DavesaRam

I know we can’t compare but smith-Rowe in the arsenal game Friday night demonstrated exactly how to play on the turn. Rooneys tactics aren’t going to work until someone is willing to take the ball on the turn and make that pass through the next third. Otherwise the players will keep splitting, the others will keep coming deep and the ball will stay exactly where it is. I’d say it could work very well with bielik and Watson becusee they actually play forward passes. 

That doesn't excuse his "try not to lose" approach to football. He does it most matches, then makes changes which do liven us up. And despite finding out how to play front foot football, he goes back to safety first again. It finished the Bald Eagle's time at Derby after Steve MaClaren left for Manure. He went safety first, and took us from one of the most exciting teams in the Premiership to no-hopers in a very short space of time.
Surely, against a team shipping goals for fun (?) the thing to do is go all out against them? We missed a huge trick there, today.

That doesn't excuse his "try not to lose" approach to football. He does it most matches, then makes changes which do liven us up. And despite finding out how to play front foot football, he goes back to safety first again. It finished the Bald Eagle's time at Derby after Steve MaClaren left for Manure. He went safety first, and took us from one of the most exciting teams in the Premiership to no-hopers in a very short space of time.
Surely, against a team shipping goals for fun (?) the thing to do is go all out against them? We missed a huge trick there, today.

Starting a game trying not to lose, (even trying not to lose by too many) against a team that has shipped 7 goals in 2 games is a guarantee of a bad outcome. We were way, way, way too cautious, with no-one capable of a defence-splitter, and no-one able to stretch the Peterborough back-line. So 0-0 at half time was a good achievement. What that first half needed was a Sibley. And then CKR is badly injured - Rooney was almost in tears at that point.
But something good has come from it - Stretton played really well. I know there have been plenty on here criticising the kid, but if we didn't expect him to play the big, bruising centre-forward role, maybe we wouldn't be disappointed. What Stretton did do was play like a natural striker. Every time the ball was crossed into the box he was right there close to here the ball was heading. And when the ball dropped near him he scored a true striker's goal. Keep him playing like this and he will score loads. Try to turn him into CKR won't work.
Re the collapse - there are shed-loads of people on here sticking the knife into Sibley at every opportunity, but it is clear that we are nothing without him. I was shouting for a foul on him, not the other way round. He thought it was a clear foul, hence handling the ball. Perhaps he isn't aware that we only get crap refs, because during that part of the match, every time we got the ball in midfield we were getting brought down. He is therefore blamed for the goal which came from the free-kick, but in reality once the kick is taken, the team has to defend properly and they failed abysmally, especially Joswaick. Yet again, loads of people are critical of the Pole, yet it is somehow politically incorrect to criticise him. I don't now why - he still still making the same errors he got flack for last season. Can he not learn?
I am surprised that no-one has mentioned "Fergie Time"! Actually I for one am not too bothered by it, because most of that came from CKR's injury. The biggest worry is that we seemed to be out on our feet at the end - how can we be tired out this early in the season? I reckon that we had lost the game in our heads the moment the equaliser went in.
Where too from now? I have no idea. Any suggestions?

That doesn't excuse his "try not to lose" approach to football. He does it most matches, then makes changes which do liven us up. And despite finding out how to play front foot football, he goes back to safety first again. It finished the Bald Eagle's time at Derby after Steve MaClaren left for Manure. He went safety first, and took us from one of the most exciting teams in the Premiership to no-hopers in a very short space of time.
Surely, against a team shipping goals for fun (?) the thing to do is go all out against them? We missed a huge trick there, today.

That doesn't excuse his "try not to lose" approach to football. He does it most matches, then makes changes which do liven us up. And despite finding out how to play front foot football, he goes back to safety first again. It finished the Bald Eagle's time at Derby after Steve MaClaren left for Manure. He went safety first, and took us from one of the most exciting teams in the Premiership to no-hopers in a very short space of time.
Surely, against a team shipping goals for fun (?) the thing to do is go all out against them? We missed a huge trick there, today.

