England Championship Derby County - QPR
I was not terribly impressed by Rangers on Friday night, they did hit the woodwork twice, but neither attempt look like it was going in, a bit of a looping head dipped at the last moment and caught the top of the bar, a shot that looked to be going wide just clipped the outside of the post, at least that is how I saw things through my rose tinted ( red and white ?) glasses ! Those aside, they created nothing at all, their build up play was poor and to be honest, a little clueless at times with no game plan and very little passion. I do not like highlighting coaches in trouble, but have now done it twice in this email and if Chris Ramsey is still in charge at Christmas, he will have done well and I will be surprised. The amazing thing is that QPR are the third worst passing team in the Championship, it is incredble as they play so many aimless sideways balls, so my instinct would be that those stats should be "good" and that they are bad, has got a lot of alarm bells ringing in my head !. Defender Clint Hill was one of the few to show any passion, but even as he left the field limping with a knock, I heard one wag say "that was the fastest he had moved all night", he is missing tonight and there are very few positives in this team right now. Rangers have conceded 13 goals in the last six matches Hill has sat out, including six in the last two on the road and this match has the potential to get ugly !
We have spoken a lot about County this month and notes from their last home start, a 4-2 defeat of Woverhampton Wanderers, are reproduced under the "good luck" sign off. After that game I wrote "that they looked very good at times, but I would argue nowhere near their peak and it is a little scary to think of the offensive threat they pose and the damage they could and will cause, once they really hit their stride."
Derby won last round 3-0 and it could easily have been five or six goals and afterwards boss Paul Clement said:"I am learning about my players all the time. "They are showing so many different qualities now, whether it be the team spirit or dealing with different styles of football."The momentum is really building and we are enjoying the way we are playing and we are full of confidence.
They will be without George Thorne tonight after he picked up a fifth yellow card, but this is a very strong squad, highlighted by Bryson, Hendrick and Bent coming off the bench at the weekend and you would struggle to find another second tier team for whom that trio would not all start. If Rangers play like they did on Friday and judging by comments on their forums that was a typical recent performance and County play even close to their usual standard, the visitors "cannot" win this. To get a result, they need to greatly improve and County have an off night and it is hard to see either happening right now.
Derby County -1 ball 2.26 asian line/Sportmarket.
I was not terribly impressed by Rangers on Friday night, they did hit the woodwork twice, but neither attempt look like it was going in, a bit of a looping head dipped at the last moment and caught the top of the bar, a shot that looked to be going wide just clipped the outside of the post, at least that is how I saw things through my rose tinted ( red and white ?) glasses ! Those aside, they created nothing at all, their build up play was poor and to be honest, a little clueless at times with no game plan and very little passion. I do not like highlighting coaches in trouble, but have now done it twice in this email and if Chris Ramsey is still in charge at Christmas, he will have done well and I will be surprised. The amazing thing is that QPR are the third worst passing team in the Championship, it is incredble as they play so many aimless sideways balls, so my instinct would be that those stats should be "good" and that they are bad, has got a lot of alarm bells ringing in my head !. Defender Clint Hill was one of the few to show any passion, but even as he left the field limping with a knock, I heard one wag say "that was the fastest he had moved all night", he is missing tonight and there are very few positives in this team right now. Rangers have conceded 13 goals in the last six matches Hill has sat out, including six in the last two on the road and this match has the potential to get ugly !
We have spoken a lot about County this month and notes from their last home start, a 4-2 defeat of Woverhampton Wanderers, are reproduced under the "good luck" sign off. After that game I wrote "that they looked very good at times, but I would argue nowhere near their peak and it is a little scary to think of the offensive threat they pose and the damage they could and will cause, once they really hit their stride."
Derby won last round 3-0 and it could easily have been five or six goals and afterwards boss Paul Clement said:"I am learning about my players all the time. "They are showing so many different qualities now, whether it be the team spirit or dealing with different styles of football."The momentum is really building and we are enjoying the way we are playing and we are full of confidence.
They will be without George Thorne tonight after he picked up a fifth yellow card, but this is a very strong squad, highlighted by Bryson, Hendrick and Bent coming off the bench at the weekend and you would struggle to find another second tier team for whom that trio would not all start. If Rangers play like they did on Friday and judging by comments on their forums that was a typical recent performance and County play even close to their usual standard, the visitors "cannot" win this. To get a result, they need to greatly improve and County have an off night and it is hard to see either happening right now.
Derby County -1 ball 2.26 asian line/Sportmarket.
