Derby 2 Fulham 2 - Hanging by a thread

Mixed reports coming through but ultimately it sounds like we really weren't good enough to win. Former Fulham trainee Dean Leacock fired in a 25 yarder than deflected off a Derby knee to give them the lead after 10 minutes. We pulled one back just before the break when Diomansy Kamara headed home a Simon Davies cross. In the second half Leacock was again involved in goal mouth action, but this time it was to deflect a Hammeur Bouazza cross into his own net. We had less than a minute to dream of an away win before conceding a Derby equaliser. Hugely disappointing that we couldn't hold on to that lead and it seems pretty clear that whilst the fat lady hasn't started singing she's certainly clearing her throat. Results elsewhere could have been worse. Brum won to take themselves 6 points clear of us and Sunderland snatched a late winner to move up to the heady heights of 13th. Thankfully Arsenal pulled back from being 2-0 down with only ten men to claim a 3-2 win and keep Bolton in deep trouble. Wigan lost and Reading drew so it's not impossible for us, just very very improbable.

Derby Away

I've had plenty to distract me from thinking about football this week. It's annual appraisal time at work and that inevitably seems to coincide with my busiest time of the year. I've spent a lot of time on the phone explaining problems to people and how I intend to go about fixing them and hardly any time at all actually fixing them. It's also been a typically hectic week at home, school drop offs to do, greek costumes to sort out, collections from cubs and beavers, school plays to attend (or not), better halves to look after (Mrs C being poorly this week) and in between all this just enough time to knock out another Top 5.

Back to back away games mean I've not had a lot to say on here about Fulham. I don't get to go to many away games as family life means I have to catch up on all those tasks I don't get done on weekends when I'm attending home games. I miss going, away games are often more fun whatever the result, but there's not much I can do about it. Today's match at Pride Park is as big as it gets. We've sold out our allocation and there'll be a good few thousand Fulham supporters there to cheer on the Whites. We desperately need a win but anyone who witnessed the reverse fixture at Craven Cottage will realise that Derby aren't going to be a push over. They've only won one game at home all season (against Reading) and they'll certainly see us as their best chance of winning a second. They may already be down, but they'll really be up for this game and their recent performances have suggested there's still a bit of fight left in them.

My last trip to Derby was for that infamous game in '83. A season when we were 12 points clear at the top of the table and looking certainties for promotion. By the time of our trip to the Baseball Ground, for our final game of the season, our lead had been totally whittled away. It was a horrible game, the team had lost their self believe and the home crowd spent as much time throwing things at us as they did watching the game. A pitch invasion in the final minutes of the game caused an agonising delay and led to the final stages being played with Derby fans lining the edge of the pitch. When Robert Wilson was tripped by a fan as he attempted to run down the wing we knew it was all over. We were chased back to our car by marauding home fans and then sat in glum silence as we listened to the other results come in on the way back home. We felt cheated but It was our own fault that we hadn't held on to our lead that season. That said, I'd love us to sneak a win today and be partly responsible for confirming Derby's relegation, however brief that satisfaction might be.

No need to get downhearted

Saturday's loss was made all the harder to take by the results elsewhere. On Friday I was postulating about the assistance we might gain from Derby County. They did manage a draw with Sunderland which at least kept the Mackem's a little closer, but it was victories from Reading and Birmingham that really drove the knife in. Reading's injury time winner (a game that featured Liam Rosenior in the starting line up) away at Middlesbrough gave them their first points of the year and ended an eight game losing streak. It was also their first away win of the season a feat we'll have to match pretty soon if we're going to pull our selves out of the fire. More shocking was Birmingham City's 4-1 win over a Spurs side that might have been suffering an extended hangover from their Carling Cup win celebrations. Likewise Middlesbrough had played 120 minutes against Sheffield United in the F.A. Cup on Wednesday night. It seems we're just not getting those sort of breaks this season, though arguably it might just be we're not taking the ones we do get.

All this means we're six points adrift of Reading in 18th place and you could hardly blame those clubs above us from writing us off along with Derby. We really do need to put in a good run of results very soon. The countdown to survival is pretty clear. With ten games to play we need around 21 points to stay up. An average of 2.1 points a game is not impossible but when you consider we've averaged 0.68 a game so far the brutal truth starts to hit home. Realistically we're relying on other teams slipping up. Thankfully Bolton lost on Sunday to leave them only above Reading by goal difference, and Newcastle seem to be doing all they can to make life difficult for themselves.

