 Monday, 17th Sep 2007 16:53 Well it's all been happening since the last preview I wrote. The club has been taken over by a group of American businessmen and Billy Davies is the new manager of Leicester after a furious bust up with Peter Gadsby when it was revealed he has money on the Rams to break Sunderland's Premiership low points record. Oh wait ... the above was either a dream bought on by too much Stilton or I'm spending far too much time reading Internet message boards and reading the Daily Mirror. As always with the Rams, self doubt is quick to set in following set-back and the start to the season is just such a set-back. The wrist-slashers are out in force with predictions varying from failure to win a game to a plummet through the divisions a la Leeds United. Another theme on the message boards is how we don't have a chance against our visitors on Monday night. Michael Owen's recent scoring form coupled with the Geordies unbeaten start to the season sees many fans throwing in the towel. The new regime at the Toon has started well. Businessman Mike Ashley bought control of the club and Freddie Shepard was replaced as chair by Chris Mort. It's now reported that Newcastle are among the richest clubs in the world with only Liverpool & Chelsea earning more in Britain. Another part of the new regime is Sam Allardyce. The former Bolton manager signed a three year contract in May. Allardyce believes he has taken Bolton as far as he can and was quoted in the Mail on Sunday as saying; " "I have had praise for what I've done, but there's nothing at the end of it. I want silverware. I'm determined to get it before my days are over." The Toon fans crave Silverware. Their last league title was in 1927 and they last won the FA Cup in the 50's. Allardyce wasted no time in clearing out the ranks of under-performers. Out went Scott Parker, Alan O'Brien, Kieron Dyer, Albert Luque, Paul Huntington and Norberto Solano. Some of the money raised was spent on Mark Viduka, Joey Barton, David Rozehnal, Geremi Njitap, Alan Smith, Caapa, Jos Enrique Snchez, Abdoulaye Faye and Habib Beye. An opening day victory over Allardyce's old team was followed by draws against Villa and Middlesbrough and a victory over Wigan. N'Zogbia and Martins have scored two goals apiece while Michael Owen scored the winner against Wigan. Last 5 games Danger Men This goal against Israel shows what Owen is about. He moves off his defender and creates space for a shot when the ball comes to him. Static defenders watching the ball are likely to look up and find he's off celebrating a goal if they have a momentary lapse of concentration. Owen's first goal against Russia. This is a more typical Owen goal. And look where the nearest defender is on this one. Our defenders will have their work cut out marshalling Owen but it would be a mistake to assume that Newcastle are just about Michael Owen. Mark Viduka is playing extremely well according to match reports and as already mentioned N'Zogbia and Martins have been among the goals. Martins set up the winner against Wigan after coming off the bench. According to the BBC, Newcastle will check on striker Michael Owen after his England exploits, which makes me think he may start on the Bench. Viduka, who came off injured against Wigan should be fit but Emre is a doubtful. The Rams Obviously this begs the question; "what manner should we be competing in?" The team that started against Portsmouth looked okay. We made two silly mistakes in defence that cost us dear but we did look to be competing. Even against Manchester City, we weren't overwhelmed. Against Spurs and Liverpool we were not at the races and in the six-pointer against Birmingham, we looked poor and unconvincing. Many fans have suggested we did not buy wisely enough nor spend enough money in the transfer window. They may have a point in some respects. The play-off final was billed as the most lucrative game of football in history and many people assumed that Peter Gadsby would get a cheque for 60m straight after the game. The reality of course is somewhat different and the money will only come with time. Gadsby would have been aware of how much investment was required to turn us into a Premiership team however he must have been taken by surprise by the fees even the most average of players were commanding. Worse, it appears a lot of time and effort was spent chasing players who decided against coming to Derby at the 11th hour. In retrospect, we should really have anticipated such a state of affairs. The increased amount of money in the game will lead to people demanding a bigger slice of the pie. Players are not going to come to Derby on contracts that have clauses covering relegation if they can stay in the reserves of their current club on more money, or go to Sunderland for a more lucrative contract. Some of Davies's signings may make an appearance in this game. Kenny Miller should be fit to start and Eddie Lewis may feature. Out is Craig Fagan with a four match ban while Darren Moore is doubtful. Dave Jones has recovered and should make the squad. Davies is quoted on the BBC as saying "We are two years ahead of schedule without doubt and by being two years ahead of schedule we face what we face now. We don't need a siege mentality. We need to learn from the experience and accept in this division you can go a number of games without a victory." "We had a difficult start but it's par for the course." Some fans will see that as making excuses in advance but I see it as realism. One good bit of news for Davies is that Giles Barnes is back in training and may even make the bench on Monday Mick's Team: Bywater, McEveley, Davis, Leacock, Edworthy, Teale, Todd, Oakley, Lewis, Miller, Earnshaw. What the bookies think It shows how lazy William Hill are in that the do not have a price for Kenny Miller. We should take those odds as a challenge rather than confirmation of how bad we are. Information for travelling fans Driving: Driving: It's about 170miles to Derby from Newcastle. Best route is A1 to the M1 then south to Junction 25 with Brian Clough Way (A52). Head west to Derby and follow the ring road south to London Rd. See below for parking. According to the RAC, it's about a three hour drive but given that the traffic is liable to be heavy, I'd give it a little bit longer. Parking: It used to be at the old Wilmorten College site however that is now a building site so 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 Pride Park shopping centre unless you fancy being clamped. You can also park for a 5 at the hospital further up London Rd near the hospital and the Railway station. Mick's Prediction Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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