Derby County vs Rotherham United

In his post-match interview, Derby County Head Coach Paul Clement revealed he was nervous going into his side’s encounter with Rotherham United, fearing complacency when the Rams faced the Championship’s bottom placed side. It has to be said that are many cases where football has seen unbeaten runs and good form come to a grinding halt when the team in question underestimates their opponents. David vanquishes Goliath and Goliath struggles to recover in the next game. However, in this league there is no such quality gap. There are only teams who are low on confidence and feel like a David, and teams who are flying high feeling like the unconquerable Goliath. The reality is that as clichéd as it is, anybody can beat anybody in the Championship. This is why Clement was so passionately demanding focus from his playing staff; Rotherham were not necessarily going to be pushovers.

Having said that, Derby versus Rotherham on a Halloween afternoon did turn out to be a horror show for the Millers fans who had travelled to the iPro Stadium, and the Rotherham players left the field at full-time looking like they had seen a ghost. Rotherham started the game fairly actively and looked busy for the first 10 minutes. The visitors even responded fairly well to going a goal down early on. Derby broke the deadlock when Jacob Butterfield played a defence-splitting pass to Craig Forsyth. Forsyth crossed into the box and though the ball was just behind the intended target of Chris Martin, it reached Andreas Weimann who battled with the defender to tap the ball into the net. Rotherham did not take this lying down at first. They nearly found an equaliser when Jonson Clarke-Harris chested down a ricocheted ball but fired his powerful drive just wide of Scott Carson’s post.

But then things then began to go downhill for Rotherham, the energy and focus left their game and the confidence drained as Derby retained possession and passed the ball around them as if they weren’t even there. The first half dragged on for the players and as they looked more and more like they didn’t want to be there, Derby thrived more and more. Derby’s tempo and Rotherham’s dark cloud led to Derby doubling their lead before half time. Derby displayed incredible build-up play running the Millers defenders ragged. The ball was played around in midfield with 18 consecutive passes before the ball reached Butterfield in acres of space and the midfielder fired his shot into the goalkeeper’s bottom left corner to make it 2-0.

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The second half was much more of the same and ten minutes into the second half Andreas Weimann nearly found himself a second goal. Craig Forsyth played a long ball over the top and the Austrian found himself with plenty of space in behind the defenders. He successfully chipped goalkeeper Lee Camp but Rotherham’s Danny Collins managed to clear the ball off the line.

Derby continued to control the game and began pushing for more goals. Chris Martin’s run was impeded by a Rotherham defender and the referee gave a free kick a few yards outside the box, roughly centrally. As soon as the referee blew for the free kick Martin tucked the ball under his arm, clearly confident that this was in scoring range for him. Martin smashed the free kick over the wall but it just didn’t dip enough and the ball struck the crossbar, flying up and swiftly back down into the 18-yard box. Jason Shackell attempted to apply the headed finish but was beaten to the ball by Danny Collins who put it behind for a corner. The resulting corner was whipped in by Johnny Russell and found Jeff Hendrick at the back post. Hendrick knocked the ball back across goal and Richard Keogh countered upon Rotherham's inability to clear their lines by blasting his shot into the roof of the net to make it 3-0.

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Not long after this, Derby hit the crossbar once more. This time a Johnny Russell corner kick met the head of Jason Shackell, whose headed attempt rattled against the bar and went behind for a goal kick. This was to be the last significant chance of the game and the referee blew for full time at 3-0 to the home side.

One of the major differences between the two sides, aside from the clear difference in confidence, was the fitness of the players. Derby seemed well-trained and physically fit enough to run Rotherham ragged. The constant pass-and-move style that Derby attack with seems to tire out a lot of teams. Not just in this game with Rotherham but also in other games this season too.

The Rams also seem to be able to switch formations so quickly by being well drilled and in good fitness. While they set up most games in a 4-3-3 formation, it’s simple to see a very clear tactic whereby they will play the ball out wide to the full backs when they cannot find a way through the middle and either commit more men out wide or push Chris Martin across to the flank. In this game, when Martin moved across to help the full back on one side, one of either Weimann or Russell moved up to a striker’s role next to Martin and the other of the two moved into the middle to support the midfield. Essentially, this is a quick transition to the much-criticised 4-4-2 diamond formation. Rams fans who claim it leaves the team too narrow have clearly not seen Craig Forsyth and Cyrus Christie dominating the flanks in recent weeks.

It was pleasing to also see the return of Craig Bryson, who has missed nearly 3 months to injury since picking up a knee problem in the first half of the season opener against Bolton. Bryson came on for Jacob Butterfield on 79 minutes and received a warm reception from the Rams fans who sang his name loudly and continuously for several minutes. Bryson had come under heavy criticism from fans after a difficult season last term. This resulted in a gesture in that season which some fans interpreted as a response to the criticism. The Scottish midfielder celebrated a goal against Blackpool by pressing a finger to his lips and appearing to tell his own fans to “shush”. Understandable if that was the intention, the fans may ‘pay his wages’ but that’s not an open invitation to lambast him on Twitter resulting in him deleting his account. Nobody really knows if that was what he intended to do after that goal back in April of this year but it’s satisfying nonetheless to see a much friendlier relationship with the fans return. After all, he was a fan favourite prior to his bad season last year so to see that relationship hit turbulence was depressing to say the least.

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This was another good result for the Rams in another game where they simply looked too strong for the opponents. But this game was different to the other wins. In this one, Derby had to deal with the absence of a key player in Ince, and the virtual absence of the star players in Chris Martin and George Thorne who did not have their best games in a Derby shirt on Saturday. Despite this, we saw other players show their star quality. This is especially true for the goalscorers. Weimann and Butterfield had not yet scored in a competitive game for the Rams, and Keogh hadn’t scored for Derby since December 2013. It’s fair to say that from a confidence point of view, the ‘right players’ scored. The players who probably needed it most were the ones to get the goals. This is a testament to the strength of Derby’s squad and it only bodes well for a season which is bound to see injuries, suspensions and fatigue attempt to disrupt their flow. The Rams showed that they have the strength in depth to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Derby County vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers were the visitors to Derby’s iPro Stadium on Sunday afternoon for a hotly-anticipated clash between the two Midlands clubs. Derby fans had been eager to get this one underway ever since the last game showed Derby back to their best at home to Brentford. The Rams won 2-0 on that day and blew away the opposition with strong attacking intent and desire to extend their good run of form. Unfortunately for those of a black and white persuasion, a two week wait due to the International Break was on the cards. 

Derby fans who tuned into the International fixtures may have taken some joy seeing three Rams players start for the Republic of Ireland as they recorded a historic 1-0 win against world champions Germany in their European Championship Qualifying Group. Cyrus Christie, Jeff Hendrick and Richard Keogh all played a part in the win and many Derby supporters professed their happiness to see those three players do so well for their country, expressing their hopes that the players might take confidence from the victory and bring their good form back to Derby with them. Confidence is without a doubt something that fluctuates wildly with Derby County in recent years. When they’re up, they’re up - a confident Derby often appears to be unstoppable, notching up large unbeaten runs and blowing away teams home and away. But when they’re down, they’re down, as evidenced by Derby’s poor form at the tail end of the 2014/15 season.

