Tag Archives: Johnny Russell

12th September – Martin at the double for Rams first win

13 Sunday Sep 2015

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12th September

Preston North End   1      Daniel Johnson 90+12

Derby County          2    Chris Martin 23, 36

With a sense of relief, and some characteristic jitteriness at the end of the game, the Rams won their first match of the season at the seventh attempt with this victory at Deepdale.

The win was overshadowed by a serious looking injury to skipper Chris Baird that lead to 15 minutes of added time following him being stretchered off the pitch. Fortunately Baird was released from hospital following a scan later in the evening.

This was a game where Derby looked comfortable for long periods, scored two excellent goals and played some attractive incisive football.

As is often the case, though, we fell deeper and deeper as the game moved to its end and invited the hosts onto us.

Is this a fitness and stamina thing I wonder? It is to be hoped that as the season progresses we will look stronger and fitter towards the end of games.

Hearing a Paul Clement team announced is turning out to be an exercise in surprises and this game was no exception.

Lee Grant was one of five changes from the team that lost at home to Leeds United. Scott Carson was not injured as he was named on the bench, and this was not I change I would have predicted or indeed wanted.

To be fair to Granty and the boss though he played very well and made a couple of important saves in the second half – so what do I know ?

Other starting changes included the two deadline day signings Bradley Johnson & Jacob Butterfield, Stephen Warnock & Cyrus Christie.

Along with Scott Carson the injured George Thorne stepped down while Craig Forsyth, Jeff Hendrick and Jamie Hanson moved to the bench.

The debutants looked good and gave us something new, Johnson particularly adding urgency, physical presence and a bristle to our midfield

Both Johnson & Butterfield made their presence felt in the first minute with strong challenges and Johnson was much in evidence in the first quarter of an hour including a trademark left foot pile driver of a shot which was deflected away for a corner.

The Rams took the lead for the first time this season with a goal on 23 minutes born of Johnny Russell’s superb pass, played into Chris Martin who put the ball away with coolness for his third goal of the season.

It was almost immediately 2-0 as Tom Ince broke into the area, his chance for a shot gone he played it to Bradley Johnson who clipped the post with his effort.

Why doesn’t Chris Martin take more free kicks?

I’ve seen him score a couple of belters and on 36 minutes he put another one away after the ever impressive Johnny Russell ran the Lilywhites’ defence ragged and won a free kick on the edge of the D to put us 2-0 up.

This was our best half of the season, the home team didn’t carve out a meaningful chance and Lee Grant had little to do.

The Rams started well in the second half, moving the ball well around and into the Preston area but the momentum eased off as the hour mark neared and the home team pressed more.

Lee Grant pulled off two excellent saves on 70 & 75 mins from Stevie May & Daniel Johnson and then a Joe Garner shot struck the post and flew back into Grant’s arms to the relief of the army of 3,000+ travelling Rams.

The injury to Chris Baird looked a bad one as he came off worst in a clash of heads and required treatment on the pitch before being carried off.

This left the Rams one player short for the remainder of the game with Hendrick, Weimann and Forsyth already having been brought on for Butterfield, Ince & Warnock.

The long delay seemed to take the wind out of Preston’s sails, their energy being diminished after the restart.

Without over committing the Rams carved out another chance with Hendrick pulling the ball back for Weimann whose excellent shot was pushed away by Jordan Pickford.

As the half moved into the 57th minute and, everyone was wondering just when the game would finish, the season of deflected goals chalked up another one as Daniel Johnson’s shot looped past the helpless Grant.

Flashbacks to the Birmingham game last season not withstanding we held on for those valuable three points.

Chris Martin and Johnny Russell were excellent again and, indeed, are solely responsible for our league goals so far this season.

Getting this first win was important and takes some of the pressure off. Next up is a trip to Reading, fresh from a 5-1 thumping of Ipswich Town.

With a busy treatment table this is going to be another test of the Rams squad.

