BILL Shankly, a former Wanderer no less, once quipped: “Football is a simple game, complicated by idiots.”

Compared to the great Liverpool boss, one of the finest to tread a touchline, most of us fall into the ‘less educated’ category. What the Scot would have made of the media’s mass scrutiny of every second played this weekend would be a joy to hear. The sentiment of his statement rang true for Bolton, the team for which he turned out in the war years, as they stumbled to a second successive home defeat since their return to the Championship.

Derby County are indeed a team packed with thoroughbred footballers like Tom Huddlestone, Johnny Russell and David Nugent, whose two goals on the day ensured Gary Rowett’s side went home with the points.

The Rams were technically sound, tactically on-message, and surely destined for another tilt at Premier League football. Yet their victory at the Macron boiled down to two eminently straightforward goals which, in Phil Parkinson’s eyes, were very preventable.

Wanderers already have a mammoth task on their hands to survive in an increasingly wealthy division, they can ill-afford giving sides like Derby a two-goal head start. Nugent’s first goal stemmed from Josh Cullen getting too tight to Matej Vydra from a throw in, allowing the Czech to scamper into the penalty box and cut a low cross back for Nugent to pounce.

The second derived from some powderpuff defending on the Whites’ left, where not enough was done to halt the progress of Russell, whose cross again left Nugent with little work to do.

Derby celebrated both goals almost apologetically. Had they gone on to score four or five before half time there really could not have been any complaints from the Wanderers’ end.

Huddlestone strutted around midfield untouched, spraying one-touch passes left and right with not a care in the world.

Derby sat deep and dared Wanderers to find a way through – which they didn’t – and looked to attack in quick, punchy breaks – which they did. Disappointment in the crowd was audible. Sighs built up with increasing volume as Darren Pratley, Josh Cullen and Co continually turned back towards their defence, unable to pick their way through.

By contrast, when Derby looked to push on, Nugent, Vydra and Russell among others offered a totally different depth of creativity on and off the ball. The Whites would do well to take notes.

One flowing attack saw a ball played up to Nugent, who had come deep 40 yards from goal, and with one wonderful flick round the corner, Vydra was through on Mark Howard’s goal, only to slam his shot into the side netting.

Modern-day commentators tend to call it ‘playing between the lines’ but Shankly would probably have a view on such a phrase.

Wanderers’ success last season was based on a fairly straightforward plan to get the ball up to target man Gary Madine and play from there. Filipe Morais and Sammy Ameobi occasionally added some frills but alongside mechanical organisation from set-pieces and a fantastic attitude to work, there was no great complexity to how promotion was achieved.

Whether the formation was 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2 or 3-5-2, the Whites continued to play on their strengths – and that will be no different in the Championship.

Unusually, though, where Madine had performed so well against Leeds on the opening day, bombarded with long balls from the back, he was a virtual spectator for much of the game against Derby. Quite why Wanderers opted to play through midfield is unclear but aside from a few scampering runs from Morais on the right they made very little headway.

The absence of Ameobi through injury, and to an extent Josh Vela, has stymied Parkinson’s options in attack but after keeping faith with Adam Armstrong, he subbed the on-loan Newcastle United star at half time in favour of Adam Le Fondre’s experience and got marginal gains.

When Wanderers did go direct, Derby coped well enough. But the approach did at least lend a slight sense of uncertainty to proceedings, which had simply not been there in the first 45 minutes.

It took the arrival of Aaron Wilbraham as a second target man to hammer home what Parkinson wanted. And, sure enough, the former Bristol City man laid on a second goal of the season for Madine in stoppage time, alas too late to inspire a comeback.

With an air of inevitability, fingers began to point after the final whistle. Parkinson’s 3-5-2 system bore the brunt and one wonders whether he will change it for the visit of Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow night, just to freshen up his side’s approach.

Without putting it as bluntly as Shankly, defeat against Derby cannot be pinned entirely on a system.

Wanderers carved out two decent points with the same formation at Millwall and Birmingham but are expected to be more proactive at home.

Passive football did not sit well in the Dougie Freedman days and it does not here, either. Wanderers need to be braver if they are to meet this challenge head-on.

At the very least they need to do the simple stuff correctly. Let the complicated stuff take care of itself.