The Rams endured two fruitless trips to London with defeats at Millwall and then Crystal Palace in a barren eight-day spell.

It’s been mixed fortunes for Derby County, with a controversial defeat at Millwall and another loss at Crystal Palace sandwiching the significant achievements of starlet Will Hughes.

He was thrust into the limelight as he made his England Under-21 debut as the second youngest player to feature for the young Lions.

After last Saturday’s game at the Den, a lot was said about the role of the officials in the Rams’ 0-2 defeat at Millwall. It left a bitter taste with players and staff. The Rams didn’t show too well in the game until the second half - and by then, the die was cast and the Lions had a grip on the game.

Derby’s attacking showing - as was the case at Peterborough in the previous away game - was lacklustre and ineffectual. Only one goal attempt (from Richard Keogh almost on half-time) was mustered in the first period and then Will Hughes’ blistering long-range equaliser early in the 2nd half brought false hope to the Ram’s travelling contingent.

Millwall had livewire attackers in Liam Feeney and Andy Keogh, who kept the Rams’ defence stretched. The Rams played only in spells, mainly during the 2nd half and it’s not enough to take points away from home at difficult venues like The Den.

Millwall’s opening goal early on from Feeney was offside - plain and simple - whether you were there or watched the replays. The ball reached Feeney after the assistant referee had flagged, it looked an elementary decision. Instead, the officials elected to debate the situation and referee Drysdale bafflingly awarded the goal.

The Rams always seemed up against some strange refereeing as well as robust London opponents. Andy Keogh struck to put Millwall ahead again 15 minutes from time and Derby couldn’t reply. A double dose of ‘capital punishment’ in a week, with the fruitless trip to Palace coming straight after, is quite enough for the time being.

Apart from the traditionally difficult opposition and fervent home crowd at the Den, the stewarding and policing left much to be desired according to the accounts of Rams fans, with undue delays between egress from the stadium or access to the rail station, for logistical reasons given by the Metropolitan Police. You can read I. Saw’s comments on that in his Millwall match report.

We know that the vultures - sorry, scouts from Premier League clubs - have been hovering at Derby County matches ever since Will Hughes staked an immediate claim for a first-team place with his tenacious and skilful performances for the Rams this season.

Who knows whether he’ll end up at Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester or Liverpool? Derby fans will be watching the situation closely, expecting to enjoy Hughes’ sparkling skills for the rest of this season at least.

Manager Clough declared recently at a forum I attended that Will would not be sold early merely to sit on the bench at a Premier League club.

Apart from the very large fee that would be required to prise Hughes from Derby, a season-long loan would be part of any transfer deal as far as Clough was concerned, so that Will could develop further and DCFC fans got to see as much of him as possible.

The two headlining starlets - Hughes and the £11m-rated Wilfried Zaha were of course in opposition a week ago when the Rams travelled to Selhurst Park to take on Championship leaders. Both players figured well in England Under-21’s 2-0 victory against the Irish Republic at Bloomfield Road.

Will is probably valued at a fair few ££ million too - even by Derby owners GSE - but when the boys faced each other Zaha enjoyed the happier afternoon, even if Derby kept him relatively quiet.

The Eagles dominated the first half and took the lead in 11 minutes with Glenn Murray scoring from a simple header from a ‘soft’ corner, with Derby’s defence failing to respond well enough. Derby’s defending in the air against a side studded with tall athletes was found wanting all afternoon.

The Rams tried to pick things up in the 2nd half but the Eagles moved 2-0 ahead before the hour mark when Murray struck home from 15 yards.

Rams’ defenders Jake Buxton and Richard Keogh never got to grips with Murray or winger Yannick Bolasie, and sprightly Brazilian midfielder Andre Moritz notched Palace’s third goal late on. The performances of keeper and defenders at Selhurst Park left much to be desired.

Derby’s goal attempts could almost be listed in invisible ink too, with Will Hughes forcing Palace ‘keeper Speroni into his first save after 80 minutes. The Rams weren’t in it and looked 2nd best, as the Eagles stayed in control throughout the game.

The home side were more inventive, sharper, more confident, powerful and dangerous. The game only confirmed Derby as a mid-table side, looking limited all over the park and being brushed aside by Palace’s strong, athletic squad.

Nigel Clough admitted that Palace “were too good for us”, which might stick in the craw given with fans, given that the Eagles have tended to be London also-rans, seemingly perpetually financially threatened and yo-yoing the table like a Ping-Pong ball on a fountain.

The official DCFC website bore the banner headline: “Beaten by the best” - and Palace certainly have the best form record in the Championship at the moment. As ever, time will tell whether the Eagles have the staying power to figure in the promotion showdown.

At 14 games unbeaten and now five wins on the trot, they have good momentum as well as recent injection of spirit and motivation from new manager Ian Holloway. The Rams look weak away from home recently.

Whilst there were been pleasing wins at Ipswich and Nothingham, the last three games - against the bottom side (Posh), a mid-table side Millwall) then the top side (Palace) have all resulted in defeats without scoring and a goal difference of 0-8.

Praising the performances, Mr Clough, isn’t really enough in the light of those hard facts. Positive home showings are being counteracted by mediocre away results and the team still needs more power and direction in midfield and attack.

Football went mad again this week with the sackings of managers who had only a short-term berth at clubs in the Premier League. Di Matteo was dismissed by Chelsea only 6 months after delivering the FA Cup and Champions League Trophy to owner Roman Abramovich, and Mark Hughes departed from struggling QPR.

At Derby, Nigel Clough has had several seasons, on restricted budgets, to clear out and rebuild and has had time to mould a team in his own design.

The key question for this season is whether GSE is willing to empower Clough to recruit better players who can perform consistently at the top level of the Championship in order to deliver a new chance for the club to re-join the elite.

Marking time in mid-table is stalling the club, who are now perennial if (comparatively) well-supported under-achievers.

Expectant fans have turned into disaffected supporters and the current apathy is reflected in declining gates. Over to you, Sam Rush...

Birmingham City, seemingly in the throes of a takeover for a year or more, haven’t yet shown up as well as expected this season - they were in the bottom 6 of the Championship table at start of play at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday evening.

Nigel Clough will look to his team to continue their good home form when the sides meet at PPS on Saturday, as the Rams continue to yo-yo around the Championship table.

Come on you Rams!

Photo: Action Images

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