Derby County v Middlesbrough

[Idiakez]

For me Forsyth should be playing every single home game from now on. Not because I don't like Warnock, I think defensively he's excellent, but because when teams come and play like Boro did last night (which will be all of them) we need as much width as possible. There were acres of space on both flanks after Ince and Russell had pushed inside yet Warnock seemed scared to push on and utilise it, whereas you can guarantee Forsyth would have been right on their last man, waiting for the ball. He did this numerous times against Charlton and on another day we'd have gotten a goal from one of his crosses. 

[Rev]

**** off Warnock!

I'd like to apologise for this post, my ire was mis-directed , it should have read ' Oh well, I suppose Clement knows what he's doing, harsh as it seem's on Forsyth'.

[Guest]

No, anyone who sees a win as the minimum is delusional. Of course you can win. there's a difference between it being possible to win and EXPECTING to win

That to me is a losers attitude, you should always go into everything in life with the expectation of achieving the best possible outcome.  You start with a negative attitude and the chances are you will fail.

[Mafiabob]

If Mark Halsey knows his stuff, and I've got to assume he does.

You are right and I'm wrong on who MUST deliver the team sheet to the Ref, Mr Halsey says it doesn't need to be the manager.

Hats doffed in your direction and apologies from me for doubting your knowledge.

Any way of finding out who delivered this one and who wrote it out.

No need to apologise ever! 

[Shang]

The full 90 is on RamsPlayer now. From just the first half, we're not playing that bad. In fact we're keeping the ball, and every now and again there's a burst of really clever passing and football straight through their lines, which were managed by last ditch attempts by their defense.

Looks like the players have been told to choose their opportunities, to make sure all the pieces are in place before they start everything off. When we get used to the system we'll be destroying teams.

[Thierry Ennui]

seem's

Ever considered a career as a Greengrocer?

[sage]

The full 90 is on RamsPlayer now. From just the first half, we're not playing that bad. In fact we're keeping the ball, and every now and again there's a burst of really clever passing and football straight through their lines, which were managed by last ditch attempts by their defense.

Looks like the players have been told to choose their opportunities, to make sure all the pieces are in place before they start everything off. When we get used to the system we'll be destroying teams.

When watching a match as a fan, a vested interest, it is too easy to view the performance on the result. The ends rather than the means. It is difficult to appreciate the defensive quality of the opposition, as we see a missed opportunity and our emotive reaction is one of disappointment.

You are right though, we generally played pretty well v Boro, They are a good team, with a very organised defence and midfield. The amount of times they cut out the final pass or checked a run or turn just outside the area was phenomenal. This early defensive intervention as opposed to Charlton's excellent last minute blocking of shots could on first viewing suggest that Derby's attacking moves were of a lower quality on Tuesday rather than Saturday, when in reality they were at least equal and possibly superior.

There are still weaknesses. The delivery from Warnock and positional sense of Weimann were so poor that Boro could afford to overload our right wing and the area between Martin and midfield to strangle our plans. The inclusion of Forsyth and the addition of Antonio or Pritchard, preferably the latter, would help solve this problem.

The other weakness though less glaring is the lack of attacking intent in CM. Though Hanson has done well, he lacks an attacking instinct and would have barely scored or assisted a goal in open play in U18 and U21 games nor made a run into the area. His pass to Martin against Charlton was good but was very much the exception that proved the rule. I'm sure he will progress in this regard but with Baird being of a similar nature, Hendrick is the only one making those runs and looking for the shot at goal from around the D, meaning the opposition DCM only has one player to pick up. The potential addition of Butterfield could again alleviate this problem.

We will mainly play worse teams than Boro at home this year and with the right recruitment and selection we should win 9 times out of 10.

 

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[Tombo]

So who is everyone's MOTM? Can't justify giving it a Derby player, think it has to be Ben Gibson for me.

[sage]

So who is everyone's MOTM? Can't justify giving it a Derby player, think it has to be Ben Gibson for me.

I thought about this afterwards and found it very hard to give ratings, indeed I wish i'd reflected for another day before entering them. It was such a tight, intense match that with the exception of Weimann who was very poor, I would suggest that there was no more than one maybe two points between the best and worst player. If pushed, either Keogh or Friend.  

[ossieram]

So who is everyone's MOTM? Can't justify giving it a Derby player, think it has to be Ben Gibson for me.

Keogh for me.

[sage]

Keogh for me.

Leadbitter and Clayton both worth a shout because they shielded their defence so well

[Gandalf's shin pads]

Very difficult to give a man of the match performance. The problem is that for long periods of the match the game descended into what amounted to an 'attack vs defence' scenario played almost entirely in the Boro half.

More a battle of two systems/philosophies than one in which individuals impressed themselves on the opposition.

I maintain that a draw was probably a fair result as the two sides effectively cancelled each other out. Performance wise neither team was entirely successful in what they were trying to do. Boro play to score one and 'park the bus' whilst we play to pass through the opposition scoring as many as possible. They had one goal scoring counter attack and defended the lead admirably until their concentration lapsed for a split second and let us in. 

If pushed I would have to agree either Keogh for us or Gibson for them...

[davenportram]

Rating Survey now closed, heres the results.

 

 

[sage]

You can't beat a goal to give you an extra mark or two.'

[Shuff264]

Looks like the biggest variation weve had between players so far

[davenportram]

Looks like the biggest variation weve had between players so far

theres only 2.58 points from .highest to lowest.

 

 

take out the extremes and the rest of the team are within 1.5 points of each other

[The Scarlet Pimpernel]

On a general point. It seems many people are rating Boro as "definitely in the top two" They have played 3 won 1 & drawn 2. We seem to many to be not as good as expected pre-season yet have drawn 3 despite losing two first choice midfielders in the first half of two games including agains Boro.

Some of the football in that first 15mis against Boro was superb.

Upward & onward! 

[Alph]

It's why I got mardy and jumped in to defend Derby's performance. After an hour or two I find its easy to see the game as neutral. 

People who report straight away are still emotional and frustrated or delirious. 

I was harsh on Hendrick though after watching it back. 

[Alph]

Another thing from watching it again. Radio Derby... miles out

"look it's another long ball.. but Darren Bent did make a run that time"

As Thorne passes to Baird. On the floor. 10 yards away. 

"You just can't see Derby finding a way through"

Then after the goal "we said there'd be one more chance". 

"Its just all too long and direct" (It wasn't at all)

"Boro have comfortably been the better side. Derby have been second best all night"

Now if the stats were switched around. If the whole game was switched around would you say that? 

Thank God I don't have to rely on these for matches. I hope there's a lot of streams for those that can't make the games. Poor buggers having to listen to these moaning muppets. 

[Rev]

Another thing from watching it again. Radio Derby... miles out

"look it's another long ball.. but Darren Bent did make a run that time"

As Thorne passes to Baird. On the floor. 10 yards away. 

"You just can't see Derby finding a way through"

Then after the goal "we said there'd be one more chance". 

"Its just all too long and direct" (It wasn't at all)

"Boro have comfortably been the better side. Derby have been second best all night"

Now if the stats were switched around. If the whole game was switched around would you say that? 

Thank God I don't have to rely on these for matches. I hope there's a lot of streams for those that can't make the games. Poor buggers having to listen to these moaning muppets. 

Sticks in my mind from Bolton away, "Hughes has been crunched there.", from Ramage, watching the replay wasn't the case at all.

Fair enough, call it as you see it, but have the grace to correct yourself if replays show you were wrong!

I enjoy their banter, but having two fans doing the commentary isn't going to give a unbiased view of a game.