“Derby County from the Championship versus Stoke City from the Premiership. The F.A. Cup, the stuff of giant killing heroics, a cup run to fill the coffers, visions of reaching Wembley, the hallowed turf…”.

the sound of a gramophone needle being dragged across the record before the arm lifts and returns everything to stop.

You have to believe.

You have to go for it.

Team Clough didn’t.

He set up 4-5-1 going for a clean sheet working on nicking something on the break.

After four minutes the master plan of master tactician Clough unveiled. Stoke City had a corner. Team Clough had three, yes count them again, not one, nor two but three players on the half way line.

All poised for that elusive break which would surely justify the cerebral ones plans.

Now not being a mind reader but having watched a little football it was a strategy most teams don’t adopt if for no other reason than it leaves you rather short to defend the corner.

Stoke took the corner short and scored. Right past the man on the post who wasn’t there because he was in the centre circle.

A brilliant start and one that left Clough fuming afterward about it being offside, indeed it was offside but the naivety of the plan was staggeringly absurd.

And yes the officials were poor in a “big decisions go for the big club way” whilst giving the Rams the dregs to even matters out. Jamie Ward fouled outside the box by Andy Wilkinson before the same Stoke player got away with handball again outside the box.

But Derby never really had a serious shot on target. Needing two goals Team Clough refused to bring on another striker until there was twenty minutes left and it was Nathan, “Sore Throat, bad groin, cold” Tyson who joined the fray.

Stoke scored again and with the Rams needing three Team Clough brought on defender Jake Buxton and then finally another defender Tom Naylor perhaps to secure our deserved defeat.

Team Clough left Chris Maguire (six goals in the last four reserve matches) on the bench as he doesn’t control the ball correctly or some such slight.

Team Clough gave away Tomasz Cywka (a prolific scorer, also for the reserves) to Reading, Tomasz's crime was giving the ball away at the wrong time and Team Clough recruited Ryan Noble from Sunderland without first checking if he would be allowed to play in the cup (he wasn’t).

There was also no place on the bench for young striking starlet Mason Bennett; Conor Doyle instead got the nod.  And Clough confirmed afterwards it wasn’t a game for Steve Davies, nor presumably namesake Ben a sometimes creative midfielder.

I don’t mind losing. Honestly! I don’t mind us having the occasional poor game. You come to expect it especially over the decades as a Derby fan. Yesterday we played well you couldn’t ask any more from those on the pitch they gave their all.

The decisions of Team Clough though were an insult to every one of the 16,678 Derby fans.

We came expecting to see ambition, to see desire, what we got was a timid manager who even at the end hadn’t got the balls to risk trying to win a game.

Not got the balls to bring on a player who has scored 6 out of 4 because he doesn’t do things the way you like.

Not got the balls to play a youngster in an important match (have you forgotten Stevie Powell)?

Not got the balls to even bring on a midfielder but rather two defenders.

No ******* Ball’s Nigel.

To borrow words from your father Nigel “You’re a Bloody Disgrace”.

Now be a good chap and hand in your resignation will you.

Did you see the Rams Cup loss how I.Saw saw it?

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Rabbram10 added 16:22 - Jan 29 Would have to agree with that assessment! Starting the match with 5 midfielders in a boring 4 5 1 formation, played straight into a Stokes hands, match over after 5 minutes! We did miss Theo, I think???!!!
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whestonram added 17:58 - Jan 29 How incredibly harsh. We didn't have two fit strikers, so how could we have played 2 up (as Maguire clearly isn't going to play). We more than matched Stoke for a good half of the game - the 2nd part of the first half, and most of the second, till they scored. I think the team, and Clough, did their best but it wasn't quite good enough. I don't see the need for such a negative write up - to be honest, you should be ashamed of yourself.

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I_Saw added 18:05 - Jan 29 Clough not playing Maguire was part of the problem. Those who played gave their all, we should all be proud of them. Clough and his tactics were the problem. How can you defend his substitutions? What more can you ask of a striker six goals in four games and he still isn't chosen when you need a goal. Clough out!!!
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colin263 added 18:27 - Jan 29 Very very harsh. I do think Clough cold be a little more adventurous at times, but not against a team the size of Stoke.
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I_Saw added 18:44 - Jan 29 We, I think, all agree the Rams played incredibly well against Stoke. My quarrel is that Clough signed Maguire, Maguire scores goals, we trail in a cup match when to win we need to score more goals than the opposition and our manager gives up. He brings on two defenders and effectively conceeds the game. Maguire, Ben Davies or Masson Bennett would have at least given us a chance. Clough gave up, I won't give up I've supported the team home and away since the sixties. I can live with us losing I would rather we lose 5-0 rather than bring two defenders on in a game we need to at least try to win.

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zhabba added 11:07 - Jan 30 Maguire hasn't looked the part at all in the limited time he's played in the first team. I agree that it would have been better to give him some game time than bringing Buxton on, but I doubt it would have made any difference to the result. In my view the problem was that we didn't give the ball to Ward at all in the 2nd half. Stoke had four players on a yellow, all defensive, so we should have just run at them. But for some reason we seemed to want to try and go down the right, and never looked like creating anything. For the last 20-odd minutes of the 1st half, Ward was really giving them problems, and we just stopped doing it. It wasn't Clough's best game in terms of tactics, but I can't see any reason to start with the Clough-out stuff.

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Ramtastic4 added 13:54 - Jan 30 what i dont like about clough is that he doesnt get the team going all he does is sit there doing nothing CLOUGH OUT!.
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