A tale of two managers given ultimatums this week; “start winning or your jobs on the line”.

Derby County v Barnsley
Coca Cola Championship
3:00pm 30th August 2008
Oakwell, Barnsley

Adam Pearson was quick to scotch the rumours regarding Paul Jewell and the win over Preston must have relieved some of the pressure.

Reacting to rumours that Simon Davey has only four games to save his job, Tykes owner Patrick Cryne told BBC Radio Sheffield: "There is absolutely no truth to the stories."

Davey himself said; I don't read the papers, as far as I'm concerned I just get on with my job."

Barnsley started the season as one of the bookies favourites for relegation. Three straight league defeats and being dumped out of the cup by Crewe will not have done much to persuade the bookies they were wrong.

This is the team that beat Liverpool and Chelsea in last seasons FA cup and who only narrowly lost to beaten finalists Cardiff at Wembley.

Davey has strengthened he squad by adding Iain Hume (Leicester), Hugo Roberto Colace (Newell 's Old Boys), Mounir El Haimour (Neuchatel Xamax) and Darren Moore (Derby). He also has Gary Teale on loan although he isn't eligible to play under the terms of his loan. If he reproduced the form he showed at Derby then most Rams fans would be happy to see him play.

One player the Rams faithful will be pleased to see is Darren Moore although whether the Tykes fans feel the same way is a moot point. Darren has given away two penalties in the games he’s played so far.

Maybe they like us Derby fans and WBA fans before us can see he’s a whole hearted player who will go in for the tackle even if the legs aren’t there to do it anymore. At least he doesn’t give up or surrender when the chips are down and if Barnsley are to survive this season, the Tyke player could do worse than follow his lead.

Derby fans should not expect any favours from Moore. he's the consummate professional. I remember talking to WBA fans at Wembley who seemed to think big Darren would throw the game in their favour as he was so popular with them. No chance!

Paul Jewell would be a fool to underestimate the Tykes. Although they have lost the last four competitive games, it’s worth remembering that - apart from Crewe - the Tykes have played all of their games against the front runners in the Championship.

Also, last season Brian Howard and John Macken scored 21 goals between them suggesting that the Tykes are good getting forward. The new look defence will need to be on top form to keep them out.  

Tykes statistics

Current team  

Leading scorer Ian Hume & Brian Howard are top scorers with 1 league goal each.

The Rams

Last week against Southampton was possibly one of the mast abject capitulations I've ever seen from a Rams team. The lack of Pride, idea or effort on show was staggering. I suspect that despite Adam Pearson's words, Paul Jewell could have been on his way if this weekend’s game had been similar.

The vastly superior performance against previously unbeaten Preston may have taken off some of the pressure. Okay it wasn't great - the team still made mistakes and could have paid the price if lady luck hadn't been smiling on them - and if Neil Mellor had laid off the pies in the summer - but the new team looked much more balanced and organized.

It begs the question then; "why haven't we played with this team from day 1?"

Connolly & Stewart are better defenders than McEveley & Mears. That seems obvious to everyone except Paul Jewell. McEveley particularly was a liability last Saturday against the Saints.

Dean Leacock is a far better centre half than Calamity Claude. Claude may have cost £3.5m but the way his confidence is at the moment he'd be lucky to get a game in a pub team. He needs time to sort himself out and a Championship campaign doesn't leave you with much time. With Leacock, Connolly and Stewart in defence, Carroll and Albrechtsen looked a lot more relaxed and on Wednesday started to look like the start of a backbone for the team.

Miles Addison & Kaz in midfield managed to get stuck in though much of the game passed Kaz by. The problem is that he looks like a defensive midfielder when in fact he's a creative midfielder. Given time on the ball his passing is very good but time on the ball is a luxury in the Championship. Addison put himself about and a couple of times I thought he was close to a second yellow but at least he was there with the challenges - more than Savage has done all season. Be interesting to see what Jewell does in midfield as Barazite will be available.

Jewell persisted with Hulse & Villa up front and Tito didn't disappoint with his running. he needs to get sharper in and around the six yard box though if he's to trouble the scorer. Hulse does seem to be finding his feet. Against Southampton he looked slow, clumsy and as likely to score as blind Pugh. On Wednesday he was still a yard off the pace but he was making the effort and he does look like he's getting there. Remember Steve Howard took a while to get started.

Saying that if Ellington is fit, I'd start him ahead of Hulse.

Mick's team : Carroll, Stewart, Leacock, Albrechtsen, Connolly, Commons, Barazite, Addison, Kaz, Ellington, Villa

What the Bookies think

Barnsley are 7/5 favourites however there is not much in it with the Rams at 6/4. The draw is at 9/5. Nathan Ellington & Tito Villa are at 5/2 to score while Rob Hulse is at 11/4. Iain Hume is also 5/2 while Jonathan Macken is 11/4. You can get 16/1 on Darren Moore to score.

Information for traveling fans

Driving: It’s about 60 miles to Barnsley. Take the M1 north to J37 and then take the A628 towards Barnsley. You can’t miss the ground on the right. The train station is around ten minutes walking from the ground however trains from Derby to Sheffield will be severely affected by engineering works this weekend. Be warned.

Parking: If you get there early enough there’s plenty of street parking otherwise park at the Metrodome Leisure centre.

Drinking. Footballgroundguide.com recommends the Hollywell Inn on Oakwell Rd near the old Barnsley brewery. The Outpost on Sheffield Rd is also popular. Another option is to get a drink at the Metrodome which has a bar.

Drinking in the town is not recommended especially if you are wearing colours. If the away end is split between home and away fans the bar is on the home side however for the visit of the Rams the full end should be allocated.

Mick’s prediction

This could be a more difficult game than the league position would suggest. If we can build on Tuesday’s performance and a large traveling crowd gets behind the team then we could get our first league win under Jewell. It’d be about time.

Make your prediction here:

http://www.clubfanzine.com/derby_county/v2.predictionleague.php

Photo: Action Images

Derby County Polls