Another Powell this week joined his half dozen or so namesakes to have been a Ram but whether he is another football genius remains to be seen.

He may never be another Darryl to Rams fans but Darren Powell brings with him not only the same initials but also plenty of experience having pulled on shirts for Southampton, Brentford and Crystal Palace.

The central defender has signed a short-term contract with Derby County as a free agent after being released by Southampton in June. He looks likely to join the Rams squad that travels to Ipswich this Saturday as Claude Davis and Lewin Nyatanga, the only two fully fit centre halves, are both returning from midweek international duty.

The 32-year-old will remain with the Rams until at least the end of December and when Paul Jewell spoke to the official website he seemed more than relieved to have finalised the deal.

"It's no secret that we need extra cover at the back and Darren fits the bill in terms of his knowledge of the game and he's a strong personality as well.

He'll give us cover in the short term and we can have a look at him while he can also have a look at us.

"We've got two centre-halves out and, as we stand today, I haven't got one in the building with Lewin Nyatanga coming back from Denmark and Claude Davis returning from Jamaica.

Darren's an old-fashioned defender who heads it and kicks it clear and there's a lot to be said for that. If he comes here and does well he could get himself a contract to the end of the season."

Although a player struggling to find a club may not seem like the perfect plug to stick into a teams defence, it seems Paul Jewell has a high opinion of his ability and I for one won’t disagree with him. Some of the Rams manager’s signings and team selections this season are now proving to be inspired, perhaps this will be another one of them.

Derby bounced back from the disappointment of Reading by progressing to the quarter finals of the Carling Cup and a comprehensive victory over Sheffield Wednesday. The clean sheet in the Wednesday game and a stunning performance by the much maligned Claude Davis, were two more positives added to that list.

Paul Jewell will sleep a little better now he as a bit of extra cover at the back but with Powell’s lack of match fitness it remains to be seen if he can make an impact immediately should he be called upon. All fans can hope for is the desperation of a player to land a long term deal will be enough for him to spare nothing during his performance if given a chance.

There is no doubt Leacock and Albrechtsen will be difficult, if not impossible to oust from the team when fully fit. Maybe if Darren can prove himself and manage to squeeze his way into contention then we may just have another football genius on our hands after all.

I doubt many of us would complain about that.

C'mon Ewe Rams! :0)

Photo: Action Images

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