2 points for a correct result
4 points for a correct score
2 points for each correct scorer
Correct joker doubles your score      
Wrong joker result gives you minus 2
Correct Random Badger gives you 2 points

The random badger is used for any random prediction used once in each matchday sequence. For instance, a scorer at a particular match, the number of red cards in the matches or yellow cards or own goals or owt you want really within reason, I do need to be able to check whether it's correct or not. Please don't put stuff like....."Commentator says...."  
The joker   is played for one match in each sequence and if correct you get double points. So if you've predicted 1-0 and it finishes 2-0, you get 4 pts, but if you've predicted 2-0, that's 8 pts. But if you get it wrong, it's minus 2.
Jokers and badgers are optional. You don't have to play one if you don't want.


Cup games:
In the event of a draw, it's half the points if you've predicted a draw when it gets to 90 mins and the full points if it's still a draw after extra time. Half the points will be awarded for correctly predicting the winner of the match if it goes to penalties. Similarly with the badger, if your random prediction is affected by this, it'll be half the points.

Random score generator: I will be using the random score generator again for those who miss predicting, so we shouldn't get some people too far behind that after missing a couple of weeks they lose all interest, because I know it's not easy getting on here every week.
To be fair to everybody, this is going to be like, say if three people in one week miss their predictions, the first one in the table will be given all 0-0, the second one down the line will get 1-0 and the third will get 0-1 and so on, like if there's four missing the 4th will get 1-1, then 5th 2-1, 6th 1-2. and if there are so many missing, might as well pack in.
And if you miss two weeks on the trot, I'll stop until you come back on again. Not doing it for half a season like I did t'other year.  

NEW FOR THIS SEASON: End of season Play Offs.

The one who finishes top of the league will still be champion, but after the season finishes there will be Play Offs between the top 4, with 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd. This will take in stuff like the EFL Play Offs, FA Cup Final, final day of Prima Donna League, European Finals etc. It will be one matchday for the semis and one for the Final. It will be the individual scores for each matchday against the allotted opponent, with some kind of tie breaker for a drawn match.
So last season's matches would've been Baggiebob(BBB) v theo_luddite and jjamez v St Charles Owl and would've given a bit more to play for towards the back end of the season.
The prize for winning will be enormous. Another rep point.

We now have an Appeals Committee set up, consisting of me, myself and I. All appeals must be made before the next Matchday kicks off.

Saturday 14th August:
Town v Fulham
Town scorers:
Fulham scorers:

Peterborough United v Derby County (12:30)
Barnsley v Coventry City
Birmingham City v Stoke City
Blackpool v Cardiff City
Hull City v Queens Park Rangers
Middlesbrough v Bristol City
Millwall v Blackburn Rovers
Nottingham Forest v AFC Bournemouth
Reading v Preston North End
West Bromwich Albion v Luton Town
Swansea City v Sheffield United (20:00)

Tuesday 17th August:
Town v Preston
Town scorers:
PNE scorers:

Barnsley v Luton Town
Blackpool v Coventry City
Millwall v Fulham
Peterborough United v Cardiff City
Swansea City v Stoke City
Reading v Bristol City

Wednesday 18th August:
Birmingham City v AFC Bournemouth
Hull City v Derby County
Middlesbrough v Queens Park Rangers
Nottingham Forest v Blackburn Rovers
West Bromwich Albion v Sheffield United

Table after Matchday 2:

1. Amelia Chaffinch = 23 pts
   
2. Lord Snooty = 19 pts
   
3. ritchiebaby = 19 pts
   
4. theo_luddite = 19 pts
   
5. jjamez = 15 pts
   
6. themaclad = 15 pts
   
7. WakeyTerrier = 13 pts
   
8. Baggiebob(BBB) = 12 pts
   
9. SHEP_HTAFC = 12 pts
   
10. St Charles Owl = 12 pts
    
11. neonfoxinthebox = 7 pts

Celtic playing at home v a poor Dundee side all the same! But some of their football was exceptional and looking to score goals at every opportunity. Furuhashi actually looking like the dynamic CF that Celtic have been searching for in quite a while and "delivering the goods" with some cracking goals. This is certainly the kinda confidence boost that the Hoops will welcome. But there will clearly be bigger challenges ahead as Postecoglou continues to try and strengthen an evolving Celtic side with new additions to his player squad.

Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and yellow kit. Since 1919, Mansfield have played at Field Mill, which is now an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 9,186. Their main rivals are Chesterfield and Notts County.

The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and entered the Mansfield & District Amateur League in 1902, before changing its name to Mansfield Wesley and joining the Notts & District League in 1906. They then finally became Mansfield Town in 1910, and moved from the Notts & Derbyshire League to the Central Alliance the following year. Crowned Alliance champions in 1919–20, they joined the Midland League in 1921 and would win this league on three occasions – 1923–24, 1924–25 and 1928–29 – before they were admitted into the Football League in 1931. They were relegated out of the Third Division in 1960, but won promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1962–63, remaining in the third tier for nine seasons until their relegation in 1972. They reached the Second Division for the first time after winning the Fourth Division title in 1974–75 and the Third Division title in 1976–77, only to suffer two relegations in three seasons.

Promoted out of the Fourth Division under the stewardship of Ian Greaves in 1985–86, they went on to win the Football League Trophy in 1986–87. Mansfield were however relegated in 1991 and promoted again in 1991–92, only to suffer an immediate relegation the following season. They won promotion once again in 2001–02, but were relegated to League Two in 2003 and lost their Football League status with a further relegation in 2008. They spent five seasons in the Conference until they were promoted back into the Football League after winning the Conference in 2012–13 following investment from new club owner John Radford.


https://www.mansfieldtown.net/

LAST TIME OUT

MANSFIELD TOWN 2 BRISTOL ROVERS 1



Managerial career
Burton Albion
In October 1998, he moved into management when he accepted the role of player-manager at Burton Albion in the Southern Football League Premier Division.[citation needed]

Having passed his 32nd birthday, Clough was still registered as a player which possibly explained his apparent lack of ambition to move into League management (his father bitterly lamented the premature curtailment of his own playing career). However, Clough had not played regularly for Burton since the early stages of the 2005–06 season, though he did play in the team's 6–3 win over Sutton Coldfield Town in the Birmingham Senior Cup on 27 October 2008.[16] His final senior appearance for Burton came in the league against Droylsden on 12 February 2008,[17] his only appearance of the season.[18]

In January 2006, Burton, then in the Conference, held Manchester United to a 0–0 draw in the third round of the FA Cup. The United team featured Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Louis Saha, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney introduced as second-half substitutes.[19] Burton midfielder Chris Hall said: "After the match, the press were buzzing... but we had a local cup game, against Stourbridge, I think, and the gaffer only wanted to focus on that.... With his playing career, he was used to the publicity... It was brilliant and it was quite a breath of fresh air, but at the same time, the gaffer kept us grounded".[20] In the replay at Old Trafford, Burton were beaten 5–0, but earned a reported £600,000 in the process.[21]

Clough won the Conference Premier Manager of the Month for December 2008, after completing 11 straight wins in the division and guiding Burton to 13 points clear at the top of the table.[22]

Derby County
On 5 January 2009 he was officially approached by Derby County, one of the clubs his father had previously managed, to take over as their manager as a replacement for Paul Jewell.[23] He was appointed the next day,[24] prior to his taking charge, on 8 January,[25] Academy Head Coach David Lowe guided Derby to a victory over Manchester United 1–0 in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.[26] Clough's first victory in charge of The Rams came on 31 January 2009, when Derby beat Coventry City 2–1. Results improved after Clough's arrival, with a run of four consecutive wins. However, a series of injuries to key players saw a loss of form for the Rams. Safety in the Championship was not confirmed until the penultimate game of the season against Charlton Athletic, with a 1–0 victory.[citation needed]

Clough's first full season in charge of Derby saw significant changes to the playing staff as he brought in nine players and moved on fourteen as well as making substantial dealings in the loan market. Despite this, the Rams again struggled with injuries, at one point being without thirteen first team players. When key players returned from injury, Clough was able to start picking a regular team, and results began to improve. Derby finished two points and four places better off than the previous campaign.[27]