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At the start of this season, Derby could not seem to find a way to win and massively lacked confidence. Since losing to Leeds United in August things seem to have changed. Derby are now unbeaten in six after Sunday’s win against Wolves, with five of those being wins. Confidence is now abundant at Derby County and it showed in this game. Derby were in control from the first minute and only took three minutes to find the opener when Jeff Hendrick teed up Chris Martin for the talismanic striker to curl one in from 20 yards out. This was followed up with a George Thorne long range effort that could have made it 2-0 after receiving the ball from a cleared Derby corner. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez got a hand to the shot to tip it wide.

Complacency seeped into Derby’s defence after this positive start however and Wolves took advantage on 19 minutes with a well-rehearsed corner routine that caught Derby napping. The corner came in and the near post runner simply dummied the ball, leaving it for Benik Afobe who only needed to apply a simple finish. This was followed by a strong Derby attack in response, and it was just nine minutes later when Bradley Johnson floated a measured left foot cross that Derby pulled themselves back into the lead through Chris Martin again after the Scotland International battled with the ‘keeper and the defender to head home. Martin had a chance to make it a hattrick when Tom Ince was impeded by Danny Batth in the area and a penalty was given, but a nervous Martin fired it straight at the goalkeeper. The corner kick that followed proved the deflating blow for Wolves as the set piece found the boot of Bradley Johnson to make it 3-1 and regain Derby’s two-goal cushion.

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The second half was just as frantic and high-tempo as the first and Derby continued to dominate. Shortly before the hour mark Johnny Russell’s quick feet composed him in spite of the chaotic 18-yard box to stab in a toe-poke shot to make it 4-1, compounding the misery of the travelling Wolves fans. Credit to the visitors however as the Wolves fans continued their vocal support and inspired the players to start a fight back. They pressed Derby up the pitch and played with pace, getting a reward in the form of an Adam Le Fondre headed goal. Le Fondre towered above Richard Keogh and steered his header to Scott Carson’s left, in the corner out of reach of the Derby stopper. Derby reacted by shutting up shop and finishing the game 4-2.

The result was enjoyable enough but it was also particularly pleasing to see the fans vocally sound their appreciation for new Derby chairman and owner Mel Morris. Morris provided all season ticket holders with a free black and white scarf, of decidedly good quality according to the general consensus of the season ticket holders, and urged them to bring the scarf with them to the game. The scarves were the catalyst for some moments of noisy and active support from the Derby fans, particularly in the South Stand. The work of the 1884 group appears to be helping with this and the atmosphere in the ground is improving game on game, but at a slower pace than some might have hoped.

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One major thing that encourages vocal support is a good entertaining performance by their team, something which Derby delivered on the day. The second half especially was almost like an exhibition of slick passing and exuberant skill and even when Wolves pushed, Derby looked in control. Both Wolves goals were avoidable and were the result of complacency and poor focus, which makes it regrettable that Derby could not make a real statement with a bigger, cleaner win on Sunday. Despite the sloppiness however, Derby seemed to have an essence of control. There was no slackness when the game was 0-0 or 1-1, or even 2-1. The lax attitude was a direct result of the dominant performance for so much of the game and if Derby had been in trouble at any point, it’s likely they would have dealt with it. Derby took the lead early on and never looked like losing from there. The result leaves the Rams in 6th place, the first time they have entered the playoff places this season. Head Coach Paul Clement has told his team that in the coming six games they are to attempt to beat the points total they accumulated in the six games prior to the International Break. Those six games saw Clement’s men pick up 13 points, and this win against a strong Wolves side is a big sign that the players are going to be capable of meeting that target.

Derby County vs Brentford

Derby’s form going into the October international break is a far cry from the kind of form the Rams were in prior to the last international break. Fans despaired after losing 2-1 to historic rivals Leeds United last time and feared that their poor start was symptomatic of a hangover from the previous season. The 2014/15 season saw the Rams take a dramatic fall from the top of the table down to 8th. Some fans called for more money to be spent. Some fans called for the team to be given time. Some fans even called for Head Coach Paul Clement to be given the sack, just five games into the season. The feeling amongst DCFC supporters, and almost certainly amongst DCFC players and staff, is that the team is starting to show more and more glimpses of their quality.

Derby have only lost once in ten games this season, picking up four wins in their last five, and sit in 7th in the table just a point from the playoff places. Obviously at this point in the season the table is still labile, but the current placements offer some reassurance to those despairing fans who worried about the lack of wins in the first five games. It carries the message that despite that poor start, the team have not fallen too far from their promotion rivals. The more effective reassurance however came in the form of a comfortable 2-0 win in front of the iPro crowd on Saturday afternoon. From the first whistle Derby looked to control and dominate their visitors just as they did against Burnley in the last home game. Early on, Derby found chances via their usual conduit in frontline talisman Chris Martin. Jeff Hendrick’s dispossessing tackle fed Martin and the Scottish international ran at the Brentford defence before slipping the ball back across to Hendrick. The Irish midfielder attempted a backheel pass to put Tom Ince through one-on-one but Hendrick’s marker blocked the pass and cleared the danger.

It didn’t take much longer for Derby to get their breakthrough though, with the Rams scoring through Chris Martin on 20 minutes. Bradley Johnson put the ball down the right for Tom Ince. Ince found Cyrus Christie and the Republic of Ireland international drilled a cross to Martin at the back post. Martin’s strike wasn’t the cleanest but the striker only had to make the slightest contact with the ball to find the net. It was an incredibly well worked team goal regardless of who got on the end of it, but Martin finding the net for the fifth time this season puts him joint-third in the top scorers list in the Championship.

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Just before half time, the Rams doubled their lead thanks to Tom Ince. The move began with a turnover in possession courtesy of a George Thorne tackle. The defensive midfielder ran with the ball to spark a quick counter, then feeding Jeff Hendrick. Hendrick’s perfectly weighted pass to Ince meant Ince only had the keeper to beat. Ince took a moment to compose himself, measured his shot, and placed the ball into the net with a precise strike. When the referee blew the whistle for half time Derby had much to be proud of, whereas Brentford had much to think about.

No surprise then that Brentford came out more determined and focused in the second half to create some chances of their own. The 2015 playoff semi-finalists didn’t really get solid chances though, not until they found their best chance on 67 minutes. A direct ball over to winger Sergi Canos led to the Spaniard, on loan from Liverpool, to cross the ball for Philipp Hofmann. Hofmann made contact with the ball but the weak shot fell into the arms of the diving Derby ‘keeper, Scott Carson. Brentford followed this up with another chance soon after, with Marco Djuricin jumping on Ryan Shotton’s poor backpass but failing to properly get around the goalkeeper. The ball stayed in Brentford possession though and when it came to Hofmann, he wrong footed the defensive line and fooled the keeper with his shot. Luckily for Derby, Cyrus Christie managed to clear the shot off the line and maintain the clean sheet.

