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29th August – Uwe’s the man with the plan (again) as Leeds triumph

30 Sunday Aug 2015

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29th August

Derby County          1          Chris Martin 48

Leeds United           2          Tom Adeyemi 43, Chris Wood 88

Uwe Rosler seems to be a nice bloke but I’m taking a dislike to the way that every time he rocks up to the iPro, with whichever team he is in charge of, he waltzes away with the three points.

It is never fun losing, even more so when Leeds United are the opponents.

I wrote in the Birmingham blog that we look so much better when we move the ball at pace and for the first twenty minutes or so of the second half of this game we looked a good team.

Starting out 1-0 down the Rams came at Leeds with urgency and fire, in stark contrast to the performance in the first 45 minutes.

We could have won the game in that first part of the second half. Chris Martin equalised within three minutes with a very well taken goal.

Leeds looked on the ropes as wave after wave of attacks came from the Rams and the crowd, energised by the display, roared them on.

Jeff Hendrick missed a straightforward chance when presented with an opportunity from 12 yards out and we also looked to have been denied a penalty when Andreas Weimann’s attempt to play the ball across the six yard line, when released into the penalty area, was diverted by a sliding defender’s arm.

We didn’t cash in when we had the upper hand and paid for it as close to the end of the match Chris Wood picked up the ball outside of the area, pulled across to the right, turned and fired in a shot off Scott Carson’s left hand post to take the points and deliver Leeds’ first win at Derby for thirteen years.

It was very disappointing to not win, never mind lose, especially as we now go into the international break still looking for those first three points of the season.

It is still early days in this season though and those of us with a few years under our belts will remember that the promotions of 2006/7 and 1995/6 did not see us roaring out of the blocks.

The only concern I have is about whether Paul Clement is finding the transition to top job not as straightforward as he would have hoped.

Watching how we have played so far this season I’m not clear about what our approach is, it makes me wonder if Clement has found his managerial “voice” yet?

We are mostly less urgent going forward and only seem to wake up when we have gone a goal down (as we have done now in every game so far apart from Bolton)

Our defence does looks more secure than it did in those chaotic end of season games and the huge loss of Will Hughes after 30 minutes of the season cannot be overestimated for the scale of its impact on any new manager’s plans.

There were two changes for this game with previously injured midfielders Jeff Hendrick & Jamie Hanson returning with Darren Bent dropping to the bench and Cyrus Christie, not for the first time this season, dropping out of the match day squad completely.

Leeds started on the front foot and had fashioned a decent chance within a couple of minutes. We lacked creativity and struggled to get our key players into the game.

Both Johnny Russell and Tom Ince briefly threatened when given the ball in dangerous areas but we were effectively shut down by the visitors who looked sharp and lively across the park.

It looked like we might get to the half time break even-stevens when we fell asleep at a corner, it was taken short and from the subsequent cross Tom Adeyemi had plentiful time and space to plant a header past Scott Carson.

The Rams barrage at the start of the second half seemed to bode well but the air started to go out of the game with about 20 minutes to go.

George Thorne left the field midway through the half with what looked like a knock to his thigh and though Andi Weimann scampered about energetically a position either wide left or on the left of a three behind the striker does not seem to be suiting him.

Darren Bent replaced Johnny Russell with about 10 minutes to go and looked a little lost, sometimes looking for space where Chris Martin already was, sometimes being on a slightly different wavelength to his team mates.

Chris Wood had missed a decent headed chance to give us fair warning, and send Rosler into a rage of frustration on the sidelines, but with three minutes to go he made no mistake with a much harder chance and the game, and the points were lost.

Played GD Pts
17 Preston North End 5 -2 5
18 Brentford 4 -1 4
19 Derby County 5 -1 4
20 Bristol City 5 -4 4
21 Blackburn Rovers 5 -2 3
22 Huddersfield Town 5 -3 3

2nd May – Season over after miserable Rams surrender

03 Sunday May 2015

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2nd May

Derby County     0

Reading              3     Appiah 2, Hector 72, McCleary 85 (pen)

Looking forward to this game some months ago I was hoping that it would be a promotion party – how wrong that turned out to be.

Needing a point to secure a place in the playoffs the Rams folded against a Reading team with nothing to play for, the final margin of victory not being flattering to the Royals

Yet another 30,000 plus attendance at the iPro was loud and urgent in its support for the team but, after a first half burst that saw a Darren Bent shot saved by Adam Federici, a corner nearly turned into his own net by Nathan Chalobah, a Richard Keogh effort cleared off the line and, most damagingly, a Darren Bent penalty saved on the stroke of half time we offered nothing in the second half and meekly fell out of the top six.

