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

30 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by petekobryn in Championship

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0 pts, Andreas Weimann, Chris Martin, Chris Wood, Darren Bent, Derby County Football Club, Jeff Hendrick, Leeds Utd, Rams, Uwe Rosler

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

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

30 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by petekobryn in Uncategorized

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0pts, Chris Martin, Chris Wood, Derby County Football Club, Jeff Hendrick, Leeds Utd, Rams, Uwe Rosler

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

18th August – Rams battle it out for a point against Boro

19 Wednesday Aug 2015

Posted by petekobryn in Championship

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1pt, Aitor Karanka, Derby County Football Club, Jamie Hanson, Jeff Hendrick, Johnny Russell, Middlesbrough, Rams, Richard Keogh, Scott Carson

18th August

Derby County          1          Johnny Russell 88

Middlesbrough       1          Kike 16

It was nearly déjà-vu all over again as Middlesbrough rocked up to the iPro and nearly repeated the suffocation job they delivered in March.

The Boro have in recent games shown an annoying ability to stifle our attacking moves without so much as breaking a sweat.

When they took the lead in this game, against the run of play, they looked every bit the team headed for better things this year.

But after having grabbed the initiative they seemed largely content to pull the team behind the ball and, particularly in the second half, look to hit us on the break as we dominated possession.

Unlike that dispiriting game in March though we smuggled a point out of this one with Johnny Russell’s emphatic finish with just over a minute of normal time to go.

In the build up to this game I was thinking about the potential threat posed by Stewart Downing to us but he had a quiet game and I was delighted that perennial pain in the arse David Nugent never made it off the bench.

Two changes for the Rams as Stephen Warnock and Andreas Weimann came in for Craig Forsyth and Johnny Russell. While I had expected Johnny to be stepped down for this one the change at left back was a surprise.

Warnock had one of his best games for the Rams though and was more of a presence in the attacking half of the pitch throughout.

We started with verve and tempo, we looked good. The atmosphere was loud and raucous and the evening had the feel of a contest between two top teams.

Despite the feeling afterwards that we had not created much Boro’s excellent keeper, Dimi Konstantopoulos, pulled off three top class saves in this match, the first of which was to deny Jeff Hendrick’s shot in the opening assault.

And then out of nothing Boro were ahead. George Friend was given too much room with the ball on our right flank, found himself in our area, shanked his shot, the ball fell to Kike who put the ball away.

We lost our energy after that goal and for much of the rest of the first half the visitors looked comfortable, creating a couple of half chances and not allowing us to build any real momentum.

Before the half was out our appalling run of midfield injuries continued apace. Both Jamie Hanson and Jeff Hendrick were forced off before the half time oranges, both from fouls that resulted in Hanson being concussed and Hendrick picking up a dead leg.

Our midfield is going to be a case of rounding up the willing and able for the game against Birmingham and even if Jeff Hendrick recovers we found out today he might have other matters weighing on his mind.

The public outing of our bid for Jacob Butterfield by the Huddersfield chairman during the game showed that the club is trying to resolve matters but it is clear that we are the moneybags club (at least in other clubs’ view) as the price quoted for Butterfield is said to be £5m.

The resulting shuffle saw Ryan Shotton and Johnny Russell on and a change of formation to a 4-2-3-1.

The last few minutes of the half saw the Rams get a bit fiery and it certainly served to get the crowd revving again. Tom Ince arrowed in a free kick that was heading for the bottom corner before Dimi just got to it.

The second half proved to be an extended defence vs. attack session as Boro seemed content to hold what they had. It is not difficult to see the influence of Aitor Karanka’s mentor Mourinho in the way they play, squeezing the life out of the game and looking to overload on the break.

It is clearly successful but I could not help wondering that with such a range of good players in the team they were selling themselves a little short?

Darren Bent came on for Andy Weimann and we moved to the third formation of the night – 4-4-2.

Another superb save from the Boro keeper denied Chris Martin’s glancing header from a corner.

Then with hope and expectation ebbing away Ryan Shotton launched one into the area, Chris Martin got something on it – the ball fell just right for Johnny Russell surging unmarked into the area and with obvious relish he slotted the ball home.

This was an important point and would have been an awful game to lose. The fighting spirit the Rams showed under difficult circumstances was good to see.

Richard Keogh had another good game and Scott Carson is looking well set in goal.

