‘He is
OUR Michael Carrick’ (Stephen McPhail - LOL!)
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| An in-house Greggs. What's not to like!? |
Bad start to the day. I arrive half an hour before the train and enjoy a greasy caff. So when I call in at Kings X to withdraw cash (I know the Captain doesn’t like debt owed to him) I misjudge time and when I rock up to St P for a 10:58 train it’s 10:56 (and a half) and it’s last orders on boarding. Even worse, our ticket is some kind of threesome, all or none. Not the kind of threesome I’d ever dreamed of. I’d always imagined I was Dogtanian to my friends’ Porthos, Athos and Aramus. To my compadre, my 2together buddy, my bodyguard (Oldham away, last season) I can only apologise. I’m an idiot.
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| Nearly there. |
Then we offski to Derby. I haven’t been here since we were in the Premiership. Which was….well, a long time ago. I remember one corner of the stadium was open in those days. I had to ask Andy which corner it was. He’d no idea – we get shunted around every time we come. Nice ground, but that’s the thing: they’re all the same these places; without a fixed point, they look identical, save for the colour of the seats. Derby, Leicester, Cov, Soton et al…you know who you are. And the last time I came here, all that existed between the station and (No) Pride Park was wasteland. Now, it is all industrial units and Frankie and Benny’s. A wasteland, then. Still, a more pleasant walk this time as we followed the river.
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| Them and us. |
Actually, I do have one regret. (I have many, so this is merely one of them.) One year, I’d arranged to be picked up for a Xmas/New Year game at the old Baseball Ground, but I got terribly ‘tired and emotional’ and my alarm had to be sacked for dereliction of duty. That was the last time we played at Derby’s legendary old ground. The modern plasticity makes it no better, though I am slightly assuaged by the thought that DCFC still have to play us when their 30,000 crowds say something else. Which brings me to think: is there nothing to do in Derby? while Reedy and every other Reds fan in the stadium wonder, if there’s so many of ‘em why is the atmosphere so s***? I had to wonder whether cursory chants about their ‘mams and dads (being) scabs’ was some cunning Reds’ ruse to tease some passion out of them there Derby. Though experience shows they DO wake up when they score. Then they shut up again, bless.
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| Maybe circa 1975 |
As we contemplated not going in at HT at least one goal ahead, we nick the lead in rudimentary fashion early 2nd half; Roberts’ long throw is headed home by James. (Pompey) Ian is a genius; he wondered earlier why we don’t use this tactic more often. (I bet he doesn’t remember saying this, but he did). All our hard work and slick moves, and it takes a 30 yard throw to give us the lead. Oh well. Pompey makes a break for the toilet and I follow (yeah yeah).
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| The Super Reds celebrate. |
We return to a bellicose ‘Barns-ser-lee, Barns-ser-lee, Barns-ser-lee’. I just know Derby have equalised. They have. I might have even seen it had I not had the temerity to wash my hands. Standards, eh? Who needs ‘em? Allegedly it’s a scramble in the box and Ince prods one home. ‘Your dad’s a cnut, and so are you.’ Anyone who used to visit Peterboro in the days of their terrace will recognise that one. Catchy. La la la la….la la la la. And there’s not enough chants with the c-bomb in it, is there?
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| They're here, they're there, they're .....at Derby. |
Thereafter, Derby rule. Pompey (him again) puts it down to Butterfield coming on for them and playing some kind of deep lying Hourihane role. Couldn’t we buy him back with the Hourihane/Bree/Mawson money? A pre-match applaud from Jacob shows what Hourihane will (already does?) realise; he is better off in a team who will APPRECIATE him, who will actually PLAY him. Where the fans love him. Or sit on the bench at Derby earning 4 times as much. The irony. Only in football do you get paid MORE for producing LESS. I’d have him back in a shot.
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| Is this the Pride Park (Ipro?) extension? |
Anyway, they have all the play, create a few snippets, and make Davies tip 2 or 3 over….before Hecky makes a game changing sub. Kent and Mowatt come on for our forward line (Bradshaw and Armstrong). To the uninitiated, it looks like we’re playing for the draw. But we know switching Marley up front, and having more energy in midfield will make the difference. It does – they go up the other end and score. I still think the right back (the Everton bloke?) doesn’t deal with it, allowing it to bounce and Nugent hits a snapshot winner. Fair play to the goal-a-game former England striker (if you can’t remember the goal, look it up on youtube!) as he buries it with aplomb, deflection or not. We lose, it’s one of those games. We rule one half, fail to take advantage, they run the other and do. Lesson learnt.
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| Game in progress, fans leaving in hordes. Eh??? |
***. Roberts Immense. Won headers, intercepted balls, covered others. Set up our goal with amazing trickery from wide right (threw a ball a long way).
** MacDonald. As above, minus the trickery. Worked great as a pair.
* James. I was saying to Andy, he impressed 1st half…then he scores..
Londontykes' Top 3:
1. Roberts 2= James/MacDonald
Despatches:
Yiadom was poor today. Do the fullbacks take turns? Jones played well, tho missed a late chance to whip a ball across goal. Talking of which, Kent nearly equalised after coming on, hitting a decent effort with his weaker right. Hamill played well, without dribbling past everyone and scoring a 30 yarder (which is what some people who’d rather go and watch Hartlepool v Exeter today might say). Davies never put a foot wrong. Some good saves and no chance with the goal I saw. (If I never saw the 1st goal, does that mean it never happened…which meant neither did the second…so actually, we won. YOOOOUUUU REDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Andy says no, it does not mean that. Dammit.
Scowen surprised me today. He didn’t track back for a ball and they nearly scored from his half-arsedness. Bradshaw had some good touches but faded, while Armstrong continues to be the centre forward version of Kent (on loan, flatters to deceive, but if you watch him enough, produces very little). Just saying – no need for the hate mail.
And Wadd, I’m with you – good luck completing the 92. You’re not missing much not going to Derby. And besides, we’ll be playing them again next season. See you at Morecambe in a few weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| And so it stayed. |
Drink du jour: Maisel Weiss in the Derby CAMRA pub 2016 and 2017. No idea what it’s called, but turn right outside the train station (actually, ‘railway station’; the Captain tells me ‘train station’ is an Americanism). Anyway, turn, right, walk down the sidewalk, cross the freeway and it’s there. And there’s a booze express or somesuch by the station for those necessary vodka and cokes for the way back. For when Andy ejects an old lady from her seat and spends the rest of his journey feeling guilty. He is Raskolnikov incarnate.
Away: 1500+. A tremendous turnout, inc the West Stand Bogs crew who’d walked from Barnsley, setting off yesterday. Thus far, I have no knowledge on whether Master Hicks bled his feet in some named set of shoes this time, or whether he learnt his lesson at Bradford. Problies the former.
You Reds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Damage:
26 train
17.60 (very specific, but if you bought 4 tickets in advance, you got 20% off, or summink. Either way, well done Derby.)
3 prog
= £46.60
The Tunes:
Among My Swan (Mazzy Star)
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| Match panorama |
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| Full time panorama |
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| Welcome to ... |
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| The Derby dugout. Steve Bloomer watches on. |
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| Match action. |
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