it was a privilege to captain The Rams. You can win fans hearts only in two ways - giving your heart on the pitch or playing amazing football. I think that I combined both.
A DISCLAIMER
I M WRITING this introduction at the end of January 2022. We ve just received the news that we are not going out of business, at least yet. It s the most harrowing time in the history of Derby County Football Club and, come the end of writing, this could be about a club that used to exist.
Derby County to me is everything. It s the one thing that can put a smile on my face when everything else can fail. In among darkness, the one thing I know can bring a sparkle back is visiting Pride Park. Admittedly when I get there it soon reminds me why over the years I ve felt glum in the first place, but football has just a wonderful way of reminding you of the person you have been at different points in your life. That s what I hope this book can do for you.
The 1990s was one of the best decades in the history of Derby County, and it wasn t due to successes in terms of trophies. First Division promotion aside, the club didn t collect any silverware. Not a European trophy, nor a qualification. Not a domestic cup. Not even an Anglo-Italian sparkler. But what those years, and in particular from 1995-1999, brought to the city of Derby is indescribable.
Led by the Bald Eagle and ably supported by a coaching staff who would go on to every height imaginable in the game, Derby County became something more than the club of a city; they became world leaders. At the forefront of technology, formations and new ways of looking at the game, other clubs would follow the lead of Jim Smith and co. And masterminded and financed by a devoted chairman in Lionel Pickering, it was a perfect case of everything falling into place.
A wave of mesmerising talents would descend on Derbyshire. Igor, Stefano, Ciccio, Ace. They don t even need surnames to evoke a warm feeling somewhere deep inside. Then there was the move from the historic yet dilapidated Baseball Ground to Pride Park, marking what looked like a new era.
This is what Derby County is, but to a greater extent it is what a football club is. Because a football club is about building these memories and looking back with the fondness you don t get from anything else in life. While I loved working on my last book, Pride: The Inside Story of Derby County, it was about a 20-year spell mired in turmoil and ultimately disaster. This period is neither of those things. It was one of hope, of genuine delight among the fanbase and of the ability to dream. And that s what supporting a football club should be about. It s more than 90 minutes, it s a lifestyle. It s a family, a bond you can never break. Yes, it can be tough, it can be horrible and it can infuriate. But life without it is not worth considering right now.
I hope that we can have those days again. I hope we have survived.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THIS BOOK could not have been completed without the time, help and, ultimately, the kindness of all of those who contributed to it. Thank you to all of those who were involved in the club who I spoke with as part of this: Andy Croft, Andy Dawson, Bill Beswick, Branko Strupar, Chris Powell, Craig Burley, Damon Parkin, Dane Farrell, Danny Higginbotham, Dean Sturridge, Diane Wootton, Deon Burton, Don Amott, Gary Rowett, Igor timac, Jacob Laursen, the late Keith Loring, Kerry Ganly, Kevin Harper, Lars Bohinen, Lee Morris, Malcolm Christie, Marian McMinn, Mark Robinson, Mark Smith, Mart Poom, Marvin Robinson, Neil Sillett, Paul Simpson (and apologies once again for not thanking you in Pride), Paulo Wanchope, Peter Gadsby, Ramm Mylvaganam, Robin Van Der Laan, Ross Fletcher, Seth Johnson, Spencer Prior, Stefano Eranio, Steve Elliot, Steve McClaren, Steve Round, Steve Taylor and Youl Maw n .
Thank you also to those close friends of Jim who gave up their time to go down memory lane: Harry Redknapp and Howard Wilkinson. I d like to thank the Smith family for their support as well. To Colin Gibson and Graham Richards, it was an honour to sit down and hear your stories from those wonderful years. And Matija Grebeni , thank you for enlightening me on the War of Independence as part of the Igor chapter.
And thank you to those supporters who reminisced about the good times at the Baseball Ground and Pride Park with me: Andrew Beckett, Andy Margett, Dan Walls, George Glover, Jamie Allen, Jimmy McLoughlin, Kelly Dreuitt, Ross Lowe, Stephen Newman and Tim Coxon.
This book could not have been done without the support of Jane at Pitch Publishing, so thank you again for taking a chance on me with Pride and Groundwork . Thanks also to Duncan Olner for the fantastic design of both. And a huge thank you to Gareth Davis, who is not only the wonderful editor of this book, but also an encyclopaedic devourer of Derby content.
Lastly, I would like to dedicate this book to every person who was a part of those fantastic years. There would be no book without those phenomenal days.