Derby County v Wolverhampton Wanderers - match day thread

[Ninos]

17 minutes ago, MACKWORTHRAM said:

Poor performance today all over the pitch. 

For what it's worth I don't think we'd have played 433 today is Vydra was fit. 

We'd have played a 4231.

The back 4 weren't very good today. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt because of the absolute drivel that was infront of them. Both our fullbacks were isolated from first minute to last. 

Huddlestone wasn't very good either. But with what he's got in front of him it must be hard. There were times today je had the ball and stood with his arms out begging someone, anyone to run into space.

Johnson and Butterfield were woeful. Neither look interested. So poor. 

Martin was poor. But you could put whoever you want out there today. No wingers to provide crosses and no midfielder running off him. 2 games in and he's had one chance. A very good one. But ONE chance. 

But I'm leaving special mentions for our 2 wingers. And I'm using the term wingers very loosely. 

Weimann offers nothing. Absolutely nothing. He's terrible. Can't beat a man. Can't do anything. He looks like a bloke who knows he's only playing because we haven't signed anyone yet. Brain dead too. Offered no support defensively to the full backs either. 

Then brings me on to Russell. We are 2 games in and I'm sick of his s**** already. I can't watch him anymore. This lad has done NOTHING in a Derby shirt for 3 years. Enough is enough. I'm lost for words how truly s**** this lad is. No movement. Static. Doesn't show for the ball. No football brain. 

We aren't going up this year. It's going to take a while this is. I personally think we are 4-5 players off challenging for a top 6 spot. Which aren't going to happen in this window. We may get 2. Maybe 3 if we can shift a couple out. 

I also think that 433 isn't working. 

Interesting to see what he does with Thorne when he's back fit. I wouldn't mind seeing something like this once the window is shut:-

Carson

Wisdom Keogh Davies Forsyth 

Huddlestone Thorne 

Lawrence Vydra Kent

Nugent 

But add to that, Rowett must shoulder blame: he has had the back end of last season and the summer to figure it all out and he's decided to chop hughes Christie and Ince without proper replacements and put his faith in a Martin based Butterfield inspired 4-3-3 with long balls and through balls strongly encouraged. It's really pathetic and it took Wolves sitting back and countering us with skill and pace to show Rowett what a team of footballers with a plan looks like.

[Anon]

I want to stick up for Weimann a little today. He faded badly in the 2nd half, but I thought he was great in the 1st. He worked and chased as well as he usually does, but crucially he tried to get reasonably close to Martin and show for lay offs and 1-2s. He was poor defensively, but we have a three man centre mid, with a dedicated DM. That should provide adequate cover. The whole point of having a specialist DM should be to allow your wingers more freedom.

[Alph]

I still swear Russell is doing what he's always done at Derby when everyone loved him. 

100% I've seen him applauded for running the ball out of play more than once in years gone by.

Just now he's doing it in a dull team after we've seen a good team. In the past he's done it in a struggling side but the best we could hope for or he'd done it in a side that had threats from elsewhere.

Here we are looking to him to be our push into the final third, our playmaker and creator. 

He was never as good as people used to make out and he's not as bad as they're saying now.

I can't believe he's the best winger we have. That's the first time we have said that. Ward was good for a while, Dawkins offered something completely different that had a less obvious effect. Ince was a YouTube reel. They've all moved on. Derby and Russell haven't. 

Go back to that 2014 Derby team. Forget the injury to Thorne because none of us saw that coming. You have £20m to spend. Pretty sure most would be looking to upgrade wingers and care little for any change from that money.

We've spent more than that and Russell is our best winger. 

Nice one Derby managers. Nice one.

Go easy on Russell though. It's not his fault. Same player, same performance levels.

[RamNut]

1 hour ago, Mafiabob said:

Once you all realise that we need to have a overhaul (1 year too late) that this is a consolidating season the better, let's hope Mel realises that too instead of pulling the inevitable trigger yet again...... and installing Paul Simpson as manager come December 

Why would simmo come back to work for someone who sacked him unfairly?

[Ninos]

Just now, Anon said:

I want to stick up for Weimann a little today. He faded badly in the 2nd half, but I thought he was great in the 1st. He worked and chased as well as he usually does, but crucially he tried to get reasonably close to Martin and show for lay offs and 1-2s. He was poor defensively, but we have a three man centre mid, with a dedicated DM. That should provide adequate cover. The whole point of having a specialist DM should be to allow your wingers more freedom.

He was good by his standards of attacking workrate (chicken running around with head cut off) but the most telling moment was when he broke nicely in the first half then just stopped and waited. It was a total lack of self belief in his ability to run at goal take defenders on and score. He has speed and energy but he doesn't have footballing skills.

[Anon]

1 minute ago, Alpha said:

I still swear Russell is doing what he's always done at Derby when everyone loved him.

Go easy on Russell though. It's not his fault. Same player, same performance levels.

I agree in general, but I did feel that Russell was especially poor today. He seems to have taken on Ince's role of refusing to move and demanding the ball to his feet just past the half way line. That is all well and good if you're Tom Ince and you can go round a few players, but what is Russell backing himself to do from that area of the pitch?

