 Tuesday, 9th Nov 2010 07:10 by Mick McDermott Derby are beginning to look ominous but the real test will come as they take their stunning football and form on the road.
Ipswich vs. Derby CountyTuesday 9th November 201019:30Ipswich v Derby - Historical P 35 W 26 D 7 L 10 F 39 A 62
Last game at Portman Rd. 31/10/09 Ipswich Town 1 - 0 Derby County
Recent Form: Ipswich 6/24 P 15 W 7 D 3 L 5 F 19 A 10 Leading scorers: Norris (2lg 3cp), Priskin (3lg 2cp), Scotland 5
Derby 4/24 P 15 W 7 D 3 L 5 F 30 A 17 Leading scorers: Commons (7)
The Rams The team is becoming a joy to watch and it's to be hoped we can keep up the form at Portman Rd. We're going to be without Leacock for this and Clough has said that Bueno & Moore aren't fit so the starting eleven will need a bit of tweaking. I would go for Brayford alongside Barker and centre half and put Green at right back and start with Pearson in Midfield. Pearson is still coming back from injury but has always looked better away from Pride Park. If it doesn't work he can swap him for Doyle. Will Savage be fit for two games in a week? Maybe that's why Clough took him off on Saturday? It was noticeable that once Savage had gone off, the team sat a bit further back inviting pressure onto the defence. That concerned me with the Derby of the ... well lets face it…. the last ten years! This Derby team however seems to have the confidence to break up the opposition and play out of defence. Fans are now beginning to talk about promotion or play-offs while some are urging caution and say we should stay in the Championship another year. I disagree - you should always strike while the iron is hot in football. Next year may be to late both player wise and opposition wise. You can't play to go up next year - you always have to play for now. Having said that of course - as Arthur Cox used to say - we haven't got enough points to avoid relegation yet.
Probable Team: Fielding Green ,Brayford, Barker, Moxey Bailey, Savage Pearson, Cywka, Commons Kuqi Subs- Deeney, O’Brien, Roberts, Pringle, Doyle, Addison
Derby Squad: No. Position Player 1 Keeper Stephen Bywater 2 Defender John Brayford 3 Defender Gareth Roberts 4 Midfield Paul Green 5 Defender Shaun Barker (vice-captain) 6 Defender Dean Leacock 7 Striker Steve Davies 8 Midfield Robbie Savage 9 Striker Shefki Kuqi (on loan from Swansea City) 10 Midfield Kris Commons 11 Midfield Stephen Pearson 12 Striker Chris Porter 13 Keeper Saul Deeney 14 Defender Russell Anderson 15 Midfield David Martin 16 Midfield James Bailey 17 Defender Jake Buxton 18 Midfield Ben Pringle 19 Striker Tomasz Cywka 20 Defender Miles Addison 21 Defender Dean Moxey 23 Striker Conor Doyle 25 Defender Mark O'Brien 26 Striker Callum Ball 27 Striker Alberto Bueno (on loan from Real Valladolid) 28 Striker Luke Moore (on loan from West Bromwich Albion) 30 Keeper Ross Atkins 34 Keeper Frank Fielding (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) 35 Midfield Jeff Hendrick 36 Defender Kallum Keane 37 Midfield Ryan Connolly 38 Midfield Medi Abalimba 39 Defender Mitchell Hanson
Ipswich How Ipswich get off on charging away fansfor a midweek Championship game when Spurs are only charging for a Champions League game I don't know. Many people have said the extra fiver will prevent them traveling - that's even fans who are quite close to Ipswich - a place difficult enough to get to midweek in the first place. Ipswich is looking to be more consistent this season. Midfielder Jack Colbeck speaking in the local Ipswich media says the Tractor boys are looking to follow an excellent away win at Sheffield United with victories over the Rams and Barnsley; “The two games this week will show how serious our promotion chances are, “To be contenders for promotion or the play-offs we need to win them." “Last season we followed a good result with a poor performance." “Now we must push on, and two wins would put us into a great position. “If you lose a couple of matches in the Championship you drop down significantly, and we must forget about Sheffield United now and move on. Roy Keane has a couple of injury concerns. Tom Eastman (hip), David Norris (ankle) and Grant Leadbitter (hamstring) are all struggling while it's probably too early for defenders Darren O’Dea and Mark Kennedy to return". Keane said: “I’m sure if they were sitting here now, then both Darren O’Dea and Mark Kennedy would say that they were fit to play against Derby. “But my gut feeling is that they need a few more days training, before this weekend’s game." “But I don’t have to rush into any selection decisions. The night games give you a few more hours". Could be playing mind games Nigel. Don't believe him!
Ipswich Squad No. Position Player 1 Keeper Brian Murphy 2 Midfield Jaime Peters 3 Defender Shane O'Connor 4 Defender Gareth McAuley 5 Defender Damien Delaney 6 Midfield Grant Leadbitter 7 Midfield Carlos Edwards 8 Midfield David Norris (captain) 9 Striker Connor Wickham 10 Striker Jason Scotland 12 Keeper Arran Lee-Barrett 14 Midfield Jake Livermore (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 15 Midfield Alan Quinn 16 Striker Tamás Priskin 17 Midfield Andros Townsend (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 19 Midfield Luke Hyam 20 Defender Tommy Smith 21 Keeper Márton Fülöp 22 Defender Troy Brown 23 Defender Tom Eastman 24 Midfield Colin Healy 25 Midfield Billy Clark 26 Midfield Luciano Civelli 27 Midfield Reggie Lambe 28 Striker Ronan Murray 29 Defender Jack Ainsley 30 Defender Seb Dunbar 31 Midfield David Cawley 32 Midfield Jamie Griffiths 34 Midfield Conor Hourihane 36 Midfield Jack Colback (on loan from Sunderland) 39 Defender Mark Kennedy 42 Midfield Josh Carson 48 Defender Darren O'Dea (on loan from Celtic)
What the bookies think Ipswich are 21/20 on favorites for this game while the Rams are at a tempting 13/5. The draw is at 23/10. Tamas Priskin & Jason Scotland are both at 5/1 for the first goal while Kris Commons is at 7/1. Robbie 'Penalty' Savage is at 14/1
Information for traveling fans Driving It’s a long way from Derby to Ipswich - on a raw wet Tuesday night as well. Take the M1 south to the Junction with the A14 and then spend the next couple of hours sitting behind lorries or taking your life in your hands with suicidal over-taking maneuvers. Or go A52/A1 to the A14. It still takes forever. Stay on the A14 until you see the Junction with the A137 for Ipswich. You can see the ground on your left as you get into Ipswich. Parking Limited on street parking coupled with 3 or 4 pay and display car-parks near Portman Road make parking fairly easy. Drinking If you get there early enough, the Station Hotel near the station oddly enough is best for away fans though the Punch & Judy pub near Cardinal Park is also recommended. Most other pubs are home fans only though to be fair as long as you aren't mouthing off I've always found Ispwich to be easy going.
Mick's prediction Another tough game and injuries and suspensions aren't helping. The team has spirit and I would have wrote this off last year given as we've not played well there for ages it seems (2003 it seems). Also Roy Keane seems to have a hoo-doo on us. This year I'm a bit more optimistic that we can snatch a win or a draw at least. Derby 1-1 Ipswich
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