Ramballs

This Friday afternoon around 2pm, in the newly opened Jurys Inn hotel, RamBalls was sat in the bar waiting to interview the Rams midfielder and former Wales international Robbie Savage. That’s not entirely true. I was here for the opening of the hotel…and had expected to get some pictures and a few quotes from the likes of Tom Glick and a few other local business people regarding the official opening of the hotel and the beginning of the new partnership between The Rams and Jurys Inn Derby.

The lobby of the hotel is heaving as journalists and representatives from local organisations do their networking. Tom Glick, Derby County CEO, is stood by reception speaking to local businessmen and women. I find myself being ushered towards the bar area (not before I had a canapé or two) where some local journalists and a couple of guys from Sunday national papers are sitting. They alI looked professional and serious and were talking sport. I looked like an extra from Mall Rats and was talking to no one.

Robbie Savage does his interview for East Midlands Todays

I was sat in the corner, faffing around on my BlackBerry, when Robbie Savage walked in. The guy looked smart. I doubt there was a single piece of Primark clothing on him. He strolls towards the journos and says “Hello losers”. They laugh and exchange witticisms; one of them says the transfer window has not been too kind to us this summer. Savage laughs and tells them they look like they should be in Dads Army before sitting on the new hotel sofas to do an interview with East Midlands Today.
After Robbie completed his interviews with EMT and the local press pack, it dawned on me that I might be interviewing Robbie and as such, I had better prepare some questions but before I had even started, it was too late. He said hello, I explained briefly what the blog is about and that was it, we were off.

I chose probably the most inappropriate opening question for an interview ever.

Robbie has always been a player that opposition fans love to hate and Derby fans were no exception. Did he realise the strength of feeling towards him before he arrived at Pride Park?

I knew vaguely. I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t think it was as bad as it was and I thought I would win them over within three or four games because of the way I play but it didn’t happen. I had a nightmare start; I was low on confidence playing in a very, very poor team, the worst team I have ever played for. Usually I can drag people up with me but I couldn’t do anything. I was, you know, basically told I was crap by everybody, felt that way and I couldn’t win them over. I came in on big wages and they expected more and I couldn’t deliver so, in a way, they were right.

One thing I do dislike is booing you. You know, booing your own player. As a player you don’t intentionally play badly, you try your best, whatever happens, you try your best. Booing your own player is wrong, completely wrong. I had it, Gary Teale had it, and Claude had it. Irrespective of what happens, no matter what they feel about that person, you shouldn’t boo your own player. It’s completely and utterly disgraceful in my opinion.

When did he begin to realise that he was winning the fans over?

Probably the Forest game was the main one, if I’m honest with you, when I started waving the scarf. That was the one really, at home. Obviously the gaffer came in and it took a few games to get in the team then I got in the team. I know it was a local Derby but they appreciate what I do now. I’m not going to run around anymore like Greeny [Paul Green] can, or Stephen Pearson. I get on the ball and make us play.

I explain to Robbie that I am surprised. I remember the game against Manchester United at home in the Premier League season where he had a cracking game and I thought that might have been the one.

No, that wasn’t really. They sung my name that game, I remember it, but then again it was one game in twenty. It’s not good enough, it should be every game.

He doesn’t have the legs of old Robbie Savage who chased everything but he can still play. I ask him how he’s finding the change and whether he’s enjoys playing in a midfield three alongside Paul Green and Stephen Pearson as he did against Notts County.

4-4-2 or 5-3-2, whatever the gaffer decides to play, suits me both ways. In a three I think it’s worked well in pre-season. I think it suits the people at the minute. You know we have a few injuries and at the minute it suits the people we have available. Obviously if Hulsey’s fit, Porter’s fit and Kris Commons had a fully fit pre-season it might be different but with Green and Pearson I think I can bring the best of them two and they can bring the best out of me. You’ve got Crofty and Tealey out wide or Commons- whoever the gaffer decides to play- it suits us. It suits us really well.

