Derby started the game in similar circumstances as their previous fixture; with some highly debatable refereeing. DJ Campbell, starting following his last gasp equaliser at the weekend, was denied an early penalty. The forward was clearly brought down by Preston keeper Lonergan as he raced into the Preston box. Preston were guilty of some poor finishing as they edged the first half. Sam Parkin fired over from close range whilst Ross Wallace hit the cross bar with a fantastic free kick from over 25 yards out.

Preston continued the barrage of shots in the second half as Neil Mellor forced a sublime save from Stephen Bywater. Derby grew in strength as the match wore on and DJ Campbell’s header was millimetres away from opening the scoreline as his header struck the underside of the crossbar. Callum Davidson was similarly unlucky as he hit the post from close range in the dying seconds.

Derby fans should feel proud of their team for another passionate display and valuable point. Deepdale is a notoriously difficult place to pick up even a point and fans will be delighted with Derby’s defence finally keeping a clean sheet away. As the Rams enter an important and hectic Christmas schedule Nigel Clough will be pleased Derby’s defence frailties are becoming less frequent. Clough will be hoping the Rams can pick up another point this Saturday at Vicarage Road.

The Rams came into the away fixture at Preston on the back of an impressive draw with high-flying West Brom; a match that Derby ought to have won had it not been for some dubious refereeing. Whilst performances on the pitch may have been improving it was slightly disconcerting to read the reports Nigel Clough may be forced to sell his prized assets in the January transfer window; notably Rob Hulse and Kris Commons. Hulse’s absence against Preston gave the Rams an opportunity to see how the team cope without their incumbent Player of the Year.

Derby started the game in similar circumstances as their previous fixture; with some highly debatable refereeing. DJ Campbell, starting following his last gasp equaliser at the weekend, was denied an early penalty. The forward was clearly brought down by Preston keeper Lonergan as he raced into the Preston box. Later on Preston were guilty of some poor finishing as they edged the first half. Sam Parkin fired over from close range whilst Ross Wallace hit the cross bar with a fantastic free kick from over 25 yards out.

Preston continued the barrage of shots in the second half as Neil Mellor forced a sublime save from Stephen Bywater. Derby grew in strength as the match wore on and DJ Campbell’s header was millimetres away from opening the scoreline as his header struck the underside of the crossbar. Callum Davidson was similarly unlucky as he hit the post from close range in the dying seconds.

Derby fans should feel proud of their team for another passionate display and valuable point. Deepdale is a notoriously difficult place to pick up even a point and fans will be delighted with Derby’s defence finally keeping a clean sheet away. As the Rams enter an important and hectic Christmas schedule Nigel Clough will be pleased Derby’s defence frailties are becoming less frequent. Clough will be hoping the Rams can pick up another point this Saturday at Vicarage Road.

Derby have struggled away from home so much this season that surely it’s time to reach for the hyoscine. The Rams travelled to South Wales on a blowy, dank mid-November evening, to play the inform team of the Championship. Derby’s tactics were clear from the off; stifle the opposition. The limp, lifeless attack from the Rams summed up their efforts and it was a small miracle that the damage was limited to a single goal.

Swansea applied pressure on Derby right from kickoff. The positive football on display from the Swans was almost rewarded after just eight minutes; Nathan Dyer capitalised on a horrible backpass from Gary Teale by latching onto the ball and rounding Bywater only to hit the post from the narrow angle he had left to play with.

Swansea came perilously close again on the half hour mark; only Bywater’s excellent low dive could stop Craig Beattie’s rocket shot from the edge of the box.

The second half continued much the same with Derby still playing the role of a saturated sandbag holding up against an oncoming flood; a breach was inevitable, it was just a matter of when. In light of this Derby actually defended well with Barker making some particularly heroic blocks to stop Pratley, Beattie and co.

Swansea finally broke their duck just nine minutes from time. Joe Allen spotted Fede Bessone on a surging run, leaving the Argentinian with task of finding the net; his thundering shot shuddered off the underside of the crossbar beating Bywater and crashing into the net.