Clough was involved in several altercations during the season. He was accused by counterpart Billy Davies of kicking him in the knee in a pitch side altercation during Derby's 1–0 victory over local rivals Nottingham Forest. Clough denied the claim and, though Davies put in an official complaint to the league, nothing came of the incident.[28]

Clough was also in trouble again when he was sent to the stands during Derby's 3–1 home defeat to Ipswich Town on 5 April. He was fined £1,000 and given a one match ban, which he served during Derby's final match of the campaign at home to Cardiff City.[29] Clough also gave himself some game time during the course of the season, coming on as a late substitute for the reserve side in their 2–1 victory over West Bromwich Albion reserves in their Central League Central Section clash.[30]

Derby suffered a major shock in the FA Cup, losing to Crawley Town 2–1. The result saw Clough's job at the club reportedly come under threat,[31] as he issued an apology to the club's supporters,[32] many of whom responded with demands for his dismissal.[33] Derby's Chief Executive Tom Glick answered fan's concerns by reiterating the club's support for Clough, saying: "Nigel is absolutely our guy. We have been clear about that continuously."[34]

During Derby's post-November struggles Clough came under focus for his consistent criticism of individual players,[35] which came to a head when he strongly criticised Tomasz Cywka after his mistake led to a late Portsmouth equaliser in a 1–1 draw at Fratton Park. Of Cywka, Clough said: "He's an extremely inexperienced and not very bright footballer... he can go back to Wigan or wherever he came from – I'm not really bothered – until he learns the game." These incidents led PFA Chief Gordon Taylor to criticise Clough, saying: "It cannot be appropriate to criticise your team in such a way in public. We'll sort things out... otherwise it looks an untenable situation."[36] Ultimately, nothing came of the incident but the outbursts, coupled with Derby's poor results on the pitch, led to some unrest among supporters. Clough's players were booed at the end of a 3–1 home defeat against Doncaster Rovers on 1 March 2011.[37]

Clough's continuing stay at the club was rewarded by overseeing Derby's best start to the season in 106 years as they opened the season with four victories from four and earned a Championship Manager of the Month nomination.[38]

A 1–1 draw with Barnsley on 28 September 2011 took Derby into second place and the automatic promotion spots for the first time in over a year. The results came during discussions over Clough's contract – which was due to expire at the end of the season[39] with Forest allegedly interested in securing their former-player's services.[40] Despite these reports however, there was no evidence that Clough and his staff were looking to go elsewhere and Clough entered into new contract discussions with Derby, stating "It has never been a question of if we wanted to stay or not. This is where our heart is."[41]

Clough signed a new three-year deal, to take him through until summer 2015, on 17 October, two days after a 1–1 draw with league leaders Southampton had kept Derby in the play-off places.[42] After signing the deal, Derby took just four points from their next five fixtures and slipped out of the playoff places. A 3–2 defeat at Peterborough United, after Derby had held a 2–0 lead, saw Clough hit out at the officials and the FA imposed a £2,000 fine on him.[43]

Derby suffered mixed form through the remainder of the season. By mid-April Derby found themselves 11th in the table, 5 points off the play-offs with four games remaining.[44] However, two defeats to Middlesbrough and Cardiff City in 4 days ended Derby's play-off chances. Derby finished the season 12th in the league, with Clough satisfied with the performances of the team, stating that a lack of firepower was the reason why they fell short and that it would be an area to improve on in the following season.[45]

The club also finally ended their interest in appointing a director of football,[46] something the club had been considering since May 2011.[47] This meant Clough retained control of the club's player recruitment policy and he was keen to add to his squad.[48] On the final match of the 2012–13 season, a 1–0 victory over Millwall helped Derby to finish the campaign in 10th place.[49]

After a mixed start to the 2013–14 season, Clough was sacked on 28 September after 3 defeats in eight days, the final of which was a 1–0 defeat to local rivals Nottingham Forest with Derby 14th in the table after 9 games.[50][51] He left the club as the longest serving Derby manager in over a decade.

