Derby’s loss to Swansea made it 4 losses in 5 for the Rams and left the club precariously close to the drop zone.  Add to that the unbelievable rise of arch-rivals Nottingham Forest and it has been a difficult few weeks for Derby fans.  Nigel Clough attempted to address Derby’s downfall by bolstering the front-line with the loan signing of DJ Campbell in mid-week as the Ram hoped to put an end to their unpleasant run.

Jobi McAnuff almost spelt disaster for the Rams in the opening minutes as the ex-Watford man fashioned a chance out of nothing from 25 yards that just missed the left post.  Derby’s first chance fell to to in-form striker Rob Hulse who fired a header straight into the arms of Federici.  Jay McEveley shot just wide just before the break to put an end to a half fairly bereft of chances; ultimately paying testament to the struggling forms of both clubs.

Brendan Rodgers half-time team talk had an immediate impact as Reading opened the second half with a goal.  A misplaced pass from Shaun Barker put Derby on the back foot and Jay Tabb found Sigurdsson on the edge of the area to squeeze home the opener.  Derby response marked the confidence of team much higher than their league position suggests as the Rams tied the game within just 4 minutes.  Gary Teale capped off a fast-paced Derby break with a sumptuous cross across the box that was duly converted by Paul Green; his second of the campaign.  Derby’s winner took an almost identical form; defender Jay McEveley providing the cross this time for Rob Hulse to slide home.  Reading did try and mount a comeback, Shaun Barker atoned for his earlier misdeeds with a last ditch block late on and McAnuff shot just wide.  However, their fate was compounded with the sending off of Shane Long late on following an ugly lunge on Derby loanee Fredrik Stoor.

Derby enter the important Christmas fixture list on the back of a promising victory; not only has the Rams impressive home form continued but the team looks rejuvenated with the return from injury of midfield duo Paul Green and Stephen Pearson.  Add to that the on loan signing of DJ Campbell and hopefully Derby fans may have a reason for some Christmas cheer this holiday season.  Still, Pride Park hosts free scoring West Brom on Saturday which will undoubtedly be the Rams biggest test at home this season.

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.

Derby fans entered the international break downbeat following the 3-2  defeat to local rivals Nottingham Forest and the disconcerting aftermath to which both sides have been duly fined.  Following a relatively comfortable start to the season, including a number of relegation candidates, Derby faced their sternest test of the season in the form of defeated playoff contenders Sheffield United.  Summer signing Shaun Barker replaced the quietly impressive Jake Buxton at centre-back whilst midfield pair Paul Green and Lee Croft came in for Tottenham loanee Jake Livermore and under-fire Kris Commons.

Sheffield United dominated the opening stages.  Keith Tracey, on loan from Premier League side Blackburn Rovers, looked very threatening as he fashioned a number of chances, one inches away from Bywater’s left post.  The Blades pressure culminated mid way through the first half as ex-Chesterfield striker Jamie Ward benefitted from some poor defending from Addison, forcing a smart save from Bywater.  The ball rebounded to the feet of Darius Henderson who made no mistake from just outside the 6 yard box.  The Blades celebrations were cut short as a seemingly dubious offside was called and the goal was chalked off.

Whilst the Blades had dominated play in the first half it was Derby who started the better in the second.  Gary Teale continued his notable form, playing a key role in a number of Derby chances.  Hulse failed to convert two headed opportunities whilst Teale himself hit the woodwork with a fortunate cross-come-shot.  The introduction of Kris Commons in the 72nd minute maintained the Derby momentum as the Scottish international put some threatening balls into the box.  Despite all the Derby promise it was the Blades who ended the match victorious as Kilgallon looped a header in from a Keith Treacy free kick, Barker guilty of a needless tackle close the Rams corner flag.  Jamie Ward would have doubled their lead in injury time had Bywater not superbly saved the fierce strike.

Nigel Clough was quick to highlight Shaun Barker (on his first league start) for criticism for lashing out at Stephen Quinn close to the corner flag.  Whilst Clough may feel aggrieved by the manner of the defeat and especially the goal, Derby fans maybe feeling obliged to question the team’s intentions given the 4-5-1 formation being employed by Clough at Pride Park.  The return of Chris Porter in the Winter will hopefully see a turn to more attacking styles of play, especially as the Rams seemed fixated with the long ball to Hulse.  Not only was this out of sorts for the Clough side but notably fruitless against the central partnership of Morgan and Kilgallon.

Despite a run of two losses and the first defeat at home this season, Derby fans still have reason for optimism as Dean Leacock and Steve Davies edge closer to full fitness.  The Derby faithful will expect a full 3 points come Tuesday evening as Derby face bottom club Barnsley at Pride Park.

Derby’s FA Cup first leg against F*rest at Pride Park resulted in a 1-1 draw, giving Nigel Clough the opportunity of returning to his old City Ground to show the Reds exactly what Derby are capable of.

However, George Burley Billy Davies had other plans and within the minute, Chris Cohen thrashed in a left foot shot to give F*rest the early lead.

It didn’t take long for F*rest to get a second opportunity when Derby keeper Stephen Bywater brought down Nathan Tyson in the goal after beating our offside trap. Tyson’s needed little effort to give F*rest an early 2-0 lead and a foot hold over Derby.

Thankfully, Derby were quick to retaliate, pushing forward against F*rest’s defence and creating plenty of opportunities. Robbie Savage was on form in the centre of the field, giving Derby plenty of confidence as well as opening up F*rest’s defence for Rob Hulse, Paul Green and Kris Commons to break though.

