Swans v Rams thoughts

[MadAmster]

How sh*t must they be... we beat 'em away.

In all seriousness, the Swans will be feeling peeved at this defeat. If the game had been the exact opposite as far as play and the result was concerned, so would I be.

The opening 2 minutes saw Derby in the ascendancy, then there was 5 minutes of Swansea in the driving seat followed by a breakaway goal which saw Lawro shoot, their keeper fingertipped it onto the post and Waggy was there to put the rebound in the old onion bag. Good goal and I was more than happy. The rest of the half saw Swansea the better side and we can thank our back 5 for keeping a clean sheet at HT. On a couple of occasions it was more by luck than judgment but it's hgh time we had that luck going our way rather than the other way.

They came out 2nd half and ran the show. The only surprise was it took them 10 minutes to get the equaliser. Again, the back 5 had done well to keep it out on 3 or 4 occasions. Was it a foul on Knight in the lead up to the goal? I wasn't sure it was at the time and from the highlights it isn't a certain one for me so I think the ref got it right. Three minutes later it was 2-1 and, although I didn't like it, I couldn't fault their deserving of the lead at the hour mark. Many people, including Hamer, thought Hamer had been fouled for teir 2nd. IMO he hadn't been and it was a valid goal. There was contact between one Swansea player and Hamer but it looks like he was pushed into Hamer by Bogle so no foul.

We didn't lie down, went back at them and got the 2 goals to nick all 3 points. A Fozzy cross headed back in by Davies, the ball fell to Holmes who stuck it in the corner. Their keeper will hold his hand up for not stopping it. Another point on that goal is that Davies had his hand on a defender's shoulders when he nodded it back. VAR would have seen the goal chalked off, rightly so, IMO. The 3rd saw Lawro get the ball 25 yards out in acres of space, 2 steps forward, hit it with the outside of the foot and it swerves away from the keeper and into the net. The keeper won't be happy with that one either.

All in all a good day out. An away League win, 186 days after the previous one. Not a perfect win as we weren't the better side but we kept at it and found a way to grab all 3 points. Swansea are no mugs and to get the win there despite being 2nd best result wise (they had twice as many shots, twice as many on target) might just point to us having turned the corner and are on a run that might just see us get somewhere near the top 6. Just 7 points between us and 6th place with 15 games to go. Not an impossible ask but an improbable one as we have to pass 7 sides to hit the top 6. Still gives us some hope though. One defeat in 11 games. Who saw that coming? Not me.

[macstheman]

Thanks MA, as usual a 'fair' report telling as it is not cloud cuckoo land!
For me it's about building a safety net in case of a points deduction and all wins are welcome. What happens further down the line is a wait and see situation but all positive signs on the pitch are welcome. Rooney's presence seems to be very positive at the moment, confidence seems to be returning.
All in all good stuff!

[MadAmster]

Thanks Mac. The one disappointing thing to me of late has been the noticeable increase int the belligerence towards the refs. Considering most this season have been poor, a reaction from the players shouldn't be that much of a surprise, however, two of Bogle's last three yellow cards have been caused more by mouthing off at the ref rather than the tackle just made. Rooney has been spoken to on a couple of occasions and Waggy seems to up for having a go at refs as well and there are more than just those three. I would prefer them to cut it out.

[StensonRam]

Thanks MA, as usual a 'fair' report telling as it is not cloud cuckoo land!
For me it's about building a safety net in case of a points deduction and all wins are welcome. What happens further down the line is a wait and see situation but all positive signs on the pitch are welcome. Rooney's presence seems to be very positive at the moment, confidence seems to be returning.
All in all good stuff!

Conspiracy theory alert!!!!!

Have the EFL realised they c0cked up big time in signing off everything they now charge us with, are they just doing this to appease Boro? The club say theres been no further contact from the EFL, is this really true? Is the EFL waiting for as long as possible to see what token punishment they hand out without it meaning our relegation? Could we further sue the EFL, (if thats what we're going to do regarding the charges) if this case has damaged deal for the new investment and the fact no new players wanted to come in the january window thus affecting our season negatively?

All points on the league table are welcome, Rooney has had a major influence on that more so than what Cocu has, what does surprise me is the amount of minutes Rooney is playing or able to play, staggering really but nice to see something rubbing off him onto the rest of the team and it'll actually be a shock to see Rooney in the dugout barking out orders, we've yet to see that and I thought it'd be the other way around and not see him play so much

Still lots to improve on but onwards and upwards