Our season finished yesterday and it summed up our season. Will the circle be unbroken?

Derby 1 vs. 1 Peterborough

Pride Park Stadium

28th April 2011

Ref:

R.East

Crowd:

27,354 (1,741 Posh Visitors)

The Rams:

Legzdins (GK); Brayford, Buxton, Shackell, Roberts; Hughes (Carroll 83), Hendrick, Bryson (Bailey 87), Tyson; Robinson (Bennett 74), S. Davies.

Unused Subs: Thomas, Lelan.

Goals: Robinson – 21’

The Posh:

Jones (GK); Alcock, Zakuani, Little, Rowe; Tomlin, McCann, Newell (Ntlhe 56); Boyd, Barnett (Ball 63), Taylor (Kearns 56).

Unused Subs: Brisley, Grant

Goals: Ball - 82’

Match Stats: Rams - Posh

Possession: 52% - 48%

Shots On Target: 13 - 9

Shots Off Target: 10 - 8

Corners: 10 - 5

Fouls: 12 - 9

Most Fouls: Robinson (3) - Boyd (3)

I. Saw’s Match Report:

Our season finished yesterday. Yesterday summed up our season. Will the circle be unbroken?

Yesterday, train late, signalling failure. Club shop, £8 and the odd few pence on the season ticket card left, spend it or lose it. Tat, tat and more tat being picked over by the multitude of supporters wanting to use the last of their credit. One pair of training bottoms (no logo) and ten minutes later battered and bruised worse than the January Sales when they were held after Christmas and not before and you emerge feeling tacky and cheap.

Just like the merchandise.

Inside running late, a meat and potato pie as jaded as me. Luke warm at best it goes back, as does another before I ask and receive a refund. How the f**k can you employ staff who don’t know the dangers of not heating food, especially if the rumour that the pies are left out unrefrigerated for prolonged periods before the match.

Maybe the most surprising thing is wondering why I’m even surprised; I should expect these things after all.

Like after the match when Our Manager comes on Radio Derby and praises Nathan Tyson for getting some quality crosses into the box and at the same time berates Theo Robinson for not getting on the end of them.

Its arse about tit logic. You want the guy on the wing to beat his man yes. You want him the get to the by-line yes. Then you want him to look up and pick out a player in the box, or a player running in, or take the ball on, or hold it until someone arrives. You want somebody with a foot-balling brain.

Not a cock, wearing fishermen friends float fluorescent orange boots, firing the ball at random into the box. And then to blame Robinson for not getting on the end of a shite ball, it beggars’’ belief, except of course unless your name is Nigel Clough.

In truth we did play some good football. Will Hughes or “Boris” on account of his white bush of hair, made his home debut at the age of seventeen and looks one for the future. Robinson scored from Craig Bryson’s cross, a cross that was to a player having taken time and looked up, and Derby had enough changes to have bagged a hatful.

Bryson bossed the midfield and few would argue that the Scotsman deserved his “Player Of The Season” award. Tom Carroll our loanee from Spurs came on to a round of boos from the home supporters, many believe the addition of Carroll at a time when Paul Green and James Bailey looked likely to leave was a necessity.

And perhaps it was but once Green and Bailey stayed then playing Carroll and the resulting points we lost over an eight game period was foolish and stubborn in the extreme and effectively scuppered any chance of the play-offs.

As it was it mattered not yesterday, neither did it when Peterborough’s Ball equalised to level the scores at one all.

Neither did it matter to players or so it seemed as reports from those who stayed for the lap of honour commented on a brief venture around the centre circle and then the players were back in and presumably away for their holidays.

As I said yesterday summed up our season: Off the field rubbish, on the field some good football but with a manager who managed to keep us down to twelfth in the table.

Manager’s Reaction:

Nigel Clough was happy but discussed the need for a target man:

"We had plenty of situations and chances today to have got a good few goals under our belt and seen the season out with a convincing win.

"I suppose a draw, having had so many chances, typifies our season in many ways because we played some really good stuff and had enough chances to win two or three games - but we didn't.

"Once we got in front we just needed a second or third goal to really kill things off, but we just didn't get it which was frustrating.

"Peterborough kept themselves in the game and Adam Legzdins didn't have too much to do, but as long as it remains 1-0 the opposition have a chance."

"We're frustrated today, but on the whole it has been a good, exciting season."

"It probably highlighted the need for someone to stick the ball in the net for us on a regular basis more than ever today, and that's what we will be trying out utmost to get this summer. Overall the performance was very good and once again that's encouraging for the future and finishing in the top half is nice - but it could have been even higher."

"The pleasing thing I guess is that we've shown a lot of steps in the right direction this season and we're not that far away from the top six - and we want to build on it for next season."

"Will played very well on the right-hand side and we rate him highly.

"He didn't look out of place at all and he gave us a good balance in midfield. He dealt with the step-up from the reserves and youth-team very well indeed. He didn't panic at all."

"Will looked composed on the ball and he's someone who could have a part to play next season."

Next Match:

See You In August!

Photo: Action Images

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