Sheffield United
On 23 October 2013, Clough was appointed new manager of Sheffield United on a two-and-a-half-year deal.[52] Clough's tenure got off to a winning start as Sheffield United comfortably beat Crewe Alexandra 3–1 at Bramall Lane.[53] Clough was named League One's Manager of the Month for February 2014 after an improved run of form with four wins from five matches, including four clean sheets.[54]

On 9 March 2014, Clough's side beat Charlton Athletic 2–0 to set up an FA Cup semi-final tie against Hull City at Wembley, this was United's ninth consecutive win in all competitions with United climbing out of the League One relegation zone up to 11th in the table.[55] In May 2014, Clough was named FA Cup Manager of the Season by the League Managers Association in recognition of United's run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.[56] Clough also led the Blades to the semi-finals of the League Cup in the 2014–15 season after a 1–0 win over Southampton at Bramall Lane.[57] Sheffield United parted company with Clough on 25 May 2015.[58]

Return to Burton Albion
Clough returned to Burton Albion for a second spell as manager in December 2015, after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink left the post to join Queens Park Rangers.[59] Clough led the club to a 2nd place finish at the end of the season, gaining the club promotion to the Championship for the first time in their history. Clough kept the side in the league for two seasons before the club was relegated back to League One in May 2018 after a 23rd place finish. Clough later stepped down as manager in May 2020 due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the club.[60]

Mansfield Town
On 6 November 2020, Clough was appointed as manager of Mansfield Town.[61]

LAST MEETING

PRESTON NORTH END 4 MANSFIELD TOWN 0




MACS VIEW
After yesterday's clunker suspect we will put out a stronger than usual side in this one, with three isolating squad is already weakened and yesterday's hammering was a major wake up call. Compared to last seasons stroll against teh Stags, this is a different match altogether. They have a savvy manager who will be out to win this one, have a feeling they will.
I am going on Tuesday night to reaquaint myself with the celestial delight that is Field Mill, bit different to when I last went three new stands actually looks a decent grond although the stand across from the main stand is still shut.Never seemed to be away from the place in the 80/90's however one memorable fternoon stands out
29 March 1986 we won 3-2 at Field Mill, it was the season we finished next to the bottom, it poured down that day and when I mean poured it was non stop, if memory serves me right we were 2 up and the home side who were pushing for promotion levelled before possibly the worst footballer ever to don a white shirt Vernon Allot shinned home the winner deep into injury time, the scenes from the drenched away end were memorable that day.

Quick recap of the rules and scoring for our newcomers and those with short memories.
10 fixtures to predict each week with scoring as follows:

Incorrect score: 0 points
Incorrect score with the bonus: -3 points
Incorrect score with the gamball: -3 points

Correct result: 2 points
Correct result with the bonus: 3 points
Correct result with the gamball: 5 points

Correct score: 4 points
Correct score with the bonus: 6 points
Correct score with the gamball: 10 points

Score ball played on a match where both teams score: 1 point

Now to those balls.
The gamball: One game will be selected by us each week to be the gamball game. You have the choice whether to play the gamball - if you do please add or G or "Gamball" with your prediction.
The bonus: You must play this ball on one of the other 9 matches (not the gamball match) by adding or B with your selected prediction. Failure to play a bonus will result in a deduction of 3 points.
The scoreball: Play this on any match except the gamball game where you think both sides will score by adding or S after your selected prediction. There is no penalty for getting it wrong so it's a free shot - if you don't play it you just miss out on an extra point.

So to sum up - Gamball only on the selected game, your choice whether to play it. Bonus on any other game - must be played. Scoreball on any other game. You can play the bonus and scoreball on the same game, just put both symbols.

A tip for any newcomers - try to get your predictions in early. SCO and I may have the chance (not guaranteed) to check that you've got it right and get back to you - please keep an eye on the thread and your private messages. If you post on Saturday morning we won't be able to check as we'll be tucked up in bed (not together obviously, well, probably not).

If anyone edits their score after an initial post, please let us know. All predictions must be in before the game kicks off or your prediction will be void.

