What I.Saw: It Was Still Better Than Tuesday
Sunday, 17th Jan 2016 12:23 by I.Saw

Yesterday the visit of Birmingham to the iPro, Derby. Decide to arrive early to pick up my Man U FA Cup ticket, small queues, no wait.

Wait for team news, Butterfield, Martin benched, Thorne and Hendrick in, the Rams pack the midfield, Russell the luckiest man since the last lottery winner.

Concourse. TV screens. Yorkshire derby, two big clubs battle it out, no love lost, Leeds losing, 2-0, I shed no tears.

Pitch side, banners with pictures of Rams powers, Mackay, Sir Brian, the Bald Eagle & Arthur adorn the East Stand touchline.

The teams run out, Warnock Captain, Keogh transparent face mask, only the white tabs by his ears give it away.

The sun sets behind the West Stand as the Blues get the game underway.

First reactions - it's better than Tuesday.

Derby dither, possession football, then long hopeful balls aimed at Blackman playing in his preferred position as a striker. He puts the effort in, yet the temptation to chant “It’s like watching Tyson, it's like watching Tyson” is huge. Mentally I can't separate visions of the two, they could be twins.

Still it's better than Tuesday.

Brummigen fans get behind their team, they’ve brought a few, they hate the Villa, like we care.

The visitors close down, mark well and play on the break. We match them, it's evenly balanced. Our best chance is a free header for Hendrick eight yards out, it’s ten yards off target.

Second half, second best, we struggle.

On the hour the visitors number 20, Toral, edge of the Derby box is alone. Alone apart from the seven White shirts around him. Seven dwarves, one giant footballer, no back lift, Toral gets off a shot, Grant arches, stretches, and tips the ball out for the corner. What are we doing Derby?

We find out seconds later. Nothing... Ball in, a header flicks it on, a header flicks it in. Statues of Rams. It’s so fast we almost miss it. The big screen doesn't help. What happened? How did we concede?

We have to wait for the re-run at home later to see the two players running to their 3,000 fans, Robinson the scorer.

A triple substitution, Russell, Thorne and Ince replaced by Camara, Martin and Butterfield.

We go 4-4-2. Ish. Blackman works better as part of a pair. Butterfield adds forward movement, Camara add excitement.

The Blues add a second. A curling shot from Gleeson totally wrong foots Grant as the keeper can’t back peddle fast enough and the ball nestles in the back of the net.

Two becomes three. Kieftenbeld blasts a belting volley from the edge of the box after a poor clearance. It's arguably the best goal we've seen at home this season, Grant has no chance.

We are well beaten. 3-0 sparks a mass exodus, Derby fans vote with their feet. By the time of the final whistle, a half empty Pride Park offers its own story. Clement following his outburst mid week may or may not have lost the dressing room; he has however lost half the stadium.

Final reactions - it was still better than Tuesday, yet the decline why?

To my mind it started at Leeds, a weakened team yet those who play well are dropped. A second team in the cup, we win, those who play well don't get playing time or even make the bench.

In my book you reward staff who do well, you encourage, you incentivate.

Over to you Paul!