Last season was like any other for Derby County, they had excellent results, they’ve managed to get into play-offs, they’ve lost the most important match and after that they always lose or sack their manager. Gary Rowett has done an excellent job with Derby County, he managed to make them perform like the Premier League side and everything about that team was positive until he left them for Stoke. Derby County fans were disappointed that their manager left. But not for long as Frank Lampard was soon appointed as their new manager.

Everything started well for Frank Lampard. The team performed well in pre-season, he got all the signings that he wanted to make and everyone was quite optimistic about Derby County this season. When the season finally started, the performance wasn’t that great, they’ve managed to grab a few good results, but in most matches they weren’t creating enough chances and they were struggling to score. They’ve managed to get only one point against newly promoted sides Rotherham and Blackburn, so everyone started wondering if Derby County can achieve great things this season?

Does Derby miss Matej Vydra?

It is obvious that Derby County needs a proven goal scorer in their starting eleven, but to be fair, they always intended to sell Matej Vydra on summer. Of course, the fans miss their favorite player from last season, but does Derby County have a player that can repeat what Matej Vydra did last season? I believe that they have. Martyn Waghorn was one of the best players in Championship last season, he was a key figure for Ipswich and he is certainly in better form than David Nugent. Derby County actually has a lot of options in attack, but their problem is the fact that none of these players managed to hit the form so far. For me, Martyn Waghorn has to offer much more than David Nugent, but time will tell us which striker Frank Lampard will choose for his starting eleven.

Are youngsters doing the job?

So far Derby County showed a few good performances, they are working hard and they always have a few youngsters in their starting eleven. Is that a good thing and are youngsters doing the job? As the matter of fact, youngsters have showed the best performance for Derby County so far and some of them have already earned their place in starting eleven. The 18 year-old Jayden Bogle proved to be an excellent right-back, he started in four matches for Derby and it seems that he will be starting more often in next fixtures after an excellent performance against Blackburn.

Other two youngsters that are making an excellent performance every time they play have signed for Derby County this summer on loan from Chelsea. Fikayo Tomori is defender that already made his name in Championship last season with Hull and now he is in Derby County starting eleven. But maybe the most important players for Derby County this season has been Mason Mount, youngster seems to have a key role in their team and he is completely comfortable with it. He scored two goals and had one assist so far, but everyone expects a lot from Mason Mount this season. Derby County manager Frank Lampard even suggested in his press conference that Mason Mount is ready to play for England:

“Mason Mount can do anything he wants, he is that good! That’s not to stay he will go in and be an England starter in their next game, as its Gareth Southgate’s choice. But whatever level you put him in, because of his quality, work ethic and mentality – he wants to get better and better – he will do anything he wants to. It’s my decision to play him every week and it will be Gareth’s decision, if and when, to pick him for the England team.”

Is Frank Lampard good with tactics?

Frank Lampard doesn’t change his 4-3-3 formation, but he is changing the line-up and obviously the tactics. In their first few games, Derby County players haven’t looked that confident, they were not dominating the field and they haven’t made an impression of a stronger side. However, in their last match against Blackburn, although they never managed to score, Derby County was a dominant side, they were creating a lot of chances and they finally looked like the team that can fight for a promotion this season. A lot of work has to be done, a lot of changes still have to be made, but so far, Frank Lampard has shown that he knows his players and that he is on the right track to improve his team’s performance and find better results in the future. They maybe had a shaky start regarding their performance, but now they look ready to fight for their place on the table.

Can this team win a promotion?

This team can do a lot in Championship this season, they have excellent players, they have youngsters that are motivated to work hard and prove their value, but there are many teams in Championship this season that are showing a better performance than Derby County. For me, Derby County currently doesn’t look like the team that can fight for a straight promotion, but they are certainly the team that will work hard to get a play-off spot. They have enough quality to finish in top 6 and they are perfectly aware of the hard work that needs to be done this season. For me, there is one thing that Derby County has to do; they have to keep Frank Lampard for more than just one season. They have to let him build his team, and once they are ready, try to grab a straight promotion.

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