Our attacking game is stuttering but the loss of Hughes (particularly) and Bryson has hurt us.

A trip to Birmingham on Friday night next up.

Played GD Pts
13. QPR 3 -1 4
14. Cardiff City 3 0 3
15. Leeds United 3 0 3
16. Derby County 3 0 3
17. Blackburn Rovers 3 -1 2
18. Reading 3 -1 2

15th August – Chances galore but just the point for Rams

16 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by petekobryn in Championship

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1pt, Charlton Athletic, Chris Martin, Derby County Football Club, George Thorne, Jamie Hanson, Jason Shackell, Jeff Hendrick, Rams, Richard Keogh

15th August

Derby County          1          Chris Martin 68

Charlton Athletic    1          Tony Watt 48

The first home league game of the season saw the Rams create numerous chances in a game they dominated against the visiting Charlton.

There was only Chris Martin’s first goal of the season to show for it though and a single point was the outcome after the Addicks had taken the lead early in the second half by way of Tony Watt’s deflected strike.

Disappointment at the result is tempered though by the Rams performance. A little slow at the outset, the Rams controlled long periods of the game and played with the precision and skill we have become used to over the last two seasons.

Control through the midfield was down to George Thorne and Jamie Hanson who both had excellent games.

Home grown Hanson was one of three changes to the team from the one that drew at Bolton last week along with Jeff Hendrick and Craig Forsyth replacing the injured Will Hughes and Craig Bryson, Stephen Warnock stepping down to the bench.

Unlike last Saturday we lined up in the old familiar 4-3-3 and I was interested to see how Hanson would flourish in the more creative role in midfield as opposed to the holding role.

Well he shone.

This fella can really pass a ball and his repertoire of long and short passes was superb. He was also tigerish in the tackle and put himself about well.

Understandably he seemed to fade towards the end of the game, not helped by a heavy tackle he was on the receiving end of, but his assist for Chris Martin’s goal was neat and incisive and he can be well pleased with his performance.

George Thorne was even more impressive. Starts circulating in the twittersphere after the game point out that he was the only player to make more than a 100 passes in the Championship and all at a success rate of 97%.

The bare stats don’t tell the whole story though; Thorne bossed the midfield, was always available to accept the ball, set the attacking tempo with some superb passes and also snuffed out any number of Charlton moves.

He is one hell of a player and it is great to see him playing.

The only thing he should desist from are tackles like the one on the edge of the Addicks area with 15 minutes to go that left him on the turf and had most of the crowd ignoring the game and watching him gingerly get to his feet and get moving again…..we just do not need that kind of stress…

Charlton are a decent side and will do well this season. Despite our dominance they also had a couple of chances, Simon Makienok heading over from a corner when well placed and also pulling a shot wide of goal from 12 yards out.

For much of the game though they were on the back foot as the Rams probed and created, moving the ball around with ease. In the first half Chris Martin missed a decent chance after a piece of trickery from Tom Ince and Jeff Hendrick (having a busy game) shot just wide from the edge of the area.

The Rams could easily have scored twice within the first minute of the second half but then found themselves a goal down when a shot from the lively Tony Watt spiralled off Richard Keogh past a wrong footed Scott Carson.

Derby responded well and keeper Nick Pope made excellent saves from Thorne, Martin and Ince around the equaliser which Martin finished well, turning and shooting into the corner following Hanson’s precise pass.

The goal seemed to perk Martin up, he had looked a little off his normal best in the first half but was much more involved afterwards.

We could have won, would have won on other days but the performance was good.

Charlton deserve credit for a dogged defensive performance, I lost count of the number of our shots from in and around the area that they blocked.

Our defence looks so much better with Shackell, Carson and Baird; Richard Keogh had an excellent game and looks much more settled next to Shackell, reminding us of the good defender he is.

Baird and Forsyth got forward well from the full back positions and there was even time for a cameo from Cyrus Christie, providing an attacking threat when Hanson was substituted in the last five minutes.

I thought the flags in the South Stand (as promoted and organised by @DCFC1884Support) looked great and I do prefer us shooting towards the South Stand in the second half as we did in this game.

A big test next game as Middlesbrough come to town on Tuesday night. We owe them a result.

