Catch Up!

Since the last post we have seen a Capital One Cup defeat 1-3 at home to Chelsea, a home draw 2-2 with Norwich, a 4-0 away win at in form Birmingham and then a home win 2-0 versus Leeds.

No disgrace into losing to Chelsea. We should feel aggrieved though by the sending off of Jake Buxton in the scond half. Yet again a match official getting a big decision wrong. 

The home draw with Norwich saw us second best to a team that should be doing far better than it is. A point we were lucky to get despite being ahead twice.

On to Boxing Day, it was a relief to see us take apart a team that has been in good form recently. Jordon Ibe had his best game in a Derby shirt so far. His goal was absolute quality! 

Its reassurring that after disappointing results that we have bouncebackability! Sign of a real real team with good management and real team spirit!

The Leeds game was far from a classic, but we did at last beat a team that is physical and not afraid to roug things up. Once again Ibe was impressive on the left. A crowd of over 31,00 for a night game that is being shown live on tv was pleasing too.

Twelve wins and a draw in our last fourteen games with Leeds is a very good record too.

Saturday sees a break from the league and we host Conference side Southport in the FA Cup. Perhaps a chance for some fringe players to get a start?

Middlesbrough 2 Derby 0

Live in front of the TV cameras, The Rams failed a big test against Midddlesbrough and were given the run around by former loanee Patrick Bamford.

Conceding an early goal, we never looked likely to get anything out of this game. If it wasn't for Lee Grant pulling off some class saves, a real drubbing could have occured.

Grant aside the display was woeful and quetsions are being asked, rightfully, if this team is good enough for automatic promotion?

Leeds away was poor, this was poorer!

Questions to ask about the side include-

Our full backs have no real competition, do we need players to pull them out of their comfort zone?

Just who is our best centre half to partner Richard Keogh?

The holding midfield role, do we play Mascarell because he is better at moving the ball forward or do we use Eustace who is good at assisting the defence better?

Do we play Bryson and Hughes or Bryson and Hendrick?

Who are our best wide men? Ibe, Russell, Dawkins and Ward usually to choose from!

Chris Martin has no serious competiton for the strikers role either. For those who say we should have brought Bamford back, Steve McClaren was interested in bringing him back, but understandably he wanted regular football in his natural role of striker and not playing wide.

Tonight we have a break from the league with the visit of Chelsea in the Capital One Cup. Its the cup so anything can happen!

Derby 3 Brighton 0

It was good to see Derby get back to winning ways and Chris Martin finding the net again. Brighton must be sick of the sight of Martin.

From the ninth minute to the twentieth the Rams killed off the game.

Three great goals! A well placed shot by Martin, one from Johnny Russell and a bullett of a header from Martin had the game won inside of twenty minutes.

Our visitors rarely threatened and Darren Bent was anonymous for much of the game.

To be honest the final seventy minutes were an anti climax though we did go close a couple of times to increasing our lead.

What was pleasing was the fact that our defence coming off with a clean sheet despite the absence of captain Richard Keogh.

Simon Dawkins has been a plus recently too! Although he isn't the quickest of players, he does hold on to the ball well.

Tomorrow we face a very tough looking clash at Middlesbrough.

Like us they have their eye on promotion and to win at The Riverside Stadium is going to be a very tough ask! Patrick Bamford has been in good form for them and who would bet against him scoring against us! 

A win there though would show real intent and go towards justifying our tag of promotion favourites.

Leeds 2 Derby 0

It was unlucky 13 for Derby as their unbeaten run came against Leeds. The previous twelve clashes had ended with The Rams winning eleven and drawing the other.

It was a poor, lacklustre display from Derby and bore litlle resemblence to the performances from other recent fixtures.

Very little was offered in attack and we never looked like scoring.

Leeds didn't look much better. They were however physical and became the latest side with that style of play to get the bettter of us.

If we are going to extend our stay at the rop of the table, we are going to have to cope with physical sides like Leeds and Millwall better.

Another concern for Derby was Richard Keogh going off injured late in the game. He is unlikely to play against Brighton and our defence will play a likely untried pairing of Jake Buxton and Ryan Shotton.

Brighton will come

determined to erase the memories of two league defeats and two play off leg defeats to us from last season.

For us, we need to get the promotion vehicle back into top gear.

Watford 1 Derby 2

A good away win at Vicarage road does now show some real intent of achieving the goal of promotion. 

Two splendid goals and another great performance from 'Man of the moment' Johnny Russell.

Jordon Ibe's oponer was top drawer and a great confidence booster for the young winger. He was persistently a threat which the home side failed to deal with.

Our second goal to seal the game was equally as good and shows a return to form of Craig Bryson. Bryson himself had to wait til the second half to see any action, but for the fans it was well worth the wait. Smashing one in from afar had our travelling fans off their feet and sensing another great win.

Derby had dominated the opening half of the match and Watford simply struggled to contain the attacking threat of our wide men.

