Watford FC vs. Derby County Venue: Vicarage Road Kick Off: 1500 GMT Coverage: BBC Three Counties Radio, Hornets Player, Rams Player Highlights: The Football League Show BBC1, Sky Sports News Where to begin dear reader? Originally a Roman military post Derventio, Derby's growth was closely tied to the textiles and Continental wool trade. It is no coincidence that the club have a ram on their crest and continuing Roman traditions the local mummer play The Derby Tup features a sacrificial ram. A local folk song The Derby Ram is thought to originate from these medieval plays. John Lombe undertaking an early form of industrial espionage 'stole' the designs of the silk throwing machines used in Piedmont and used these in combination with the fast flowing Derwent to power them in what can be described as the first factory in the world. Using his own machine combined with that designed by a local vicar, Jedediah Strutt made Derby preeminent in the manufacture of hose worn at the time by both sexes. His resulting wealth was used to help design a purpose built factory to house Richard Arkwright's water frames at the Cromford Mill, revolutionizing the production of raw cotton into a mass produced cheap consumable. Hugenot immigrant Andre Planche and William Duesbury adopting the factory system built the world famous Crown Derby porcelain label. While Josiah Wedgewood in the Potteries called on the services of John Flaxman as painter, Duesbury had those of Richard Askew. Their work received the approval of mad King George and the Royal appellation. The railway age further developed Derby as an industrial centre with the London Midland Railway headquarters based in the town with substantial ironworks powered by the local coalfields. One notably was that of Andrew Handyside whose creations still can be found in many extant Victorian ironworks. The newly enriched also took on the Victorian concept of philanthropism. Joseph Strutt built the Derby Arboretum in his former estate grounds. This recently restored inspired Frederick Olmsted when he designed Central Park. Another ironworks magnate Francis Ley was more interested in another Victorian development , organized sport. However the sport he was fanatical about had been inspired by a business trip to America. Baseball. With Alan Spalding the founder of that sportswear brand he set about bringing baseball to Britain. The latter was more interested in using the sport to promote sales but Ley was a man possessed by baseball fever, creating a national league and the Baseball Ground to house his own team. Derbyshire CC formed in 1870 playing in the unofficial County Championship at the Racecourse Ground. Members and players played cricket in the summer and football in the winter to keep fit. Impressed by the crowds for local football matches the club saw an opportunity to make money out of the supporters and formed Derbyshire County FC in 1884. The local FA opposed the name on the grounds of possible confusion with the cricket club and county representatives, so Derby County was chosen instead bearing the colours of the county team, a rather unedifying mix of chocolate, blue and amber. A win over Aston Villa a leading club of the time led the Football League to send an invite to Derby County to be one of the twelve founders.The railway age meant that the concept of national leagues for various sports could be realized. Instead of having to travel for days by horse and carriage players and supporters could turn up within hours. Derby acquired it's first star in 1889 signing England international John Goodall from the Invincibles of Preston NE.Goodall also features in our own history.He arrived in 1903 playing his last game in 1907 aged 44 a record that still stands, before guiding us to a Southern League Division Two title as manager and later as groundsman. An eccentric character prone to walking his pet foxes around the streets he died in Watford in 1942. Below: John Goodall top scorer in the Football Leagues first ever season and later Watford player and manager Derby County incorporated the railway works team Derby Midland in 1891 creating a one club town and in 1892 were part of the first ever Division One as the Football League and Football Alliance merged. The latter brought three clubs into the fold Sheffield Wednesday, Newton Heath now known as Manchester United and Derby's fiercest rivals Nottingham Forest. The sides clashed for the first time on 1st October 1892, a 3-2 win for the men in red. More pertinently the season saw the debut of someone who is widely regarded as the first football superstar Steve Bloomer. Under the tutelage initially of Goodall, Bloomer ended up scoring 317 goals for the Rams in 536 games. Commemorated by a bust near the dugout the chant Steve Bloomers Watching You is now sung at Pride Park. [video=youtube;_i9vtKVT0uU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i9vtKVT0uU[/video] Below: Steve Bloomer in his England kit and the commemorative bust at Pride Park 1894 saw the club adopt it's current colours of black and white and with the unavailability of the Racecourse Ground for several matches the club moved to Ley's Baseball Ground. His own baseball team had won the first national title in 1890 although the majority of the team were American, an issue which saw other clubs force the team out of the league. The club continued until 1898 often featuring Bloomer at second base and the sport was still popular until the advent of World War Two when there was a cultural backlash of sorts after the GI invasion. With fewer and fewer baseball matches played at the ground Derby County made it their permanent home in 