Derby County v Charlton Athletic

[Gladys' Handbag]

Why were people shining torches during the match?

 

Confused the **** outta me

 

The home fans were doing this at an away match last year, can't remember where.

 

The Derby fans started chanting, "That's just embarrassing"; they were right.

[Gritstone Ram]

One last thing, how good was their number 6 centre back? He was fantastic.

Edit - Andre Bikey. He would have been MotM if Charlton won.

yeah but he had odd boots.

[North_Stand_Ram]

The home fans were doing this at an away match last year, can't remember where.

The Derby fans started chanting, "That's just embarrassing"; they were right.

Leicester and Blackburn away

[DEL]

I enjoyed it tonight great performance and great victory. Man Utd next round please oh wait :lol:

[DEL]

Hahahaha I knew for a sec that you was joking about that NSR. Lol

[lukedcfc]

Very happy with tonights performance bossed it for the majority.

Grant- hardly tested

Shotton- Good debut, fast, Strong and good in the air. Also has a weapon for us with that throw.

Keogh- comfortable mostly but had one or two shaky moments but used to seeing that now tbh.

Whitbread- comfortable, I like him he's uselful and is very good in the air.

Forsyth - decent but had some shocking crosses tonight.

Dawkins - needs to improve he's more of a impact player for me.

Hughes - kept the ball well and got us moving forward played well tonight.

Mascarell - played ok some decent touches and passes but gave it away a lot.

Russell- Had some decent runs but lacks the end product looks rusty. I'm sure he will improve with more games.

Best - I like Best he's a good footballer, had one good chance but the goals will come for him i hope. Had a tough battle with that tank Bikey who played well all night.

Calero- brilliant finish and could have had 2 looks a prospect.

Santos - Again looks a prospect got some pace and a decent cross on him. Did more than Dawkins in 5 minutes than he did most of the game, abit harsh but true.

Chrissy Martin - superb and created the winning goal with a great run.

[lukedcfc]

Forgot Hendrick- didn't do much tonight, can't really remember much from him.

[Alph]

Whitbread has always looked decent in his career. But he's always injured. That's the only real complaint I can tell anyone from any of his clubs have really had.

Think people are watching and making notes every time Dawkins gets the ball. Real pressure on him whether he realises it or not. On the flip side they're seeing what certain other players are trying to do even when they make mistakes or bad decisions.

Hughes imo should be the first choice midfielder. I'd leave Bryson and Hendrick to battle it out. He's just smart. Really intelligent use of the ball and unless he's having a rare off day you know that he'll give us all the control. Nobody else can do that as often or as well against any team at this level.

Well there's one guy, but he's injured for 9 months.

Hendrick and Bryson do have some better qualities than Hughes, but Hughes provides everyone with a platform. When Hughes plays well, we'll dominate the match. As Red Elvis would say "FACT"

[RamNut]

The home fans were doing this at an away match last year, can't remember where.

 

The Derby fans started chanting, "That's just embarrassing"; they were right.

It was quite pretty.

Er......i mean yeah...load of ******.

[RamNut]

Good match. Very entertaining.

Although we lacked a cutting edge in the final third.

Dawks just doesn't seem programmed to head in the right direction, and forsyth needs to improve his final ball.

The subs changed the game.

Credit to schteve for going for it.

[Mafiabob]

Don't understand why Dawkins was rated fairly low. Was tidy and decent last night. Thought he was best tee than Russell

[IlsonDerby]

Dawkins first touch of the ball was greeted with "get him off he's fxcking useless" by three lads sat behind me. They did nothing but complain all game about us playing **** etc. I was impressed with the game, two teams trying to play good football and we were deserved winners.

Was so, so close to strangling the lads behind me though. Thank god it's back to league football Saturday and they'll be nowhere to be seen.

[IlsonDerby]

Every time Russell got the ball and crossed it, it went out for a goal kick or straight to their keeper. Yet the crowd are up on their feet cheering.

When Dawkins misplaces a cross you can hear the groans for miles. Have we given our players different standards or am I missing something?!

Dawkins was better than Russell last night yet got a 5 by some of you? Fxck me give your head a wobble.

[peakram]

Although last night I didn't think Dawkins did much (I gave him a 5 mainly cos he wasn't in the game for large periods and looked afraid to express himself, maybe wary of the fans reactions?) I do agree that Russell tends to be over hyped if anything, his end product tends to be less than he actually promises - as shown last night (Ok he did lay on a couple of nice ones Saturday) but just talking in general.

 

Seems to always be one that people turn a blind eye to when he loses the ball in comparison to a lot of others (maybe because he always gives 100% I suppose).

 

Maybe by the same token its the laid back Jamaican style that doesn't sit too well around here as quite a few of their nationals haven't exactly been flavour of the month with the locals!

 

Though not sure the negative rumblings have helped as at the time they surfaced actually thought Dawkins was playing OK in the main (until Sheffield), since then he hasn't performed with much confidence (apart from the cameo as sub), but suppose that's the nature of the beast in football and you have to be strong enough to come through it.

[Animal is a Ram]

I thought Dawkins and Russell were on a par tonight, both blew a bit hot and cold.