Something has gone very wrong at this club of ours over the last eight weeks – certainly injuries have damaged the team but the lack of defensive organisation and leadership from the team over this period has been painful to see.

I’m as sick as everyone is with the talk swirling around Steve McClaren’s future but he has handled this situation very badly with his evasive answers and insistence on legal type phrases such as

“I am contracted to Derby County”

With talk this morning (Sunday) of his imminent departure to the wreckage that is Newcastle United to rescue them from relegation I hope that one way or another we can get some certainty at Derby soon and start to plan for next season.

In possibly his last selection as Rams Head Coach McClaren made three changes, Raul Albentosa, Johnny Russell and Darren Bent returning to the starting line up in place of Conor Sammon and Jesse Lingard who dropped to the bench and Simon Dawkins who was absent owing to a personal situation.

This saw Stephen Warnock line up as defensive midfielder in a move that did not make it to half time as he was withdrawn on 37 minutes with the Rams chasing the game.

He struggled to make an impact and seemed to wander from his station – at one point I noticed with some alarm that he was our furthest forward player chasing down a Reading defender.

You had to feel for the player as he trudged off to be replaced by Jesse Lingard but his signing has been a strange one and his impact has been limited.

We were chasing the game at this point because of a characteristic self inflicted catastrophe on 2 minutes.

To calm frayed nerves we needed an early goal in this game and we surely got one – but in the wrong net.

Working the ball around the Reading half Will Hughes turned and played a pass back over half way directly to Kwesi Appiah who raced away from Raul Albentosa, evaded Craig Forsyth, sidestepped Richard Keogh’s sliding block and slotted the ball easily past Lee Grant.

Deflating and disappointing but sadly not at all surprising after recent weeks.

When our player of the season and one of the finest players at this level is making such an error it is yet another symptom of a team in trouble.

We huffed and puffed for the rest of the first half knowing that despite everything a point would still be good enough to get us into the playoffs but Darren Bent’s tentative saved penalty was another disappointment in a long recent list.

The second half saw the last throw of the dice, the emergence of a clearly below par Chris Martin in place of Johnny Russell.

Subsequent to this game more information has come out about the injury he is carrying – not so much a recovering hamstring but also a problem with tendons around his knee which explains the length of time it has been taking for him to recover.

In truth by even playing the parts of games that he has our Number 9 has been playing above and beyond the call of duty and potentially worsening the injury.

We posed little if any threat in the second half and gave away a second goal on 72 minutes failing to take two opportunities to clear a corner allowing Michael Hector to stab home and bring an end to our season.

Time was then marked as the game drew down, Reading, a team who had not won in nine games and had lost to Rotherham last Tuesday, were enjoying themselves enormously and to the unknowing observer looked like the play off team.

The final indignity came on 85 minutes when Reading cult hero Jem Karacan found himself all alone with the ball on the six yard line and was brought down by Lee Grant. Gareth McCleary put the penalty away and the scoring was complete.

Not that it mattered, but I thought that Karacan was offside and that Grant may have got a hand onto the ball. Having watched it back this morning I see that he wasn’t and he didn’t, so fair play to the officials for those decisions.

Walking away after the final whistle I felt less bothered than I thought I would be and less angry – just deeply disappointed that we have missed out on such a good opportunity as this season was.

In amongst all of the gloom that was yesterday it must be noted that the minute’s applause for Colin Bloomfield prior to the match was a genuinely moving affair and very fitting.

A big well done to Sam Rush for very quickly stating that the club would do this.

The Rams’ season ends then in failure and no little turmoil. We’ve all been here before.

What comfort I can draw when I think ahead is that the club is run well and that in Sam Rush we have someone with the ability to take us on.

It is going to be an interesting summer (again)

1. AFC Bournemouth 46 +53 90
2. Watford 46 +41 89
3. Norwich City 46 +40 86
4. Middlesbrough 46 +31 85
5. Brentford 46 +19 78
6. Ipswich Town 46 +18 78
7. Wolves 46 +14 78
8. Derby County 46 +29 77

20th March – Groundhog night at Molineux as Rams downed again

21 Saturday Mar 2015

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20th March

Wolverhampton Wanderers    2      Nouha Dicko 48, Lee Grant (o.g) 69

Derby County                              0

Another evening full of the frustrations that have bedevilled Rams fans in recent games was the outcome of the Friday night trip to Wolverhampton.