Played GD Pts
12 Leeds United 6 1 8
13 Nottingham Forest 6 0 8
14 Derby County 6 0 7
15 MK Dons 6 -1 7
16 Wolves 6 -2 7
17 Bolton Wanderers 6 -3 6

21st August – Johnny on the spot again for Rams at Blues

22 Saturday Aug 2015

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21st August

Birmingham City     1       Stephen Gleeson 45

Derby County          1          Johnny Russell 61

This was an exciting game with quality on show from both sides but the wait for a first win for Paul Clement’s Rams goes on.

The game statistics confirm that this was more of the same for Derby in that the Rams had;

63% of the possession

20 attempts on goal

Hit the woodwork four times

But only had Johnny Russell’s superb finish to show for it at the end.

Disappointment at not having won put aside, we looked better again in this game and there were long periods of the game where we attacked with tempo and created a lot of problems for the home team.

Tom Ince had his best game of the season so far, was involved throughout and hit the woodwork.

Birmingham played well and are a good side under Gary Rowett, and they will also be rueing the chances they had. Scott Carson had an excellent game in goal for us and made two great saves in the first ten minutes to keep the Blues at bay.

Richard Keogh had another good game and even a change of full backs for this game, with Cyrus Christie and Craig Forsyth brought into the team for this game, did not disturb that.

The swaps at full back were two of four changes made for this game. Johnny Russell started after his goal against Middlesbrough and Darren Bent made his first start of the season.

Chris Baird moved from right back to accompany George Thorne in the centre of midfield, Stephen Warnock and Andi Weimann dropped to the bench and the injured Jeff Hendrick and Jamie Hanson missed out.

We lined up in a 4-4-2 for this game and perhaps that determined the choice of full backs.

Stephen Warnock had a good game against Boro and Cyrus Christie was not even on the bench on Tuesday night but perhaps the mobility of Craig Forsyth and Christie determined their selection with more required from those positions to support the midfield.

Fozzie had a decent game all over the pitch, providing his usual threat going forward. Christie looked better going forward than defensively at times but this was an improvement from him.

After the home team’s energetic start the Rams hit a purple patch from the quarter hour onwards with opportunities in short order falling to Russell, Darren Bent, Bent (again), Tom Ince, Bent (again) and Ince (again)

The woodwork, good Blues defending, a fatal delay in shooting when the opportunity presented itself and rank bad luck all took their turn in preventing us from capitalising on these chances.

While the build up play was good there was a creeping sense of unease about not taking the chances when we had them in this most competitive of leagues.

The game quietened down towards half time but the Rams failure to close down on Stephen Gleeson as the ball was cleared from a corner cost us as his shot from distance took a deflection and found its way into the net to put the hosts ahead just before the break.

Birmingham made a strong start to the second half and came close to taking what may have been a decisive two goal lead heading a chance over and putting a shot wide – the Rams recovered though and hit another lengthy purple patch that lasted for a good twenty minutes.

Craig Forsyth hit a fine shot that Tomasz Kuszczak somehow managed to keep out and away from Darren Bent.

The pressure told for us just after the hour when George Thorne won a terrific tackle to regain possession in our half which in turn led to Tom Ince playing the lurking Johnny Russell in on the left of the Blues area.

With great power and precision JR fired into the roof of the net and we were level.

For a moment on 68 minutes it looked as if referee Lee Mason had awarded the Rams a penalty when Chris Martin went down in the area but, countering the old cliché that refs never change their minds, Mason then booked Martin for diving.

Was it a pen? – Seen them given….. Was it a booking? – Probably not.

It struck me as a Premier League ref in a Championship game feeling the need to make a “big” decision

Andi Weimann was brought on with twenty minutes to go replacing Darren Bent, but not before Bent had hit the woodwork again just after the equalising goal. On another night Bent would have personally bagged four.

The game closed with both sides still eager but both tiring to an extent.

Still unbeaten in the league but no wins for the Rams then.

The evidence on the pitch looks promising with development in each game – we are looking more threatening and our attacking game seems to be moving into gear.

We look particularly good when we move with high tempo.

Our old friends from Yorkshire next then.

