Tag Archives: Steve McClaren

2nd May – Season over after miserable Rams surrender

03 Sunday May 2015

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2nd May

Derby County     0

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I am contracted to Derby County”

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

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

This saw Stephen Warnock line up as defensive midfielder in a move that did not make it to half time as he was withdrawn on 37 minutes with the Rams chasing the game.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is going to be an interesting summer (again)

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

18th April – No defence as Rams take a point in eight goal shootout

19 Sunday Apr 2015

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18th April

Huddersfield Town   4      Gobern 38, Hudson 41, James 45+2, Wells 72

Derby County           4       Ince 16,79,  Dawkins 52, Lingard 61

It’s never easy being a Rams fan is it?

The Rams travelled to sunny Yorkshire on a four game unbeaten run with hopes of consolidating a play off spot against a Huddersfield team drifting in the safe waters of lower mid table.

Straightforward game? Not a chance.

After taking the lead with a Tom Ince cracker some appalling amateurish defending in the first half saw us go in 1-3 down.

We hauled ourselves back to 3-3 only to gift the Terriers yet another goal which required another Tom Ince rescue mission to save a point.

The game was littered with injuries for the Rams, Craig Bryson, Zak Whitbread and Will Hughes being forced off at various points in the game – exactly what we do not need considering our injury problems this season.

Before we knew about the mayhem that would unfold Steve McClaren kept us on our toes by naming an unchanged back four with Shotton, Keogh, Whitbread & Warnock continuing.

Not that circumstance allowed us to keep that unit together for long with Zak Whitbread being forced off with injury after 27 minutes at which point the roof fell in for the rest of the first half.

Midfield saw a change with Will Hughes returning after suspension with Simon Dawkins making way and dropping down to the bench.

I was surprised at this as Dawks has played well on Tuesday against, the admittedly limited, Blackpool, looking composed on the ball.

No sign of Chris Martin in the match day squad suggesting that the “setback” mentioned on Tuesday night could be as serious as we had feared.

Missing also from the 18 was Raul Albentosa who has been selected intermittently after the long wait to see him in the team.

We worked very hard to sign the big Spanish defender and apparently spend a lot of effort planning our signings but things have not gone well which makes you wonder what is going on in the background, especially considering our need for defensive leadership is desperate.

Any debates about the rights and wrongs of Simon Dawkins being left out were soon neutralised as Craig Bryson was on the receiving end of a heavy Joel Lynch tackle on five minutes that ended his participation, Dawkins replacing him and having another good game.

The Rams started steadily, looking composed and Tom Ince gave us the lead with a belting shot from distance that arrowed into the top corner on 16 minutes. We looked comfortable and while not in control, certainly in a good position.

Everything went rapidly downhill when Zak Whitbread fell awkwardly after a coming together with the always physical Ishmael Miller and had to be substituted immediately with Cyrus Christie coming on at right back and Ryan Shotton moving to centre half.

Zak Whitbread has always looked a good player to me but whether he can stay healthy enough to be the calm head we need in that back four is a question – no report yet on his injury from this game but we have looked better with him playing – and looked chaotic without him yesterday.

We conceded three awful goals in eight minutes towards the end of the half and it was not only the number of goals that we let in but the manner of the surrender that was alarming.

Possession lost by the desperately shaky Cyrus Christie lead to goal one, an unchallenged header from a corner lead to goal two and a corner allowed directly into the net saw us go in 3-1 down at the half to a, no disrespect intended, middling team with nothing to play for.

The defence was yet again playing like strangers and with no confidence or structure – it is really shocking and disappointing to see and talk of promotion with displays at the back like this sounds delusional.

The second half showed no immediate improvement as Nakhi Wells should really have put the hosts 4-1 up as he went clear on our goal with only Lee Grant to beat. He only managed to catch Grant squarely in the face with his effort the ball going out for a corner.

And then just when hope was disappearing Simon Dawkins got himself on the end of a Stephen Warnock cross to bring us back into the game at 2-3 and suddenly the mood changed.

Dawkins having an excellent game contributed to the (first) equaliser helping to pull us back level at 3-3 laying off for Jesse Lingard who put away his second goal for the Rams since joining on loan.

A chance then for us to push on and win a vital 3pts ?……..not with the way our defence is playing.

Ryan Shotton gave the ball away under no pressure, Sean Scannell skinned Stephen Warnock again and from the ensuing melee the ball was bundled into the net for the hosts to take the lead again 4-3.

One final twist thanks to Tom Ince coolly putting away his second goal of the game and his tenth since joining us to bring it back again to 4-4 and at that point the scoring madness ended….though not before we played with fire at the back again and the Terriers had an offside winner ruled out.

Steve McClaren sounded either tired or disengaged in his post match interview – seemingly at a loss as to what to do and musing about taking the players away for a warm weather break this week to gee up team spirit.