[duncanjwitham]

Just now, Alpha said:

I still swear Russell is doing what he's always done at Derby when everyone loved him.

Go easy on Russell though. It's not his fault. Same player, same performance levels.

For me, Russell is a textbook jack of all trades, master of none. He's okay on the ball, he's reasonably quick, he's an okay finisher, an okay crosser and so on, but he's not spectacular at any of those things. So he's a really great guy to have as your 4th choice winger - you can chuck him in for anyone and he'll do a half decent job covering for them.  The big problem now, is that he's probably our best winger, and we're setting up our entire game plan on huddlestone pinging the ball out to him quickly and letting him win the game for us. And he's never ever going to be that guy. Ever. 

[Anon]

2 minutes ago, Ninos said:

He was good by his standards of attacking workrate (chicken running around with head cut off) but the most telling moment was when he broke nicely in the first half then just stopped and waited. It was a total lack of self belief in his ability to run at goal take defenders on and score. He has speed and energy but he doesn't have footballing skills.

I agree, I thought he should've driven towards the box himself, but he still had two defenders to beat. Looking for the pass was a decent idea and the fact that we had no players within a mile of him, even after he'd checked his run, shows our negativity.

[Gritstone Ram]

Russell is catching Butterfield up for scapegoat of the week.

I personally thought Russell was awful. I think our best chance fell to him and he shot and the goalkeeper made a text book save. Had that chance fallen to someone with a bit of quality I reckon he'd have scored. 

[Alph]

1 minute ago, Anon said:

I agree in general, but I did feel that Russell was especially poor today. He seems to have taken on Ince's role of refusing to move and demanding the ball to his feet just past the half way line. That is all well and good if you're Tom Ince and you can go round a few players, but what is Russell backing himself to do from that area of the pitch?

Again I think he's always done that though?

I used to curse him under my breath when he'd walk around watching Hendrick, Bryson and Hughes do neat exchanges. Then if the ball did come to him he was often casually flat footed. 

But then he has a moment where he rockets away. 

Maybe it's worse now because he is our only route (apart from hoof) to the final third? When in the past we have quite often maintained possession in the final third (yes!! Pressure in possession!! Derby! Passing! Final third! Probing!!) so he's dragged up to the danger zones?

[Angry Ram]

Must say Wolves playing 3 at the back gave us huge problems. Really liked it.

They will be promotion candidates without doubt. 

[Curtains]

Improvements in all departments needed. 

[PistoldPete2]

3 hours ago, Seaside Ram said:

Our midfield are the slowest most negative bunch we have had in years.  Gotta say again Rowett forced our only forward thinking creator out the door ! Looking like a clever move hey Gaz ? 

What I don't understand is that altho huddlestone may prove to be a good signing, anyone with half a brain could have realised that a midfield of hud, Johnson and butterfield might be just a tad lacking in pace and mobility. 

[Curtains]

5 minutes ago, PistoldPete2 said:

What I don't understand is that altho huddlestone may prove to be a good signing, anyone with half a brain could have realised that a midfield of hud, Johnson and butterfield might be just a tad lacking in pace and mobility. 

Everybody was raving about the Huddlestone signing now you can see why I wasn't. 

Slow as a snail. 

[Waffle]

I think more than anything it just showed how strong Wolves are. Essentially playing a Jorge Mendes backed Porto. I've said before how I thought Wolves would be dark horses. 

The Derby side admittedly has faults. But Drop Vydra in behind a striker and a fit George Thorne...

we'd be a different team.

[Waffle]

Sorry to double post but I think that if someone had done the colloquial 'let him know you're there' and tackled Bonatini or Jota hard, Wolves would've stood off a bit. 

[Alph]

1 minute ago, curtains said:

Everybody was raving about the Huddlestone signing now you can see why I wasn't. 

Slow as a snail. 

I wasn't either.

Amazing passer. Truly awesome to watch at times.

But that's it. Nothing else. Easy to bypass, give him time and so long as you have your flanks covered then he's trapped in and relatively harmless. 

Could be great in whatever team Rowett sees himself building I guess. Pretty diagonals to our wingers won't get much joy.

With his passing ability being so good I do question why Johnson and Butterfield are stood next to him. 

[Tamworthram]

1 hour ago, Harrowram said:

I want a manager who will succeed. However Gary Rowett to date gives me no confidence that he will succeed. He needs to bring in key signings this week otherwise he should go.

So, two key signings is the answer to the problem? What makes you think a new manager would have the funds, and green light to spend that money, any more than GR?

Sacking another manager after just 2 games is the last thing we need.

 

[Jack Willow]

50 minutes ago, Alpha said:

Go back to that 2014 Derby team. Forget the injury to Thorne because none of us saw that coming. You have £20m to spend.

With a budget of £20m at my disposal, I would have bought directly another DM to replace Thorne in the first place.

[kingsy1884]

The key to stopping Huddz is too drop deep and Mark the wingers. With wolves with a flat back 5 he was virtually redundant.

His lack of pace and the way he slowed the game down was a real hinderance today imo. He looked better when we went to a 2 man midfield with bryso running around him.