Derby v Man City U21s Matchday Thread

[kevinhectoring]

On the plus side, it was heartening when a couple of times on ramstv they showed Rooney looking despondent followed immediately by Stearman and Bird giving him words of encouragement. 

[RodleyRam]

Not disappointed to be out of the cup to be honest. We have a small squad of youngsters and old pros most susceptible to injury and fatigue. We can do without the extra games.

However let's not pretend that was a particularly weak side last night, we had more than enough in there to compete and it was poor. Can't reconcile the lack of composure on the ball to the side who started the season dominating possession.

Hopefully we can pick it up against Ipswich, big game to really see where we are.

[IlsonDerby]

Battered about by a bunch of technically gifted young lads who have probably played together for the last 10 years and know each other’s games inside and out with all goals scored by a lad they knocked a £10m bid back for in the summer. 
 

I really felt that the experienced pros in the side would see us compete a little better and perhaps it’d have been different had we not squandered the one on one but a lot of players looked like rabbits in headlights which was worrying. Don’t mind a more direct approach but don’t want to turn into a hoof and chase team who may as well not have a midfield. 
 

Thought Bird looked a class above the rest of our midfielders when he came on. Felt he looked like a man against their young lads. 
 

Any loss is disappointing but lick our wounds and we go again in the big one Friday. 

[Tamworthram]

8 hours ago, Gee SCREAMER !! said:

Well, the ref won that game.  Regardless, a team with nowhere near the ability or experience as our squad tonight beat these.  I won't comment any further on it as it's a pointless endeavour.

Wow. That must be some of record. More than 2 hours (as far as I can see) after the match before any blamed the ref for our defeat. ?

[Reggie Greenwood]

3 minutes ago, Tamworthram said:

Wow. That must be some of record. More than 2 hours (as far as I can see) after the match before any blamed the ref for our defeat. ?

Think he was referring to the PV game 

[jimtastic56]

I was at the game last night and it was a bit of a reality check for some fans . Those who said Jake was a Prem player had a wake up call.Most of us are realistic. The Championship is a lot faster than Div one and the Prem is 10 times faster than that. If we get up this season we would need massive investment next season.

[Tamworthram]

29 minutes ago, Reggie Greenwood said:

Think he was referring to the PV game 

Message to self “read posts correctly before responding”. Apologies @Gee SCREAMER !! I feel even more of an idiot that normal.

[duncanjwitham]

For me it's pretty simple.  I have all the time in the world for a manager who is trying to get his teams playing decent football.  But if you deliberately set out to play terrible football, because you think it will help you win more, then if you don't win you've got nothing.  You deserve every bit of criticism that's coming to you.

[Ghost of Clough]

If only @Stanleyhouse had started the matchday thread...

[Carl Sagan]

17 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

If only @Stanleyhouse had started the matchday thread...

Ha! Indeed I feel we somewhat squandered the return of @archram, meaning we're now stuck with @i-Ramfor Ipswich, and who knows where that will lead!?

[LazloW]

I suppose the ‘powers that be’ must assume that Premier League U21s are at at least the same level as League 1 and League 2, so getting beaten by one of them doesn’t necessarily make it that embarrassing.

It’s not great obviously, but do think we need to keep in mind that we are a League 1 side and probably quite an average one given we’ve thrown a squad together in a few weeks, with a load of frees.  There is obviously nowhere near the strength in depth needed and there are probably still some gaps in the starting 11 (proper right back for example).

 In the summer I never thought for a minute we’d be able to put a competitive team out this season and expected a squad full of Scott Loach (ie solid bit uninspiring journeymen) type signings and kids. The fact we’ve managed to bring in the quality we have is amazing but has also given some a false sense of where we are and where we might be by the end of the season.  Add to this a new manager with different ideas and it makes it all the more difficult.

Last night was a bit of a wake up call about where we are as a squad.  But while I’m disappointed we lost, and I expected us to be able to win, I’m not that surprised we found it hard.  It’s going to take some time. 
 

Edited October 19, 2022 by LazloW

[SSD]

It was a nothing game, definitely had the feeling that Warne really did not want to play it. Definitely far too much kick it long again with zero quality and creating the opponent's far too many attacking opportunities. The sad thing was, once we punted it up the field, man city kids were smart enough to keep the ball and then pass rings around us. They were a joy to watch at times. Most of them were made from glass, referencing the 2nd half, technically they were excellent. 

Granted, their 18 year old wonderkid was on another planet, he ran around with a dead leg and still annihilated Rooney everytime he ran at him. I really don't know what to make of Paul Warne football yet.

Away from home, it suits us really well. Scoring goals on the break, pace up front. At home, if we face any team that wants to pass it along the grass, we struggle. Has the feeling of small team tactics. I think Warne needs to have more faith in the technical players we have at the club. Find that balance of keeping the ball at the right teams and not having to constantly hit a long pass. 

I think for more the manager's own security as well he needs to adapt. With the Derby supporters, if you try and play nice football but lose then it won't sting as much. Kick and rush, and letting the opponent's have plenty of attacking play, I think the patience will thin.

Maybe I'm still not over Liam going. 