Derby may count themselves unlucky to have held on for so long only to concede at the death, but any game plan that sees the Rams muster just a single shot on goal needs to be held up for scrutiny. The bottom line is that the Rams appear to lack any confidence when away from the Pride Park cauldron and need to see drastic improvements if they are to move up the league table.

Derby travelled to Portman Road with high hopes; after all despite Derby’s atrocious away form of late, Roy Keane’s Tractor Boys were yet to make a notch on the victory post.

Derby however proved that once again when it comes to ‘curse’ breaking the Rams are kings.  Time and time again teams desperately in need of a win need only a fixture against derby to break their duck.

The injury crisis continues to plague the club, this time claiming new victim Rob Hulse, who was ruled out of the squad by a nasty stomach bug; this meant a lone role for veteran striker Paul Dickov upfront.

Derby dominated the first half; making their intentions known early on. Livermore and Dickov linked up within the first few minutes, only for Dickov to fire into the side netting. Derby’s best chance of the half came courtesy of Robbie Savage, who’s rocket shot from distance forcing Portsmouth loanee Begovic to parry it away.

The Ipswich attack was led by former Ram and recently rumoured Clough target Jon Stead; the striker held the ball up well but despite several attempts failed to severely challenge Bywater.

The Rams continued their dominance after the break and other than a superb stop from Bywater to push away Bruce’s header were troubled little.

In true Derby style it was typical defensive errors from the Rams’ that cost them the game in the 66^th minute.  Liam Rosenior crossed a delicious hanging ball from deep on the right; whilst Derby’s defence watched the ball’s trajectory they left Wright clear to leap meeting the ball with a thunderous header that Bywater despite making contact was unable to stop from pounding the back of the net.

There is little doubt that Derby’s performance at Portman Road was a marked improvement over recent games, and the Rams can count themselves unlucky not to have left Suffolk with at least a point. With less than a week until a home tie against Coventry Derby will hope that key players continue to return from the medical room and make as big an impact as Stephen Pearson did today.

To paraphrase BBC Five Live rather succinct summary of the game ‘Derby were so poor, it was unreal’. Such a response may not have been unexpected given Derby’s recent away form; but the Rams actually held the upper hand against Middlesbrough in the form stakes.

At no point during the ninety minutes of ‘football’ on show did Derby appear to be comfortable. The first scare came after four minutes when if it wasn’t for a block from Shaun Barker then the Rams would have almost certainly been trailing.

The current injury crisis is by far the biggest factor in Derby’s season so far; the crisis was deepened just 12 minutes in to the game as Kris Commons limped off with a recurrence of his hamstring injury. As if that wasn’t penance enough Derby soon lost Jay McEveley to a fractured cheek bone as well, the Scot getting caught during a passionate tackle.

With two enforced changes made in less than 20 minutes it is hardly surprising that the Rams looked rattled. A little over a minute later and the price had been paid. Adam Johnson by far the best man on the pitch made a little run into the Derby box, Barker caught flat-footed brought the England U21 international down leaving the referee with little choice but to award the resulting spot kick. Johnson fired his penalty straight down the middle of goal to get the game off the mark.

It took until the hour mark before either side made any other move of significance. Once again this move came from Adam Johnson, drifting in from the wing the ‘boro midfielder let fly from the edge of the box, the sweet ball flew past Bywater curling nicely into the far corner of the net.

For Derby Dickov came closest from a 30yard free kick and Teale also had a shot blocked, but in any other game these attempts would rarely garner a mention.

Derby’s away form is currently little short of abysmal, if this run continues then injury crisis or not difficult questions will have to be asked.

Derby entered the international break on a high following an impressive 3-0 victory against Sheffield Wednesday at home.  The Rams bounced back from the 6-1 mauling against Cardiff City and looked in good form for a trip to the Walkers Stadium to face East Midlands rivals Leicester.  Injuries had looked set to disturb the Derby back four, with Leacock and Buxton still in recovery and news Barker was rumoured to be on the sidelines for a considerable length of time.  Jay McEveley was temporarily the only fit centre back in the first team squad.  Luckily, both Leacock and Barker miraculously made the starting 11 and proved to be the stars of what turned out to be a lacklustre derby.

