Who can forget that magical night a Pride Park during the play offs when George Burley’s highly fancied Southampton came to Pride Park?

Derby County v Southampton
Coca-Cola Championship
3:00pm 23rd August 2008
Pride Park, Derby

Okay we had a lead but nobody expected us to go through. We managed to hang on through extra-time and won it on penalties when Ex-Ram Inigo Idiakez skied his shot.

We had the glory of the play-off final and the ignominy of being the worst Premiership side ever while Southampton’s gloom carried on in the Championship.

Southampton have struggled financially since they were relegated. Failure to make it back to the Premiership cost them dearly and they had to sell many of their better players over that summer.
Ongoing struggles in the boardroom and George Burley jumping ship didn’t help and Nigel Pearson struggled to save Saints - only succeeding on the final day of the season with a 3-2 win over Sheffield United at the expense of the Foxes.

Nigel Pearson was rewarded by the Saints by not having his contract renewed. Unknown Dutch duo Jan Poortvliet and Mark Wotte were bought in as replacements.

Money was still tight and the Saints have had to let key players go. Andrew Davies is the latest (Stoke for £1.3m). Grzegorz Rasiak has gone out on loan to Watford.

Its not all been one way Traffic at St. Mary’s - Poortyliet has signed 8 players over the summer including ex Ram Lee Holmes, and on Thursday bagged Chelsea defender Jack Cork - the Under 19 England Captain.

The season has not started well for the Saints however - both League games have finished 2-1 to the opposition although they did progress in the cup at the expense of Exeter.

The Saint’s played well against promotion favourites Birmingham even taking the lead before half time. Even Birmingham Boss Alex McLeish conceded Saint’s first half superiority however poor defending let them down in the second half. Southampton boss Jan Poortvliet said:

"The goals we conceded were not necessary and they were quite scrappy. We have to continue playing the good football that we have been playing and then I am sure the results will then come for us. I think the players were tired after playing three games in one week and I had to take off Stern John after an hour because his legs had gone after he hadn't played much in pre-season."

A couple to watch out for - David McGoldrick has scored 3 goals in the last 2 games while Stern John may still have a few things to say to Rams fans - especially if the idiot element in the South East corner boo him.

Current Saints Team

Saints Statistics

Last 5 games

Since a ...

Leading Scorer

David McGoldrick 3 - 1 league & 2 Cup goals.

The Rams

In Friday's Derby Evening Telegraph Paul Jewell talks about how he's "sick and tired" of those who only view the glass as half empty. He said;

"I know it has not been a great time since I have been here but there is so much negativity surrounding Derby County it is unbelievable. It is almost as if people are quite happy for the team to struggle,We have won one, drawn one and lost one and yet all some people want to tell us about is that we haven't won for 34 League games. They don't say we are unbeaten in two games."

Well Paul - do you think you'd be positive if your beloved Liverpool hadn't won for 34 games? Do you think your fellow Kopites would be patient? If Liverpool don't win for 3 games I imagine the Radio City version of the moan in would be full of people calling for Benitez's head - with you probably at the front of the queue.

It's all very well to tell us to be patient. We have been patient. We spent all of last season resigned to relegation. You told us you were preparing for the Championship from February and that we would hit the floor running.

We often start slow so it was no surprise to lose to Doncaster however the manner of the defeat set the alarm bells ringing. The team looked as bad as last season at times. We then had a real struggle to beat League 2  Lincoln (played 2 league games, lost 2). Two of the players you identified as key were Robbie Savage and Alan Stubbs. Savage has been poor even by his own admissions and Stubbs has retired. Okay you couldn't foresee that but the guy is 36 - what is the back up plan? Apparently there's no rush to replace Stubbs yet you thought he was a key player.

Despite an almost new team we now have the promising Arsenal Youngster Nacer Barazite on loan and are in the market for another midfielder - You have to ask questions about the summer signings.

That's why a lot of fans are negative Paul. We're waiting to see the improvement you have promised us. we aren't like Liverpool fans - we don't demand victory - but we do demand a fight. If the team shows they have the heart required to wear the shirts of DCFC we'll back them to the hilt.  If we get another team of shirkers, someone will have to pay the price.

Mick's team: Carroll, Mears, Leacock, Albretchson, Stewart, Barazite, Green, Savage, Commons, Ellington, Villa

What The Bookies think

William Hill thinks we'll record our first win. You can get 4/5 on the Rams while the draw will get 9/4. The Saint's are at 14/5.

The bookies obviously don't pay a great deal of attention to what;s going on outside the Premier League. You can get 5/1 on Liam Dickinson to be the first scorer for the Rams! Just in case you think maybe that was a fluke, you can get 11/1 on Giles Barnes! Rob Hulse is also 5/1 while The Duke and Tito are at 11/2. Dave McGoldrick & Stern John both rate 8/1.

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. There's a Frankie & Benny's right opposite the East Stand of the ground that tends to be very full however it's okay for away supporters.
 
Parking: 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 the shopping centre unless you fancy being clamped.
 
One alternative is to follow the A52 (see below) past Pride park to the Meadows area at Pentagon Island. There’s plenty of parking there and it’s only ten minutes from the ground – another is to take the exit for Pride Park and park immediately in the Fireplace showroom. This is only a short walk to the ground but its hell to get out of after the game.
 
Driving: its 174 miles from Southampton to Derby. That should take around three and a half hours but watch out for bank holiday traffic. The RAC route is the M3 as far as J9 then head north on the A34 as far as the M40.  Continue on the M40 to it's junction with the A46 (J15) and take the A46 to the M69. Follow the M69 to J21 of the M1 then head north to J25. Take Brain Clough Way (A52) towards Derby. Follow the signs for away football supporters

Mick's prediction

Some fans are calling for Jewell's head already. Others say it's only two games into the season so lets give him a chance. What most fans are united in saying is that we don't appear to have hit the ground running and many of the same problems as last season are still on show on the pitch. The fans expectations are fairly high and anxiety over an early misplaced pass can get to the team. I for one am all for giving Jewell a chance. Positive enough for you Paul?

However we need to see some improvement on the pitch and we need to start seeing it now. Southampton are probably a lot better side than their results would suggest however we need to win at home to have any chance of progress - especially against teams that are in trouble - Like the Saints.

I'm predicting a Rams win.

Make your prediction here: 

 http://www.clubfanzine.com/derby_county/v2.predictionleague.php

Photo: Action Images

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