I like the gutsiness this team is showing (in parts)

[Bob The Badger]

I was driving from Miami to Orlando yesterday and as anybody who has RamsTV will know, if you're on the move it's a constant game of refreshing and reconnecting every couple of minutes. Not easy when you're driving on a Turnpike populated by people who think if you're more than 3 feet off the bumper of the car in front of you, that is a friendly invitation to slide in.

I stopped for a coffee at a service station just in time to Norwich get their first and then their second goal. I gave up trying to follow it whilst driving until my ancient bladder decided it couldn't get home after an entire venti latte and stopped again.

It was 3-2, but I didn't scroll back through the text alerts and didn't realize that there was any time left as most games were changing to FT, so I called it a day.

When I got home I pulled up the DET just praying to read we’d bagged a late equalizer and was stunned to see we’d won. I didn’t see the Leeds game, but I was super impressed when Norwich came to PP and thought they were the best team to date (Villa may have outperformed them, however). So this seems like a real mark in the sand.

But sadly we’ve had a number of such games this season only to see the mirage of the top two evaporates with a poor performance that beggars belief

I was looking at the picture. @Boycie posted yesterday of the bench celebrating Marriott’s goal look as we’d just gone 6-points clear at the top and I started to think about our character as a team.

It’s been well documented by fans here how we can come up with results like yesterday as well as at Man Utd and coming back twice against Chelsea but then lose to teams who would struggle to have more than a player or two in Derby’s starting X1.

But to me at least, it’s the coming from behind that gives me hope and I really like.

We haven't been a come from behind team in what seems like decades, we have tended to be a team that when in form would win going away. Maybe that is my memory playing tricks somewhat, but that's what I seem to remember, certainly in the decade or more since I moved to the US.

Surely it’s harder to be able to do what we did yesterday than it is to scrape out a 1-0 win in the Billy Davies style that few of us yearn for.

I’m not really sure what I’m saying other than I *think* these are just growing pains for a guy who is very new to the job.

He has bought players in who are clearly gifted and capable and we have seen enough very high-quality football to know the potential is there. The problem is that that football may literally be for 10 or 15-minutes before we go off the boil again.

But and it’s a big but, I have seen Derby have periods, even just short interchanges that a lot of teams just are not capable of pulling off even with an element of luck. They just don't have the technical ability.

I’m damn sure that Frank is frustrated by this more than we are. But I love that we can play some lovely football, and just as equally, I’m glad that we’re gutsy. We just need to show that mettle when we play teams of lesser ability.

Of course, we all know that - I guess I’m just thinking that we may be closer than it appears. Not sure if we can do it this season, I certainly think top 2 is going to be tough, but we have had more good games this season than in all of Billy Davies’s tenure and we have players all over who can score and score great goals at that.

Now we just need a defense that can play as a cohesive unit. 

[mozza]

I got as far as the Boycie bit, i'll read the rest later.  

[Boycie]

That bit was incorrect anorl, it wanna me?

[Rev]

3 minutes ago, Boycie said:

That bit was incorrect anorl, it wanna me?

Liking the new avatar.

It gives whatever topic you reply to a whole new meaning.

Louie Sibley (cursed) is a current favourite, that should put them off.

[Boycie]

Where’s the Frank Lampard thread?

[Ellafella]

23 hours ago, Bob The Badger said:

I was driving from Miami to Orlando yesterday and as anybody who has RamsTV will know, if you're on the move it's a constant game of refreshing and reconnecting every couple of minutes. Not easy when you're driving on a Turnpike populated by people who think if you're more than 3 feet off the bumper of the car in front of you, that is a friendly invitation to slide in.

I stopped for a coffee at a service station just in time to Norwich get their first and then their second goal. I gave up trying to follow it whilst driving until my ancient bladder decided it couldn't get home after an entire venti latte and stopped again.

It was 3-2, but I didn't scroll back through the text alerts and didn't realize that there was any time left as most games were changing to FT, so I called it a day.

When I got home I pulled up the DET just praying to read we’d bagged a late equalizer and was stunned to see we’d won. I didn’t see the Leeds game, but I was super impressed when Norwich came to PP and thought they were the best team to date (Villa may have outperformed them, however). So this seems like a real mark in the sand.

But sadly we’ve had a number of such games this season only to see the mirage of the top two evaporates with a poor performance that beggars belief

I was looking at the picture. @Boycie posted yesterday of the bench celebrating Marriott’s goal look as we’d just gone 6-points clear at the top and I started to think about our character as a team.

It’s been well documented by fans here how we can come up with results like yesterday as well as at Man Utd and coming back twice against Chelsea but then lose to teams who would struggle to have more than a player or two in Derby’s starting X1.

But to me at least, it’s the coming from behind that gives me hope and I really like.

We haven't been a come from behind team in what seems like decades, we have tended to be a team that when in form would win going away. Maybe that is my memory playing tricks somewhat, but that's what I seem to remember, certainly in the decade or more since I moved to the US.

Surely it’s harder to be able to do what we did yesterday than it is to scrape out a 1-0 win in the Billy Davies style that few of us yearn for.

I’m not really sure what I’m saying other than I *think* these are just growing pains for a guy who is very new to the job.

He has bought players in who are clearly gifted and capable and we have seen enough very high-quality football to know the potential is there. The problem is that that football may literally be for 10 or 15-minutes before we go off the boil again.

But and it’s a big but, I have seen Derby have periods, even just short interchanges that a lot of teams just are not capable of pulling off even with an element of luck. They just don't have the technical ability.

I’m damn sure that Frank is frustrated by this more than we are. But I love that we can play some lovely football, and just as equally, I’m glad that we’re gutsy. We just need to show that mettle when we play teams of lesser ability.

Of course, we all know that - I guess I’m just thinking that we may be closer than it appears. Not sure if we can do it this season, I certainly think top 2 is going to be tough, but we have had more good games this season than in all of Billy Davies’s tenure and we have players all over who can score and score great goals at that.

Now we just need a defense that can play as a cohesive unit. 

Good post @Bob The Badger Loved the road trip and the bladder detail and the sense that as I was sitting at relatives in Loughborough listening to family balls whilst literally staring at the BBC Championship scores on my concealed mobile, there is a fellow Ram moving toward Orlando having the same fixation and anxiety. In a nutshell, our team has great raw talent and can outplay anybody on the day; loved seeing Tomori getting the fans going and Marriott clearly posing Norwich all sorts of problems. BUT we are a work in progress; we will be inconsistent/ I was thoroughly miserable after Sheff Utd away...I was at the game and have to say we showed no real desire or fight...and had zero hope v Norwich so when we came back from 2-0 down I was quite literally howling in sheer delight {what the family made of that I'm not sure ...} but we will, because the team is young and naive, go from heroes to zeros. Frank has to find that formula that makes us consistent. Quite hard when we have loan players making up the raw talent...but I'm sure if there is anybody who can do this...Frank is the man. 

[Boycie]

Maybe the younger playmaker in midfield is the answer?  As much as I like the Tombot, maybe he does slow the play down a bit even though he rarely loses possession.