A display much improved on that against Middlesbrough was for nothing as the woodwork was clanged, possession dominated but two dreadful defensive errors were punished and there was an all too familiar refereeing mystery that changed the course of the game in the first half.

I was at this game with a Wolves mate and watched from the unusual vantage point of the home stand so it was interesting that those fans around me knowing I was a Ram unanimously agreed that referee Keith Stroud should have either sent off Danny Batth for bundling over Darren Bent as he closed on goal in the first half, or played the advantage and allowed the goal that Tom Ince subsequently scored.

To do neither and only award us a free kick was baffling and with our fragile confidence damaging – as Steve McClaren put it afterwards;

“We’ve set standards at this football club in trying to be humble about accepting refereeing decisions. Tonight that was tested to the limit. It was difficult to take”

Two changes for the Rams coming into this game with the return of Darren Bent and the inclusion of Jesse Lingard at the expense of the two Jamies, Ward and Hanson. A change of formation too with the Rams lining up in an attacking 4-2-3-1 that seemed to morph into a 4-4-1-1 when out of possession.

For the players we had on the pitch the formation seemed to be an improvement as Will Hughes, Craig Bryson, Tom Ince and Jesse Lingard saw a lot of the ball throughout the game and worked well together. It was the most I had seen Lingard involved in a game and he looked sharp skillful and willing.

Ince worked hard, always looking to create and struck the crossbar with a looping shot in the first half and came close to breaking through with some intricate one – twos on a number of occasions.

Craig Bryson also hit the woodwork in the second half with a cross shot that Tomasz Kuszczak might just have got a fingertip to and these near misses added to 60% possession and 15 efforts on goal suggest a game that we should have won but for all of the above we were never clinical enough in front of the Wolves goal nor composed enough in front of our own.

Wolves set up with two pacy strikers in Benik Afobe and Nouha Dicko but were often happier to play on the break, conceding possession and territory to us and, particularly in the second half, setting up on the edge of their penalty area and looking to crowd out any of our intricate passing moves.

Our full backs, particularly Cyrus Christie, struggled to get forward effectively and while Craig Forsyth had plenty of opportunities to put in dangerous crossed his final ball too often found a gold shirt. There was a superb opportunity early in the first half when Fozzie was freed on the left and with Bent open and waiting in the penalty area he just failed to find him. A little bit of composure and precision then could have made all of the difference.

I’m beginning to doubt our half time routine and preparation. Is that pre-kick off warm up worthwhile?

Yet again we were slow and sluggish out of the blocks and a mistake by Fozzie gave the ball away to Kevin McDonald who played in Nouha Dicko who fired through Lee Grant to give the home team the lead and immediate deflation to Rams hopes.

There followed what felt like a long period of Derby pinning Wolves back onto their eighteen yard line without ever making an incisive breakthrough. Wolves withdrew Dicko to add another midfielder to add to the defensive barricades.

Unfortunately just before the 70 minute mark the Rams self destructed, Lee Grant opting to try and punch a sliced Richard Keogh clearance from under his own bar only managing to punch it into the net to make it 2-0.

The rest of the match consisted of the Rams playing some attractive approach play without ever creating a clear cut chance interspersed with Wolves breakaways most notably Bakary Sako rumbling through at least six apparently exhausted Rams players and finding himself one on one with Lee Grant only to blaze over.

I left Molineux with a palpable sense of gloom about our prospects even to make the playoffs this year, never mind automatic promotion. In the hours since I have remembered some of the good play we saw last night but at the risk of repitition to the point of boredom, we are so dearly missing the qualities of Chris Martin and some composure in defence.

We have a fortnight off now and it is to be hoped the Rams use the days wisely and that also injuries heal in that time.

The results today have been kinder to us than they could have been with both Watford and Middlesbrough losing and Brentford drawing so we at least have the destiny of the season in our hands.

This is a crazy division this year and we know anything is possible before season’s end but we need to find our mojo…and quick.