Paul Jewell gets angry

No one's going to argue that Fulham haven't had a shocking season so far. However bad it might have been for us, spare a thought for fans of Derby County. A paltry 9 points, a goal difference of minus 44 and only one win. A team already resigned to relegation and fast closing in on Sunderland's record for the lowest ever Premier League points tally. A grim season then but they could play a huge part in our own fate. They face Sunderland at home on Saturday, will play us in a few weeks time and entertain Reading in their final game of the season.

Paul Jewell was not hiding his anger after their 2-0 loss at Wigan last week and didn't mince his words "I'm embarrassed at the way we played. I can accept losing but not like that, it was a disgrace. Some players are not worthy of being here and the sooner we can get them out the better". I like Jewell a lot. I was a big admirer of the Wigan side he got promoted to the Premier League, and considered him a decent propostition for Fulham manager following the departures of both Coleman and Sanchez. I'm not saying I'd take him over Roy now, I like Hodgson enormously, but if we did find ourselves looking for a new manager I think we could do a lot worse than look at Jewell. He has a passion for the game I like and (though my view could be skewed by that fairly brief spell with Wigan) seems to like to play football.

He hadn't calmed down by Tuesday when the BBC Derby spoke to him "I don't regret it at all, What I said was true, 100% true. I'll defend the players whenever I possibly can if there is decent reason. But I'm still angry now and it's Tuesday morning. I have to stand in front of the media and justify certain things - or try to justify certain things. But I'm not going to try and justify the performance I witnessed on Saturday". Sometimes it's easy for a manager to lose his rag with the players and then find he's still not capable of getting the reaction he wants. Jewell must know that this Saturday is as good a chance of adding three points as they're likely to get (Fulham aside) and I don't think there will be anyone in the Derby squad this Saturday under any illusions about what is expected - "I have to be careful I don't make changes for the sake of it but if I was out of the team on Saturday I'd certainly expect to be in it this Saturday".

As we go into a game that no one expects us to win, Derby might actually be able to make a more significant contribution to our survival attempt. I've got everything crossed!

Fulham 0 Derby County 0 - Match report

From the moment Paul Konchesky lashed out and was deservedly red carded the result was never in doubt. The first half was almost as shocking as the second half of the Portsmouth game and ten minutes in I'd probably taken more interest in the flights of the paper aeroplanes people had made out of the anti-racism leaflets than the football. When Konch, one of the few players to claim any credit so far this season, allowed Chris Fagin to get him to react to a poor challenge, I knew we were going to struggle. We showed a bit more spirit in the second half but there was never the cutting edge needed to find a way through. Derby had set their stall out for a 0-0 from the start with Dean Leacock playing a holding role in a 5 man midfield. They actually played the ball around quite well and certainly retained possession better than we did. Kenny Miller looked sharp as the lone man up front and was ably supported by the hard working Fagin. Eddie Lewis was largely anonymous though he did test Niemi with a decent shot in the first.

Niemi made a surprise return in goal and had one of the best games I've seen him play for a long time. He even said as much in his post match interview on MotD. This was on the back of his midweek clean sheet for Finland so maybe things are on the up for the veteran stopper. Derby haven't scored away from home yet this season, and whilst none of their efforts were unstoppable, Niemi definitely played a big part in ensuring we weren't the first team to concede against them. Chris Baird also put in a solid performance and during the second half, as he was forced to push forward more often due to our three man midfield, managed what might have been our best shot of the game. The rest of the defence were unspectacular. Stefanovic had replaced Bocanegra in the centre and Hughes claimed the Captain's armband. Konch's moment of red mist let the whole team down, but then I think he's the sort of player who will always have those sort of moments. Bocanegra was brought on at left back in the second half and did a very professional job. I expect he'll continue there for a while as a red for violent conduct usually means a three match ban.

Our midfield was disappointing again. We started with Seol on the right and nothing seemed to go right for him. There were glimpses of the player who excited everyone in the last 20 minutes against Man City, but every little dribble he began he either overran, or gave away the ball. He did have our best shot of the first half but skewed it wide of the post. It was no surprise when he was sacrificed to cope with the sending off. Bouazza seemed unable to find the room to work his magic down the left, partly due to Derby's packed midfield, but even in the second half kept trying. Murphy played some neat football early on but faded dramatically as the game progressed. I was stunned when Sanchez brought Simon Davies on and choose to replace Davis not Murphy. Davies added nothing to an already overrun midfield. Kamara looked threatening at times and his pace was a clear concern for Derby. Unfortunately he rarely took the chance to shoot. He either wanted too much time, allowing the defence to catch him up and close him down, or kept the ball alive only to make a poor decision when he did release it. Dempsey put in another hard working performance and also had a couple of half chances. Healy was brought on with hardly any time to make an impact and no service to help him change the game. Tactically it was pretty aimless and brought back memories of the worst periods under Coleman, in fact this was the first game where I began to wonder whether we wouldn't have been better off if Cookie had stayed.