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Immediately from this clearance however, Chris Martin produced a neat flick-on for Tom Ince, who was running through on goal. Ince struggled to shake off the defenders tracking back however and when the Brentford backline recovered Ince continued to take them on inside the box, where he appealed for a penalty for after he felt he was impeded illegally. No penalty was given and Ince managed to recover quickly to find Andreas Weimann arriving at the back post, but the Austrian’s open goal chance only concluded with a slight touch – not enough to find the net for Derby’s third goal.

The game finished 2-0 to the home side. A relieving result for Rams fans who had yet to see their team win at home this season. Getting the first home win will be vital going forward, especially considering the strong talk from the club about making the iPro stadium a ‘fortress’. The efforts of fan groups like The 1884 Group, who aim to improve matchday atmosphere, can only bear fruit when performances and results are good at home. Relying on away form is always a difficult ask when most teams fancy their chances in front of their own fans and every home team has extra motivation to shut out their visitors. Good away form is a blessing, but good home form is something most clubs make their priority; every fan expects to see their team dominate in their own ground. Home form is the bread and butter of a successful season and the Rams will hope to have more home games like this one.

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In his post-match interview, Paul Clement talked about ‘pushing for a third’, something which will be music to the ears of Derby supporters. Rams fans have expressed their desire for the team to play attacking football. The idea that even with a comfortable two-goal lead they have a Head Coach in charge who will smell the blood in the water and go for the jugular when the Derby are dominating fits the bill for that kind of offensive style. It’s clear that Derby have the kind of playing staff that could potentially blow away weaker teams on their day, so to have a positive attacking mentality at the club means Rams fans could see some big scorelines in future. Arguably, it could have been a big scoreline on Saturday had a few chances fallen differently, but undebatable fact is that Derby deserved to win this game no matter how the scoreline read. It is good to see a winning performance and a winning scoreline in tandem because it’s an unpredictable game and those two don’t necessarily always go hand-in-hand.

Derby County vs Burnley

Derby have been much better since the international break, getting their first win away to Preston and then making it back to back wins away to a Reading outfit who were on a run of three straight wins. Visitors Burnley come in on good form too, boasting a run of four straight wins in the Championship. In recent years it has been Burnley who have come out on top when these two sides face each other so there was much apprehension amongst Derby fans in the run-up to this game. Rams fans expressed fears about their ability to get another win on the bounce when the opposition standing in their way have been such a 'bogey team' in previous encounters. Nonetheless, a strong crowd turned out to the iPro Stadium to watch two in-form promotion candidates battle for superiority.

In the early stages of the game, Derby had two penalty claims waved away by the referee. The first came after deadline-day recruit Bradley Johnson chipped a ball over the top of the Burnley defence for Andreas Weimann to attempt to latch on to. The Austrian international could not reach Johnson’s pass, claiming he was brought down by Michael Duff. The second was a result of a Scott Carson goal kick inadequately dealt with by Burnley defensive duo Michael Keane and Ben Mee. The ball rolled through into the path of Chris Martin, who was beaten to the ball by Burnley ‘keeper Tom Heaton, who Martin collided with inside the box. Both incidents looked tenuous with minimal contact and if the officials had given Derby a penalty for either it would have been extremely harsh on the visitors.

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There were no clear cut chances for either side in the first half but it was Derby who were applying the pressure and dominating the play. Johnny Russell had his strike from outside the box deflected high, dipping into the grateful arms of Heaton, and a Jacob Butterfield attempt from distance on his home debut also rolled comfortably into the goalkeeper’s grasp. Derby’s passing and positioning was encouraging although they were restricted to shots from distance and had many shots blocked by the steely Burnley backline. Things looked more worrying for Burnley however after star signing Andre Gray was substituted through injury and their dim hopes of finding the net were looking even more unlikely. Rouwen Hennings took his place – a Burnley summer signing who is yet to find the net for the Clarets thus far.

Derby continued to apply pressure, yet still no clear cut chances arrived. A Cyrus Christie cross fell to Andreas Weimann but the forward got the ball tangled in his legs and the shot dribbled well wide. Christie was then involved in a rare Burnley chance up the other end, bravely blocking a Mee cross to concede a corner. The corner was whipped in with power to float over the head of Michael Keane reaching Sam Vokes arriving late from the penalty spot, but his chance was thumped high in the air by former Burnley captain Jason Shackell on the line just before the Burnley man’s boot could reach it. The ball dropped back down however and after a weak Carson punch it fell to George Boyd, who skied his chance due to the awkward angle of the shot.

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The referee blew his half time whistle to bring the hotly-contested but quality-deficient first half to a close. When the players emerged for the second half, Derby began to step up even further in quality and looked closer and closer to a breakthrough. Jacob Butterfield attempted another venomous long range drive only to see it deflected for a corner. Russell’s bending corner kick found the head of Richard Keogh at the near post, and despite the centre back’s header having all the power it needed, the accuracy was some way off and the attempt flew over the bar. Keogh had a chance at redemption from a corner a little later on after Cyrus Christie’s cross on the right hand side was blocked. This time Keogh connected with all the right power and accuracy at the back post, but his header was bravely cleared off the line by Burnley’s Tendayi Darikwa.

Derby’s pressure still continued and the home side did not show signs of tiring. On the contrary, Derby appear to often let the ball do the work with their passing which allows them to conserve energy and sustain constant pressure on their opposition when they have them on the ropes. Derby had more chances as Craig Forsyth cut inside to find Andreas Weimann, who then held onto the ball to await the arrival of George Thorne. Thorne received the ball and shot on his second touch, but the battling midfielder saw his bending long range effort tipped wide for a corner kick. The corner missed everyone in the box and bounced towards Johnson on the left side and his shot was blocked and cleared away.

Burnley responded with a small spell of their own, sensing the tables ready to be turned as Derby were still unable to find a breakthrough. Rouwen Hennings picked up the ball in midfield and ran at the Derby defence, receiving no challenge to his possession of the ball. The Derby backline did cut off his options though and stayed resolute, leaving him no choice except to switch the play to Michael Kightly, slowing things down. Kightly failed to get the best of Craig Forsyth initially, and the Derby left back cleared the ball away. The clearance fell to Burnley in midfield however and the long ball back towards Kightly was not dealt with by Forsyth, who mistimed a tackle and allowed the former Wolves man in behind the defensive line on the right wing. Kightly’s run led to him squaring the ball to Sam Vokes, but the normally prolific dangerman put his shot over the bar.

The clock still ticked and time was running out for someone to break the deadlock. Derby still looked the more likely and created chance after chance. Substitute Jamie Hanson threaded a pass through to Chris Martin who had come deep to collect the ball. Martin played the ball out to the left to Bradley Johnson who crossed to meet the head of Johnny Russell at the back post, only for Russell to have his low header hooked away by the hand of Tom Heaton and cleared by the defenders. The game stayed 0-0 and in the desperation of the final moments, Chris Martin attempted a 25 yard low drive which Heaton again managed to palm away to safety to keep the scores level until the referee blew his whistle for full time.

