Derby County v Ipswich Town
Tuesday 21st August 2018 – 19:45
Pride Park Stadium
Pre Match Thoughts - Mike
So Much Better
Saturday's backs to the wall performance against a strong and much fancied Aston Villa side was light years away from the efforts of Tuesday night down in darkest Exeter, it may only have been a single point but it told us all a lot lot more about this group of players and indeed the manager. Nobody likes having their integrity questioned, least of all Footballers but that is kind of the way Hurst's interview and after match thoughts came across following our cup exit, many have said his outburst, which he has since tried to play down, could have gone Two ways, thankfully it went the way we all wanted it to, Town's players turned in a super 94 minutes, it was a performance that showed guts, determination and dare I say it a fair bit of ability too.
Going down to Ten men is never great, especially when we are a side trying to evolve, a side probably low on a little bit of confidence following Exeter, a side still trying to win a few doubters over so a Red card in the first half was the last thing we needed. As some have said it certainly seemed to lift everyone, the crowd were superb and the players responded and gave it their all, and that is all we ask of them, apart from the few numpties who look at the end result and nothing else everyone would clearly have seen just how good the boys were when the chips were down, my initial feeling after Saturday's game was that this team will make it and I stand by that and more, I think Hurst will get this team performing and winning games, my prediction of a mid table finish at least has not wavered at all, Twelve to Fifteen games in and we will have a good idea of the progress made and the direction we are heading, I for One am confident.
Rebuilding the Fortress
In years gone by Portman Road has often been seen as a bit of a fortress, a place opposing team were not keen to come to, a place where the crowd has been the Twelfth man with noise levels at such a level it gives the players that extra spring in their step, unfortunately in recent seasons it had dwindled to something more akin to a library or morgue, the atmosphere had died and everything was just this blase feel of defeat, toxic was a word I used a fair bit last season cus that is how it was getting, not helped by the divide between McCarthy and us fans of course, it got to the point where we were giving visiting teams the advantage of playing on our own patch !! It was a situation that just had to be reversed.
Thankfully the first Two home League games against Blackburn & Villa have seen just what the old place can be like again, the noise levels have been superb and the fans are showing their appreciation of what PH and the lads are trying to do, the atmosphere has been superb and the North stand is returning to what I have always known it to be, I've grown up with it being "the place" to sing your hearts out and raise the players to another level, we need that every week, Portman Road is where we need to pick up the majority of our points, it needs to be a daunting place for teams to come and play at, so far so good and that is with us not even winning games, just imagine what it will be like when the goals and wins start flowing. Of course the next home game will take care of itself, the Scum come to Town and that needs no build up or added incentive at all. The roof will be raised.
Favourite Away Day
The games just keep on coming and next up is a Tuesday night visit to Derby County, probably my favourite away day, I expect it is down to the fact that I have been there several times and we always seem to win, not to jinx it but I am yet to see us lose there which considering their ability is quite remarkable, who can forget the Carlos Edwards screamer in the dying seconds of the game a few season back, they are the moments you live for where Football is concerned. Surprisingly the Rams are finding life tough right now and even though they have more points on the board than us at present I would suggest they are struggling every bit as much as we are, of course they have a new manager, a rookie one at that in Frank Lampard and Frank is no doubt going to need time to find his feet in the world of Football management, but this is big spending Derby not Ipswich and I doubt they will give him long if results continue to disappoint.
An opening day 2-1 victory at Reading got them off to a winning start but I watched that game and for much of it they were easily second best, nicking the points with a super last gasp Tom Lawrence header hid the true facts, then they were dismantled by Leeds on their own patch before coming unstuck at tricky Millwall the weekend just gone, and it just goes to show that possession is the most pointless statistic ever as they had 72% at Millwall and got beat, it's what you do with it that counts.
On paper we should probably come home empty handed but again this is Ipswich, struggle against the Barnsley's, Burton's & Rotherham's of this world and then take it to Villa with Ten men or pick up our obligatory three points at Derby, it's what we do, when we are the underdogs we seem to raise our game so it may just be that this one suits us more, somebody said we could be playing Derby at a good time and they may well be right, I think another draw here would be an excellent outcome, anything better and it would be heaven, and oh how I would love to put one over dear Waggy !!! COYB'S!
The Opposition – Derby County
Derby County F.C. was formed in 1884 as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club in an attempt to give players and supporters a winter interest as well as secure the cricket club extra revenue, playing their home matches at the cricket club’s Racecourse Ground.
Arguably the most important game in the club's history came in the 1886 FA Cup, when a 2–0 victory over Aston Villa, already an emerging force in English football, helped establish Derby County F.C. on the English football map, helping the club to attract and an invitation into the inaugural Football League. In 1895 the club moved to a new stadium, The Baseball Ground (so called because it was previously used for baseball), which became their home for the next 102 years and adopted their traditional colours of black and white.
Although Derby were inconsistent in the league, they were a strong force in the FA Cup, appearing in three finals in six years around the turn of the 20th Century but lost all three.
Between 1906 and 1925 Derby had some inconsistent years, with a number of relegations and promotions between the First and Second Divisions of the Football League. However, the appointment of George Jobey in 1925 kick-started a successful period for the Rams and, after promotion in 1926, the club became a formidable force, with high finishes from the late 1920s and all through the 1930s, including finishing runners up twice.
