What makes Derby better on the road?

4 days ago 2

After coming through the ever-chaotic Christmas schedule, the Championship table has started to take its true shape.

For Derby this means sitting comfortably in 13th position, 11 points off the bottom three, with much less to be worried about than this time last season.

The Rams have won the same amount of games as they have lost so far in this campaign and also have an underwhelming goal difference of zero.

However, despite that, it is better than the two sides who currently sit directly above them in the table, with Leicester and QPR standing on -1.

Squad depth and injuries have definitely played a part in Derby's unsettled form, and the Rams' current league position is probably an accurate reflection of the performances we have seen.

One thing I feel has contributed to the form, aside from personnel, is Derby's style of play.

Honestly, I am a fan of John Eustace. I can understand we do not produce the most thrilling displays, but with the squad we have I think the coaching staff are tactically limited with what they can achieve, and we do not have many options to play differently.

The position we find ourselves in is actually fairly impressive to me considering we have limited resources and lost our talisman to injury just over a third of the way through the season.

One thing we have seen the Rams prove this season, is they are a much better 'sit in and play on the break' side, than they are a 'dictate play and take the game to the opposition' team.

This makes them a better away outfit than at home. A point backed-up further by Derby currently having the lowest average possession stats in the whole division, with just 41.9%.

Looking at the home form table compared to the away form table for this season so far Derby rank 20th inside their own stadium, compared to fifth when on our travels.

The best recent example of us benefiting from playing to our strengths on the road came against Birmingham City.

Looking at the goal that was scored by Patrick Agyemang - Derby won the ball back in their own half and instantly launched a forward ball for the pace of Rhian Brewster to run onto. We all know what happened after that.

That is what Derby have been about this season, turning over quickly, breaking, looking to hit the wide areas in behind, and capitalising on their opponents' errors.

Why is this more effective away from home?

Teams tend to be much more aggressive at home than they are away, which presents Derby with many more opportunities to play on the break.

I cannot say it is the most impressive way of playing, but it suits the personnel we have available to us, and it is effective enough to keep us out of danger.

The Rams at the moment are in a transition period and are clearly building for stability, looking to push on next season when we can have an overhaul of the playing staff in the summer and finally have realistic ambitions for the Championship top six again.

For now, it is about accepting our level and knowing we will remain stable which is what we have all cried out for since 2021.

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