                                                        P       GD    Pts

13     Burnley                                    2       0       2

14    Cardiff City                                2       0       2

15     Derby County                          2       0       2

16     Leeds United                           1       0       1

12th August – Cup of woe as Rams beaten and bowed by Pompey

12 Wednesday Aug 2015

Posted by petekobryn in League Cup

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Darren Bent, George Thorne, Jason Shackell, Jeff Hendrick, Johnny Russell, Lee Grant, Out, Paul Clement, Portsmouth

12th August

Portsmouth     2         Adam McGurk 49, Conor Chaplin 76

Derby County  1         Jason Shackell 73

A Rams team lacking in energy and urgency were deservedly beaten by League Two Portsmouth in the First Round of the League Cup.

The home team were consistently in our faces, more determined and recovered from the Rams equalising with 15 minutes to go to hit back almost immediately and score the winning goal.

There was no sense of injustice at this result as the home team bridged the two division gap between the teams with seeming ease.

Paul Clement made eight changes for this game, in came Lee Grant, Isak Ssewankambo (for his debut), Alex Pearce (another debut), Craig Forsyth, Jeff Hendrick, Andreas Weimann, Simon Dawkins and Darren Bent.

The Rams lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Chris Baird & Hendrick anchoring the midfield and Russell, Weimann and Dawkins in support of Bent.

Pompey managed by the former Chesterfield firecracker of a manager Paul Cook started well and former Burton Albion player Adam McGurk pulled a chance wide in the first quarter of an hour after some Rams confusion on the right of the defence.

The theme of the first half continued to be more Portsmouth energy and attack as the home team stayed on the front foot and looked for gaps.

The Derby players seemed to struggle to acquaint themselves with each other and were ponderous in comparison.

There were little glimpses of promise during the latter part of the half with Johnny Russell and Weimann causing problems for Portsmouth without creating any clear chances. The half dribbled to a close without further incident and a sense of us not really hitting our stride at all.

The second half started with a flicker of intent from Derby as Weimann again caused problems but soon after Jeff Hendrick lost possession too easily, and Pompey scored following an awful mistake from Lee Grant, who made a mess of header from McGurk.

The disappointing thing was that the lead was entirely deserved on the balance of play up to that point.

Two changes on the hour for the Rams trying to change things as Chris Martin and Tom Ince came on for Darren Bent and Simon Dawkins.

Bent, particularly, struggled to be an influence on the game but he doesn’t prosper as the lone striker; we saw that a number of times last season, so it was a puzzle to see him in that role again.

The final change for the Rams saw George Thorne join the game after 68 minutes, debutant Ssewankambo making way and skipper Baird dropping back to right back.

Within a minute Thorne had played the best pass of the night to get an attack moving and a further three minutes later the Rams were level as Jason Shackell rose highest at a corner to head home.

Thoughts of powering on to take the lead disappeared quickly as Conor Chaplin shot home and gave Pompey the lead again.

We huffed and puffed as the game drew to a close without ever coming close to scoring and in contrast to last season when we made it to the last eight we bow out of the Cup at the first hurdle.

Sure we made eight changes, but so did Portsmouth, so we should have done better.

Jeff Hendrick had a poor game, but like Darren Bent he was again playing in a position that he does not seem suited to. Johnny Russell’s work rate was as herculean as ever but we hardly created a chance all night which was a worry.

Alex Pearce looked a little slow , expect to see former skipper Richard Keogh back on Saturday and it is pretty safe to say that Scott Carson is a strong favourite to start in goal against Charlton.

George Thorne looked a class apart in his brief cameo and in him and Jason Shackell we have the makings of a strong spine to the team.

Surely it is disappointing to lose this game but to expect us to hit the ground running after a summer with such significant change was always hopeful rather realistic.

Interviewed after the game Paul Clement said he already knew his team for Saturday’s home game at the iPro – I think we can all have a pretty informed view of that 11 as well that will face up to Charlton where a home win would be very welcomed.

25th April – Rams rescue a point on day of sadness

25 Saturday Apr 2015

Posted by petekobryn in Championship

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1pt, Chris Martin, Colin Bloomfield, Derby County Football Club, Jeff Hendrick, Lee Grant, Millwall, Rams, Tom Ince

25th April

Millwall      3       Lee Gregory 26, 36 (pen), 50 (pen)

Derby County   3  Tom Ince 42, Chris Martin 70 (pen), Jeff Hendrick 85

This game was overshadowed by the sad sad news prior to kick off of the death of Colin Bloomfield.

