Derby County v Aston Villa Match Thread

[Steve How Hard?]

5 hours ago, MuespachRam said:

How many times can you say “just a bad day at the office” before you admit that maybe we aren’t as good as you think we are....?

this league is totally rubbish again this season too 

I think most teams fan bases tend to have an over inflated opinion of their team if things are going pretty well. I hold my hands up that I'm guilty of getting carried away when we have a good performance. What I would say is that we must be doing something right to get ourselves into the position we have. When you factor in that we have a relatively young side with a fledgling management team then the glass is definitely more half full than half empty. I'm looking forward to seeing how this season unfolds.

[Zag zig]

10 hours ago, Doodle said:

We lost today the moment Bennett was injured and Frank replaced him with flojo. We were getting out muscled all day. But when Bennett went off, Johnson should have come on centrally and Holmes pushed wide. Frank is great but not infallible. Wrong subs and formation changes today. Onwards and upwards  though. Feel so so sorry for Forsyth, was proving me and several others wrong  before today’s injury 

Thought the same.

Love Frank and his total football, full of energy but he’s his still learning and today was perhaps a good lesson. As a couple of others note, we lost the midfield battle, but since Bryson got injured he dropped Wilson in there to accommodate Lawrence. Then Mount gets injured and he dropped Holmes in there. Because he wants high energy. We got a bit brushed aside though but can’t blame Frank not bringing Johnson on because we had been getting results.

Hard to criticise the full backs either, like Bogle getting exposed, when neither him nor Fozzy got much cover. Im not too fussed, I expect Frank to find these things out, hopefully next time around he does different. 

Looking forward to a different result at Hillsboro already.

[Bald Eagle's Barmy Army]

6 hours ago, MuespachRam said:

How many times can you say “just a bad day at the office” before you admit that maybe we aren’t as good as you think we are....?

this league is totally rubbish again this season too 

You plonker. 

I suppose you didn’t enjoy the performances since Sheff Utd. 

This league is what it is, TOUGH. 

[Archied]

I willing to bet the villa forum are saying that’s the best 45 mins they have played this season ,just like we have said about us a few times recently , 

they came out second half and played very well , we missed the battling qualities of waghorn and Bennett( when he went off) to drop in and defend from the front .

it happens ,especially in the championship and let’s be honest if we play the style we are doing we are going to get spanked sometimes and spank teams at other times ,I said at half time that it was like a boxing match with two big punchers slugging it out ,villa landed the first shot and it wobbled us ,they then smelt blood and finished us off , 

move on ,it’s a season that I’m enjoying very much and if we are meant to go up we will but that said I am so much comming round to the opinion that the championship is where it’s at for English football ,here s hoping they crack on with this European super league balls 

[Tombo]

I thought Villa were very beatable tbh, thought they showed almost nothing.

That's the really disappointing part. We gave three goals to absolute nothingness.

[RamNut]

9 minutes ago, Tombo said:

I thought Villa were very beatable tbh, thought they showed almost nothing.

That's the really disappointing part. We gave three goals to absolute nothingness.

Not as beatable as us ?

[Sith Happens]

Sorry if posted but highlights don't have the Marriott chance in the 1st half. The the subsequent chances from it.

Looked to me like the defender had a fist full of marriotts shirt, would love to see it back. In the long run wouldnt change things, but actually yeah a goal then may have done.

 

[Sith Happens]

8 hours ago, philmycock said:

Fans were awful today, no passion

I thought fans were pretty decent

[G STAR RAM]

15 hours ago, McLovin said:

Defeats will have happen, but the events of today and the impact of it can be season defining, much like it was when Rowett’s Brum beat us 3-0 when Clement was in charge. Teams will now realise our weaknesses and continue to exploit them more and more. Some of our best players today suffered injuries, one of whom was in tears. I’ve been watching Bogle closely over recent weeks, especially his crossing which is really poor and he can’t defend 1 v1. Bolasie had a field day against him when he came on.

Well that's ok, we beat West Brom 4-1 so that must have been season defining for them.

Leeds lost 4-1 to West Brom so that must have been season defining for them.

[ariotofmyown]

3 hours ago, Chester40 said:

The praise that has been given in general though been pretty lavish. I personally would say we have played some halves of the best football seen since the Eranio, Wanchope era at least. 

Yesterday was a world away. Real head scratcher. That is not throwing toys out the pram or being overly harsh...2nd half was as bad as you will see us play at home..granted against a good team. We were launching it long at times as there was no one showing in midfield. There was even a comedy of errors as Hudds lost the ball for the first time this season and gave it away on edge of the box as we faffed about looking so sloppy. 

