AREN'T these great times at the football stadium that used to be known as Pride Park? Some of us were getting to the stage where a chill, wet evening was beginning to become excuse enough to eschew a football match in favour of a warm fireside while keeping an eye on proceedings through the Derby Telegraph's excellent Twitter feed.
But Steve McClaren took over and now people are rising from their sick beds to make the journey to the iPro (there, I've said it) Stadium.
It isn't that the football is stunningly brilliant, all of a sudden. It's just that there is now a real belief that the Rams will triumph.
Again, one wonders how many of those who walked away in disgust when Nigel Clough was sacked – admittedly with terrible timing – have now crept back. It would be very surprising if they all weren't back in their seats by now.
Compared with the antics at Cardiff City, Nigel's going was humane in the extreme. There are some very odd people owning football clubs, and they don't seem to come much odder than Vincent Tan.
I watched television pictures of him arriving at Anfield last Saturday. A flunky scurried along beside him, waiting to be handed the owner's sunglasses.
Even Her Majesty the Queen has the good grace to hand on stuff to a lady-in-waiting discretely.
Anyway, we should be careful what we wish for. I've said before in this column that Derby County surely has the massive potential to attract a mega-rich businessman.
But if we run the risk of finishing up with a character like Vincent Tan – or, indeed, any one of several other multi-millionaires who have shown they know nothing about the game of football or what a club means to the community – then I think I'll stick with our careful American owners, thanks very much.
LIKE most supporters I waited an hour or more at the iPro Stadium ticket office, queuing up for my seat for next week's FA Cup tie against Chelsea.
In that time I had plenty of opportunity to study the staff as they dealt with straightforward – and not so straightforward (amazing, the number of people who don't appear to know their own name) – inquiries.
Leaving aside the fact that I couldn't help but feel that if all eight positions had been functioning, then the queue would have gone down much quicker, I was impressed.
The four staff that were on duty dealt cheerfully and efficiently with each customer. They were a real credit to Derby County. So much so that I had to drop John Vickers, the club's chief operating officer, an email on the subject.
It is very easy to complain when things go wrong. And just as easy to praise when they go right. It's just that not many people bother to do so.
Well done, those front-line staff.
