We were awful for the first half an hour. We kept giving the ball away in and around our own box. Jaakkola seemed determined to try and make as many mistakes as possible! Derby could easily have had 5. However, after that we settled.

2nd half was totally different. Aluko came on amd changed the game. He was our best player, everything went through him and he dragged us back into the match. We could have equalised, but to be honest too often we are playing it across the front of Derby’s box. Gomes clearly made changes that improved the team.....but I’m not sure Bod needed to go off, when Loader came on. Would’ve been nice to see us play 2 up top. Overall we probably deserved to lose, as Derby were so wasteful....but we probably feel annoyed we missed out on a point.

Even though I missed the opening ten minutes-when Ilori & Co went into brain fade-take it from me, that was awful.We get back from the game due to a Derby error( well done Ejari & Alukho)-then for the remains of the game when Derby are clearly knacked-we fail to construct anything by way of a threat.

IMHO:


Jakkola 5: Missed the first goal-second unfortunate, and one good save;but why does he persist with these short passes out-which time & time again, play us into trouble. When in doubt launch it-in the general direction of Bod & hope for a kinock down.
Rino: 5 Clearly not a FB, just hasnt got a cross in him-get him back into midfield-stupid experiment by Gomez.Could have done better on the 2nd.
Yiadom 5: At his agricultural worst-nothing going forward.
Ilori 4: Thinks hes at Real Madrid.
Moore 5: Not great.His chance of Prem has gone.
Baker 3: This was his chance to make his mark & he blew it. I had great hopes of him-will Gomez trust him again as a starter, probably not.
Bacuna 5: Typical Bacuna; but this week a lot more bad than good-needs Rino to cover him at CM.
Swift 4 : Next to nothing-particularly 1st half. Whisper it Alukho so much more incisive, when he came on.Missed a sitter
Ejari 6 : Made the goal, but clearly a luxury player, who will get better as he develops his game-but we just havnt got the time to wait.
Bod 4: Worked hard, but so slow to get on the end of things-just not a threat.
Barrow 7 : Showed some form & looked dangerous, maybe on the way back ?

Macca : Zilch, nada etc AGAIN !
Alukho : Needs to start in the hole , with Rino and Bacuna, behind him. Our best player today.
Loader : Its a ridiculous ask of him really.

I really enjoyed the second half. Aluko definitely made a difference.

that is genuinely nice to hear

that is genuinely nice to hear
He was superb 2nd half.....drove the team on and changed the game. We saw 45 mins today of what he could have been producing for the past two years. Gomes is finally getting him to play somewhere near to the player we signed for such a fee and to a great fanfare!

Excellent

Bod was awful. Not sharpe, weak/slow from start vs small(ish) team. If more alert, could have got to and converted couple low crosses. Bread and butter game for many Champ strikers, but wasn’t at the races.
I realize footy is not Jak’s strength, but for a bloke that’s been playing this long he’s impossibly bad.
Ilori looked like his thoughts are elsewhere.
Wonder what Gomes could have done with h a full season, and last Summers window which was atrocious. Only one player from that window played today (Yiadom), and only one other player was even in the squad (Walker).

First 25 minutes or so we were so poor and so frustrating to watch. IIori just didnt seem interested, Baker seems to be a Jaap Stam type of player and we dont need anymore of them. Play Rinomhota in midfield because although he tried hard he isnt a full back and I would rather see him in midfield rather than Baker. Second half we looked a different side and that is the best I have seen Aluko play in a Reading shirt. I like the look of Ejaria and he look a real threat especially in the second half. Jaakkola scares the life out of me with the ball at his feet, Moving forward we need a full back, probably a goalkeeper, a centre-back although I would like to see Blackett partner Moore rather than Ilori and someone who is a goalscorer. I like Bodvarsson for all have energy and hard work, but he isnt a 15 let alone 20 goals a season player.
P.S. This is my first post

First half hour, back to the shit show. No high press again, letting them play how they wanted and therefore take the consequences (why can’t they learn this?)
Illori was terrible, if his mind is on Sporting Lisbon, then f... off now.
Already said previously today, but Bod is two yards away from every finish. Le Fondre would have put away at least two of those crosses today without blinking.
The second half everyone was on their game, we dominated Derby, faster, incisive passes made it really exciting. just frustrating that we couldn’t get it in.
What’s the point in having a game plan where Rinomhota is waiting on the wing, unmarked in tons of space but no one ever passes to him?
Question is, why do they have to be told they’re playing shit and then step it up after a bollocking?
Don’t they want to play we’ll for 90 minutes?

Gomes is going to be a major success- he can see the problems and won’t put up with the old crap attitudes.

I genuinely wish and hope for this to be true but honestly? I just can't. ...

It's giving him rather more power over the situation than he has that's for sure.

