"We're Doomed a tell ye, Doomed" as Private Frazer would often say in Dad's Army, and that seems to be the cry among most Derby fans.
Derby County V Chelsea
Premier League
Saturday, 24th November 2007, 5:15 pm
Pride Park Stadium, Derby
The mighty Chelsea come to Pride Park on Saturday and there probably isn't anyone in who expects anything other than a Blues victory. Well probably but consider; Chelsea haven’t been all that unstoppable so far this season. Apart from the recent 6-0 thrashing of Manchester City, Chelsea seem to have laboured to victory against teams they would have swept aside last year.
The change of manager probably offers some explanation. Jose Mourinho was a manager very much in the Clough mold. Full of himself and not averse to a bit of publicity, he nevertheless got the job done and Chelsea played football that seemed to mirror his style.
Avram Grant is more content to stay in the background and let the football do the talking. To his credit, he's not attempted to ape the style of the 'Special One' and this is reflected in a more workman like Chelsea. Since the 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford, the Blues have four wins and two draws - and apart from the aforementioned drubbing of City, they've all been against teams you would regard as lesser lights of the Premiership.
The last game was a 1-1 draw with Everton where the Blues conceded an 88th minute equalizer. Previous to that, Chelsea had ground out results against Boro, Bolton and Wigan while drawing in the West London Derby. After the Everton game, Avram Grant revealed he doesn't like the fact pacy football that Chelsea have been known for. He told the BBC; "It was one of our best games - we played very good football, created a lot of chances and from their one chance they scored. We moved the ball very well and played quickly. People like this but what happened is one of the reasons I don't because from nowhere they scored a goal. "
He was happy with the overall performance of the team however; "The most important thing is we created chances and didn't win the game but if we continue to play like this we will be going in the right direction."
Chelsea are currently 4th - five points behind Arsenal having played one game extra. So far this season they have only met two of their title rivals and they didn't win either, losing at Old Trafford but gaining a draw at Anfield.
Current Chelsea Squad
No. Position Player
1 Goalkeeper Petr Èech
23 Goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini
40 Goalkeeper Henrique Hilário
3 Defender Ashley Cole
6 Defender Ricardo Carvalho
18 Defender Wayne Bridge
20 Defender Paulo Ferreira
22 Defender Tal Ben-Haim
26 Defender John Terry (captain)
33 Defender Alex
35 Defender Juliano Belletti
4 Midfielder Claude Makélélé
5 Midfielder Michael Essien
8 Midfielder Frank Lampard (vice-captain)
9 Midfielder Steve Sidwell
10 Midfielder Joe Cole
12 Midfielder John Obi Mikel
13 Midfielder Michael Ballack
15 Midfielder Florent Malouda
24 Midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips
7 Striker Andriy Shevchenko
11 Striker Didier Drogba
14 Striker Claudio Pizarro
21 Striker Salomon Kalou
Last 5 games
Bolton Wanderers 0 – 1 Chelsea
Middlesbrough 0 – 2 Chelsea
Chelsea 6 – 0 Manchester City
Wigan Athletic 0 – 2 Chelsea
Chelsea 1 – 1 Everton
Danger Men
Despite his abject performance in an England shirt on Wednesday, it would be a very foolish Derby player who would expect an easy ride from Frank Lampard. Seven goals in twelve games from midfield make him sound almost Rioch like. Admittedly he takes the penalties but that's an excellent return from midfield.
Didier Drogba needs no introduction to any fan who watches Match of the Day. He's on seven fore the season so far and he's probably causing some of our defence to have sleepless nights. The trick with Drogba is to interrupt the supply line to him although that's no guarantee as he can go deep and collect the ball himself.
Then there's Andriy Shevchenko or Salomon Kalou - A simpler task might be to ask who isn't dangerous?
Well Michael Ballack will not feature due to ankle injuries however he's confident of returning in December. Defender Ricardo Carvalho damaged his back in the draw with Everton and could be out for eight weeks. John Terry is still on the road to recovery and would be a surprise inclusion as would Ashley Cole for the same reason.
The Rams
Let’s get the statistics out of the way. According to the BBC:
Lost the last three games against Everton (h), Aston Villa (a) and West Ham (h).
Gone eight hours 41 minutes since we last scored (Kenny Miller's goal in the 1-1 draw with Bolton).
Only scored five times in the Premiership all season.
Conceded 31 goals.
We’ve only beaten Chelsea once in the Premiership at home (but football didn’t start with the Premiership).
For once, we aren’t playing a ‘must win’ game. Nobody gives us a chance in this game and paradoxically, they may work in our favour. The team should be able to take the field in a more relaxed frame of mind and may play better.
I hope Billy Davies was watching the England game on Wednesday as it showed the folly of the 4-5-1 system against a technically good team. Poor Peter Crouch (the only player to emerge with any credit) was cast in the target man role, nodding balls down to non existent players running through - Steve Howard and Kenny Miller could probably sympathise.
We won't achieve anything against Chelsea if we go out to defend ten men behind the ball. We are the home team and we must attack. To quote another Dads Army regular; “they Don’t like it up ‘em”.
Any attacking line-up is only as good as its supply and that’s where we’ve been falling down all season. None of our wide men have consistently provided the balls for the strikers.
In the heart of the midfield, Stephen Pearson has been equally poor in providing. Pearson has in fact been poor all round and was woeful in the West Ham debacle. He doesn’t like playing out wide but if the responsibility of the middle of the park is too much for him then what’s left other than the bench?
I’m a big fan of Pearson and believe he can do much better, but his current attitude in one of the most important roles on the park is dragging the team down.
In defence it’s to be hoped that Claude Davis returns. Marc Edworthy is not a centre half. Say it again; Marc Edworthy is not a centre half.
Up front, Steve Howard must play. He scored in midweek for Scotland B and a quick look at the statistics show that when we’ve scored, Howard has been involved.
If we play 4-4-2, I’d start with Kenny Miller alongside him and bring in Earnshaw if it doesn’t work.
Mick’s Team: Bywater, Mears, Leacock, Davis, McEveley, Barnes, Oakley, Jones, Pearson, Howard, Miller.
What the bookies think
Truly the most ludicrous odds I’ve ever seen. We’re 7/1 to win our home game at Pride Park. That has to be worth a few quid of anyone’s money. Even a draw is 7/2 while you can only get 2/7 on Chelsea to win.
You can get 28/1 for a Drogba hat-trick (and 80/1 on Kenny Miller for the optimists). 6-0 to Chelsea will get you 40/1.
Information for travelling 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: It’s 140 miles to Pride Park from Stamford Bridge. Take the M4 for the M25 Anti-clockwise and take the M1 north (don’t panic – it’s quite civilised). Come off at J25 and take the Brian Clough Way (A52) towards Derby for about 3 miles. You should see signs for away supporter parking after about 3 miles. You can however follow the signs for Pride Park and head past it towards Wilmorten and London Rd. I’d give it 3 hours to get here.
Parking: It used to be at the old Wilmorten College site however that is now a building site/housing estate, 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.
Mick’s Prediction
We’re probably going to lose. Chelsea are more than a class better than us and I reckon their reserves would probably beat us as well. That said, anything is possible in football and they will be expecting an easy ride. If we can rough them up we may surprise them and ourselves.
If we lose, I’ll be happy as long as I think the team has gone down fighting. A gutless capitulation like the West Ham game would I think see the fans turn against Billy Davies.
Steve McClaren anyone?