 Saturday, 12th Feb 2011 11:10 by Mick McDermott The TV Cameras come to Pride Park early Saturday evening but what will they see? Protests? Empty Seats? A Rams victory? One of those is unlikely; can you guess which it is?
Derby County vs. Leicester City5:20pm - Saturday 12th February 2010Pride Park - Derbyshire CountyDerby v Leicester - Historical P 47 W 29 D 7 L 11 F 85 A 47
Last game at Pride Park 30/1/2010 Derby 1-0 Leicester ; o.g. (a comical one at that)
Current Form Leicester 8/24 P 30 W 13 D 6 L 11 F 46 A 47 Leading scorers: King (12lg1cup)
Derby 17/24 Derby P 29 W 10 D 5 L 14 F 41 A 42 Leading scorers: Bueno, Cywka (4)
The Rams Clough is still in the market for two loan strikers. Speaking to the Derby Telegraph: "We are phoning clubs and trying to persuade them to let players out but there is a reluctance to do so." "Clubs are not going to let anybody out who is in the starting 11." "If they are on the bench, they are unlikely to let them out and so you are looking at players who are even further down the pecking order." "Although clubs have these big squads in the Premier League, there is not a lot of depth in the strikers." This is a far cry from his quote before the transfer window: "We can go to a Premier League club and say we are looking for a striker or wide player for six months and we will get a good quality player for that sort of time. We have already started making a few calls." Clough is likely to go with the same failed formation as last time. That's if his post match diatribe against Tomasz Cywka hasn't put him off playing. The fans are likely to protest against the board at this match - but is it the lack of investment by the board or Clough's intransigence? At the moment it's 50:50. Daniel Ayala signed yesterday on loan from Liverpool until the end of the season and is likely to only find a place on the bench.
Mick's Team Bywater Brayford, Barker, Leacock, Roberts Green, Addison Bueno, B.Davies, Cywka S.Davies Substitutes - Savage, Bailey, Pringle, Deeney, Ayala, Doyle, Porter
Current Derby Squad No. Position Player 1 Keeper Stephen Bywater 2 Defender John Brayford 3 Defender Gareth Roberts 4 Midfield Paul Green 5 Defender Shaun Barker (vice-captain) 6 Defender Dean Leacock 7 Striker Steve Davies 8 Midfield Robbie Savage 11 Midfield Stephen Pearson 12 Striker Chris Porter 13 Keeper Saul Deeney 14 Defender Russell Anderson 15 Midfield David Martin (On loan to Notts County) 16 Midfield James Bailey 17 Defender Jake Buxton 18 Midfield Ben Pringle 19 Striker Tomasz Cywka 20 Defender Miles Addison 23 Striker Conor Doyle 25 Defender Mark O'Brien 26 Striker Callum Ball 27 Striker Alberto Bueno (on loan from Real Valladolid) 28 Midfield Ben Davies 30 Keeper Ross Atkins 35 Midfield Jeff Hendrick 37 Midfield Ryan Connolly -- Defender Daniel Ayala
Leicester Whatever you think of Sven, he's turned Leicester around. They are now heading for the play-offs and Looking like promotion contenders. They have a new chairman and money seems to be flowing freely down at the theatre of crisps. Sven does not seem to have the same trouble finding strikers and loan players that we do. Ben Mee, Miguel Vitor, Patrick van Aanholt, Yakubu and Daniel Uchechi - these seem to be the quality players that Clough was alluding to last year. New Chairman Vichai Raksriaksorn on the club website: "I am both delighted and honoured to be named as Chairman of Leicester City." "Leicester City is a proud club, with a rich heritage. The primary reason for investing in Leicester City was not only because of my passion for football, but also my strong desire to revive and return the club to the Premier League." "Leicester City has a history of playing Premier League football and it is time for a new chapter to be created." It seems Leicester’s strategy is to throw money at the situation and get promoted that way. It's a stark contrast to the Rams way and so far it seems to be paying off. whether it just leads to another boom and bust cycle at the Walkers remains to be seen.
Current Foxes Squad No. Position Player 1 Keeper Chris Weale 2 Defender Robbie Neilson 3 Defender Aleksandar Tunchev 4 Defender Patrick van Aanholt (on loan from Chelsea) 5 Defender Miguel Vítor (on loan from Benfica) 6 Midfield Moreno 7 Striker Paul Gallagher 8 Midfield Matt Oakley (captain) 9 Striker Steve Howard 10 Midfield Andy King (vice-captain) 11 Midfield Lloyd Dyer 13 Keeper Conrad Logan 14 Striker Martyn Waghorn 15 Defender Bruno Berner 16 Defender Kyle Naughton (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 19 Midfield Richie Wellens 20 Defender Michael Lamey 22 Midfield Yuki Abe 23 Midfield Franck Moussa 24 Striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni (on loan from Everton) 25 Defender Jack Hobbs 26 Defender Tom Parkes 29 Midfield Liam Moore 30 Midfield Aman Verma 31 Striker Jeffrey Schlupp 33 Striker Leon Crncic 34 Defender Sol Bamba 35 Keeper Ricardo 36 Defender Ben Mee (on loan from Manchester City) 37 Striker Darius Vassell 41 Keeper Róbert Ambrusics – Striker Daniel Uchechi (on loan from FC Dender)
What the bookies think Leicester is favourites at 10/11 on while we are at 23/10. The draw is 12/5. Yakubu is favourite at 5/1 and Gallagher and Vassell are at 6/1. Steve Howard who will be on the bench is at 13/2 while our target Waghorn and Andy King are at 7/1 - Like Chris Porter. Leicester has four strikers that the bookies think are more likely to score than ours. At least Pringle and Davies have signed new contracts - 14/1 and 15/2 respectively.
Information for travelling fans Driving It’s a short hop from Leicester to Derby. Take the M1 North to J16 for Derby. Take the A500/A50 to Derby. Take the A6 turn-off for Derby and the ground and away parking are signposted. About 40 miles. Parking Away fans can 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 at the Fireplace showroom just at the turn off the A52 for Pride Park. Don’t be in a rush to leave however as it takes an age to get out of there. Another alternative is to pass the exit for Pride Park on Brian Clough Way 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. Drinking There are a 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 very good as well. If you are driving, the Navigation Pub on London Rd opposite the parking area is your best bet. Around the ground there's a Frankie & Bennie's, Harvester and the Pride Park but these tend to be very busy.
Mick's prediction You know what? I really don't care for this game at all. Apart from the late kick off time and the inevitable Sven media circus, I find the fact we are going into a home game against Leicester as underdogs thoroughly depressing and I can't see us getting anything other than a mauling with ex players like Oakley and Howard doing well. Derby 0 - 3 Leicester
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