Mick's League Cup Preview - Derby vs. Shrewsbury
Tuesday, 9th Aug 2011 13:52 by Mick McDermott

The Carling Cup - given our history of first round exits, will our interest last longer than the average pint of Carling?

Derby County v Shrewsbury Town

Pride Park Stadium, Derby

7:45pm - 9th August 2011Past games

Historical at Derby:

P 7 W 3 D 3 L 1 F 11 A 7

Not a big historical fixture at all. We've only played them seven times at Derby - 5 Division 2 games and 2 cup ties.

The last tie was the second leg of the League Cup back in 1995 when we were already 3-1 up from the first leg. The result was a 1-1 (4-2 Agg) draw with Ron Willems scoring a header. I can't find the team list for the fixture but this was a Derby squad on their way to promotion and included Igor Stimac, Robin van der Laan & Dean Carsley.

A last gasp-equalizer denied Shrewsbury an opening day win against Plymouth. The report suggests that the Shrews were unlucky and had Marvin Morgan not been so profligate in front of goal, they would have taken all three points.

Shrewsbury Town – The Shrews

Stats This Season: P 1 W 0 D 1 L 0 F 1 A 1

Leading Scorer: James Collins

Last season's play-off disappointment behind them, the Shrews have strengthened the team by adding plenty of new cattle.

IN: David Hibbert (Preston, nominal), Colin Murdock (Rotherham, free), Fola Onibuje (Wycombe, free), Jimmy Ryan (Liverpool, loan), Stuart Nicholson (West Brom, loan)

OUT: Richard Hope (Wrexham, free), David Edwards (Luton, tribunal), Sagi Burton (Barnet, free), Derek Asamoah (Nice, Å50,000)

The fans have hope for the team this year - 3,000 of them have purchased season tickets and that is not to be sniffed at in League 2. Former Ram Lionel Ainsworth is promising to do his best to make sure the club achieves promotion; From the Shropshire Star;

“The fans have still got a lot more to see from me,” said Ainsworth, who signed from Huddersfield a year ago. Last season I scored nine goals and that was an achievement for me as the year before I didn’t score any."

“This season I’ve given myself a target of scoring 15 and that’s what I want to achieve but I have to make sure I keep working hard and creating chances to keep my place."

“I’ve played up front and on the wing but as long as I’ve got a shirt on my back I’ll play anywhere. I just enjoy my football and hopefully goals will come with it.”

Manager Graham Turner has confidence in the squad he has put together:

“We’ve got a nice blend of youth and experience in our squad but there are some good clubs in there this season and it’s going to be a very strong league.”

Current squad

No. Position Player

1 Keeper Chris Neal

2 Defender Jermaine Grandison

4 Midfield Sean McAllister

5 Defender Ian Sharps

6 Defender Shane Cansdell-Sherriff

7 Midfield Mark Wright

8 Midfield Nicky Wroe

9 Striker James Collins

10 Striker Marvin Morgan

11 Midfield Steven Leslie

12 Midfield Reuben Hazell

13 Midfield Lewis Neal

14 Striker Matthew Richards

15 Defender Carl Regan

16 Midfield Lionel Ainsworth

19 Defender Connor Goldson

23 Midfield Jon Taylor

25 Keeper Ben Smith

29 Midfield Daid Davies

34 Striker Tom Bradshaw

Injuries or suspensions

Tom Bradshaw is out injured while Joe Jacobson is serving a ban from a red card.

How to get there

Multiple routes to Derby from Shrewsbury. You can head north towards Stoke and take the A50 or muddle your way through Stafford. The RAC recommend the M54 to the M6 toll and then pick up the A38 north to Derby. Follow the ring road around Derby looking for the brown signs for Pride Park. at the A52 Brian Clough way for Nottingham you should see the ground on your right.

Parking

There is not a great deal of parking available close to Pride Park. The best bet is to either park in the city centre (lots of signposted car parks) or the Cattle Market Car Park. Stay on the A52 to the Pentagon Island, take the first left and follow the road round to the left. It’s about a 10-minute walk to the Stadium.

There’s also a car park straight off the A52 at the Pride Park junction by the fireplace showroom - however it’s a pain in the arse to get out of after the match. If you are looking for free parking head for Ascot Drive off the A6 and park down one of the side streets.

Where to drink

There are a few pubs and eateries near the ground but not all admit away fans showing colours these days. The Navigation Inn on London rd has always been popular with away fans and there’s a Harvester and Frankie & Bennies on Pride Park. The natives are friendly as long as you aren’t being an arse.

Near the station you have the Merry Widows and the Crown that are adequate however if you turn right out of the station you have the Brunswick & Alexandra pubs both of which serve real ale.

Mick’s Match Prediction

An excellent result for the Rams on Saturday. Reading the reports and reading on-line it looks as if we were made to work hard for our victory by a good Birmingham side. Someone said to me that: "we'll play better than that and lose".

The loss of Anderson early on to another first day injury saw O'Brien on after 35 minutes - and some people thought that O'Brien seemed the more capable Centre half. With Anderson still struggling it's likely that Chris Riggott will start in his place if fit.

I'm not sure about this signing. Given his injury woes over the years you have to ask "would Clough be even talking to him if he wasn't a Derby lad?"

I don't think so, and I hope I'm proved wrong but I can't see Chris making a significant contribution to the season.

As always in the League Cup, we have the ability to embarrass ourselves by falling at the first hurdle. Maybe having home advantage will work for us this time but an empty Pride Park is not going to provide much atmosphere.

I reckon a win but not a convincing one.

Derby 2-1 Shrewsbury