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One of the standout performers in a Derby shirt was Richard Keogh, who recently seems to be flourishing after losing the burden of captaincy. The defender appears to be winning back the fans who so harshly criticised him last season due to him now not being under the pressure of the armband. Not only is Keogh finding it easier being able to just focus on his own performance but the Republic of Ireland international has also been helped by fans only having to focus on his performance. A regular criticism of Keogh was that he can sometimes be a valuable asset in defence, but that he is not ‘captain material’. Fans who are no longer judging his perceived lack of leadership can see that he has always been a good defender leading by example.

Another player who took another step to winning back the fans is right-back Cyrus Christie. Christie suffered towards the end of the last season with a lack of confidence, something he admits openly. Head Coach Paul Clement referred to Christie’s fitness in his post-match interview saying that he was impressed by Christie’s match sharpness. Perhaps this is indicative of some fitness issues going into preseason and the opening weeks of the league season. Christie too talked about feeling “fitter and sharper” in this game and this could perhaps be to say that the defender came back into preseason feeling unfit and out of shape, which would explain his absence from even the bench on some match days thus far in the season. Speculation aside, it was good to see Cyrus Christie with his head up and looking confident above all else. His confidence since the international break could have something to do with his goal for the Republic of Ireland, his first international goal, although he humbly dubbed it a “fluke” when asked about this goal in his post-match interview.

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All over the pitch, Derby fans saw the most confident looking team they’ve seen all season. The players are clearly buoyed by the previous two results, following up their first win of the season with another important win on Tuesday night against Reading. Although the result of this one only gives Derby one point of the three that they undoubtedly deserved, it is another important result avoiding defeat to one of the league’s top teams, just as Derby did in the games against Birmingham, Middlesbrough and Reading. The league table may be less than relevant as far as standings go this early on, but the table does still read only one loss in eight for the Rams. Derby are playing attacking football, but not losing games due to resolute defending. There are never any guarantees, but that is the blueprint for promotion from the Championship.

Derby County vs Leeds United

Derby came into this encounter on the back of four straight draws, looking for their first win. Opinion was split amongst Rams fans on whether this run of results should be particularly concerning. One school of thought was that draws can easily turn to wins when the team has time to gel and get used to the new bosses tactics. The opposing view is that they could just as easily turn to losses on a bad day, arguing that Derby have had a slice of luck in snatching points from behind in the past 3 games. Certainly, what cannot be argued is that 4 points from a possible 12 is relegation form, but there are a lot of asterisks next to that statement. Some fans will argue that Derby have deserved more than draws in a few of their games so far, most notably in the home game against Charlton. Another thing that cannot be argued is a home win against historic rivals Leeds would settle some of those fears, with the Rams even being able to boast that they are unbeaten in 5 games. Sadly from a black and white perspective, Leeds United ran out the victors on Saturday afternoon’s early kick off at the iPro Stadium.

Derby started positive, if somewhat uncreative, in the first half. In the first ten minutes the home side approached the game with a calm, measured and unpanicked passing style that saw them dominate possession. This style seemed to work even when Derby have been 1-0 down in previous games against Middlesbrough and Birmingham, as in both of those games The Rams dominated possession and got their reward with equalisers. The away side were the opposite. Leeds were the frantic live wires of the first half, battling for every ball, and playing with more pace and dogged determination. Despite this though, both sides struggled to create clear cut chances. There were no shots on target for the vast majority of the first half, but Leeds had several shots blocked by a defiant wall of Derby defenders.

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The away side’s best chance came early on as Sam Byram picked up the ball on the right hand side and played a pass inside to Lewis Cook. Byram continued his run and Cook returned the favour to Byram via Alex Mowatt. Byram faced a strong Derby backline but teed up striker Chris Wood nicely on the edge of the 18-yard box. Wood’s shot flew over the bar for a goal kick. For the home side, the best of their chances was a Johnny Russell free kick that found Chris Martin on the edge of the six-yard box. The striker got his angles wrong and his backwards looping header drifted past the far post.

The first shot on target was a Leeds one and unfortunately for Derby, was the goal that broke the deadlock. Stuart Dallas made a driving run down the right side and was shut down by Chris Baird and Tom Ince. Rams players and fans claimed the ball hit Dallas last but the referee gave the corner kick to Leeds. The controversy of the corner will be insignificant to The Rams as they will be more concerned with the defending that followed the set piece. Dallas opted to take the corner short, playing a clever one-two with Alex Mowatt, to eventually whip his cross to the back post to the unmarked Tom Adeyemi, who nodded the ball past Scott Carson to give United the lead. The short corner routine caught Derby confused and disorganised. The referee blew his whistle for half time shortly after and the home team left the field with their heads held low.

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The second half saw a different approach from Derby and The Rams started the second half the way many fans will feel they should have started the first half. The home side began attacking with speed and urgency, determined to find a response to Adeyemi’s first half goal. This reaction was exactly what Rams fans were looking for in the second half and Derby started to look threatening. In the opening moments of the half, a good move from Craig Forsyth resulted in him finding Jeff Hendrick, who carved out a chance with his driving run at the Leeds backline, shooting from distance and forcing a save from United ‘keeper Marco Silvestri. Derby continued to push for their equaliser and on 48 minutes equalised through Chris Martin. Once again it was a left-side attack with Forsyth and Thorne linking up well. Thorne found Martin who with a quick switch of feet, wrong-footed Liam Cooper and stroked the ball past Silvestri to make it 1-1.

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It seemed even then that The Rams were not content with the draw, continuing to push for a goal to give them the lead. Jamie Hanson found Jeff Hendrick with a heavily-weighted pass, but Hendrick used it to his advantage to knock the ball round the Leeds defender, setting himself up for a one-on-one with Silvestri. Hendrick smashed his shot just past the goalkeeper’s right hand post and the game stayed even. Shortly after this, George Thorne was substituted through injury for Andreas Weimann, and the Rams changed to a 4-2-3-1 system, with four recognised forwards on the pitch, to push for another goal. This system seemed to cause a few problems for the Leeds defenders initially, with Silvestri having to make two more saves from Derby half-chances turned into shots, first by Russell and then Weimann. As the game went on however, Leeds started to look more and more resolute and Rams boss Paul Clement decided the time was right on 79 minutes to bring on Darren Bent for Johnny Russell. This changed the formation again to a 4-4-2 shape, but also spelled the end of Derby's dominance. Derby looked devoid of ideas and low on confidence; another draw seemed inevitable.

It was at this point that Paul Clement made his final substitution, the most baffling of all. Defender Ryan Shotton came on for midfielder Jamie Hanson, with Shotton going to right-back and captain Chris Baird moved into the centre of midfield. Rams fans have been critical of Chris Baird's performances in midfield so far this season, believing right-back to be his best position. Furthermore there have been frustrations with the lack of game time for unused substitute on the day, Simon Dawkins. Dawkins, primarily a creative attacking midfielder, would have been the obvious choice for a team chasing a victory. Instead, the introduction of Ryan Shotton saw Derby begin to sit back and invite pressure, hoping to hold on to a draw. Leeds reacted with attacking intent, unsurprisingly netting the winner through a Chris Wood wonderstrike and taking home all 3 points.

