jono

We've had a few over the years. I reckon Kinkladze was fond of the odd dumpling or two! ?

I don’t know a lot about him except one youth team game I saw. Just think he is a man now and looked a handful. Very determined and good feet. .. dunno, it was 30 minutes in a friendly but my instinct is that he is more than useful. 

It’s about time we had a striker where the opposition can shout who’s eaten all the pies, as the ball hits the net 

It’s about time we had a striker where the opposition can shout who’s eaten all the pies, as the ball hits the net 

I dont know about that we created quite a few chances I throught morrison did well personal.

Perhaps that didn't show as well on the tv, he just looked a bit pudgy. ?

Thing is, you either want to go or not, no point in moaning about what others are doing, it’s your decision now.

At this point it’s going to be irrelevant whether Rooney is/could be a good manager or not.
If his higher-ups don’t get our situation sorted sharpish, he’s not going to stand a chance.

To be frank Roy, the thing that struck me was he seemed more like a CF than a winger.  He could hold the ball tight to him with 2 on his back. Lot of strength. He nearly got a serious big CF’s shot off bursting through the middle in the first half. .. yes, it is early days. You never know how they will gel in a unit but I wouldn’t like to play against him. 

That was the game I saw, mostly. I didn’t latch on to Morrison .. I was sitting quite close to the pitch and you don’t get a good view of midfield interplay. Unlike Roy I though Aluko looked dangerous, mobile and very strong. Feisty has come on physically since I last saw him. I’d hate lose Byrne. 
 
That was a good run out. We moved the ball well, weren’t predictable, got caught when they pressed hard and high but they looked hungry and skilled.
Had a little welling up when the team came out and when King Colin banged one in. It felt like coming home after a long grubby journey in bad weather. 
 
As the Aussies say “She’ll be right mate” 
we are ok … if we avoid a points deduction we won’t get relegated.. they are good enough and maybe will improve a bit on the way. 

That was the game I saw, mostly. I didn’t latch on to Morrison .. I was sitting quite close to the pitch and you don’t get a good view of midfield interplay. Unlike Roy I though Aluko looked dangerous, mobile and very strong. Feisty has come on physically since I last saw him. I’d hate lose Byrne. 
 
That was a good run out. We moved the ball well, weren’t predictable, got caught when they pressed hard and high but they looked hungry and skilled.
Had a little welling up when the team came out and when King Colin banged one in. It felt like coming home after a long grubby journey in bad weather. 
 
As the Aussies say “She’ll be right mate” 
we are ok … if we avoid a points deduction we won’t get relegated.. they are good enough and maybe will improve a bit on the way. 

It was great to get back down to Pride Park and see our first team in action. Not the best day for it temperature-wise and sometimes players are going through the motions a bit in friendlies but I thought most of them today put in a good shift.
Players that caught my eye first half were Morrison (great use of the ball - if anyone can get him playing like that every week, sign him up!), Aluko, Byrne, Lawrence (despite his header!)  Jagielka and Davies both classy at the back and Roos' handling of the ball and quick distribution kept us moving forward. The intent was definitely there to get forward much quicker, with some smart interchanges to transition play down both flanks. 
Bird had a mixed game, did some good stuff going forward but made the mistakes for the goals. However, he tries things, Shinnie doesn't and was more of a sideways passer than Bird today. Buchanan puts in a shift going forward, I thought he did okay too given the opposition. 
No-one seems to have mentioned that we let our second goal in just before the 60 minute changes. At this point we were playing against a completely fresh Man Utd midfield and attack whereas our lads were wilting. It was 36 degrees pitch-side and a rushed pass from Aluko I think that put Bird under pressure.
Unlike others, I thought Fozzy played well when he came on, looked much sharper than the end of last season and I thought him and CKR took good responsibility for the younger group of players. Fozzy definitely organising the defence. Ebosele played well too, you can't ignore him, Hutchinson took a while to get into it but looked classy on the ball and could have had a goal. Bardell and Thompson showed some nice touches and weren't overawed - have either of them played for the first team before? 
Sibley and Macdonald a bit disappointing, especially Sibley who wasn't offering the defensive cover that Aluko offered first half. I want to see him get his mojo back quickly because this isn't the player I know he can be.
Not sure whether Man Utd's first goal was a handball? I thought it was but not given, did Rams TV show anything? 
Overall an enjoyable afternoon and a decent atmosphere for a friendly with a bit of banter between the two sets of 'singing' supporters.
However the highlight of the afternoon, and worth the admission money alone, was to see CKR score an actual goal in front of the Derby fans. Use him well and he's going to be even more of a hero this season than last. ?

To be frank Roy, the thing that struck me was he seemed more like a CF than a winger.  He could hold the ball tight to him with 2 on his back. Lot of strength. He nearly got a serious big CF’s shot off bursting through the middle in the first half. .. yes, it is early days. You never know how they will gel in a unit but I wouldn’t like to play against him. 

That was the game I saw, mostly. I didn’t latch on to Morrison .. I was sitting quite close to the pitch and you don’t get a good view of midfield interplay. Unlike Roy I though Aluko looked dangerous, mobile and very strong. Feisty has come on physically since I last saw him. I’d hate lose Byrne. 
 
That was a good run out. We moved the ball well, weren’t predictable, got caught when they pressed hard and high but they looked hungry and skilled.
Had a little welling up when the team came out and when King Colin banged one in. It felt like coming home after a long grubby journey in bad weather. 
 