1896. It had a notoriety of being a mud heap after any significant rainfall and in many fixtures the pitch was more sand than grass. Goodall and Bloomer pushed Derby to preeminence and a runners up spot in the 1895-6 season and two FA Cup finals including a loss in 1898 yet again to the men from Nottingham. Another final in 1903 saw Derby lose in what remains a record FA Cup final defeat 6-0 to Bury. By this time Goodall and his younger brother Archie a solid centre half had left in 1900 and 1903 respectively and Bloomer was sold against his wishes to Middlesbrough in 1906 to make ends meet. A pattern repeated in the club's history was established. Relegation in 1907. Derby had a torrid time in the second tier though Bloomer was not missed as Alf Bentley surpassed his scoring records for the club along with the so called Busy Bees, Horace Barnes and Jimmy Bauchop. Bloomer's return in 1910 saw the club return to the top tier for a short stay.The start of the Great War did not immediately impact upon football in England. Derby continued to play matches at the BBG back in the second tier after relegation. But the transfer of Barnes to Manchester City for £2500 a record fee at the time , while thousands were dying on the horror of the Western Front provoked the familiar question asked ever since, 'is any footballer worth this amount of money ?'. Derby were promoted in 1915 but sporting activities were suspended that year by the authorities deeming them frivolous. Post war Derby struggled to find goalscorers and were relegated again. Cecil Potter , a managerial rarity for Derby being an outsider with no prior links to the club took charge but left in 1925 to guide Huddersfield Town to another Championship title while Derby still in the second tier had at least managed to purchase the freehold of the Baseball Ground in 1924. George Jobey took the club back to the top utilizing players like forward Harry Bedford and Sammy Crooks one of England's most prominent players in the inter war years. The sides ethos was to simply outscore the opposition and when Bedford left he was replaced by another prolific striker Jack Bowers and later by the diminutive Hughie Gallacher. This was a golden age for the club. The team was packed with internationals, attendances hit records resulting in the development of the ground. Below: The Baseball Ground from the air in the late nineteen thirties: However a runners up spot to Sunderland in the 35/36 season was the best Jobey achieved as manager in the seasons before the renewal of hostilities between Germany and Britain. He and several directors were found guilty of making illegal payments to prominent internationals perhaps explaining why players like Crooks opted to remain at the BBG despite the lack of titles although the free scoring free flowing football may well provide a valid reason too. It was not the first time such issues were to plague the club. More of that later. After the cessation of hostilities Derby managed to sign prolific forwards Raich Carter and Peter Doherty who had been stationed in the area both of whom propelled the club to success in the 1946 FA Cup final against Charlton . The numerous failures in previous FA campaigns had been ascribed to the removal of gypsies from the land used to build the BBG by Ley and the captain of the 46 side Jack Nicholas is supposed to have had his palm cleansed to remove the curse. Below left: An FA Cup final ticket for the match against Charlton a 4-1 win after extra time Below right: Jack Nicholas the captain second from left in the picture gets ready to speak after extra time Despite an English record signing in Billy Steel from Morton in 1947 and Johnny Morris in 1948 for £24,000 Derby were unable to win further titles. 1949 saw more FA investigations into the clubs accounts which found discrepancies. Given their previous experience of illegal payments under Jobey the FA imposed fines and chairman Ben Robshaw was banned from football. Club secretary Jack Cattarall later committed suicide as a result of his involvement. The loss of funds saw Derby slip into the second tier again in 1953 ending their longest stay of 27 years in the top flight. This was followed by relegation to the third tier in 1955.The incumbent manager who was sacked as a consequence was Jack Barker a former playing stalwart. His response to his dismissal has been a mantra that has been couched in varying degrees by his successors and would no doubt make Nigel Clough raise a wry grin. 'The trouble is that the people you are working for know nothing about the game'. Under another ex player Harry Storer the club returned to the second tier and in turn passed the baton onto another former player Tim Ward. Storer had managed to turn the ship around and also oversaw Derby's first ever tie in the League Cup a thumping 5-2 win at Vicarage Road in the first meeting between the clubs. Although Brian Clough and Peter Taylor can lay claim to fashioning the League winning sides , Ward set the foundations in place signing club legends Kevin Hector,Alan Durban and local lads Ron Webster and keeper Colin Boulton. The four were key members of the League winning side managed by Clough. In a familiar pattern Ward felt alienated by the board and behind the scenes friction led to his dismissal. Ward himself like Barker before him did not pull his punches: 'The job has been the toughest I have ever had, and the shortage of money has been frustrating. The trouble with this club is that you can't put a threepenny stamp on a letter without consulting the board personally. I was told that money was available but I could never get an answer when I asked how much.'