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One of the significant influential elements in this game was the utilisation of Chris Martin. As Wigan manager, current Leeds boss Uwe Rosler claimed to have disrupted Derby's gameplan in a previous game by cutting off supply to Martin. It came as no surprise then that Leeds centre-backs Sol Bamba and Liam Cooper took it in turns to mark the talismanic Derby striker out of the game when he stayed central. In the second half, he roamed more freely to the wings and players like Johnny Russell, Tom Ince, and Andreas Weimann moved central. Martin's ability to get away from his markers made Derby more fluid and meant that Bamba and Cooper could not follow him everywhere he went. Martin’s movement opened up Leeds so much more than in the first half and it is no coincidence that this was Derby’s best spell in the game. When Darren Bent came on however, Martin struggled again as he was forced to stay central to play provider for Bent, who relies on a good supply behind him to score goals. As in the first half, Bamba and Cooper found it easy, just picking a striker each and marking them out of the game, meaning Derby struggled as a result.

Derby fans considered this a must-win game, so despite their frustrations at drawing so many games, leaving this game with no points was a bitter blow. When any team concedes first, it is always likely that they will find themselves under pressure for the rest of the game regardless of whether they find themselves an equaliser or not. The opening goal is an important psychological advantage that Derby have now given away to their opponents on four occasions this season. Going into the international break on the back of a loss could give the squad time to reflect on the results and hopefully for Derby fans this time off will inspire them to react away at Preston on 12th September.

Derby are facing a psychological battle to find the first win and Paul Clement needs to call upon his players to react better to adversity. In his post-match interview he said of his team that “they have to be men”. Clement will want his team to start giving more spirited and passionate performances that fans and coaches expect of professional sporting athletes, rather than lowering their heads and feeling sorry for themselves in such a childish manner the way they do when they start to struggle in games. The grit and determination that these very same players once had in spades is now the missing ingredient. It is up to the players themselves to find it again, but also up to Clement to inspire them to. This first loss of the season could be the catalyst for better results, but only if Derby react in the right way.

Derby County vs Middlesbrough

At the start of play, league sponsors Skybet had Middlesbrough 11/10 favourites to be promoted, with Derby County being second favourites at 7/4. Interestingly however, the bookies had Derby down as 11/8 favourites to run out winners in Tuesday night’s encounter between the two sides at the iPro Stadium. Home favourites Derby were on the back of a good display 3 days prior at home to Charlton with the Rams unfortunate to have had to settle for a draw on that occasion. Meanwhile visitors Middlesbrough came into this game on the back of a huge 3-0 victory at home to Bolton. This battle between two promotion hopefuls was a hotly anticipated event and as fans of both teams waited for their teams to emerge, you could cut the tension with a knife. Following a minute’s silence for the recently deceased Ian Magno, father of Derby academy scholar Glenn Magno, the noise levels in the ground rose to near deafening levels in expectation of an epic clash between these two sides.

The home side started the brighter and Derby were energetic all over the park creating chances. One particular bright moment came from midfielder Jeff Hendrick. His layoff to Tom Ince, who found Andreas Weimann, culminated in the Austrian international completing the passing triangle that found Hendrick space to crack off a long shot hard and low to the Boro ‘keeper’s left. The goalkeeper in question, Dimi Konstantopoulos, got a hand to the shot but could only hook it out to Chris Martin, who was dispossessed by George Friend clearing the danger. There was a good feeling for the first 15 minutes amongst Derby fans who, before to the match, saw this as a tough game and were apprehensive about coming up against one of their apparent ‘bogey teams’. Seeing their team dominate the early stages was positive for the Rams, and calmed a few nerves in the stands of the iPro.

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This good feeling was soon to turn to a sinking feeling, as Middlesbrough caught Derby napping to take the lead on the 15 minute mark. The away side found themselves 1-0 up after switching the play to find marauding left back George Friend, who cut inside for an attempt at goal on his weaker right foot. His attempt deflected off Derby centre-half Richard Keogh and fell into the lap of Kike, who needed only to apply a simple finish to give his side the lead. One rare moment of complacency is all a team like Boro need to take the lead and a poor collective lapse in focus was always likely to be extremely dangerous against such a well-drilled cerebral outfit.

After this, the game started to be played at the away team’s pace. Derby did not raise the tempo despite controlling the ball, and lacked creativity. When Middlesbrough had possession they kept the game slow and sluggish to stop Derby from being able to beat them with pace. The noise in the iPro had quietened and the home fans realised their team had not dealt well with going a goal down. The Rams looked frustrated to be trailing at home for the second time in three days. The only real chance in the half an hour that followed the opener was a Chris Martin header over the bar, after Jason Shackell played a long pass down the Derby left to Stephen Warnock. The left back crossed for the arriving Martin but the striker got his header all wrong and connected too far underneath the ball, sending it up and over the bar.

Further adversity for the Rams came when Jamie Hanson was clattered by George Friend. Friend was booked for the dangerous challenge after play continued for the Derby advantage. Unfortunately for those of a black and white persuasion, Hanson had to be substituted with a concussion, along with Jeff Hendrick who suffered a dead leg. On came Ryan Shotton and Johnny Russell to switch the system from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1. It was a necessary change as Derby have been ravaged by injuries to central midfielders with Bryson and Hughes already out. Shotton came on at right back, pushing Chris Baird into the middle with George Thorne. With a makeshift midfield and a change of game plan, things weren’t going well for Derby at the half time whistle. There was however a promising chance just before the whistle with a well-hit Tom Ince free kick being palmed away by Konstantopoulos.

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Derby started the second half with much more enthusiasm. The players at the half time break would have had a chance to digest the miserable and in some ways unfortunate first half they had and motivate themselves for the second half much more. Derby had changed style to fit the new formation and instead of expending too much energy by rushing out at Middlesbrough with a reckless tempo, they wore down their opponents with good passing and patient play. Middlesbrough by this point had begun to look slow and lethargic. This was either a deliberate tactic on their part to conserve energy and slow down the game or owing to genuine fatigue, having played so many games so early in the season. Derby stretched the opposition, switching play often to Tom Ince who was a key playmaker in the second half, combining well with Johnny Russell in the centre at times to try to create chances.

However, it wasn’t until the late stages of the game that Derby managed to look likely to break through the resolute Boro defence. The away side were definitely tired when the 82 minute mark came and Chris Martin made a good near post run to meet a Johnny Russell corner. If not for the quick reactions of Konstantopoulos to get two hands on the ball on the line, Derby would have been equal. An equaliser was inevitable at this rate though and Derby finally got their reward on 88 minutes, after Thorne’s long ball to Martin missed its intended target and bounced through to Johnny Russell, who smashed home one-on-one with the goalkeeper. A few minutes later, the final whistle blew and the two Championship giants went home with a point apiece.