Always a warm and engaging broadcaster and clearly a much loved & respected colleague & friend the news hung over the day heavily. I have huge respect and admiration for Ed, Owen and Craig for managing to hold it together on Radio Derby when remembering their friend prior to kick off

A further reminder of the trivial nature of football was the minute’s silence before kick off in memory of those that lost their lives in the Bradford City disaster in 1985.

It is difficult, therefore, to get too upset at yet another series of self inflicted defensive disasters in this game which required another Tom Ince inspired rescue act to scrabble together a point against a limited team.

It is unbelievable that we have scored seven goals in the last two away games yet only taken two points from those games.

Like any other Rams fan I am finding it difficult to think of new ways of describing the awfulness of our defence in recent weeks, no matter which players happen to be on duty.

The season has gone off the rails since we beat Charlton so comfortably 2-0 on 24th February – an awful run of performances and a complete absence of defensive structure since then.

Since that Tuesday night our record is –

P 12  W 2  D 6  L 4  F 17  A 20  Pts 12

Which is bang on relegation form.

Injuries of course have affected us – but the complete loss of confidence and competence when we are defending surely has deeper roots than missing personnel.

There are probably as many theories around about why this has happened as there are Rams fans but a lot of my favourite theories centre on Steve McClaren and what has or has not happened in the last three months involving Newcastle United.

Something has happened for sure, a feeling that was personally only strengthened by what I saw and heard at the fans Q&A at the iPro last Thursday evening.

We were hit again by absences when selecting the team for this game. In addition to the injuries that Craig Bryson and Zak Whitbread picked up in the Huddersfield game Darren Bent was also missing owing to illness.

With Chris Martin only fit enough to be on the bench this meant the return of Conor Sammon to the starting eleven. The scarcity of options for the Rams was also illustrated by Lee Naylor returning to the bench.

Milwall came out strong, walking the line between firm and foul with early robust challenges on Stephen Warnock (twice) Will Hughes and Simon Dawkins.

Real opportunities in the first 25 minutes were absent in a game where the Rams were comfortably gaining control but just when we should have been looking to press on we unerringly found the self destruct button once again.

Lee Grant messed up a clearance from a back pass finding Millwall’s Lee Gregory, Craig Forsyth proved unable to make a goal line clearance as the ball bobbled in.

Ten minutes later, with the assistance of the referee, we were at it again. Jeff Hendrick surrendered possession too easily and Milwall broke on us, Richard Keogh made an excellent block in the area but the ball flew from his foot onto his hand and a nonsensical penalty was immediately awarded.

Lee Gregory put the spot kick away and we were 2-0 down.

Rams working on the now established principle of starting to go for it only when we’re two goals down pulled a goal back just before the break.

We won a free kick on the edge of the area and resident rescue act Tom Ince belted it in for his eleventh goal of his loan spell. Goodness knows where we would be without him and his goals in this later part of the season.

Whatever was said at half time clearly had as much impact upon our defence as all of the good advice and instruction they’ve received over the last few weeks as we went 3-1 down within five minutes.

Another self inflicted wound as Lee Grant gave away an unnecessary corner and shortly afterwards Jeff Hendrick wrestled Nicky Bailey to the ground; the inevitable penalty was awarded and put away by Lee Gregory for his hat-trick.

It was welcome back to Chris Martin who came on after 64 minutes and it was him who pulled us back to 3-2 thanks to a soft penalty we received when Tom Ince tumbled under some contact.

Our equaliser came from some excellent work from half time substitute Johnny Russell and Tom Ince, Ince heading the ball across the box for Jeff Hendrick who volleyed the ball into the top corner with five minutes to go.

There was some unsurprising nonsense from Milwall fans with violent scenes at the end of the game. So much has changed in football over recent years but some things that have remained the same, the unpleasantness of Millwall being one of them.

Another curate’s egg performance then, a point gained but we still require a point from the last game against Reading to secure a place in the play-offs.

If we got that point, and the way we are playing there is no great confidence of that, how would we cope in the play-offs?

That is a thought for a day other than this.

