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.