Derby

[Eeyore]

Second Division Play-Off results:

Winners:
3rd: 9 times
4th: 4 times
5th: 6 times
6th: 5 times

 

[timco]

It is a cup competition now and Oscar seems to do well in Cups.

We are the underdog the last time this happened was 1990/1 we beat Millwall 4-1 at home and 2-1 away I hope in this respect history repeats itself again However I would like history to Foxtrot Oscar for the final

 

[OzMike]

It does seem strange that some would rather play a team the did the double over us, than the others that didn't?
It doesn't matter really, because that is just how it ended up, so needs no justification.
We should just concentrate on the job in hand and be careful about all the bigging up, remember last season?

 

[Baldseagull]

I am just happy to be in it, would prefer to be home for the second leg but Derby is the side I would have wanted to be playing most, QPR the least.

 

[OzMike]

It does seem strange that some would rather play a team the did that double over us, than the others that didn't?
It doesn't matter really, because that is just how it ended up, so needs no justification.
We should just concentrate on the job in hand and be careful about all the bigging up, remember last season?

Corrected.

 

[perseus]

I thought that the play-off might be too much for us, but as we have got something more like our full team available, I saw Derby as the easy option over the two legs and anything can happen in a one-off final.

If we can't beat Derby we do not deserve to go up. I was a bit worried about Wisdom overlapping runs, but the Derby team does not seem to have the match winners that QPR have got. So the best bet for us if Wigan beat QPR in the other match.

Albion and Derby are evenly matched but we have got the more pacey dangerous players. Derby seem to be more workmanlike. Two close games with a piece of brilliance or a mistake making the difference.

PS: I did not expect us to make the play-offs and I went out and bought a flat screen TV with the dish set aside for it.

 

[Icy Gull]

If we get strong refs we stand a chance. There was lots of niggly stuff that wasn't picked up on when Derby played down here. There should be zero tolerance on shirt pulls and little fouls.

I'll settle for zero tolerance of a two handed "save" by a defender in the box being ignored by the ref.

Strangely I feel quite confident that we can beat Derby, I won't feel the same for the next match should we beat them as I'm not at all confident that we could beat QPR or Wigan at Wembley.

 

[jackanada]

Second Division Play-Off results:

Winners:
3rd: 9 times
4th: 4 times
5th: 6 times
6th: 5 times

Sample size is only 24. While I would expect the bias towards 3rd to be maintained no conclusions can be drawn.
Mathed.

 

[Machiavelli]

We got 0 points off you this season, but against the other sides in the top six, we got:
Leicester -- 6
Burnley -- 4
QPR -- 4
Wigan -- 3
I don't think we were that bad against you at our place. D'Urso should have given us one of the most blatant penalties and, if we'd have scored that, we'd have been 2-0 up, and the outcome might have been very different. At your gaff, it was a turgid game, and we got punished by one piece of brilliance by Bamford.
I'm of the view that it's all in the balance, and don't see you as clear favourites. There's something that I noticed about Derby over the past two seasons, that I think will be wise to keep to myself for just over a week. Willing to share it thereafter

 

[BensGrandad]

Think the ultimate winners will be QPR as I am sure they have the experience which will see them through at Wembley especially with Remy back up front. Hope that we are their opponents at Wembley I see no reason why we shouldnt be.

 

[TSB]

I'm happy to be playing Derby because, unlike last year, it won't ruin my summer if they win. Losing out to the melted bulldog would be fairly galling and Wigan's 12 fans and goal music irritate me...so I'll cheer on Derby in the final if they beat us.
But I don't think they will. This is new territory for most of their young guns and we are a year older and a year wiser.

 

[SomeDerbyFan]

If we can't beat Derby we do not deserve to go up. I was a bit worried about Wisdom overlapping runs, but the Derby team does not seem to have the match winners that QPR have got. So the best bet for us if Wigan beat QPR in the other match.

