Derby 0-3 Blackburn (FA Cup 4th Round)

Nigel Clough named an unchanged line up from last weeks game with Nottingham Forest. In fact the only change in the squad was Conor Doyle replacing Theo Robinson on the bench. Robinson suffering tonsillitis.

Blackburn had the first real chance of the game in the seventh minute, but Dann failed to get a good connection on Pedersen's free kick and headed wide.

Dann was again involved in the twelfth minute when he blocked a volley by Jamie Ward.

There were very few chances created in the first twenty five minutes, however in the twenty sixth minute a superbly taken free kick by Morten Gamst Pedersen was heading for the top corner of the net until Legzdins pulled off a brilliant save.

On the half hour Will Hughes saw an attempt take a deflection safely back to Jake Kean in the Rovers goal.

Neither side created much until the 44th minute when Kazim-Richards beat the Derby defence to put the visitors 1-0 up. Brayford nearly equalised a minute later, but Kean pulled off a good save.

Derby had the first chance of the second half when Ward's free kick found the head of John Brayford, but Kean had no problem dealing with it.

Blackburn went further ahead in the sixty-sixth minute when Dann shot into the top corner giving Legzdins no chance.

Five minutes later things went from bad to worse when Rhodes chipped Legzdins to make it 3-0 and therefore confirm Derby's exit from the cup.

All in all a lacklustre performance from Derby and yet again a hoped for run in the cup comes to an early halt!

Next up are Huddersfield and a better performance than those of the last three games will be required.

Derby - Legzdins, Brayford, Keogh, O'Brien, Roberts, Coutts, Hendrick, Hughes, Bryson, Ward, Sammon. Substitutes - Fielding, O'Connor, Freeman, Davies, Jacobs, Bennett, Doyle

Blackburn - Kean, Lowe, Dann, Hanley, Martin Olsson, King (Rochina 10), Murphy, Pedersen, Markus Olsson, Kazim-Richards, Rhodes. substitutes - Usai, Givet, Fabio Nunes, Dunn, Nuno Gomes, Goodwillie.

Man of the match - Scott Dann.

Attendance - 14,013 (1,287 away fans)

Hazardous Job!

As Swansea celebrated their Capital One Cup win over Chelsea the other night, it was an incident off the pitch making all the headlines.

Eden Hazard trying to retrieve the ball from the ball boy was prevented from getting possession of it and the ball boy then laid on top of the ball presumably to waste time and make Chelsea's slim chance of a comeback impossible. Hazard then kicked the ball which was under the young lad who then complained that he had been injured in the process.

Hazard received a red card for his action and deservedly so! He should have complained to the referee rather than take the matter into his own hands. The referee does have discretion to add further time onto the game.

Hazard will now faces the prospect of a lengthy ban. All for a moment of madness in what appeared to be a lost cause. Chelsea were never going to come back at that point.

For the young man involved. I won't name him, he's had his fifteen minutes of fame, it was a pathetic act and blatantly obvious that he was time wasting. He even bragged on twitter that he was going to time waste.

Hazard will be fined and banned, but this silly young lad will most likely get a slap on the wrist. Perhaps he too should be served with a ban for his foolish actions! I think it's Swansea's duty to make an example of him and show the footballing world that cheating by any member of a clubs staff will not be tolerated!

Transfer Speculation

Well the window hasn't seen much activity at Pride Park which is probably what most fans were expecting.

There was speculation that Cardiff City were after John Brayford, however that rumour appears to have died down for now.

Will Hughes is still making the news in the back pages of many red tops. One recently reporting that Manchester City are ready to offer £10m plus players for the young midfielder. The message from the club seems to be that he's not for sale at any price during this transfer window.

Nathan Tyson has made the loan switch to Millwall, but that really doesn't give Nigel Clough a lot of room to bring in another striker. It would appear that Mason Bennett will be a regular fixture in match day squads and therefore both he and Theo Robinson may well become permanent fixtures on the Subs bench so long as Jamie Ward and Conor Sammon stay fit.

