LET there be no more doubt about it – The Numpties have had enough.

This was the moment all the anger that had manifested itself, mainly on the social media networks or the radio call-ins, made a leap into the real world.

It was ugly and in some cases overstepped the line but it was honest – the majority of Wanderers fans have spoken and they are demanding change. At present, it appears their calls are being resisted.

Memorably, perhaps playfully, described as “Numpties” by chairman Phil Gartside a couple of years back, the reactive minority have spoken up in pockets this last few weeks.

On this occasion, sparked by a performance that lacked passion, direction and in the most part tactical nous, it came together as one mass protest, dragging many of the undecided with them for the ride.

The only mixed message was just who should be made chiefly culpable for the club’s rapid decline – the manager, who is no stranger to this kind of torment, or the chairman, who has to this point escaped the direct verbal battering he got on Saturday afternoon.

Once again, only Freedman stepped up to plead his case.

The Whites boss admitted from the off he had made a mistake in trying to match up formations with Derby, or to “out-football them” to use his exact terminology.

It was a familiar trap. Too often his sides have been picked with one eye on the opposition, a risky strategy considering the diminishing quality of player at his disposal over the last 23 months.

That approach has also resulted in a team that lacks identity and arguably motivation. Can anyone sum up exactly how you would expect a Bolton side to play these days?

Even though it might not have seemed the case on Saturday, many still have sympathy with the Scot’s plight. It may be right to question just how the club were sold to him when he agreed to leave Crystal Palace and whether the true extent of the cost-cutting he has since undertaken was really outlined? By his own admission, this job was harder than he first thought.

Freedman is also being badly let down by some experienced players. Plucked from substitute’s benches elsewhere and offered a chance to represent this grand old club – they too should be feeling a pang of guilt as the abuse rained down from the terraces.

As the manager poured his heart out to the local press, Gartside remained upstairs in the director’s box as another band of supporters assembled outside the front doors of the Macron to voice their displeasure directly at him.

He appeared only briefly to briskly stride cross the main reception and head back up the stairs towards the Chairman’s Suite, where talks with owner Eddie Davies and board member Brett Warbuton continued late into the evening.

Quite where Davies – who has the ultimate say as the man who has bankrolled his beloved club – believes the tipping point exists remains to be seen, but it seems unlikely the trio got back home to watch X Factor.

Derby decided to switch managers in October 2013, a move that was viewed dimly by the football fraternity as the club were 14th in the table with 11 points from their first nine games.

Nigel Clough’s rebuilding paved the way for the side Steve McClaren will now surely take into the Premier League this season. One wonders whether something similar could happen at Bolton?

Nine years ago Coldplay performed on that very pitch to a packed out then-Reebok Stadium, and Chris Martin is still having a whale of a time in these parts.

This time is was the Derby striker helping himself to two goals and opening up a world of puns.

Wanderers might be hurtling towards Trouble at the Speed of Sound, now doesn’t really feel like the right time to make light of their situation.

The display at Chelsea in midweek hinted at a change in fortune and had it not been for a brilliant challenge by Richard Keogh early on, Joe Mason would have opened the scoring.

Andy Lonergan then carried on his fine recent form with a penalty save from Martin after Craig Bryson had charged into Kevin McNaughton and somehow earned a decision from referee Mark Brown.

That gave the Whites a bit of impetus and their pressing hassled a few mistakes from the Derby backline.

Mason went closest to a goal, forcing Lee Grant into a smart stop after turning Chung-Yong’s cross towards goal.

But the visitors gradually wrestled control, helped by ex-loan target Jordon Ibe, who was giving McNaughton a torrid time on his return to the side after illness.

And seven minutes before the break, Bryson fed full-back Cyrus Christie on the right and his excellent ball was turned in by Martin from close range. Wanderers then turned into their own worst enemy, over-playing in their own half or humping needless balls into the channels that simply served to exasperate the levels of frustration in the stadium.

Things did not improve after the break, either. Ibe should have scored after getting behind Dean Moxey, hitting his shot into the side netting.

Derby soon found a second as Mills and Owen Garvan made a hash of Lonergan’s short goal-kick and Bryson was able to square for Martin to slam home his second of the afternoon.

The game effectively became redundant from there on in.

Two fans ran on to the pitch, chased half-heartedly by stewards. The break gave a platform for the first loud strains of “Freedman Out” and “Gartside Out.”

Another person then interrupted play by getting on to the pitch, prompting another loud demonstration from three sides of the ground.

The chants had an oddly galvanising effect on the home fans, who for 10 minutes before the end were as loud as they had been all season.

That did not inspire the players, however, and Derby sub Johnny Russell should have made the scoreline a truer representation of the Rams’ dominance before the end.

Many fans were still calling for the manager and chairman to leave as they did, some gathering at the front of the stadium to prolong their dispute.

Unlike the morons who invaded the pitch – the people calling for change around the stadium were not keyboard warriors, militant youngsters, or necessarily those who had sampled one too many ales before coming into the ground.

They are the people who invest their money and their loyalty on a weekly basis and they deserve answers, if not action.