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Rams fans knew this game would be a tough test, but they could not have known that the test would be made even tougher with two forced substitutions before half time that threw the game plan out of the window. The first half represented despair for the white shirts on the field. Going a goal down and losing two players to injury meant a tough tactical decision for Paul Clement. The Rams boss has talked repeatedly about his team being more adaptable this season and games like this show why. The style of play had to change so dramatically from the first half to the second, and the players had to get to grips with their new instructions quickly. It took a while, but the patience paid off for Derby in this game and there can be few arguments that a draw was a fair result.

As the saying goes, there’s no rest for the wicked. Derby find themselves back in action again on Friday night for their TV clash against Birmingham City, meaning the Rams will have played 3 games in 6 days and they’ll be hoping that will be the time and place to pick up the first league win. A failure to win just 3 games into the season should be no cause for concern though, especially with a hectic schedule like that. Derby played well enough to win on Saturday against Charlton but did not get the result, and now they can add a spirited draw against one of the promotion favourites to their record too. The result sits on the Derby record despite having to deal with key injuries, and playing their backs to the wall. There are plenty of positives and negatives with what Derby fans have seen so far this season, but the important thing to keep in mind is that confidence is still dwindling and a win on Friday against Birmingham would go a long way to kick-starting a successful season for the Rams.

Derby County vs Charlton Athletic

“We’ll play worse than that and win” declared Derby Head Coach Paul Clement in his post-match interview with Rams Player. Such a positive attitude is one that seems to be shared amongst Rams fans and players after Saturday’s game against Charlton Athletic. After exiting the Capital One Cup and losing young midfield star Will Hughes to long term injury in the 7 days prior to the game, a lot of demons needed to be exorcised in the encounter against The Addicks. Expectations were high in Derby’s first home game of the 2015/16 Championship season following disappointing performances in a 0-0 away draw to Bolton in the league a week beforehand and the aforementioned 2-1 cup loss to League Two Portsmouth 3 days beforehand. Crowdfunded supporters’ organisation The 1884 Group had arranged for flags to be distributed amongst the fans along with confetti and ticker tape to be released upon the players coming out onto the pitch. The aim of this visual display was to improve the matchday atmosphere in the iPro Stadium, but such a fanfare must then be reinforced by a good solid home performance, which many Rams fans will argue was delivered by the players.

The noise and fan displays in the iPro certainly got the home side off to a good start as Derby dominated the visitors from the very beginning. The Rams created a number of chances and nearly took the lead on a few occasions, with only fine margins keeping the ball out of the net. As far as team play goes, the best moment from a Derby perspective began with a turnover in possession thanks to Craig Forsyth picking the pocket of a Charlton man to win the ball, and the left-backs subsequent long pass to the other flank. The ball landed squarely at the feet of Tom Ince who used the overlapping right-back Chris Baird, with Baird drilling a low cross towards Chris Martin who looked set to score if not for a last ditch clearance by Charlton’s Alou Diarra.

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Despite this however, the first goal went to the visitors early in the second half after Tony Watt’s shot deflected off Richard Keogh’s attempted block deceiving the Rams ‘keeper Scott Carson. Harsher critics may look at the game’s opener and attach some blame to Carson for his lack of movement, or to Keogh for his trailing leg deflecting the ball into the net. However it would be extremely tough on either man to fault them for what was an unfortunate mishap. To give credit to the scorers though, Charlton found Watt in good space to get the shot off through some clever interplay. Certainly Addicks fans will tell you that “they all count” and perhaps that the shot was most likely going on target anyway with a lot of pace and there’s no guarantee that Carson would have been able to deal with the shot even without the deflection.

Derby continued to push for an equaliser though. The team played with the same determination and positivity that they started the game with and not an ounce of panic seemed to seep into the game – the very opposite to how Rams fans saw their team play on Wednesday night. Much more calmness and confidence saw them continue to create chances despite being behind. The Rams nearly got their much sought-after equaliser on 54 minutes with midfielder Jeff Hendrick coming close to netting for his team. The chance came from Derby skipper Chris Baird’s interception halfway into the Charlton half. The Addicks found themselves under the cosh following this as white shirts began to flood into their half to capitalise on the turnover in possession. Baird found Ince, who chose not to play in Chris Martin who was much better positioned, opting to go alone instead. Charlton defenders swarmed Ince and cut off the Martin option, leaving only a crowded out Hendrick as his only pass. Hendrick however found his way through and squeezed a shot through the wall of bodies, only to have it cleared off the line by Patrick Bauer.

The equaliser had been a long time coming when it arrived on 67 minutes. Academy graduate Jamie Hanson found Chris Martin on the edge of the box and the Suffolk-born striker turned and fired his shot on his left foot into the keeper’s bottom right corner. Even though Derby had been made to work so hard for the equaliser, they never stopped pushing for the winner, even right into added time, but sadly for the home supporters it was not to be and the match finished 1-1.

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Most impressively for those of a black and white persuasion, The Rams seemed to use the full width of the pitch, switching the play often and having full-backs overlap and stretch the compact Charlton backline as much as possible. Wingers Johnny Russell and Tom Ince seemed to cut inside less, preferring to use the midfielders and frontline striker Chris Martin with passes, allowing them to find space out wide. Having tough-tacklers in midfield like George Thorne and Jamie Hanson allowed full-backs Chris Baird and Craig Forsyth to find themselves in the final third much more often than in the previous two games. Many Rams fans had made clear their displeasure with a perceived lack of width, especially with the 4-4-2 diamond formation used in preseason and against Bolton on the opening day of the season. Paul Clement certainly knew he was going to need width in this game with the Rams boss noting prior to the game that Charlton were a “well organised and compact” team.

Also impressive however was the players for Derby today who allowed fans to breathe a sigh of relief with their performances and fitness. Chris Martin’s tally of zero goals, even including preseason, was something that worried many fans but with last season’s leading goalscorer getting himself off the mark yesterday fans will feel more relaxed about that. Similarly, injury-plagued midfielder George Thorne put in another good performance and despite taking some heavy knocks came through another game, just as he came through preseason unscathed. Undoubtedly we must ask the question “when will Derby fans be able to feel comfortable with George Thorne’s ability to stay fit?” The answer to that is as long as there is an audible gasp from fans every time the midfielder stays down for more than three seconds, we can be sure it won’t be any time soon. Last but not least an honourable mention must go to Jamie Hanson, the young midfielder who stepped in for injured Will Hughes in this game. The 19 year old was playing his fourth first team game, but he looked like a player with several years’ experience. There was some slight timidity and what seems like nervousness, but on the whole Hanson impressed Derby fans with a mature midfield performance.

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A performance like that is normally enough to do the job against most teams. Frustration with the result is useless, nothing will change as an outcome. Derby fans should instead feel proud that the team exorcised the aforementioned demons and put in a winning performance in all but the scoreline. As the Head Coach of the better team on the day, Paul Clement speaks for all Rams fans when he says “we’ll play worse than that and win”.

