Ali Maxwell, an EFL analyst and host of the Not The Top 20 Podcast, was shocked by Derby County’s start to the 2026/27 season, calling their defensive figures ‘abhorrent’.

The Rams entered the new season full of hope and momentum. They finished eighth in the Championship in John Eustace’s first full season in charge, which would qualify them for the play-offs this time around.

They also spent much of the last day in the top six, but they have been a shell of their former selves in the early parts of this season.

They’ve only won once in a fixture list that includes Charlton Athletic, Cardiff City, and Portsmouth, as well as Lincoln City in the EFL Cup, all of whom the Rams outperformed last year or were in League One.

Ali Maxwell gives a disturbing conclusion on Derby County’s start to the 2026/27 season.

More concerning is the lack of defensive coherence, which is not often associated with John Eustace’s teams at all.

The Rams are near the bottom of the underlying figures in terms of shots faced, shots on target faced, and predicted goals created by the opposition.

Derby County’s defensive statistics after five league games this season.

Shots faced

93

Shots on target:

33

Expected goals by the opponent

10.87

Ground duels won.

41.0%

Goals conceded.

10

John Eustace has earned a name for himself at Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, and now Derby County as a manager who understands how to improve a weaker on-paper side built on strong defensive foundations, but that hasn’t always been the case.

During the most recent NTT20 Championship recap podcast, Ali Maxwell discussed their lacklustre start.”I can’t believe how poor Derby have been so far this season,” Maxwell admitted.Particularly defensively, 10 goals surrendered in five games, they’ve faced the most shots by a big way,

the most shoots on target, and the most xG generated; it’s simply not what I anticipate from a John Eustace squad.

“Even if he doesn’t have a good squad for the level, normally at least they’re very good defensively, but that’s not the case. Abhorrent defensive numbers and not great going forward either.”

How Derby County fans feel about their team’s sluggish start to the Championship season

Derby has had a bit of a turbulent summer. They had to improve the team while also ensuring that their loan players, who were undoubtedly the best in the Championship last season, stayed or were replaced.

Having the potential investment from Saudi Arabian government official Turki Alalshikh fall out at the last minute would not have helped in the transfer market, but some Rams fans are still anxious about the team’s performance on the pitch.

Some Derby fans are calling this a “big week,” with home games against West Brom and Birmingham on the horizon. Poor results in both could result in additional toxicity.

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“This is a critical week in the season for us. If we don’t win the next two home games, crowds will decrease and pressure will increase due to the money spent since January 25.” “Performances are required at 🏠 🐏,” one fan remarked on X.”I’m very confused with what John Eustace wants to do and how he wants to play,” another Rams fan stated after their defeat to West Ham United.

And, around the end of the summer window, FLW’s Derby fan pundit lambasted Eustace, claiming that the club will be “in for a long season” if they don’t start performing their duties correctly.

John Eustace has already turned a slow start around at Derby County, and he’ll want to do it again this year.

If there is one encouraging takeaway from this poor start, it is that Eustace is not unfamiliar with the Pride Park dugout. Last season, Derby won just one of their first ten Championship games.

Granted, the performances were a little more encouraging than they had been at this point this season, but it demonstrates that the Rams’ coach knows how to turn around a bad start.

The biggest source of anger internally is that Derby will expect to see proof of growth year after year, and with this terrible run of games, it appears that they have not progressed from a year ago.

Those in the stands at Pride Park will have wanted to be in the play-off conversation again this season, but they’re currently closer to the bottom than the top eight and don’t look like they’ll be moving up any time soon.

Eustace needs some positive results to turn this ship around, and a couple of victories over two strong openers in West Brom and Birmingham wouldn’t hurt.