For me, today was a story of three substitutions - one enforced, one good, one bad.
The first one was significant because although Kazim-Richards wasn't having his most successful game, he would have been an important pivot for a late assault on the Peterborough goal from our young substitutes. As it was, it left us one tactical substitute short.
Stretton did well when he came on early and I am so delighted that he has got his first senior goal. We needed other players to play to his strengths, though, which they didn't always do.
Sibley's introduction once Stretton was on, was a must, as he does play well with Stretton and his forceful play driving forward, changed the game in our favour. Good substitution.
Having got the lead and knowing we would have to see out a considerable amount of injury time then the third substitution was a poor one. I thought Morrison had been running the game, so to replace him with Jozwiak left our midfield exposed and invited the counter attack. Maybe Brown in defensive midfield would have been better? 
I thought at the game the foul against Sibley should have gone in his favour and the Peterborough player clearly kicked him when he was on the floor, but I haven't seen a replay having only just got home so I could be completely wrong there. Regardless of that, the way we defended it was amateurish. This isn't the kids letting us down, it is the established players.
Then to do it all again a few minutes later turned a good afternoon completely on it's head. How deflating for the supporters who were magnificent all afternoon (idiots notwithstanding.)
Just a couple of other observations, Ebosele for me is an excellent fullback/wingback so play him there. If Byrne's shaky start to the season continues that will happen sooner rather than later.
Lawrence needs to step up. I like his workrate but I don't think he is affecting the game enough. Others have observed it is because he has to keep dropping deep to fetch the ball. But even allowing for that,  he is not driving play as Sibley, or even Watson, does. 
Another frustrating afternoon because I felt that game was there for the taking. We need to be braver, managerially, individually and collectively.

Starting a game trying not to lose, (even trying not to lose by too many) against a team that has shipped 7 goals in 2 games is a guarantee of a bad outcome. We were way, way, way too cautious, with no-one capable of a defence-splitter, and no-one able to stretch the Peterborough back-line. So 0-0 at half time was a good achievement. What that first half needed was a Sibley. And then CKR is badly injured - Rooney was almost in tears at that point.
But something good has come from it - Stretton played really well. I know there have been plenty on here criticising the kid, but if we didn't expect him to play the big, bruising centre-forward role, maybe we wouldn't be disappointed. What Stretton did do was play like a natural striker. Every time the ball was crossed into the box he was right there close to here the ball was heading. And when the ball dropped near him he scored a true striker's goal. Keep him playing like this and he will score loads. Try to turn him into CKR won't work.
Re the collapse - there are shed-loads of people on here sticking the knife into Sibley at every opportunity, but it is clear that we are nothing without him. I was shouting for a foul on him, not the other way round. He thought it was a clear foul, hence handling the ball. Perhaps he isn't aware that we only get crap refs, because during that part of the match, every time we got the ball in midfield we were getting brought down. He is therefore blamed for the goal which came from the free-kick, but in reality once the kick is taken, the team has to defend properly and they failed abysmally, especially Joswaick. Yet again, loads of people are critical of the Pole, yet it is somehow politically incorrect to criticise him. I don't now why - he still still making the same errors he got flack for last season. Can he not learn?
I am surprised that no-one has mentioned "Fergie Time"! Actually I for one am not too bothered by it, because most of that came from CKR's injury. The biggest worry is that we seemed to be out on our feet at the end - how can we be tired out this early in the season? I reckon that we had lost the game in our heads the moment the equaliser went in.
Where too from now? I have no idea. Any suggestions?

Starting a game trying not to lose, (even trying not to lose by too many) against a team that has shipped 7 goals in 2 games is a guarantee of a bad outcome. We were way, way, way too cautious, with no-one capable of a defence-splitter, and no-one able to stretch the Peterborough back-line. So 0-0 at half time was a good achievement. What that first half needed was a Sibley. And then CKR is badly injured - Rooney was almost in tears at that point.
But something good has come from it - Stretton played really well. I know there have been plenty on here criticising the kid, but if we didn't expect him to play the big, bruising centre-forward role, maybe we wouldn't be disappointed. What Stretton did do was play like a natural striker. Every time the ball was crossed into the box he was right there close to here the ball was heading. And when the ball dropped near him he scored a true striker's goal. Keep him playing like this and he will score loads. Try to turn him into CKR won't work.
Re the collapse - there are shed-loads of people on here sticking the knife into Sibley at every opportunity, but it is clear that we are nothing without him. I was shouting for a foul on him, not the other way round. He thought it was a clear foul, hence handling the ball. Perhaps he isn't aware that we only get crap refs, because during that part of the match, every time we got the ball in midfield we were getting brought down. He is therefore blamed for the goal which came from the free-kick, but in reality once the kick is taken, the team has to defend properly and they failed abysmally, especially Joswaick. Yet again, loads of people are critical of the Pole, yet it is somehow politically incorrect to criticise him. I don't now why - he still still making the same errors he got flack for last season. Can he not learn?
I am surprised that no-one has mentioned "Fergie Time"! Actually I for one am not too bothered by it, because most of that came from CKR's injury. The biggest worry is that we seemed to be out on our feet at the end - how can we be tired out this early in the season? I reckon that we had lost the game in our heads the moment the equaliser went in.
Where too from now? I have no idea. Any suggestions?