Many fans are of the opinion that we could do with another centre half, left back and striker. Barring injuries I see Keogh being partnered by O'Brien for the rest of the season in central defence. The left back position I believe will continue to be filled by Gareth Roberts for the remainder of the season.

I think that the only possible incoming would be a loan. A large squad we haven't got, but continuity and good team spirit is what we have. Both of these are important for a top half finish.

LATEST

It has been reported that Nigel Clough watched Dundee United Striker Johnny Russell on Tuesday night.

Derby 1-1 Forest

Another sell out crowd for the East Midlands Derby saw honours even in a tight contest that saw both sides earning a point.

Nigel Clough brought back Craig Bryson after recovering from a knee injury and Jamie Ward for his first start since the corresponding fixture at the City Ground.

The early minutes saw Derby setting off quickly and keeping the ball in their opponents half. Bryson saw an early effort go wide and Ward saw a free kick deflected out.

Forest seem to wake up after the quarter hour mark when Simon Cox saw his effort tipped onto the crossbar by Adam Legzdins. There after they started to take the game to Derby and began to get on top.

Their persistence paid off in the 31st minute when Billy Sharp beat Gareth Roberts to cross in from the right, the ball found Cohen who slotted the ball in at the second attempt after his first effort was miss hit.

The visitors went in at the break having had the better half, showing more in midfield. Sammon looked isolated up front on his own as Ward was playing a wide left position and not getting much change out of Jara.

The second half saw the Rams looking more determined and in the 52nd minute Sammon robbed an indecisive Gillett for the ball, the Forest defence seeming a little confused in what to do with Ward and Collins failing to get a decisive tackle in and Sammon knocked the ball to his right letting Ward shoot from close range and equalise.

Minutes later Darlow pulled off a good save to deny Hendrick and both Roberts and O'Brien saw chances easily denied by the young keeper.

The second half was more even, but Billy Sharp wasted a chance to seal the game six minutes from the end when his close range effort was blasted wide.

Neither side can grumble too much at the end result. Possession was evenly split, Derby had more shots, but Forest probably had the better chances.

Unlike previous meetings, there was little need for the referee, Mark Clattenburg to do! He officiated well and there was no major controversy.

The lesson for Derby is that 4-5-1 is not a formation that they play with great effect, especially with teams that utilise a defensive midfielder in front of the back four!



Derby County: Legzdins; Brayford, Keogh, O'Brien, Roberts; Coutts, Hughes, Hendrick, Bryson (Jacobs 75); Ward (Robinson 66), Sammon.

Subs Not Used: Fielding, O'Connor, Freeman, Bennett, Davies.

Nottingham Forest: Darlow, Jara, E. Ward, Collins, Halford; Lansbury, Gillett (Moussi 63), Cohen, Majewski (Blackstock 62); Sharp, Cox.

Subs Not Used: Etimov, Maloney, Greening, McGugan, Harding.

Man of the match - Jeff Hendrick Derby / Chris Cohen Forest

Attendance: 33,010 (4,228 visiting supporters).

Screen shots of www.seatpitch.com

Seat Pitch

I was invited to submit my opinions to the Forest Fans site www.seatpitch.co.uk

It's a very good well written blog and I urge you to check them out!

Big Game Preview - Derby v Forest

I don't normally preview games, but for this one I will make an exception.

First of all we need to take a look at possible/probable line-ups for the two teams and I will start with our visitors Nottingham Forest!

Karl Darlow will start in goal and is a young promising keeper who has graduated through 'The Nigel Doughty Academy'. He replaced Lee Camp last weekend and really is being thrown into the Lions den. One can only imagine how nervous a young inexperienced goalkeeper may be prior to this game. He is rated highly by the Forest management and is seen as the first choice goalkeeper for the remainder of this season at least.