                                                                   Played GD    Pts

  1. Wolves                                                       3       0       4
  2. Derby County                                           4       0       4
  3. Nottingham Forest                              3       0       4
  4. QPR                                                               3      -1      4
  5. Cardiff City                                               3       0       3
  6. Leeds United                                            3       0       3

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

19 Wednesday Aug 2015

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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

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

12 Wednesday Aug 2015

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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.

8th August – Injuries overshadow opening day point for Rams

08 Saturday Aug 2015

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8th August

Bolton Wanderers    0          Jay Spearing sent off 86

Derby County 0

An away point in Paul Clement’s first league game in charge was overshadowed by injuries to Craig Bryson & Will Hughes – both potentially serious knee injuries, particularly for Hughes who had to be stretchered off on the half hour.

After a very busy summer; a new head coach and coaches – seven new players and a promising pre-season there was always going to be interest in Paul Clement’s first team selection – five of the team that started that awful last game against Reading started this game – Richard Keogh, Stephen Warnock, Will Hughes, Tom Ince & Johnny Russell.

In for debuts came new signings Scott Carson and new captain Chris Baird while Jason Shackell started his second stint as a Ram.

Terrific to see George Thorne and Chris Martin back after injury and also interesting to see Craig Bryson straight into the team after an injury hit pre-season being preferred to Jeff Hendrick as part of the midfield diamond though he got little chance to impress with his early injury.

Getting used to a new manager is always an interesting process and pre-match a couple of things caught my attention.

The preferring of Johnny Russell to new signing Andreas Wiemann was one. It became apparent through pre-season that these two players were likely to be competing for a place and both had a good pre-season but to see Johnny given the nod was an interesting one.

The selection of Stephen Warnock over Craig Forsyth at left back in an experienced defence was another selection of note after the former Leeds man had struggled to make an impact at the end of last season.

Although Bolton hit the woodwork three times late on, the defence as a whole looked better with Jason Shackell at its heart, his excellent game sense and positioning, his powerful aerial presence and his leadership at the back will be such a boost for us this season.

The substitution that saw Ryan Shotton take over at right back as Chris Baird moved into midfield weakened us at the back and Shotton looked vulnerable at times as well as lacking in confidence going forward.

We held the diamond formation throughout but with a middle two of Baird and Hendrick rather than Bryson and Hughes we lacked creativity and the full backs did not do a great job of providing width in support of our attack.

Chris Martin was somewhat isolated because of this and so was Johnny Russell despite his huge work rate (as ever)

The home team started in energetic fashion and won the first corner of the game after a slip from Warnock but the Rams eased into the game from the ten minute mark and had a good five to ten minute period showing some good understanding and fluidity in moving the ball around and forward.

Craig Bryson’s injury occurred first after 20 minutes Jeff Hendrick replacing him.

Hendrick created a great chance for the Rams just before the half hour spinning the ball into the area for Johnny Russell who hit the bar with his rising shot.

The very serious looking injury to Will Hughes just after the half hour extinguished the encouraging signs from the new look Rams; Hughes went down in a heap and needed assistance immediately being carried off on a stretcher.

He did appear on the bench towards the end of the game but the severity of the injury is yet to be confirmed – we can only hope for the best as far as that is concerned.

The injuries to our midfield seemed to (understandably) take the momentum out of our play and the first half dwindled to a close, though the Trotter’s Gary Madine still had time to catch both Jason Shackell and Stephen Warnock with a flying elbow before half time.

The second half started in a disjointed and scrappy manner as the Rams struggled to put moves together. Bolton were always snapping at the Rams players and we were predictable when looking to probe their defence.

When we could create we looked good, George Thorne, Tom Ince and Chris Baird combining well to create a chance that went via Johnny Russell to Chris Martin who couldn’t keep his shot down.

Just as Bolton looked to be tiring and expectation was rising for a Rams winner the home team found a new impetus and hit the Rams woodwork three times through Heskey and Madine.

Referee Andy Madley did not have a great game and allowed Bolton’s physical approach to cross the line at times.

His best decision of the day though was to book Jay Spearing for a dive when the home team were looking for a penalty with just four minutes to go.

The midfielder’s second booking of the day saw him sent off and took the steam out of the home team’s charge.

