Derby County fans have made their thoughts on the team’s uninspiring 1-1 draw with Reading clear by taking to social media outlet Twitter.
Derby County Manager Nigel Pearson was suspended by the club this week
We tracked the evolving real-time reactions as The Rams faithful experienced a far from entertaining display from either team at Reading’s Madejeski – including a dire first half, the manager’s seat, conceding a late equaliser and reflection on the recent running of the club.
Despite the cloud hanging over the suspension of manager Nigel Pearson, the travelling Derby fans finally found some sunshine at Reading’s Madejski Stadium amid a sense of optimism and belief in the strength on the pitch and sat on the bench.
However, after the initial stages of the game had settled, Derby County fan and Chief Football Writer for the Derby Telegraph, Steve Nicholson, seemed less optimistic and more realistic as Reading started to control the game.
Mid-way through the first half Derby’s progress was announced in a tweet that highlighted the excitement towards the game amongst supporters – with some adopting a more candid approach than others.
Further, as the first half dragged to a close it was the Derby County players’ performances that was a topic of expression on Twitter; and it wasn’t long before the focus switched to the uncertainty and speculation regarding the suspended manager Nigel Pearson.
Despite being tipped as a suitable candidate to replace Pearson, interim manager Chris Powell started to feel the wrath of Twitter as the second half commenced.
A picture really is worth a thousand words – or in this case 140 characters – and Twitter provided us all with an image of Reading manager Jaap Stam which summed up this Championship encounter as the clock ticked towards the 60 minute mark.
It took over an hour for anything of note to occur in the game, but when it did, in the 62nd minute, the Derby County fans had much to cheer about. A free-kick from Cyrus Christie on the left-hand side was fired in towards goal, took a deflection and was converted by former Reading forward Matěj Vydra. Derby fans reacted jubilantly on Twitter.
Matej Vydra of Derby County
At this point, unsurprisingly, Derby fans were 100% behind the man who made close to 100 appearances for The Rams in the 1990s and has temporarily taken over from Nigel Pearson in the dug-out.
In the closing stages of the match, and as fans on Twitter turned to prayer, Derby experienced ten minutes of pressure from the home side.
But then…
Yes, Reading score through a 90th minute George Evans attempt to continue a recent trend of conceding late goals. This led to Derby fans returning to the issue of their ownership and a story that will surely run for significantly longer than this game will live in the memory of either Reading or Derby County fans.
On reflection, Derby fans on Twitter mixed a somewhat melancholic feel with a hope for optimism moving forwards. Only time will tell if the club can begin to make positive steps both on and off the pitch, or if the apparent chaos at board level may distract from the fan’s main priority, results and progress in the Championship.
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