We were made to work harder in the second half and had to dig in a bit to finally score a winner after the hosts had equalised.

Our next game is another away day. We make a trip to Elland Road to face Leeds.

In our last dozen games against them we have emerged victorious eleven times with one draw. Saturady would be a great time to extend that run.

Now we are back kn top of the division, it is time to drop the anchor and stay there.

Derby 5 Wolves 0

Yesterday's early kick-off for Sky TV cameras saw us put on a show for the viewers.

A clinical, no messing demolition of Wolves was witnessed also by over 30,000 fans inside the iPro Stadium. 

This was a masacre of another team who themselves have had a good start to the season since promtion from League one.

Every single Derby player had a good game and this team has produced its best performance of the season without Thorne, Bryson, Whitbread, Grant and Ward. All key players missing through injury.

Omar Mascarell was including in the starting eleven much to the surprise to many fans who had expected a recall for John Eustace. The selection proved right though as the Spanaird produced a performance that had many people chosing him for the man of the match.

Mascarell did bring something to the team that we have been missing all season and that is a threat from set pieces. One of his free kicks led to our opening goal by Ryan Shotton.

Hughes, the two goal Hendrick and Mascarell put in a masterful performance in midfield.

One would think that when we hit five goals that Chris Martin would surely have been in the scoresheet. Not this time as Johnny Russell scored a brace and continued his fine run of form of late.

The frontflip celebration was something else too!

An excellent result and we sit at the top of the table as we go into the international break too!

All in all a great day!

Derby 3 Huddersfield 2

Our visitors came to the iPro last night following an upturn in form under new manager Chris Powell. Powell a former Rams player was given a good reception by the Derby fans.

Although were made to fight for a win, i think that it is fair to say that we deserved it. 

Jordon Ibe, Johnny Russell and Simon Dawkins were our scorers. Russell having another good game. 

Jordon Ibe looked very lively throughout the game and is improving as he gets more games under his belt. We looked very dangerous whilst attacking down the flanks.

Richard Keogh put in a commanding performance. He now appears to be recapturing the form of a couple of seasons ago.

Jack Butland looked more comfortable in goal as well.

Will Hughes continues to impress in midfield. He looks a far more comfortable and polished performer nowadays.

Ryan Shotton replaced Jake Buxton at centre half. Sooner or later Steve McClaren is going to have to choose from them two or Zak Whitbread to partner Keogh.

Its an early kick off on Saturday as the Wolves of Wolverhampton visit. A tricky looking game and a side that we don't always enjoy a lot of success against in recent years.

Brentford 2 Derby 1

Well it has took me a couple of days to actually finally decide to add my comments afte Saturday's disappointing loss at Brentford. 

I have seen the game film and make no mistake, we got exactly what we deserved from the game and that is absolutely nothing.

Chris Martin had managed to put us ahead in the first half, but it wasn't long before the Bees took the initiative and fought their way to all three points.

The defeat has seen us drop a few places. If Wigan was a reality check and a reminder that there is still so much football left to play, this was one to reinforce the check with another wiff of coffee to smell.

We now go into tomorrow nights game with Huddersfield and Saturday's early kick off with Wolves needing a couple of wins.

All teams have a blip and those who are more successful have shorter ones.

The second centre half position is causing much debate between fans. Richard Keogh looks safe next to the right back, but his partner doesn't. That includes Jake Buxton, Zak Whitbread and Ryan Shotton.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure who is the best option.

On to tomorrow night and the visit of Huddersfield who at the weekend thumped our local rivals across Brian Clough Way 3-0. Their new manager Chris Powell, a former Ram will Im sure get a great welcome to the iPro.

Fulham 2 Derby 5

A midweek trip into the capital awaited The Rams ahead of a return visit down south to Brentford on Saturday.

It was a case of going down to two early goals which we gifted the Cottagers and then mounting a comeback to destroy our hosts.

Steve McClaren made five changes. One enforced change was in goal. Jack Butland being cup tied saw another chance for Kelle Roos. Jake Buxton took over from Zak Whitbread at centre half, Omar Mascarell replaced John Eustace in midfield along with Jeff Hendrick who came in for Will Hughes. The final change saw a return for Simon Dawkins instead of Jordon Ibe.

The first Fulham goal was handed on a plate to the home side. Craig Forsyth saw his backpass snaffled up by Dembele and he took it round Roos to knock it into the net.

The second was equally as shocking! Mascarell caught in posession was mugged and Dembele added another.

Derby did the get into their stride. A handball in the box saw a penalty awarded and Chris Martin made no mistake in registering his eleventh goal of the season. That was the turning point.

In a twenty minute spell Derby went from being behind to register five goals. 

Johnny Russell smacked a second goal in, Dawkins scored the goal of the game to make it 3-2 and then Jeff Hendrick made it four.

Simon Dawkins with a cheeky near post flick completed the comback and rout.

Again the lads showed great character and the nack to come from behind.

Defensive errors though like the ones we made at Craven Cottage must be ironed out.

