Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 Saturday 28th January 2023 Plymouth Argyle v Derby County League One (29) This is going to a tough away game. Plymouth Argyle are 5th, one place and two points behind us. We're unbeaten in 10, but Plymouth are unbeaten in 15, so we know it's going to be a challenge with the Argyle fans backing their team. -- We were terrible in the first-half. We couldn't cope with their pace up front and we couldn't get anything going when we had the ball either. We gave the ball away far too often and it was Conor Hourihane giving the ball away that directly led to their first goal through the impressive Niall Ennis. Niall Ennis, and former Rams Academy Graduate Morgan Whittaker, combined well for their second goal. I made four changes at the break, bringing on Ziggy Gordon (for Festy Ebosele), Curtis Davies (for Andre Wisdom), Max Bird (for Liam Thompson) and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (for Lewis Dobbin). We were much improved in the second-half but the damage had already been done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 Monday 30th January 2023 Derby chase Ebiowei loan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 (edited) Transfer Deadline Day -- -- -- Edited December 7, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 (edited) Transfer Deadline Day Robson-Kanu departs Derby after short stay Edited December 7, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 Transfer Deadline Day Derby miss out on Ebiowei Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 Transfer Window Day Derby want Haigh and Kavanagh on loan When the half season loans of Joe Haigh (Chelsea) and Leigh Kavanagh (Brighton & Hove Albion) came to an end, neither parent club were keen on extending their loan stays with us. Now, we're hearing, both Chelsea and Brighton may have changed their stance... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 (edited) Transfer Deadline Day Kavanagh rejects Derby return Hmmmmn... maybe Leigh wasn't keen on coming back to our U21 squad... Edited December 7, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 Transfer Deadline Day Haigh rejoins the Rams on loan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 Transfer Deadline Day Kavanagh rejects Derby Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 (edited) Tuesday 31st January 2023 Transfer Window Roundup Transfers IN Transfers OUT Edited December 7, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 (edited) Wednesday 1st February 2023 Monthly Review Results Board Review Finances Dynamics Supporter Review Edited December 7, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 (edited) Saturday 4th February 2023 Derby County v Morecambe League One (30) We lost Tom Barkhuizen with pulled knee ligaments in training this week so he joins Joe Wildsmith in the medical room. All our other walking wounded are either ready to play again or back in training working towards match fitness. -- We started slowly, I'm not sure why, and Daniel Grimshaw had to produce two good saves before we even got going. But once we did get going, we were very dominant and scored four goals through Lewis Dobbin, James Collins from the penalty spot, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing with a cracker from 20 yards, and Will Osula. We were that comfortable, that with half an hour to go I was able to make five substitutions to allow some of our regular starters to get some much needed rest. Edited December 7, 2022 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 Saturday 11th February 2023 Wycombe Wanderers v Derby County League One (31) This week David McGoldrick had a bout of illness so we'll be without him today. -- Sometimes in football you don't get what you deserve and I thought that was the case today. I won't say we dominated Wycombe but, I did, feel we were comfortable and in control for long periods and we had a lot of possession. Being critical, I suppose, we didn't do enough with that possession. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing gave us an early lead and we had chances to add to that but we were unable to do that. We conceded an equaliser on 54 minutes but we looked like the most likely to grab a winner after that. Going into the last 10 minutes, we went more attacking and, in hindsight, we probably should have just seen the game out as a draw. If you can't win it, don't lose it. But, unfortunately, we committed too many players forward, were short at the back, which meant Costelloe could make a late move into our penalty area and score an easy tap-in at the far post. