The goals will come

[Uptherams]

That is all. 

[DRBee]

For or against?

[G STAR RAM]

I have seen a few people saying that tonight and this morning and I am not really sure how they have come to this conclusion.

I personally think something will have to change before the goals start flowing. At the moment we are way too defensive and negative (11 men in our area for opposition corners being an example) and are failing to create any meaningful chances.

[Carra]

I hope they will. But first we need to address the severe lack of creativity in the middle of midfield. Bringing in a top quality player to cover for Hughes in that position is key. We are finding it difficult to create meaningful chances.

[Matt Carbon]

That is all. 

I couldn't disagree more. We have gone backwards and look far, far less like scoring.

Negative team selection - unhappy looking team spirit - sideways passing - unwillingness to cross the ball / take a man on.

I am very, very depressed after last night.

 

I do jump from happy clappy to wrist slashy at a moment's notice (as is my want), however I like to think I am fairly level headed about the performances; last night was inept, against a poor looking Boro side.

I predict we will part ways with Mr Clement in November - then gain promotion with another manager. Watch this space....

[Derbados]

I couldn't disagree more. We have gone backwards and look far, far less like scoring.

Negative team selection - unhappy looking team spirit - sideways passing - unwillingness to cross the ball / take a man on.

I am very, very depressed after last night.

 

I do jump from happy clappy to wrist slashy at a moment's notice (as is my want), however I like to think I am fairly level headed about the performances; last night was inept, against a poor looking Boro side.

I predict we will part ways with Mr Clement in November - then gain promotion with another manager. Watch this space....

very, very depressed that we drew with Boro!? i'd hate to think what you'd have done if we'd lost! 

[Matt Carbon]

I am happy with a point against the favourites for the league - however I am depressed with the way we played and the start we have made.

I get the arguments for patience etc, but I want to be entertained! 

I do not want to watch us pass the ball along our back four for 68% of the match!

I just needed to get that out there. 

 

We could easily have gone from one of the most prolific teams in the division to one of the most benign!

I really hope I am wrong.

[uttoxram75]

That is all. 

Have we recalled the Fish?

I'm with UTR. I think once we get a settled midfield we'll start scoring. The test for me will be when we go ahead for the first time and the opposition have to open up a bit......

 

[1977 Ram Raider]

We're only a point worse off than at this stage last season. The 4th game last season was the 5-1 battering of Fulham so watch out Brum, your it.

[cloughandtaylor]

The defence has certainly got better, with the new defenders and Thorne in front.

We lacked a bit more quality in midfield for at the start of the season that was without losing Hughes.  So for me I still think we need 2 midfielders in now, but we do need one quality midfielder, someone who can put he's foot on the ball and can pass it abit so to start to create chances for the strikers.

I know its the old addage of get the defence right, try to keep clean sheets and build on from there, I am hoping that PC has it in him do be able to change thinks around going forward, start creating chances, I would like to see more movement from midfield and some more forward runs.....Clement defence and McClaren attack!

You know in the 4 games we have played so far, we never been in front in none of them.....

Might be just right for us at Brum, 1-3

[Milbs]

Unhappy team spirit?? How we coming to that conclusion?!?!

[Ashz09]

For once I felt like we scould score (Usually I feel the other teams going to score). Glad we did when 1/4 of the stadium was leaving around the 83 minute mark (WTF).

 

I think the key is to score 1st next game make the other team have to work.

[Albert]

I couldn't disagree more. We have gone backwards and look far, far less like scoring.

Negative team selection - unhappy looking team spirit - sideways passing - unwillingness to cross the ball / take a man on.

I am very, very depressed after last night.

 

I do jump from happy clappy to wrist slashy at a moment's notice (as is my want), however I like to think I am fairly level headed about the performances; last night was inept, against a poor looking Boro side.

I predict we will part ways with Mr Clement in November - then gain promotion with another manager. Watch this space....

A "poor looking" favourite to win the league side eh? 

We, by half time last night, were down no less than Hughes, Bryson, Hendrick and Hanson, literally all of the creative midfield players gone. 

We have plenty of talent in the front third, but taking that much of a blow to the midfield so early in the season is going to have repercussions. One good win though and things will start to look a lot better, and ultimately I'd take three points all things considered after what's happened so far. 

