Daily Archives: October 26, 2014

George on the mend….

26 Sunday Oct 2014

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8th Ocober 2014

George on the mend….

During the League Cup ( I find it difficult to call it anything else , mainly because of the bewildering turnover of sponsors….Milk Cup, Rumbelows Cup, Carling Cup, Coca Cola Cup…..) win over Reading I was chatting to the chap next to me about George Thorne.

 He had happened to bump into the injured midfielder in the car park at the iPro and was recounting with a smile the news that Thorne was hoping to be back in training by the New Year.

 These darkening evenings of October seem an age away from the summer time when us Rams, smarting from that mugging at Wembley, sought to “take the positives” (as that awful phrase goes) by trying to do our bit to ensure that George Thorne signed up permanently from the Baggies.

 That was an unusual and fevered time as twitter accounts of all and sundry, the player himself, Brett Wilson, John Vicars were bombarded with tweets encouraging the deal to be done.

 For a while it looked as if the Rams were getting into a battle of wills with the Baggies and this was a concern remembering how they responded to Peter Odimwinge wanting to join QPR. Holding him to his contract and forcing him to cool his heels at the club until eventually selling him to Cardiff City in the next transfer window did not bode well.

 However the Rams managed it, and at a guess money had quite a bit to do with sealing the deal, this was a crucial transfer for Derby not withstanding the shock of hearing about George’s cruciate knee ligament injury sustained against Zenit St.Petersburg four days after signing.

Considering how important he is to the structure of the team the Rams have coped well without him to reach this international break in 4th place with 20pts from 11 games. His ability to pick a pass from the base of midfield as well as breaking up opposition play was key to our push to Wembley last year and he also proved he had an eye for goal as well scoring against both Doncaster & Brighton.

 If we are to see George Thorne back in the team at some point during 2014-15 it will feel like a new signing again….again. As admirably that John Eustace has covered for his absence thus far and as promising as Omar Mascarell is, the prospect of seeing Thorne back in action is both hugely encouraging and would be a boost to our hopes of promotion.

 Get well soon now George….

4th October 2014 – No joy for Rams down the Holloway Road

26 Sunday Oct 2014

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No joy for Rams down the Holloway Road but no need for the blues…

4th October 2014

Derby County 0                       Millwall 0

 

The Rams missed the chance to move to the top of the Championship as Millwall stuck to their disciplined game plan at the iPro for the second season in a row, though unlike last season, the Lions left with a single point rather than the three they smuggled away in March.

The Rams are unbeaten in the last ten games now and we sit in 4th place just one point off top – all very positive – but there was an undeniable sense of frustration after this game both at the way at which Millwall managed to neuter our normal incisive play and over the chance missed to sit at the top of the table.

This is understandable and reflects the high expectations that surround the Rams now, both from us as fans but also from the heightened media profile we enjoy thanks to the terrific year we have enjoyed since the return of the McC.

There is much to be positive about though and 12pts from the last six games since the last international break is a good return considering those fixtures included games Vs. Forest, Blackburn & Cardiff that were seen beforehand as a serious test of promotion credentials.

We looked off the pace yesterday, lacking the tempo that makes us such a good team and, most tellingly, we did not create many chances, something that we are consistently very good at.

Steve McLaren talked of tiredness being a factor and bemoaned the lack of quality in the final third. Certainly Craig Forsyth’s crosses and attacking verve were missing in action but he was far from alone in being off the boil.

We got one favourable decision early on when some referees (particularly some we have seen) may well have given Millwall a penalty for the challenge by Cyrus Christie but equally the contact on Jordan Ibe by keeper David Forde was deserving of a penalty rather than a yellow card for the winger. The “why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” routine from Chris Martin as he muscled into the Millwall players giving young Jordan grief was entertaining though.

Was Best best to bring on? Second guessing coaching decisions is the easiest game in the world for fans but I did wonder if the game needed a bit more Ivan Calero rather than a dash of Leon Best to shake things up.

