Life is a Roller Coaster

It's easy on the back of a defeat to go into negative mode. It's much easier when that defeat is against a side that you have already met twice and put five goals past them on both occasions.

However, the performance yesterday at Fulham along with some recent ones show that we are far from certain of achieving our goal of automatic promotion.

We scraped a draw at Rotherham who like Fulham are struggling at the wrong end of the table. We edged a home win against Sheffield Wednesday after twice coming from behind.

On Tuesday night we started well and won the match with Charlton in the opening twenty minutes. However, the second half performance was very ordinary and we are beginning to show signs that we could face a real fight for a top two places rather than stroll our way to promotion.

It's fortunate that both Middlesbrough and Bournemouth have taken their feet off the gas too. It appears that no one seems to have that little bit extra in the tank to pull away from the pack.

One side who certainly look like they could emerge from the chasing group are Norwich City. They are hitting form at the right time and we are still to visit Carrow Road.

We have some very important and tough fixtures left in the promotion chase run-in. Middlesbrough are amongst the visitors over the next few weeks along with Watford. Both are still very much alive in the title race.

For us to succeed, we need to up a gear and return to the form that has seen us smash some teams.

Yesterday was very poor. We simply didn't show up! Our defence was a shambles!

We now face a trip to Brighton on Tuesday night with the possibility of being without a recognised striker. Chris Martin is a doubt and Darren Bent limped off at Craven Cottage. If this is the case a true test of character awaits our team.

Now is the time to gain some momentum and push on. There's some very tricky hurdles to overcome in the next few weeks.

The very least we can expect is a place in the play offs, however most fans would now see that as failure.

I hope that we can avoid the end of season lottery as they look like being a very tough ask this year. There is often a team that makes a late run into them. Our Red neighbours are doing their best to make sure that it us them.

So on to the task in hand and a trip to the South coast. Three points is now a must and we need to put these indifferent performances behind us.

East Midlands Podcast

I am currently in the planning stages of an East Midlands Football podcast.

I need enthusiastic supporters of Derby, Forest, Notts, Mansfield and Chesterfield to make this happen.

You will need to open a free account on blog talk radio and have skype.

Also, you will need a little knowledge on all teams we cover. 

Interested! Contact me via DM on twitter @BuckTaylor64 or by email superrams72@gmail.com

The Good and the Bad!

After a couple of away draws, Derby got back to winning ways against Sheffield Wednesday despite having to come from behind twice.

Despite dominating possession, The Rams found it very difficult to breach the Owls defence. In the first half we had seventy per cent of the ball, but were left frustrated time and time again. The best chance being a Tom Ince free kick that was tipped over by Westwood.

We saw the best and worst points of this Derby side.

The worst point being how yet again our defence was liable to have moments where it looks very shaky. It's difficult to single one player out too. In some games its been kne of our centre halves who have been at fault and in others its been a full back.

However, despite the defensive frailties that we have shown this season, we have an impressive nineteen clean sheets. Many point to the fact that when John Eustace has played in front of the defence, we look so much stronger.

Omar Mascarell has talent no doubt, but he isn't a holding midfielder in my opinion. For that reason I was delighted to see the return of George Thorne. It was only for an hour and he obviously will need a couple of games to get back up to speed, but his return could be very important to us.

Bouncebackabilty! That's a word that has applied to us in our last three games. The way our team can go behind and rise to the challenge of turning things round has been impressive and is testament to the character of the team.

Some impressive performances against Sheffield Wednesday from our January additions. Ince again ran his legs off, Bent was always ready to pounce on any loose balls uo front and Lingard looked very lively when he came on in the second half.

Johnny Russell, Chris Martin and John Eustace are expected to return from injury in the next week or two. Steve McClaren is going to have a nice headache when selecting the team on matchday.

We welcome Charlton on Tuesday night who jnclude their latest signing, a certain Chris Eagles who needs no introduction to Derby fans. He has always played well against us and scored the odd goal or two.

Now that we have returned to the top of the table thanks to Bournemouth and Middlesbrough losing  and us winning, its time to really go for it and lead the race to the premier league. The next heat is held on Tuesday night.

Away Days and Cup Exit

The past week has seen Derby get two points on the road and exit the F.A. Cup.

The trip to the South Coast at Bournemouth saw a great display of Football from both sides. We had to come from behind twice and doing that against a top side shows that we do have the resilience to come back in games and if need be, grind out a result.