Leicester started the first half the brightest, dominating possession and plying constant pressure on the Derby back 4.  Prolific scorer Matt Fryatt caused problems in the 10^th minute following a darting run into the Derby area but produced a tame effort easily held by Stephen Bywater.  The Foxes continued to dominate without making the crucial breakthrough, Andy King came close with a long range effort just the wrong side of the top corner.

Derby woke up in the second half and played a more offensive game.  The best chance of the match came from Derby midfielder Kris Commons who curled a stunning shot onto the cross-bar.  Controversy struck both teams late on, Derby being denied two penalty shouts for fouls on Rob Hulse.  Meanwhile Leicester fans were jubilant just before the whistle as ex-Ram Matt Oakley placed the ball into the back of the net seemingly scoring a last-gasp winner.  The linesman saved the day however, signaling offside at ensuring Derby earnt a hard earned point.

The Rams will be pleased to make the short journey back to Derby with a point.  Whilst some fans may be unhappy at the negativity of Clough’s 4-5-1 formation, given the clubs injury crisis up front (Davies, Porter et al.) and the attacking prowess of Leicester City’s front 2; Clough must be praised for his shrewd tactics.  In fact fans might feel hard done by just to leave with a single point following the penalty appeals.  The defence stability from today’s game will need to replicated on Tuesday night as Derby face Middlesbrough at the Riverside.

The outlook for Derby’s first visit to the Cardiff City stadium seemed bright.  The victory against Bristol City on Saturday brought a welcoming halt to Derby’s concerning run of defeats.  Whilst the Rams looked wasteful in the final third, the centre half pairing of Shaun Barker and Dean Leacock seemed solid, bringing a defensive confidence so evidently absent in the previous two seasons.  Add to that Cardiff City’s recent poor form and lack of goals from striker Michael Chopra and Derby fans would have been forgiven for perhaps expecting a rare haul of 3 points on the road.

It wasn’t long before the newfound optimism was cruelly brought back to reality, as Derby began poorly.  The Derby back four played a poorly timed offside trap and Peter Whittingham took advantage, stroking the ball home from just a few yards out.  Things soon went from bad to worse, as Derby’s promising central defensive partnership was broken as Dean Leacock was replaced on the 30^th minute with a tight hamstring.  Jay McEveley, Leacock’s replacement, suffered a baptism of fire as Michael Chopra put the Bluebirds up by 2 soon after, slotting in after a sumptuous ball from wide left.

As the second half began Derby looked set to mount a come back; Rob Hulse pulling one back against the run of play.  The Rams striker beat Mark Hudson to a cross and toe-poked the ball past Cardiff keeper Marshall.  The comeback was quickly quashed as Derby capitulated under the constant pressure of Cardiff striker Michael Chopra.  Chopra made it 3-1 soon after, dashing through a gaping hole in Derby’s defence to squeeze the ball home.  Cardiff fans were still celebrating when Chopra completed his hatrick, benefitting off some woeful marking from Shaun Barker and exquisitely chipping the ball over Bywater.  Dean Moxey was to blame for the fifth; the promising youngster looked completely out of sorts throughout the entire match and his poor marking lead to Chris Burke inflicting further embarrassment.  Chopra still hadn’t finished though, he added his fourth late on.  Jay McEveley was at fault this time, Chopra turning the Derby defender unchallenged and finishing with utmost poise.