In came Clough and Taylor. Below: Clough and Taylor sign forms at the Baseball Ground watched by Clough's nemesis chairman Sam Longson and club secretary Stuart Webb: The famed managerial duo were not immediately successful but they recruited wisely and well. Taylor used his powers of analysis while Brian used his powers of persuasion to lure Roy McFarland from Merseyside, his own time at Sunderland as a youth coach to recruit John O'Hare and tricky winger Alan Hinton from Wolverhampton Wanderers. The key signing was Dave Mackay. A silky smooth player who could play anywhere on the pitch and who had already won titles with Heart of Midlothian and Tottenham Hotspur his experience was vital to the developing side. Clough moved the veteran to a libero role from central midfield to utilize his passing ability showing that nothing is really new in football when you have teams like Barcelona implementing the Bielsa model of moving midfielders to play at the back. The 68-69 season saw promotion attained and a club record undefeated streak of 22 matches that extended into the following season in the top tier.The season was relatively successful although the issue of illegal payments struck once again with Mackay the alleged recipient meaning the team could not take part in the Fairs Cup the predecessor of the UEFA Cup after finishing fourth in the table. Clough added another tricky winger in Archie Gemmill to supply Hector and used his experience of his time on Wearside to bring in Colin Todd who would form a formidable club and international partnership with Roy McFarland at the back. The 1971-2 season saw the Rams claim their first league title along with the long forgotten Texaco Cup. The Rams beat Liverpool on the final day to head the table on 58 points with rivals Leeds and Liverpool each having one league game left to play having had to contest a heated FA Cup final. Clough and the team learnt of their success on holiday in the Scillies and Mallorca respectively as both their rivals failed to acheive the required results to overhaul them. Below left: Clough and Taylor parade the Championship trophy at the Baseball Ground Below right: Derby County players relax in Mallorca hoping for Arsenal and Wolverhampton to do them a favour: This led to entry into the European Cup where Derby progressed to the semi finals before being cheated by the old lady of corruption Juventus. The referee Gerhard Schulenberg penalized Derby continually sometimes for the most bewildering of reasons and Clough and others watching had no doubt the game was being fixed an experience he once again encountered with another official Emilio Muro in his time at Nottingham Forest. The season also saw Clough surpass his record buy of Todd by signing David Nish from the Foxes without any consultation with the board. He also decried the Rams fans for being too passive at times. Sam Longson and his board were growing increasingly exasperated with the new modern manager and his media profile and his spats with Leeds United managed by Revie and the FA Secretary Alan Hardaker. Matters were not helped by the unconsulted signings and feelers put out for players like Bobby Moore. The board seemed determined to remove Clough and used Taylor as the means to do so by questioning his role in the club. So days after a win at Old Trafford Clough and Taylor walked out never to return along with their entire backroom team. A similar walk out to Coventry, Taylor's former club in the title winning season was rather brief after demands for more money were met. This time no amount of entreaties from a shattered dressing room or demonstrations from supporters against Longson changed the situation. Dave Mackay who knew most of the playing staff was brought in and his wise head and the signing of another club stalwart Bruce Rioch saw Derby finish third. Mackay went better the following season having signed Francis Lee and placing the emphasis on goal scoring to take Derby to their second League title. A quick exit from the UEFA Cup to Atletico Madrid in the first ever penalty shoot out in that competition turned out to be beneficial to winning this second title. Below: Some members of the title winning side under Dave Mackay: Derby Englands number one club at the time continued to spend acquiring the flair and trickery of Charlie George from Arsenal who scored in a Charity Shield success against West Ham United. A match against the might of Real Madrid at the BBG in October 1975 in the European Cup could be the greatest match the Rams have ever played. George who was unaccountably a one cap wonder with England scored a hat trick to beat Los Blancos 4-1. The away leg was best forgotten a heavy 5-1 loss and Derby crashed out of European competition to which day they have never returned. The Anglo-Italian Cup is hardly worthy of merit. [video=youtube;Huo9Y2xE7uE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Huo9Y2xE7uE[/video] The