Played GD Pts
1. Watford 45 +41 88
2. AFC Bournemouth 44 +47 84
3. Middlesbrough 45 +31 84
4. Norwich City 45 +38 83
5. Ipswich Town 45 +19 78
6. Derby County 45 +32 77
7. Brentford 45 +16 75
8. Wolves 45 +12 75

11th April – Rams steal a point & hang on to play off spot

12 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by petekobryn in Championship

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1pt, Brentford, Chris Martin, Craig Bryson, Darren Bent, Derby County Football Club, Jeff Hendrick, Rams, Steve McClaren, Zak Whitbread

11th April

Derby County         1      Darren Bent 90+2

Brentford                1      Alex Pritchard 28

The Rams smuggled a point away from this game at the death in a manner that challenges the Hatton Gardens safety deposit box raid in terms of biggest heist of the week.

Brentford outplayed Derby throughout, looked better organised and missed a handful of decent chances to leave themselves vulnerable to the late equaliser that Darren Bent bundled home after a Jeff Hendrick miscued shot fell to him in the six yard box.

Satisfaction at gaining a point when it was scarcely deserved and hanging on to a play off spot were the only positives to take from this disjointed and confused Rams performance.

Light relief before the start of the game when I spotted Steve Claridge on the press benches at the iPro. It is safe to say that he is not a fan of doing his pre-match homework as he chatted on the phone and looked idly across the ground as kick off approached.

It was good to see Charlie George make a nostalgic appearance before kick off and be interviewed on the pitch, though slightly alarming to cast my mind back 40 years to remember seeing him play in a Rams shirt.

Chris Martin and Craig Bryson were the two additions to the starting line up replacing the suspended Will Hughes and Jamie Ward who dropped to the bench. A second outing then for the new look defence with skipper Richard Keogh and Stephen Warnock in the full back spots and Raul Albentosa & Craig Forsyth being the central defensive partnership.

The pre-match chit chat suggested we would set up in a 4-2-3-1 with Martin playing the central role but we quickly seemed to morph into a 4-4-2 with Johnny Russell and Tom Ince playing wide.

The first 15 minutes or so of the game was our best period with Tom Ince coming close twice with a whipped free kick that flew narrowly past David Button’s left hand post and then forcing the keeper into a smart save as he cut inside the area and shot towards the opposite corner.

We lost any control we had after that point though and Brentford increasingly came onto the front foot.

Even before the visitors took the lead, just before the half hour, with a very well taken Alex Pritchard strike from the edge of the area following a sweeping breakaway the Bees were looking organised, threatening and comfortable.

Uncertainty and lack of confidence leaked off the Rams players and transmitted itself to the fans. Steve McClaren was again on the sidelines early and in the first half Craig Bryson, notably, came to the technical area twice for an energetic exchange of views with the Head Coach leaving the discussion with an expression that suggested frustration rather than enlightenment.

The second half saw an ill Johnny Russell replaced by Simon Dawkins but there was no improvement and increased confusion as the game progressed.

Andre Gray missed three presentable second half opportunities for the Bees. Craig Forsyth, in his one high point of the game, made a superb goal line clearance to foil Jonathan Douglas and there seemed little prospect of us rescuing anything from the match.

Jeff Hendrick worked hard to get into the game and to try and create something but he was often isolated in his efforts.

For some unknown reason Chris Martin appeared to be stationed wide left for much of the second half which was an unexpected move and limited his involvement.

The suspended Will Hughes was sorely missed as we lacked creativity and control and as a final roll of the dice with fifteen minutes to go Stephen Warnock and Craig Bryson were withdrawn to be replaced with Jesse Lingard and Zak Whitbread.

Craig Forsyth returned to his normal left back berth – and spent much of the rest of the game being harangued by Steve McClaren to get forward.

In his short involvement Whitbread gave an assured and confident performance and I hope to see him starting on Tuesday when we take on Blackpool.

Time was running out when Jeff Hendrick picked up the ball outside of the Bees area and took his shot leading to Darren Bent bundling in his 10th goal of his loan period.

It was barely deserved but gratefully received and it felt unusual to be on the receiving end of some good fortune after our experiences this season.

This result along with wins for all of the top four realistically ends any hopes that we had for finishing in the top two this season. We are now in a battle for a play off spot with the table showing four teams fighting for two places, only a point separating the Rams, Ipswich, Brentford and Wolves.

Changing formations and experimenting with the defence in the final six games of a season is not something successful teams normally do.

There is something amiss at the heart of the team, the confident flowing Rams of last season seem a world away at the moment and we need to find some form quickly if we are to not only stumble into the playoffs but actually give a good account of ourselves in them.

That feels more like wishful thinking at the moment.