In the dying embers of the game the Rams had a chance to win it, Ince breaking away but unable to fashion a shot and the ball not falling for either Martin or Hendrick in support.

Paul Clement sounded disappointed after the game but an away point is never to be scorned especially after the injury setbacks we experienced. Jason Shackell looked good, Richard Keogh benefited from having him alongside and Scott Carson was solid in goal.

The season is underway and we have a point on the board – next up Pompey.

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

14th March – Rams dig deep for crucial point as Bruiser takes a bow

14 Saturday Mar 2015

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14th March

Norwich City     1          Cameron Jerome 31

Derby County    1          John Ruddy (o.g.) 66

Sometimes a point is a bitter disappointment.

Last Saturday, for instance.

Sometime a point is a terrific result.

Today, for instance.

On the back of three disappointing results and visiting the division’s form team with a squad diminished by injury the Rams did very well to take a point, a point that may just be crucial come the season’s end.

Pre game discussion inevitably centred upon Jamie Hanson’s first team debut, one of two changes to the team that played Birmingham last week.

A Friday training injury to Omar Mascarell enabled the impressive academy player to step into the defensive midfield position that is so important to our style of play.

And how well he played in such a crucial game. Initially the Norwich midfield dominated but as the game went on Hanson got more involved and showed he is a player of poise and promise.

Talk in the week of either or both of George Thorne and Chris Martin being involved in some way proved not to be the case and what once felt like a deep squad is starting to look skimpy as injuries take their toll.

Our other change was a swap with Ryan Shotton coming in at right back for Cyrus Christie, a change happening increasingly regularly for away games, presumably for greater defensive solidity offered by the former Stoke City defender.

The hosts dominated possession in the early periods of the game without creating any clear cut chances and the Rams worked hard with players tracking back. There were notable defensive interventions from both Johnny Russell and Jamie Ward.

Rams had a spell of greater possession from 25 minutes or so in with Hughes and Ward featuring and looking to create something. Our only decent attempt on goal at this time came with a Will Hughes shot going over.

Just as it felt as if we had subdued the hosts, Cameron Jerome gave them the lead on 31 mins after Hoolohan and Olsson combined well to get behind our line and set up the big striker for a tap in.

Good work by Johnny Russell after a quickly taken free kick on 40 minutes almost created a chance for the Rams, the opportunity just failing for the lack of someone to tap the ball in, the hosts clearing away from danger.

With results in other games going against us we needed a big second half and the Rams started promisingly, again without really creating any clear cut chances, but nearly were authors of our own downfall in giving away a needless corner on 55 minutes after a phase of messing around with the ball in defence.

Jamie Hanson lived up to his nickname of “bruiser” after a clash of heads with Alexander Tetty left the Norwich man prone on the turf and gained the debutant a Terry Butcher tribute head bandage.

It was our debutant that created our equaliser from an unexpected source, John Ruddy turned around a Tom Ince shot round for a corner. Jamie Hanson’s corner was then bundled into the net by Ruddy to bring us level. The credit for the goal may go to the Norwich keeper but in spirit this was a debut goal for Hanson.

Johnny Russell worked as hard as ever throughout the game, proving to be a nuisance, he struggled to find threatening positions with the ball but his work rate off the ball was as terrific as ever and he kept the Canaries defence occupied throughout.

Jamie Ward was similarly hard working and committed and it is good to see him getting back to his early season form.

Until they started lumping the ball forward towards the end of the game the Canaries were subdued for much of the second half and credit to the Rams for that. However it took a superb save from Lee Grant, keeping out a Jerome free header from no more than six yards, followed up by great save even later in the game from a shot from Norwich substitute Gary Hooper to preserve this point.

This was a good gritty and pleasing performance from the Rams in the second half, disciplined and organised.

As if we did not have enough injuries to worry about Johnny Russell took a kick to the face from the already booked Russell Martin that left blood splattered all over his face and questions being asked about why his Scottish international team mate did not get his marching orders.

Steve McClaren mused afterwards that JR has a broken nose so we can look forward to another outing for the phantom of the opera mask soon.

