 Friday, 11th Apr 2008 12:07 "East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet" to quote Kipling. Derby County v Aston Villa But this game pits East versus West Midlands so maybe the poet was wrong? To be honest, it's hard to get excited about this game. The season is over in all but name for both us and Villa. Villa are currently sitting sixth with only Blackburn and Manchester City to worry about.They are unlikely to catch Everton so as long as they don't self destruct they should be safe for the Intertoto spot. Part of the reason may be the lack of goals from striker Gabriel Agbonlahor. He broke his three month goal drought by netting in the rout of Bolton last Saturday leaving him on eight for the season. "It really hasn't been on my mind. As long as the team scores it doesn't matter who gets the goals," Agbonlahor told BBC West Midlands. "But as a striker you want to be scoring, the confidence is key." The win against Bolton was the first in six games for Villa. Manager Martin O'Neill breathed a sigh of relief after the game and said; "We got back to basics and we were terrific. We had been scoring freely but then we recently hit the buffers. "The first goal was crucial and we got it through Gareth Barry's header and then our confidence came back. We have not been able to keep a clean sheet to save our lives so it was very pleasing to get one." The game at Villa Park finished 2-0 and was instantly forgettable. The goals both came from defensive blunders and the only thing of note from the match reports is the high spirits of the Derby Supporters - a common feature away all season. In the preview to that game, I quoted Martin O'Neill as predicting we could stay up. With predictions like that, I hope he's predicating a Villa victory tomorrow. The next game for Villa is the home Derby against Birmingham and one hope for the Rams is that the Villa players have one eye on that fixture. Current Villa Squad No. Position Player 1 Keeper Thomas Sørensen Last 5 games Aston Villa 1-1 Middlesbrough Danger Men The club's top scorer is John Carew with nine goals. The Norwegian International has 110 goals to his name and at 6'5" is clearly a threat to any defence in the air. Gabriel Agbonlahor is second top scorer on 8 as previously reported. A product of the Villa academy, he was called up to Fabio Capella's last England squad however injury forced him to withdraw. Agbonlahor is pleased with his progress so far and pointed out to the BBC "You look at Gareth, Ashley Young and myself and there's a lot of talented English players who are in the side." Gareth Barry has scored 7 this season and Martin O'Neill singled him out for praise after the Bolton game. Barry has become a regular in the England squad and it's pleasing to see a player from one of the midland clubs do well in the England set up. anything that breaks the London/North West England hegemony. At the time of writing there are no reported injury concerns for Martin O'Neill. The Rams Apart from goals against another high total is the number of players we've used. We have used 34 and we seem to have more injuries than just about any other team. Tomorrow for example Mile Sterjovski is definitely ruled out with an Achilles injury while Robbie Savage, Dean Leacock and Tito Villa are all struggling. Why is this? There was a suggestion a few years ago that the training pitches at Moore Farm were to hard - surely this would have been addressed? Many Rams fans are of the opinion that most of our players are not up to the standard of fitness required for the Premiership. Every manager since John Gregory has stated such yet nothing ever seems to improve. It can't be down to the coaches as they also change. Something that doesn't change is the ludicrous long winded warm up the Rams do before every game. I'm sure it leaves our players feeling tired in the latter half of games and as it doesn't seem to prevent any injuries it has to be asked what is the point of it? At the time of writing it's been reported we are close to 18,000 season ticket renewals for next season. Tomorrows game is likely to be a full house as well. When you consider what we've had to put up with this season, it's a wonder they've sold ticket one. It would be nice to see the team make the same level of effort and commitment as they have in the last few games and at least give Villa a game. Villa scoring against the Villa - be a nice headline! Mick's team, Carroll, McEveley, Stubbs, Moore, Mears, Ghaly, Jones, Savage, Miller, Villa, Earnshaw. What the bookies think Guess - go have a guess? that's right we're going to lose and the home win is at long odds. Be nice if we could prove them wrong for once. Whoever heard of a poor bookie though? 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. Driving: At 50 miles, this is a short trips for Villa fans. The best route is to take the A38 North to J6 of the M6 to Junction 4A with the A42/M42. follow this to it's junction with the M1 at J23A and head north to Junction 25 where you take the A52 Brian Clough Way to Derby. There are signposts for the ground and parking as you near Derby. Expect delays on the A38. 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. Another alternative is to take the Derby Ring road towards the City Centre and pass the exit for Pride Park on Brian Clough Way (A52) and head for Pentagon Island. Take the first exit and turn left and after a few hundred yards you will come to The Cattle Market Car Park. It’s about 10 minutes walk to the ground from here. Mick's Prediction Can't see us winning to be honest. We seem to have given up a long time ago although the effort has been there. It would be nice if the team looked like they could beat Sunderland's record but they don't.
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