Nigel Clough recently appeared on Radio Derby on the back of Derby’s run of 4 defeats.  Press and fans alike were quick to lavish Clough with praise, highlighting his defiant approach and bravery in answering the calls of his critics, an attribute many managers notably lack.  The Bristol City result seemed to finally signal that Derby had turned the proverbial corner and all seemed rosy in the Derby camp.  This proved to be short lived and both the embarrassing score line and appalling performance left Derby fans humiliated.  Whilst perhaps the Middlesbrough defeat at home to West Brom stands to be spare Derby’s blushes for the worst defeat in this championship season so far, fans may feel increasingly apprehensive as Derby hang precariously above the gaping jaws of the relegation zone.  Many level headed fans will be keen to stress composure and perspective, but that is a difficult skill sect to possess given the similarity of manner of this defeat and the painful memories of our last ill fated Premier League season.  Whilst fans calling for Nigel’s head will remain firmly in the minority for the time being, Nigel’s injury ravaged Derby side need to put on a resolute display at home on Saturday, against high fliers Sheffield Wednesday, to silence the ever-growing doubters.

Derby went into the clash at Selhurst Park in difficult circumstances, following 3 defeats on the bounce, none more harrowing than the 3-2 defeat to Championship strugglers Barnsley on Tuesday night.  Whilst a few disgruntled Derby fans began to mount some pressure on Nigel Clough, this seemed to be relieved midweek as the club pulled off a loan move coup bringing in Everton and England Under 21 striker James Vaughan until the New Year.  In addition to the athletic striker, Derby’s line up was bolstered by a return to fitness for centre half Dean Leacock, with Shaun Barker returning to the bench.

Derby started the first half brightly, Vaughan shooting over from just inside the penalty area and then forcing the first real opening from a free kick.  Gary Teale stepped up from close to the left hand byline and curled in a ferocious effort that was tipped round the post by Palace keeper Julian Speroni.  The free-kick was given for an intriguing hand ball outside the box by Speroni which only resulted, rather peculiarly, in a yellow card.

Crystal Palace broke the deadlock following the break after the Rams conceded a sloppy goal.  The Rams struggled to deal with a long throw into the box, Sean Derry heading the ball past a Derby defence fast asleep and Darren Ambrose applied the finish.  Things went from bad to worse as Palace almost made it two when Johannes Ertl hit the crossbar with a fine header and central pairing Addison and Leacock were forced off with injury.  Late on Teale forced a smart save from Speroni, Hulse shot wide and there was a penalty shout but Derby ended pointless. Despite the defeat Nigel Clough was pleased with the overall performance and effort applied and notably aggrieved by the penalty shouts.

The defeat to Crystal Palace brings the loss streak to a total of 4, with 3 to opposition expected to be Championship strugglers.  With this and the increasingly worrying injury list, the pressure mounts on Nigel Clough as the number of impatient Derby County fans begins to grow.  However, it is essential to maintain a sense of perspective and keep the faith in Clough.  He achieved the objective of safety last season and is in the infancy of his proper reign as manager.  There are many more points still to play for and 3 against Bristol City must be every Derby fans pressing concern, not the position of Clough.

There are few matches in the modern game that are anticipated with such intensity by the fans as the East Midland’s Derby.  This encounter was no exception.

The game got off to an electric start, unfortunately for the Rams it was more of an electric shock.  With in a minute of kick off Forest’s Polish midfielder Radolsaw Majewski scored an absolute peach of goal from the edge of the box.

With any game plan completely out of the window, Derby were understandably shaky; and in a ‘lesser’ game Gary Teale would have been expected to make the most of all opportunities; but instead when Stephen Pearson played the Scot through Teale was unable to bury the ball, and instead scuffed his shot wide.

The day got worse for the Rams just before the half hour mark, as a Cohen free-kick curled into the box was met by the head of Rob Hulse and found its way into the back of the Derby net.

Derby were now no worse off than in last seasons F.A. Cup clash; so time for a comeback, right? Well almost.  Hulse eager to cancel out his earlier mistake did find the back of the Forest net, but the goal was harshly ruled out after it was judged that Hulse had pushed Wes Morgan as he went for the ball.

A poor half time result for the Rams quickly turned into a complete disaster when just minutes before the break Kris Commons capped his poor performance against his old club, by losing the ball to ex-Ram Dexter Blackstock.  Blackstock timed a perfect pass through the Derby defence into the path of the charging Tyson who rounded Bywater to finish with embarrassing ease.  The Derby defence were left watching helplessly after the offside trap had suffered complete and utter breakdown.