Raul Albentosa is looking increasingly at home and made a crucial tackle to stop Gary Hooper late on – the defensive strength we so crave could well be resting on his shoulders.

This Norwich team has by far the strongest squad at its disposal in this league and have easily been the best team I’ve seen at the iPro this season, so for us to emerge from Carrow Road with a point is a big boost at a time of the season when both the injuries and the worries have been piling up.

Played GD Pts
1. AFC Bournemouth 37 +39 69
2. Watford 37 +31 69
3. Middlesbrough 37 +31 69
4. Derby County 37 +29 67
5. Norwich City 37 +31 66
6. Brentford 37 +11 62

       

24th January – Formation rotation as Rams prevail in Derbyshire Derby

25 Sunday Jan 2015

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24th January

Derby County 2    Darren Bent 20, Will Hughes 82

Chesterfield 0

The FA Cup provided some relief for the Rams after last Saturday’s disappointments though this game was never as straightforward as the 2-0 scoreline may suggest.

It was not so much as rotation of players that Steve McClaren employed as a rotation of formations. We set up in a 3-5-2 arrangement in the first half, changed to a 4-4-2 diamond in the second half initially and then reverted to a 4-3-3 later in the game.

The Boss explained after the game that the experimentation was very much part of the game plan to see how we performed away from our normal 4-3-3 structure.

When you think about it this was quite a risk to our involvement in the FA Cup considering that Chesterfield proved themselves to be a very capable side, but the chance to work on that much demanded “Plan B” proved to be both useful and successful.

Personnel wise Raul Albentosa came in for his debut, Kelle Roos was in goal, Jeff Hendrick started and Darren Bent made his first start with Johnny Russell, Lee Grant, Jamie Ward & Craig Bryson missing out.

The prospect of using Albentosa, Keogh & Buxton in a back three had been suggested by a number of fans in forums and social media and it was interesting to see it being put into practice – it felt very late 1990’s and Jim Smith all over again.

The new system almost came unstuck immediately though with only a good block from Cyrus Christie preventing Armand Gnanduillet getting a shot on target from inside the six yard box in the first couple of minutes.

Chesterfield were composed and impressive opponents, looking comfortable on the ball and pressing us when had possession.

The right side of our defence with Christie and Richard Keogh in place looked shaky and Chesterfield obviously thought so too as their attack tended to focus on that flank.

Keogh missed a routine header on the quarter hour that almost let in the troublesome Gnanduillet who could not take advantage and that let off was compounded shortly afterwards when we took the lead.

Jake Buxton won a towering header from an Omar Mascarell corner and there poaching from inside the six yard box Darren Bent planted a header into the net for his first Rams goal.

The Rams created little else in the first half and did not look totally secure at the back. Having said that I was impressed with our first look at Raul Albentosa, the big centre half winning a number of defensive headers and looking composed on the ball.

Early days I know, but he looks powerful and skilled and I think he will be challenging for a start very soon.

More experimenting after the break with Johnny Russell replacing Albentosa and the team shuffling into a 4-4-2 diamond shape with Russell partnering Darren Bent up top with Chris Martin at the advanced point of the diamond.

For me this set up worked well. It showed that Darren Bent provides a different threat for us, playing on the edge of the defence and looking to break on a through ball. As well as his first half goal the Villa loanee could have, and should have, bagged two more.

A superb through ball from Chris Martin sprang Bent and although Tommy Lee in the Spirites goal made a fine save he should have scored. 

A similar chance later for Bent in the half was again saved by Lee and while it was disappointing not to see him score more than his first goal it was promising to see his eye for position that puts him in the right place.

Chris Martin is an intelligent footballer and playing in a different position in the second half gave him the chance to show this in a different way. His through ball for the missed Darren Bent chance was superb and while I would not want him playing in that position on a more permanent basis ( Will Hughes since you ask ) he fitted in smoothly and created space and opportunities for Bent and Russell to feed upon.

Will Hughes was our best player throughout the game, creative, bright and hard working and it was him that put the game beyond doubt, stealing the ball just outside the Spireite area, gliding on and smoothly firing home.

Our young midfield talent is on a good run of form at the moment and with others injured or off form we are very reliant upon him.