He was fouled to be fair 

Shape and system not right. Need to see a change unless we’re playing for a 0-0. I really expect better from a Derby County team. This is dull, tedious and uninspiring. There are 2000 fans who’ve travelled and deserve more. 

Hard to know whether there should be a comma in there or not…

More like Terry Griffiths without a cue ?

I think the nightmare start was because one team had clearly played together while the other one had not. Simples.    Ish! It left some with the mindset that we are awful and will really struggle this season. Well we will struggle, no doubt about that. But apart from the two mistakes we didn't perform badly. YEs Salford might have scored one or two more, but then we could have done the same! 
THE LADS DONE GOOD!
There seems to be two groups of people forming right now - those who have got it in for Joswiack, and those who are starting to have it in for Sibley. Joswiack got a load of flack on Saturday becaue his gaff in front of goal was what he was guilty of last season, so people are rightly annoyed that he doesn't appear to be learning from his mistakes, or to be developing. Last night his strengths of his defensive work and his play in midfield were there again, but last night he was looking to lay the ball off better on several occasions, so that is definite progress. Keep it up Kamil!
And Sibley - apart from his red mist tendency, many say that he is weak defensively. Yet for the first 20 minutes he was the one putting the challenges in. And later on, after our formation tweaks he found loads of pockets of space, and laid some terrific through balls on, parrticularly short ones through the defence. He was in line for man of the match until Ebosele's boots lit up.
There was another difference last night, especially for the opening stages. When Salford got the ball in defence they immediately shouted "Forwards", and off they went, transitioning through the phases really well. When we got the ball, we went all Chuckle Brothers, embarking on a series of about 20 passes sideways. "It's Cocu ball, Jim, but not as we know it" is apt, because it was just as turgid in terms of progress, but at least it was quicker than Cocu's offering. A second problem, which was highlighted earlier, was that while we were struggling to find a forward pass, Ebosele wa standing out on the wing totally unmarked, and with acres of space in front of him. Our response to this gift of an out ball was to turn and pass sideways to someone who was already marked, and it happened time and time and time and time again.
It wasn't helped by Louie Watson - he of the massive accolades. It seems he had been told how DMs play. Because of his desire for the forwards pass we all expected a George Thorne, but what we got was another Max Bird, maybe hinting that Max has been told to play like he does as well. The poor kids.
When Ravel Morrison went deeper it seemed to free our lad up, and suddenly the real Louie Watson started to play. Hence the accolades. And he never shirked or hid from the ball, instead standing with his arms aout wide saying "Pas it to me". Good lad!
The kids did really well - Hutchinson looks a potential star, Stretton looks like he knows what a striker should do, and if he had been given the ball in the right places, he almost certainly would have done well. As it happens he nearly scored from the only through ball he got to run on to. Well done, Mr Stretton! Williams looked good, and never gave up, despite Salford's seedier side being on display. How the defender wasn't booked I have no idea, apart from him not being a Derby player. Compare this with Ebosele's booking. Good grief. Sky described the foul on Williams as "It wasn't obstruction, it was the player simply getting in the way a bit". They forgot to mention that it was deliberate, with the intention of stopping Williams getting on the ball. Ie obstruction! The Sky pundits were at it again, blathering on about our penalty not being one, with the topic occupying them right up until Salford's non-penalty. They tried to show that there was no contact on Ebosele. The truth is that Ebosele's leg was moved by the contact, but the original camera view, from behind, shows the defender flicking his leg in between Ebosele's legs. It was deliberate, aimed at either putting him off balance, or even tripping him without it looking like a trip. Maybe if Salford concentrated on the football instead of the dark arts, maybe they wouldn't still be in League Two. 
What last night tells us is that although we might struggle his season, simply because of lack of squad depth, there is a terrific togetherness and never say die attitude amongst the players, and there are plenty of good signs for the future.
So, raise your glasses, everybody. Here's to a great future!

