Karl Fuller looks back at a Christmas week where one point from two home games really wasn’t what was needed

As sure as night follows day, a Derby County win at Portman Road always seems inevitable after Town won at Pride Park.

Following our recent win there, it being our seventh win in our last 10 games played, this was Derby’s sixth win in eight at Portman Road.

You might as well add it to the list of current wonders of the world as to why this keeps happening.

For this reason alone, I spent my entire Saturday morning wondering why I was bothering to go to the game.

I just felt the defeat was so inevitable but you know how it is, it’s the hope that keeps you going. And for the first 45 minutes, it really looked like men against boys and Derby should have been out of sight by the break.

At times, it was both embarrassing and painful to watch.

A worldie second goal put the result beyond doubt and I expected to see three or four goals against us.

So, it was somewhat of a surprise to see us show a bit of fight once we reduced the deficit through Joe Garner’s goal. But by then, it just seemed to be a case of too little too late.

Derby made it look like a cup game, where a side from a higher league were in town and basically did a job and always looked that class above.

In truth, given their financial spend over the last few seasons, they really should have that gulf in quality against the entire division, let alone Ipswich. If they don’t get promoted again this season with the squad at their disposal, they should feel very disappointed.

McCarthy: We were beaten by a better team

And so I came home disappointed and tried to explain myself to a partner who has no interest in football and found that I simply could not find the words to demonstrate my exact feelings.

Of course, it wasn’t about the Derby game alone, I still had the disappointment of the QPR game hanging over my mind.

One point from the two holiday home games was not what any of us wanted.

After writing recently that I felt that we were on track to becoming a better side and one justifying a challenge for a top-ten finish, I feel that these last two games have kicked us back to where we were at the end of last season.

The QPR game was simply awful.

I brought two people with me to the game that are not regulars and like many others who were no doubt making a rare appearance at a Town game they were not impressed with what they saw and won’t be back for a while.

I don’t blame them – some will label them as plastic fans and good riddance to them.

Whatever your thoughts are on that particular matter, it strongly indicates what sort of football we’re dishing up at present and it’s not good enough.

The only mitigating circumstance I can offer up is our cruel luck with injuries and the number in the midfield area that in particular is crippling us.

Six observations from the game on Saturday

To hear that Teddy Bishop joins Andre Dozzell and Emyr Huws as being out for the season is really upsetting for us all but of course more so for the players themselves.

It’s cruel on them and it’s cruel on those season ticket holders who go into the season pretty much knowing what they’ve shelled out for up front only to see so many of the players they were looking forward to supporting not there.

It remains to be seen how much Marcus Evans will spend in this latest transfer window but to have any chance of breaking into that top-six, we need reinforcements in midfield, we also need a couple of defenders and we might even need a new goalkeeper depending on what may happen with Bart

I suspect though that there will be little change of note.