On a positive note we now look forward to a quarter final tie with Chelseas.

That though must be put to the baxk of our minds for the time being. We head to Brentford on Saturday with an important task to complete. Three points to remain on top of the Division is what all Rams fans will expect.

Derby 1 Wigan 2

An unbeaten run always has to come to an end and end it did against Wigan.

Uwe Rosler's side came and played some physical and determined football.

Derby were outmuscled in midfield and closed down bery quickley when they had the ball. Not quite the same Wigan who parked the bus last season.

It was poor display from Derby who never looked like winning the game despite going into half time one goal up.

There were very few positives from the game. Johnny Russell put in a shift and Jack Butland saved a penalty and made a couple of good saves. His distribution wasn't good though.

Feeling though are much more positive at Derby. Steve McClaren has instilled the belief that we can come back from defeats. Its only our second loss of the campaign and theres still much football to be played.

Wigan are a side whom many believe are in a false low position. I think we will see a steady rise up the table from them.

We now look forward to a Capital One Cup tie at Fulham midweek and the chance to move into the quarter finals. It would be great to see us make progress again, but don't underestimate the task ahead. Kit Symons has got the London club going!

Blackpool 0 Derby 1

No the easy ride that many were predicting! Played in strong windy conditions the hosts made a determined effort to get the points.

Games like these are all about patience and keeping to the task in hand.

Yes sure enough we were playing the bottom club, but i think that most were happy with the three points gained on a cold and windy night on the West coast.

A big plus point is the fact that we managed to convert a penalty. Thats something if a rarity nowaday, but Martin smashed the ball home.

Jack Butland had a very good debut and Johnny Russell had a busy game after coming in for the injured Ward.

The victory sees us now top of the division and although fans are right to enjoy the fact, its far too early to start crowing to other clubs.

Our team does appear to be one of the strongest at the moment, but its important that we keep the momentum going as we head into this weekends home game with Wigan.

The Latics have underachieved so far this season, but its still October. They will be no oushovers on Saturday.

Butland in on Loan

Lee Grant getting injured at the weekend was not the news that Rams rans wanted to here this morning.

Grant along with Jamie Ward are each expected to miss about six weeks of action.

Grant returned to Derby last season and has proven himself to be one of the best keepers in the championship. He has become a fans favourite and no doubt his absence will leave a big gap to fill.

Whilst the club are expected to cover for Ward using existing Squad players, Jack Butland is being brought in on loan from Stoke City to cover for Grant. Kelle Roos has appeared in our Capital One Cup game, but perhaps its unfair to throw him in at the deep end whilst we sit second in the table. 

Once again are management team pull off a deal when its needed nd use the loan market to good effect. Butland is expected to start tomorrow night at Blackpool.

Reading 0 Derby 3

Prior to Saturday our last success at the Madejski had been back in the term of George Burley's reign with a Tommy Smith goal.

On Saturday we were facing a side that although stuttering latetly, are expected to be in the mix at the end of the season.

Reading did in fact play a decent game of football and had a few chances themselves. They were just outclassed by Derby who once again took a side apart without having to hit top gear.

For once we made a corner count when Chris Martin headed in the opning goal. Our lack of success from set pieces has been one of the few frustrations this season.

Jordon Ibe took the second goal very well. I loved the way he barged into the box and slammed the ball into the corner of the net.

Martin could have had four or five on Saturday but had to be satisfied with a brace. His second saw a proper strikers finish.

Chris Martin now has nine goals in all competitions so far this season. Could he surpass last seasons total of twenty five?

We now move on to a trip to the seaside against struggling Blackpool. We cannot afford to be too cocky about out chances of winning, but its a great chance to keep us in second place or indeed move up to top spot should Watford falter against Forest.

Non League Saturday

Quite often during the international breaks we are encouraged to take in a lower league or nin league game.

During the last break I managed to get to the Lincoln City v Grimsby Town match. A real Lincolnshire Derby with plenty of pride and passion.

Lincoln is the city where I currently live and my brother is a season ticket holder. 

T,hey have reached the second tier of football in the past, but they currently languish in the lower half of the National Conference.

A club that has had such players as John Fashanu, Mick Harford and the excellent Trevor Peake, now struggles to attract crowds much more than a couple of thousand fans.

On Saturday my ten year olds team, the North Lindum Hawks will be visiting adding some much needed support to the Imps.

I will be there with him.

So where are you going on Saturday?

Derby 0 Millwall 0

For anyone who is suffering from Insomnia, play the game film from this match and you will soon be out like a light!

I think we were all expecting the negative tactics after last seasons display. They did the same on Saturday but left without the smash and grab win.

Its fair to say that all sides do their fair share of time wasting towards the end of games, but to do it from the kick off really is poor football.

Ian Holloway is a master of getting results with limited resources and I've no doubt that he will often use these tactics when up against better sides in the division.

For Derby, games like these are a test of character and its a reality check too.