Personally rather than catching planes and coaches here and there I’d be happier to hear about some focused work together at Moor Farm for the week to up the team spirit and get us ready for the last two games of the regular season.

We’re hanging on to our play off spot but it feels like by our fingertips at the moment.

Played GD Pts
1. Watford 44 +39 85
2. AFC Bournemouth 44 +47 84
3. Middlesbrough 44 +32 84
4. Norwich City 44 +38 82
5. Derby County 44 +32 76
6. Ipswich Town 44 +18 75
7. Brentford 44 +14 72
8. Wolves 44 +11 72

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

12 Sunday Apr 2015

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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

6th April – Relief as Rams back to winning ways at Wigan

06 Monday Apr 2015

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6th April

Wigan Athletic    0

Derby County      2        Chris Martin 51, Darren Bent 81

Chris Martin’s 20th goal of the season and his inspiring performance after coming on as a half time substitute lead the Rams to our first win in eight at the DW Stadium.

There is no doubting the contribution our number 9 makes to our success and the difference he made to a poor and lethargic first half performance was a clear indication of the value he adds to the team.

The prospect of facing a poor and disjointed Wigan team heading for the Third Division (as it should be called…none of this League One nonsense) on a very poor pitch had the makings of a banana skin for a team as lacking in confidence as we were entering this game.

The first half was a poor spectacle that we allowed Wigan to increasingly dominate with their physical approach but the introduction of Martin at half time changed our approach and as soon as we took the lead Wigan’s threat receded.

The Rams made four changes for this game with Raul Albentosa, Stephen Warnock, Jeff Hendrick and Jamie Ward coming into the starting eleven replacing the injured Ryan Shotton, George Thorne and Craig Bryson as well as the struggling Cyrus Christie who dropped to the bench.

There was lots of puzzlement amongst the fans when looking at the defence  Richard Keogh at right back, Craig Forsyth at centre half.

It felt like a gambler’s throw of the dice to me and not the kind of experimentation you indulge in with six games of a season to go and all to play for….but I am delighted to be proved wrong as the new defence delivered the first clean sheet since our last win on 24th February when we beat Charlton 2-0.

Steve McClaren spoke after the game about having two “talkers” in the full back positions in Keogh & Warnock and also about how they had identified left centre half as being a position that Craig Forsyth could play.

Having seen Keogh & Shotton and also Keogh & Albentosa, both right footed combinations, sometimes struggle as a central partnership, it was no surprise that a lefty was being thought of but it was definitely a surprise to see us go for it with Fozzy today.

The back five had a good game, Granty making two excellent saves and the skipper and Fozzy coping well with their new positions. Raul started slowly but Warnock had a good game, as did the unit as a whole, albeit against a team that had not won a home match since August.

The Rams should have been ahead on 11 minutes when Darren Bent played Tom Ince in following a break lead by Craig Forsyth but Ince could only tamely shoot straight at keeper Ali Al Habsi.

Without ever really threatening in the first quarter hour the hosts forced five corners which tested the new look Rams back line. All were coped with competently if not always comfortably.

It was truly a dull and lifeless first half – we struggled to make any impact upon the Wigan goal and the only real moment of note after the Tom Ince chance was a great save from Lee Grant as the game moved beyond 35 minutes keeping out a McLean header.

The talismanic Chris Martin replaced Jamie Ward at half time who, like most other Rams, had had a very quiet first half.

There was a feeling of being back on the right track when a couple of minutes into ths second half we saw our first Chrissy Martin “wardrobe” free kick. – How we have missed those….

Joy two minutes later as Chris Martin started and finished a move with the assistance of Johnny Russell, the lively Scot finding Martin with a precise pass from the edge of the area which Martin put away with a clinical finish to put the Rams 1-0 up and send the 4,000 plus Rams fans into loud raptures of delight.

Without wishing to labour the point there was such a change of mood and performance as soon as Chris Martin was back on the pitch.

We have sorely lacked leadership on the pitch and this is something that Martin gives us, of all our players he appears to be the one with the greatest will to win.

Steve McLaren spoke after the game about Martin having 45 minutes in him today. For our prospects for the rest of the season it is to be hoped his journey back to full match fitness is rapid.

The crucial second goal came for the Rams on 81 minutes with a move started by Will Hughes and again involving Johnny Russell, the chance fell to Chris Martin who missed his attempt but Darren Bent was on the spot to fire in his ninth goal of his loan spell.

Lee Grant rounded off his excellent game making another vital save, this time from Kim-Bo Kyung as we moved into five minutes of injury time.

One downside of today was Will Hughes’ 10th booking of the season which will see him miss the games against Brentford and Blackpool.

As good a player as he is, and by god he is, it is frustrating that so many of Will’s bookings are silly niggly ones – just as today’s was.