I’m not sure players were necessarily getting out muscled. Of course there are always times when you lose a physical battle - that happens to any player at anytime. But they did target our left hand side and Watson and Williams struggled to get to grips with it initially. There was more than one occasion where Williams tried to come towards a ball that Forsyth was already challenging for and the loose ball then finds it’s way to to the spare player. It’s a simple rule of one challenges and one covers and once we’d been caught Williams learned pretty quick just to drop off and anticipate us losing the first challenge.
Hutchinson was caught trying to come out with the ball which resulted in a long range effort, I felt it was a foul tbh, but that’s not because he was young, he was just caught by someone reading the play. Ravel Morrison was asking bundled off the ball in midfield for the second goal and no ones raised an eyebrow!
Salford are a big physical combative unit and it highlights once again my point that league 2 is a very very difficult league to play in especially if you’re a technical player.
The switch for Morrison to drop deeper worked but only because a) the game had settled down and slowed a little (because he didn’t do anything there that Hutchinson and Watson weren’t already doing he just had a bit more space to do it….and b) Hutchinson is better suited to playing higher up and created more options and more space by doing so. He also offers an option to stretch the game so we had him and Sibley doing so and in turn getting closer to Stretton - this was highlighted perfectly for the first goal.

It was more to do with the young players getting out-muscled IMO.  We got completely overrun early on.  We made the switch with Morrison dropping deeper, rather than Watson and Hutchinson sitting, after 20 minutes or so and had much more control. We were able to move the ball about a bit quicker and play to our strengths rather than theirs.

I think the nightmare start was because one team had clearly played together while the other one had not. Simples.    Ish! It left some with the mindset that we are awful and will really struggle this season. Well we will struggle, no doubt about that. But apart from the two mistakes we didn't perform badly. YEs Salford might have scored one or two more, but then we could have done the same! 
THE LADS DONE GOOD!
There seems to be two groups of people forming right now - those who have got it in for Joswiack, and those who are starting to have it in for Sibley. Joswiack got a load of flack on Saturday becaue his gaff in front of goal was what he was guilty of last season, so people are rightly annoyed that he doesn't appear to be learning from his mistakes, or to be developing. Last night his strengths of his defensive work and his play in midfield were there again, but last night he was looking to lay the ball off better on several occasions, so that is definite progress. Keep it up Kamil!
And Sibley - apart from his red mist tendency, many say that he is weak defensively. Yet for the first 20 minutes he was the one putting the challenges in. And later on, after our formation tweaks he found loads of pockets of space, and laid some terrific through balls on, parrticularly short ones through the defence. He was in line for man of the match until Ebosele's boots lit up.
There was another difference last night, especially for the opening stages. When Salford got the ball in defence they immediately shouted "Forwards", and off they went, transitioning through the phases really well. When we got the ball, we went all Chuckle Brothers, embarking on a series of about 20 passes sideways. "It's Cocu ball, Jim, but not as we know it" is apt, because it was just as turgid in terms of progress, but at least it was quicker than Cocu's offering. A second problem, which was highlighted earlier, was that while we were struggling to find a forward pass, Ebosele wa standing out on the wing totally unmarked, and with acres of space in front of him. Our response to this gift of an out ball was to turn and pass sideways to someone who was already marked, and it happened time and time and time and time again.
It wasn't helped by Louie Watson - he of the massive accolades. It seems he had been told how DMs play. Because of his desire for the forwards pass we all expected a George Thorne, but what we got was another Max Bird, maybe hinting that Max has been told to play like he does as well. The poor kids.
When Ravel Morrison went deeper it seemed to free our lad up, and suddenly the real Louie Watson started to play. Hence the accolades. And he never shirked or hid from the ball, instead standing with his arms aout wide saying "Pas it to me". Good lad!
The kids did really well - Hutchinson looks a potential star, Stretton looks like he knows what a striker should do, and if he had been given the ball in the right places, he almost certainly would have done well. As it happens he nearly scored from the only through ball he got to run on to. Well done, Mr Stretton! Williams looked good, and never gave up, despite Salford's seedier side being on display. How the defender wasn't booked I have no idea, apart from him not being a Derby player. Compare this with Ebosele's booking. Good grief. Sky described the foul on Williams as "It wasn't obstruction, it was the player simply getting in the way a bit". They forgot to mention that it was deliberate, with the intention of stopping Williams getting on the ball. Ie obstruction! The Sky pundits were at it again, blathering on about our penalty not being one, with the topic occupying them right up until Salford's non-penalty. They tried to show that there was no contact on Ebosele. The truth is that Ebosele's leg was moved by the contact, but the original camera view, from behind, shows the defender flicking his leg in between Ebosele's legs. It was deliberate, aimed at either putting him off balance, or even tripping him without it looking like a trip. Maybe if Salford concentrated on the football instead of the dark arts, maybe they wouldn't still be in League Two. 
What last night tells us is that although we might struggle his season, simply because of lack of squad depth, there is a terrific togetherness and never say die attitude amongst the players, and there are plenty of good signs for the future.
So, raise your glasses, everybody. Here's to a great future!