Pre-Season: Burton Albion vs Derby County

A trip to Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium rounded off Derby County's pre-season with the Rams conquering the Brewers in a 3-1 victory. Over 5,000 fans were present at the game, a record attendance for the fixture, to watch their respective teams for the final time before the Football League season opens next weekend. Fresh from welcoming La Liga’s Villarreal to the iPro Stadium, Derby were the favourites to round off preseason with a resounding win against their Staffordshire rivals. Rams boss Paul Clement had his side experiment with a new 4-2-3-1 formation in this game, but admitted in his post-match comments that the players had not practised the formation in training prior to this encounter, much to the surprise of those who saw the performance of the Rams players who looked like they had been playing it for years.

This particular preseason friendly is often a regular occurrence and a staple of both teams’ preseason schedules, but this time newly promoted League One side Burton provided a tougher test for Derby than they have in previous seasons. Regardless, it was the Championship promotion hopefuls who started the brighter. Derby retained possession for the early periods and created a number of good chances. The visitors, sporting their smart new 'nightshade purple' away kit, also resolutely recovered the ball by cutting out Albion attacks with intense speed and urgency. The home side seemed to struggle with the pace that the Rams brought to this fixture, and could not seem to keep the ball to create chances.

The best example of Derby’s high tempo terrorisation of the Albion players was in the run-up to the opening goal. It was intense pressure high up the pitch that allowed ball-winning midfielder George Thorne to dispossess the Burton player, ex-Ram Tom Naylor, to slide a ball through to dangerman striker Darren Bent, who slotted the ball into the far corner to give his side the lead. Derby soon followed this up with a second goal courtesy of Andreas Weimann. One major criticism of first goalscorer Darren Bent, is that his hold up play and passing is often lacking in comparison to his significant rival for the striker position, the talismanic and often unselfish Chris Martin. However, Bent’s interplay with pacy wide man Johnny Russell created Derby’s second goal, with Russell continuing on from Bents good work to find Weimann in the box, who fired over the top of Burton’s on-loan goalkeeper Remi Matthews and into the net.

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Derby continued to apply pressure until the half time whistle, with goal-scoring opportunities by Ince and Weimann placed straight at the goalkeeper. Away fans in the Pirelli will have felt their side could have easily been 4 or 5 up at the break. Despite all these chances, the first half finished just 2-0 to the deserving visitors. In response, the home side mounted a comeback early in the second half. After the game, Rams Head Coach Paul Clement bemoaned inconsistency in his side’s performance. It is likely that he refers to this period of the game with this comment as Burton began to look the better team, capable of strolling through the previously steely Derby defence with ease. A Burton goal looked inevitable based on this play and the Brewers pulled one back with new boy Tommy Thiele. The play began with an Albion free kick on the right hand side. Loan signing Mark Duffy crossed the ball to Anthony O’Connor at the back post, whose header towards goal was inadequately cleared by the Derby man on the line, falling to the feet of Thiele, who couldn't miss from point-blank range.

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2-1 was the score, and Derby needed a response of their own before the home side found an equaliser. The catalyst for change was Derby’s four substitutions, as moments later the tide was turned with a goal. Powerful midfielder Jeff Hendrick had only been on the pitch for 3 minutes before his ambitious attempt from distance deflected to the feet of Johnny Russell, who beat the offside trap to restore the away team’s two-goal cushion. The visitors took this chance to seize control of the game once more and saw out the victory, almost making it 4-1 through Jamaican international Simon Dawkins if not for a good save from the Brewers goalkeeper.

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One of the biggest talking points of this game since the full time whistle has been the impressive return of Jason Shackell. The Rams defender left the club in 2012 for a reported figure of just over £1m, much to the frustration of many fans. His return for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £3m, has been lauded by many fans as the best signing of the summer and many fans believe him to be the perfect man to ensure a defensive crisis like the one that hit the team towards the end of last season is not repeated. Shackell was impressive in this game and was a large part of the reason for Derby’s unyielding defending early in the game. Some fans have fears that Shackell has already hit his career peak in the ‘missing years’ while he was not at the club. In this game though, the 31-year old ex-Burnley captain seemed to still be every bit as good as he was at the Clarets, and much better than his already impressive performances in a Derby shirt back in the 2011/12 season. It is early days, but those fans who have him down as an early contender for ‘signing of the summer’ may just be right.

With preseason wrapped up, Rams fans can be pleased with their teams showing in the six friendly matches they have played in. Ever since the only loss of preseason in the first friendly against Grimsby, Derby have not looked outplayed in any of the following five games. A sense of embarrassment and determination to set things right followed that loss at Blundell Park, and with each preseason game, fans have seen more and more quality in this team, each game being better than the last. With the season opener against Bolton now less than a week away, Derby supporters will be buzzing with excitement to see how the players will step up in quality once again to rise to the challenge where it really matters – the Championship fixtures.

Pre Season: Derby County 1-1 Villarreal CF

Derby County boss Paul Clement went on record prior to this match to talk about his anticipation for the encounter to be a ‘good test’ for his team. Clement and his squad went into this encounter fresh from a Holland trip which was successful not only as an exercise in team bonding, but also in bearing fruit from a footballing perspective. The tour began with a game across the border in Germany against SV Meppen, which ended 1-0 in the Rams favour, followed by a tougher matchup with Eredivisie mainstays FC Utrecht, the more impressive performance as Derby came out 3-2 winners. The Rams displayed the step-up in quality in those games that Paul Clement had demanded after a lucky lacklustre 1-0 win away at Northampton before the trip. It is logical then that Clement would so strongly anticipate the visit of one of La Ligas stronger teams, Villarreal, who finished 6^th in Spanish football's top flight last season.

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If a test was what Derby needed, then they got it as the Spaniards showed steely resolve in defence and creative counter attacking moves. This meant the opening 20 minutes was an end-to-end affair as both sides had chances to come up with the first goal. Derby saw a great deal of the ball and retained possession well but Villarreal were a well-drilled team who countered with pace and power when Derby’s early moves came to nothing. The brightest spark from a Derby perspective was summer signing Andreas Weimann. The Austrian international had an early opportunity to put the home side in the lead in the early moments of the game when he held up a long ball out of defence well and beat two defenders. His touch over the defenders was just too heavy and the Derby forward’s attempted header over the goalkeeper did not connect with the required amount of power.

Despite this, it was the La Liga side who broke the deadlock when Antonio Rukavina’s long range effort was weakly parried out by Derby goalkeeper Lee Grant into the path of Léo Baptistão, who finished from close range. The save from the Rams stopper was a poor one, misjudging the flight of the shot, meaning he was not able to divert the shot over the bar as was clearly the intention. In defence of Grant however, he was not the only one to make an error. Uncharacteristically for the Derby man in question, it was through a rare moment of lackadaisical defending from George Thorne that allowed the Spanish forward the space to shoot from distance.

Derby continued to push for an equaliser, and found it when Will Hughes took a free kick quickly high up the pitch and caught the away side out, finding Tom Ince who squared it to Andreas Weimann, with the Derby forward needing two attempts to finish it. Hughes’ vision from the free kick was his best moment in what was a good game for the young star. The goal coming from a quickly taken set piece was fitting in this game, as both sides had many set pieces during the game. Derby’s best set piece chances were a Tom Ince free kick which was positioned well, but executed poorly with the shot hit straight at the keeper. Jeff Hendrick’s second half free kick was much better, and a good tip over the bar from Villarreal’s Alphonse Areola was all that denied the Republic of Ireland international.