We on the whole play nice attacking football and often pass teams off the park. Saturday, we had to grit our teeth and attempt to grind out a result.

We go into the latest international break having lost only one game so far and in a good position. Just one point off top spot is pleasing so early into the campaign.

The players will now get a rest after a hectic schedule and should be fully refreshed once they return.

For the rest of us its England and maybe taking in a lower league game.

Derby 2 Bournemouth 0

Once again Bournemouth proved to be tough opposition. They passed the ball around well, but didnt look like they were going to go away with three points.

There was some confusion over the sending off of their goalkeeper, Lee Camp, a former Ram.

Camp collided with Ward and the ball ended up in the net. Despite the referee appearing to give the goal initially, he eventually showed Camp the red card and gave Derby a free kick instead.

Last season we won this fixture by a Chris Martin Free Kick. This time however, the kick struck the post.

Will Hughes, who is playing the best football of his life at, the moment scored a well taken goal for our first and Chris Martin took his tally to seven for the season when he met Russell's cross for our second.

People were mystified with the half time substitution that saw Ibe make way for Russell. It was explained that the Liverpool loanee had been suffering from a stomach bug.

The last three games have seen us play some great football. Millwall come into town on Saturday and its no secret that Holloway with have them to order with a set plan to snatch the points.

Expect hard knocks, time wasting and spoiling tactics.

Let's hope we brush them aside with total football.

 

Bolton 0 Derby 2

It was gery much evident in this game that at the current moment in time, that Derby are on another level to their hosts.

Bolton are so far looking at another season of struggle both on and off the field.

This game couldnt have come at a worse time as Derby are now begining to look like the side that finished third in the Division last season.

Despite having an early penalty saved by Andy Lonergan, Chris Martin did have the satisfaction of adding a brace of goals to his account.

Those fans who question his place in the side really must be clueless. Stikers are ultimately judged on goals scored and Martin continues to add to his total.

Jordon Ibe once again performed well and he looks like he will be a tremendous player for us this season. Ironically it was Bolton who led the chase for him before he arrived at the iPro.

Dougie Freedman implied that Bolton had tried and failed to play Derby at their own passing game. There are very few teams at this level who will accomplish such ambitions.

Derby 2 Reading 0 - Capital One Cup

Its pleasing to see us progress to the last sixteen in the Capital One Cup. Weve waited six years to reach this stage and the last time that we did, we got to the semi finals.

It was another strong showing despite Steve McClaren making six changes to the starting line up.

It was inevitable that Jordon Ibe would get a start. After his impressive appearance off the bench on saturday, McClaren would have probably wanted to get a closer look at him in competetive action.

Ibe certainly made a good impression and is rightly getting rave reviews.

Kelle Roos got a first start in goal and did what was needed. He didnt have the busiest of nights.

With Johnny Russell scoring and having a good game, it really does leave us with plenty of options in the wide roles.

The attendance of 18,000+ was very good for this stage of the competition. The heavily discounted tickets being well received by the fans.

We wait until tonights draw to see who we play in the next round, but we must now focus on the away trip to Bolton and hopefully three points.

Derby 2 Cardiff 2

It must been a while since ive seen Derby dominate a game in this fashion and not got three points.

Apart from a spell of about ten minutes in the second half, this was all about Derby. Seventy five per cent posession really do pint a true picture of who was running the show. Its was Cardiff who went two goals to the good in the second half though. 

Ten minutes of madness cost us two points! Moments like these could prove to be very costly towrds the end of the season.

However, lets not reflect for too long thise ten minutes, for this was in every other way yet another masterful performance.

Cyrus Christie once again shined especially when we were on the attack and once again got my vote as man of the match.

Richard Keogh is starting to look like his old self again. He executed a brillaint tackle in the second half whilst chasing back a Cardiff attack.

The players for me who didnt really shine were Craig Forsyth who didnt have one of his better games and Zak Whitbread who lost possession of the ball which lead to the second Cardiff goal.

Jordon Ibe certainly looked the part when he came on as a substitute in the scond half and took his goal well!

Overall a very good performance, but defensive errors must be ironed out. There is a growing feeling amongst many fans that another natural centre half might be needed to be added to the squad.

On to Reading at home in the Capital One Cup tomorrow. Perhaps a start for Ibe and Calero?

Blackburn 2 Derby 3 - after match thoughts

Derby hadn't won at Blackburn since 2001 before last nights fixture kicked off and within fifty seconds of the game game kicking off they were behind to a goal from Marshall. His shot was deflected in and looped over Lee Grant after taking a deflection off Richard Keogh who had attempted to block it.

The Rams then when on full attack and Jamie Ward soon scored an equaliser after nine minutes. Some good work down the left by Dawkins found Bryson who crossed in for Ward to hammer home.

Will Hughes put Derby ahead on forty five minutes when he went for goal on the edge of the box. It was another game where Hughes looked a class act and will be one that Premier League scouts will no doubt be taking note of.

