“IT’S a strange game,” Jim Smith, the Derby County manager, mused on the fact that his club’s supporters had never stopped to think about jeering him or his players on Saturday while the home fans never stopped thinking about anything other than barracking George Graham and their team.
It is partly about affection. Smith, who turned 60 last week, is one of the game’s most affable managers, who, until this season, looked to have given Derby, against the odds, a real foothold in the Premiership. Now, though, the lack of resources is beginning to take its toll and Derby lie at the foot of the table.
Derby have been open about their plans, possibly to move Smith upstairs and bring back Steve McClaren, who was