I think the nightmare start was because one team had clearly played together while the other one had not. Simples.    Ish! It left some with the mindset that we are awful and will really struggle this season. Well we will struggle, no doubt about that. But apart from the two mistakes we didn't perform badly. YEs Salford might have scored one or two more, but then we could have done the same! 
THE LADS DONE GOOD!
There seems to be two groups of people forming right now - those who have got it in for Joswiack, and those who are starting to have it in for Sibley. Joswiack got a load of flack on Saturday becaue his gaff in front of goal was what he was guilty of last season, so people are rightly annoyed that he doesn't appear to be learning from his mistakes, or to be developing. Last night his strengths of his defensive work and his play in midfield were there again, but last night he was looking to lay the ball off better on several occasions, so that is definite progress. Keep it up Kamil!
And Sibley - apart from his red mist tendency, many say that he is weak defensively. Yet for the first 20 minutes he was the one putting the challenges in. And later on, after our formation tweaks he found loads of pockets of space, and laid some terrific through balls on, parrticularly short ones through the defence. He was in line for man of the match until Ebosele's boots lit up.
There was another difference last night, especially for the opening stages. When Salford got the ball in defence they immediately shouted "Forwards", and off they went, transitioning through the phases really well. When we got the ball, we went all Chuckle Brothers, embarking on a series of about 20 passes sideways. "It's Cocu ball, Jim, but not as we know it" is apt, because it was just as turgid in terms of progress, but at least it was quicker than Cocu's offering. A second problem, which was highlighted earlier, was that while we were struggling to find a forward pass, Ebosele wa standing out on the wing totally unmarked, and with acres of space in front of him. Our response to this gift of an out ball was to turn and pass sideways to someone who was already marked, and it happened time and time and time and time again.
It wasn't helped by Louie Watson - he of the massive accolades. It seems he had been told how DMs play. Because of his desire for the forwards pass we all expected a George Thorne, but what we got was another Max Bird, maybe hinting that Max has been told to play like he does as well. The poor kids.
When Ravel Morrison went deeper it seemed to free our lad up, and suddenly the real Louie Watson started to play. Hence the accolades. And he never shirked or hid from the ball, instead standing with his arms aout wide saying "Pas it to me". Good lad!
The kids did really well - Hutchinson looks a potential star, Stretton looks like he knows what a striker should do, and if he had been given the ball in the right places, he almost certainly would have done well. As it happens he nearly scored from the only through ball he got to run on to. Well done, Mr Stretton! Williams looked good, and never gave up, despite Salford's seedier side being on display. How the defender wasn't booked I have no idea, apart from him not being a Derby player. Compare this with Ebosele's booking. Good grief. Sky described the foul on Williams as "It wasn't obstruction, it was the player simply getting in the way a bit". They forgot to mention that it was deliberate, with the intention of stopping Williams getting on the ball. Ie obstruction! The Sky pundits were at it again, blathering on about our penalty not being one, with the topic occupying them right up until Salford's non-penalty. They tried to show that there was no contact on Ebosele. The truth is that Ebosele's leg was moved by the contact, but the original camera view, from behind, shows the defender flicking his leg in between Ebosele's legs. It was deliberate, aimed at either putting him off balance, or even tripping him without it looking like a trip. Maybe if Salford concentrated on the football instead of the dark arts, maybe they wouldn't still be in League Two. 
What last night tells us is that although we might struggle his season, simply because of lack of squad depth, there is a terrific togetherness and never say die attitude amongst the players, and there are plenty of good signs for the future.
So, raise your glasses, everybody. Here's to a great future!

