Was last weeks performance a dead cat bounce? Or was it the start of the Clough revival?

Sheffield United v Derby County
Coca Cola Championship
Bramall Lane, Sheffield
Saturday 6th February 2010 - 3:00pm

The Blades:

Current League Position: 6/24
Leading Scorer: Henderson 11lg
Manager: Kevin Blackwell
Kit home: Red & white Striped shirts/Black shorts
Kit away: Sky Red & white shirts/White shorts
Last game: Watford 3-0 Sheffield Utd

Quotes from the manager:

Kevin Blackwell speaking to 'the Sheffield Star' following the 3-0 Mauling by Watford:

"I was surprised with our lack of fight, we set off well and I thought we were on our way to winning but then perhaps the boys took a little bit of a liberty."

"There were mitigating circumstances but the goals we conceded were 'gimmes' and winning games is all about clean sheets."

"We came here with a defence we thought was a good as anything in the division and then, for one  reason or another, ended-up with none of them."

"The lads have been terrific to me ever since I came here though so if I've got to take one of  these results every so often then so be it."

"It certainly doesn't make them easier to take though."

Current Blades Squad:

No - Position - Player
2 Midfield Ryan France
3 Defender Gary Naysmith
4 Midfield Nick Montgomery
5 Defender Chris Morgan (captain)
6 Defender Nyron Nosworthy (on loan from Sunderland)
7 Striker Darius Henderson
9 Striker Ched Evans
11 Midfield Mark Yeates
12 Midfield Lee Williamson
13 Keeper Ian Bennett
15 Midfield James Harper
16 Defender Andy Taylor
17 Striker Richard Cresswell
18 Striker Jamie Ward
19 Defender Jordan Stewart
20 Defender Marcel Seip (on loan from Plymouth Argyle)
23 Keeper Mark Bunn (on loan from Blackburn Rovers)
25 Midfield Glen Little
26 Defender Derek Geary
28 Midfield Stephen Quinn
30 Keeper Mihkel Aksalu
32 Defender Toni Kallio (on loan from Fulham)
33 Defender Jonathan Fortune
37 Striker Henri Camara
39 Striker Jordan Robertson (serving 32 month prison sentence)

— Keeper Paddy Kenny (suspended until April 2010)
— Defender Matthew Lowton
— Midfield Gary Speed
 

The Rams:

Quotes from the Captain, Robbie Savage in the DET after the Forest game:

"It wasn't just the result that was sweet, it was the way we absolutely dominated a team that  hadn't been beaten for 19 games, our desire and commitment was second to none and we totally, totally outplayed them."

"We were by far the better team and I think anyone who was at the game will admit that. I'm not  exaggerating, it could have been four or five nil."

Current Derby Squad:

No - Position - Player
1 Keeper Stephen Bywater
2 Defender Paul Connolly
3 Defender James McEveley
4 Midfield Paul Green
5 Defender Miles Addison (vice-captain)
6 Defender Dean Leacock
7 Midfield Lee Croft
8 Midfield Robbie Savage (captain)
9 Striker Rob Hulse
10 Midfield Kris Commons
11 Midfield Gary Teale
12 Striker Chris Porter
13 Keeper Saul Deeney
14 Defender Shaun Barker
16 Midfield Stephen Pearson
17 Defender Jake Buxton
18 Midfield Ben Pringle
19 Midfield Michael Tonge (on loan from Stoke City F.C.)
20 Striker Steve Davies
21 Defender Dean Moxey
22 Midfield Arnaud Mendy
23 Defender Mark O'Brien
24 Defender Nicky Hunt (on loan from Bolton Wanderers F.C.)
26 Midfield Lee Hendrie
27 Defender Russell Anderson
28 Defender Mitchell Hanson
33 Defender Mark Dudley
35 Striker Callum Ball
-- Defender Javan Vidal (on loan from Manchester City F.C)

What the Bookies think:

Home Win: 8/13
Draw: 12/5
Away win: 19/5
First Scorer: Richard Cresswell, Darius Henderson 9/2 Rob Hulse, Chris Porter, 8/1

Information for travelling fans:

Driving: its 35 miles to Sheffield. Best route is M1 North to J33 and take the A630 into Sheffield City Centre and then take the inner ring road (A621) towards Bakewell.

The ground is  about a 1/4 of a mile outside of the city centre on the A621 Bramall lane. I'd take the train and get a Tram to the ground personally as the traffic around the city centre can be an absolute pain. 

Parking: There's street parking to be had around the ground but you need to arrive early  otherwise you can end up parked miles from the ground and miss the kick off. An alternative is  to park at Meadowhall Shopping centre off J34 of the M1 and get a tram into the city and walk  from there.

Drinking: Footballgroundguide.com recommends the 'Royal Standard' on the A61 near McDonalds and about ten minutes walk away. To be honest, if you arrive by train you can drink anywhere in  Sheffield City Centre. Blades fans tend to be more welcoming that their Wednesday brethren in my experience.

Mick’s Prediction:

I went to last weeks game with much trepidation. I'd seen Forest on TV and I've had the  misfortune of watching more than a few recent horror shows at Pride Park so I feared the worse.

I needn't have been so worried. The real Derby County turned up and Forest folded like a pack of cards. We defended well, we got stuck in in midfield, Hulse held the ball up well and we looked  the team most likely to be challenging for the top - unlike Forest who didn't seem to be able to  cope with the pressure.

You have to ask the question though "If we can play like that against a good Forest side, why  did we struggle against teams like Scunthorpe, Doncaster, Plymouth etc...?"

I'm not saying we have a divine right to beat any of the above teams but the fact is we didn't  even compete with those teams.

The team showed that they can compete at this level. We have now got in more players and it  looks like we may get more loans in. The Sheffield United website describes us as struggling and every newspaper headline calls us 'cash-strapped'. Lets start by showing last weeks result  wasn't a fluke or a Forest off day.

Lets go to Sheffield with the same aggression and team spirit we showed last week. Otherwise, the Billy Davies' taunt about  points saving us from relegation might be considered 
valid.

Mick's Team:

Bywater, Hunt, Barker, Buxton, McEveley, Green, Savage, Tonge, Pearson, Commons, Hulse.

Subs: Vidal, Deeney, Teale, Pringle, Anderson,  Porter, Davies, Moxey

Score Prediction:

Sheffield Utd 1 - 1 Derby County

Photo: Action Images

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