Derby County Barometer – September 2019

As we sit in the middle of the first international break of the season, it’s the perfect opportunity to take a breath and consider the story of Derby’s season so far and the first few months on the Phillip Cocu Era.

What better way to do that than via the medium of the classic Ramspace Barometer? (stolen from The Face magazine over 20 years ago and still going strong!)

Misguided Youth

Last night you will be well aware that a less than full strength Rams team were hammered 3-0 by Forest in the Carabao Cup second round.

Whilst losing to Forest under any circumstances is a bad thing and the Rams performance was certainly less than satisfactory, the main post match debate has been less about individual players, but more about Cocu’s team selection and his general attitude to this game.

Post Match Thoughts – Stoke Away

Yesterday, I went to my first live Rams game this season and witnessed a lively 2-2 draw with Stoke at the Bet365 Stadium.

This was a game that both teams will feel they could have won, but equally both could have lost and a draw was probably about right in the end.

A point away from home is never to be sniffed at and there were certainly plenty of points to ponder for Rams fans. Here’s my thoughts on what went down.

Another New Era? I Should Cocu!

With the Rams pre-season in full swing and the transfer market stating to crank up into life, I thought it was high time to pass comment on what has, again, been a summer of massive change at Derby County.

When Gary Rowett left Derby for Stoke last summer, it was unimaginable that he would be replaced by Frank Lampard. Fast forward twelve months and, if that seemed far-fetched, we now have Frank being replaced by Philip Cocu. Absolute madness, but hopefully in a good way.

Frankly Mr Lampard

A week or two ago when I was royally pissed off with the never ending Frank Lampard to Chelsea saga and the associated effect on Derby, I re-drafted the lyrics to the Smiths classic Frankly Mr Shankly as a parody of the situation.

Unfortunately when I posted this to twitter, I neglected to think that most twitter users weren’t born when this song was released, let alone have any idea about the lyrics, so i didn’t explicitly say it was a parody. Cue people of a certain age telling me how ace it was and a very loud youthful majority thinking I was weirdo who had written a poem about Frank using strange flowery words and absolutely caning me for it!  Lesson learned there for sure, but anyway I thought i’d post it here as a permanent record.

Opportunity Knocks….But the Doorbell is Broken

As the dust settles on another round of play off disappointment for Derby County, despite one of the most enjoyable seasons for many years, Rams fans are once again left to ponder “what might have been”.

Whilst the feeling after QPR was one of utter devastation, the feeling after yesterday’s defeat, for me, was more one of frustration at a great opportunity missed.

I Love This Squad

Several times this week since the final whistle of the West Brom game, I’ve thought to myself, “right, I’m definitely writing a piece on that” only for events to overtake me and the moment to pass.

However with so much going on and another play off campaign about to kick off against none other than Dirty Leeds,  a bit of a review of last week and a preview of this weekend had to be done.

Fun in the Sun, Rain, Wind and Hail – Post Match Bristol City

Billed by many as a play off quarter final, yesterday at Bristol was one of those away games you never forget. A massive game, big away support, wall to wall action and a glorious victory for the Super Rams.

Here’s my thoughts on what went down.

Derby County Fans Forum Debrief

Last night I went to the latest Derby County Fans Forum in Alvaston. You all know the drill with these by now whereby Mel, the Manager (currently Frank) & someone from the Operational side (currently CEO Stephen Pearce), talk to and answer questions from a room of season ticket holders. All hosted by Colin Gibson.

You will have seen & heard the headlines of the event and you can even watch it in its entirety on RamsTV. However here’s my thoughts on the main discussion and also a few other bits I got from chats afterwards.

Extreme Noise Terror

On the back of a string of disappointing results and awful performances since the Ipswich game, the Rams now infamous February hoodoo has again risen its ugly head and done its worst in de-railing our promotion push, mentally disturbing our manager and causing widespread upset, anger and discontent amongst the long suffering Derby County fanbase.