Few thoughts from last night (slight killjoy alert at the end)

One of the most relaxing and enjoyable away days for a long time. From the moment we got the early goal it was never in doubt as Derby just wilted and the whole stadium knew we were going to smash them. They looked very, very poor and the result has to be viewed in that context but ultimately you still have to beat what's in front of you and we did that excellently.

1. Its clear we have way too much quality going forward for most of the sides in the lower half of the table if we avoid making a silly mistake at the back during the 90 minutes.

2. Maghoma getting a run in the team has made a big difference. he is a quality player and should have been starting all season.

3. Yongwa is a great little player. We know are in the strange position of having three top notch left backs although i think Yongwa may well play quite a bit wide left in midfield in games where we feel we cannot risk both Musaba and Brooks playing.

4. Well done to Field and Darling who were both very good. Field is growing back into the team. Great also for Wright to have a game where he was able to get onto the ball and dictate as Derby were just not putting us under any pressure in midfield.

5. He didn't score again but Kvist was once again probably MOTM for us. So many great flicks, flick on's and bits of link up play. He needs a better chant. Request to those who start these things these days please - Kvist and Shout - make it happen!

6. Grimshaw is a better, calmer option compared to Vlad. I am still not sure he's big enough and feel a more imposing keeper could be on the wish list for January but for now he's doing what we need him to do.

7. Stacey's best all round game for a long time.

8. Carlton Morris looks really overweight and unfit. I felt it was a shame he got some abuse from our fans given his links to the club and how fondly he has always been regarded. Thought that was unnecessary. That said he was being a bit of a tw*t with Field at the time.

9. The killjoy bit is despite the fact we defended balls into the box a lot better and individually i felt all our defenders played well, we still allowed a really, really poor side to create 3 or 4 situations or chances that a better team probably would have taken. I don;t know what it is but its still way too easy for a team to get in behind our defence down the channels with a single long pass or to get crosses into our box. The free header for the Grimshaw save just should not be happening. As much as I am enjoying the upturn in form and results (and we are really starting to tick going forward and you can see the confidence flowing back - we can score against anyone) I still have serious doubts about our ability to keep clean sheets or not concede multiple goals against the stronger sides. A fit Pelle back will probably help but for me this is something PC still needs to be looking at and working on. We have at last had a favourable run of fixtures and are taking advantage of them (Pompey aside) but we need to fix this before the harder games return again.

OTBC

Posted By: Jim on November 4th 2026 at 09:32:21

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