Talking of injuries it was worrying to see Johnny Russell only last 19 minutes before being replaced in some distress. It was a surprise to many to see him appear considering the tight hamstring Simmo confirmed he was suffering from and if he is out for a few weeks we will miss him badly.

Next up is Blackburn on Tuesday and will we revert to 4-3-3 with the two wingers left standing (and not training with Burton or on loan to Notts County) Jamie Ward and Simon Dawkins ? – or will we be tempted to polish the diamond with Martin & Bent upfront and Will Hughes pulling the strings?

My money is on the diamond….

 

 

 

20th December – Martin on song but below par Rams let it slip against Canaries

20 Saturday Dec 2014

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20th December

Derby County               2                                        Norwich City    2  

 Johnny Russell 43                                                    Cameron Jerome 51 

Chris Martin (pen) 55                                               Steven Whittaker 89

This was an uneasy and uncomfortable performance from the Rams, ill fitting to the festive period as we gathered for another lunchtime kick off hoping for an early Christmas present of 3pts.

Not even the pre match appearance of the Jim Smith era stalwarts Darren Powell & Jacob Laursen settled the game, though it did remind me of the admirable Dane belting a free kick past Peter Schmeichel at the Baseball Ground back in the day.

Three changes for the Rams as Ryan Shotton replaced the suspended Jake Buxton, Jordan Ibe replaced Simon Dawkins and, to some surprise, Jeff Hendrick replaced Will Hughes.

Any concerns about the structure of our midfield were muted after the game, not because anyone had played well, more that everyone had had a go and underwhelmed.

We were under par throughout this game, never in control even when leading and would have been fortunate to have won it in all honesty.

Norwich looked one of the better, if not the best team, to visit us this season – run a very close second by Bournemouth, but our performance contributed to the edginess around the ground as the game unfolded.

Thank goodness for Chris Martin and Johnny Russell who both had good games today. Martin was very good in fact.

We played more direct balls from Lee Grant; a little bit less of playing it out from the back, and our number 9 did an excellent job of accepting the ball and bringing others into play.

The move for our first goal was a prime example of this.

Martin superbly took down a Grant pass turned and moved into the area, laying off to Russell who very quickly sorted his feet out to stab the ball past John Ruddy before he could set himself.

JR has had an excellent run in the team, is scoring goals and endears himself to us fans by his sheer hard work, will to win and passion. His roar of joy at scoring today was replicated in the stands and he is very much “Super Johnny Russell”

The timing of any appearance on the sidelines by Steve McClaren is taken to be a reliable indicator of his happiness so when he appeared during the first half my eyes flicked to the big screen clock.

 22 minutes….not good then. The Boss was more vocal than I have ever seen him on the sidelines, giving very direct and precise instruction to a number of players, particularly Jeff Hendrick, and often turning away in exasperation as moves broke down or faltered.

To go in 1-0 up was a bonus, particularly as the referee had ruled out a Norwich goal before we scored owing to Cameron Jerome dummying a move to the goal bound shot in an offside position. It felt like a reprieve.

Will Hughes replaced Jeff Hendrick at the half, presumably owing to injury, but as happens too regularly we conceded early as our left flank was exposed allowing a cross to travel across our area which Cameron Jerome (onside this time) put away.

In our best phase of the game we hit back immediately though and Chris Martin won a penalty against his former team mates by drawing a foul from Carlos Cuellar and confidently put it away for his 15th goal of the season.

After our second goal we looked like we might not only hold onto the lead but extend it without ever actually carving out a decent chance and as the clock ticked beyond the hour Norwich stepped up the possession and pressure.

To almost make it to the end of the game before conceding is disappointing but it was hardly unexpected when Steven Whittaker fired across the penalty area after a corner and the ball pinged in off the far post.

It could have been even worse as Jerome fired a decent chance over after Norwich equalised, and the confident and secure defence that kept those six clean sheets in a row earlier in the season seems long gone.

Craig Forsyth has lost his attacking verve as well as his defensive confidence and our left flank was certainly targeted by Norwich leading to the Rams swapping Johnny Russell over to the left to provide Forsyth with more protection, but arguably restricting his attacking input also.