[Ghost of Clough]

21/22
Wigan lost to Wolves U21s (penalties)
Ipswich lost to West Ham U21s and Arsenal U21s (penalties)
Wycombe lost to Vila U21s
Plymouth needed penalties to beat Arsenal U21s

20/21
Hull lost to Leicester U21s
Portsmouth lost to West Ham U21s
Ipswich lost to Arsenal U21s
Plymouth lost to Norwich U21s
Charlton needed penalties to beat Brighton U21s

19/20
Sunderland lost to Leicester U21s
Rotherham lost to Man City U21s
Plymouth lost to Chelsea U21s
Wycombe lost to Fulham U21s

[Sparkle]

12 hours ago, Rich84 said:

The 2 things I'm taking from tonight is that Rooney, Thompson and Oduro aren't good enough for the 1st team, also the pace that Osula and Dobbin have is more effective than Collins up front for the way Warne wants us to play. Although I think Dobbin needs to finish better with the chances he gets

Tompson was able to function well in a defensive system last season and Rooney did well vs Mansfield and WBA this year so they probably are good enough and just not playing often enough- Rooney has been injured as well

[The Scarlet Pimpernel]

8 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

21/22
Wigan lost to Wolves U21s (penalties)
Ipswich lost to West Ham U21s and Arsenal U21s (penalties)
Wycombe lost to Vila U21s
Plymouth needed penalties to beat Arsenal U21s

20/21
Hull lost to Leicester U21s
Portsmouth lost to West Ham U21s
Ipswich lost to Arsenal U21s
Plymouth lost to Norwich U21s
Charlton needed penalties to beat Brighton U21s

19/20
Sunderland lost to Leicester U21s
Rotherham lost to Man City U21s
Plymouth lost to Chelsea U21s
Wycombe lost to Fulham U21s

Its not so much the result GOC it was the style of football being dished up. Awful.

[DavesaRam]

2 hours ago, Tamworthram said:

Wow. That must be some of record. More than 2 hours (as far as I can see) after the match before any blamed the ref for our defeat. ?

Actually I put the knife in just after the match finished! And although he was poor, and probably would have liked to be wearing a light blue shirt, it was that one decision to not give a free-kick for the foul that swung the game. The ball broke through for roadrunner to score, and our heads went down straight away. Game over.

[Ian Buxton's Bat]

I was really impressed with Man City last night. Best team we've played this year IMO.

They play the same way from tiny kids to 1st team and know exactly what they're doing, exactly where their mates will be when they play a pass and, let's be honest, are just superb, technically brilliant footballers. Didn't one of them play in the Champions league a couple of weeks ago?

If we could get pretty much any of them on loan in Jan then they'd improve our squad.

Thought the lads did OK last night - I'm not sure how you set up to deal with Usain Bolt style pace but we weren't set up to deal with it. Felt sorry for Rooney, who was exposed by the system / lack of support from Odhuro or DMs.

[Ram-Alf]

12 hours ago, LazloW said:

Sad to see City teaching horrible cheating and gamesmanship to their kids. Falling over at every opportunity, feigning injury,  time wasting, treating scoring a goal as if they’d won the World Cup (and not a single booking for time wasting I don’t think). Shame really.

Sour grapes maybe, but they are a deeply unlikable club in my humble opinion (an opinion I’ve held since 1999 when I worked in Manchester but has only grown since they became the richest club on the planet and became even more insufferable).

Was their second goal offside? Looked a mile off from my vantage point but probably not the best position.

It's endemic in football, They are taught this in training...why...it's all about the £s.

Am I right in that Man City first called this game off as they couldn't get a team together?, If yes, It shows money and who you are gets what you want.

Derby County had to play their under 18 team in the 3rd round of the FACup a few years back, As Covid had gripped the players, We asked for a postponement...it was refused.

Yes different rules for different comps...but it still stinks of £££££s

[Tamworthram]

24 minutes ago, DavesaRam said:

Actually I put the knife in just after the match finished! And although he was poor, and probably would have liked to be wearing a light blue shirt, it was that one decision to not give a free-kick for the foul that swung the game. The ball broke through for roadrunner to score, and our heads went down straight away. Game over.

It was a pretty poor show if we allowed one incident to swing the game and take it out of our hands.

I think that facts are the City team were more technically gifted than we were, much sharper and faster and more up for it. I have no complaints about the ref or the result and, as I predicted yesterday, don’t really care about the fact we’ve been knocked out now the dust has settled.

[jimtastic56]

18 minutes ago, Ian Buxton's Bat said:

I was really impressed with Man City last night. Best team we've played this year IMO.

They play the same way from tiny kids to 1st team and know exactly what they're doing, exactly where their mates will be when they play a pass and, let's be honest, are just superb, technically brilliant footballers. Didn't one of them play in the Champions league a couple of weeks ago?

If we could get pretty much any of them on loan in Jan then they'd improve our squad.

Thought the lads did OK last night - I'm not sure how you set up to deal with Usain Bolt style pace but we weren't set up to deal with it. Felt sorry for Rooney, who was exposed by the system / lack of support from Odhuro or DMs.

Respect your opinion , but I think Plymouth would beat them because City were so bad at defending corners. Apart from Foden I can’t remember many players coming through the academy for them. I suspect most of their players last night will end up in the Championship.The best way to stop their winger last night would be to cut off the supply of thru balls.