Derby County

[Grassman]

Now, I have looked through many threads since last Saturday, most of them predicting doom and gloom and basically being very unrealistic in what they want, but I seem not to have found any posts stating how well Derby played last week.

For a few years now, they've been mid-table, pretty solid etc, when you may have expected more from them - what with their decent home support and finances. Young Cloughie (can we still call him that?), has been there a while and I think is starting to build a decent team/squad. Yes, he looks like a moaning git down in the technical area but I am impressed that the Derby board have stood by him - he's been there 4 and a half yrs now - and allowed him to build a solid, hard-working and talented team.

On their performance I think Derby will be top 5 this year. Feel free to bounce this when they get relegated by February.

 

[martyn20]

They were pretty good but both their goals could be put down to mistakes by us, I would like to have seen Derby play us at full strength with Bruno, Bridcutt, Orlandi and CMS

 

[Box of Frogs]

The Derby board have stood by him because he has done what they want - remained a mid-table side.

They do not want to get promoted and would rather they had a 'decent' season, maybe flirted with the play-offs every now and again.

Every time they start to do well, the will suddenly go on a bad run that sees them drop a few places. Same pattern every season.

 

[sully]

I'd like to see them play an entire match, though.

Their time wasting antics reminded me of the League 2 days!

 

[tinycowboy]

I thought they were OK, knocked it around a bit, but not as much as us. Always hard to tell in the Championship as no-one's that incisive or much better than the others. I wouldn't be surprised to see them top half, but I would be surprised to see them top 6. But I really have no idea.

 

[Springal]

One of my good mates is a Derby fan. A lot of fans aren't that happy with Clough, as he is a puppet for the board. If he's told he has no money, he just gets on with it. They'll be a fairly stable mid-table side, that flirts with play off space at some point, for the next few years. They have been buying lower league players, and bringing youth (they have spent A LOT here) through and making do with that.

It is not a bad plan, and they are well geared for FFP, however I am not sure our fans will like that, given the last 2 seasons.

 

[Simster]

They were pretty good but both their goals could be put down to mistakes by us, I would like to have seen Derby play us at full strength with Bruno, Bridcutt, Orlandi and CMS

I don't agree. The cross for their winner was pinpoint. Despite this start we are enduring, there won't be many teams who come away from The Amex with 3 points.

On another day we'd have taken a point, we hit the post and the game was fairly even throughout.

 

[London Irish]

Nah, I think we made them look good. They had one predictable tactic of attacking our right flank though their decent left back and we couldn't cope with it because of our makeshift shape and defence. Martin looks an average player and should have been marked better

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Nah, I think we made them look good. They had one predictable tactic of attacking our right flank though their decent left back and we couldn't cope with it because of our makeshift shape and defence. Martin looks an average player and should have been marked better

Quite right. Our midfield was particularly poor....

 

[5Ways Gull]

One of my good mates is a Derby fan. A lot of fans aren't that happy with Clough, as he is a puppet for the board. If he's told he has no money, he just gets on with it. They'll be a fairly stable mid-table side, that flirts with play off space at some point, for the next few years. They have been buying lower league players, and bringing youth (they have spent A LOT here) through and making do with that.

It is not a bad plan, and they are well geared for FFP, however I am not sure our fans will like that, given the last 2 seasons.

Given our recent history is that a bad thing?

 

[Acker79]

They certainly weren't "exceptional" as Clough claimed. They were ok. Their number 7 (Coutts?) seemed to be Ashley Barnes amped up to eleven with the way he fell over anytime someone stood behind him and the ref gave him free kicks for it pretty much every time. He was also the player who took forever to go over to take the corner, picked the ball up and put it down four times, and also the player who handballed it in the area.

I certainly didn't walk away think we were beaten by a side who were clearly better. The cross for their second goal was good, but I think if kuszczak committed rather than stopping and retreating he would have cut it out, if he didn't bother coming for it in the first place, Calderon wouldn't have stopped his covering run momentarily.

 

[whitelion]

I saw the 'exceptional' comments by Clough and wondered how he arrived at that opinion. Looking further into it Derby had the joint worst away record in the Championship last season so this could explain his possible short-lived enthusiasm.

They seem to have settled for mid-table mediocrity and I would be surprised if they got anywhere near the top six this season. There are a lot stronger teams to make those places. Didn't think much of the 'big' signing Johnny Russell.

 

[spring hall convert]

Now, I have looked through many threads since last Saturday, most of them predicting doom and gloom and basically being very unrealistic in what they want, but I seem not to have found any posts stating how well Derby played last week.

For a few years now, they've been mid-table, pretty solid etc, when you may have expected more from them - what with their decent home support and finances. Young Cloughie (can we still call him that?), has been there a while and I think is starting to build a decent team/squad. Yes, he looks like a moaning git down in the technical area but I am impressed that the Derby board have stood by him - he's been there 4 and a half yrs now - and allowed him to build a solid, hard-working and talented team.

On their performance I think Derby will be top 5 this year. Feel free to bounce this when they get relegated by February.

I have Derby as a dark horse this year but I'm not sure they'll make the top 6. I was massively impressed with Will Hughes though. He's only 18 and they appear comfortable playing through him. Embarassing when you compare to JFC who is struggling to maintain a position on the bench at the same age.

 

[Left Footer]

They were fairly solid but wouldn`t expect them to finish much higher than mid table.
On 606 Saturday some of their fans were well excited about beating us and were saying play offs were a possibility.
They couldn't have played us at a better time.

 

[Sam-]

Derby have been steadily improving over the last few seasons. They always had to sell the best players they had but now have been able to form a decent squad. They have no real weak link in the first team. They have options upfront with Martin, Sammon, Russel and Ward. Midfield has a mixture of youth (Hughes, Hendrick) and experience (Coutts etc.).
I'd guess the problems will come at full back. Having sold Bryson who was in my opinion one of the best right backs in the league, they are reliant on Freeman. We saw the best and worst of him in the game against us at the Amex, he got out of position for Ulloa's goal giving him a free head on goal. But then he laid on a peach of a cross for Martin.
Derby will be Playoffs if they remain injury free and are a better team than us AT THE MOMENT. Once our new players start to gel and the whole squad learns the system we are will be markedly stronger than Derby. I just home it doesn't come too late in the season (a la Bolton,Forest).

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

One of my good mates is a Derby fan. A lot of fans aren't that happy with Clough, as he is a puppet for the board. If he's told he has no money, he just gets on with it. They'll be a fairly stable mid-table side, that flirts with play off space at some point, for the next few years. They have been buying lower league players, and bringing youth (they have spent A LOT here) through and making do with that.

It is not a bad plan, and they are well geared for FFP, however I am not sure our fans will like that, given the last 2 seasons.

worked for Palace