Fulham v Derby County - Match Preview

The biggest game of the season so far. A must win six pointer. Am I being hyperbolic or is that true? Well, whilst I agree that it's too early in the season for those statements to really stand up I do think winning this game is going to be crucial in deciding our fate for the rest of the campaign. I've read quite a bit this week from various sources about where we stand and the one point that really struck a chord with me was that if we can't win this game where are we going to get the points from.

Sanchez has been positive in the media today "We have three games over the next three weeks where we are as good as, if not better than, the teams we are playing and then we play Liverpool away, which is obviously a step up. It is very much in our own hands what we get from those games and I wouldn't want to come out of this period in the bottom three. I know they could be famous last words and I'm sure they will be quoted back at me if it doesn't happen but that is what we should be looking to do." He's not wrong. For me we need to get six points from the next three games. A win against Derby would not only set us on the road to achieving that but also give the team the confidence they need to pick up more points. Sanchez was also candid about Chris Baird's culpability in defence saying "I have had a word with Chris. For every mistake he has made there has been a goal, unfortunately. I am not hiding from that but at this moment in time there is no alternative in his position. It does take time to step up sometimes". I'm not sure Sanchez is trying to point the finger here, maybe just deflect some of the criticism as he goes on to add that "He is finding his feet, I know that and he knows that but people will have to be patient. It doesn't help any player if people are getting on his back but he is the only one who can get through it".

As I discussed in my previous post, our record last season against promoted clubs was not that impressive. A grand total of 5 points. If we are to survive more comfortably this season we certainly need to improve on that. The problem is for all intents and purposes we are in a very similar boat to those promoted sides. However poor we were last season we did at least have some Premiership experience. This time around our first team consists of only a handful of players with more than a few months experience, and fifteen players that are new to our club. We need to learn fast how to turn decent performances into winning performances.

Derby will no doubt be looking on this as an away game where they could pick up points. They've not scored away from Pride Park yet and Billy Davies is talking of giving Rob Earnshaw another start. This could be at the expense of alleged Fulham target Steve Hayward, who has started every game for the Rams so far but is yet to score. Kenny Miller has made a big impact since his late arrival and it seems unlikely he would be dropped. In midfield we may see the return of "the American David Beckham" in the shape of Eddie Lewis. Eddie never really impressed for us but it will be nice to see him again. Davies also suggests that County will have more options in midfield with Criag Fagan completing a four match ban and the much coveted Giles Barnes nearing fitness after injury. Another former White, Dean Leacock, should also line up alongside Claude Davis in defence. I liked Leacock and felt he did have to ability to play a bigger part for us, but having had a decent season in the Championship, he's looked decidedly shaky in the glimpses I've seen so far of Derby's season.

Despite Sanchez suggesting he would make changes if he could, it seems we've not got as much choice as we may have thought. I'm expecting Keller to continue in goal despite Niemi making an excellent return to International football in Finland's 0-0 draw with Spain. The back four should also remain unchanged with Baird given another opportunity thanks partly Moritz Volz' injury. We might see some minor tinkering in midfield though I would be surprised if Davis, Smertin and Bouazza did not keep their places. The most likely change would be on the right side of midfield where either Dempsey or Seol could oust Simon Davies. Dempsey played for the US midweek (as did Bocanegra) and was instrumental in setting up their only goal of a 1-0 win. Up front we might see Kamara partner Healy for only the second time this season. Assuming we'll stick to a 4-4-2 this would leave Dempsey either in midfield or on the bench. Whilst Dempsey has undoubtedly been one of the players of the season so far, maybe a rest will do him some good and the impact he could make coming on later in the game could be useful.

I have to admit I'm not feeling that confident right now. Much as I'd love us to cruise to a comfortable win, my gut feeling is that this is not going to be east watching. Fingers crossed though, I'd take three points anyway they come and a scruffy 1-0 win would be just as good as a 4-0 romp.