Karl Marx once said; “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” Last time we were relegated, we started the season against promoted Reading and expected to bounce straight back.

Football League Championship
9th August, 2008 - 3:00 pm
Pride Park, Derby

“You’ve only come to see the Champions” we sang as we easily outplayed the Royals.
 
That turned out to be a tragedy for us given the way events unfolded. That glorious day at Wembley when we won a place in the Premiership with the debts seemingly gone and a fan at the helm made us hope that we’d finally turned the corner.
 
Turns out there were more corners to turn and after a humiliating season in the Premier League we now have new owners, talk of debts and we’re right back in the Championship. Could this be a farcical re-enactment of history?
 
Our opponents for the opening day are Doncaster Rovers and just the name conjures up pictures of flat caps, pies and whippets. Yet Donny are not a team to be underestimated.
 
Like a lot of smaller clubs, Rovers went through some hard times in the 80’s and 90’s and spent most of that time languishing in the lower leagues. The then chair of the club was convicted of attempting to burn down the old Bellevue Stadium. The arrival of John Ryan as chair and the appointment of former Ram Dave Penney as manager was to change all that.
 
Hitting their best form for 50 years, Donny were promoted twice in successive seasons to League 1. Penney left and was replaced by Sean O’Driscoll. The club continued to prosper and were only knocked out of the automatic promotion places by Forest on the last day of last season.
 
Starting the play-offs as rank outsiders, they disposed of Southend 5-1 on aggregate and then faced fellow Yorkshiremen Leeds United at Wembley. Nobody gave Doncaster a chance however they more than met the challenge and James Hayter scored what proved to be the winner in the 47th minute.
 
Now Doncaster have reached the Championship, they will fight tooth and nail to stay there. Despite being one of the bookies favourites for relegation, I expect Doncaster to surprise a few people.
 
Chairman John Ryan has invested heavily in the club and in 2006 they moved to the new Keepmoat Stadium, a new ground for the Derby away support,  so he clearly sees Doncaster’s future in the higher leagues.
 
Rovers’ manager Sean O'Driscoll told BBC Radio Sheffield: "It all comes down to performances. If you want to stay in this division you have to play well and train even harder. Derby are one of the favourites to go back up and they will under pressure to do so".
 
Lets hope the pressure doesn’t get to the Rams.
 
Current Rovers Squad
 
No.        Position                Player
1          Keeper            Neil Sullivan
13        Keeper            Ben Smith
2          Defender         James O'Connor
3          Defender         Gareth Roberts
4          Defender         Jos van Nieuwstadt
5          Defender         Matthew Mills
6          Defender         James Chambers
11        Defender         Adam Lockwood         Injured
16        Defender         Andrew Boyce
18        Defender         Sean McDaid              Injured
21        Defender         Sam Hird
24        Defender         Gordon Greer             Injured
8          Midfielder        Brian Stock
15        Midfielder        Mark Wilson
17        Midfielder        Martin Woods
19        Midfielder        Richie Wellens
20        Midfielder        John Spicer
23        Midfielder        Jason Price
27        Midfielder        Craig Nelthorpe
7          Striker            Lewis Guy
9          Striker            Darren Byfield            Injured
10        Striker             Gareth Taylor
12        Striker             James Hayter
14        Striker             Paul Heffernan
25        Striker             Stuart Elliot
26        Striker             James Coppinger
29        Striker             Waide Fairhurst
31        Striker             Tomi Ameobi
 
Rovers Statistics
 
Last 5 games
Doncaster 1-0 Leeds
Doncaster 5-1 Southend
Southend 0-0 Doncaster
Cheltenham 2-1 Doncaster
Doncaster 2-0 Luton
 
Since a:
Clean sheet - 1
Goal - 0
Loss - 4
No score draw - 3
Score draw - 6
Win - 0
 
Top Scorer: N/A
 
The Rams
 
Paul Jewell has assembled a whole new team:
 