Now for the fixtures:

Gamball Game
Nottingham Forest - Bournemouth

Other Games
Watford - Aston Villa
Leicester - Wolves
Blackpool - Cardiff
Birmingham - Stoke
Barnsley - Coventry
Huddersfield - Fulham
Swansea - Sheff Utd
Sheff Wed - Doncaster
Newcastle - West Ham

Good Luck

We'll see how Hibs fare after their sterling efforts v Rijeka on Thurs night. Hopefully our fine form will continue to deliver another 3 pts "in the bag". C'mon Hibs!

GGTTH

So with the league campaign just about upon us, a few questions.

Which town player will be our player of the season?

Which town player will be the surprise package this season?

Who will fail to meet expectations?

Which town players progress have you got an eye on?

Where will we finish?

As for the rest of the league.

Who is going to earn promotion?

Who is going to sink to league one?

Which team will be the dark horses this term?

Who is going to surprise for the wrong reasons?

Which player have you an eye on/ looking forward to watching/ is going to be the player of the season?

Same again but for a young player?

And finally, who is going to be the first manager sacked?

A neighbour sports a large carrier bag with the prominent label RANDOM CRAP.

If she puts stuff in it, do those objects cease to be "random crap" as she has chosen to put them in there and thus invalidate its label?

Equally if she searched her house for objects full of meaning and value and consigned them to the bag, would they immediately become "random crap" and thus perhaps fool any potential burglar?

Ok, it’s that time of year again. Time to forget about the latest multi- million pound Albion transfer and instead turn your thoughts to the incomparable WBA Sportsbabble Prediction League.

If there’s sufficient interest out there, SCO and myself are willing to give up hours of our time to give you seconds of moderate entertainment (a bit like watching Wednesday) once again. If there is sufficient interest, we’ll start the new season’s league from next week, August 14thish. If you are happy to play again, or want to join in this fun packed jamboree, please confirm by replying to this post - feel free to invite friends, family, lovers, drunken acquaintances, Villa fans - we don’t care ( except for the Villa fans bit, obviously).
If you took part last year but can’t face the thought of another year’s humiliation, please also let us know that you prefer to drop out.
Rules and scoring will stay the same as last year as I’m not prepared to mess with my massively complicated spreadsheets.

This seasons line-ups:

Premier League
BBB - In
St Charles - In
Sanjay - In
Lord Snooty - In
Bomber
AAA - In
Derby - In
Minizin - In
BaggieOne - In
Silver - In

Championship
Amelia - In
Themaclad - In
Twerton - In
Somerset
Stairs - In
Zinman - In
DD - In
Joker
Lady Jane - In
SalopBaggie - In
Blue Baggie  - In

As per previous seasons, any new players will go into the Championship and depending on how many take part this season we may have to balance out the leagues but hopefully everyone is on board again.

Derby County v Huddersfield Town
The Sky Bet Championship
Saturday August 7th - 15:00 ko
at the Pride Park Stadium

The Rams reached the semis of the European Cup in the following season, losing to Juventus. Unfortunately for Derby and their supporters, Clough was such a controversial and outspoken character that he was always having run ins with the board of directors and so despite all their success, Clough and Taylor were sacked in October 1973.

It wasn't an immediate fall for the club though and under the management of former club captain Dave Mackay, they won the League again in 1975. But as Clough went on to major success with local rivals Nottingham Forest, it was a downward spiral for County, being relegated in 1980 and then again to the 3rd division in 1983. They almost went out of business, but were bought out by another controversial figure, corrupt businessman Robert Maxwell.

Maxwell appointed Arthur Cox as manager, who led the Rams back up to the top tier with two quick promotions and by the end of the 80s they were as high as 5th in the League. Maxwell was all over the news back then and just before his mysterious death in 1991, he had handed over the club to Lionel Pickering. The club had been relegated again though by this time. They reached the 1994 Play Offs, only to lose in the Final to Leicester City. Jim Smith took them up two years later though as runners up, to play for the first time in the Premier League.