If the first half had been repeated in the 2nd half but they had snatched a couple of goals I would have said 'ok we lost but its the way the game can go playing as we do'. But we weren't playing open, expansive football. We had zilch going forward, no options in midfield and they seemed to cut through the defence with such ease it was untrue.

I am shocked how bad we looked. Bloke next to me at 0-0 said 'if their strikers could shoot or head the ball it would be 3 or 4 nil'. 

This is really for people who didn't go....I am giving an honest assessment of what I saw.

The crowd was fairly quiet but it definitely wasnt hostile or toxic. We got spanked and at 3-0 lots decided enough was enough.

Really need players back. Midfield was totally over run.  Be very interested to see what Frank says. Like him a hell of a lot. I am not claiming to be an expert, I couldn't pinpoint why we were so bad..tbh we just looked a poor team. 

No one ever thought it would be easy. Now we know the bumps in the road will be massive still. Just hope we can play more of the lovely stuff we have witnessed in the next game. 

That is a fair and balanced post and what the poster I quoted is calling for.

It's balanced, as you are not going off on one about a season defining loss and that teams have worked us out and will continue to exploit us from here in.

[Archied]

1 hour ago, Tombo said:

I thought Villa were very beatable tbh, thought they showed almost nothing.

That's the really disappointing part. We gave three goals to absolute nothingness.

Thing is I’ve not seen a side in the championship that haven’t looked very beatable this season ,us included ,we are not setting up and building an all out defensive team that’s looking to be hard to beat so when we are not on it at times we will get beat and perhaps beat bad ,, we could get snake back

[rynny]

I'm shaking my head at so many comments on here. 

FWIW my thoughts on the players. 

Carson - one absolutely fantastic save from Abraham in the first half. Distribution was appalling today. (think @reveldevil may be right about carrying an injury)

Bogle - still love him and think he is going to be a big player for us, however, youth players need games but they also need taking out of the spotlight as well and we are certainly at that point, certainly to help with his development.

Keogh - does as he always does and gave everything. You could see his frustration at what was happening (or not happening) in front of him.

Tomori - wonder how many times him and Abraham have played against each other in training? Seemed to love the battle first half, some cracking tackles, think 2nd half the kicks he received took their toll on him.

Forsyth - Adomah had to swap wings first half as he got nothing out of him, always gets unfair stick in here, especially @WAGHORNY RAM99. Had a couple of loose touches 2nd half. Hope the injury isn't bad, he must hate playing these at PP.

Huddlestone - clattered so many times after playing the ball by McGinn. He always seems to have time and space when he gets the ball. 2nd half dropped deeper and couldn't effect the game. 

Wilson - a couple of good efforts, did Chester handle the ball on the line? I couldn't see/tell from where I was sat. Struggled 2nd half when Hourihane and McGinn started to dominate. 

Holmes - wants to be positive every time he has the ball. Tried hard, loved it when he went through squelish and the ref gave nothing, 

Bennett - had a decent first half, they had to take their LB off at half time due to Bennett dominating him. Same as Fozzy, hope the injury is not serious. 

Lawrence - wasn't his day today. Everything he tried just didn't work out for him. Lost ball for the first 2 goals. Missed a glorious chance. You could see his head dropped today.

Marriott - worked hard, linked up well when he wasn't isolated, he will be very disappointed that he didn't score his chance, which was as good, if not better, than Lawrence's.

Subs

FloJo - gave a stupid free kick away on squelish when the ball was just about to go out of play. Held on to the ball to long when played through by Marriott. 

Malone - not sure what position he was playing when he came on, we looked a mess, I think we were suppose to have gone 3 at the back but I couldn't work out past that.

Nugent - no time. 

Put it down to one of those games but I think the first 2 subs changed us for the worse, and we struggled to get going 2nd half.

I can't believe how many thought that squelish was running the game. Thought he was pants, dropped to floor every time someone went near him, and didn't actually do anything with the ball. £40m you're having a laugh. 

Cant decide who did the most ridiculous dive - Chester, Hourihane or one of the many from squelish. Embarrassing. 

[Tamworthram]

10 hours ago, philmycock said:

Fans were awful today, no passion

Given this is your second post slagging off the fans, I guess you're frustrated that I'm the only one taking the bait. 

Do you have anything to say about the game, players performance, team selection, Villa's performance?

[Comrade 86]

3 hours ago, Steve How Hard? said:

I think most teams fan bases tend to have an over inflated opinion of their team if things are going pretty well. I hold my hands up that I'm guilty of getting carried away when we have a good performance. What I would say is that we must be doing something right to get ourselves into the position we have. When you factor in that we have a relatively young side with a fledgling management team then the glass is definitely more half full than half empty. I'm looking forward to seeing how this season unfolds.

