Deflated, dejected and drained, Derby left The Den defeated again. Derby fans left The Den asking, “Where were the spirit and the defensive discipline that we saw at Sheffield United?” Fundamentals basics of defending were absent from the off.

Mo Fuseini sprints through the middle of the pitch following a Wrexham corner and finds Sam Szmodics. He might not have the same pace, but he oozes confidence as he connects with the pass across the inside-left, takes it around Zak Vyner to open up space and curls it into the top-left corner from 20 yards. Three weeks on the training ground brought a refreshed, better-drilled Rams side back to Pride Park. It is just a shame that Wrexham’s birthday boy Ollie Rathbone was int

After an extended international break, Mo Fuseini’s late equaliser at Burnley could easily feel like a lifetime ago for John Eustace. But instead, the exploits of the Union Saint Gilloise loanee, who has been away with Ghana, are still on his mind. Or rather, the reaction to it. During Thursday’s 25-minute pre-match press conference at Moor Farm, Eustace heaped praise on the Rams fans and suggested he could follow their requests to see the number 16 start against Wrexham.

Steve Bloomer’s watching and not even gravity can hold us down. Back at Pride Park for the first time since Turki Alalshikh’s takeover collapsed, David Clowes is determined not to let that do so either. A blame game surrounding what Derby County’s reluctant hero called “the ultimate bombshell” which left the club “stunned” and “dazed” will not happen – “it serves no purpose”. His message in the first programme of the season: it is business as usual, he will back “ultimate p

Friendly, what friendly? After a quick glance at the surroundings, it was easy to see why Bundesliga outfit SC Freiburg have adopted the Austrian town of Imst as their pre-season base for two decades. But neither they, nor Derby were there to relax. Among the idyllic coniferous trees and mountains, there was more than a fitting amount of needle. As Julian Schuster’s side took to the pitch for the first time since their Europa League final defeat in May, you wondered if Cr

The Rams got their pre-season started on a glorious evening in Derbyshire (Photo: Archie Brown). From Argentina to Alfreton. The Atlanta Stadium to the Solana. England may be out of the World Cup (who cares about the third-place play-off?) but Derby County are back. First half goals from Joe Ward and Bobby Clark saw Derby through, and fortunately, they didn’t unfurl a banner claiming ownership of the Amber Valley town. This was professional football at the other end of th

How do you sum up the past nine months in one article? It’s a near impossible job. So instead, let me take you back to the seven games, over five weeks (what’s a few days for the purpose of a headline?) that encompassed the lowest point, some of the highest points, and key themes of the men’s first team’s campaign. We must start, I’m afraid, at the Kassam Stadium. Derby County’s worst performance of the season. ‘Outplayed. Outbattled. Outclassed,’ I wrote, in my bluntest as

Southampton already know they’re off to Wembley, but Derby’s hopes of playing under the famous arch this season now hang by a thread. John Eustace has been keen to keep things in perspective, talking about the progress of his side – recently with a view to next season. But after defeat at St Mary’s, his frustration was palpable. “It’s too easy from the free kick, organisation [was] not good enough and we’ve got to improve on that,” he told BBC Radio Derby . Eustace was of

Match Report and Analysis as Derby County draw 2-2 at Ipswich Town in the EFL Championship following a last-gasp penalty.