At the start of the 1997/98 season, Derby moved from the Baseball Ground into Pride Park, but despite a couple of top ten finishes, they were relegated again in 2002. They lost in the 2005 Play Offs to Preston, but with former PNE boss Billy Davies in charge they won the 2007 Final 1-0 against West Brom with a goal from Stephen Pearson. It didn't go well in the Premier League. Davies left after a poor start to be replaced by Paul Jewell, who led them to the lowest points total in top flight history, a total that even our brave boys managed to beat when we got relegated.

Since that relegation they have made the Play Offs five times without success, although the 2019 beating of Leeds United gave us all a good laugh. However they lost in the Final to Aston Villa.

Last season they only just avoided relegation and were still in danger of going down weeks after the season ended due to possible EFL sanctions regarding breaches of financial fair play regulations, which they got away with, much to the annoyance of Wycombe Wanderers.

Quaner. One-nil!

The season before that, Derby did the double over us. The season before that one though saw a remarkable 4-4 draw at the JSS, with Tom Ince scoring the first and last goals of the match. Unfortunately he was a Derby player then and scored more at our ground that day than he did during his season here as a Terrier. Also on target for them that day was a young lad called Jesse Lingard.

We have played eight times at Pride Park and those Quaner and Toffolo earned points are all we have to show from our visits there. The first visit there was for an FA Cup replay back in 1999. They were a Premier League team then and after the first match at home, which was a 2-2 draw, with Chris Beech and Marcus Stewart on target for us, we went there and Beech (the current Carlisle Utd manager) gave us an early lead. Unfortunately, we couldn't hold on and Derby ended up winning it 3-1.

That was the only FA Cup meeting. We have met twice in the League Cup, with both clubs having one win each. Terry Gray scored in 1975 against the league champions for 4th division Town in a narrow 1-2 defeat. But we won 2-1 in 2003 in the second match of the second Peter Jackson era. We were back in the basement league and they were in the Championship, with Jon Stead and Jon Thorrington grabbing our goals at the John MacAlpharm Stadium.

Back in 1971/72, Derby were the last team we beat in the season. The fact that that was in November would suggest it wasn't a good season! It was indeed a poor one, but for Derby, it would be their first ever League title, while we went down. Jimmy Lawson and Frank Worthington scored for us in a 2-1 win at Leeds Road. Cloughie's Rams won the re-match at the Baseball Ground 3-0 in April. Typical Town, we beat the champions and also beat runners up Leeds that season.

This will be the 95th league meeting of the two teams, so you can tell that we have had many a season together. The first season we shared a league table with them was our first Football League season in 1910/11 and Derby County were our 6th ever opponent. That was a 1-1 draw away with Gordon Burniston scoring the only league goal of his three match Town career. We lost the home game 0-3 and it wouldn't be until 1920/21 before we got our first victory over them, when we met up for the first time in Division One. That was a 2-0 win at Leeds Road with goals from William Wright and Jack Swann.

One more outstanding game to mention. It was in 1931/32 and a 6-0 win for the Terriers. Goal machine Dave Mangnall scored five of the goals that day, a feat that has only been matched by a Town player twice since by Alf Lythgoe in 1935 and Jordan Rhodes in 2012.

It has been well documented that it has been a hell of a long time since Town won in Derby. So long ago, I wasn't even born. And I'm ancient! It was in 1957, but it was a big win. We won 4-2 at the Baseball Ground with two goals from footballing legend Denis Law, and one each from Les Massie and Ron Simpson. We've been back 25 times since without coming back with a victory. This has to go down as a great chance to stop that run, due to the fact that they are in turmoil and we are on the brink of a new era of greatness.

Managed nowadays by little known, shy and retiring Wayne Rooney, who scored a few goals in his day. He was born in Liverpool 35 years ago and grew up as an Everton fan. He joined the Everton Academy and made it to the first team before he was 17, scoring against Arsenal and becoming the youngest goalscorer of the Premier League era. That was subsequently beaten by future Town legend James Vaughan, also for Everton.

He then went and had a few games for Man Utd and England before returning to Goodison in 2017, at which time he realised his biggest personal ambition by playing on the hallowed turf of the John Smith's Stadium against Huddersfield Town. But after only one season back chewing Toffees, he crossed the Atlantic to go and play for DC United.

