Ricardo's reoprt v Derby County

[ricardo 8,034]

At 2 o''clock we traipsed off to CR in a rather subdued mode, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. I''ve seen a few games when the crowd turns on the manager and its never a pretty sight but it seemed very much what was in prospect today. It was a bright day, cold enough for gloves and woolly hat but not enough to give the thermals their first outing of the season.AN was obviously constrained by Brady''s suspension but for all the world it looked like the name cards had been chucked up in the air again and the first eleven at hand picked up. From the off the early play seemed a bit nervous and tentative and with the crowd murmuring dissent at every misplaced pass, it can''t have been easy for the boys. Derby started quite brightly and earned a free kick just outside the City in the 5th minute. Thankfully the ball over the wall was well wide. Minutes later City struggled to clear a Derby corner and you could feel the crowd getting restive.There had been almost nothing from City in the opening quarter hour but suddenly things opened up with a break down the right. Murphy rode a couple of tackles before releasing Oliveira and the big man cruised past a defender before unleashing a low shot into the corner from 22 yards that Carson couldn''t keep out, even at full stretch. It was just what the doctor ordered because from that moment the team seemed to settle and began to produce some crisp accurate passing and some moves of real quality.With Wes at his spinning and twisting best City at last began to show what has been hidden all season so far. Derby are no mugs but they began to look second best as City made and missed some glorious chances. Oliveira''s sweet backheel gave Pinto the chance to cut the ball back only for Naismith to lift his shot inches over the bar. Then Wes put Murphy through but Carson stood tall to block. Wes and Murphy again combined to spring Naismith clear and when he cut inside the defender a goal looked certain only for Carson to deflect the ball with his legs. Even Olsson got in on the act cutting into the box and testing Carson with an angled drive that the Derby keeper palmed round the post.When Derby had a rare break the  City defense looked a match for anything with Klose looking back to his imperious best. Approaching the interval, Derby were fortunate to be still in the game as Tetty''s low drive cracked off the foot of a post. Anyone hoping for halftime boos was to be sadly disappointed as the crowd rose to applaud the best first half display of the season. In the Directors box they must have been mightily relieved but with only one goal  there was still work to do. Almost from the off City picked up where they left off, Oliveira sped away down the left and clipped a shot over Carson that rebounded off the face of the bar before being scrambled clear. Naismith, Wes and Murphy continued to taunt the visitors defence with some delightful close passing in the Derby box as defenders went full stretch to block shots. Naismith, Murphy and Olsson all had efforts on or just off target but nothing with enough power to beat a keeper of Carson''s quality. Then Murphy caused more mayhem in the Derby box only for his cut back to be skied just over the angle by Russell Martin who had stayed up following a corner.Apart from the tricky guy on the left Derby offered very little but just before the hour Ruddy had to make his first save of any note by foiling Ince with a strong right hand after the Derby forward had worked an opening. A second City goal was needed and in truth looked possible at any moment and in the 65th minute the quest was given added impetus when ex City midfielder, Butterfield was dismissed after a tackle that nearly cut Wes in half. Thankfully he was able to resume and almost set up Murphy with a chance only for Carson to produce the goods again.The threatened goal eventually came after a corner was scrambled clear only for Martin to return the ball and Howson  flicked the ball to Oliveira who glanced a peach of a header into the far corner. Derby looked a rabble at this stage and a third goal came almost immediately when they lost possession in midfield and City stormed forward to win a corner. From the resultant scramble Oliveira was again on hand to rifle home from about 15 yards.Further sweeping moves, shots and chances came in quick succession and too numerous to mention but the high point for me was finally getting the chance to boo as Bent came on as a substitute. To his credit he got into a scoring position but Ruddy blocked well to keep the clean sheet. It was just one of those days when you knew Derby wouldn''t score if they played until midnight.So it ended 3-0 but in all honesty Derby would have thought themselves fortunate had it been 5 or 6. Where has this standard of football been all season? We knew they were capable of it but its taken half the season for gulf in class to become obvious on the pitch.MOM Oliveira for his well taken hat trick but it was a privilege to again witness another Wes masterclass. There can''t be many more in the locker.AN, safe as houses for the season by my reckoning. I didn''t expect it but the little man has pulled it out of the fire.