Played GD Pts
1. AFC Bournemouth 39 +42 73
2. Watford 39 +32 72
3. Middlesbrough 39 +29 72
4. Norwich City 39 +33 70
5. Derby County 39 +26 67
6. Ipswich Town 39 +16 67

17th March – Injuries continue to bite as toothless Rams are bested by Boro

18 Wednesday Mar 2015

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17th March

Derby County     0             

Middlesbrough    1       Patrick Bamford 64

The winless run for the Rams now stretches to five games with this deflating defeat to well organised promotion rivals Middlesbrough; a defeat made all the more frustrating by identity of the goalscorer.

Particularly worrying to see was the complete lack of threat we posed in this game with (arguably) one clear cut chance created all night.

The continued absence of Chris Martin and Darren Bent is something we are not coping with at all and the Rams are suddenly 5pts away from the automatic promotion spots with only 8 games to go.

That one chance fell to substitute Jesse Lingard late on and with little time to steady himself he flashed his shot wide.

Indeed we did not force goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos into one meaningful save all game and as the night wore on we may have huffed and puffed but it never looked likely that we would score.

There were two changes for Derby from the team that took a battling point away from Carrow Road on Saturday. Cyrus Christie and Craig Bryson were selected replacing Ryan Shotton and Jeff Hendrick.

There was no return to the match day squad for George Thorne though despite Paul Simpson’s pre match interview suggesting that the Rams would give the influential midfielder every chance to be involved, including the alarming comments about “taking a risk” on him if we had to .

This left me conflicted as to whether I was disappointed he was still missing or pleased we weren’t taking a gamble on him.

His absence meant a home debut for Jamie Hanson who again acquitted himself very well, combative in the tackle and neat and organised in his passing.

He is looking an incredibly mature player for his age and a hell of a prospect for us, though it is a big ask to be throwing him into the business end of a promotion battle against two of our rivals.

Injuries to the three players we would be selecting in front of Hanson though have left the Rams with few other options.

The game started steadily, the Rams pushing Boro back but without threatening in front of yet another 30,000 + crowd.

I was getting a little déjà vu from that awful refereeing performance in the Birmingham game as Andy D’Urso made a few idiosyncratic decisions early on but that was forgotten as a superb whipped cross from Cyrus Christie so nearly found Jamie Ward sliding in at the far post.

This was almost immediately followed by a superb double save from Lee Grant as Boro showed what they were capable of.

I found myself thinking we might have a bit of luck on our side when, later in the half, Granty shanked a clearance straight to Jelle Vossen who lobbed the ball back toward the empty net only for it to bounce off the post back into the grateful Grant’s grasp.

Johnny Russell again had the thankless task of leading the line as the central striker but despite his endless work and application he had little to work with as time and time again he was fighting for balls better suited to Andy Carroll than a player of his stature.

There were flashes of creativity and intent from us in the first half, a lovely pass from Jamie Ward nearly putting Tom Ince in after half an hour and a lovely move involving Richard Keogh, Tom Ince and Cyrus Christie almost unlocking the defence.

As the first half ended I optimistically thought that we could nick this with a little bit of magic from either Will Hughes or Tom Ince but we never seemed to get started in a second half that started in a haphazard way with injuries to Vossen and Grant Leadbitter interrupting play.

Johnny Russell snatched at a half chance just before the hour, pulling his shot wide of goal and shortly afterwards the sense that Boro had been holding us off waiting for their chance became all too apparent.

The Rams gifted possession to Lee Tomlin who played in Patrick Bamford superbly, and with a crushing sense of inevitability the on loan Chelsea striker evaded Lee Grant and slid the ball into the net.

We never looked like rescuing the game when we fell behind. Jeff Hendrick, Jesse Lingard and Kwame Thomas were thrown on, Raul Albentosa played increasingly as an emergency striker but Middlesbrough kept us at bay with ease, I’m afraid to say to take a vital three points and hold on to 2nd place.

Realistically we have moved from one of the favourites for automatic promotion to outsiders with that 5 point gap opening up.

It would be foolish to say that we have seen the last of the myriad twists and turns that the Championship has served up so far but our form is poor, our confidence is low and we are missing key players.

If we are to wrest back some initiative and control over our destiny this season a win at Molineaux is a must on Friday night – to do that under the current circumstances would be impressive and so very welcomed.