What to say about our midfield? – It did not influence the game today. In his position we need to see Omar Mascarell direct play more, or break up the opposition play more and he did not achieve either today. It is a lot to ask of a young player in his first season in English football but our set up and formation demands a lot of that position and it is a pivot to our success.

So fifth at Christmas with a Boxing Day visit to Gary Rowett’s resurgent Birmingham City to come. What do we want from Santa Claus Rams fans? A fit and firing George Thorne??

 

16th December – Rams ask no Quarter but the cup run ends against Chelsea

17 Wednesday Dec 2014

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16th December

Derby County               1                     Chelsea               3

Craig Bryson 71                                     Eden Hazard 23                                          Jake Buxton sent off 78                        Felipe Luis  56                                                                Andre Schurrle 82

The Rams bowed out of the League Cup in the last eight after a spirited and skilful performance against an impressive Chelsea side.

The Premier League leaders showed their intent by fielding a strong side including ever popular captain John Terry, Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic, Didier Drogba and, most damagingly for Derby, Eden Hazard.

For the Rams Jake Buxton replaced the suspended Ryan Shotton and Will Hughes was restored to the starting eleven replacing Jeff Hendrick.

A cagey start saw neither side create any meaningful chances, Derby being less keen to play out from the back at every opportunity as we tend to do in the Championship, probably a wise move with the likes of Hazard and Schurrle snapping away at our players.

This game was always going to be a good test of which of our players could cope with the demands of playing against a top Premier League team side and the performance should give us some cause for optimism.

I thought that Craig Bryson had an excellent game buzzing around with intent and causing problems for Chelsea as well as taking his goal very well. Similarly Will Hughes played well and as is par for the course Johnny Russell was tireless, chasing down, tracking back and also setting up our goal.

Omar Mascarell also played well and seemed much more at home than he sometimes does in the Championship perhaps reflecting the differing styles of those leagues and our opponents.

Also in the credit column for me was Jake Buxton who was strong, won a lot in the air and coped well with the challenges facing him right up until the wrong headed decision to send him off shortly after Craig Bryson’s goal had turned the noise in Pride Park up a notch or ten.

A ball over the top saw Bucko and Loic Remy, on for the injured Drogba, tussling as the ball skidded across the wet pitch, Bucko was clearly trying to shepherd the ball back to Lee Grant who duly came sliding out for the ball and, it seemed, possibly out of the area with the ball in hand.

At this point the linesman on the west side started waving his flag furiously ….Lee Grant clearly thought he was going to be dismissed, as did we, though being close to the linesman in question we were offering some words of wisdom to him in a sense of friendship and constructive criticism.

Confusion and anger greeted the subsequent waving of the red card in Bucko’s direction.

Denying a goal scoring opportunity? …really??

I am very confident that a similar situation in a, say, Chelsea vs. Manchester United game would not have resulted in a red card – we got the rough end of a Premier League vs. Championship decision there.

The momentum of our fight back was lost and it was no surprise to see Schurrle slot away a third goal shortly afterwards after Lee Grant saved well from Hazard.

 Eden Hazard was impressive throughout and a constant threat to us. After the good start it was frustrating to see Richard Keogh play the ball to Hazard on the edge of our area, a quick exchange of passes with Cesc Fabregas saw Hazard firing into the bottom corner to put Chelsea ahead.

Chelsea’s second goal led from another Premiership decision from the referee as willo-the-wisp Will Hughes brushed past Didier Drogba and sent the man mountain centre forward flying. From the subsequent free kick Felipe Luis belted the ball into the corner beyond the flying Grant.

Despite the scoreline we played well in this game and a similar level of performance will win most Championship games – and there in lies the challenge for Derby’s coaching staff – how to replicate this again and again.

A 30,000 crowd, a loud away contingent and a home crowd in boisterous and supportive voice gave an attractive indication of what it would be like to be back in the Premier League.

We saw a glimpse of what we are aiming at in this game and a reminder of the challenges that would await if we were successful but, personally, I can’t wait for us to be back in that top league.