The game finished 1-1, a fair result but many Derby fans left the game feeling like it could have been a big win. Darren Bent had a late chance to win it from the spot after Johnny Russell was brought down in the box. Bent’s penalty kick was a languid attempt, hit with no real conviction, and so the game ended in a draw. The Villarreal side that turned out was clearly not full strength but for Derby to have held their own, and in some cases dominated, in this game was very impressive.

A few unwelcome tropes of the Derby County of last season still persist within this side however. The Rams finished outside of the playoff places despite high expectations, resulting in the departure of former Head Coach Steve McClaren. Many fans have pointed to the tension and nervousness of the players towards the end of the season as one significant issue at that time. A lack of confidence sent Derby plummeting down the table, all the way from 1^st to 8^th in the league.

At times Derby have looked frantic and desperate in this preseason, albeit less so than at the end of the 2014/2015 season. The biggest example of this was at the lowest moment in the game, with Lee Grant castigating the defenders in front of him after conceding. This is not a good sign of good team cohesion and leadership and head Coach Paul Clement must still work on keeping calm heads under pressure and give the team belief in their abilities. Many teams achieve this with time and through putting together good results. Nonetheless, Derby fans are aware that it may take a few games before this team fully gels with new signings and new tactical approaches from the new coaching staff. If things start slowly, players must be patient with themselves and each other, just like the fans and coaching staff must be patient with them, continuing to believe that this team can still have a successful season.

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Derby can be forgiven somewhat for this though, much of the agitation for the players will come from their driven nature and their will to succeed. They will be aware that with a new head coach comes a new challenge to keep their place in the team, and with a new challenge comes apprehension about impressing the new boss. The problem with this is that Derby play their best football with high tempo, not high anxiety. Calming a few nerves, and with that improving finishing in front of goal, will be the final piece of the puzzle before Derby can look like the real deal.

Just over a week remains before the first game of the season and there is still ample time for these minor issues to be ironed out. There is no doubt though that this team has improved a lot since the opening preseason match where they lost 2-1 away at Grimsby. This game had many positive signs from the home team, and Derby probably deserved to win it on the balance of the game.

Pre-Season: Northampton Town 0-1 Derby County

Derby County’s final pre-season run-out before the squad travel to Holland proved to be a tougher test than most would have anticipated. The Rams will today depart for Arnhem where they will spend a week at a training camp based there, with the 1-0 victory over Northampton Town still fresh in their minds. Head coach Paul Clement has indicated that the players and staff will review the footage of yesterday’s match as part of the training camp but the Rams boss declared himself ‘disappointed overall’ with the performance of his players.

The encounter at Sixfields began with a strong display of intent from the home side. Northampton Town kicked off for the first half, and shocked the Derby players with an instant fast-paced attacking move, beating four Rams players in the first six seconds of the match. The move came to nothing but was a strong message that The Cobblers were in the mood to seriously take the game to their opponents. This was not an empty threat as the home team largely pegged Derby back into their own box for the opening ten minutes. The Derby defence however were resilient, and leadership and organisation, something many fans of the black and white midlanders will argue the team has lacked for a few seasons, prevailed. Last season’s captain Richard Keogh, his Republic of Ireland compatriot Alex Pearce, and ex-England goalkeeper Scott Carson, were all commanding at the back, with the experienced men playing large parts in ensuring that Northampton’s chances were limited.

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Once the early storm had mostly faded, the Rams managed to carve out a few chances of their own. The best chances included an Alex Pearce header from a Johnny Russell cross and a Darren Bent shot that deflected wide, once the striker was played through on goal by Russell, a continual thorn in the side for Northampton Town. From the stands, the main view of Russell in the first ten minutes was that he had been caught in possession too many times and had been poor when tracking back, failing to adequately help Cyrus Christie on the right hand side. The Scotsman began to redeem himself as the first half an hour went on, and by the 30 minute mark was established in the match as Derby’s biggest threat.

Not long after the half an hour mark, Johnny Russell was the name on the lips of every Derby supporter in the ground. On 32 minutes, the Rams broke the deadlock with a well-worked team goal. Goalkeeper Scott Carson initiated the move with a long overarm throw from the back to midfielder Jeff Hendrick. The Irishman’s neat one-twos with fellow Derby County Academy graduate and midfield partner Will Hughes allowed the away team to penetrate the Northampton midfield and find teammates in space. New signing Andreas Weimann received the ball and after clever interplay with Rams starlet Will Hughes, found himself in an advanced position, with the energetic dangerman Johnny Russell running on to his smart through ball and finishing the move by putting his side in the lead.

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The two sides went in at half time with the score still reading 1-0 to the away team. Only one substitution was made at half time, with last season’s first choice goalkeeper Lee Grant coming on for Scott Carson. The scoreline continued relatively unthreatened until Richard Keogh mistimed a header early in the second half and was forced to bring down Cobblers forward Marc Richards in the box to concede a penalty. Luckily for the Rams, the Northampton number 9 skied his penalty and kept the away side in the lead.

One of the main stories of this encounter was Paul Clement’s choice of captain. In the first half when previous captain Richard Keogh was on the pitch, Clement chose experienced midfielder Chris Baird to take the armband. Baird at times failed to protect the defensive line as he was well placed to do. His positioning and discipline almost impeccable yet he seemed to be missing the commitment when it was needed to cut off the supply in midfield to Northampton strikers. Nonetheless, the Northern Irishman did a good job as a leader and organiser if his motto as captain was for his teammates to ‘do as I say, not as I do’ as the adage goes. When Baird departed the field after an hour to make way for George Thorne, the oncoming Craig Bryson picked up the captaincy as he replaced Will Hughes. The midfielder seemed buoyed by the responsibility of the armband and, unlike Baird, led by example as captain. The maverick midfielder even managed to come close to netting Derby’s second with a diving header that glanced wide of the mark.

Another of the main stories of the game was the return of talismanic striker Chris Martin, who also came on as a substitute after an hour. His half hour on the pitch was largely quiet, as chances were limited in a cagey second half. After the penalty miss, the Rams never really looked like losing, but only through controlled defending and risk-free football. This meant Martin’s run-out would not require too much from him, a good thing considering the forward’s return from long-term injury. A tired Martin did not really have a chance on goal but the main positive from a black and white perspective is that he came through the game with a few more match minutes under his belt.

The Rams put in a performance that can only be described as unimpressive. Naturally, a lot of work is ahead and there can be no underestimating that. Regardless of the scoreline, Head Coach Paul Clement has demanded that his players ‘step the levels up’ when they play German fourth-tier side SV Meppen on Tuesday evening. While it is clear to see that there is a lot to do before Derby’s season kicks off on August 8^th, Rams fans should leave the worrying to Paul Clement and his staff, because they might have a big job to do, but it is not something that is out of their reach. The Rams will not fare well if they perform like that away from home at Bolton in 20 days, but if a week is a long time in football then three weeks is a whole lifetime away.