I think the nightmare start was because one team had clearly played together while the other one had not. Simples.    Ish! It left some with the mindset that we are awful and will really struggle this season. Well we will struggle, no doubt about that. But apart from the two mistakes we didn't perform badly. YEs Salford might have scored one or two more, but then we could have done the same! 
THE LADS DONE GOOD!
There seems to be two groups of people forming right now - those who have got it in for Joswiack, and those who are starting to have it in for Sibley. Joswiack got a load of flack on Saturday becaue his gaff in front of goal was what he was guilty of last season, so people are rightly annoyed that he doesn't appear to be learning from his mistakes, or to be developing. Last night his strengths of his defensive work and his play in midfield were there again, but last night he was looking to lay the ball off better on several occasions, so that is definite progress. Keep it up Kamil!
And Sibley - apart from his red mist tendency, many say that he is weak defensively. Yet for the first 20 minutes he was the one putting the challenges in. And later on, after our formation tweaks he found loads of pockets of space, and laid some terrific through balls on, parrticularly short ones through the defence. He was in line for man of the match until Ebosele's boots lit up.
There was another difference last night, especially for the opening stages. When Salford got the ball in defence they immediately shouted "Forwards", and off they went, transitioning through the phases really well. When we got the ball, we went all Chuckle Brothers, embarking on a series of about 20 passes sideways. "It's Cocu ball, Jim, but not as we know it" is apt, because it was just as turgid in terms of progress, but at least it was quicker than Cocu's offering. A second problem, which was highlighted earlier, was that while we were struggling to find a forward pass, Ebosele wa standing out on the wing totally unmarked, and with acres of space in front of him. Our response to this gift of an out ball was to turn and pass sideways to someone who was already marked, and it happened time and time and time and time again.
It wasn't helped by Louie Watson - he of the massive accolades. It seems he had been told how DMs play. Because of his desire for the forwards pass we all expected a George Thorne, but what we got was another Max Bird, maybe hinting that Max has been told to play like he does as well. The poor kids.
When Ravel Morrison went deeper it seemed to free our lad up, and suddenly the real Louie Watson started to play. Hence the accolades. And he never shirked or hid from the ball, instead standing with his arms aout wide saying "Pas it to me". Good lad!
The kids did really well - Hutchinson looks a potential star, Stretton looks like he knows what a striker should do, and if he had been given the ball in the right places, he almost certainly would have done well. As it happens he nearly scored from the only through ball he got to run on to. Well done, Mr Stretton! Williams looked good, and never gave up, despite Salford's seedier side being on display. How the defender wasn't booked I have no idea, apart from him not being a Derby player. Compare this with Ebosele's booking. Good grief. Sky described the foul on Williams as "It wasn't obstruction, it was the player simply getting in the way a bit". They forgot to mention that it was deliberate, with the intention of stopping Williams getting on the ball. Ie obstruction! The Sky pundits were at it again, blathering on about our penalty not being one, with the topic occupying them right up until Salford's non-penalty. They tried to show that there was no contact on Ebosele. The truth is that Ebosele's leg was moved by the contact, but the original camera view, from behind, shows the defender flicking his leg in between Ebosele's legs. It was deliberate, aimed at either putting him off balance, or even tripping him without it looking like a trip. Maybe if Salford concentrated on the football instead of the dark arts, maybe they wouldn't still be in League Two. 
What last night tells us is that although we might struggle his season, simply because of lack of squad depth, there is a terrific togetherness and never say die attitude amongst the players, and there are plenty of good signs for the future.
So, raise your glasses, everybody. Here's to a great future!

I think the nightmare start was because one team had clearly played together while the other one had not. Simples.    Ish! It left some with the mindset that we are awful and will really struggle this season. Well we will struggle, no doubt about that. But apart from the two mistakes we didn't perform badly. YEs Salford might have scored one or two more, but then we could have done the same! 
THE LADS DONE GOOD!
There seems to be two groups of people forming right now - those who have got it in for Joswiack, and those who are starting to have it in for Sibley. Joswiack got a load of flack on Saturday becaue his gaff in front of goal was what he was guilty of last season, so people are rightly annoyed that he doesn't appear to be learning from his mistakes, or to be developing. Last night his strengths of his defensive work and his play in midfield were there again, but last night he was looking to lay the ball off better on several occasions, so that is definite progress. Keep it up Kamil!
And Sibley - apart from his red mist tendency, many say that he is weak defensively. Yet for the first 20 minutes he was the one putting the challenges in. And later on, after our formation tweaks he found loads of pockets of space, and laid some terrific through balls on, parrticularly short ones through the defence. He was in line for man of the match until Ebosele's boots lit up.
There was another difference last night, especially for the opening stages. When Salford got the ball in defence they immediately shouted "Forwards", and off they went, transitioning through the phases really well. When we got the ball, we went all Chuckle Brothers, embarking on a series of about 20 passes sideways. "It's Cocu ball, Jim, but not as we know it" is apt, because it was just as turgid in terms of progress, but at least it was quicker than Cocu's offering. A second problem, which was highlighted earlier, was that while we were struggling to find a forward pass, Ebosele wa standing out on the wing totally unmarked, and with acres of space in front of him. Our response to this gift of an out ball was to turn and pass sideways to someone who was already marked, and it happened time and time and time and time again.
It wasn't helped by Louie Watson - he of the massive accolades. It seems he had been told how DMs play. Because of his desire for the forwards pass we all expected a George Thorne, but what we got was another Max Bird, maybe hinting that Max has been told to play like he does as well. The poor kids.
When Ravel Morrison went deeper it seemed to free our lad up, and suddenly the real Louie Watson started to play. Hence the accolades. And he never shirked or hid from the ball, instead standing with his arms aout wide saying "Pas it to me". Good lad!
The kids did really well - Hutchinson looks a potential star, Stretton looks like he knows what a striker should do, and if he had been given the ball in the right places, he almost certainly would have done well. As it happens he nearly scored from the only through ball he got to run on to. Well done, Mr Stretton! Williams looked good, and never gave up, despite Salford's seedier side being on display. How the defender wasn't booked I have no idea, apart from him not being a Derby player. Compare this with Ebosele's booking. Good grief. Sky described the foul on Williams as "It wasn't obstruction, it was the player simply getting in the way a bit". They forgot to mention that it was deliberate, with the intention of stopping Williams getting on the ball. Ie obstruction! The Sky pundits were at it again, blathering on about our penalty not being one, with the topic occupying them right up until Salford's non-penalty. They tried to show that there was no contact on Ebosele. The truth is that Ebosele's leg was moved by the contact, but the original camera view, from behind, shows the defender flicking his leg in between Ebosele's legs. It was deliberate, aimed at either putting him off balance, or even tripping him without it looking like a trip. Maybe if Salford concentrated on the football instead of the dark arts, maybe they wouldn't still be in League Two. 
What last night tells us is that although we might struggle his season, simply because of lack of squad depth, there is a terrific togetherness and never say die attitude amongst the players, and there are plenty of good signs for the future.
So, raise your glasses, everybody. Here's to a great future!

