 Monday, 28th Apr 2008 09:16 Our expectations for the season started low and were revised downwards as soon as we played Arsenal at the Emirates. Derby County v Arsenal Arsenal have seen their expectations of success disappear over the last couple of months. Out of Europe, out of the running for the league title and despite being one of the Premiership's most exciting teams, too many key games lost to consider the season anything but a failure. Where did it all go wrong for Arsenal? In the game against us, we were simply swept aside by Arsene Wenger’s team. Emmanuel Adebayor scored a hat-trick and a more ruthless team might have scored even more. Arsenal play fast, free flowing football with crisp passing and clinical finishing. Many pundits thought that Arsenal would be challenging for silverware this season. Instead the wheels came off in spectacular style when they lost the Carling Cup Semi final by 5-1 against their north London rivals, Spurs. A 4-0 thrashing by Manchester United put paid to any FA Cup hopes and failure to beat Liverpool put paid to both any lingering Premiership and Champions League hopes as well. If you look at the table, the main difference between Arsenal and second placed Chelsea is the number of away wins. Chelsea have managed to grind out 12 wins compared to Arsenal’s 8 – and this is where Arsenal have fallen down this season. Draws at home to Birmingham and Spurs won't have helped. Spurs fans must be very pleased at the part they have played in the failure of their rivals. There isn’t much riding on this game. Arsenal are a comfortable four points in front of Liverpool and are unlikely to drop into the Champions League qualifying place, but Arsene Wenger is unlikely to take it easy on us. Even if he put out his reserves it’s hard to see them struggling overly. Current Arsenal Squad No. Position Player Last 5 games Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool Danger Men They are all danger men let's face it. Emmanuel Adebayor has already managed a hat-trick against us and has scored 27 goals this season in all competitions – that’s nearly twice as many as our entire team. At the Emirates we simply couldn’t deal with his pace or ability on the ball and to be honest we haven’t addressed that all season. Midfielders Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby will miss the remainder of the season through injury. Alexander Hleb has admitted a Football Association charge of violent conduct and will miss Arsenal's final three games of the season. Arsene Wenger told the BBC; “I've not made a decision yet about who will play in goal, but I will have a look at Lukasz Fabianski before the end of the season - and it could be on Monday. For me, he's class. He understands football, reads the game well and is quick. He is technically good with good co-ordination and has a good connection with the team.” The Rams From Alan Stubbs on the official site; “If anyone deserves anything from this season, it's the fans. We'd like to give them something to shout about. They have had to suffer more than anyone really. They have acted like proper football fans. They know that the team hasn't been good enough and they have tried to back them as well as they can.” Those are fine words and I’m sure that Stubbs means every one of them. They follow on from articles in the Derby Evening Telegraph by other players saying that they want to give their best for the fans and go out of the Premiership on a high. What’s worrying is that the fighting words only appear in the paper and on the pitch the team simply cave in at the first sign of trouble. Although the team played fairly well at West Ham, it wasn’t a convincing performance and some players still look to be only going through the motions. On the back of the 6-0 humiliation by Villa it still looked good but it was hardly green shoots of recovery material. If Stubbs or the players read this, then this is what we want from the team; 100% effort from the first to final whistle. That’s it. We don’t demand victory or goals – just effort. Give that and our support is assured. Mick’s team: Carroll, Edworthy, Moore, Leacock, McEveley, Ghaly, Savage, Jones, Lewis, Earnshaw, Miller. What the bookies think You can get 11/1 on a home victory. 11/1. That has to be worth a flutter? You can only get 1/4 on an Arsenal victory. Information for traveling fans Drinking: There are very few pubs very close to the ground but if you come by train, the locale around the station is fairly inviting. The Crown and Cushion at the junction of London Rd always seems to be full of away supporters. The Brunswick is a must for any real ale fans and the Alexandra next door is my personal favourite. Fans tend to mingle in these pubs and as long as you’re not being aggressive, the atmosphere is good. The Waterfall opposite the station is okay as well. If you are driving, the Navigation Pub on London Rd opposite the parking area is your best bet. Driving: The route to Derby from London is straightforward. Take the M1 north until J25 then take the A52 Brian Clough Way into Derby. Either take the A6 ring road to London Rd and uses the parking area’s below, or stay on the A52 for the parking areas at the Cattle Market (below). Parking: It used to be at the old Wilmorten College site however that is now a building site so away fans should park at Catalyst on London Rd opposite the Navigation pub. It’s about 10-15 minutes from the ground. Don’t be tempted to park at Pride Park shopping centre unless you fancy being clamped. You can also park for a £5 at the hospital further up London Rd near the hospital and the Railway station. Another alternative is to take the Derby Ring road towards the City Centre and pass the exit for Pride Park on Brian Clough Way (A52) and head for Pentagon Island. Take the first exit and turn left and after a few hundred yards you will come to The Cattle Market Car Park. It’s about 10 minutes walk to the ground from here. Mick’s Prediction Whenever anyone says they have a ‘feeling’ about a game I inwardly groan. Before the Villa game, someone told me they had a feeling we were due something form a game. Cue the worst ever defeat at Pride Park. I have a bit of a feeling about this game so given that I’m usually wrong and my predictions come true in horribly ironic ways, I’ll say 1-0 to the Rams. One good omen – our only win came on a Monday night in front of the Sentanta cameras.
Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Derby County Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