I am concerned that either the way the on loan centre forward plays is not suited to our style or vice-versa. (This seemed the case with Patrick Bamford too, but with him there is the consolation of goals)

Whichever one it is doesn’t really matter but he is struggling to make an impact and we are so reliant on Chris Martin as centre forward to make our style work that the thought of an of an injury lay off for our number 9 sends a shudder down the spine.

Another international break is here and our next game is on 18th October away at Reading followed by a trip to the seaside at Blackpool. A home game against Wigan, a trip to Brentford and home games against Huddersfield and Wolves (as well as our League Cup game away at Fulham) form a packed 21 days that lead up to the next break in November.

This is the part of the season where momentum can be established and it is important that as we come to the next break in fixtures in the dark nights and Christmas adverts of November that we are still in the leading pack in the dog fight that we know and love as the Championship.

 

 

 

 

30th Sep 2014 – Rams overcome Cherries as referee does an Attwell

26 Sunday Oct 2014

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Rams overcome Cherries as referee does an Attwell

30th September 2014

Derby County 2                                                    AFC Bournemouth 0

Will Hughes 81                                                    Sent Off – Lee Camp 67

Chris Martin 90

 Derby overcame a well organised Bournemouth team to climb up to 4th in the Championship at the iPro tonight only one point from the top of the table.

This game resembled last season’s match against the Cherries, a Tuesday night in February that saw the comfortable in possession visitors look like they were going to escape Derby with a point until Chris Martin lashed in a free kick with a few minutes to go to win the game.

The symmetry was almost complete in this game when Martin again stepped up to take a free kick from an very similar position in the second half only to see the ball hit the post with substitute keeper Darryl Flahavan beaten.

Why Flahavan was even on the pitch to admire Martin’s free kick is a mystery to all present apart from (presumably) referee Scott Mathieson who decided not to award a goal when the ball trundled into the Bournemouth net following an almighty collision between Jamie Ward, Lee Camp & a scrambling Cherries defender.

Our man in the middle instead decided to send off Camp for…….well; I’m really not sure whether it was deliberate handball or denying a goal scoring opportunity. Considering that the ball ended up in the net the denying a GSO seems daft, no matter the joy to be had in seeing Lee Camp’s sulky mug being red carded.

Bemusement was further increased by the fact that I, and many others around me, distinctly remember the ref pointing to the centre circle as the ball nestled in the net. So much for referees not changing their minds…..

In the five minutes of arm waving and head scratching that ensued on the pitch after the players realised that, contrary to overwhelming evidence, we had not in fact scored, I remembered Stuart Attwell….and that is never a good thing.

I was surprised to see Eddie Howe hook Calum Wilson to bring on Flahavan as Wilson would have continued to be a nuisance up front even with ten men; but the Cherries seemed to settle for trying to see out the last 20 minutes with everyone behind the ball, surrendering possession to us.

We should be getting quite used to this tactic from opponents, even with 11 men on the pitch, & there was a little frustration from some of those around me as we Arse-lona’d the ball around the penalty area in precise patterns of short passing looking for an opportunity

“Shoot…..just bloody shoot! “

Being one plaintive cry to be heard, but patience told as Will Hughes, who had an excellent game, picked up the ball in a packed penalty area and created enough space for a shot that found the net.

26,000 sighs of relief and even though Bournemouth changed tack and threw players forward to try and save a point we coped without (too many) worries wrapping things up nicely when Johnny Russell added to his growing list of goal assists by picking up a long ball on the left and racing on to clip the ball across the six yard line for Chris Martin to finish.

Craig Bryson was in full on perpetual motion mode buzzing about for the whole 90 minutes and some of Jamie Ward’s best work was to be found near our penalty area, particularly when he chased a break back and made the crucial tackle. Richard Keogh & Ryan Shotton had the odd stressful moment at the back but I can see the Stoke loanee playing an increasingly important role for us as the season progresses.

Cyrus Christie continues to look good on the right; sometimes our most potent attacking threat, his first goal cannot be far away, and it was really good to see Jeff Hendrick back too.

One year on from Derby County 4 Ipswich Town 4 the season is coming on very nicely….