I think the nightmare start was because one team had clearly played together while the other one had not. Simples.    Ish! It left some with the mindset that we are awful and will really struggle this season. Well we will struggle, no doubt about that. But apart from the two mistakes we didn't perform badly. YEs Salford might have scored one or two more, but then we could have done the same! 
THE LADS DONE GOOD!
There seems to be two groups of people forming right now - those who have got it in for Joswiack, and those who are starting to have it in for Sibley. Joswiack got a load of flack on Saturday becaue his gaff in front of goal was what he was guilty of last season, so people are rightly annoyed that he doesn't appear to be learning from his mistakes, or to be developing. Last night his strengths of his defensive work and his play in midfield were there again, but last night he was looking to lay the ball off better on several occasions, so that is definite progress. Keep it up Kamil!
And Sibley - apart from his red mist tendency, many say that he is weak defensively. Yet for the first 20 minutes he was the one putting the challenges in. And later on, after our formation tweaks he found loads of pockets of space, and laid some terrific through balls on, parrticularly short ones through the defence. He was in line for man of the match until Ebosele's boots lit up.
There was another difference last night, especially for the opening stages. When Salford got the ball in defence they immediately shouted "Forwards", and off they went, transitioning through the phases really well. When we got the ball, we went all Chuckle Brothers, embarking on a series of about 20 passes sideways. "It's Cocu ball, Jim, but not as we know it" is apt, because it was just as turgid in terms of progress, but at least it was quicker than Cocu's offering. A second problem, which was highlighted earlier, was that while we were struggling to find a forward pass, Ebosele wa standing out on the wing totally unmarked, and with acres of space in front of him. Our response to this gift of an out ball was to turn and pass sideways to someone who was already marked, and it happened time and time and time and time again.
It wasn't helped by Louie Watson - he of the massive accolades. It seems he had been told how DMs play. Because of his desire for the forwards pass we all expected a George Thorne, but what we got was another Max Bird, maybe hinting that Max has been told to play like he does as well. The poor kids.
When Ravel Morrison went deeper it seemed to free our lad up, and suddenly the real Louie Watson started to play. Hence the accolades. And he never shirked or hid from the ball, instead standing with his arms aout wide saying "Pas it to me". Good lad!
The kids did really well - Hutchinson looks a potential star, Stretton looks like he knows what a striker should do, and if he had been given the ball in the right places, he almost certainly would have done well. As it happens he nearly scored from the only through ball he got to run on to. Well done, Mr Stretton! Williams looked good, and never gave up, despite Salford's seedier side being on display. How the defender wasn't booked I have no idea, apart from him not being a Derby player. Compare this with Ebosele's booking. Good grief. Sky described the foul on Williams as "It wasn't obstruction, it was the player simply getting in the way a bit". They forgot to mention that it was deliberate, with the intention of stopping Williams getting on the ball. Ie obstruction! The Sky pundits were at it again, blathering on about our penalty not being one, with the topic occupying them right up until Salford's non-penalty. They tried to show that there was no contact on Ebosele. The truth is that Ebosele's leg was moved by the contact, but the original camera view, from behind, shows the defender flicking his leg in between Ebosele's legs. It was deliberate, aimed at either putting him off balance, or even tripping him without it looking like a trip. Maybe if Salford concentrated on the football instead of the dark arts, maybe they wouldn't still be in League Two. 
What last night tells us is that although we might struggle his season, simply because of lack of squad depth, there is a terrific togetherness and never say die attitude amongst the players, and there are plenty of good signs for the future.
So, raise your glasses, everybody. Here's to a great future!