Thankfully the Rams side which appeared after the half time break had completely ridden itself of its earlier jitters; Croft came on to replace the poor Commons and Derby looked much better for the change.

It took just six minutes for the Rams to get back into the game.  Miles Addison attempted a bicycle kick off Jake Buxton’s flick on, rather than fly spectacularly into the Forest net the ball took a huge deflection off Wes Morgan and rolled past the helpless Lee Camp.  Whilst not the most spectacular goal, it introduce the whiff of a comeback into the air and the atmosphere within the ground changed accordingly.

Just over ten minutes later and the Rams had pulled back another one. The Forest defence failed to deal with Lee Croft’s cross in a timely manner and the ball fell to perfectly positioned Livermore whose low shot deflected off Murphey to give the Spurs loanee his first Rams goal.

The final half hour was fought like any self respecting local rivalry should be.  Derby continued to push ferociously for the equaliser and even brought veteran striker Paul Dickov out for his Derby debut, but even he could not grab that elusive goal.

The game itself ended in disarray when firstly Savage and Majewski ended up in a heap on the ground, whilst the pair helped each other up, argy bargy ensued as Savage was shoved by several Forset players.  Shenanigans continued after the final whistle as Derby players reacted to Nathan Tyson’s gloating directly in front of the travelling Derby masses.

Bloomfield Road has in recent years proven to be a bit of a bogey ground for the Rams, perhaps it’s the sea air, the fish & chips or the distraction of the nearby pleasure beach; whatever the reason  many Rams fans probably felt that they stood a greater chance of winning in the Pier Amusements than celebrating three points tonight.

Several changes were made to tonight’s line up; Commons and Hulse both made their first starts of the season, whilst ex-Blackpool defender Barker was on the bench poised to make his first league appearance for the Rams against his former club.

The first half was a rather dismal affair, and whilst it was nice to see the Derby defence stand resolute, the lack of offensive power from Derby’s strike force gave little hope that it would be the Ram’s who would break the deadlock.

The second half offered more promise as the Rams finally had some realistic chances on goal, but whilst Addison and Hulse both came close; neither of their attempts was on target.

Perhaps the closest we came to seeing a goal come from today’s game, came from Alex Baptiste, who’s thundering shot from 25yards was pushed away from certain glory by a fully stretched diving Steven Bywater.

For Derby today represented a vastly improved performance from Saturday’s efforts at Scunthorpe, and the clean sheet will be greatly anticipated.  The game itself will be forgotten in the depths of midweek melancholia.

The Carling Cup was good to Derby County fans last season.  The impressive victory against Premier League Stoke and first leg triumph over Manchester United, the then European Champions, was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the football calendar.  Nigel Clough recognised this and assured Derby County fans that the strongest side possible would be fielded, but an injury to Steve Davies early on and an international call up to Kris Commons left Derby’s frontline worryingly thin.

Gary Teale deputised as the lone striker and started brightly, scoring in the 11th minute following a well-crafted cutback from Lee Croft.  However, that goal proved to be the peak for Derby. Teale struggled to cope with Rotherham’s physicality and cut an isolated figure up front.  Rotherham’s momentum built up as the first half drew on and they were rewarded with an equaliser as Paul Warne struck home on the stroke of half time.  The Derby defence failed to clear a Rotherham long ball by Jamie Green and journeyman Warne intuitively poached his second goal of the season.  Nigel Clough singled out centre back Miles Addison for criticism citing his lack of aerial prowess.

Things went from bad to worse in the second half as Kevin Ellison added the final touch to a fast Rotherham break, Warne capping off his impressive display with an assist.  Derby responded with a barrage of shots but Rotherham survived the onslaught with some resolute defending.   Dean Moxey fired just inches wide seconds before the final whistle.

Defeat to the league 2 side brings Derby crashing back to reality following the performance against Peterborough.  A series of sloppy mistakes at the back and an injury prone frontline leaves a sour taste of familiarity.  One can only hope the Rams can improve away to Scunthorpe on Saturday or else I feel another season of lower table struggle may be looming.