Thursday, 8 September 2011

Commons Given Free Vote As Derby Go Dutch

The Dutch reputation for technical excellence and tactical innovation, built in the era of Ajax, Johan Cruyff and Total Football, may have been diminished by the brutishness of Van Bommel, De Jong et al in the World Cup final — but when it was put to Nigel Clough that a Kris Commons-inspired success at Leeds had a Dutch flavour, the Derby manager took it as a compliment.

County's senior coach Johnny Metgod wore the Oranje shirt 21 times in an age when the defining characteristic was fluidity rather than thuggery. His influence, allied to the core pass-and-move values Clough absorbed from his father at Nottingham Forest, was stamped all over a deserved victory in a pulsating season-opener at Elland Road. Read More

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