Ward extended the lead to 3-1 when he curled a shot in after an hour. Derby looked like they might even score more. Both Ward and Martin had chances to pile on the agony for Blackburn.

This was a very pleasing display against a very good side. The whole Derby side played well, particularly Zak Whitbread who came in for the suspended Jake Buxton. I would suggest that it would be very harsh to leave the American out for Saturdays game against Cardiff.

Blackburn did pull a goal back towards the end of the game courtesy of Gestede and went close very soon after that, but a first away win in the League for Derby sees them now just outside the too six and looking to March on and impose themselves in the Championship race.

It was important to get a result last night. A defeat could have delayed yet again our attempt to break into the the leading pack for a top six place.

Our football was near and at times looked more like that of last season.

Cardiff should be a good test on Saturday and another win will show that Derby mean business!

Grasping the problems with Grass Roots!

It was announced today that Nottingham will be the first city to be awarded the 'City of Football' title that brings much needed funds into the game at a grass roots level.

Banter aside, this is a good thing for the East Midlands. I'm sure that Nottingham Forest, Notts County, Mansfield Town and even our own Derby County could reap some rewards from this. We are only 15 miles away and have had plenty of Nottingham lads progress through our academy.

Good as this might be though, the game at grass roots level has been under invested in for years on end.

I will make an example of my youngest son aged 10 and what he had to go through to make it into a squad for this season.

Firstly towards the end of last season he went to training sessions for one of the local clubs in Lincoln. North Lindum Hawks are one of a few clubs within our area that cater for under-11's to play the game.

He then attended all open training sessions held on Saturdays throughout the summer. He was lucky enough to be accepted into the team and now trains on a Friday night and plays on a Sunday.

Simple you might say! Well not quite! There were more lads wanting to play for the team than places available. Also, it comes at a cost! Eighty pounds a season plus a pound a week for training and then the travelling costs for away games.

The team play in the Mid-Lincs League and are in the top division. There's a few sides who are only a few minutes away. A handful play in or just outside of the city. There are, however, a few journeys of 30 miles or more. Retford who are in Nottinghamshire have just moved up a division adding to the travelling costs.

I will do everything that I can to help my son enjoy the sport, but the cost of playing for some families is prohibitive! Especially in times of austerity. 

Team kit is supplied, but there is the added cost of boots which have a short life with a growing lad, pads, trainers or astro turf boots for the winter sessions on 3G pitches.

The cost of some of today's boots is shocking! Up to £100 for a pair of fluorescent coloured Nike's made in some third world sweat shop! Luckily my son is more than happy with £30 Puma Kings.

The game has got to be made more affordable for youngsters and it needs re-introducing into our schools as a main activity! My sons school does very little football. In over a year he's had a tournamount and that's about your lot!

In the days of massive wages and impending financial fair play regulations which look like bringing in millions through fines with non complying clubs, isn't it time to out more money back into the game at the entrance level.

Players earning mega bucks could contribute more through a grass roots tax! FFP fines could be passed on to boys and girls clubs!

Football is a simple game and should be available to everyone to play, but currently we aren't serving our future generations very well.

Nottingham Forest 1 Derby 1 - Post match verdict

We went into the latest Est Midlands Derby as slight underdogs. Whilst we have had a steady if unspectacular start to the season, our rivals sit tip unbeaten and up to yesterday hadn't even conceded a goal at home.

The first half was pretty much about our hosts. They showed more creativity and closed us down well when we did have the ball. Antonio was a handful and Ryan Shotton was given a hard time by the Forest winger.

The game as usual was very physical. Buxton, Shotton, Eustace, Reid and Lansbury all put in some very physical challenges.

Derby stepped up a gear in the second half and showed that they weren't happy to settle for a scrambled point. However, it was the home side who finally broke the deadlock late on in the game. Antonio crossed for Assombalongs who slipped initially, but recovered to provide a quality finish into the corner of the net.

Forest's joy was short liver though as the Rams replied minutes later. A Richard Keogh header hit the bar and Ryan Shotton hit the rebound which was palmed away by Darlow only for Leon Best to smack in what he thought was his first goal for Derby. TV replays however, showed the strike by Shotton had crossed the line.

The drama wasn't over! Shortly afterwards Jake Buxton received his second yellow card after he fouled Assombalonga and then went in hard on Burke after the ref had blown. In all honesty he might have gone earlier in the game and Henri Lansbury too was fortunate to stay on the field after a nasty looking challenge on Will Hughes.

All in all a draw seemed a fair result. It was a hard fought match and both sides showed the resilience that is need to have a successful season.

There were many performances of note, but for me Will Hughes was the best player in a white shirt.

East Midlands Derby Preview

In four days time the latest meeting of the East Midlands biggest two clubs take place at the City Ground in Nottingham.

Forest are currently unbeaten and sit at the top of the championship table whilst our Rams side are currently seventh after a slower start to the campaign.

Last season saw Forest edge us out by a Jack Hobbs goal in the away fixture, though to be honest they thoroughly deserved the win and the return game at the iPro saw Derby dish out a 5-0 thrashing to our rivals.