[Daz Sparks 1,558]

Pretty much on the money Ricardo, and the part about booing Bent amused me greatly, (I felt exactly the same)

[Badger 2,745]

Thanks Ricardo.1. Have to say that surely Neill must regret not bringing back Wes (in particular ) and Klose sooner. 2. Not sure about safe as houses - a couple of quick defeats would put the pressure back on. 3. When was the last time we had consecutive clean sheets in the league? Hopefully a corner turned.

[king canary 8,758]

Good report. One thing I''d say is that you''re under selling the Ince chance - he''d got in one on one and Ruddy made an excellent save. Could have been very different if not so the keeper deserves praise.

[ricardo 8,034]

[quote user="king canary"]Good report. One thing I''d say is that you''re under selling the Ince chance - he''d got in one on one and Ruddy made an excellent save. Could have been very different if not so the keeper deserves praise.[/quote]Agreed, it was a good chance and a fine save. He looked back to full confidence today and deserved the clean sheet.

[Cosmic Twin 192]

Thanks for the report, Ricardo!

[Indy 3,471]

Wes saved AN, he was outstanding and a great finishing/lead from the front performance by Oliviera.

Pivotal point in the match, Ruddy''s save, we bossed Thame and had the chances to be 3 up by half time, but at 1-0 you just knew Lnce would get one chance and what a save.

Great report Ricardo, really good all round performance and shows just what this team can do.

If we lose Klose or Wes it would be a real blow, we now have to build the rest of the season with them along with Howson, Pinto, Ruddy & Oliviera as the platform.

Get rid of Naismith & Brady, build with what we have and strengths the defence with an Ake type loan signing.

[king canary 8,758]

Indy- would be harsh on Naismith who was excellent today and did a lot of work off the ball to create space for Nelson and Wes.

[im spartacus canary 0]

Mclaren said the turning point was the red card he also said it was harsh and they were thinking of appealing ffs

[westcoastcanary 0]

Thank you, as always, ricardo. From afar I don''t see AN as having done anything different for this game than he does for every game as regard selection and formation. The big difference for me was a degree of confidence regained (not just from getting the first goal, but also from Saturday''s match which they knew could have been 3 or 4: 0 to us) and, as things progressed, the crowd getting behind them. Regarding Klose, why do people focus just on Klose when Russ M came back in for Brentford as well? RM''s presence changes the dynamic of the team going forward as well as in defence.

[king canary 8,758]

@westcoast

Yep fair point about Martin who was also excellent. I do think though that Klose is the kind of player who is capable of elevating others as we''ve previously seen with him next to Bennett. Klose (when his head is on the game) is a cut above.

[westcoastcanary 0]

king, I''ve no quarrel with giving Klose appropriate credit; it was the silence about RM''s impact in these two games that I wanted to point out [Y]

[Indy 3,471]

[quote user="king canary"]Indy- would be harsh on Naismith who was excellent today and did a lot of work off the ball to create space for Nelson and Wes.[/quote]

Maybe a bit harsh, but he started slowly, misplaced a few passes and missed a sitter, not to mention, every time he passed to Olsson it was behind him rather than into the space, which meant Olsson has to stop to pick the ball up.

Certainly not a performance where if he was starting next week I would complain but I''m all for Pritchard, far better player. Just my view of it.

[ricardo 8,034]

[quote user="im spartacus"]Mclaren said the turning point was the red card he also said it was harsh and they were thinking of appealing ffs[/quote]Turning point my ar$e, McLaren is out of his mind, they were hanging on long before the dismissal. They were fortunate not to be 3 down by halftime.24 shots, 12 on target.

[Mr Angry 2,019]

Steve McLaren? I must have missed his tenure as England manager 😳

[westcoastcanary 0]

IMO Alex Neil is one of the more honest managers when it comes to post-match interviews. He more often than not seems to have been watching the same match as me, or the one I''ve been listening to.