loss of George to injury late in the same season saw a title challenge dissipate and an exit in the FA Cup semi final.This was the zenith of Derby's achievements. A poor start the following season saw Mackay removed without many thanks. Despite spending big and trying to lure Clough into a return, managers came and went and with them any semblance of stability. The spine assembled with patience by Barker and Clough crumbled into retirement or pastures new. While Nottingham Forest savoured another European Cup triumph under Clough in the early summer of 1980 Derby were facing another spell in the second tier. Encounters between the Hornets and Rams had been until the early eighties a real rarity given that our opponents were generally in the top two tiers while we conversely were in the bottom two. The 81-82 season did see us thrash Derby 6-1 at home on our way to promotion with a 3-2 reverse at the end of the season seeing Kevin Hector score his final goal for the Rams in a club record 589th appearance. Desperately looking to revive the club Peter Taylor was recalled leading to an acrimonious split between him and Clough that Clough himself later regretted never having patched up. But even Taylor was unable to sort the mess out. The club was hit by more investigations into their finances and faced the prospect of being wound up. Ironically the saviour turned out to be Bouncing Bob Maxwell but the off field problems had their effect on the pitch and in their centenary year 1984 the Rams ended up in the third tier. Arthur Cox brought in from Newcastle led the revival despite the clubs lowest finish in the pyramid in May 1985 bringing in future managers Steve McLaren and John Gregory as players. Ironically it was a Taylor signing Bobby Davison who led the scoring charts and Derby surged back to the top flight in 1987 acquiring along the way the somewhat underrated Nigel Callaghan from us. Acclaimed at both clubs they organized a friendly in order to raise funds for Cally in his so far successful fight against bowel cancer. Below: Steve McLaren former Derby player, coach and new manager with slightly more hair than evidenced on the Football League Show: Below: Nigel Callaghan a superb player for both Watford and Derby County: Bouncing Bob now decided to invest heavily in the Rams signing Mark Wright, Peter Shilton and their first one million pound man Dean Saunders. By the end of the 88-89 season and fifth in the top flight things looked rosy although the Heysel disaster prevented Derby from any more European adventures in the UEFA Cup. A disgruntled Maxwell disappointed in his attempts to buy us (a lucky escape) and critical of attendances pulled the plug leading to a spiral of decline culminating in a record twenty game winless run and relegation in May 1991. Selling Wright and Saunders and the takeover by Lionel Pickering kept the club solvent, signing several players for large fees such as Paul Kitson. After failing to return to the newly created Premier League at the first attempt losing in the playoffs to Blackburn Rovers newly funded by Walker and a disappointing season in 92-3 Cox retired. His assistant McFarland took over guiding Derby to a second playoff final losing to Leicester City in May 1994. Several players like Kitson left for the bright lights of the PL and McFarland was unable to mount a serious promotion challenge the following season retiring at the end of it having given some 28 years of service. Jim Smith came in with Steve McLaren as his number two rebuilding the side around Croat Igor Stimac earning promotion in May 1996. The following season saw the team stay up with the addition of several overseas players bringing the disparaging epithet 'League of Nations' or 'The Sneaks' from Soccer AM. A defeat against Arsenal the last ever game at the Baseball Ground. The club limited by the capacity of the old stadium moved to Pride Park similar to the Riverside in design, built on the former locomotive works for the London Midland & Scottish railway. New stadiums can be a curse or a blessing. Initially it was the latter with Italian flair added in the signings of Stefano Eranio and Francesco Baiano. The loss of McLaren early in 1999 and the departure of several players with Derby unable to pay the required wages. The sales of these were used to buy in potential diamonds although in retrospect Seth Johnson has to be one of the most overpriced and least talented of all footballers to have earned enormous transfer fees. It was to no avail as having barely survived the previous season relegation was unsurprising in the 01-02 season despite the efforts of former player Colin Todd. The club like several afterwards had not accounted for this and instead of selling off their prized playing assets they decided to take a gamble to return at the first attempt. It failed. John Gregory also failed with the club in financial crisis