Watched some, heard some of the game....wait to hear your reports everyone. One thing for certain, tough match, should have been a hard earned draw,and a Useless Eustace disgraceful decision by the ref! What a difference that would have made against 10 men. But, hey we are still in the mix, no shame, had an amazing record, and lets move on. Well played all.
Poor decisions cost us today scog!! Poor decisions by thr ref, poor decisions by Mick and a poor decision by Smith!! We really are lacking quality in wide mid areas at the moment and need more creativity, Tabb/Anderson and Hunt bros are not good enough out wide, imo and i was really pissed off that Mick unfairly dropped Parr!!
That is two home games recently this season when the ref has bottled producing a 2nd yellow card for the opposition, how is when two players square up to one another and have to be pulled apart only one gets booked? Also bottled the hand ball decision 2nd half. Overall not much between the teams for me Derby won the midfield battle all day and for the 2nd game running hesitancy at the bank has cost us a goal, today it also cost us the game!
Agree with everything on here, we didn't have the usual spark, and I for one thought we really missed Skuse! As for the ref, he was a joke, absolute joke, Derby should have been down to 10 men for the second half and how the hell he didn't see the handball is beyond me, but these things happen and no doubt we will get the rub of the green at some point.
Thought Smiff was poor today Hoppers, his distribution was awful and golden rule of defending, dont let the bloody ball bounce!! Berra was quality again tho, mom in my opinion!!
A number of players not quite on their game today, lots of 6/10 scores none were particularly poor, although at times chambers tested my patience today and Smith boloxed up for the goal, defeat was going to happen at some point at least we still had chances in the game and I would argue on another day with a ref who knew what he was doing we would have had a pen and Eustace sent off for his 2nd bookable offence rather than his 3rd!
Spot on Gaffer can't win them all........I thought it was looking like a 0-0 draw and would have been if Smith didn't make the mistake but everyone makes them .......never expected to go all season unbeaten so move on to the next game.
Frustrating game and result. Was concerned when I saw Tabb had been moved back to the wing. Underpar all over the pitch, hopefully it'll work - like the Cardiff result - will act as a little bit of a wake up call that we can't simply turn up. Having said that would have been a different game entirely if we capitalised on our early dominance. McGoldrick and Murphy need real competition for their spaces. Move on to the next one.
With Watford losing, Boro being held, things are looking brighter! From the 30 mins I saw of the match (took pub landlord bloody ages to tune in...gnashing of teeth!) what was Tabb on wing for, Hyam ineffective, Anderson and others on away day. Bring back Parr, move Mings up and create more of a presence, bring in one fresh creative midfielder and one new striker. Skuse back in?! Hilarious I find that, but maybe today might have made the difference.
Well, it was gutting to lose that game, really. We didn't deserve all three points, but I think a draw would have been a fairer reflection of what was, admittedly, a fairly poor game of football with a scarcity of premium chances. The penalty call should have gone our way, it looked pretty obvious where I was sitting in the stands, but without video technology you cannot expect referees to make all the big calls, you win some, you lose some in those situations. Regardless of the refereeing performance, that was the worst I've seen us play since the Norwich defeat. Long balls punted forward, more in hope than anything else, some ineffective play down the wings, and an incredibly selfish performance by David McGoldrick, who spent most of the game shooting rather than picking out a pass. Stephen Hunt played poorly, Luke Chambers cannot cross the ball, and we looked short of ideas in the middle too. We need support in defence, decent back-up up front, and a consistent threat from attacking midfield if we want automatic promotion. Results, thankfully went our way. It was one of the few times that I didn't mind a Norwich victory, because it's handed us a massive favour. Also, putting today's defeat, and performance, in context, we are still third in the league. I didn't expect us to be where we are, at this stage of the season, in August. We're a side that has progressed incredibly well. We came up against a heavily-fancied Derby side, that possesses some gifted players. What this season has shown us is that we can bounce back from disappointing defeats. I hope we can put this behind us and continue our impressive league form, I mean, we've lost twice in the past 22 games. That's still an impressive statistic.
Good post Nuggets, I also felt Didsy was a bit selfish at times, below par performance from many in Blue (& Black today)
Excellent post Nuggets, thanks. If I knew how to give you loads of reps I would! As we say, an impressive season record, and a position that tbh none of us thought we would be in the New Year. No alarms, but all agreed we need a few new players to freshen and strengthen...like NOW!