Derby were one of several clubs to close down during the Second World War but restarted in the early 1940s. Derby were one step ahead of the opposition when competitive football resumed with the 1946 FA Cup and won their first major trophy with a 4–1 victory over Charlton Athletic. The League restarted the following season after a break due to World War II and, under the management of Stuart McMillan, finished fourth and third in the 1948 and 1949 seasons respectively, before a steady decline set in and the club was relegated in 1953 after nearly 30 years in the top flight, and again in 1955 to drop to the third tier of English football for the first time in their history.
In 1967, Brian Clough and Peter Taylor took over and led them to their greatest glory. Derby were promoted to the First Division in 1969, finished fourth in 1970, but got banned from competing in Europe due to financial irregularities in 1971 and won their first ever Football League Championship in 1972. Though Derby did not retain their title the following season, they did reach the semi-finals of the European Cup. They lost to Juventus in a controversial match which was subject to subsequent allegations that the Italian club had bribed the match officials, leading Clough, to call the Italians "cheating bastards". Clough's frequent outspoken comments against football's establishment eventually led to him falling out with the board of directors at the club, and Clough and Taylor left in 1973. Such was their impact on the club that, 37 years later, a 9'0 high bronze statue of the pair was erected outside the Pride Park Stadium in commemoration of their legacy.
Despite the departure of Clough and Taylor, Derby's League success was repeated in the 1974–75 season when they won the title. However, Derby's form declined towards the end of the 1970s and they went down to the Second Division in 1980. Though they challenged well in their first season, Derby's stay in the Second Division was not a happy one and they were relegated to the Third Division for only the second time in their history in 1984.
After the relegation, the club appointed Arthur Cox who turned the club around with successive promotions in the mid-1980s to get the club back into the old First Division in 1987.
The club was relegated back to the Second Division in 1991 due to lack of investment. At this time, local newspaper businessman Lionel Pickering became the majority shareholder of the club. In 1995 Jim Smith became the new manager and, although the new season started slowly, throwing his brief of 'a top-half finish' out of the window, Smith guided the Rams to a second-place finish and the Premier League, now the top flight of English football. After finishing an admirable 12th in their first season back into the top flight, the club left the Baseball Ground, its home of 102 years, to move into the new 33,597-seat Pride Park Stadium for the 1997–98 season.
The club settled well into its new home as it recorded back-to-back top 10 finishes for the first time since their 1970s peak, before a sudden decline at the turn of the millennium saw three years of struggle,before the Rams were relegated after a six-year stay in the top flight. in 2002. Former Ipswich Town boss George Burley was brought in as manager, but the club was put into receivership then sold in October 2003 for £3 to a group led by Jeremy Keith.
After finishing 20th in the 2003–04 season, a dramatic improvement in the 2004–05 season saw Derby finish 4th in the Football League Championship, qualifying for a promotion play-off spot, though they lost in the semi-finals to Preston North End. Soon afterwards, Burley resigned citing differences between himself and the board.
In April 2006 a consortium of local businessmen led by former vice-chairman Peter Gadsby bought the club, reducing its debt and returning Pride Park Stadium to the club's ownership in the process. In June 2006, former Preston North End boss Billy Davies was appointed Derby County's new permanent manager. In his first season, Davies took Derby to the Premier League via the playoffs. After a poor start to the season, manager Billy Davies left by mutual consent in November.
He was succeeded by Paul Jewell, who failed to save the club as Derby suffered the Premier League's earliest ever relegation, in March,and recorded the Premier League's lowest-ever points total.
Derby's match at home to Sheffield United on 13 September 2008 generated much media coverage as it was approaching a year since Derby's last league win, a run which saw the club break the English league record for most matches without a win.
Just four days short of the anniversary, Derby finally won earning Paul Jewell his first league win as Derby boss at his 27th attempt. Jewell resigned as manager in December 2008 after a run of just 2 wins in 11 matches. He was replaced by Nigel Clough, son of former manager Brian.
He led the club to 18th place and safety. After two disappointing seasons that saw the club finish in the bottom half of the table, Derby finished the two subsequent seasons in 12th and 10th place. Clough was sacked 9 games into the 2013–14 season, and was replaced by former Derby player and assistant manager Steve McClaren.
Under McClaren the club finished third in the Championship and reached the final of the play-offs, where they lost to Queens Park Rangers.
In the 2014/15 season Derby could only manage an 8th place finish after a terrible slump post Christmas and McClaren was dismissed at the end of May to be replace by Paul Clement.
Derby made the playoffs in the 15/16 season, but lost to the eventual winner of the playoff final in Hull Tigers.
Gary Rowett became Derby manager in March 2017 and led them to the final playoff place last season, before accepting a new challenge at relegated Stoke City in May 2018.
On 31 May 2018, Frank Lampard was appointed as manager on a three-year contract.
The Manager – Frank Lampard
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
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Form Guide
Derby County Last 5 Matches – Currently in 14th place with 3 points
3 Aug Reading 1 - 2 Derby County
11 Aug Derby County 1 - 4 Leeds Utd
18 Aug Millwall 2 - 1 Derby County
Ipswich Last 5 Matches –Currently in 16th place with 2 points
4 Aug Ipswich Town 2 - 2 Blackburn
11 Aug Rotherham 1 - 0 Ipswich Town
18 Aug Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Aston Villa
Match Referee – Scott Duncan
DERBY COUNTY 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1
You’ve made me think of Joey Tribbiani when he discovered the Thesaurus.