[JAT]

Against Charlton if we had been a bit more clinical we would have scored 2-3 more goals.

Against Boro had the keeper not made some impressive says another 2 goals.

Had those circumstances have been different we wouldn't be complaining about lack of creativity.

It's just the way things have panned out but the players are creative, the coach is adaptable and the team will be successful. 

[ronnieronalde]

We're only a point worse off than at this stage last season. The 4th game last season was the 5-1 battering of Fulham so watch out Brum, your it.

1 point less. 3 clean sheets less and 3 goals scored less as well as conceding one more.

Scoring just 2 goals in 4 games, compared to 5 in 4 last year.

Played 1 home game last season compared to 2 this and I'll make a little bet with you now, there's no way Birmingham are going to concede 5 on Friday either.

Last season through to the second round of the League Cup with a professional workmanlike performance against Carlisle. This season out.

I'd like people to be honest here, looking at the signings,the spending, the start fixture wise and the cup draw, would anyone really have accepted Derby would be sitting four points off the top two after 3 games and out of the Cup?

[drgoodspeak]

How can you say Middlesborough were poor? Maybe they don't have exciting stand out players, but that was one of the best drilled teams I've seen in a while. Their shape was always consistent with 2 banks of four standing off and inviting Derby on. You need players with real discipline to keep that up for 87 minutes. It may not be easy on the eye, but it can get them promoted from this league.

I don't think we'll see many teams as good as nullifying our attack as that this season, which is why I don't think we can use last night as a case for or against "the goals will come". For a long time we didn't seem to have an answer to getting through them and were fortunate to equalize. You have to give some credit to Clement for going to 442 and getting the result. As he said in his interview, when you are down two players from the same area of the pitch in the first 30 minutes, your tactical options are limited for the next 60.

Still too early to judge.

[bcnram]

I couldn't disagree more. We have gone backwards and look far, far less like scoring.

Negative team selection - unhappy looking team spirit - sideways passing - unwillingness to cross the ball / take a man on.

I am very, very depressed after last night.

 

I do jump from happy clappy to wrist slashy at a moment's notice (as is my want), however I like to think I am fairly level headed about the performances; last night was inept, against a poor looking Boro side.

I predict we will part ways with Mr Clement in November - then gain promotion with another manager. Watch this space....

maybe if you dropped some St. Joh's wort into your Bovril you would feel better. Your post is quite funny though so thanks for making me smile.

[Bris Vegas]

We must score first. Then, and only then, will we see what this team is really made of.

 

[The_Sheriff]

If we want more goals we need our goalscorers on the field. Like i said before bent is a goalscorer he is on the bench. Wiemann is a striker but is put out on the wing leaving just chris martin to battle with 2 centre halves.

The issue is not the players we have but the system we are using after all, it wasn't until we put another striker on we got the goal last night. 

[G STAR RAM]

1 point less. 3 clean sheets less and 3 goals scored less as well as conceding one more.

Scoring just 2 goals in 4 games, compared to 5 in 4 last year.

Played 1 home game last season compared to 2 this and I'll make a little bet with you now, there's no way Birmingham are going to concede 5 on Friday either.

Last season through to the second round of the League Cup with a professional workmanlike performance against Carlisle. This season out.

I'd like people to be honest here, looking at the signings,the spending, the start fixture wise and the cup draw, would anyone really have accepted Derby would be sitting four points off the top two after 3 games and out of the Cup?

I'll try and think back to the beginning of last season:-

Rotherham at home, really struggled to break them down and got a late winner I think.

Carlisle away, poor performance scraped a 1-0 victory if I remember correctly (I doubt you would have been calling it a professional workmanlike performance back then!)

Sheffield Wednesday away, 0-0 draw, played poorly but perhaps should have snatched a winner when Russell missed a one-on-one.

Charlton away lost 3-2 as our defensive frailties became apparent.

The performances so far have been far from great but we are maybe 2 or 3 points behind what people may have expected (I certainly expected nothing against a Boro team favourites for promotion).

We have a new head coach who has stressed that it will take time for his plans to come together, when he said this I am assuming he meant more than 3 games!

Anyone who expected us to hit the ground running after last seasons collapse, added to player turnover, is mad.

I'm far from happy yet but Clement has got to have time to adapt to this division.