Played GD Pts
1. Watford 38 +33 72
2. Middlesbrough 38 +32 72
3. AFC Bournemouth 38 +39 70
4. Norwich City 38 +31 67
5. Derby County 38 +28 67
6. Brentford 38 +12 65

17th January – Second half slump sees Rams give it away in East Midlands clash

18 Sunday Jan 2015

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17th January

Derby County           1                         Nottingham Forest     2

Henri Lansbury (o.g.) 16                      Britt Assombalonga 75

                                                             Ben Osborn 90+2

 

A disjointed and confused second half performance from the Rams saw us lose from a position of dominance to not only give Forest an unexpected boost but also undo all of the benefit gained from the impressive win at Ipswich Town a week earlier.

Disappointment at this performance is compounded by it being against “them” as well as seeing Bournemouth, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Brentford and Watford all win later in the day to tighten up the top six yet again just when it looked like we might be able to ease away from some of those teams.

Watching the increasingly poor second half performance this was a failure on our part of what is known as “game management”. From a position of 1-0 up against a low in confidence Forest with the clock winding down we did not have the nouse, the know how, the experience to take the heat out of the game even if we were not playing particularly well.

This has happened to us before and speaks to the naivety in our team, a lack of ruthlessness and nasty. It is not too late to put this right, but it may cost us promotion if not solved soon.

I think about two other games in particular – the game against Wigan where we were 1-0 up with 20 minutes to go but ended up losing 1-2 to a poor team…..sounds terribly familiar from yesterday doesn’t it?.

Also leading Norwich City 2-1 as the game reached its end and giving up an equaliser (and nearly a winner to the Canaries also).

Just the losses from yesterday and those two games would put us five points clear of this crazy division now instead of being third. It is not worth dwelling on what has been lost but we do need to show a more ruthless streak in such situations.

Three changes for the Rams for this game, Jamie Ward replacing the now returned to Anfield Jordan Ibe, Omar Mascarell replacing the injured and suspended John Eustace and Craig Bryson switching his place on the bench with Jeff Hendrick.

With Simon Dawkins being away for personal reasons, newly signed players Stephen Warnock missing through fitness concerns and Raul Albentosa awaiting international clearance our bench had a light look to it for the first time in a while.

Forest started energetically looking to prevent us playing out from the back but that only lasted for ten minutes or so and we started to take control from then on in the first half.

One of a host of Rams corners gave us the lead after 16 minutes, Henri Lansbury neatly heading Johnny Russell’s cross into his own net to give us the lead. Forest looked shocked and there for the taking and while it was not a vintage first half performance we carved out a number of half chances, Will Hughes going very close with a curving shot from the edge of the area, Jamie Ward having a deflected shot well saved by Doris de Vries and a number of corners causing panic in the Forest back line. There was a palpable sense of disappointment at the score being only 1-0 at the break.

Forest had little to offer in that first half, only Michail Antonio providing any kind of consistent threat but a hint of problems ahead for us was Will Hughes coming over to the sidelines to have a chat with Neil Sullivan and (from my viewpoint) indicating a problem with his hip / thigh.

In due course our creative midfielder did not reappear for the second half, Jeff Hendrick taking his place as the second half commenced.

As has been the case on a couple of occasions we seemed slow out of the blocks in the second period, but more worryingly our midfield melted away and it was a common site to see Forest players striding into space, outnumbering the white shirts and winning second balls time and time again.

Chris Martin became increasingly isolated and despite his fine efforts to keep control of the game – he provided a number of fine examples of “game management” winning free kicks in dangerous areas when outnumbered and wresting a bit of initiative for us – we resorted to long balls to him which were fruitless because of the lack of midfield support around him.

As the chap sat near me said “what do you expect him to do? – head it to himself?”

Both Jeff Hendrick & Craig Bryson had poor second halves leaving us outnumbered and exposing our defence. I honestly still thought we would see it out but a scrambled goal from Britt Assombalonga with 15 minutes to go changed the game.

As Steve McClaren indicated after the game a point would still have been an ok , if not ideal outcome, but we lost our shape again at the death and Derby born and bred ( and Rams fan ) Ben Osborn beat Lee Grant from the edge of the area after another Forest break found us outnumbered and out of position.

A missed opportunity and plenty of food for thought for us then, but to lose in such a way to them…..is so so annoying.

 

13th December – Boro add to Rams away day blues as Bamford proves a point

14 Sunday Dec 2014

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13th December – Boro add to Rams away day blues as Bamford proves a point

 

Middlesbrough             2                 Derby County               0

Patrick Bamford 6                             Ryan Shotton sent off 62

Grant Leadbitter 63 (pen)

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka became the second manager in short order to praise Derby County as the best team in the league immediately after his own team had just easily beaten us 2-0.