Many excuses have been made for that defeat including the claim we were playing a team of reserves.

It's true that they had players injured, but the side that they put out should have been capable of making a game of it.

Karl Darlow is their first choice goalkeeper and is actually now on loan to them having completed a multi million pound transfer to Newcastle along with Jamal Lascelles, a Derby born lad.

Gonzalo Jara played in the World Cup and Danny Fox completed a permanent move to the City Ground in the summer. 

Danny Collins is an experienced centre half. Far more so than Keogh and Buxton. The midfield contained players who had been with the club for a few years. Radoslaw Majewski and Guy Moussi who played in the City Ground fixture as well.

Jamie Mackie was a million pound signing, though he has since departed to Reading on loan.

Jamie Patterson very highly rated by many Reds fans. Jonathan Greening obviously in the twilight of his career, but was one of the better opposition players and Simon Cox a £2.5m signing.

Forest have strengthened in the summer under the management of Stuart Pearce. Michael Mancienne, Jack Hunt, Micael Antonio and big money signing Britt Assombalonga are amongst those who have joined the Pearce revolution.

There's no doubting the quality of their squad and they have one capable of going up automatically!

That's if, they can stay clear of injuries. Cohen, Lichaj, Lansbury, Fryatt, Hobbs, Vaughan and Wilson have all struggled with injuries in the past few months. Keep most of them fit and I think they are bankers for promotion. If not, they will face the play off lottery.

Our Derby side has had a slow and unspectacular start to the season. It was always going to be a hard ask to start as we finished last season.

The next three games will say a lot about our team. Forest, a resurgent Blackburn and Cardiff. You won't get a harder trio of fixtures than that!

We haven't really gotten started yet and is very important to get some points out of these games.

What we do need is a Plan B! We need the ability to switch to 4-4-2 rather than keep to 4-3-3. 

We need to be able to play people like Leon Best in his natural central position rather than out wide.

There's also a lot of talent in the development squad that's knocking on the door of the first team. Alefe Santos and Ivan Calero impressed against. Charlton in the. League Cup. They may still be young, but isn't Will Hughes? 

Jordon Ibe will give us more width, but we must use him.

We come up against the strongest midfield in the league on Sunday and our three will have their work cut out.

Our defence will have to be on top of it's game too! Especially our full backs who will face Antonio and Burke. For me this is a game for Ryan Shotton to start, but Steve McClaren will do what he feels best.

A point from the game will be a very good result! A win would be just sensational!

Derby 1 Ipswich 1 - After match thoughts

We started this game well enough and for the first twent minutes or so were dominating.

Jamie Ward was giving the visitors plenty to worry about and when Chris Martin scored his fourth goal of the season it looked like another rout could be on the cards.

That was until Jeff Hendrick dislocated his shoulder and regrettably had to leave the game. This seemed to upset the balance in the side.

From them on Ipswich moved up a gear and started to get back into the game. They were the better side in the second half and it was no surprise at all to see them equalise.

The Tractor Boys did look the more likely of the two sides to snatch a victory as the game went on too!

It's still early days, but there are some questions that need to be answered for the Rams.

it was always going to be difficult replicating the form of last season from the off, however we seemed to have turned full circle.

Forsyth, Bryson and Hughes were simply awful on Saturday.

We waste set piece chances still and are very weak at defending from them.

Ryan Shotton impressed in the cup game v Charlton as did Ivan Calero. Neither played a part on Saturday. 

Our next game away at Forest will be the hardest of the season so far. A performance like that will see nothing but a humiliating hiding at our rivals.

Jordon Ibe has been brought in, and there's other options too, but how many changes could the side take before losing all pattern and balance.

One thing is for sure is that Jeff Hendrick will be out for a few weeks and that's another hole that'll need filling.

Zak Whitbread has impressed in the cup games and must be wondering what he has to do to get into a league starting line up. Especially as Keogh is not at his best and Buxton is struggling with injury.

A lot of homework is in need during the international break.

Derby 1 Charlton 0 (COC) After Match Thoughts

Derby squeezed past Charlton in the dying minutes of this Capital One Cup tie to avoid extra time and penalties thanks to a late goal from Ivan Calero.

Steve McClaren made six changes, but the team was still a strong looking side.

New signing Ryan Shotton came in for Cyrus Christie and impressed on his debut. It will be interesting to see where Shotton fits in on Saturday as Christie has been in good form.

Zak Whitbread predictably stood in for Jake Buxton who's been struggling with a hip injury since the opening day. Whitbread did a decent job once again.

John Eustace was given the night off and his place was taken by Omar Mascarell. Mascarell did seem, at times, a little to anxious to impress, but made a good steady debut. 

Will Hughes started in midfield as Craig Bryson dropped to the bench and Simon Dawkins was recalled up front with Leon Best.

Best showed flashes of skill and will no doubt be wanting some more playing time.