to be replaced by George Burley who made astute signings like Grzegorz Rasiak, Iñigo Idiakez and our own Tommy Smith to replace big money flops like the white feather Ravinelli , blooding in youngsters from the new Moor Farm Academy such as Tom Huddlestone. Preston NE however ended up defeating the team in the 04-05 playoffs with the loss of Rasiak and Idiakez to injuries crucial to the loss. The legacy of spending to stay in the top flight was (and is) still hurting the club and eventually Pride Park was sold to the ABC Corporation akin to the current Coventry situation with the Rams having to pay for the privilege of playing at the stadium. Burley unhappy with the running of the club resigned but his successors fared no better as the financial problems continued to haunt the club. A local group of businessmen led by Peter Gadsby eventually took control and put money into the club while the former director of football who Burley had fallen out with was convicted of fraud. With matters off the pitch healthier the team under Billy Davies stormed to a playoff final and win against WBA with Davies as usual spending heavily. The following season 07-08 was an unmitigated disaster. Davies perhaps deliberately fell out with the new chairman Adam Pearson and was sacked.American group GSE took over but experienced Paul Jewell was unable to prevent relegation in March 2008. Another unwanted record was collected by the Rams. The first time a club has been relegated from the top division before April. Other records included a record home defeat and achieving a record low points total for the top division with just win in the entire season. Jewell departed and once again Derby turned to familial connections for manager. The man chosen Nigel Clough had been responsible for the success at near neighbours Burton Albion. He restructured the club slashing the wage bill and restructured the Moor Farm Academy with a Central League title won and producing the now very saleable assets of Will Hughes, Jeff Hendrick and signings he brought in like Bryson and potentially Russell. Below: Like father like son. Unfortunately this romantic story did not have a fairy tale ending: How to assess Clough's tenure ? Injuries, lack of funds and the youth of the side has to be taken into account for a recipe for inconsistency and lack of sustained winning runs that are the basis for promotion challenges. His sacking was unexpected and uncalled for although Sam's and Cloughs do not appear to get on. We are all mortal and want to see that ultimate moment of success. While older Derby fans have savoured this it is not so with the younger spectators. Derby remains a hotbed of football passion with attendances exceeding most clubs in the Premier League. But this ghost of the past and that desire within us all as fans to hope for better seems to have seen growing disquiet with Clough junior's attempts to return the Rams to the promised land. There is no substitute for the experienced older player but Nigel's attempts in this regard with Savage for example unfortunately failed while other signings like Moxey showed their worth at other clubs in his instance at Crystal Palace. His backing from GSE was lamentable having to deal primarily with free transfers and selling before buying. And the timing of the dismissal is rather rotten given the pleasure Nottingham Forest fans will have derived from it not to mention losing his mother recently and still having put the club first before family grief. As always football is mainly about finance and who can be brought in. Derby while they have rich board members have not invested compared to those riding high in the division at present. Some suitable purchases in January of this year might have helped deepen the squad and ensured they reached last seasons playoffs. None were available. It takes a great deal of time to turn a club around and especially when the predicament the Rams were in at one stage. You still see the signs of long term illness in the likes of Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday for instance. And when fans look at where WBA and Derby are now one has to take into account the sensible fiscal policies shown by the Baggies compared to the Rams. There is no room for sentimentality in the game. It would have been a fairy tale to see the scion of Brian return to Pride Park and emulate the achievements of the father in whose shadow he will forever stand. But such a random act unless the club had already seen McLaren as the successor (odd given his efforts at Nottingham Forest) seems pointless. Forever tainted as the wally with the brolly, to succeed they will have to provide funds to him and all the indications are that these will be through sales with Will Hughes the most likely candidate to move in January. A win against Leeds who are themselves an absolute shambles devoid of quality should hardly be taken as an indication