Savage encounter as Derby lose out

13 April 2012

Robbie Savageis going to have few friends left outside Leicester at this rate. Seven days after angering mildmannered Ipswich manager George Burley, who was heard to call him a cheat, Savage had a whole stadium in uproar on Saturday.

Derby, Ipswich and Tottenham in the 1999 Worthington Cup final. The Savage list of controversy is growing.

The Welshman?s histrionics after winning the decisive penalty two minutes from time at Pride Park earned him a police complaint from a Derby fan and manhandling by Craig Burley and Fabrizio Ravanelli, who could have been shown red cards.

Then came the sight of the players? tunnel billowing like a theatre curtain as stewards shoved Savage and his team-mates. It seemed no more than a natural extension of the chaos.

?His penalties become riots,? said Derby boss Jim Smith. It was hard to disagree on Saturday.

But Savage remained defiant yesterday, saying: ?It was a penalty and I can?t understand all the fuss. If it was anybody else, nothing would be said.

?Look at the tunnel bust-up again ? I'm not even in the tunnel. I couldn't get in. I have done nothing wrong. Maybe in the past I haven?t been totally blameless but yesterday I was. I am committed, I want to win and I give my all for the club. People are saying there should be more charaters in the game. I?m certainly one of them.?

But Smith sees things differently. He added: ?It?s not as if it?s a oneoff. It happened last week. There was hardly a touch on him for the penalty. It?s not how you should play the game. His actions bring the game into disrepute.

?He incites fans. Surely somebody, the FA or the PFA, has got to have a word. I think he enjoys the infamy. It?s his claim to fame. You can tell that by his long, long hair.?

Who better to answer such charges than manager Peter Taylor. He arrived as the focus of attention, a man under pressure.

After the extraordinary events, he slipped away virtually unnoticed while Savage was forced to run a gauntlet of hate, spitting and flying coins from around 100 Derby fans as he boarded the team coach.

?Robbie?s a joy to work with,? said Taylor. ?A lot of other clubs don?t like him but they?d still love to have him in their team. You could not meet a nicer fellow.

?He jumped in celebration because he had got the penalty, not because he had been cheating. As for the business in the tunnel, you can?t expect players to come back off the pitch after 90 minutes of passion wearing top hats and carrying briefcases. A few of the security people had a pop at our players. I don?t think that?s right.?

Forget the penalty, not least because the one Deon Burton earned for Derby four minutes earlier was equally dubious and because Leicester were also denied a cast-iron spot-kick when Muzzy Izzet was felled in the area. Savage typified Leicester?s drive a n d commitment and they deserved their win. After falling behind to Burton?s early opener, Taylor?s side refused to rest.

Two goals from Dean Sturridge and the Izzet penalty, which negated Ravanelli?s equaliser from the spot, showed Taylor is backed by actions as well as words.

Last week a deputation of senior players, including Savage, urged the club to stand by the manager.

?The six who went in to back the boss were delegated to talk but everybody in the squad is behind the manager,? said Sturridge.

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Savage encounter as Derby lose out

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