sharpysharps86

50 points!? We'll be lucky to get 40!

Overall a pretty awful performance. Ohashi took the penalty well but that was pretty much the only genuine chance Rovers mustered for the entire game. Gudjohnsen completely absent, Alebiosu surprisingly poor, Miller terrible, the rest of them were all lots of effort but no real quality. Never looked for one minute like they would threaten Derby in open play. Watching Miller take about 50 long throws and pretty much all of them fail to beat the first man is like some form of torture. Missing key players in Toth, Tronstad and Wharton did not help at all either, but they're going to have to find a way to figure that out, at least in the case of Toth and Wharton. Montgomery has done enough for me to warrant a starting place based on his recent appearances. Its a bloody good job they managed the last 3 wins, because Preston away will be very tough with them in good form, and the games come thick and fast in December.

This is possibly the most lightweight Rovers side I've ever seen. Not a single Rovers player looks capable of coming out on top against any of Derby's players.

TGH off, Montgomery on. Bizarre change that.

Not a single player performing well so far. They can barely string a few passes together, like total strangers to each other. Also that long throw-in of Millers is awful.

Outplayed, outfought. Awful

Poor start, Derby look way more composed on the ball and more threatening. Rovers need to get a foothold in the game.

Oh ok, I never knew that. Thanks 🙂

I'm assuming there is a clause that prevents recalling O'Riordan before January, because it seems a bit weird to recall a lad from Chorley when we've got a CB playing in League One at the moment.

Very pleased for him....except for when its an AFCON year and we lose him for a number of weeks.

Interesting take. What makes you so sure?

Yep. There are plenty of occasions where putting someone who 'knows the club' hasn't worked. Hoddle at Spurs comes to mind. Henning Berg at another 🥲. I get what Chaddy is saying about Rangers and Celtic in particular, but I'd debate that the only manager to win the league with Rangers in the last 10 years was someone who had no prior connection to the club. His main coaches were Gary McAllister and Michael Beale to my knowledge, neither of whom had any connections with Rangers either. Then you've also got the scenario that they brought in Van Bronckhorst who was a former player, and it failed. Yes they had Barry Ferguson for a bit last season, and yes he seemed to steady things a bit, but it's impossible to say whether it'd have been a success or not in the long term. O'Neill in at Celtic temporary definitely feels like one of those cases of 'we didn't anticipate this happening so we've had to scramble around a bit'. Ultimately it generally does feel like putting a club legend or someone who 'knows the club' is always to paper over the cracks of deeper issues within the club.

He knows the club https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0l3Fum29xA

Brilliant win, just what was required. Delighted for Gudjohnsen. Toth superb. A bit of momentum can go a long way in this league, hopefully Rovers can string some more results together and pull away from trouble.

Pascal Chimbonda - simply for the goal against Burnley 😅

Tough game, but Leicester are faltering at the moment, so there's always a chance. Not sure I'd change the starting XI, although if Cantwell is fit then I suspect Ismael brings him back into the team simply due to him being captain. The optimist in me says 1-1 or 0-1 to Rovers. The pessimist says 3-0 to Leicester.

Garry Flitcroft

Agree on O'Riordan. Feels strange that he's hardly had a look in at Rovers, but unless we're planning to splash some cash in January (doubtful) then recalling him in January is essential. Even then I'd be tempted to bring in a CB on loan as well if Ismael wants to persist with 3 CB's. Seen the script with Toth before. They likely won't give him what he wants. Tronstad is certainly not performing as he was last season. I suspect its due to a multitude of reasons...some of which may be personal to him and his family. We forget footballers are human beings sometimes. His performances last season give him enough credit in the bank for me, but its sad knowing that he's likely leaving at the end of the season and he probably already knows it. You can appear fine on the outside celebrating a win like he was yesterday, but who knows what's going through his head. De Neve and Hedges are players that will never pull up any trees, but they're hard workers for sure. You do need players like that around the squad, but Rovers problem is they're reliant on them and there isn't enough technical quality to balance things out. Pleased to see De Neve has improved a touch though.

It would not be a surprise at all if Manning and Still both lost their jobs this week. I suspect a Championship job came too soon for Still. Certainly Southampton as well given their record for the last 12 months, it's very hard to turn a ship like that around. As for Ismael...well regardless of yesterday's win I still think he is out of his depth.

Fantastic win in the end, and sounds like it was deserved too. Huge relief but this is one small step in the right direction. Credit to Montgomery, sounds like he changed the game a bit when he came on.

8 mins added on 🙃

Would you believe it 😂

I really doubt Sam has the fire in his belly for it anymore. Agree on him coming back though, it'd be night and day compared to what we currently have.

Dreading this. Think I'll spend the afternoon cleaning out the gutters instead.

Some of them are clearly playing a level or two above where they belong. Of the new signings, only Alebiosu appears to be playing at Championship level to me. Haven't seen enough of Morishita to judge fairly, but the rest are League One, possibly League Two standard.