of a bright new road to success. That said Clough did make mistakes with a trait for obstinacy at times and puzzling sales such as moving on Theo Robinson and allowing Jason Shackell to leave. The former stepover, timewasting Derby hero and Watford academician, for indiscipline for which Nigel was a stickler and the latter to balance the purchase of the so far distinctly underwhelming Connor Sammon from Wigan. A lack of tactical flexibility and the presence of a leader at the back something which his father was insistent upon has also been critical. In this respect the loss of Shaun Barker against Forest in March 2012 has had a severe impact on Clough's tenure. A natural leader and presence that the current defensive set up lack. One only has to look at the goals conceded in recent games where any ball into the box is uncontested and where marking is extremely lax. This in itself has affected the form of Grant forced to come out when he normally would not have to. Balls between the fullbacks and centrebacks have also reaped great reward for opponents. That said when one looks at the spend and apparently he did have more to spend (but this is more than likely GSE spin from their puppet Sam Rush)and the improvement overall last season it only reinforces the pointlessness of the sacking. Fewer and fewer clubs and fans are prepared to give managers the time they need and they are a convenient scapegoat for other ills at a club behind which directors can hide. And fans are always chasing the rainbow in the hope that something better is around the corner. Sometimes that thing around the corner is best avoided and left alone. The situation could not have been helped by the signs of a flowering at the Forest , led by their former manager, topped off by losing the Brian Clough trophy. Clough had reinforced over the summer with several free transfers including our own captain reliable John Eustace probably for his dressing room experience for the younger players Derby have in abundance along with Craig Forsyth. However the conversion of wingers to fullbacks a popular trend in modern football is a bit hit and miss. While Craig assists well his defensive liabilities have been exposed along with Kieron Freeman who has been unable to fill the boots of the departed Brayford. Hence the loan signing of Adam Smith from Tottenham is the right moral sentiment. The loan addition of Zak Whitbread from fellow Midland's rivals Leicester City is another indication that Clough was well aware of the problems at the back. Chris Martin in time will be prove to be a sound acquisition as a target man given his pedigree in returning to square one in his career and as a reliable target for the outlet ball. Johnny Russell signed from Dundee United has already bagged four goals and although not as pacy as Robinson is adept at running and finding space and a reliable poacher. Lee Grant a fellow Hornet fan and Derby academy product returning home so to speak has proved himself time and time again in this division pulling Burnley out many a scrape last season and has proved his worth to Derby. Although a lack of communication at times which Eric Steele will look to improve has been an Achilles heel. Below: The top scorers for each club have both hit six this season, Troy Deeney on the left and Craig Bryson on the right: Clough had implemented a neat passing game with a solitary striker with the wingbacks and midfield joining in to supplement the striker. Craig Bryson has played this role to magnificent effect leading the Rams scoring charts with six. The midfield despite current injuries to Coutts and Hendrick has managed to control games but issues upfront and in the box undermined Clough's efforts. Poor first halves have been costly with Derby better in the second half of games perhaps an indication that Clough did have some effect with his half time teamtalks. Below: The pattern of Derby County's goals scored and conceded this season: In retrospect Lee Grant conceding an own goal against Leicester, Russell missing a crucial penalty against Burnley, howlers from Freeman and Forsyth in matches have contributed to ending Nigel's reign on a sourish note. Last season saw us being soundly thrashed at Pride Park 5-1. This was just after Martin Taylor had moved to Hillsborough with Matej Vydra's goal scant consolation after being exposed as Derby have been recently at setpiece after setpiece. The return saw some measure of revenge gained with Vydra and Ekstrand scoring in a 2-1 home success with us bouncing along confident of promotion at the time as Derby having failed to back Clough in January tailed off into midtable. So it is now the reign of Steve McLaren as Derby continue the tradition of appointing managers with links to the club with another ex player Paul Simpson as his assistant and former Watford keeper Eric Steele having left Old Trafford along with Alex Ferguson as goalkeeping