Do we need a few more players tho gaffer? We have this discussion every window the only difference this time is we are properly in the mix. Not just for play offs but to possibly win the league. Today may just have been an off day and coupled with some poor refereeing and a defensive howler from smith led to defeat. I think the team is in a good place and signings are not essential. But were any signings to be made who would you like to see come in??
McGoldrick still trying to hard, it's almost like he needs to be told that his personal goal tally doesn't matter, get back to the basics and the goals will come. Although, how many of his goals last season we spectacular efforts/ set pieces. No knee jerk reactions needed though, just need to bounce back. Southampton could prove to be a great confidence builder, but Millwall the more important game. Would like to see wingers - not midfielders - on the Wings though.
I believe we need the reinforcements. Don't get me wrong, we evidently don't need a squad overhaul or to make extensive changes. Obviously we are in good form and the team that Mick McCarthy has assembled is good enough to compete for automatic promotion. However, we are in the best league position we have been in for about a decade and failure to invest and strengthen the squad could result in the undoing of a good campaign thus far. It would be ignorant and naive not to provide cover at right-back, not to bring in a decent and effective striker for support, and it would be foolish to ignore the problems we have in midfield, particularly a lack of a consistent creative hub down the centre and the wings. These issues, while not serious, could still be an impediment to achieving promotion. We don't even need to spend money, not that we have any to spend anyway. Luke Chambers is a not a credible attacking outlet in the rampaging full-back position. Defensively sound, yes, but his crossing today, as it has been throughout this season, is the glaring weakness in having a converted centre-back filling in the wide areas. We can either target a loan signing or bring back Elliott Hewitt, if we have that capability, and give the guy a chance. Up front, we have two talented strikers in David McGoldrick, who was snatching at chances today, and the in-form Daryl Murphy. But beyond them, we have Connor Sammon, who, while tenacious and hardworking, does not provide a credible or consistent goal threat. Balint Bajner is clearly struggling to impress McCarthy and hasn't been afforded many first-team opportunities. When he has come on, he hasn't looked good. Noel Hunt is the latest loan addition, and he could be McCarthy's answer to our lack of cover up front, but aside from the goal against Charlton, his scoring record over the past two years has been disappointing. But it is in central midfield, and down the wings, where we are struggling to create chances. Luke Hyam, Carl Skuse, and Jay Tabb are decent defensive midfielders, and Tabb, admittedly, has been in good form lately, but they struggle as a consistent creative threat. Darren Ambrose lacks match fitness, but, with a few more games under his belt, could possibly be the type of player this team craves. Teddy Bishop and Kevin Bru, for me, are too inconsistent, although they clearly have the potential. I know it's a well-worn transfer target, but bringing back Jonny Williams could be the difference between automatic promotion or play offs. He brings the ability and also attracts attention of the defenders, allowing our strikers to operate more efficiently. Out wide, we lack talent. Paul Anderson has racked up the assists, thanks to set pieces and some impressive crossing, but beyond him, I don't think we possess a decent out-and-out winger. Cameron Stewart's time at the club has, sadly, been plagued by injury. So it'd be a gamble to include him in the team in the short term. Stephen Hunt does not have the pace or ability to be a first-teamer at the level we are aiming towards. It'd be interesting to see if Teddy Bishop could do a sustained job in a wide position, he does have the attributes, freeing up space for Bru or Williams, if he joins. I haven't came to this conclusion based on just this result, but throughout the campaign I've been having, and voicing, these doubts. Like everyone on here, I want what is best for our club, and I feel if we address these concerns, we'll be a much more efficient and effective team to play against. (Sorry about the length)
Went to the game today and seem to agree with most on here. For me, we weren't at our best and our midfield let us down mainly. Bishop and particularly Hyam were poor. I thought Anderson was having a decent game up until he was subbed. McGoldrick was dire, lacked any urgency and made poor decisions. That and a s*** ref made for a frustrating afternoon... Not to mention another 90 mins getting out the car park! Don't want to be too harsh though... Was bound to happen sooner or later. 0-0 or 1-1 would've been about right. Big up the Budgies! Keeps us within a point.
