A new season is just around a corner and finally we're back in the Premiership!

Will it be a quick return to the Championship or is this the start of a long era in the Premier League? Here's what nine of the RamZone team members believe, starting in alphabetical order.

Daniel Brooks:

Last year I hoped for steady progress towards the top half of the Championship, this year I'll take 17th on goal difference in the top flight; we massively overachieved last season and whilst I loved every minute it's hard to see how we're going to get away with it this time. On the face of it we lack the power upfront to score enough goals against defences that are unlikely to be as forgiving as those in the Championship (we weren't exactly a freescoring side anyway) and at the back we are likely to rely somewhat on a back four that aside from Darren Moore and Andy Todd appears to lack the experiance to deal with the international-quality attacking threats they will now face on a weekly basis.

That being said hope is not lost; we have youth and talent spread throughout the squad and Davies' signings have been solid and his tactics and motivational abilities will give us a chance against any team. Steve Howard may just surprise some and his partnership with Rob Earnshaw is critical to the Rams' ability to stay in this league.

In midfield we look strong with Oakley, Jones, Pearson and (when fit) Barnes pulling the strings; this quartet may just be the key to survival - Oakley has done this all before and the talent of Barnes and Jones coupled with the dynamic running of Pearson may just help cause a few upsets. If my current career plans come to fruition over the next twelve months its highly likely that this will be my last season as a regular attendee at Pride Park; my head says relegation but my heart sees my time watching this team going out with a bang - I fancy the Rams to just sneak through in 16th place.

Martin Burley:

My first expectation of the new season – the weather will surely be red hot when we play Portsmouth . Is there anything like the feeling just before kick-off on the first match of a new season? The sun beating down on your new £40 replica kit while dreaming of what heights the Rams may scale this season.

By the end of the match these expectations may be changed and put down to sunstroke, or, given three points and a good performance, clung onto for another few days.

Whatever this season brings let's celebrate the fact that Derby are back with the footballing elite. And, if times get tough (and I'm certain we'll have our bad days at some point this season) try and remember how good the 28 th May felt at Wembley.

Sustained progress is best taken in bite size chunks – last year we downed a whole takeaway pizza in one go. All I'm after this year is a packet of Hob-Nobs (and if they could be chocolate coated so much the better). So I'm not expecting miracles, £10 million pound signings or total football.

People may point to a lack of signings or an inability to compete with the big boys, but now is not the time to become downcast.

The defeats, the anger vented against match officials, the diving (sorry, simulation) that cheats us out of much needed points, the drowning of sorrows in the pub on a Saturday night or the last gasp winners, inspired substitutions and the triumphant watching of Match of the Day as Alan Hansen points out how we managed to defeat Man Utd and Chelsea.

It's all part and parcel of enjoying the beautiful game. As Derby fans we've had our share of bad times – for me that just makes our successes sweeter.

As for a prediction – it won't be boring. Hang onto your seats, limber up your singing voice and enjoy the ride.

Elaine Dean:

I'd like to be proved wrong but I do think Derby will struggle this season to make an impact in the Premiership. I just don't think we have signed enough players of sufficiently high calibre to save us. Although Reading survived with a largely unknown squad, I just feel Derby lack someone with the 'wow factor'. We have no creative genius, just a team of sloggers.

In the Premiership our defenders are just going to face wave after wave of attacks from some of the best strikers in the world and we won't have the wherewithal in my opinion to withstand that. Having said all that, I will be delighted to be proved wrong and when we stick five past Chelsea you can all tell me that I 'know nothing' .

Stuart Hughes:

I think Derby County are in for a long hard season.  That's not being pessimistic, it's being logical and realistic – you cannot deny the facts that most clubs promoted from the Championship struggle in their first season in the Premiership.  Reading were an exception last season, but Watford and Sheffield United both ended up being relegated.  Most promoted clubs find their first Premiership season to be a relegation dog fight and I expect the same to be true for Birmingham City , Sunderland and ourselves this season.

There's a list of clubs that survived in the Premiership in that first season and Derby County are one of them.  But the list of clubs that got promoted to the Premiership, only to come straight back down again, is much longer.  The good news is that there are some poor sides in the Premiership and I expect Fulham and Wigan Athletic to be in the relegation scrap too.  There's always some surprise strugglers too and it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that one or two of Bolton Wanderers, Middlesbrough, Reading and even Manchester City could struggle too.

There's a mini-league of five, six, seven teams at the bottom of the Premiership every season and Derby County , I'm afraid, will be in that mini-league.  The Rams have to make sure they maximise points against teams in that mini-league and finish higher than at least three of them.

Last season under Billy Davies we defied the odds.  On paper we weren't the best team in the Championship or the play-offs … but we won promotion to the Premiership via the playoffs.  We'll need to defy the odds again but, I believe, we can do it!

Derby County to survive in 17th, 16th or 15th place for me!

