Derby County 
The Odds (Via-William Hill)
League Winners: 9/1
Promotion: 11/4
Relegation: 25/1
The Background
The team who did everything right but never quite made it. Undone in the 90th minute of the Play-Off Final that they dominated by Bobby Zamora was a horrible way to cap off a brilliant season. After a poor start to the season for Derby, Nigel Clough was sacked and Steve McClaren took over at the helm. McClaren transformed the team throughout and eventually guided them to 3rd place, narrowly missing out on promotion by losing the Play-Off Final 1-0.
The Transfers
Alefe Santos was brought in from Bristol Rovers as well as marquee transfer Alban Bunjaku from Spanish club Sevilla. Jonathan Mitchell joins from Newcastle United as well as experienced defender Zak Whitbread from Leicester. Outs: Ben Davies, Adam Legzdins and James O’Connor have all left the club.
The Star Man
Will Hughes. The young superstar has caught the eye of many teams with his play across the midfield. His distribution, skill and trickery as well as creativity and eye-for-goal alongside other key man Craig Bryson make for a deadly midfield duo. Hughes recently signed a contract extension much to the Derby fans relief alongisde other key midfield partner Bryson.
The Gaffer
Steve McClaren is experienced from his time with England, in Holland and at Middlesbrough through his career. After just missing out with Derby in his first season with them as manager, he will be surely keen to succeed this time and exceed his expectations. The top two will no doubt be his target after last years disappointment in the Play-offs and with a fantastic squad behind him, should it be any different?
The Fan – George Salloway
Thoughts on last season?
The big stand out point for many Derby fans last season will have been the playoffs, and whilst the season did end in heartbreak with a last-minute loss to 10-men QPR, it was an absolutely fantastic season. If you’d offered a 3rd place finish with a loss in the playoff final to any Derby fan at the start of the season, they’d have jumped at it. The season started off pretty regularly with some good games, some bad games, and what appeared a pretty standard inconsistent Derby team. However with the sacking of Nigel Clough after the defeat at the City Ground, it was as though a new team had emerged. Steve McClaren, with the experience and expertise of Paul Simpson and Eric Steele, managed to turn the team around with regular top class performances and victory after victory. A seven-game winning streak brought the Rams towards the top of the Championship and left them vying for the automatic promotion spots. A slight falter in the new year seemed to knock the hopes of automatics but after a record-matching 5-0 victory against Nottingham Forest, the playoff position stood strong and we finished in a very strong third. Despite the final heartbreak, it was a season to relish for Derby County and provided us with so much hope for next season and expectations are most definitely running high. It was one of the most exciting Derby seasons I’ve seen in recent years.
Hopes for this season?
Hopes and expectation are high around the city. After the success of last season many Derby fans including myself are hoping for a high finish, hopefully pushing for the automatic spots if we maintain our performances from last season. I believe if we keep the core of our team from last year, with a few additions such as a new RB (in Cyrus Christie and hopefully Christian Gamboa), a new holding central midfielder (with many Derby fans hoping for George Thorne) and a cover striker for Chris Martin, Derby could be the team to fear this season. They’ve got strength, attacking prowess and pace down the wings, not to mention a solid defence especially with club captain Shaun Barker hoping to make a comeback. I hope to see Derby at the top of the table this year. We’ve definitely got the team and coaching staff capable, here’s hoping we make that push.
Fears for this season?
With the huge success of last season and high expectations resting on the team, the main fear would be a lacklustre underperforming season with a mid-table finish. I just hope the team weren’t pushed too far last season and don’t perform to their abilities. Only time will tell, but we’ve got the right people in place to make sure this doesn’t happen, and having players pushing for starting roles in many positions, hopefully those who make the starting 11 will be performing to their utmost in order to keep their starting position.
Player to look out for?
As with last season, Derby’s matches are going to be won in the middle of the park and the holding 4-3-3 formation we displayed after the arrival of Steve McClaren worked wonders with John Eustace in the holding position allowing the other midfielders Bryson and Hughes/Hendrick to push forward and attack, with Bryson claiming second highest goalscorer last season with 16 to his name. The key player to me will again be Craig Bryson, fresh into his new 5-year deal at the club. It’s no wonder he gained so much interest over the summer with Burnley and QPR reportedly launching bids for the midfielder. Another potential key player will be George Thorne, if we succeed in signing him. He was essential in that holding role towards the end of last season and will be again should WBA approve his move to the Rams. Only time will tell, but we do have the experience of John Eustace if the Thorne deal falls through.
Rate your manager out of ten?
No one’s perfect, but Steve has to credit at least a 9. He’s managed to mould together this team into something that works and works extremely well. His international prestige and experience coupled with his attitude with the players has enabled the team to bond together and outperform nearly every single team in the division. Much credit has to go to Nigel Clough, however. Clough brought in the right players for the right money, and also brought in some amazing youth players, but I believe it took McClaren to truly bring out their potential as league-winners. 9/10 for Steve McClaren, after all, his Dutch accent is horrendous.
What away day are you looking forward to and why?
As always, the away day against Forest in one to look forward to. With the result of last season resulting in a sacking of a manager and a reformed Derby team, we hope to see the success of last year get turned into a victory against our local rivals. However the away games against Cardiff, Fulham and Norwich will be ones to look forward to. We’ve already proven that we can beat the teams in this league so I suppose we need to see how we fare against the newly relegated sides to see how far our team has come over the past few months. Victories against these would truly signify a team worthy of premier league status.
What position will you finish?
If you’d have asked me last season, I’d have gone for around 8th or 9th. However this season, I believe Derby can win it or at least get in the automatics. I’ll go for 2nd, as there are some good teams in this league that may just sneak it. I believe playoffs is a minimum, however the top will be close. Maybe, just maybe, we could sneak into 1st.