So, another loss. 2 away wins in 27 league games. Just grateful that Rotherham, Ipswich and Bolton are joining us to make a quartet for worst championship teams in a while. Last year 23 points would have seen us bottom after 28 games, yes below Sunderland and Burton

But let's compare Reading, Rotherham, Ipswich and Bolton. No offence intended but out of those four teams, they include three teams with desperately low budgets/quality. One who couldn't afford a Forest Green player, one who's starting Will Keane and Freddie Sears and one who's pretty much kept the same team as they did when they got 23 points a couple of seasons ago

And then there's us. 7 million on Aluko, 1 million on Barrow, 4 million on Ilori, 3 million on Bodvarsson...Mannone, Bacuna, Swift, Moore. These teams would only dream of these calibre of players. Even Derby fans are surprised we're this low and praised how we played for the majority of today. But let's be honest, they only remember the fancy little flicks Swift occasionally pulls off, or the neat turn Aluko always does on the byline. They don't see what we do, Aluko, Barrow and co walking back the whole game, or our midfielders being constantly pulled out of position so they walk straight through it

What explains it? Jaap Stam for starters, forget the "we came 3rd argument". He alienated half the supporters with his ridiculous obsession with passing it for passing sake and then criticising anyone that dares not enjoy his "style" (if that's what you call it). Imagine him playing like that at Molineux, Elland road etc. Our support was never good, but it's shocking now. Attendances fell so badly because everyone fell out of love with football, there was no enjoyment to be gained to watching Moore and McShane playing table football with each other

But his arrogance passed onto the players IMO. You only have to look at their body language, the way they reacted after Stevenage last season after putting in one of the worst 90 minutes I've ever seen, the way Kelly said "we knew we weren't getting relegated"

Then we appointed Clement. I liked him after a dubious start but he wasn't the man to coach the arrogance out the squad, his personality and demeanour was too weak. Scraping two wins against Preston and QPR certainly wasn't a blueprint for the upcoming future. Blackett's red card vs Wednesday, the 4-0 Ipswich capitulation etc proved this. New season, new start..until Mannone threw it in his own goal and we've never looked forward since then and Clement was doomed from the off

Point is I just feel something has changed. They're sticking up for each other again, they're finally showing the trademark of a team. Yes, we've lost today but after a ropey 30 first minutes, we stuck together. Compare that to Wolves away last season or even Swansea a few games ago. We're still a long way away from what we want to do but the building blocks are there...this is why I'm hugely optimistic about our future if we can manage to survive this season

However to end on a negative, starting Rinomhota at RB was a disaster, miles out of his depth and we missed his energy in midfield. A simple Yiadom at RB, Richards/Gunter at LB and Rino in midfield instead of Baker would have sufficed. Let's hope he's learnt his lesson because we've got some massive games coming up

Yawn.
Without disagreeing, pretty sure 7 of the 8 paragraphs have been covered before?
This being a game day Derby match thread, and all.

Not entirely sure your contribution was actually worth reading.

Tbf.

Said this on the match thread: team selection cost us the point. Having both Bacuna and Baker in midfield was completely ineffective. Night and day after the change for the second half.

Bod should’ve gotten to at least one of those crosses.

Not entirely sure your contribution was actually worth reading.
Tbf.
Nor yours, really?

Not entirely sure your contribution was actually worth reading.
Tbf.
Nor yours, really?

Or the above.

We literally could do this forever,

Anyway, how are you Denver Royal?

I hope you are in fine fettel?

I thought that too? Barrow seemed peeved a couple times. But haven't heard too many others saying same, so there ya go.

Nor yours, really?

Or the above.

We literally could do this forever,

Anyway, how are you Denver Royal?

I hope you are in fine fettel?
Forever? Nah, life is short. Very short.
It's just opinion about footy. Well, hopefully footy.
Anyway, I'm doing good, thx for asking.
And you, are you still tending your allotment?
More importantly, how is your 9 year old boy?
Are you raising him to be just like his daddy?

I thought that too? Barrow seemed peeved a couple times. But haven't heard too many others saying same, so there ya go.

I like Bodvarsson but he lacks the killer instinct a very good striker needs, just isn't there. A top Championship striker will be getting on the end of those crosses all day long.

I thought that too? Barrow seemed peeved a couple times. But haven't heard too many others saying same, so there ya go.

I like Bodvarsson but he lacks the killer instinct a very good striker needs, just isn't there. A top Championship striker will be getting on the end of those crosses all day long.
Doesn't look quite match fit to me. Seemed to struggle with the physical presence of Derby defenders.

I thought Barrow played the wrong cross for one of those chances. It was a touch too ahead of Bod who was stretching and couldn't have made good contact to direct it reliably IMO... tantalisingly close admittedly.

I thought Barrow should have played a pull back to Swift who was in more space arriving later. Hopefully Swift would have put right his first half miss.

Another game where we showed that we clearly need a new left-back. That should be our priority over everything else - even a striker.

It really was a wasted summer transfer window. Lets try and get this one right. Just dig deep and pay the £6-7m we need to.

Enjoyed the game overall - some very good technical players across both teams & I came away positive despite the loss

Was impressed by the home support throughout & good to see us take a decent number

Seems a bit of an overreaction to the team selection when there was just the 1 change - but it was the wrong change. And I was surprised Baker was the one who made way at HT seeing as he was the brightest of the 3 CMs. And then taking Barrow off at that point killed a bit of the momentum. Everyone could see it was Ejaria tiring & needed replacing, not Barrow

What frustrated me was Bodvarsson- he was barely in the game & that was partly down to the midfielders not playing it to his feet & running off him.