Played GD Pts
1. AFC Bournemouth 42 +46 80
2. Norwich City 42 +37 79
3. Watford 42 +36 79
4. Middlesbrough 42 +30 78
5. Derby County 42 +28 72
6. Ipswich Town 42 +16 71
7. Brentford 42 +15 71
8. Wolves 42 +12 71

10th February – Resilient Rams make a point at Bournemouth

10 Tuesday Feb 2015

Posted by petekobryn in Championship

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1pt, Bournemouth, Craig Forsyth, Darren Bent, Derby County Football Club, Jeff Hendrick, Rams, Tom Ince, Will Hughes

10th February

AFC Bournemouth 2 Matt Ritchie 12, Callum Wilson 44
Derby County 2 Tom Ince 30, Darren Bent 68

There is such a thing as a good point and in the aftermath of a breathless game at the Goldsands Stadium this feels like one.

This was such an intense game. It was high on tension, but also high in quality, as the Rams showed great character and resolve to equalise twice against the free scoring hosts and secure that good point.

Indeed we largely controlled the second half, restricted Bournemouth to one skewed Harry Artur effort and could quite easily have taken the three points from this crucial game.

Two of our January signings were on the score sheet with Tom Ince and Darren Bent both showing great poise to put away their chances and in doing so vindicating again the decision making processes at the club at the moment.

Think for a moment the impact that Ince jr. and Darren Bent have had in their short time at the Rams, seven goals between them and a lift to the squad and the team – and they are only part of the enhancement to the squad in January with Raul Albentosa likely to play a key part in the season to come and the presence of Stephen Warnock on the bench surely a factor in the resurgence of Craig Forsyth’s form in recent weeks.

The Rams made one change for this game, Cyrus Christie replacing Ryan Shotton at right back and it was a quick and powerful start to the game by Derby putting pressure on the hosts who looked nervy for the first five minutes and creaky at the back.

The mood changed quickly though and we seemed to be unsettled by an incident on 10 minutes when Lee Grant handled outside of the area while, arguably, being obstructed by Callum Wilson.

Referee Mark Clattenburg, who had a good game, made a pragmatic decision not punishing the Rams keeper but awarding the Cherries a free kick in a dangerous area. The free kick passed harmlessly but Bournemouth then scored with their first incisive attack Callum Wilson and Yann Kermogant setting up Matt Richie to score.

Bad became worse on 14 minutes when Chris Martin limped off with what looked like an ankle injury and was replaced by Darren Bent.

Of the many things that impressed me about the Rams tonight, how we coped without our talismanic No.9 was right up there.

Talk to Rams fans throughout this season and top of the list of our concerns was how the team would function without Chris Martin. Well, we were going to have to find out pretty sharpish in probably our most difficult game of the season after he limped off.

We struggled to settle in the aftermath of the goal and a weak backheader from Keogh almost gifted a second goal but Wilson could not finish.

After some heroics from Jake Buxton putting his body on the line to repel a Cherries attacks the Rams equalised thanks to the midfield maestro Hughes who tried to play in Darren Bent on the right hand side of the area.

The on loan striker robbed the Bournemouth full back Simon Francis and played a superb pass for Tom Ince and the man of the moment shimmied to dummy a defender and finished superbly for the goal.

From a high to a low within minutes though. After our equaliser we continued to pressure the hosts but then undid so much good work when just before the half time whistle Wilson was allowed to accept the ball by the Rams central defence and fire the Cherries back into the lead.

The second half started at a lesser pace than what had gone before, but no surprise there as it would have taken a superhuman effort by both sides to keep up the intensity.

The Rams slowly cranked up the pressure and control and worked a half chance for Tom Ince who got past a couple of defenders but was prevented from scoring again by a superb tackle from Tommy Elphick.

The second equaliser came from a clinical finish from Darren Bent. Good play by Craig Forsyth and Simon Dawkins (on as substitute only two minutes earlier for Jamie Ward) saw Dawkins play the ball across the area and the former England striker nipped in front of the defence for his fourth goal for the Rams – a quality finish from quality striker.

The Rams put more pressure on Cherries after the second equaliser and Bournemouth increasingly looked towards Callum Wilson for the long ball outlet as the game went on and had little else to offer by way of threat.

Even though we could not force the winner this was a performance to give us great heart for the rest of the season.

