Derby County 0 Stoke City 2 (FA Cup, Fourth Round)

It would be wrong to be too disappointed to see us knocked out of the FA Cup by Premier League opposition.  There are positives to take out of the performance, in spite of the result – and a measure of frustration about some very poor decisions by the officials.

Firstly, it seems that Cameron Jerome’s opening goal was offside.  It wouldn’t have been if the striker had allowed Robert Huth to run through and score, but he looked off at the time and Clough confirmed this in his post-match interviews, presumably with the benefit of having seen a replay.

Next, there were at least two terrible calls by Mark Clattenburg, which went against Derby at a time when they had impressively played their way back into contention in the game.  Jamie Ward was set free down the left and as he was about to streak into the box, very obviously had his heels clipped.  It was an clear foul and a yellow card for the Stoke defender, which Clattenburg and his assistant somehow contrived to miss.

Then a Ward cross was blocked off just outside the box by the arm of the skinheaded lummox Andy Wilkinson.  This too was blatantly obvious and the fact that Clattenburg managed to miss it should be a worry to the FA, if he is supposed to be a Premier League-quality referee.

I said to Tommo at half-time that Ward, who looked the best player on the pitch in the first half, was bound to have played his way into the attention of the monstrous Stoke defenders and of course, Wilkinson soon had a brutish, pre-meditated hack at the Rams star forward, happily taking his caution as trade for the necessity of clattering our most dangerous player.  He’ll have seen it as part of his job – getting in his ‘reducer’ without being sent off.  Ward was peripheral for the rest of the game.

As is often the case when we lose, the could-haves, would-haves and should-haves queue up for attention.  Hendrick missed a glorious chance when we carved the Potters open during our first half purple patch, for example – but ultimately, it’s impossible to deny that the stronger side won.  However, the fact that we gave them a decent game, when we could easily have succumbed meekly after going behind so early on, should encourage supporters.

With Robinson, Tyson and Steve Davies all not fit to start and Ryan Noble not allowed to play by Sunderland, we were obliged to play a 4-4-1-1, with Bryson attempting to support Ball in attack, but it actually worked pretty well in the first half, allowing us to soak up pressure and launch counter attacks through the centre.  There wasn’t much pace in forward areas, though, which didn’t help and meant that Stoke’s hulking back four were rarely turned.

As it was, Nathan Tyson wasn’t introduced until it was too late and Chris Maguire, who might have made a difference, was left on the bench.  I haven’t heard any justification for the two late substitutions – Bryson off for Buxton and Shackell for Naylor.  The Naylor thing might have been just to give him his debut, but why put on Jake – and play him in midfield – when we were losing the game?

Ultimately, though, it’s not really a surprise that a team which has been competing in this season’s Europa League and who had the finances to sign Peter Crouch last summer were able to beat the Rams.  If anything, the game was an opportunity for us to measure ourselves against Premier League standards and although Stoke actually had a bit of a mare for a period of the first half, physically, they were miles superior.  There are ways to beat them, but they must go down as one of the most difficult opponents in English football, as the likes of Liverpool, Spurs and Dinamo Kiev have also found this season.

So, no disgrace in a 2-0 defeat, but some chagrin over the standard of officiating, especially in the first half.

Transfers – Maguire, Green, Carroll

I had a feeling earlier in the month that Maguire might be let out on loan and was surprised when an approach by Hibernian was knocked back.  It may be that Clough and the staff would rather see the Scot stay in England for a run of games, figuring that a spell back in the SPL would be more of a step backwards in his development, but we shall see what happens before the deadline.

Clough stated after the Stoke game that he hoped to bring in a ‘certain someone’ on loan on Monday – the most likely name in the frame was Tottenham midfielder Tom Carroll.  Carroll is pint-sized, but reportedly extremely gifted technically, with great passing ability.  If that’s so, he’s very, very welcome at Derby as far as I’m concerned.

Clough gave the impression that he expected Paul Green to leave and as Carroll is a left-footer, he will not be a replacement for the Ireland cap on the right side of midfield.  We can only assume that Ben Davies, who hasn’t started in eight games or even had a kick in four games, will replace him.  Although Davies brings the potential for good delivery from set pieces, he is no more likely than Green to beat a man through pace or skill and also Green’s inferior in terms of stamina and defensive work.

So the team will be slightly weakened if Green departs and right midfield is certainly a position that needs to be addressed soon, either through the sort of ‘emergency’ loan with a view to permanent transfer that brought us Robinson, Ward and Fielding last year, or by summer at the latest.

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