 Monday, 10th Jan 2011 07:15 by Mick McDermott The Banana skins are out and the Rams are under pressure. What should be a walk in the park could easily become a nightmare if Derby slip up.
Crawley Town vs. Derby County20:00 - 10/01/2011 Broadfield Stadium Crawley
Recent Form Crawley: 2/21 P 21 W 14 D 4 L 3 F 44 A 17 Leading scorers: Tubbs (19lg 2cp)
Derby: 13/24 Derby P 25 W 10 D 4 L 11 F 39 A 35 Leading scorers: Commons (13lg)
The Rams A very interesting interview with our Nigel in the Independent: "When you have a non-League team who can spend close to half a million pounds on new players you have to take them seriously. They probably have more money to spend than us. "We have got a few who have played in the Conference and they will know what it is like. They will know how hard Crawley will work to stop us playing. At Burton we played Manchester United in the Cup, played with nothing to lose and took them to a replay." "There will be one or two shocks over the weekend. We don't want to be one of them. But we are not in a mood to go anywhere with confidence at the moment. I don't think we'd be that confident even at home." That we aren't very confident at the moment is to be expected. We've only won one match in the last seven though we are unbeaten in 2011. Have we turned a corner? The performance against Millwall was an improvement in that we held together at the back. Yes we were lucky that Millwall's finishing was so wayward - but we've been due a bit of luck. If Kris Commons had been more composed at the other end we might have taken all three points. I hope Nigel is playing down the conflict he seems to have with Steve Evans of Crawley and talking up the team in the dressing rooms. Although the conference team has spent big, there key defender is ex-ram Pablo Mills and with all due respect, our front line should be able to give him a hard time. One worrying thought from Clough's interview - If the conference club has more to spend than us; does that mean we aren't going to see any investment in this window? The team is crying out for new blood. Lack of activity in the transfer market and with the prices of tickets set to rise for many people, the board may find that the last straw at renewal time. The fans have been very patient but patience always runs out. And it is running out fast at Pride Park.
Mick's Team: Bywater Green , Barker, Brayford, Roberts Bailey, Savage Bueno, Cywka, Commons Porter Substitutes - Moxey, Addison, Buxton, Davies, Deeney, Pringle
Current Rams 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 10 Midfield Kris Commons 11 Midfield Stephen Pearson 12 Striker Chris Porter 13 Keeper Saul Deeney 14 Defender Russell Anderson 15 Midfield David Martin 16 Midfield James Bailey 17 Defender Jake Buxton 18 Midfield Ben Pringle 19 Striker Tomasz Cywka 20 Defender Miles Addison 21 Defender Dean Moxey 23 Striker Conor Doyle 25 Defender Mark O'Brien 26 Striker Callum Ball 27 Striker Alberto Bueno (on loan from Real Valladolid) 30 Keeper Ross Atkins 35 Midfield Jeff Hendrick 36 Defender Kallum Keane 37 Midfield Ryan Connolly 38 Midfield Medi Abalimba 39 Defender Mitchell Hanson
Crawley Town They aren't afraid of us. They are keen to point that out. This from a Crawley player some might recognise: "A lot of players we've got here have played at higher levels and won't be out of place playing Derby." "We'll prepare the right way and treat it like we would if we were playing a team in this division." "We're going for the 'no fear' approach. We know the players they've got and the dangers but we've got good belief in our team." The player speaking to Radio Sussex was none other than Pablo Mills now plying his trade in Sussex after being released by Rotherham. He may be right in his approach as it worked against Swindon at the County ground. The team do seem to be doing well at the Conference level. They currently stand second to AFC Wimbledon and are clearly ambitious after the struggles of the past. The history of the club is littered with administration and winding up orders and only last March the club looked to be in danger of extinction when the revenue applied for a winding up order. The club was saved at the 11th hour when the local council agreed to lease the stadium. The owners of the club cleared the debts in the summer and told Manager Steve Evans to assemble a squad that could get into The Football League Current Squad. Evans seems to be going the right way about it but is no fan of our Nigel: "Certain things sit in your mind, Nigel Clough said when he got the Derby job it was great because he would never have to go to places like Crawley again. It was the most demeaning statement I have heard from a manager who has got a job at Championship level.” "I hadn't had a bad word to say against Nigel but when he came out with that statement back then, he was sending out a message to the people of Crawley. I think it is poetic justice that he got us in the Cup. It is on public record what he said but now he has to come back." Nigel Clough had little to say in response: "I don't remember saying that". Nigel not surprisingly did remember though that Evans once labelled Burton "a pub team".
Current Red Devils Squad No. Position Player 1 Keeper Michel Kuipers 2 Midfielder Simon Rusk 3 Defender Sam Rents 4 Midfielder David Hunt (on loan from Brentford) 5 Defender John Dempster 7 Midfielder Ben Smith 8 Midfielder Sergio Torres 9 Striker Matt Tubbs 10 Midfielder Josh Simpson 11 Midfielder Steven Masterton 12 Keeper Nick Jordan 14 Striker Craig McAllister 15 Midfielder Dannie Bulman 16 Defender Glenn Wilson 17 Midfielder Abdulai Bell-Baggie (on loan from Reading) 18 Striker Jamie Cook 22 Defender Pablo Mills (club captain) 23 Defender Dean Howell 26 Midfielder Scott Neilson 27 Defender Kyle McFadzean 29 Striker Richard Brodie 30 Keeper Scott Shearer
What the bookies think Derby are favourites at 6/5 on while Town are at 11/5. The draw is 12/5. Kris Commons and Chris Porter are at 5/1 as first goal scorer while the impressive Matt Tubbs is also at 5/1.
Information for travelling fans Driving It's a long way for a Monday early in the New Year. I have never been so it's footballgroundguide.com for directions: From the M25 take the M23 Southbound towards Gatwick Airport and Brighton. At the end of the M23 (before it becomes the A23) leave the motorway at the last exit, Junction 11 (sign posted A264 Horsham, Pease Pottage Services). At the island at the end of the motorway slip road turn right onto the A23 going towards Crawley.Just as you approach the next traffic island you can see the stadium on your left. I think the Train is the best bet and the stadium is a 20 minute walk from the station. Parking There's a large car park at the stadium or there is street parking. Drinking The closest pub to the stadium is the Half Moon on Brighton Road (A2219). This is about a five minute walk away. There's a bar at the stadium called Redz which s supposedly only for home fans.
Mick's prediction Crawley is 61 places below us in the league but the FA Cup is the great leveller. It's on a Monday night on a new ground with very few likely to have travelled. If we can score early and relax we should have more than enough class to see off even the most up for it Conference team. If we start dispirited or concede an early goal we might be in trouble. I'm predicting the former but fearing the latter. Crawley 0-3 Derby
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