Like Neil Redfearn after Leeds had turned us over Jose Mourinho’s former assistant praised the Rams while basking in a well deserved win that knocked us off the top of the league in a morning kick off that did not get the weekend off to a flying start.

We were poor in this game, poor in so many areas and got exactly what we deserved from a vigorous and committed Boro. Of the players in the white shirts only Lee Grant and Johnny Russell can come out with any credit at all.

The fit again skipper Richard Keogh returned to the team with Jake Buxton dropping to the bench. Bucko gave a confident performance against an admittedly poor Brighton team last week and was a little unlucky to step down. Whether he would have made any difference to this defeat is unlikely though as we were being outgunned in all areas of the pitch throughout.

Much of the media coverage in the lead up to this game featured Patrick Bamford. He is an interesting footballer and not apparently victim to periods of crushing self doubt.

It was illuminating to read some of his comments after this game, referring to wanting to prove to us that he was not a “softy”, comments that shed just a little more light on why he was suited up in a red shirt for this game rather than a white one.

Despite his goals for us last season Bamford was always a player that generated lukewarm affection at best. Maybe this was an understandable hangover from his Forest roots, maybe because sometimes he appeared less than truly committed to the team ethic, whatever the reason it was not a total surprise to see him rock up at Middlesbrough rather than back at Derby as the season began though this may have had as much to do with our unwillingness to play him in his preferred central striking position rather than out wide.

He was certainly on a mission, scoring while criminally unmarked in our penalty area after only 6 minutes and then drawing a foul from last man Ryan Shotton as he prepared to fire on goal in the 63rd minute, leading to the defender’s dismissal and Grant Leadbitter’s goal from the spot.

Were it not for some fine saves from Lee Grant we could have been hammered 3-0, 4-0 in this game and apart from a tame Jeff Hendrick effort after some good Johnny Russell work in the first half and an excellent save from a Craig Bryson shot as the game drew to a close we never really worried the hosts.

They surrendered the ball and pressed us keeping players behind the ball – this is something we do not seem to be able to cope with and teams will increasingly exploit this weakness if we do not solve it quick sharp.

 Steve McClaren rolled the dice at half time throwing on Leon Best as well as Jordan Ibe but the big loanee from Blackburn had minimal effect in the new formation as Boro continued to control and dominate us.

The last time we won at Boro, 15th January 2000 when Malcolm Christie scored twice in a 4-1 win. My abiding memory of that game is the Radio Derby interview with Jim Smith where he as much as admits that he had intended to select Marvin Robinson but picked Malcolm accidentally…..

Eight defeats and one solitary draw in our visits to the Riverside since that win make it one of the most miserable of away visits, curious considering that the Riverside and Pride Park are identical you would imagine we would at least feel at home.

Four defeats in our last eight games leaves an uneasy feeling, as does seeing us drop from top to third because of this defeat. A joust with the best team in the Premiership next as Chelsea come to town for the quarter final of the league cup and then a very important game (aren’t they all?) against Norwich City next Saturday lunchtime.

Not much time then for the coaching staff to try and put things right as the hectic Christmas schedule hoves into view, there is lots to play for and we have some thinking to do….

 

29th November – Unlucky 13 for the Rams as Leeds knock us off our stride…but not top

30 Sunday Nov 2014

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Leeds United               2       Derby County      0

Mirco Antenucci 43,50

A very 1970’s fixture as the Rams travelled to Elland Road to take on Leeds United, a game that despite the passing of the years, still has a resonance for Rams and Leeds fans of a certain age (i.e. not spring chickens)

The Rams welcomed back fit again Lee Grant in goal in the only change to the starting eleven that won so importantly at Watford. Additionally an illness that kept Leon Best off the bench meant that the highly rated Kwame Thomas took his place.

As the game got underway Leeds seemed to be channelling their 1970’s cynical predecessors in the first five minutes as Chris Martin, Will Hughes and Craig Forsyth were all on the receiving end of fouls.

The Rams did start well though with Johnny Russell in particular looking in lively form but Leeds stepped up after ten minutes and put us under some pressure winning a couple of corners without creating any clear chances

Leeds continuing the aggressive approach they opened with had three players in the book by the half hour mark. The Rams were proving much more efficient, committing only one foul in the first 30 minutes but that also attracting a yellow for Cyrus Christie from referee Mick Russell much to the consternation of the Rams players.