And the messing around with the ball at the back is just suicidal...the keeper is rubbish, so why pass it back to him? And 9/10 he kicked it to an opposition player...might as well boot it long! Can someone please explain to me the thinking behind splitting the centre backs from a goal kick? It leads to a gaping hole in the middle, which Derby exploited really well. Can understand playing it short out wide to the full backs

I’m not convinced Gomes will get us out of it & personally think we were getting better under Clement, but time will tell

Good first post!
Blackett for Ilori is interesting. For a tall bloke, Tyler is ok on the ball and can pass. Might be off to Wigan though?
Bod, I already said my piece. When he came off, was looking for blood, sweat and tears, but didn't really see it. (Whether he should have come off for an 18 year old lad when you are chasing a game is questionable, but still).
Anyway, welcome!

I thought that too? Barrow seemed peeved a couple times. But haven't heard too many others saying same, so there ya go.
I like Bodvarsson but he lacks the killer instinct a very good striker needs, just isn't there. A top Championship striker will be getting on the end of those crosses all day long.
Yeah, for a 46 game Champ striker I'm more of a Steven Fletcher/Danny Graham/Gary Madine/Chris Wood type.Those first 3 are obv getting on in years now, but it's that prototype or style of forward for me twice a week. We're starting to create some chances now, too. It's not just about goals, either. I prefer someone physically dominant who punishes defenders, brings an attitude, and sets a tone.

Strange game.

First thing I want to say was NO WAY did Derby "sit back on their 2-0 lead".

We came out after half time full of speed, aggression and intent and played
Derby off the park. Our high press worked, and we kept winning ball back
even when we had just lost it. had we started the first half like that, it
would have been a very different result. If we learn to play like that for
90 minutes we will race away from the bottom 3.

I thought we were superb second half, by far the better side, should have scored
at least two, maybe three. On another day, or with a true predatory striker, we
would have.

I thought Ovie Ejaria was IMMENSE, easily our MoM.


First Half

Ilori was so not at the races. He played like a blind kitten and was hugely
responsible for a jittery back four. He looked TERRIFIED, that or didn't give
a shit. At his best I really like him, but on that first half performance I would
not want him to stay.

The first Derby goal was well-worked but looked very close to offside. Jaakkola was slow off his line
but it looked like the keeper was surprised when the defence just opened up like that. TBF
the breakthrough was outside the box (was Jaakkola on his line at the time?)

We just didn't feel right and I guess that was because Rhino wasn't central and Baker was anonymous.

Don't agree with the criticism of the manager, though. Rhino was a VG FB at Old Trafford and Baker's cameo
against Forest absolutely BEGGED for him to start.

II would have played Rhino-Baker-Ejaria as the middle three. If I was short of a RFB Bacuna would do well there, has in the past.

Derby's second was a cruel deflection giving Jaakkola no chance.

After going down 1-0 so early I had visions of a disaster, but this new team (new attitude) hung in where the older team would have folded. Had we kept it to 1-0 I think we'd have won it second half.

I agree with Gomes. He tells them to get stuck in, use the team's attacking prowess, but instead they took 20-30 minutes to get into the game. They basically didn't obey orders. When they did, second half, they were superb.

If we play 90-100% as well as that second half we will be well away from the bottom come season's end.

IMO If Gomes keeps us up we will challenge next year, top six at worst.

Against 10 men, then 9.

What a shit performance.

1- maybe people will believe me this time when i say Barrow was a constant threat. Wtf was he subbed??? I counted 4 glorious balls in plus his constant running and irritation.

2- we have NO firepower. All those balls and nothing on the end of them. FFS. That's right RFC just get more midfielders and put our best at right back.

3- Aluko - £7.5million!? More like £17.5million. What has happened to him!? First half we were shit. Second half it was Aluko v derby. Magnificent display. I feel another kebe-esque turn of fortunes.

4- illori. **** Off you're shit.

5- baker. Ejaria. Both shit. Ej made a goal and caused us to concede too with a stupid run. Again RFC why why why buy MORE midfielders who are no better than what we have when we play our best midfielders at right back and desperately need strikers!???

6- Jak. New keeper please.

RFC- left back, centre backs, strikers, all desperately needed.

Gomes - got this one horribly wrong.

Aluko was never a poor player, he was used in the wrong position as I said a long time ago, now he's being asked to play more central, he's playing a lot better, it wasn't rocket science. However, his attitude was poor and that was my biggest gripe with him, not his actual ability

A few posters on the Derby messageboard have no doubt we will stay up and will be the team to watch out for next season. However until we can play for 90 minutes we are going to struggle. We must start well against Bolton. We need to take the lead because we remain so poor at fighting back and getting a result.

At least fitness levels look better. We ‘won’ the second half yesterday as we did against Forest having drawn the second period in the games with Man Utd, Swansea and the fakes so fitness no longer appears to be an issue #clutchingatstraws.