It was disappointing to go out of the cup, but as things stand, we do have bigger fish to fry. A careless couple of challenges by debutant Stephen Warnock led to him having an early bath and we were up against it for over half the match.

The away match at Rotherham was never going to be the easy ride a few suggested/ They are a team aiming to cement themselves in the division and have been in impressive form of late.

What was disappointing was the manner in which they got their goals. Poor defending cost us badly and Lee Grant was not totally faultless at least for the second goal. Like Steve McClaren said, we might look back at the end of the season and the comeback that earned us a point. On the other hand, if we don't achieve the aim of getting promoted, we may well curse the defensive errors.

Darren Bent and Tom Ince continue to impress. Players brought into clubs during the January transfer window often define how well a team will do in the run in. Bent with six goals and Ince with five in only three games suggest these have been quality additions.

Our schedule now sees us face Sheffield Wednesday at home on Saturday. I suspect that Jesse Lingard will get a first league start after his impressive showing in the cup and away at Rotherham on Tuesday night.

Here's to three points! (Hopefully)

Ince Perfect

Derby turned in a very impressive 4-1 victory against Bolton this weekend and maintained the pressure on Bournemouth at the top of the Championship.

Tom Ince has a dream debut and already answered those who doubted his value when we signed him on deadline day (Myself included). The first, a superbly struck free kick had the iPro on its feet.

It was also good to see Jeff Hendrick back to his best with a brace of goals. He has been subjected to much criticism lately on social media and his performance on saturday should silence the doubters!

Will Hughes turned in a masterful display in midfield. Once again running the show and displaying the skills that has won him so many admirers.

We must now turn our attention to the big game tomorrow. A trip to the South coast against league leaders Bournemouth. 

Bournemouth and Eddie Howe are a credit to smaller clubs. Mixing it up with the big boys and looking good for promotion to the Premier League. They play nice football and despite loosing star man Lewis Grabban pre season, they have managed to fill the void with Callum Wilson.

This will be a very tough game for us. The biggest and most important game of the season so far.

Even though we beat them 2-0 at home, we were made to work bery hard for it!

A result bringing back three points tomorrow will rightly confirm our position as promotion favourites. A draw wouldn't be a disaster, but a loss we cannot afford even with plenty of games left.

Bournemouth and Middlesbrough who are immediately below us don't look like slipping up, therefore our matches against these two clubs could ultimately be the defining moments of the season.

Three out of Three

Since the East Midlands Derby, The Rams have returned to winning ways.

An FA Cup win with fellow county side Chesterfield saw Darren Bent score his first goal for the Rams.

Despite the loss, our visitors can be proud of the performance that their side put in on the day. Also, over 5,000 fans made the short journey. A winnable home tie with Reading now awaits us.

Darren Bent came off the bench to snatch a couple of goals in the home league game with Blackburn. In my opinion he offers that something different up front. His movement off the ball is excellent and he is more often than not there to get any loose balls in the box. Although I expect Chris Martin to remain our first choice striker, Bent provides us with a different style of striker and therefore an extra trick from the bag.

Cardiff has never been a happy hunting ground in the past for us, so it was brilliant to grab three points there. This was despite Chris Martin missing an early penalty. 

The first goal did have an elelement of luck about it, but Martins header was a well taken goal. A great cross from Cyrus Christie finding the head of Martin and three points were brought back from Wales.

The transfer window closed on Monday and not before Steve McClaren was able to bring in two new faces. Tom Ince from Hull City and Jesse Lingard from Manchester United. I am particularly excited by the loan of Lingard. He is a young fast pacey winger who will only add some quality to the squad.

Paul Coutts and Keiron Freeman have left the club to Sheffield United and i wish them well for the future.

Saturday we host Bolton in a game that we should be looking for another win. Over 30,000 home fans are expected as momentum grows and expectations rise in our attempt to charge our way to the Premier League.

Finally as a paying fan, I like many others feel that we have a right to our opinions. Tom Ince is a signing that I am not 100% sure will bring anything extra to our team. However, like any true fan, we give a new player a chance to win us over.

Pating customers are full entitled to an opinion. However, former Chief Executive Keith Loring appears not to like this. Whilst stating like any player 'I will give Ince a chance', Mr Loring replies with 'So good of you, he will be pleased'

If Mr Loring doesn't like my tweets than I suggest he presses the unfollow button! I have been a Derby fan for 45 years! All of my footballing life, unlike him!