We didn’t cope well with the hectic bustling game that Leeds were determined to create and Omar Mascarell particularly in the first half was struggling to get into the game and was added to the list of bookings when he hacked at a Leeds player.

A regular worry amongst Rams fans, and one repeated after this game is whether we have a weakness against teams that try to rough us up. We have so many skilful touch players but needed a bit more steel in this game to earn the right to play the skilful football we excel at.

Considering the position he plays in much of this kind of thought is expressed with young Omar in mind. He is clearly learning the English game rapidly coming on in leaps and bounds from the start of the season and it may well be that Steve McClaren sees the longer term benefit for us this season in allowing Mascarell to develop further in that crucial defensive midfielder role.

The loss of George Thorne to injury in pre season was a big loss for us and I think we sometimes forget that we are having a good season without, arguably, one of our most influential players of the back end of last season who showed how he could control a game as well as creating chances for us with his excellent passing. If he does end up playing at all for us this season that will be a big bonus.

Leeds won this game with goals either side of half time, their striker Mirco Antenucci being one of three unmarked Leeds players when the ball fell to his feet in the box on 43 minutes and half time optimism was extinguished with a kick in the guts early in the second half as Stephen Warnock’s gallop down the left and cut back from found an again unmarked Antenucci who put away his second of the game on 50 minutes

Derby had more of the ball after Leeds inevitably sat back after the second goal and particularly so after a triple substitution replacing Jordan Ibe, Johnny Russell and Omar Mascarell with Craig Bryson, Simon Dawkins and Kwame Thomas for his debut.

For all of the possession though we did not create a clear cut chance until 82 minutes when Bryson broke free the ball falling eventually to Kwame Thomas who fired over from close range.

This was a well below par Rams performance when despite having more than our share of possession we could not control the game and our precise and pacy passing was not to the fore. It looked like Richard Keogh picked up a hamstring injury towards the end of the game though no word as yet on that.

So our long glorious unbeaten run against Leeds comes to an end after 12 games. As the game ended we found that we were still top despite the result – mainly due to two late goals from Milwall at Bournemouth to peg back the Cherries from 2-0 to 2-2. Football eh?

1st November – That sinking feeling as Bees sting Rams at the last

02 Sunday Nov 2014

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1st November 

Brentford   2                                    Derby County      1 

Andre Gray 49                                  Chris Martin 27

Stuart Dallas 90+3

The log jam nature of the Championship was evidenced again as the Rams slipped from top of the league to 5th place owing to this defeat at the hands of Brentford that was capped off by a late late winner from Stuart Dallas.

 For the second league game in succession the Rams went in at half time 1-0 up and ended up losing the game – maybe it is a Uwe Rosler thing as this occurred against his current and former teams – hopefully so as we will now have got this bad habit out of our system until the reverse matches – but there does appear to be a falling away of performance and application across these two games.

Ifs ands and maybes serve no benefit but it is hard to ignore the fact that if, for instance, we had gained 4pts from those two half time positions we would still be top tonight with a lead of 3pts over third place.

The Rams started well in this game, passing the ball around fluently and creating half chances and indeed chances the best of which Simon Dawkins was not able to put away.

A characteristic finish by Chris Martin from an excellent Craig Forsyth cross just before the half hour put us 1-0 up and continues our Number 9’s golden run of form that has produced 12 goals so far this season and 8 goals in his last 8 games.

It is not difficult to see how important he is to us not only from his goal scoring contribution but also what he adds to the build up play and attack.

It is interesting to look at Chris Martin’s career stats before and after last season (2013-14)

Prior to August 2013 he had scored 57 goals in 221games (a goal in every four games roughly) but since the start of last season he has scored 37 goals in 72 games (better than a goal in every two games) a significant upturn in scoring rate and one that certainly puzzles a Swindon Town supporting work colleague of mine who saw him on loan at that club two years ago.

As has been the case in a few games now the Rams tempo went off the boil and allowed the opposition a way back into a game we really should have closed out if we want to live up to ambitions of a top two finish.

Brentford hit Derby on the break as the half was barely five minutes old Andre Grey looping a shot into Jack Butland’s goal and the rest of the half was one that fell into a pattern of even possession without either side really carving out any meaningful chances.

Steve McClaren shuffled the pack in a predictable fashion with Will Hughes replacing Craig Bryson and Jordan Ibe replacing Simon Dawkins, and a little more surprisingly removing Johnny Russell from the fray with Paul Coutts taking his place.