It was a triple substitution in the second half that really injected some life into the team. 

Alefie Santos and Ivan a Calero making their first ever appearances for the senior side added some pace to the game. The other sub Chris Martin set up Calero for the winning goal.

I can see Steve McClaren having selection problems in the months ahead. Apart from recognised first team regulars, there's a lot of players knocking on the door of the first team. Farend Rawson was an used substitute and Jamie Hanson is also said to be impressing in the Under-21 side.

If Jordon Ibe does arrive in loan, he will want regular first team experience. A coaches nightmare having a glut of talent and having to disappoint those players not selected, but a nice problem to have indeed. 

Prices Cut for the Cup, Shotton In!

Tomorrow's Capital One Cup fixture with Charlton sees fans being charged from as little as a fiver for season ticket holders.

It's sad, but it's a fact that the early rounds of the competition fail to attract good crowds.

Years ago cup competitions saw some great attendances, but nowadays fans just don't seem interested which is a shame!

Brian Clough in his days as a manager wanted to win every trophy going and he treasured them all! League Cup, League title, Texaco Cup, Watney Cup were there to win and teams did their all to win them.

Steve McClaren has stated his intent to go as far as we can and will name a strong side to face Charlton.

It is conceivable that he could make a few changes, but they are unlikely to weaken the side. Whitbread could come in for Buxton who has been nursing a hip injury and we could see Leon Best get his first start for the club since joining on loan from Blackburn.

New signing Ryan Shotton could also be in line for an appearance and perhaps even a start for Omar Mascarell? None of these changes if made would deserve claims of weakling the side.

Ryan Shotton has joined the club today from Stoke City and is seen as a useful asset due to his ability to play in a variety of positions. 

Also, Jordan Ibe of Liverpool has been linked with the club. Now that would be some addition. He's rated very highly by those I have spoken to who have seen him in action. Hopefully some more news on this will be forthcoming very soon.

Derby 5 Fulham 1 - Thoughts

What a great feeling it is to come away from a game having witnessed the sort of football we were used to seeing last season.

A few questions had been asked of us so far and they were answered. 

The holding midfield role was handed to John Eustace for the first time this season and he carried on from where he left off last season. The midfield was much more better balanced!

Keogh and Buxton had better games at the back and Johnny Russell had a great game playing to the left side of Chris Martin.

The first goal was well worked and saw Jamie award hit his third goal in two games. Ward was a revelation and he should have the few haters off his back.

I thought that during the first half Fulham looked like they had come to give us a game. They certainly moved the ball about nicely and to be honest had worked quite well when Scott Parker got them an equaliser.

The response from Derby was immediate though. Chris Martin had gone close before Bryson knocked in his first goal of the season. Chris Martin then hit his second and third goals of the campaign and Fulham went to pieces.

It was great to see Simon Dawkins score the fifth! He's had a tough time so far, so maybe this will help inject a bit of confidence into him.

Will Hughes played a vital part when he came on including being involved in the build up to two of the goals and he looked so much better in an attacking role.

Hopefully we can move on now and build on this result.

Fulham have some good talented young players, but I feel that Felix Magath will be heading for the exit door very soon. They need a manager who can get the best out of this team. Tony Pulis anyone?

On to Charlton at home in the League Cup on Tuesday night and the visit of Ipswich on Saturday!

Charlton 3 Derby 2 after match thoughts!

There has been much debate about our opening three games and fans have been engaged in much discussion on the various media forums.

Twitter has been in overdrive too!

The fact is that our form so far has been a little disappointing. This is obviously being met with some disapproval from certain fans. Obviously after such a great season last time out, expectations are going to be higher from the paying fans!

Every fan has a right to there opinion! I might not agree with it, but it's your right to hold it and engage in debate. This is what the game is all about! It's not a perfect science.

Getting back to events on the field, my own concerns aren't limited to the results. We have won, drawn and lost our opening three league games and scored a Labourious victory over League Two opposition in the League Cup. 

Many will point out that it's early days and we had the same at this stage last season. Yes we did under a different manager. The flair and excitement that was evident with Steve McClarens side last season has thus far been absent.

I won't take the argument that the team needs time to gel either! Our starting eleven with the exception of Cyrus Christie were all here last season. We had the advantage of retaining most of our squad too!

Christie himself was man of the match for many people in the opening couple of games too!

Another excuse given is the loss of George Thorne to injury. I'm not buying that excuse either! He played in the last ten games of the season and might not have played at all had it not been for the suspension of John Eustace. We were in third place already when Thorne arrived.

Having Thorne would no doubt improve the quality, but we can still put out virtually the same side that wowed us with the attractive football we played last season.

The main areas for concern to me are defensively and attack! The two most important pieces in a football teams plan.

I knew it wouldn't be long before we started to let goals in! I'm not on the Keogh out bandwagon although he is till to recapture the form of two seasons ago. I'm concerned that Stevie Mac continues to play Will Hughes at Holding Midfielder. 