Not unreasonable though, is it? If we'd won yesterday we'd have been close to topping the division so it's hard not to get carried away sometimes! I'm more concerned now at those now suggesting the season's faltered because we lost a game to Villa, generally the same people to tell us to reign in our enthusiasm after a big win. I guess irony is not a thing in their households.

[Comrade 86]

1 hour ago, G STAR RAM said:

Well that's ok, we beat West Brom 4-1 so that must have been season defining for them.

Leeds lost 4-1 to West Brom so that must have been season defining for them.

Come on G Star. Get with it. It's only 'season defining' if it's Derby and even then only when we lose. 

[angieram]

@rynny - what an excellent  (and sensible) summary! 

I think you've picked up on a really important point at the end there about the diving of the Villa players and the impact that this had on our morale. I am always unsure if I am being biased when I feel that the referee is giving cheap free kicks but I thought that he completely bought Grealish's antics whilst letting some similar if not worse contacts go when it was our players going down.

I think this set the tone for a rather tetchy match and we gradually let that get to us.

We were visibly carrying knocks from some of those contacts even before the more serious injuries second half and got out muscled rather than outplayed up the point where they brought Bolassie on. He's their most dangerous player but not fit to do 90 minutes. He changed the game, Villa grew in confidence and completely deserved their win.

Yet if we'd taken any of our first half chances (and they were good ones) I think we'd have been the team growing in confidence and would have gone on to win.

Fine margins in football and yesterday all those went against us.

[Millenniumram]

4 hours ago, Chester40 said:

The praise that has been given in general though been pretty lavish. I personally would say we have played some halves of the best football seen since the Eranio, Wanchope era at least. 

Yesterday was a world away. Real head scratcher. That is not throwing toys out the pram or being overly harsh...2nd half was as bad as you will see us play at home..granted against a good team. We were launching it long at times as there was no one showing in midfield. There was even a comedy of errors as Hudds lost the ball for the first time this season and gave it away on edge of the box as we faffed about looking so sloppy. 

If the first half had been repeated in the 2nd half but they had snatched a couple of goals I would have said 'ok we lost but its the way the game can go playing as we do'. But we weren't playing open, expansive football. We had zilch going forward, no options in midfield and they seemed to cut through the defence with such ease it was untrue.

I am shocked how bad we looked. Bloke next to me at 0-0 said 'if their strikers could shoot or head the ball it would be 3 or 4 nil'. 

This is really for people who didn't go....I am giving an honest assessment of what I saw.

The crowd was fairly quiet but it definitely wasnt hostile or toxic. We got spanked and at 3-0 lots decided enough was enough.

Really need players back. Midfield was totally over run.  Be very interested to see what Frank says. Like him a hell of a lot. I am not claiming to be an expert, I couldn't pinpoint why we were so bad..tbh we just looked a poor team. 

No one ever thought it would be easy. Now we know the bumps in the road will be massive still. Just hope we can play more of the lovely stuff we have witnessed in the next game. 

Very good assessment, it’s only one game but it shouldn’t be written off as a ‘bad day at the office’. You won’t see a team play much worse than we did second half, was very concerning to watch. Wasn’t like we were unlucky and things weren’t coming off, we were outclassed and outfought which shouldn’t be happening.

[Edtheram]

In jan hope we can get a new keeper, CB and strong midfielder. 

Carson was again today poor.

lets get back to basics against Wednesday! No wingers in CM etc. Wilson is too much of an attacking assert to be playing so deep and not affecting the game. 

[FindernRam]

Having thought about it overnight, I am sticking with my original thoughts when I saw the team. It was not strong enough to beat Villa particularly in mid field. It was crying out for Johnson from the start, then when it began to go wrong late first half Frank should have seen the writing and shuffled the pack. Then when we are obviously chasing the game Malone was a weird choice. The defence just looked confused and Grealish who had been anonymous first half started to have the run of pride park. 

Some players were really bad but I think the main issue was poor team selection and tactics!  Sorry Frank--I still like you.

[LazloW]

You win some, you lose some - premature to read anything else into it or go in for the type of naval gazing over analysis that blights modern football fandom (note, the emphasis on over analysis, not analysis - there is always going to be debate about who played well, who didn't play well etc.  Its the 'season defining' type stuff and the sofa-punditry that 'does my head in' - so many experts tweeting RD on the way home yesterday about tactics and managerial naivety and that kind of guff.  Very few pointing out that Villa played better the we did in the second half... and for me, that is all it comes down to.  Disappointing performance overall with some poor individual performances thrown in against a team full of good players.  A poor 45 minutes.   Nothing more, nothing less.