Killing Swans

[ramAnag]

No problem rA, I'll pass on your best wishes!
A win would be an unexpected bonus but I don't fancy our chances against a very good team. Still, one can hope!

That’s one done, mac. Despite Alan Parry’s efforts at ‘tempting fate’ that was comfortable.

[Ram59]

Great performance, probably the most complete performance I've seen in some time. Won the game in the first half and comfortably saw out the second half.

[swaledale]

No, some other poor bugger suffers this time!
Unfortunately, my good lady is still in severe pain from her leg injuries whilst, in addition, the whole aftermath - the drivers court case, our claim for damages and various insurance matters - remain unresolved! This happened in July and progress has been zilch with no end in sight! British Justice, makes you want to puke!

These matters are always long winded at the best of times, but a combination of government cuts, closing courts and covid-19 certainly hasn;t helped matters. Hope you get the end result you want and that your wife recovers soon.

[swaledale]

That’s one done, mac. Despite Alan Parry’s efforts at ‘tempting fate’ that was comfortable.

So is it Mac managing via Rooney, is it Rooney or is it just the dead weight of Cocu lifted from the players? Always said there was a mid table team somewhere with these players, finally we are seeing what they can do.

[Andy_Faber]

So is it Mac managing via Rooney, is it Rooney or is it just the dead weight of Cocu lifted from the players? Always said there was a mid table team somewhere with these players, finally we are seeing what they can do.

I know its only one match but some of that was top 6 form especially if Swansea are a benchmark. I'll admit to getting it wrong on a number of players AND the ability of Rooney and the rest of the Banana Splits/Fab Four to get some momentum going, BUT I reckon Steve Mac lurking like Walter E Kurtz in the shadows has a lot to do with it too

[MadAmster]

6 games ago, Rooney was given the role. From the first game we saw a different approach, a better performance from the lads. Still not good enough but looking more like what it ought to. Draws against Coventry and Wycombe were welcome as both sides were on a decent run, better than us at any rate. Something like 5 unbeaten for Cov and just 1 defeat in 7 for Wycombe. Many believed that we ought to have won both games, the way they panned out. We stopped the rot. Then we got a deserved win at Millwall.

Then came the real tests, a run of 3 games against teams, all of whom were in the top 6 at the start of the run. I said at the time, 3 points from the 3 would be good. We started off with a creditable point at Brentford that nobody expected. Then it was Stoke at home. In the first half we played really well and ought to have been ahead. No way were they going to be as poor in the 2nd half as we made them look in the 1st and they came back into it. In the end they could muster no more than 4 shots of which just the 1 was on target. We had 11 and 5. Another game we ought to have won.

Then came the Swans. We were even better 1st half than we had been against Stoke and were unlucky to go in just the 2 up. Kazim in the 4th minute, 15 minutes later Knight had a great shot pushed against the post by their keeper, on 37 Jozwiak scored a very good goal, his first for the club and what a happy chap he was too, on 45 Kazim hit the bar with a header. Best 45 minutes we've played this season. As with Stoke, no way would they be made to look as bad in the 2nd half and they weren't. They were more in the game 2nd half but they failed to register a single shot on target all game and that was down to us. All game we were purposeful, dominant and energetic. They never looked like scoring. This was the meanest defence in the League against the most shot shy one. They had only let 8 in in 18 and we had only managed to score 8 in 18. Who would have predicted a 2-0 win for the Rams? Yet it happened. I've seen it so many times down the years, losing games we should, on paper, win with our eyes closed and losing games we shouldn't have had a chance in. The Derby Way?

The big question now is "can we keep it up"? 6 games unbeaten. 2 wins and 4 draws in that run. 4 clean sheets on the bounce. An average of 1.66 points a game. Keep that up over the remaining 27 games and that's another 45 points putting us on 61. Extrapolation, however, doesn't often pan out that way. We'll probably end up with low 50s but well safe.

By half time, 10 of the 11 could have been nominated "man of the half". The 11th? Marshall as he didn't have anything to do. Byrne had a good game, Wis and Clarke were solid in the middle, Buchanan had a good un but had a couple more errant passes than we are used to from him, Bielik was class, Shinnie was outstanding, Knight was less obvious than normal but that doesn't mean he didn't play well, quite the opposite, 1st half Jozzy was, well, Jozzy, very busy at both ends 1st half faded as the game wore on but that's why we have subs, Waggy ran himself ragged and set up Joz's goal, Kazim did what Kazim does, got in their faces, offered an outlet, held the ball up, scored a goal and he hit the bar.

Very, very pleased with both the result and the perofrmance. A repeat at Rotherham on Saturday would see us out of the relegation zone. I think we will do it but I'm not going to count my chickens just yet. It's 59 years since my first Rams game and I've become too aware of the Derby Way to take a victory a Rotherham as a given.

Wth regard to squad management, We saw Ibe and Sibley both get valuable minutes with the 23s on Monday. Sibs to keep sharp as he's been bench sitting and Ibe to get more match minutes than he currently would in the 1st XI. Ibe was left out last night but I expect him to be back on the bench on Saturday with mayebe a 15 minute cameo in the offing.

[ramAnag]

So is it Mac managing via Rooney, is it Rooney or is it just the dead weight of Cocu lifted from the players? Always said there was a mid table team somewhere with these players, finally we are seeing what they can do.

Good questions...not sure of the answer but right now I’m just enjoying the improvement.
Two players have made an enormous difference imo. CKM, who Cocu chose to rarely play for more than a last ten minute cameo, and Bielik who Cocu was unlucky to not have available from last January.
This side is just too lightweight without those two...CKM has brought character, leadership and physicality to the side and Bielik has been growing towards the sort of stellar performance we saw from him last night allowing others to play with much more confidence.
Without those two we’re likely to be back to square one so further strengthening is required but credit where it’s due...Rooney/Mac or McRooney...is working at the moment. There were far fewer ‘erms’ in his post match interview last night - until the questioning turned to the takeover - and the spectre of John Terry arriving is diminishing.
More of the same at Rotherham please.

[MadAmster]

In his post match interview, Wazza said that the move that led to the first goal was Shay Given's idea. Left back on the right wing to give the assist. Later that half we even had Byrne defending on the right. Have they been given some leeway to move to where they think they're needed at any given moment rather than slavishly sticking to their "hole"?

[ramAnag]

So is it Mac managing via Rooney, is it Rooney or is it just the dead weight of Cocu lifted from the players? Always said there was a mid table team somewhere with these players, finally we are seeing what they can do.

Good questions...not sure of the answer but right now I’m just enjoying the improvement.
Two players have made an enormous difference imo. CKM, who Cocu chose to rarely play for more than a last ten minute cameo, and Bielik who Cocu was unlucky to not have available from last January.
This side is just too lightweight without those two...CKM has brought character, leadership and physicality to the side and Bielik has been growing towards the sort of stellar performance we saw from him last night allowing others to play with much more confidence.
Without those two we’re likely to be back to square one so further strengthening is required but credit where it’s due...Rooney/Mac or McRooney...is working at the moment. There were far fewer ‘erms’ in his post match interview last night - until the questioning turned to the takeover - and the spectre of John Terry arriving is diminishing.
More of the same at Rotherham please.

[ramAnag]

P.S. Anyone else notice the state of the pitch last night. Looked more like the BBG than we’ve come to expect from the pristine billiard table of PP. Players were actually getting muddy! Coincidence?