He was tempted back to England by a massive bung from a betting company to join the corrupt crew currently masquerading as Derby County. He played a season and a bit for them, turning out at Pride Park against us in the 1-1 draw, the game when Harry Toffolo scored. But when they came to ours in the next season, poor old Wayne had had a touch of the covids and so missed out on making another appearance on the world's greatest football stage.

Shortly after, he took on the manager's role after Philip Cocu had been sacked, and decided to hang up his boots. In the time since, he has become Derby's worst manager since Paul Jewell and made the headlines once more by falling asleep in an hotel and having photos of himself asleep being splashed across social media. Oooh, naughty boy, Wayne.

Who's in their squad then? Up until the 20th of July, they only had 9 senior players under contract (despite their own website having 18 listed at the time). Rooney cried about it to the EFL, who duly made up a new ruling in Derby's favour that allowed them to sign out of contract players, despite the fact that they were under a transfer embargo. Those players listed at the time were.......

David Marshall, Andre Wisdom, Craig Forsyth, Graeme Shinnie, Krystian Bielik, Kamil Jóźwiak, Max Bird, Tom Lawrence, Nathan Byrne, Colin Kazim-Richards, Louie Sibley, Kelle Roos, Lee Buchanan, Curtis Davies, Kornell McDonald, Jason Knight, Jack Stretton, Louie Watson.

One of the out of contract players Rooney has been looking at is ex Town defender Richard Stearman. He has been training with the Rams recently and was on the bench when they beat Notts County in a pre season friendly at the weekend. Also training with Rooney's Rams have been Phil Jagielka, Sone Aluko, Ravel Morrison and Sam Baldock.

If Derby can't be arsed producing their books for proper scrutinisation, I can't be arsed doing any write ups on any of them. 

Oh go on then. Goalkeepers David Marshall and Kelle Roos were so bad that the previous manager had to get Ben Hamer in on loan from us for a season. Marshall is of course, the Scottish number one at the moment. Yes that one who got lobbed from the halfway line in the Euros by Patrik Schick of the Czech Republic. Roos isn't one of the Socceroos. He's Dutch and has been at Derby for 7 years now.

Nathan Byrne is a defender they got from Wigan in 2020, taking advantage of the perilous state the Latics were in at the time. Out of one crooked place to another, eh! Anyway, he started at Spurs, never played for them, ended up at Wigan via Wolves and a few various loans.

Craig Forsyth is a Scottish defender/midfielder with 4 international caps to his name, who started out with Dundee. He moved to Watford where he was so highly rated that they sent him out on loan to Bradford City. Never mind, it didn't completely ruin his career. He left Vicarage Road to arrive at Pride Park in 2013 and he's still there.

Lee Buchanan is another defender. He's 20 years old, came through the Academy and played 15 Championship games last season.

In midfield they have Graeme Shinnie, who famously led Inverness Caledonian Thistle to Scottish Cup glory in 2015. That Cup Final at Hampden was his last match for Caley as he left for Aberdeen, leaving for Derby four years later. He also has a few Scottish caps. Six of them.

Jason Knight, a 20 year old midfielder who already has 7 international caps for the Republic of Ireland, won't be selected for this game. Rooney, just after complaining about having a player shortage, went and crocked the poor lad in training. He's out for six months.

The club captain is Tom Lawrence, who has caused us pain in the past. He's a Welsh international who started out at Man Utd and arrived in Derby via Leicester and a load of loans out to far flung places like Carlisle and Yeovil.

Colin Kazim-Richards is a Turkish international, despite being born in that there London. He's 34 years old now and having started out at Bury, he hasn't half clocked up some air miles in the time since, with Derby being the 17th club he has turned out for. He arrived there in October last year and finished the season as their top scorer.

Colin Kazim-Richards

The Navigation on London Road

1. Goa Landlubbers 
   
2. Chips Orwell 
   
3. Observe Motel 
   
4. Farmland Park 
   
5. Gloria Bunch 
   
6. Mouse Handle 
   
7. Janine Galileo 
   
8. Dark Piper 
   
9. Hamster 
   
10. No Eye Norway