Who should be the next Derby County manager?

After a disastrous start to the season that sees Derby County bottom of the Championship having won only one of their first 11 games, Phillip Cocu was dismissed as manager over the international break.

First-team coaches Wayne Rooney and Liam Rosenior have been placed in temporary charge ahead of their trip to Bristol City on Saturday, and whilst the former England and Manchester United captain is one of the front-runners to get the job on a permanent basis, there is still no clear favourite to be the next manager.

The club is also on the verge of a takeover by Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan of the Bin Zayed Group and it is understood that no appointment will be made until it is complete.

The new owner will undoubtedly be looking to both excite fans and give them hope for the future with his first major decision as owner.

However, the uncertainty about what direction the Sheikh is looking to take the club in has lead to a variety of names being linked to the vacant post, all with different playing philosophies and levels of experience.

So who is the best candidate for the job?

Wayne Rooney

When it was announced that Rooney would be joining Derby as a player/coach all the way back in August 2019, there was always a suspicion he saw the move as a way to launch his managerial career.

It is unclear how involved he was in tactical meetings or organising training as part of Cocu’s staff, but Rooney is currently working towards his UEFA Pro Licence and is reportedly keen on becoming the manager full-time.

Whilst the lack of certainty about Rooney as a coach probably counts against him in terms of his hopes of landing the job, he will point to the success his former England team-mate Frank Lampard had at Pride Park in the 2018/19 season.

Lampard, who had also never held a role in management before taking the reigns at Derby, guided the club to a play-off final before leaving to take the Chelsea job after a solitary season in charge.

Rooney has remained a largely popular figure among supporters despite captaining the side through their recent slump. He played a significant role in the Rams’ upturn in form in the second part of last season and has provided some memorable moments, such as a late free-kick that secured Derby’s only win of the current season at Norwich in October.

The potential for England’s record goal scorer to replicate the success of Lampard is the type of prospect that is easy for fans to get on board with, but Derby’s abject performances in recent weeks suggest a rookie manager may not be the solution.

If Rooney is successful as caretaker it would likely massively enhance his chances of getting the job, however it is hard to think of many player/managers who have had a great deal of success in recent seasons at a decent level of the game.

Rafa Benitez

 

At the other end of the experience See-Saw sits Rafa Benitez.

The Spaniard has now managed 13 clubs across a managerial career that spans almost 30 years and will always be well thought of in England for the work he did under trying circumstances at Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United.

He won promotion from the Championship with the Magpies back in 2017 after surprisingly staying with the club when they were relegated from the Premier League, and whilst substance is always prioritised over style by Benitez, there can be no doubt that he is effective at organising his teams and making them defensively sound – something Derby are in desperate need of.

A concern with Benitez regards his record of developing young players, or rather his lack of a record. He has always favoured experienced pros who he believes have a greater capability of carrying out his detailed tactical instructions.

Derby have invested massively in their youth system over the past decade and it has begun to bear fruit, with academy graduates Louie Sibley, Max Bird, Jason Knight and Lee Buchanan all making their league debuts under Cocu and establishing themselves as first-team players.

Benitez may not be the ideal candidate to help them continue to develop, although a more significant issue could be whether or not Benitez is either available or interested in the job.

He is currently at Dalian Pro of the Chinese Super League and earning in excess of £1million a month. Dalian are  struggling at the moment though, and with the Spaniard’s contract expiring next summer he is reportedly looking for a return to Europe.

Whether the East Midlands is his location of choice remains to be seen, and Benitez would be the most expensive choice of the candidates linked, but appointing him would certainly endear Sheikh Khaled to the Pride Park faithful.

Steve Cooper

The bookmakers’ odds of Swansea City manager Steve Cooper taking over at Derby have been slashed in recent days, and whilst that is no concrete indication that he will be the next manager at Pride Park, it may be a more realistic move than the Championship table would suggest.

Cooper’s Swansea are currently 6th in the league after a strong start to the season following heartbreak in the play-offs at the end of 2019/20.

Leaving for a side who are rock-bottom of the division would therefore seem ludicrous, but it is clear that the former England Youth team coach has become frustrated with the American owners of the South Wales club.

Cooper regularly complained of the club’s lack of transfer activity in the summer and despite bringing in five players on transfer deadline day, it was offset by the departure of star defender Joe Rodon for a cut-price fee.

The chance to work in a more stable, and financially lucrative, environment a Pride Park could therefore be tempting.

Cooper’s ability to work with young players cannot be questioned. He won the Under-17’s World Cup with England in 2017 and has overseen the rapid development of the likes of Marc Guehi, Connor Gallagher and Rhian Brewster during his short time at Swansea.

There was a spell in the middle of last season where Swansea and Cooper struggled and his relationship with the supporters cooled as questions about his tactical acumen were raised.

However, a move to a back three after the Championship restart in June saw Swansea’s form pick-up dramatically and a memorable last day win at Reading secured a play-off berth.

It is fair to say Swansea supporters would be sad to see Cooper leave. His fist-pumps following a win over South Wales rivals Cardiff last season was one of the iconic moments of the campaign, and he does appear to be ironing out the issues that caused concerns in the early months of his reign.

Whether or not the bookies are right to be backing Cooper remains to be seen, but it would be a move that makes more sense than it would initially appear.

Paul Cook

It is something of a surprise that Paul Cook has not yet secured himself another Championship job yet.

Cook left Wigan at the end of last season following the Latics’ relegation to League One amid significant financial concerns, and despite being linked with the vacant hot seats at both Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday, he still finds himself out of work.

A manager who was relegated last season may not seem the obvious candidate to keep Derby up, but Wigan would have survived comfortably had they not received a points deduction for entering administration. Cook also had the team playing some of the best football in the Championship in the second half of last season, highlighting his quality as a coach.

Perhaps even more importantly, Cook handled himself exceptionally well throughout the saga that engulfed the club who now sit bottom of League One. His ability to maintain the players’ focus on winning football matches was remarkable considering there have been suggestions Wigan could have even faced liquidation.

Whilst financial struggles are unlikely to be a concern for Sheikh Khaled, Pride Park can be a high-pressure environment when the team aren’t performing well. Someone with Cook’s temperament could therefore be a savvy appointment.

After serving his time in the EFL, winning promotions with Chesterfield, Portsmouth and Wigan, Cook has more than enough experience, and medals, to indicate he is now capable of being a successful manager in the second-tier.

Unlike both Cooper and Benitez, the Liverpudlian is readily available to get to work as soon as possible and, based on Derby’s performances in recent weeks, the Rams need urgent help.

 

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