The thing in that formation, you need the centre backs to have the ball more- you know your football [I smile and nod but inside I think “do I?”]- But because I’m the one lying deep, you need your centre backs to come out with the ball. If I mark and they continue going forward I can just fill in so it’s perfect really. It allows Pearo and Greeny to make the runs forward to support Steven Davies who I thought was exceptional against Notts County and for me, that’s his role, a centre forward; he’s big, strong- that’s his position. I think he’s got a great career.

I concur. Steven Davies is a good centre forward, with a lot of quality and he can beat a man.

Yeah, he can beat a man. He’s quick, for me, probably one of the quickest at the club along with Crofty and Tealey.
I think our best player is Kris Commons. I’m not the manager, luckily enough I’m not the one faced with having to pick people, but that’s why he’s the manager. Kris Commons is a top player, so what position does the manager put him in at the minute. It’s a tough one because people are holding the positions they are in at the minute. We’ve got Crofty and Tealey but Kris Commons is a player you’ve got to have in your team. I’m just glad I’m not the manager.

With talk of Crofty, I wonder how are the new boys are fitting in?

Brilliant. Jake Buxton, from Burton, looks good. Ben Pringle in training looks good, very good- wants to do well. Moxey looks ok.

Croft?

Croft, yeah. Everyone looks ok. They’re young and enthusiastic and want to do well. The gaffer has given them the chance and they want to grasp that with both hands, all of them. It’s looking good. I’m not going to sit here and say we’re going to win the league by thirty points. You know, if we can finish in the top ten then we can build, which the gaffer wants to do. I’m sure we can do that.

I jokingly ask Robbie about the goal against Notts County, describing it as “cracking”.

Fluke. It was a fluke. I’m 35 now and I’ve got a lot of experience and, what you realise is, in certain situations you put the ball in the right area.

You’ll see certain times on a Saturday when I’ll just put the ball into the channel. It looks like it’s going to nobody but it’s a great ball because what happens is the defender will have to put it out for a throw in and you’re thirty or forty yards further up the pitch. The thing I think we’ll have a problem with the home crowd is if we play in a five we keep the ball quite a lot and we’ll pass it back and back and back and to the side. Sometimes the Derby fans can get impatient with that but you’re doing it methodically and for the right reasons, waiting for the opportunity to open up. I just hope they appreciate what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to play football. The gaffer wants us to play but, obviously, not going back for the sake of going back; take every opportunity to go forward and get it in the right area. It’s, erm, it’s looking good.

I ask about the pre-season which has seen the lads do all sorts of activities. How has he found it?

It’s been great. We’ve done all sorts of activities. Swimming, running. It’s been very good, very enjoyable. The lads have bonded well together. We’ve got a smaller group than last year, that’s not hard. The gaffers got his own group now. The thing with the gaffer is, if you do it right, you’ll get a chance with him. If you don’t take the Mick, don’t take the piss, do it right, you respect him, you come into work and do things they want doing, he’ll respect you. That’s what you want from a manager. I respect him greatly. He saved my career. End of story. You know, I did a bit of that myself but he saved me. Simple.

Again, I agree with Robbie. Since Nigel came in he’s been a completely new player.

Yeah. It’s been the greatest turn around since Lazarus.

It’s time to take the conversation a different direction (basically I forgot my questions, panicked and ended up asking this). What was going through his mind when in the 90th minute at Pride Park Stadium he had Craig Burley in your face after he’d just won a penalty? Craig’s a big fella. How’d he feel?

Oh, you know. I wasn’t bothered about it. Shrugged it off. I won a penalty for my team, and it was a penalty. Danny Higginbotham was silly enough to go in for the challenge and if you’re a Leicester City fan, you love me. If I did that for Derby against Leicester, if I won a penalty against Leicester, am I bothered about what the Leicester fans are gonna sing? Couldn’t give a toss, really.

Predictions for the season? He mentioned top ten earlier. Maybe play offs?