After just ten minutes, Gary Teale managed to deliver a fine cross for Rob Hulse to meet and nod in to give Derby that much-needed goal, lifting Derby’s spirits for the remaining minutes of the first half

The second half was where the excitement was at. Both teams fought hard with plenty of chances at both ends of the pitch, but it was Derby who seemed to be dominating.

Deadlock was broken though In the 60th minute when Teale knocked another fine ball in for Paul Green to convert for Derby – it was 2-2 and there was everything to play for.

Remarkably, F*rest struggled to overpower Derby on their home turf through the rest of the second half. Kris Commons was determined to get the winning shot, rattling the up-right with one shot and narrowly mising with another.

His dreams came true though in the 74th minute when his shot took a slight deflection, beating F*rest’s keeper Paul Smith and meeting the back of the net. After all the booing from his old team’s supporters, it must have felt fantastic to get the winning goal in such a prestigous Cup tie.

It was an emotional game for many, with George Burley Billy Davies being beaten by his old side, Nigel Clough beating his old side and Kris Commons, once again, scoring the vital goal.

Derby will now face Man Utd (yet again) in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Sunday 15th February back at Pride Park. If we can repeat what happened in the Carling Cup, there’s no reason why Derby can’t progress to the quarter finals.

Now, back to the league…

After Derby’s defeat at Birmingham on Tuesday, Derby had dropped into the relegation zone and were desperate to get a win against Midlands rivals Coventry.

Rob Hulse was on form from the off with two very close attempts on goal in the space of 10 minutes. It was in the 14th minute when Hulse managed to head home from a corner Coventry failed to clear.

Only two minutes later, Hulse had crossed in for Kris Commons to hit home from 10 yards, giving Derby a two goal advantage over Coventry.

Derby showed huge strength throughout the first with plenty of opportunities to go three goals up – they were on fire.

In the second half, Coventry found a consolation goal when Clinton Morrison setup Michael Doyle to score from a mere six yards.

Derby still dominated the game throughout the second half but struggled to get a third. Regardless, it was the first league win in ten games, lifting Derby out of relegation and Nigel Clough’s first win in charge.

Things can only get better, right?

After a week of Cup matches against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, Derby had to change focus back to the more important task of improving their league performance with a trip to St Andrews to face promotion-chasing Birmingham.

Derby pretty much dominated the entire first half, seeing Kris Commons whacking one of his trademark strikes over the bar and Rob Hulse shooting straight at Blues’ keeper Maik Taylor.

It was in the second half when Derby let their guard down. Hameur Bouazza managed to break Derby’s defence, crossed the ball in from the right where Lee Carsley had the simple task of nodding in to give Birmingham the lead.

That didn’t stop Derby though – the sheer determination showed with plenty of strong efforts from the Rams such as when Hulse forced Taylor to tip over a late head and Carsley ensuring Miles Addison’s attempt didn’t make the back of the net.

Despite the scoreline and entry into relegation, Derby showed good character tonight and Nigel Clough seemed happy enough with the effort they put in. Let’s just hope they can get a much needed win over Midlands’ rivals Coventry City on Saturday.

Derby had a difficult week ahead of them this week with two very important Cup fixtures lined up. After Man Utd knocked Derby out of the Carling Cup on Tuesday night, Derby had to concentrate on beating arch rivals Nottingham Forest to progress to the 5th round of the FA Cup.

Both sides fought hard though it was Derby who took the lead in the first half. Paul Green smartly dummied a shot on goal, instead passing to Paul Connolly who crossed for Rob Hulse to fire home.

The tense match continued in the second half, both Derby and Forest working hard to beat the others. After 63 minutes though, Forest pretty much mimicked Derby’s maneouvres from the first half when Nathan Tyson’s dummied Derby’s defence, allowing Robert Earnshaw the chance to finish from eight yards.

The game finished 1-1 forcing the return replay the other end of Brian Clough Way at the City Ground, scheduled for Wednesday 4th February 2009. Nigel Clough will be looking forward to his travels, visiting his old team and, hopefully, putting one over them.

After Kris Commons gave Derby the edge over Manchester United in the first leg of the Carling Cup, expectations were high for a similar performance on their return journey to Old Trafford. Nigel Clough’s first game in charge against QPR wasn’t particularly successful so there was a lot of pressure on the Super Rams.

It didn’t take long for Man Utd to level the scores when striker Nani punched a ferocious strike past Roy Carroll in the 16th minute.

That wasn’t the end of it neither. Man Utd were keen to show Derby who was boss with John O’Shea and Carlos Tevez both firing home goals past Derby’s broken defence in the first half, essentially wrapping up the tie.

After the break, Derby came back out with a stronger attitude. Clough had obviously inspired the boys with some harsh words and it showed. There were quite a few oppotunities when Derby looked to recoup their losses, slipping through Man Utd’s defence and retaliating on the break.

In the 80th minute, Derby were thrown a life line when Paul Green was brought down in the box from an injured Jonny Evans. Substitute Giles Barnes took decided to take the responsibility and rightly so – it was 3-2 with 10 minutes left to play.

Nine minutes later, Caroll foolishly bought down Tevez in the box, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to hammer home another for Man Utd.

That didn’t stop Derby fighting though. Barnes stepped up for a free kick during injury time and proved why he is such a star striker, whacking another past Foster, handing Derby one last chance of taking it to extra time.

But it wasn’t to be. The whistle was blown and Derby’s dream of a trip to Wembley crumbled away.

Regardless of the defeat, Derby proved they are capable of some astonishing performances. At times, they were the stronger team against England’s finest. Man Utd could never take that pride away from Derby.