Rams the season in focus

Derby County are in dire danger of relegation if the present run of form persists. Nigel Clough says he is at a loss to explain what has gone so wrong with the team since the purple patch of October and November but where have the points come from so far. We take a look at who the Rams have beaten, and drawn against.

Derby County have completed only one double this season and unsurprisingly it has been against bottom side Preston North End. The 3-0 home win and 2-1 away victory being the only double joy for Derby County fans.

With more chances of a double or four points in the coming weeks of the season but there are only two four points so far this season. Portsmouth were in dire trouble earlier in the season and the Rams won 2-0 at home in November and a creditable 1-1 draw this month at Fratton Park. Portsmouth currently occupy 15^th place in the league. The only other side the Rams have taken points off home and away is Scunthorpe United who are currently in a lowly 22 spot in the Championship.

Derby have had some notable victories during the season, although some may have forgotten them as the poor run continues. However Derby did beat Leeds United on the first day of the season. The Yorkshire side now sit in a very good 6^th place. Watford and Ipswich have also tasted defeat against the Rams and now occupy 12^th and 13^th place respectively. The only other victories have been over teams now in 18^th, 20^th and 21^st place in the league, these teams being Doncaster, Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace.

So Derby Haven’t beaten anyone higher than 6^th in the league and that on the opening day of the season. One win against a top half team doesn’t bode well for the relegation battle the Rams are now being sucked into.

Reasons to be cheerful, yes there have been those games, although long forgotten now by most Rams fans. Well we have taken a point away from the current league leaders and promotion favourites Queens Park Rangers. The point being a 2-2 draw at Pride Park. Having to play the same team away there seems little hope of any further points.

A possible better performance was the scoreless draw against Swansea away. Again this point was during the good run of results in October.

Millwall who are currently in 11^th Place was the third team to draw against the Rams, this at home in January. Derby were however beaten during a decent run in October 2-0 by the Lions.

Barnsley are the only other side that Derby have taken a point from. They now sit in 14^th Place in the Championship. The 1-1 draw in September does hold out some chance of points when the Tykes come to Pride Park...

The full seasons results so far are:

Team analysis    Derby County

Pos Opposing Team Home Record Away Record Total Points Date Score Date Score   1 Queens Park Rangers 28 Aug D 2-2 - - 1 2 Swansea City - - 2 Oct D 0-0 1 3 Cardiff City 14 Aug L 1-2 - - 0 4 Nottingham Forest 22 Jan L 0-1 29 Dec L 2-5 0 5 Norwich City 4 Dec L 1-2 - - 0 6 Leeds United - - 7 Aug W 2-1 3 7 Leicester City 12 Feb L 0-2 13 Nov L 0-2 0 8 Hull City 22 Feb L 0-1 14 Sep L 0-2 0 9 Reading 18 Dec L 1-2 - - 0 10 Burnley - - 27 Nov L 1-2 0 11 Millwall 3 Jan D 0-0 23 Oct L 0-2 1 12 Watford 30 Oct W 4-1 15 Jan L 0-3 3 13 Ipswich Town 1 Feb L 1-2 9 Nov W 2-0 3 14 Barnsley - - 18 Sep D 1-1 1 15 Portsmouth 6 Nov W 2-0 5 Feb D 1-1 4 16 Coventry City - - 21 Aug L 1-2 0 17 Bristol City - - 11 Dec L 0-2 0 18 Doncaster Rovers - - 19 Oct W 3-2 3 20 Middlesbrough 28 Sep W 3-1 - - 3 21 Crystal Palace 25 Sep W 5-0 - - 3 22 Scunthorpe United 20 Nov W 3-2 19 Feb D 0-0 4 23 Sheffield United 11 Sep L 0-1 - - 0 24 Preston North End 16 Oct W 3-0 1 Jan W 2-1 6

Npower Championship analysis for 2010/2011   Matches played: 389/163 Home wins: 175 Away wins: 110 Score draws: 75 No-score draws: 29 Highest aggregate: 10 Leeds Utd. 4 Preston N.E. 6 Highest team score: 6 Portsmouth 6 Leicester City 1 Doncaster Rvs. 0 Ipswich Town 6 Leeds Utd. 4 Preston N.E. 6 Millwall 1 Watford 6