Yet more changes in the leadership of the league that no-one wants to win as the leaders coming into today, Middlesbrough, were beaten 2-0 at Watford and dropped back to 4th allowing Bournemouth to return to the top with a 4-2 win against Birmingham.

Norwich City rose into the second automatic spot with a 2-0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday.

The automatic places may seem a long shot for us now but we have a real opportunity to push on with the two home games coming up against Brentford and Blackpool.

We have already seen this season what a good and resilient team Brentford are but this is crunch time now and the early kick off on Saturday is our chance to build on the excellent second half performance today.

Played GD Pts
1. AFC Bournemouth 41 +44 77
2. Norwich City 41 +36 76
3. Watford 41 +34 76
4. Middlesbrough 41 +28 75
5. Derby County 41 +28 71
6. Brentford 41 +15 70

17th February – Loan rangers save the day as Millers make hay with Rams defence

17 Tuesday Feb 2015

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17th February

Rotherham United    3    Paul Green 35, Richard Smallwood 49, Matt Derbyshire 55

Derby County   3  Tom Ince 36,64    Darren Bent 83

Football eh? – Bloody hell.

Given the chance to go top of the league with a win we escaped with a point from the New York Stadium after being 3-1 down with half an hour to go.

Our defence seems to veer between rock solid and accident prone and the defending tonight was as poor as it has been for a very long time – or as Steve McClaren put it darkly afterwards – “You can’t win games defending like that….”

So a choice confronts us between being disappointed about missing out on going top or acknowledging a barnstorming comeback to win a hard earned point.

There was one change for the Rams from the last league game at Bournemouth as Darren Bent started in place of the injured Chris Martin.

The hosts had two former Rams in their team with Paul Green as captain and Ben Pringle also featuring. Watching on for the Millers was on loan Conor Sammon unable to play against us as part of his loan.

The hosts made a good start keeping us in our half for the first few minutes without really creating anything in the early minutes apart from a dangerous Ben Pringle free kick that Danny Ward headed straight at Lee Grant.

The Rams first attack had seen us break away on a move that saw Tom Ince shoot on goal but the save was easily made by Adam Collin.

Darren Bent drew a more difficult save from the Millers keeper and one of his defenders who just kept the ball off the line after a pass from Jeff Hendrick and, as the Rams stepped up their momentum Jamie Ward had two excellent chances as the game moved to the half hour.

A break for a serious looking injury to Rotherham’s Jack Hunt seemed to stall our momentum and we paid the price for losing focus as, inevitably, Paul Green was left unmarked to stab home from close range to put the Millers ahead.

It was obviously the kick up the backside that we needed as we were level within a minute thanks to a terrific goal from Tom Ince, again putting in a terrific performance, making some room for himself on the left hand side of the area and firing home.

We settled after the equaliser and controlled the rest of the half without ever creating a clear chance, the closest being when Tom Ince swung in a dangerous free kick that Darren Bent just missed.

As happens too often we made a slow start and fell behind again, giving away a sloppy free kick swung in by Richard Smallwood, Lee Grant went for the punch, missed and the ball went in to put the Millers ahead again on 49 minutes.

Bad became much worse as Matt Derbyshire was released by a mix up between Omar Mascarell and Richard Keogh and found himself through on Lee Grant firing home to make it 3-1 on 55 minutes.

The top of the table seemed a long way distant but our Head Coach is nothing if not a man of action and we saw a triple substitution on 59 minutes with Craig Bryson, Simon Dawkins and Jesse Lingard replacing Omar Mascarell, Jamie Ward and Jeff Hendrick.

Just after the changes Matt Derbyshire nearly made it 4-1 forcing a terrific save from Lee Grant but the substitutes then began making an impact and the roller coaster took another turn with man of the moment Tom Ince scoring again firing home a cross from Craig Forsyth to score his fifth goal for the Rams and pull it back to 3-2.

Rotherham started pulling back into their shell then, trying to hold what they had as the Rams showed more energy and invention and approximately 30 seconds after Steve McClaren moved Jesse Lingard over to the left wing, swapping with Simon Dawkins, the Manchester United loanee surged down the left, crossed and Darren Bent stole in front of the goalkeeper to pull the game level on 83 minutes.

From considering a demoralising defeat we were suddenly dreaming of an unlikely win but despite more pressure we could not complete the most unlikely of victories.

If we are to win promotion we must defend better than this and it was interesting to hear Paul Simpson speak before the game about how close Kelle Roos is running Lee Grant for a first team place. That was a surprise to hear and maybe Granty revels in a little pressure but we may well see changes on Saturday when we face Sheffield Wednesday – not least the return of Ryan Shotton.

Consider the impact of Tom Ince and Darren Bent since their arrival at the club – ten goals between them already and so influential to the team with the threat they provide – very little settling in required for both of these players, particularly Ince who is showing the explosive form that made him a hot property not so long ago.