 

Dawkins showed some lovely touches, but I want to see him go down the line a bit more! The way he cuts inside tends to leave him a bit isolated, as his corresponding full back has usually stayed wide - thus leaving him in a blind alley. Still, he played much better than vs. Wednesday, much more confident. Was close to a goal too, some of those Russell crosses just evaded him. 

 

Mascarell did well tonight, finally someone with a decent corner in them! Thorne-esque, after the first few minutes, his passing was near-perfect. Leave the holding position betwixt him and Eustace. Hughes is far better up the pitch, as shown again tonight and against Fulham in that brief cameo. 

 

Best had a good game too. A much better version of the Fish, but didn't get much change out of Bikey tonight, and the ref didn't seem to be giving him much either. A real alternative/partner to Martin. Had a really good effort well saved. 

 

Santos and Calero have pace to burn, bit early for them to be in league games yet, much prefer them to develop in the u21s for now, maybe pull them in January time. Calero could have had a couple, and Santos looks like a proper old fashioned tricky winger, pace down the line, looks to beat his man.

 

Whitbread and Shotton - calm, composed, solid, as with the rest of the back four. Shotton especially - showing his Premiership experience and class. 

 

For the first time in a while, I don't feel worried about us losing a few players to injury. With Ibe looking like a done deal (touch wood), I genuinely think this is one of the strongest squads in the league. Well played, recruitment team.

[alexxxxx]

'highlights' on player. good finish - but missing some of those chances was criminal.

[peakram]

With Mascarell I'd be worried about him in an away game as he doesn't seem to have the same physical presence as Thorne or Eustace, although his passing got better as the game wore on and he was knocking it about well at the end, he was a bit outmuscled a few times, once or twice he had to pull their players back after they were getting the better of him I noticed.

 

But obviously he's young and should get better but see him perhaps more of a squad man who will be used from the bench barring injuries.

[RamNut]

This was the first game when there were more Mcclaren signings on the pitch than nigel signings.

Shotton, whitbread, mascarell, best, dawkins, santos and calero.

[BEBA]

Enjoyed last night, it was a little slow in the first half but we looked the better side throughout and I was never overly worried about the result, Charlton defended really well and made life difficult for us, especially in the midfield areas. My take on player ratings:

 

Grant 7 - Little to do for most of the night, but his handling was good when required and his distribution was better.

Forsyth 6 - Defended well enough, but didn't really get forward as much as usual.

Keogh 7 - Solid night for him at the back, and tried to come out with the ball a lot to try and get us going.

Whitbread 8 - Really strong both in the tackle and in the air, kept his passing simple.

Shotton 7 - Started like a house on fire, he was quick and very powerful, looked to get forward well and didn't give his winger a sniff all night, one under hit pass aside he had a great first half, I would have given him an 8 but second half he looked knackered, but certainly looks like a great option to have, and his fitness will soon improve.

Mascarell 6 - Tidy enough in the role, but he looked a bit weak when trying to challenge for the ball, and he perhaps sat a bit too deep when passing it about (he was practically stood on Keogh first half), and in that area of the pitch anyone can play a nice ball sideways when under zero pressure, was slightly better in the second half.

Hughes 7 - A bright spark in midfield, tried to get us playing and controlled the game well.

Hendrick 5 - A poor night from him for me, made a few short passes and one good run with the ball first half, but didn't impose himself on the game enough.

Russell 6 - Frustrating night for him, he blew past his fullback repeatedly with his pace, but his end product either went out of play or straight into the keepers hands.

Dawkins 6.5 - Didn't take on his man as much as Russell did, but rarely lost possession and won a few corners for us, pulled back a great ball to the penalty spot first half that someone should have latched onto.

Best 7 - Worked hard but was feeding on scraps for much of the game, and when he did receive the ball he seemed to lose his footing a few times, should have scored with his shot first half.

 

Martin 8 - MOTM for me despite only being on for 20mins, his control and strength instantly changed the game for us, great surging run and layoff with the goal, and very close to scoring from a good free kick.

Calero 6 - Other than the scuffed shot and his well taken goal, he barely had a kick of the ball so hard to form any opinion yet.

Santos 6 - He looked quick and showed some nice skill to get around his full back a few times, very light weight though and looks like he would struggle with the defensive part of the role.

 

As mentioned above the Dawkins criticism confuses me, he was better (just) than Russell last night, I can only think its because Russell comes off as more exciting, he did skin his fullback repeatedly and then put in a poor ball (but was applauded for the intent every time), Dawkins build up is much slower, he passes his way around his full back but rarely loses the ball and he did win a fair few corners, but he is then jeered for his efforts? 

 

It was so evident just how much we miss Buxton as well when he is not playing, several times in the first half when the ball was with the centre backs, Forsyth moved up over the halfway line into some space, and waited for a Buxton 50 yard diagonal to find him, but no-one ever attempted the pass.

[Duracell]

RamNut's point is very interesting.

 

How many other managers would still be playing sides mainly made up of their predecessor's signings almost a year on from their appointment? Most managers in this country seem to get some sort of kick out of changing absolutely everything as quickly as possible.

 

To be fair, Mac was very guilty of that when he was employed by our friends across the A52.