Albion and Derby are evenly matched but we have got the more pacey dangerous players. Derby seem to be more workmanlike..

Two statements that make me think you misunderstand Derby.

Wisdom attacking wise is poor for a RB. Defensively, he's outstanding and obviously a CB judging by his immovable strength, hut his overlapping runs aren't anything special. Forsyth on the other hand has developed into an excellent overlapping LB who's torn some teams apart (Watford the other week for example); he's the one you should be worrying you. Wisdom can and will limit most left wingers (Lloyd Dyer being the exception, who's pace just did him despite him the fact he'd neutralized Hoilett previously)

Also, we have a passing team. You need only look at our stats (whoscored.com) to see that we've got quality on the ball.

Brighton Style
Possession football
Short passes
Attempt through balls often
Play with width
Playing in their own half
Opponents play aggressively against them

Derby Style
Possession football
Control the game in the opposition's half
Attacking down the left
Short passes
Opponents play aggressively against them
Consistent first eleven

We're very close in style and have collection of skilful players; Hughes, Lingard, Buckley, Ward, Lua-Lua and Dawkins.

 

[Meade's Ball]

Sometimes difficult to do on anxious big money occasions, but we have to go out and attack. Away at Derby we had Ulloa battered all on his lonesome, so support needs to be there for him to take on just one defender in the air rather than both their skilled behemoths. Derby didn't stun me, but they looked fairly levelheaded, and my only hope is that they'll crack a little by being over-presumptuous whilst we have the momentum of a last minute victory to take us on. New signing CMS might alter things also. Him heavy breathing down the back of a defender's mid-spinal vertebrae constantly might unsettle them a tad. No one likes the feel of an excited pervert on their backs (which is what i imagine he sounds like rather than is).

 

[clippedgull]

Too much over analysis on these two games.

Both teams are capable of beating each other. Both previous games have been tight affairs.

I don't fear Derby, and I'm sure they don't fear us.

Home advantage needs to be taken care of, because I'm sure Derby will throw everything including the kitchen sink at us up there.

 

[MissGull]

We've got the defense, the rams have the goals. It's a question for science.

 

[Giraffe]

I thought our game at Pride Park was one of the most boring games of the season, with just one bit of quality from your goalscorer.

Both teams play in a similar way and then and likely now we cancelled each other out.

I really like the fact we are underdogs. I also really like the fact we are playing at home first. I fully expect this to be very tight. 0-0, 1-0 either way or 1-1.

We will then approach the second leg as we have done virtually every other away match by hanging on in the first half and then trying to win it in the last 30 minutes. This has worked very well for us, and with your crowd getting frustrated I think it could play into our hands.

But we are still MASSIVE underdogs.

 

[TonyW]

I thought our game at Pride Park was one of the most boring games of the season, with just one bit of quality from your goalscorer.

Both teams play in a similar way and then and likely now we cancelled each other out.

I really like the fact we are underdogs. I also really like the fact we are playing at home first. I fully expect this to be very tight. 0-0, 1-0 either way or 1-1.

We will then approach the second leg as we have done virtually every other away match by hanging on in the first half and then trying to win it in the last 30 minutes. This has worked very well for us, and with your crowd getting frustrated I think it could play into our hands.

But we are still MASSIVE underdogs.

How the Hell are we massive underdogs.
We have a better squad, play better football, and can actually defend.

Bloody bookies.

 

[The Wizard]

We are underdogs, sometimes that's a good thing.

 

[Frutos]

Form and previous results mean absolutely nada when it comes to the play-offs, as we learnt last year.

Are we favourites to beat Derby? Probably not.

Are we going to beat Derby? You know what, I just have a sneaking feeling....

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Sample size is only 24. While I would expect the bias towards 3rd to be maintained no conclusions can be drawn.
Mathed.

Sample size is fine, with 13 above 5th & 11 below 4th you CAN conclude that final position is statistically irrelevant...