Back home from a weekend of spinning soul in Skipton and watching the game in a pub full of DYS fans who were actually very good to the stranger in their midst. I was so convinced of what was going to happen that I walked into a branch of Coral's and put a tenner on Leeds to win 3-1 at 8/1.

Leeds pressed us really high from the off and we had no time or space at the back to play the ball with any accuracy in either speed of the ball or the direction thereof. After 5 minutes I was saying we need to change to 2 up front to get them to keep more men in defence and stop them ratting us in MF and at the back. It never happened but we should have had the common sense to stop faffing about at the back. The players are as culpable as Cocu in this. How we weren't 3 or 4 down at HT is a mystery. Strange then that the one goal they got should, IMO, never have been. Not for the possible 1mm offside that would have been given by VAR (shouldn't be as that is neither clear nor obvious) but because it wasn't a free kick in my mind and, considering some of the fouls we didn't get given from DYS tackles, neither did the ref so why did he give it? Even then it was fortuitous going in via a save from Roos that rebounded onto Lowe's left foot.

I have seen comments online on "we shouldn't play the young uns"...... Lowe was the only one in the starting XI so I don't understand that comment on this game. They seemed to target him and I thought he could easily have been overwhelmed but wasn't. Great wrong foot cross from him for the goal. Nice little dummy right before turning and passing to his left. Good near post run from Waggy that helped creats more space in the middle and a cool, calm and collected pass into the net from Coldplay. Cue huge cheers from me and groans of "we knew that was going to happen" from the rest of the pub.

Last couple of games have been howlers for Clarke who is lauded as being a ball playing CH yet we have seen exactly the opposite of late. Still not convinced by Malone. More errors from Bielik and Hudds than we are used to. Keogh had quite a few poorly placed passes and headers, some of which put Roos and/or Clarke under pressure inside the box.

Waggy spent most of the game having to bolster the defence. Holmes put himself about but lacked effectiveness, mainly due to being outnumbered and fouled. FloJo was pretty ineffective. Marriott cut a lonely figure up top, chased and harried but it was a hopeless task.

Roos - had 2 rushes of blood we got away with. He also kept us in the game with saves.
Lowe - Not his best game but stood up well enough to being targetted and his run and cross for the goal was excellent
Keogh - a lot of errors under pressure plus some good tackles. A mixed bag.
Clarke - Not very good on the ball for a supposed ball playing CH. Confidence going? I think so and it seems to be affecting the rest of his game.
Malone - Never been convinced by him and I'm still not.
Hudds - Some good interventions and just as many errors
Bielik - They ratted him like they did the rest of the back 7, sometimes having 3 or 4 on him in a flash when in posession. Worst distrubution from him in a Rams shirt.
FloJo - How many chances will he need?
Holmes - busy but overwhelmed, fouled and thereby ineffective
Waghorn - spent 80% of the game having to defend which he did well
Marriott - left isolated most of the time

Cocu - Should have gone plan B or further very early doors. It was painfully obvious we weren't capable of combatting the way they were playing. How many times have we battered the oppo for 89 minutes and lost to a last minute breakaway. I know you shouldn't go down when there's nothing wrong but an "injury" gives the gaffer the time to change things when they are clearly not working. Questionable tactic I know but when everybody else does, it's very naive not to. I also question his instructions to the full backs. He has them coming infield an awful long way which means the opposition wide men all the time in the world to put in a cross and we don't handle them all that well. I used to have my sides play the same as as Cocu at the back, however, the full backs were under instructions to make sure that, taking into account the angle and the distance to the wide man, they were always close enough to put him under pressure or even intercept the ball. Cocu has them too far infield. He also loves the "wrong sided winger" as well. Great if that man is Harry Wilson or Arjen Robben but not when it's Tommy L and Waggy. By all means have them where they are some of the game but also have them swap so they can also go outside and put a cross in.


Martin........ is not the Martin of old. He took the ball on the chest inside his own half, laid it off, ran forward and about 10 seconds later he's putting it in the net. A wonderful move. Lowe to Knight, Knight to Martin, Martin to Lowe, Lowe to Knight, Knight to Lowe. Lowe to Paterson, Paterson to Martin and Martin puts it in the onion bag. CM looked lighter and sharper than he did.


I'll duck behind the sofa now but leave you with what I shouted in the Venue in the 91st minute........... Chrissy Martin, Derby's number nine............TEEN