coach. How will Derby line up ? The international break will see three Derby players on international duty. Bryson for Scotland, Ward for Northern Ireland and Will Hughes on u21 duty with England. Richard Keogh a Clough purchase returned to the defence from suspension and Captain Fantastic John Eustace showed his experience in marshalling the Derby midfield. Derby County line up from their last match against Leeds United: We are doing far better than last season. This should be expected as most of the squad are accustomed to each other, have a seasons experience of life in the Championship and this time around a full preseason.In terms of points, goals scored and conceded we are well ahead of last season's efforts despite the recent absence of Almen Abdi the brains of the midfield. Only one team Wigan has really deserved a result against us and this from a side that has barely scratched it's full potential. The depth of the squad and the way Zola has manipulated it bodes well for the congested schedule ahead of next summers World Cup and one can expect reinforcements in January. Season comparison for Watford FC league positions 2012/3 & 2013/4: There are two players for each position now with quality although I think we could do with a physical animal in midfield at times and a supplementary striker to backup Deeney as both Mensah and Ikpeazu are very raw albeit with talent aplenty. Our games thus far have followed a pretty familiar pattern with the opposition having ten behind the ball pressing and closing down like the proverbial furies. But this does seem to take it's toll as we control games and certainly create more opportunities and goals in the second half of matches. And then have real quality and pace to throw on when the opposition defence are tiring. Indeed half of our goals have come within the last third of matches this season. However we do despite the commanding presence of Angella remain vulnerable at setpieces. Below: The pattern of Watford goals scored and conceded this season: I still think we need to get the midfield pressing higher and faster linking better with Deeney and bringing our wingbacks more and more into games. The form of Murray has been a pleasing aspect of the season so far bringing the energy and skill we saw in his debut year while Lewis McGugan has been growing into his role with more and more authority although his corner kicks seem to be taken from the Mark Yeates school. At times we also have had a lack of urgency and still no settled backline. There is good news in this regard in terms of competition as Nosworthy will soon be training with the first team squad.Hoban unfortunately is some way off. We will also once again lose players to international duty. Doyley (Jamaica), Belkalem (Algeria), Battochio (Italy u21) and Murray and Smith (Ireland u21) are once again likely to be absent from any plans Zola will have in place for the next couple of weeks. And Faraoni will be suspended having picked up his fifth yellow card of the season with a silly challenge on halfway at Huddersfield. Given Derby's frailty in the air this might just be the game to give Ikpeazu his chance to help Deeney. Troy has come in for plenty of criticism recently. Some claim his head may have been turned by the transfer speculation prior to the closure of the transfer window but the simple fact is that Deeney is a recognized threat and is now more often than not having to contend with a defensive midfielder sat on him. Being double marked is bound to reduce anyone's effectiveness barring a certain Lionel Messi. Ask Gareth Bale. I think that we should win this match. We need to improve upon our home record from last season certainly and given the weaknesses in Derby's defence there will be opportunities. However with Derby flooding the midfield the sort of start we showed yesterday at Huddersfield cannot be tolerated. Our wingbacks will be crucial and Forsyth defensively could be an avenue for someone like Anya to exploit. Ikechi should have him on a plate. Players who love to come from deeper positions like Hughes and Bryson will need to be watched closely by Iriney/McEachran and McGugan will need to help out here. Battochio might provide a better balance for this particular game in this regard. The last ten games played by Derby: Our rather brief historical record against the Rams: http://www.11v11.com/teams/watford/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Derby County To gauge the views of the Derby faithful you can if you wish eavesdrop on these forums. There still seems a real division between those pro and anti-Clough: http://dcfcfans.co.uk/ http://dcfc-craic.forumotion.net/ http://www.derby.vitalfootball.co.uk/forum/category-view.asp
Can someone please summarise in 4-5 bullet points, cheers. Failure to win this one will leave serious question marks about our credentials in this division. Acuna needs to start in place of Deeney.