We have two players sat on the bench ready made to sit in that role. Namely John Eustace who was a revelation last season (And don't expect me to take the 'his legs have gone argument, if so why guve him another contract?), and Omar Mascarell. If the young Spanish lad isn't going to be given a chance why sign him! 

Will Hughes is a class act whilst in attack! He's not a defensive player! Keep playing him deep and we will see him seriously injured. I hope Steve McClaren hasn't fallen into the same trap as Nigel Clough in not knowing who to leave out! Hughes, Bryson, Hendrick are three quality players, but you have to be brave and play those who are playing better at the time. There can be no room for sentimentality during team selection.

Craig Bryson was superb last season and thoroughly deserved his new contract. Now he is the clubs highest paid player, he needs to reproduce that form this season. I love him as a player, but his performances thus far have been below par!

On the attacking front, we are failing to create the chances for Martin to put away! You get the ball to Martin and he will convert given half the chance. I've thought for many years now that we've lacked a real flair wide man! We need that option! Hopefully we can bring a new face in!

We face a tough game on Saturday with another large crowd expected. Let's hope they will go away happy!

A Look at the Opening Three Games

Well we have finally kicked off a new season and so far it's seen some different performances from The Rams.

The opening day victory against Rotherham was a hard fought game. We initially dominated only for Rotherham to be allowed back into the game.

For all of our possession we really did fail to capitalise. Very few chances created and and three shots on target the whole game.

Rotherham might have even snatched something from the game as Lee Grant mDe a great save and then moments later Craig Forsyth cleared an attempt off the line.

Jeff Hendrick's winning goal was received with a huge sigh of relief from Rams fans. The ball played to him by Cyrus Christie and Hendrick knocking the ball into the top corner giving the Millers keeper no chance.

The visit to Carlisle for the Capital One Cup game was equally frustrating. Bags of possession over long periods, but no end product yet again! 

Jeff Hendrick finally putting us ahead nodding in from close range settled the nerves a little, but we had to wait til right near the end before a piece of class finishing by Chris Martin saw us safely through to the second round of the competition.

Saturday at Sheffield Wednesday saw an afternoon where for large parts of the game we were second best. Only some missed chances and great goalkeeping from Lee Grant kept the Owls out.

What was pleasing at Hillsborough was seeing Richard Keogh back to nearer his best.

What has been evident in our opening three games is the fact that we aren't just going to score for fun like last season. Teams are well aware that if they don't keep things tight at the back, that they will pay a heavy price!

We definately need to implement a Plan B when it becomes obvious that our passing game is not going to produce the goods. We need an alternative to 4-3-3. Maybe a 4-4-2 with a midfield diamond?

What is certain is that we are in need of a natural wide man.  Simon Dawkins form has been woeful in the opening games! I prefer to see Jamie Ward on the left too

Two more fixtures this week. A visit to the Valley tomorrow night against a much improved Charlton team and then back to the iPro on Saturday for the visit of Fulham. 

Six points from these two games are possible, but so are none!

We need to be on top of our game and much improvement from our first three matches is essential. Clean sheets are good, but a few more goals will be needed.

Sheff Wed 0 Derby 0

A few thoughts

Still struggling to create chances

Hendrick had a poor game

Ward on the right not working. Didn't click with Christie.

Dawkins had another poor game.

Buxton and Keogh solid in defence.

Hughes wasted at HMF.

Mascerell will surely be looking to start sooner rather than later.

MOTM Jake Buxton.

Carlisle 0 Derby 2 -Capital One Cup

Post Match Thoughts

Lots of possession once again, but were frustrated in large parts of the game.

Would be good to sign a natural wide man! Ward, Dawkins, Russell are not natural wingers.

Cyrus Christie once again very impressive as was Craig Forsyth.

Jeff Hendrick now with two goals in two games, can he do what Bryson did last season.

Chris Martin off the Mark. Sometimes needs to keep his cool when things aren't going for him. Quality finish though.

Zak Whitbread had a steady game deputising for Jake Buxton.

Man of the match Cyrus Christie.

Derby 1 Rotherham 0

Newly promoted Rotherham provided Derby with a real test.

The Rams showed real intent by pressurising the Millers defence for the opening ten minutes, but couldnt find a way through! However frustrated they stuck to the task in hand.

Cyrus Christie was impressive on his debut and cued up Jeff Hendrick for the winning goal.

Will Hughes I thought was immense in the holding midfield role, though I prefer to see him playing further forward. Mascerell eased into the role when he replaced Hughes after the hour.

Buxton did a decent job especially considering he hasn't trained properly for two weeks.

Keogh still not looking the dominant force he was a couple of seasons ago.

Frustrating times up front for Martin, Russell and Dawkins.

I thought Best looked lively for the few minutes he played.

Both Grant and Forsyth saved us towards the end of the game.

Rotherham will give plenty of teams problems this season. They were very well organised and credit to their fans who were noisy throughout!

Those are my thoughts! 

My man of the match Cyrus Christie.