[Alex Moss 2,167]

[quote user="im spartacus"]Mclaren said the turning point was the red card he also said it was harsh and they were thinking of appealing ffs[/quote]

F*** me! McClaren''s out of his mind, its possibly the most delusional comment I''ve ever heard from a football manager ever!. As for Butterfield, I didn''t like his narcissistic attitude when he was here and thought he was a right tw@ - and believe me, I never ever feel that way about anyone who''s representing the yellow and green. His tackle was beyond shocking, I think Hoolahans shin pad flew out from the impact, and that idiot meant what he did - as demonstrated by how he stood over Wes after the ''challenge'', what a horrible little w@nker. Sorry about the near bad language but I was incensed by that challenge, that was a career ender. He was looking for that, and there may be an obvious explanation why he did it in my mind...

[Alex Moss 2,167]

Btw, thanks Ricardo! - as ever 👍

[Lessingham Canary 108]

Good report Ricardo as always, i thought Ruddy made 2 outstanding saves that were crucial and gave the team massive confidence.

[hogesar 10,766]

To be fair to Neil he''s played this system and set us up like this most of the time. The key difference was bringing Wes back into the fold and should have been starting for us again weeks ago.

[Hairy Canary 754]

Thanks Ricardo, always look forward to reading your report when I get home.

First time for weeks I really enjoyed the game. We played some excellent stuff at times and plenty of excitement. Also was good to see Oli run across the pitch to celebrate with Seb on the subs bench after he scored.

Time for a beer.

[Feedthewolf 5,885]

Excellent report as usual Ricardo. I''d also like to add that I thought it was Jacob Murphy''s best game in a long while - several times he glided past the first man with ease, and linked extremely well with those around him. Certainly can''t have done him any harm if there were any scouts watching...The Admiral took his chances extremely well, but Wes was back to his unplayable best. Although I will miss him terribly when he finally leaves or hangs up his boots, it''s very reassuring to know that we have Pritchard and Maddison in the wings. Maddison in particular I can''t wait to see playing for us on a regular basis.

[Van wink 2,994]

Never expected to be reading a report like this tonight Ricky, lovely job.

👍

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,791]

Gulf in class = Exactly right. For once, the players that we have, looked like a team capable of destroying teams. It''s taken half a season , but we looked miles better than a decent side today . IF , and its a massive if, we can play in this cohesive way again, we can beat most teams.

Ruddy - outstanding game changing save; Nelson, real class and H-esque effort, Wes absolutely on fire, Olsson brilliant up and down the flank like he was on rails, Murphy at times makes it look too easy to go past players, I could go on, no bad performances (not even Naismith despite the bloke sitting behind me calling for his head) .

All Neil has to do is keep them playing like this, and maybe refresh a bit in the window (not his strong point) , and we may get a top six finish.   

And lovely to see a warm welcome for Bent. Well done everyone

 

 

[ron obvious 1,711]

Many thanks again Ricardo. Seems it was as good in the flesh as it sounded on the wireless!

[ricardo 8,034]

Best performance for a long time Ron. Wes masterclass, will live long in the memory.

[Bill 1,788]

Are you now back in the fold, Mr R ?

[ricardo 8,034]

A manager lives and dies by his results. He has to keep getting them. He is fortunate in being given time by his employers who have been far more patient than I would have been. I he pulls of a play off place I will happily admit that I was wrong.

[Crabbycanary3 994]

I am one of Murphy''s biggest critics, but agree with FTW, that today, was one of his best games in a City shirt. Effective on the ball, and made useful, intelligent runs, to draw out defenders, or take up good positions.

Klose looked very good again. Naisy took some unwarranted stick, at times, I felt. The ''sitter'' wasn''t that clear an opportunity. He also made clever runs, and had his best game for a while. Wes was Wes. Olsson didn''t give Ince much of a sniff, and still contributed very well, to our attack.

That was goooooodddd

[Crabbycanary3 994]

We made a ''Top 6'' team, with good players in their team, look distinctly bang average today.

5 more months of this, I could get used to