No.           Position      Player
1              Keeper        Roy Carroll
12             Keeper       Lewis Price
13             Keeper       Stephen Bywater
2              Defender     Paul Connolly
3              Defender     James McEveley
5              Defender     Jordan Stewart
14            Defender     Tyrone Mears
15            Defender     Alan Stubbs (captain)
17            Defender     Dean Leacock
19            Defender     Lewin Nyatanga
21            Defender     Claude Davis
22            Defender     Andy Todd
24            Defender     Miles Addison
28            Defender     Martin Albrechtsen
4               Midfield      Paul Green
6               Midfield      PrzemysÅ‚aw Kaźmierczak (on loan F.C. Porto)
7               Midfield      Kris Commons
8               Midfield      Robbie Savage
16             Midfield      Mile Sterjovski
18             Midfield      Giles Barnes              Injured
20             Midfield      Steve Davies
23             Midfield      Gary Teale
25             Midfield      Eddie Lewis
26             Midfield      Ruben Zadkovich
27             Midfield      Stephen Pearson
31             Midfield      Benny Feilhaber
33             Midfield      Andrejs Perepļotkins (on loan from Skonto FC)
9               Striker         Nathan Ellington (on loan from Watford)
10             Striker        Emanuel Villa
11             Striker        Rob Hulse
29             Striker        Liam Dickinson
34             Striker        Aleksandar Prijović
 
Although there are no big names (other than in the Scrabble sense) they haven’t done badly in pre-season and most fans will reserve judgment until they see them play.
 
The players that remain from the disastrous Premier League campaign however will be the subject of debate among Derby fans. James McEveley, Claude Davis, Andy Todd, Gary Teale, Stephen Pearson, Emanuel Villa and particularly Robbie Savage … how are these players going t o break out of the losing mentality of last season and do they have a future at the club?
 
Paul Jewell has attempted to shift Andy Todd, Stephen Pearson and Gary Teale without any success so it would appear the answer is no with these players – though Teale has expressed a willingness to fight for a place at the club.
 
Jay McEveley has started several of the pre-season games. The jury is out on this player. Although he’s good getting forward, he often gets caught out of position for defence and is prone to the occasional howling blunder. The same can be said of Claude Davis though before his injury last season he did look to be knuckling down.
 
Emanuel Villa has managed to score in the pre-season so that should boost his low confidence. He’s obviously found it difficult to settle into the English game and he’s down the pecking order now. It remains to be seen if he has a future at the club.
 
This leaves Robbie Savage. Everyone knows he’s not a great footballer but that has never been the bedrock of his game. Getting among the opposition, breaking up their play, frustrating and annoying – even goading – the opposition so they can’t play. It worked on us on several occasions. Why can’t he do it for us?
 
He was coming back from injury when we signed him last season but now with a full pre-season training he doesn’t have that excuse. Paul Jewell has berated him for not putting in the effort and it remains to be seen if he will. The problem of course is that Savage has a lucrative contract with the Rams and it’s hard to see who would take an over the hill player with a bad attitude?
 
Mick’s Team:

Caroll, Mears, Albrechtsen, Stubbs, Stewart, Commons, Green, Davies, Perepļotkins, Ellington, Hulse.
 
 
What the bookies think:
 
We’re starting the season as favourites for a home win at 8/11 on. Donny are at 4/1 while you can get 5/2 on the draw. Rob Hulse and Emanuel Villa are 5/1 to score first, while Nathan Ellington is 11/2. James Hayter and Lewis Guy are at 10/1 for Doncaster.
 
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.
 
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 the shopping centre unless you fancy being clamped.
 
One alternative is to follow the A52 (see below) past Pride park to the Meadows area at Pentagon Island. There’s plenty of parking there and it’s only ten minutes from the ground – another is to take the exit for Pride Park and park immediately in the Fireplace showroom. This is only a short walk to the ground but its hell to get out of after the game. 

Driving: Doncaster to Derby is 54 Miles. The route couldn’t be more straightforward. M18 to the Junction with the M1 then south to J25. Take the A52 Brian Clough Way towards Derby and follow the signs for away football supporters
 
Mick’s Prediction:
 
We’re coming off the back of our worst ever season while Doncaster are coming off their best. We are a whole new team and may take a while to bed in. It’s going to be a sell out and the patience of the fans could be sorely tested if we start badly.
 
I predict a draw with the first calls for Jewell’s head in the post match analysis on Radio Derby by 4:55.

Post your match prediction here!

Photo: Action Images

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