Derby have been linked to Sam Allardyce and John Terry

Derby manager odds: Sam Allardyce joins John Terry, Rafa Benitez and Wayne Rooney in being backed for Pride Park

By Joe Townsend

Football

Tue November 24, 2020 · 4y ago

Sam Allardyce is the latest man to be heavily backed for the vacant manager's position at Sky Bet Championship strugglers Derby, but former England captain John Terry is now odds-on.

The 66-year-old, who has been out of work since leaving Everton in 2018, was briefly cut to odds-on late on Monday night before drifting out to second favourite.

Terry is now the man who tops the betting instead, with the Rams likely to favour a younger appointment after announcing the return of another former England manager in Steve McClaren, who has twice been in charge at Pride Park, as technical director.

Allardyce last managed a team outside the top flight in 2011, when he won promotion to the Premier League with West Ham at the first attempt.

Next permanent Derby manager odds

John Terry - 10/11
Sam Allardyce - 11/2
Wayne Rooney - 7/1
Eddie Howe - 12/1
Rafa Benitez - 16/1

Click for the full Sky Bet market

Odds correct at 1600 24/11/20

At the outset, player-coach Wayne Rooney was the strong favourite for the role after being installed at the head of an interim coaching team when Phillip Cocu was sacked on November 14 with the club bottom of the table.

He was quickly into odds-on, going as short as 1/2 with Sky Bet, but his price has slowly drifted since.

And initially Terry seemed most likely to rival him for the role, with the Chelsea legend’s price tumbling to 3/1 within an hour of the market opening.

Now, after more than a week of slipping down the betting, his price has been cut from 4/1.

Rafa revolution at the ready?

Rafa Benitez won the Sky Bet Championship at Newcastle

Rafa Benitez was the last experienced coach to leap into contention from nowhere, spending several days as favourite. While he remains in the running, it would be some shock should he arrive in the East Midlands.

The Spaniard is, however, no stranger to the Sky Bet Championship.

Despite a glittering CV that included spells at Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan amongst others, the Spaniard remained with Newcastle following relegation from the top flight in 2016.

The Magpies were immediately promoted as champions, and Benitez spent two further seasons at St James' before choosing to leave over frustrations at a lack if investment from owner Mike Ashley.

He instead move to the Chinese Super League to take charge of Dalian, where he remains.

Terry to follow in Frank's footsteps?

John Terry: Aston Villa's assistant coach has been backed for Derby job

Having started among the pack at between 10 and 12/1, Terry shot to prominence in the betting within an hour of the market going live.

Currently Dean Smith's assistant at Aston Villa, he was quickly shortened to 3/1 to initially leave him and Rooney a long way adrift of the rest of the contenders; he is now odds-on.

Should Derby go for the former defender it would follow the blueprint that saw them enjoy their most successful season in recent years after appointing Lampard in the summer of 2018.

Terry's long-time Chelsea and England team-mate tapped into his Stamford Bridge contacts to make numerous loan signings, including Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori, to help lead the Rams to the Sky Bet Championship play-off final.

Ironically, Terry's Villa were the ones to then pip them to the Premier League by winning 2-0 at Wembley.

Rooney set to miss out?

Wayne Rooney is odds-on to take the Derby job full-time

Rooney, 35, joined as player-coach in January and has long been linked with assuming managerial duties at Pride Park.

The former England and Manchester United captain oversaw the Rams' 1-0 defeat at Bristol City on Saturday with assistance from fellow first-team coaches Liam Rosenior, Shay Given and Justin Walker.

It is expected that the Rams will wait until their takeover has been completed before making a permanent appointment, and getting off to a losing start won't have done Rooney any favours.

But should the ex-Everton and Man Utd striker secure some good results this week, he must surely be in the driving seat.

What's going on at Derby?

Wayne Rooney has taken temporary charge of Derby after Phillip Cocu was sacked

Cocu's departure earlier this month will surprise no-one who has taken even a passing interest in the current goings on at Pride Park.

The Dutchman, who took over during the summer of 2019 following the departure of Lampard to Chelsea, was sacked after a disappointing 18 months in charge.

He inherited a team that had narrowly missed out on promotion, but could only secure a 10th-placed finish after languishing in midtable for most of last season.

This term they have collected just six points from their opening eleven matches.

Derby recently confirmed a deal had been agreed “in principle” for the sale of the club to Derventio Holdings, which is owned by Sheikh Khaled Zayed Bin Saquer Zayed Al Nayhan, a member of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family.

Current owner Mel Morris was reportedly hesitant to dismiss former Barcelona and Netherlands midfielder Cocu as it is thought to have cost around £4m to cancel the contracts of him and his assistants Chris van der Weerden and Twan Scheepers.

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