Mick McDermott:

There will be no games this season where we can 'expect' three points. Sitting back and defending and hoping to hit on the break will be disastrous as all of those momentary lapses that led to a goalmouth scramble last season will lead to a goal this season.

Key to this season will be home form. We can't afford to lose many at Pride Park and a long run of home defeats will see us down. Us fans can make a difference here by making it difficult for the opposition.

Away from home we should go to every match as if it's a cup final - We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. A couple of away wins may make all the difference. That should also be the case against the so called big boys. Ten men behind the ball will see us beaten. Attacking may have the same result but we may shock one or two. Realistically, we have to be favourites to go down. As long as we go down fighting, I will be happy. Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of war!!!

Paul Mortimer:

The surreal glory of Wembley still rings in the memory and should not be tarnished by the reality of the task that now confronts Billy, alsmost as a 'victim' of his own immediate success.

Winning instant promotion precedes Derby's ability to persuade the best talent to join the club just as the income and revenues cannot yet allow the Rams to compete on an equal footing of even 'moderate' (but established) clubs who can't command Derby's current fanbase, let alone the one we could attract should we survive 2007-08 to expand the stadium to the mooted 44,000 capacity.and credibility

It will be a tough season and no doubt Derby will rely on thei! r teamwork, organisation and attritional strengths to win precious points. We need to secure "only" half the points, if that, as those gained in 2006-07 to secure that most coveted prize, Premiership continuity.

Hence, pragmatist Davies has invested in strength and experience in defence first and foremost - attracting too much criticism along the way, IMHO - so that the team remains hard to beat at a higher level.

Billy knows (always did!) that more quality in terms of midfield flair and striking power has to be added and Derby have had plenty of public and unpublicised knock-backs in chasing more exciting talent to add to the tough backbone he's been building since Wembley.

I'm sure there will be a few heartaches, setbacks, worries and we won't look a side ready to win games by any more than a narrow margin without considerable further investment in the expensive end of the team - up front.

Nevertheless, there is talent, skill, strength in young and old players at Derby and Davies is a very good motivator and organiser. We'll not succumb without a fight and some players might surprise people, even our own fans! It might well be a narrow squeak to avoid relegation and this season is a huge challenge for the club at all levels.

However, Derby County's ambitious board of directors, Billy and his reinforced and talented backroom team, his squad and us lot, the fans, are all keenig to defy the pundits' dismissals and take Derby onwards to a growing future and sustained top-level football.

I'm backing Billy to pull us through - we might be in a bottom six place but it will be in the right half of that half-dozen!

Come on you RAMS!

Arild Sand:

At the very beginning of this summer, not long after the euphoria of the Wembley final which was still upon us, I was asked by the FourFourTwo magazine where I thought Derby would end this season. I somewhat optimistically said 14th, but I truly meant it, and was eagerly awaiting some big name signings this summer.

Now, I won't say we haven't got some decent players or that we haven't spent quite a bit of money, but I still get the feeling that most of these players are those who usually play for the relegation struggling teams. It's a bit "Watford" and "Sheffield United" about it all.

There are still a few weeks left before the transfer window closes and Billy Davies has made it very clear he is still searching for players so that's giving me some hope, and I also think we've got one of the best manager in the division in Billy Davies who will win us some games no matter what. I'm now changing my prediction to 17th, however, still somewhat optimistically perhaps, but still truly meaning it.

Daniel J Sewart:

Many fans believe we have not landed the ‘big name' signings we need to escape a swift return to the Championship and also believe our squad depth is not what it should be for a Premiership assault BUT I believe that Billy & the board will have some tricks to reveal from up their sleeves before the end of August and again in January.

Many of these same fans will say that come January it may be too late but I have great faith in Billy, his knowledge of the game and his players. Last season at times we doubted that knowledge and his players and against the odds he got the job done… and then some!

I have no doubt this season could be a struggle at times and we will flirt with disaster on many occasions but I genuinely believe that the one thing Billy brings to Derby and his players is spirit and as Reading have shown, that can go a very long way. The Rams squad seem to have an above average respect for their manager and will run through brick walls for him doubled with the opportunity to show their stuff on the biggest stage, Derby County may produce results that for the second consecutive season will surprise pundits and fans alike.

In summary I am predicting survival, not by much but come the end of the season it may be by more than some fans could have hoped for. Many of you will disagree but I doubt many of you will hope that I am proved wrong.

Prediction: 16th

Steve Tickle:

It's difficult if not impossible to know what to say about the Rams' chances of Premiership survival. Everyone points to the gulf between the Premiership and Championship but nevertheless, it IS very real. The truth is, I have no idea what the season holds for us other than we'll have to earn every point we get.

I do feel sure that Billy Davies and the Board are doing the right thing and bringing the right sort of player in. The big problem is that because we're at least a year ahead of plan, Billy is having to completely rebuild the squad without hopefully, throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Whatever the season holds in store for us, I'm confident that come May, we won't be able to criticise BD for not having had a plan.

Photo: Action Images

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