Realistically we stayed up by the skin of our teeth last year so we’re not going to win the league by thirty points; we’re not going to win every game. What we are going to do, and I can guarantee the fans, we are going to be the fittest team in the league but the first three or four games are difficult.

You can have all the fitness in the world but, you know the first game of the season, the adrenaline; you’re knackered, you feel knackered. It’s unbelievable. You’ve worked all week, all six weeks, working towards the first game. Physically you’ll be as fit as you ever have been but mentally you’ll be drained. It’s weird. It’s a weird feeling; I can’t explain it to you. We’ll all probably look shattered in the first game, not because we’ve not been doing anything, but because you’ve built it up so much and you’re knackered. It’s amazing. That happens for the first two or three games and then you start kicking in but we need a good start. It’s two tough games with the two promoted teams and everyone thinking “oh they should win them” but look at last year. Doncaster battered us and then Southampton’s kids battered us. So it’s going to be a tough start.

I ask Robbie if he’s ready for the first game of the season and the media talk regarding Clough Jr vs Ferguson Jr. Is he already up for it?

Sure, you’ve got to be up for every game. You’ve got to be up for the cup game on the Tuesday or Wednesday or whenever it is. Every game you’ve got to be up for. If you’re not, you’ll get beat. What you don’t intentionally do is go out there and play bad. Nobody goes onto the pitch and intentionally plays bad. Simple as that. What the gaffer won’t accept is if you don’t run for a ball, if you don’t shut somebody down or you don’t make a tackle. You can’t accept them things. If you play bad, but don’t mean to play bad, you can accept that.

Last year’s cup run was brilliant. Are we going to see the same this year?

Hopefully. It was great. That’s when I came back into the team. It was great, you know. The Carling Cup really got me back on the map. Every game I want to play in, it could be my last season. Who knows? I just want to play in every game.

I’m sure it won’t be his final year given his new role not requiring you to do so much running about, box-to-box.

No, it’s great. I still feel like I could play in the Premiership because you get more time in the Premiership. In this league you don’t get much time. Tomorrow, when we play Stoke or when you play Arsenal or Man Utd, you get more time than you would do against Peterborough. It’s amazing but we’re not playing against Arsenal, but I could do. Look at Graham Alexander, he’s 37. I feel I’ve been a better player over the years than Graham and he’s done exceptionally well at Burnley; brilliant, absolutely fantastic. He’s 37 so why can’t I go on for that long.

I ask him Sav if he’ll be featuring against Stoke on Saturday.

I hope so. The gaffer doesn’t tell us the team until an hour before kickoff. I’ll be playing the masters this time next year though. (Sav laughs)

It’s time for one last question. So Robbie, what have been your careers highlights?

Well, obviously all my moves. Playing for my idol, Mark Hughes, at Blackburn was a great experience. But the greatest achievement was coming back from the dead here. Simple. Coming back and having an influence on the team like I have done is the best part of my career. Winning the league cup at Leicester was good, playing in Europe for Blackburn was good but this now is the best time because people wrote me off. People thought I was finished and were calling me all the names under the Sun. There is nothing better than enjoying what you’re doing, in any walk of life, and proving people wrong, prove 32,000 people wrong. There are always going to be a few hundred who hate me still, I don’t care really, I don’t really give two…hoots. The majority of people who know football will know that I’ve done well.

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And with those words, the interview ends. To say that my interview technique needs refining a little is an understatement but Robbie made the whole thing really easy. He’s a very personable bloke and when I had mental blanks, because I hadn’t prepped at all, he was laid back and didn’t bat an eyelid. He’s also completely right about in what he says regarding singling players out for booing. It is unacceptable and Derby fans have been prone to doing it over the few years. Yes, we have seen some awful football but no player tries to play badly. In future, we should just get behind the team even more and make Pride Park a hot bed of noise. Lets make it uncomfortable for the opposition rather than our own squad.

For me, it’s time to go. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of interviewing Sav (it wasn’t too dreadful for a first attempt) and I hope to bring you more interviews in future. Who knows? Next time I might have done some preparation work.