I think the nightmare start was because one team had clearly played together while the other one had not. Simples.    Ish! It left some with the mindset that we are awful and will really struggle this season. Well we will struggle, no doubt about that. But apart from the two mistakes we didn't perform badly. YEs Salford might have scored one or two more, but then we could have done the same! 
THE LADS DONE GOOD!
There seems to be two groups of people forming right now - those who have got it in for Joswiack, and those who are starting to have it in for Sibley. Joswiack got a load of flack on Saturday becaue his gaff in front of goal was what he was guilty of last season, so people are rightly annoyed that he doesn't appear to be learning from his mistakes, or to be developing. Last night his strengths of his defensive work and his play in midfield were there again, but last night he was looking to lay the ball off better on several occasions, so that is definite progress. Keep it up Kamil!
And Sibley - apart from his red mist tendency, many say that he is weak defensively. Yet for the first 20 minutes he was the one putting the challenges in. And later on, after our formation tweaks he found loads of pockets of space, and laid some terrific through balls on, parrticularly short ones through the defence. He was in line for man of the match until Ebosele's boots lit up.
There was another difference last night, especially for the opening stages. When Salford got the ball in defence they immediately shouted "Forwards", and off they went, transitioning through the phases really well. When we got the ball, we went all Chuckle Brothers, embarking on a series of about 20 passes sideways. "It's Cocu ball, Jim, but not as we know it" is apt, because it was just as turgid in terms of progress, but at least it was quicker than Cocu's offering. A second problem, which was highlighted earlier, was that while we were struggling to find a forward pass, Ebosele wa standing out on the wing totally unmarked, and with acres of space in front of him. Our response to this gift of an out ball was to turn and pass sideways to someone who was already marked, and it happened time and time and time and time again.
It wasn't helped by Louie Watson - he of the massive accolades. It seems he had been told how DMs play. Because of his desire for the forwards pass we all expected a George Thorne, but what we got was another Max Bird, maybe hinting that Max has been told to play like he does as well. The poor kids.
When Ravel Morrison went deeper it seemed to free our lad up, and suddenly the real Louie Watson started to play. Hence the accolades. And he never shirked or hid from the ball, instead standing with his arms aout wide saying "Pas it to me". Good lad!
The kids did really well - Hutchinson looks a potential star, Stretton looks like he knows what a striker should do, and if he had been given the ball in the right places, he almost certainly would have done well. As it happens he nearly scored from the only through ball he got to run on to. Well done, Mr Stretton! Williams looked good, and never gave up, despite Salford's seedier side being on display. How the defender wasn't booked I have no idea, apart from him not being a Derby player. Compare this with Ebosele's booking. Good grief. Sky described the foul on Williams as "It wasn't obstruction, it was the player simply getting in the way a bit". They forgot to mention that it was deliberate, with the intention of stopping Williams getting on the ball. Ie obstruction! The Sky pundits were at it again, blathering on about our penalty not being one, with the topic occupying them right up until Salford's non-penalty. They tried to show that there was no contact on Ebosele. The truth is that Ebosele's leg was moved by the contact, but the original camera view, from behind, shows the defender flicking his leg in between Ebosele's legs. It was deliberate, aimed at either putting him off balance, or even tripping him without it looking like a trip. Maybe if Salford concentrated on the football instead of the dark arts, maybe they wouldn't still be in League Two. 
What last night tells us is that although we might struggle his season, simply because of lack of squad depth, there is a terrific togetherness and never say die attitude amongst the players, and there are plenty of good signs for the future.
So, raise your glasses, everybody. Here's to a great future!

Last night's game had the one factor that pretty much keeps us going - excitement. We need to playing exciting football to engage the fans. Probably got more chance of finishing mid table with that approach.

Ravel slicing across the ball to score was world class. The more you watch it the more impressive it is.

Jozwiak wouldn't reach from 12 yards. 
His penalty would dribble like an old man's pee.