So we are in 2nd place tonight – tomorrow Middlesbrough travel to Birmingham City with a chance to go 3pts clear at the top, quite an incentive when the table is as tight as this.

Played GD Pts
1. AFC Bournemouth 31 +33 59
2. Derby County 31 +30 59
3. Middlesbrough 30 +28 59
4. Ipswich Town 31 +19 57
5. Watford 31 +26 56
6. Norwich City 31 +23 53

3rd January – Subs sink valiant Southport as Rams leave it late

04 Sunday Jan 2015

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3rd January 2015

Derby County               1                                        Southport            0   

 Chris Martin (pen) 90+2  

A much changed Rams side struggled to put away a well organised and committed Southport side in this third round FA Cup tie but, as good teams do, eventually found a way and went through thanks to Chris Martin’s cool conversion of a late late penalty.

Easier to say which players remained from the team that eased past Leeds United – those being only Richard Keogh and Jake Buxton.

Otherwise in came Kelle Roos, Ryan Shotton ( at right back ) , Lee Naylor, Omar Mascarell, Craig Bryson, Paul Coutts, Jamie Ward (a welcome return from a lengthy injury), Simon Dawkins and, most surprisingly, Leon Best.

The arrival this week of Darren Bent on loan was taken by many as a signal that Best’s disappointing time at the Rams was coming to an end. It may still be coming to an end listening to Steve McClaren’s comments after the game (more on post match interviews later) but it was still a surprise to see him start today.

The Rams dominated possession as would be expected against a team from three divisions down but Southport never made it easy for us, were well organised and committed.

We struggled with the final killer touch but having said that, in the first half Craig Bryson hit the post ; from the rebound Leon Best missed (at which point I instinctively thought “Bent would have scored that”) Ryan Shotton missed the target with a free header and Southport keeper David Raya Martin made a fine save from a long range Paul Coutts strike.

As well as the Rams lack of killer instinct in front of goal the outstanding performance of the Sandgrounders on loan keeper was instrumental in almost winning them a replay. Raya Martin continued in the same vein in the second half saving a Jake Buxton header, another Craig Bryson goal bound effort and managing to intercept, block and catch any number of crosses into his area.

Of those Rams that had an opportunity to shine in this game few can be happy with how the game played out. Craig Bryson was busy and flickered around the penalty area and it was great to see Jamie Ward back who looked threatening at times but also a little rusty which was only to be expected.

Leon Best’s game summed up his loan spell with us, disappointing on the fringes of play and he did not take his one clear chance. Simon Dawkins’ quick feet got him into some good positions but he either neglected to shoot or was unable to play a telling pass.

Lee Naylor worked hard and was did all that was asked of him defensively but showed that he will never be a threat to Craig Forsyth as he misplaced too many passes when going forward.

The triple substitution that we made on the hour was illustrative of our frustration at the game still being goalless. On came Chris Martin, Johnny Russell and Jordan Ibe, three players I am sure that Steve McClaren would have preferred to have sat this one out.

They replaced Leon Best, Jamie Ward and Ryan Shotton in what was a change to a 4-2-4 / 4-4-2 formation with Paul Coutts dropping back into defence.

It was interesting to see Johnny Russell playing up top in a more central role and perhaps it was a glimpse of future plans and maybe even the Plan B often wished for when things are not going our way.

It was a combination of the substitutes that won it for us, Jordan Ibe looking lively and dangerous played a good ball into Johnny Russell in the area and as he turned and ran he was fouled by Luke Foster. With almost the last kick of the game Chris Martin put away his 17th goal of the season.

Southport deserved the applause they received from the Rams fans at the close of the game for their approach and their performance & they deserved a replay.

It was a cruel way for them to lose but credit to a Derby team that kept going and the win was the most important part of this game avoiding the extra game a replay would have required or the embarrassment of being a killed giant.

Much continued discussion and debate after the game, both in person and on social media over Steve McClaren’s intentions.

In the post match interview he again used the phrase “Pure speculation” when asked what his response would be to an approach from Newcastle United about their Head Coach vacancy.

He did also say that “I want to finish the job here” so there was something for everyone there whatever their point of view.

 It says something for the responsiveness of our club that later on Saturday night Sam Rush was giving interviews stating that our manager was “going nowhere” and that Steve McClaren had reiterated his commitment to the club.

 Whatever went on – and I do believe that something was going on – it is to be hoped this distraction from trying to win promotion is now dealt with and all we need to focus on is what happens on the pitch – starting with the huge clash at Portman Road against 2nd place Ipswich Town on Saturday

 

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??

 

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

02 Sunday Nov 2014

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1st November 

Brentford   2                                    Derby County      1 

Andre Gray 49                                  Chris Martin 27

Stuart Dallas 90+3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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