Smudger disliked my post, so I've disliked his, based on the length, rather than the content, which I don't have time to read.
I used to like the Baseball Ground. Good atmosphere. "Phillip Gee, Phillip Gee, Philip Gee, Phillip Gee, scoring goals for Derby, Phillip Geeeeeee."
A nothing team. Don't care for 'em, don't really care against 'em. If someone asked you to name football teams beginning with D, you'd name Doncaster, Darlington and Dungannon Swifts before you'd remember little brown Derby. They're a mid-table non-entity and there's three easy points ripe for the pickin' I reckon.
This will be a tough one. Derby have just beaten the best team in world football at the weekend and will be on a major high. They have also got the "new manager" syndrome, so will be full of confidence. McLaren's tenure didn't look like it was going to start too well being 1-4 down at home to Ipswich, but then staged an incredible fight-back to earn a 4-4 draw. Following on from this was their 3-1 win over the mighty Leeds, so it's probably not the best time to be playing them. Having said that, if we play with the same confidence as we did against Huddersfield then I fancy our chances, but if the Blackburn version turn up, then it could be a tough afternoon for us. A couple of familiar faces are regular starters for Derby these days in Eustace and Forsyth. Their real strength is the quality up front. Will Hughes is their star man of course, but in Chris Martin (7 goals) and Jamie Ward (5 goals), they have plenty to cause us defensive problems. If we are going to win this, then I would say we'll need to score more than once for sure. Team prediction:- .........................Almunia ........Belkaham - Angella - Ekstrand Faraoni......................................Anya ........................McEachran ..................McGugan - Abdi ....................Deeney - Fessi Subs:- Bond, Iriney, Cassetti, Doyley, Fabbrini, Pudil, Murray
Assuming that Doyley and Anya will only just be back from their travels I would go with: Almunia Belkalem Angella Ekstrand Anya (I'd probably play him anyway) Abdi Mceachran Murray Pudil Deeney Forestieri Subs: Bond Doyley Faraoni Iriney Mcgugan Acuna Fabbrini
Look, we've seen Eustace and Forsyth and we've seen the likes of Forestieri and Anya. If the latter can't twist the former inside out until they're not even sure which way they're kicking, then Steve McLaren's a Dutchman. We know for a fact that our players are better than theirs. There's no question about it. I wish there was a 'Watford by 5 or more goals' option in the poll.
Will Hughes has pulled out of the u21 squad with a minor groin injury so should still be available for the match at the Vic.
Smudger you should sell your articles to whoever compiles the oppo content for the Watford programme ... unless it's you?! A short lived honeymoon for McLaren ... 5-1 to the Horns.
64 tickets left as at 10:30 8/10/13. Also tried to buy a couple of tickets near my ST for Leicester. No chance. Exciting times!
I don't think we need to worry about who lines up for the opposition, if we play our game we will win
Russell is definitely out, he will miss the next 6 weeks with a hamstring Injury. Good news as he is a dangerous player.
Their left back has a decent shot on him. Wouldn't be surprised if he goes up front if they need a goal in the closing stages as he's quite a big lad.
Faraoni is suspended for this one I think, lets hope Ikechi doesn't pick up an injury on international duty. Although I'd love to see Cassetti get a run out at wing back again.
Abdi should be back in time for this one. I find the club's explanation of his absence amusing: 'inflamed foot'. I'm not at liberty to discuss where he has really been; all I will say is that the entire Solar System owes him a BIG debt of a graditude. As for the game, an edgy 1-1.
Technically he could, but my sources say he tries to restrict altering the past to one instance per season. Bournemouth wasn't a 6-1 win first time around...
I predict a ridiculously hot, late autumn day forcing Steve Maclaren to don an old sun hat in order to protect his balding, ginger pate. Following a humiliating rout from the Watford team, the red top press rebrand him from the "Wally with a Brolly" to the "**** in a Hat"