Will Hughes’ presence had an immediate impact and we did look more threatening with him co-ordinating play.

  1. Being wise after the event is the easiest job in the world but why he and also John Eustace did not start is a pertinent question. It was a question, though, that was not particularly welcomed in the after match interview on Radio Derby as we got our first appearance from grumpy Steve McClaren this season in response to Owen Bradley’s reasonable queries.The last ten minutes of the match became more fractious with yellow cards flying around and tempers fraying. The Rams carved out a couple of half chances that never really developed but were not able to hold onto what would have been a decent point as Dallas struck a cross that had made its way across the Rams box first time and it flew into the net. Two home games now before the international break and there is a sense of unease around about our performances in the last two league games. Two confident performances and six points from those home games would give a boost to us all but Huddersfield fresh from their 3-0 win over Forest and Wolves having an excellent season following promotion will be a test for us.

     

     

     

25th October – A chore, like a visit to the dentist

02 Sunday Nov 2014

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25 October 2014

Derby County           1              Wigan Athletic          2

 John Eustace 45                           James McClean 69, 83

Welcoming Wigan Athletic as visitors is proving to be as pleasurable as a chore, a visit to the dentist or sitting a particularly tricky maths exam.

 Following on from their 1-0 win on New Years Day Uwe Rosler’s Wigan arrived and again made themselves at home imposing their physical strength on the Rams and winning the least welcome guests of 2014 award hands down.

 Wigan appeared to have mastered the art of shutting us down and closing off all of the avenues that we can exploit so well. They are a big physical team who worked exceptionally hard to prevent us having any time and space on the ball. It is difficult to comprehend their league position on this showing though clearly playing at the Ipro is to their taste.

The start to the game did not bode well – Wigan were quick out of the blocks and spent the first five minutes dominating possession and pinging the ball around our penalty area.

Wigan’s pressing made it increasingly difficult for us to play the ball out from the back, something that clearly unbalanced our play, they also allowed Zak Whitbread to take the lions share of possession from Jack Butland and exploited his difficulties in getting play moving.

 This was not solely down to the centre half, who made a number of important tackles and interventions in the game, as Will Hughes & Craig Bryson were completely crowded out in the first half while Jordan Ibe flickered and only Johnny Russell played with any verve and in such a way to pose any questions.

 It was an unusual game in many ways, for long periods Scott Carson’s howitzer like clearances from the Wigan goal were their only creative outlet and for a while a cat & mouse games developed at goal kicks as most of the Wigan players would drift over to one side of the pitch only for Carson’s mortar shell to be launched to the other side trying to isolate a defender one on one – which nearly worked at least once.

For all of the lack of flow and attack Jordan Ibe had one decent chance to put us ahead as he wriggled into the penalty area but fired into the side netting.

Uwe Rosler was a constant and loud presence in the technical area – managing to mix up angry barks at officials and players with winning smiles when it looked like he was about to receive a reprimand. His position close to the touchline lead to what looked like it was going to be the most notable incident in the first half when Johnny Russell battling for the ball with Figueroa was sent flying straight into the Wigan manager, sending him clattering to the ground like an upended skittle….much to the hilarity of the fans, and to be fair, the man himself.

Just as the first half was winding down referee Robert Madley awarded Wigan what looked to me a highly dubious penalty for handball. Step forward Jack Butland to round off an excellent first half for him at the Ipro by saving Tavernier’s penalty and a minute later John Eustace was stabbing into the Wigan net from short range following an excellent Russell free kick. We were 1-0 at half time and that felt good (and unexpected)

Derby swapped Ibe & Hughes for Dawkins and Hendrick at half time and this seemed to be recognition of Wigan’s physical superiority and for the first fifteen minutes of the second half the Rams were on top, with Simon Dawkins to the fore and carved out half chances that, had one been taken, would have closed the match out as another three points.

Sadly though from approx. 65 minutes, I could sense Derby’s momentum fading away and Wigan in turn stepping up. Sure, the two Wigan goals were scrappy with a touch of fortune but save for an injury time free kick from Chris Martin that just whistled past the post there was no real response from the Rams.

Steve McClaren’s growing frustration was clear to see on the sidelines but this was one game that our team spirit and will to win was not able to retrieve.

Still top thanks to other results it was still a thoughtful walk back to the car. Do we have a problem at home games now? – Perhaps too early to jump to that conclusion but a telling reminder that the Championship is the league that always surprises.