There are many different permutations available for the defence. The Right Back spot should be filled by Chilean Gonzales Jara Reyes. He's known to be a tough tackling, enthusiastic player and will provide Derby's attack down the left with a challenge!

Greg Halford and Elliot Ward are likely to fill the centre half positions unless Alex McLeish recalls Daniel Ayala. Halford can be beaten in the air as proved by Paul Green in the Leeds game, but is experienced at this level and should he be on his game, will not be easy meat for the Derby attack. Ward has had a mixed response from reds supporters, but McLeish has seen enough in him to extend his loan from Norwich.

Left Back is a position that Forest have struggled to fill with great effect for many years. Dan Harding has started in the position for the majority of games and has not enjoyed a great start to his career at the club. Forest people I speak to point him out as a weak link. Halford has covered the position, but will they play a square peg in a round hole. Weakness at this position could be costly against a Coutts, Brayford attack. Danny Collins could also come into the equation and has in the past played effectively for West Ham at this level.

In Midfield Forest possess some real weapons despite Andy Reid being out injured. Gillett will probably start in front of the back four in a holding role. He's done this with great effect this season. Majewski, Lansbury and Cohen appear to be favourites to start in front of Gillett. Rams fans need no introduction to Majewski who scored a wonder goal against them a few seasons ago. Cohen is a player who is very highly regarded amongst the Reds faithfull. Consistent and energetic and versatile as well. Lansbury is a player with undoubted talent, but can be inconsistent. The key to the game could be Derby cutting off Majewski and Cohen. The job will be so much easier if they can.

Guy Moussi and Lewis McGugan are other options. Moussi though, appears to have gone off the boil recently and McGugan is very much a Jeckyll and Hyde player. Brilliant in one game and missing in another. He is deadly from free kicks though! Could McLeish be tempted to start him?

In attrack it's likely to be two from Dexter Blackstock, Simon Cox and Billy Sharp. Blackstock needs no introduction to the Rams. He played a dozen or so games on loan to Derby a few seasons ago and found the net three times. Sharp is a striker who has been admired by the Rams faithful for years. Indeed he is usually very impressive when he plays against Derby. Simon Cox was a £2-2.5m signing from West Brom. Gifted and skilful and will be looking to hit double figures in the scoring charts.

It's fairly certain that Nigel Clough will start Adam Legzdins in goal. He has played well since deputising for Frank a fielding and is now keeping him out of the side.

The best available back four should see John Brayford start on the right with Gareth Roberts on the left. Richard Keogh and Mark O'Brien should take position in the middle.

It's at midfield that Nigel Clough will have a headache! That's because there are so many options. Paul Coutts will no doubt start on the right, but the other positions are difficult to predict. A fully fit Craig Bryson is an automatic choice in the middle. Will Hughes and Jeff Hendrick also have a strong claim to start alongside Bryson (If he does indeed start). Hughes in a massively talented youngster and Hendrick has been in good form too lately. Hughes has played out on the left, but is far more effective in the middle. Michael Jacobs is the clubs best left sided player. The make up of midfield could prove vital and I'm glad that I'm not making the decision!

Up front I fully expect Jamie Ward to partner Conor Sammon. Sammon and Ward compliment each other with their different styles and attributes. Ward is the sort of player that will give his namesake the runaround. Robinson and Bennett are a must on the bench though. They bring pace that will test tired legs in the last twenty minutes or so.

It's important that in addition to two strikers on the bench that defence is covered too! James O'Connor and Keiron Freeman should be on stand by. Ben Davies is also a useful midfielder to have ready if needed.

For me the key to the game will be dominating midfield and exploiting a defence and goalkeeper that is experienced. At their best Coutts and Brayford down that right flank is enough to give any left back a nightmare. The left will be more difficult, Jara is no mug and is hard in the tackle. Our centre halves will need to stick to Sharp like glue too!

All in all it's a mouthwatering prospect of a game. Two sides who know where the net us and also leak plenty of goals!

Lets hope for a great game and one that does the championship credit!

YOU RAMS!