James Collins has already been tipped to win Derby County’s player of the season after another solid display.
James Collins joined Derby County from Cardiff City in 2022 and went onto score eleven goals in his first campaign, but has comfortably beaten his record in significantly less games this term.
The forward now has 13 goals in 29 games in League One, while he claimed an impressive five in five in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
Collins now has six goals in his last nine league fixtures and most recently bagged a late winner in what proved to be a disappointing performance against Cheltenham Town at the weekend.
The 33-year-old was one of the few players that did manage to impress though, with journalist Leigh Curtis labelling him as ‘so important’ to The Rams.
Writing for Derbyshire Live, Curtis said: “Where would they be without him? That’s 18 goals for the season in all competitions and Collins’ winner here was the most memorable of all the goals he has scored this term. For any young striker learning the trade of how to volley, they should play this on repeat because it was a masterclass in technique. It was an extremely difficult chance, but the control allied with the accuracy was levels above League One.
“It capped off another hard-working performance from the striker who had very little service throughout the game, but he hung in there and kept trying to make things happen even though the aerial battle with Curtis Davies was a total mismatch. But it just underlined why he is so important to this Derby team. Not only is he their leading scorer, but he has proven ridiculously durable at a time when Martyn Waghorn, Tyreece John-Jules and Conor Washington are all sidelined.
“He’s a fighter who constantly demands high standards and deserves to be in the conversation when it comes to player-of-the-season contenders.”
James Collins is ‘so important’
James Collins put on another quality performance against Cheltenham Town, capping it off with an important goal to keep them in the title race.
The veteran played the full 90 minutes, had three shots, won three headers, and also made three clearances and an interception.
Collins did only manage six accurate passes though, which reflects Derby’s struggles to get the ball into attacking positions for the striker to make the most of.