Out with old and in with the new as they say; or in Derby's case out with the unwanted and in with nobody at all. Last summers very expensive outlay means that Mel Morris hasn't had to spend a penny this summer. Whether that be for financial reasons or footballing reasons remains to be seen. Jake Buxton will surely be given a very warm reception on his return to the iPro with Wigan later in the season, whilst we'll be lucky to ever see or hear from Raul Albentosa again!
Brighton were Derby's first opponents this season. I thought Brighton were very unlucky not to go up last season and finishing 11 points ahead of us was certainly no fluke. The addition of Oliver Norwood from Reading was an astute piece of business from Chris Hughton that adds a little bit of depth to their central midfield. For the match today, midfield maestro Dale Stephens was suspended whilst Bruno Salter was shifted to centre back to accommodate for an injury to Connor Goldson.
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| Derby's Starting XI against Brighton |
Derby started the first half brightly seemingly intent to disprove my misgivings, passing the ball about with verve and vigour. Tom Ince was particularly influential in the early moments making runs from deep and stretching the Brighton back four. Several chances came and flashed past untaken; Darren Bent put a Cyrus Christie cross over the bar, whilst Ince contrived to fire straight at David Stockdale when it was easier to score.
Then after about 20 minutes Brighton clicked into gear and slammed on the Derby brakes. No space was to be found behind the compact midfield and Derby were left passing it around their back four. Suddenly it was exactly like the start of last season under Paul Clement; slow, laboured passing with a lack of composure in the middle, leaving the forward players isolated.
Going forward for Brighton the big figure of Glenn Murray was a handful for Richard Keogh all day long whilst the wingers Jiri Skalak and Anthony Knockaert were constantly threatening. Several very good chances came and went for Brighton with a combination of saves from Scott Carson and brave blocks from Jason Shackell and Craig Bryson keeping the Seagulls at bay.
It became a question of when Pearson would change it, not if he would change it. Finally in came Hughes for the beleaguered Bradley Johnson, who poor as he was didn't deserve the cheers that greeted his withdrawal. A change in formation too, switching to 4-3-2-1, and although things improved a little Derby lacked the width at full back to make it work. Still, we became a little more solid as a result, with Hughes adding some bite to the midfield that Johnson simply wasn't.
Martin and Butterfield later joined the fray, but apart from a couple of long range shots, little changed. I was amused and alarmed in equal measure to see Pearson order Martin out wide, completely failing to understand what has made him so successful at this club since his arrival and ignoring an actual wide player in Johnny Russell on the bench. Even so, right at the death Bent had the chance to head home a late winner from Christie's cross, but Stockdale was out quickly to smother the shot. A goal would have been incredibly harsh on Brighton who more than deserved their point and in all honesty probably should have gone home with all three.
View on the Opposition
- Chris Hughton's team showed that they will be right up there at the top of the league again this season. I was particularly impressed by Murray, Skalak and Beram Kayal. They played us off the park with their regular right back playing at centre back and their best midfielder (in my opinion) suspended. It was the perfect away performance and the quality of their set pieces suggests that even if they do get outplayed occasionally this season then they can still be a goal threat.
- I would go so far as to suggest that barring any injury plagues then Brighton may well go up as champions or push Newcastle all the way for the title this season. But as Derby fans, we all know it isn't that simple.
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| Craig Bryson chases down the ball against Brighton (@dcfcofficial) |
- I know it's early days in the Pearson era and you can't take too much from these early season matches, but this was still a worrying performance from the players and the manager. A combination of Johnson and Baird on the Derby left created a perfect storm of conditions, the result being a vacuum of footballing ability. There was no point even attempting to go down the left hand side, there was no threat.
- All pre-season Pearson has been talking about pace and how he wants his teams to play fast and be 100% committed to the cause. Now, Johnson may be the latter, but he certainly isn't the former and he lacks the technique required to make up for that on the wing. Johnny Russell on the bench is both those things and even later in the match when we were crying out for width Pearson ignored him.
- Nick Blackman, Ince and Bent played well in the first half, but their influence wained as Derby became starved of the ball. I was impressed with Blackman's direct running. He could do with improving his crossing a bit, but I can see him becoming an important player for us this season.
- The midfield two of Hendrick and Bryson dropped too deep looking for the ball, leaving Ince and Bent isolated up front. This is where we really missed Hughes or George Thorne; a player in the middle of the park who can stamp their authority on game and carry/move the ball forward either through skill, sheer physicality or a mixture of both. Hendrick and Bryson for all their good points simply can't do that.
On to Grimsby in the cup. It'll be interesting to see what changes Pearson makes; does he tell the same team to go out and prove that they deserve to start on Saturday, or does he play some of the subs and tell them that there are places up for grabs?