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 (edited) Tuesday 14th February 2023 Derby County v Lincoln City League One (32) Our injury list continues to grow with Jahmal Hector-Ingram adding to it with a pulled groin. -- This was a game we really should have won. We had the lion's share of possession, created by far the better chances, but as often proves our downfall we couldn't add a second goal when we were in front. James Collins gave us an 8th minute lead after great work by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing. Lincoln never really looked like scoring, but we gifted them an equaliser when Daniel Grimshaw came out of his penalty area, for a ball he was never going to get to first, allowing Diamond an easy run in to score. In the second half, we had a great chance to take the lead, only for Rushworth to brilliantly save James Collins's penalty. As the game progressed, Lincoln went more and more defensive, putting more and more players behind the ball, and we couldn't break them down. Edited December 7, 2022 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 Friday 17th February 2023 Derby's top goal scorer out injured Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 9, 2022 Author Share Posted December 9, 2022 Saturday 18th February 2023 Derby County v Charlton Athletic League One (33) Losing James Collins, our top goal scorer, our top everything really, with an abdominal strain is a big blow. -- We lost again we should have won and I'm not happy about it. There will be changes for our next match, that's for sure. We had the better of it and took an early lead through a Max Birdthunderbolt from outside the penalty area after great work down the left by Simone Zaza. Then we shot ourselves in the foot. Daniel Grimshaw came for a through ball he should have left for his defenders. As a result, Archie Brown was in two minds whether to deal with it or leave it for his goalkeeper, allowing Smith to nip in between them and chip Dan for their equaliser. We didn't just shoot ourselves in the foot once. No, we did it twice. Archie Brown needlessly attempted a tackle from behind when Smith was running away from goal, Archie got it all wrong and Fraser gave Charlton the lead from the penalty spot. We huffed and puffed after that but never looked like equalising. It was good to give Matej Vydra some minutes off the bench after his cruciate ligaments injury. Yes, I'm bitterly disappointed today and there will be changes for the Barnsley gave next Saturday. There will be changes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 (edited) Saturday 25th February 2023 Barnsley v Derby County League One (34) I promised changes after the home defeat by Charlton last time out and I've made four: Keiren Westwood > Daniel Grimshaw Festy Ebosele > Ziggy Gordon Haydon Roberts > Archie Brown David McGoldrick for Jason Knight -- Well, we made changes but it was the same old story as individual errors cost us. Both Barnsley's first and second goals were very similar, we didn't pick up runners into our penalty area, leaving us out-numbered and they picked us off with some incisive passing. We missed a great chance to equalise when Conor Hourihane shot narrowly wide at 0-1. We changed to Positive (from Balanced) and went 4-2-4 WIDE after going 0-2 down and it made a difference with David McGoldrick blasting over at 0-2 just before the break. We made a couple of changes at the break Tom Barkhuizen for Lewis Dobbin and Matej Vydra for Simone Zaza and went Attacking but, before we had chance to see if it had made any difference, our captain Curtis Davies gave the ball away in our our own penalty area and it was 0-3. We tried changing things up again but the damage had already been done. It's another tough one to take because individual errors meant we shot ourselves in the foot and gifted Barnsley their three goals. Edited December 10, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 Wednesday 1st March 2023 Monthly Reports Board Review Finances Dynamics I'm not sure why Matej Vydra opposes me and this offers no clues... Supporter Review Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 (edited) Wednesday 24th 2023 My thoughts... I'm not quite sure what's happened and why but our consistently inconsistent form has suddenly turned into terrible form. I'm sure we are missing our number one goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith and top goal scorer James Collins through injury. Also, I signed 12 players since the summer transfer window closed (free agents couldn't be registered until 1st January) and that might be having an affect as that's a lot of players to integrate into the squad. And a long season may be catching up with our older players as we have aged 30 or older. We're in danger of dropping out of the playoff places if we don't start winning football matches again... Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated... Edited December 10, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 (edited) Saturday 4th March 2023 Derby County v Shrewsbury Town League One (35) After the poor run of form we've been on recently, I thought we needed to change something. Starting with the system, I've gone for more of a 4-3-3 DM Wide today instead of our usual 4-2-3-1 DM AM Wide. I'm also going with a Low Block instead of a High Block. -- Well it worked. We completely dominated and controlled the game and were good value for our win, I thought. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was the best player on the pitch and sent over an excellent cross for Tom Barkhuizen to score the only goal on half an hour. Our usual inability to add a second goal remained an issue but, today, we defended magnificently and the clean sheet meant we claimed the three points. Edited December 10, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 (edited) Saturday 11th March 2023 Oxford United v Derby County League One (36) We played well against Shrewsbury last time out so I'm not expecting too many changes. We do have our top scorer James Collins available again so I have a decision to make there as he's not ready for 90 minutes yet. Unfortunately, Eiran Cashin sprained ankle ligaments in training so we will need to make a change in central defence. This'll be the first time we've come up against James Chester since he moved on in January. I'll wish him well when I see him, I just hope he doesn't have a good day against us. -- From hero to villain in two games. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was the best player on the pitch last week against Shrewsbury. Today he picked up a 63rd minute booking and then, two minutes later, made a totally unnecessary challenge from behind on the halfway line and received a second yellow. A player short, we were forced into changes at that point. Before the red card, it was a very tight game, one that I thought we were shading. But after the sending off, Oxford stepped up, we couldn't deal with their attacking threat, and they ran out worthy 2-0 winners. Edited December 10, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Two cards in two minutes, that’s a brain fade. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 29 minutes ago, Punch said: Two cards in two minutes, that’s a brain fade. Indeed. I didn’t even have time to notice the first yellow card (on Extended Highlights) before he’d received the second yellow. If I’d noticed, I would have told him to Ease Off Tackles. 3 hours ago, Stuniverse said: From hero to villain in two games. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was the best player on the pitch last week against Shrewsbury. Today he picked up a 63rd minute booking and then, two minutes later, made a totally unnecessary challenge from behind on the halfway line and received a second yellow. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaytheGreat Posted December 11, 2022 Share Posted December 11, 2022 Man what a rough run of form from you guys, need to find their scoring shoes and quick. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 33 minutes ago, JaytheGreat said: Man what a rough run of form from you guys, need to find their scoring shoes and quick. You’ve hit the nail on the head there, @JaytheGreat. Scoring, particularly scoring a second goal when we go 1-0 up has been our downfall for most of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Friday 18th March 2023 Derby County - Youth Intake 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Saturday 19th March 2023 Derby County v Fleetwood Town League One (37) We will be without the suspended Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, but we are getting closer to a full, healthy squad with only our number one goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith and Eiran Cashin currently out injured. -- I'm starting to sound like a stuck record because we had more possession than Fleetwood, created more chances, but struggled to score. Fleetwood took one chance and that was enough. Curtis Davies did well to charge down Vela's shot but the ball fell to Morton, in a crowded penalty area, who tucked it away. We changed things around and went more attacking after that but were unable to beat Stolarczyk in their goal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Saturday 19th 2023 Job Security Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Friday 24th March 2023 Academy Graduates sign as scholars 1 hour ago, Stuniverse said: Friday 18th March 2023 Derby County - Youth Intake Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Saturday 25th March 2023 League One Round-up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Monday 27th March 2023 Pre-game: Peterborough United v Derby County Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 (edited) Monday 27th March 2023 Stuniverse summoned to Board Meeting -- D'oh! That'll teach me to get complacent with Press Conferences and not read the instructions from the Board / Club in advance. I have no idea what I talked about that I was instructed not to comment on. Next time: read the memo! If there is a NEXT time... Edited December 11, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Monday 27th March 2023 Meeting with the Board 20 minutes ago, Stuniverse said: Monday 27th March 2023 Stuniverse summoned to Board Meeting -- D'oh! That'll teach me to get complacent with Press Conferences and not read the instructions from the Board / Club in advance. I have no idea what I talked about that I was instructed not to comment on. Next time: read the memo! If there is a NEXT time... -- -- -- I still have no idea what I did wrong at the Press Conference. Here's the full transcript... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Tuesday 28th March 2023 Peterborough United v Derby County League One (38) We go to Peterborough to play our game-in-hand against a very good team who are 3rd, 12 points and four places above us. It'll be a difficult game but, with games running out now, we need to get a result to keep chasing the six teams above us in the playoff positions. -- We've been in need of a break in recent games, for something to go for us, and we found ourselves with a player advantage as early as the 6th minute when Onyedinma saw red for a reckless two-footed lunge on Ziggy Gordon. Fortunately, Ziggy wasn't injured. We went more Attacking, changed the shape, and created some good chances, only for Bergstrom in their goal to produce some sensational saves to deny James Collins, Tom Barkhuizen, Curtis Davies, Conor Hourihane and Simone Zaza. When we did get the ball past him, both Tom Barkhuizen and Conor Hourihane hit the woodwork and James Collins had one headed off the line. Then on 82 minutes we fell victim to the classic counter-attack and former-Ram, Jack Marriott, gave Peterborough the lead. We made some more changes and piled the pressure on, but Bergstrom was in fine form. Until 90 minutes when we finally scored. Bergstrom parried Conor Hourihane's free-kick, the ball fell to Simone Zaza who saw his shot blocked in the six yard box, bit Matej Vydra was in the right place at the right time to stab the ball over the line and we were level. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Saturday 1st April 2023 Monthly Report Board Review Finances Dynamics Supporters Review Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Saturday 1st April 2023 No clue ahead of the Ipswich Town press conference No clue here as to what I did wrong in the previous press conference. 1 hour ago, Stuniverse said: Monday 27th March 2023 Meeting with the Board -- -- -- I still have no idea what I did wrong at the Press Conference. Here's the full transcript... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 (edited) Saturday 1st April 2023 Derby County v Ipswich Town League One (39) We entertain Ipswich Town today who are 6th, in the final playoff place, and one place and three points above us with a better goal difference. We will be doing everything we can to try and win this game but it's vital we don't lose as we can't afford to lose ground with only seven more games after today. -- Once again I thought we played well, edging possession, creating about as many chances as Ipswich, although we didn't get enough on target which was disappointing. We got the opening breakthrough on 21 minutes when James Collins finished superbly from close range after a great run and low cross from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing. Unfortunately, that was the only shot we got on target all game. At the other end, whilst Ipswich did have some efforts on target, Keiren Westwood dealt with them comfortably in our goal. That was, until Andre Wisdom mistimed a tackle in the penalty area and Chaplin converted the penalty. If only we could add a second goal once we get our noses in front. We had a few blows today. We lost two left-backs to injury with first Haydon Robertshaving to be substituted and then Ziggy Gordon. Hopefully their injuries won't be too bad. Max Bird also picked up yellow card that took him to the limit and Max will have to serve a suspension. Edited December 11, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Friday 7th April 2023 Rams captain extends his stay 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 Friday 7th April 2023 Forest Green Rovers v Derby County League One (40) Max Bird is suspended for the two Easter games away at Forest Green Rovers on Good Friday and at home to MK Dons on Easter Monday, after reaching the yellow cards limit last time out. We aren't that far off a fully fit squad with Jake Rooney due to return to training tomorrow and Joe Wildsmith could be back within the next two weeks. -- A good win for us today that keeps us in contention for a playoff spot. In some ways it was an unusual game for us but, in other ways, it was perfect. Unusual because Forest Green had the ball quite a bit more than us and created more chances, but perfect because we worked their goalkeeper more than they worked Keiren Westwood. We took the lead on 31 minutes through James Collins, finishing off a wonderful move that involved Jason Knight, Conor Hourihane, and Lewis Dobbin. And then we added a second, seven minutes later, when Narthaniel Mendez-Laing sent in a great, low cross from the right and James Collins scored from close range. Collo almost had a first-half hat-trick but was denied by a great save by McGee. Although the stats say Forest Green had the better of it, I felt we always looked comfortable and Keiren Westwood didn't look like being beaten. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 (edited) Monday 10th April 2023 Derby County v MK Dons League One (41) We're 7th, one spot below the playoffs, and MK Dons are one place and two points behind us so this is a massive game in our chase for a playoff place. It's another game that we will try to win but it's vital we don't lose. Max Bird will serve the second and final game of his suspension. Other than that, our number one goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith is our only other absentee. -- We were brilliant from start to finish today and I'm so proud of all the players. It took only 15 minutes for us to take the lead, Ziggy Gordon burst down the right flank, charged into the penalty area to the byline, pulled the ball back low for James Collins, and the MK Dons captain Lewington diverted it into his own net. We created a few more chances in the first-half but MK Dons caused us a lot of problems and we had to thank our goalkeeper Keiren Westwood for a string of fine saves that preserved our lead. During the break, we gave the players more freedom by asking them not to work the ball into the box. And it worked, we were much better in the second-half and Keiren Westwood hardly had a shot to save. On 53 minutes we doubled our lead. Conor Hourihane curled in a free-kick, Curtis Davies's header at the far post hit the woodwork, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing volleyed the rebound and Cumming, in MK Dons goal, parried the shot into the path of James Collins, who scored. The noise inside Pride Park Stadium brought me out in goosebumps and the decibel level increased further on 59 minutes when Simone Zaza headed in Conor Hourihane's corner. Edited December 11, 2022 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted December 11, 2022 Share Posted December 11, 2022 Good wins back to back, starting to find some good form. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 3 minutes ago, Punch said: Good wins back to back, starting to find some good form. Thank you, @Punch. Yes, indeed. I don’t want to jinx it with five games left in the season but yes. Some tweaks to the 4-2-3-1 tactics and players coming back from injury have made a difference. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted December 11, 2022 Share Posted December 11, 2022 39 minutes ago, Stuniverse said: Some tweaks to the 4-2-3-1 tactics That tactic seems to be very powerful in FM23, so I am finding in my save as well. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 Saturday 15th April 2023 Bristol Rovers v Derby County League One (42) Max Bird has served his suspension but, unfortunately, we still don't have him available as he picked up a minor leg injury in training. With five games to go, we have playoff qualification in our own hands for now. If, and it's a big IF, we can win all of our remaining five league games then we will make the playoffs. I think we have to accept that an automatic promotion spot is unlikely now, highly unlikely, but if we play as we know we can then we're confident of making the playoffs. I can assure our supporters that we're going to give it our best shot. After the way we played last time out, against MK Dons, the players who started that game deserve to go again but it's very much a squad game these days, even more so now we can make five changes, so the players on the bench have to be ready as we will need them. -- What an amazing game that was. Bristol Rovers made things very difficult for us but, we wore them down, and in the end we were too strong for them. In the first-half, we struggled to get much going, not through anything we were doing but because Bristol Rovers kept fouling us and slowing down the game - it's no wonder they picked up as many yellow cards as they did. We made some changes early in the second-half to give us some impetus and get more of a foothold in the game. That, plus the fact that Bristol Rovers couldn't foul us as much, with so many players on yellow cards, we wrestled control of the game. On 69 minutes, Haydon Roberts flew down the left wing, cut into the penalty area, and hit a fierce shot across the goalkeeper that nestled in the far inside netting (1-0). Three minutes later, after some superb passing in midfield, Lewis Dobbin released Simone Zaza, who calmly slotted the ball home (2-0). For the last 10 minutes we tightened things up and saw the game out, relatively untroubled. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 Sunday 16th April 2023 League One Promotion Run-in Ipswich Town MK Dons Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 Tuesday 18th April 2022 Exeter City v Derby County League One (43) Injury wise, we're pretty much where we were at the weekend. Max Bird could probably play but, at this stage of the season, we won't risk it and maybe look to bring him back into the matchday squad at the weekend. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing is nursing a bruised ankle so Lewis Dobbin will come in for him. Also, Conor Hourihane is looking a little bit tired so I'll give Korey Smith a start. Eiran Cashin is pushing for a start after recovering from an ankle ligament sprain, but the way Curtis Davies and Andre Wisdom are playing together in central defence at the moment, they've formed a great understanding, Eiran will have to be patient. -- I thought we played very well today and deserved to win the game. But for a brilliant display in goal from Blackman, I think we would've won it. James Collins gave us the lead on 22 minutes, after Ziggy Gordon released Lewis Dobbin down the right wing to deliver a pinpoint cross into the penalty area. Defensively we did well, I thought, but a superb, incisive move by Exeter saw Nombe equalise with an unbelievable finish. Sometimes, you just have to applaud. In the second-half, I thought we were the most likely. James Collins hit the post and Blackman made superb saves to deny James Collins, Lewis Dobbin, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, twice, and Matej Vydra. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 (edited) Wednesday 19th April 2023 Derby Owner summons Stuniverse to emergency meeting -- -- -- -- -- Edited December 12, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 (edited) Saturday 22nd April 2023 Derby County v Burton Albion League One (44) We only have our goalkeeper, Joe Wildsmith, unavailable for selection and he's not too far off a return. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing comes back in for Tom Barkhuizen and Conor Hourihane returns in place of Korey Smith who, very unfortunately, drops out completely as Max Bird returns to the bench. -- Well that was an incredible game. One we won comfortably in the end, but also one we made unnecessarily more difficult than it needed to be when we had a player advantage all second-half. I don't think they can argue with the sending off. Powell went for two yellows, neither foul reckless or particularly dangerous but worthy of yellow cards never-the-less. Lewis Dobbin stole the show with a superb hat-trick, and Simone Zaza and Matej Vydra also got their names on the scoresheet. At 2-0, and then again at 3-1, we let our concentration slip at the back, allowing them to pull to within one goal through balls over the top for Smith to run onto. The second one was particularly avoidable as Eiran Cashin missed his header, leaving the way open for Smith to run in on goal. Two games left now at home to Portsmouth and away to Sheffield Wednesday. Both very difficult games, but playoff qualification is in our own hands. We can't let it slip away now. Edited December 12, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 Monday 24th April 2023 Stearman set to hang up his boots Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 (edited) Saturday 29th April 2023 Derby County v Portsmouth League One (45) Before we get started, I have to congratulate Danny Cowley, his brother Nicky, and all the players and staff at Portsmouth for clinching the League One title. Pompey have been the best team in this division this season and they deserve their promotion. What's more, I think they will surprise people in the Championship next season and stay up comfortably. It would be nice if they were mentally now on the beach but Danny is too professional to allow that to happen. Which makes this a very difficult game for us and we need to get something out of the game so that we can go into the last game of the season ahead of Ipswich. We as good as have a clean bill of health and it's very pleasing to be able to say that. Daniel Grimshaw has a bruised shin, but he could play if we needed him too. Joe Wildsmith is back in the matchday 18 but he'll be on the bench. Keiren Westwood has been magnificent for us during our recent good run of form so I see no need to rush Joe back. -- We're disappointed to have lost to Portsmouth when it looked like we were going to get at least a draw. Very disappointed. Doubly so given that Ipswich beat Exeter and things are no longer in our own hands going into the last game of the season. It was a very tight game, with not much in it, so it was a blow to lose Haydon Roberts early with a pulled calf muscle. Then it was a case of two harsh penalties. Two very harsh penalties. Firstly, Scarlett scored for them after Festy Ebosele was adjudged to have committed a foul in the penalty area, but we couldn't see any contact. At the other end, Andre Wisdom headed Conor Hourihane's corner against the far post and then, in the resulting melee, the referee awarded another penalty and I have no idea why. Matej Vydra sent Oluwayemi the wrong way and it was all level. In the second-half, both teams cancelled each other out and we looked to be heading for a 1-1 draw, until Scarlett produced a worldie of a volley in added on time and that was that. I guess we saw in that moment why Portsmouth are the Champions. So now we have to work as hard as we can on the training ground ahead of our visit to Sheffield Wednesday, go there and get a result, and hope that Fleetwood can do us a favour against Ipswich. Edited December 12, 2022 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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