As the Aussies say “She’ll be right mate” 
we are ok … if we avoid a points deduction we won’t get relegated.. they are good enough and maybe will improve a bit on the way. 

That was the game I saw, mostly. I didn’t latch on to Morrison .. I was sitting quite close to the pitch and you don’t get a good view of midfield interplay. Unlike Roy I though Aluko looked dangerous, mobile and very strong. Feisty has come on physically since I last saw him. I’d hate lose Byrne. 
 
That was a good run out. We moved the ball well, weren’t predictable, got caught when they pressed hard and high but they looked hungry and skilled.
Had a little welling up when the team came out and when King Colin banged one in. It felt like coming home after a long grubby journey in bad weather. 
 
As the Aussies say “She’ll be right mate” 
we are ok … if we avoid a points deduction we won’t get relegated.. they are good enough and maybe will improve a bit on the way. 

It's early days and preseason. I was just hoping to see a bit more I keep forgetting we're bargain basement shopping. ? He was alright. 

That was the game I saw, mostly. I didn’t latch on to Morrison .. I was sitting quite close to the pitch and you don’t get a good view of midfield interplay. Unlike Roy I though Aluko looked dangerous, mobile and very strong. Feisty has come on physically since I last saw him. I’d hate lose Byrne. 
 
That was a good run out. We moved the ball well, weren’t predictable, got caught when they pressed hard and high but they looked hungry and skilled.
Had a little welling up when the team came out and when King Colin banged one in. It felt like coming home after a long grubby journey in bad weather. 
 
As the Aussies say “She’ll be right mate” 
we are ok … if we avoid a points deduction we won’t get relegated.. they are good enough and maybe will improve a bit on the way. 

That was the game I saw, mostly. I didn’t latch on to Morrison .. I was sitting quite close to the pitch and you don’t get a good view of midfield interplay. Unlike Roy I though Aluko looked dangerous, mobile and very strong. Feisty has come on physically since I last saw him. I’d hate lose Byrne. 
 
That was a good run out. We moved the ball well, weren’t predictable, got caught when they pressed hard and high but they looked hungry and skilled.
Had a little welling up when the team came out and when King Colin banged one in. It felt like coming home after a long grubby journey in bad weather. 
 
As the Aussies say “She’ll be right mate” 
we are ok … if we avoid a points deduction we won’t get relegated.. they are good enough and maybe will improve a bit on the way. 

I mean it’s the first half of the first pre season game so I’d give him a little more time before making a real judgement. He looks a lot more promising than most wingers we’ve had in the last few years and on a free and where we are at - won’t get better than that. In 2018 he got 8 goals and 11 assists for Fulham. There’s a player in there. I also don’t think he’s anything like anya - he beat his man two or three times, turned his man inside out at one point and left him on the floor. Reminds me more of Dawkins than anya. 

I can’t help laughing ….28 celcius and someone’s flogging half and half scarfs ?

I've watched it a couple of times in play and didn't get that impression at all. There was some good interchange with Hutchinson and Festy left it to CKR who took his chance and shot. If there's one thing Col can do it's hit a ball.

Overall, pretty happy with that.
First half we were clearly the better side & being 0-1 down really flattered them. Thought we moved the ball around with confidence, lots of movement & the 3 of Lawrence, Aluko & Morrison looked really fluid. Lawrence really should have scored with a header from 6 yards out & Heaton pulled off a great save to deny Jagielka. Instead a bit of sloppiness from Bird, a fortunate ricochet to their lad after Roos saved & we went into half time 0-1 down.
Second half, Man Utd started to press a lot higher & it became harder to play through them. They started getting ascendancy early part of the second half, scored again & Pallestri right side for them was becoming a real problem. The mass substitution enabled us to get a foothold again & whilst they continued to have more of the ball, we looked really dangerous on the break - Kazim really prominent with his strength on the ball & intelligent passing. Cracking finish too from the big man.
Of the new boys;
Morrison - was excellent I thought. Dropped into pockets of space in midfield, always available for a pass & seemed to knit the back line/deeper midfield with the final third with his passing/direct runs. Some real quality touches too. Just what we've been missing in the side. Assuming Rooney can keep on top of his workrate & attitude, I think he'd be an excellent signing Aluko - started slower than Morrison but after the first 15 mins started to show real glimpses of class. Drifted from RW into the number 10 role & found plenty of space. Very direct, great touches & looked threatening. Also helped Byrne out on a few occasions even though it was very warm out there. Definitely would like him to sign also Baldock - worked really hard & thought he protected the ball well when it came to him. He didn't have any clear cut chances but his presence was definitely felt in that final third. Bit of a David Nugent vibe to him. Jagielka - in all honesty, had little to do first half but looked comfortable in possession anyway. Pretty sure he stepped up second half to allow Pallestri the space to score the second but other than, very sound. Also a threat in their box first half from set plays & unlucky not to score

Sibbo very lucky not to get booked in a pre-season friendly. He needs to curb it because it seemed last season Rooney didn't trust him. The ref had his card out (rightly) but then for some reason put it away and put his arm around the lad. 
I think some of last season's bookings weren't justified but in this case the player was past him and he just took him down.
Sharpen up, young Louie!

Great right hook though apparently?
?

Good to be back, pitch looking good 
if I had a zoom lense I bet I could spot @angieram