There were good performances all over the pitch tonight, Craig Forsyth having a good game, as did Omar Mascarell who is seemingly growing with every game. Tom Ince and Darren Bent provide us with a very welcome cutting edge.

Jeff Hendrick was again very good and Will Hughes has maintained a level of excellence over a number of games now that is a joy to see.

I can’t remember the last time a point felt so satisfying and positive and even seeing Middlesbrough grub their way past Blackpool 2-1 to go top could not detract from that.

 

7th February – Ince & Hendrick to the fore and Hughes shines as Rams win again

09 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by petekobryn in Championship

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3pts, Bolton Wanderers, Derby County Football Club, Jeff Hendrick, Omar Mascarell, Rams, Tom Ince, Will Hughes

7th February

 

Derby County                 4         Thomas Ince 39, 47  Jeff Hendrick 45, 68    

Bolton Wanderers         1           Filip Twardzik 51                  

Watching this Derby team when it clicks is a joy and our Rams definitely clicked in this 4-1 win over a Bolton team that had just taken Liverpool to the last minutes of a replayed FA Cup tie.

This was indeed a joyous game to watch as the Rams exhibited the slick passing interplay that is our trademark in front of a 30,000 + crowd who were loud and raucous in support of the team.

The South Stand was in fine voice and for the first time in a long time (perhaps Brighton in the play-off, perhaps the Forest 5-0 last season) all of the stands of the iPro chipped in with a song or two which made for a superb atmosphere which was noted by a number of magnanimous Bolton fans on social media afterwards. (The comments included – intimidating atmosphere, great team, top manager)

The headlines after this win inevitably focused on debut maker Tom Ince, who scored twice and so nearly crowned his first game since joining us form Hull on loan on deadline day with a hat-trick, the historic hat-trick being missed by a whisker as his shot cannoned back off the post with keeper Andy Lonergan beaten.

As well as the goals our new wide man showed energy and invention throughout, noticeably giving us different options as his runs were both central and wide and also tracking back with diligence. A positive and eloquent interview afterwards expressing his desire to make a mark at Derby rounded off a great start for the former Blackpool and Liverpool player who undoubtedly has a touch of class about his play.

Ince junior’s name may have headed all of the reports but Will Hughes’ performance deserved just as many plaudits. Yet again our midfield playmaker was at the heart of everything that was good about us despite Bolton’s attempts to starve him of both space and time which, in the first 25 minutes or so, had some success.

As the game went on however our midfield asserted itself and the visitors, managed by football’s angriest man, Neil Lennon, found it increasingly difficult to resist our moves in and around their area.

Three goals in the space of eight minutes over the half time break sealed the three points for the Rams. After a number of moves failed on the last pass or movement just as they looked like they were going to lead to a goal Chris Martin won the Rams a free kick just outside of the penalty area. There were a few nudges and nods in our part of the ground when Tom Ince placed the ball very deliberately for the free kick but they were soon forgotten as he arrowed a tremendous left footed free kick into the top corner to give us the lead.

Six minutes later and just before the break we were two up after a superb move involving Chris Martin and Will Hughes freed Jeff Hendrick in the area who, after a drop of the shoulder to lose Bolton’s Josh Vela, fired home.

Hendrick was another of our players who had a superb game, one of his best for weeks, always buzzing around and a threat as we moved forward and while we are listing positives Omar Mascarell had another good game anchoring the midfield and breaking up Bolton’s moves.

Another sweet passing move just after the break involving Hendrick, Martin and Hughes saw Hughes playing in Ince on the right hand side of the area for the debutant to fire home and make it 3-0.

A bit of Rams sleepiness at a free kick allowed Filip Twardzik to head home and spoil the clean sheet but there was never a real prospect of Bolton dragging us back. Jamie Ward was foiled by a fine Lonergan save before the game was put away by Jeff Hendrick’s second of the game – and his seventh of an increasingly productive season – after Jake Buxton won a towering back post header from an Omar Mascarell free kick.

Another important three points banked and another game ticked off.

Tuesday sees us visit the leaders Bournemouth on the south coast for a top two clash.

The Rams are in good shape for this crucial game having recovered from the set backs of the Forest loss, Johnny Russell’s injury and Jordan Ibe’s recall with remarkable resilience…..COYR

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

18 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by petekobryn in Championship

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0pts, Craig Bryson, Derby County Football Club, Game Management, Jeff Hendrick, Nottingham Forest, Rams, Will Hughes

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.

 

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