Lets not forget nobody has seen this Man U loanee chap in action yet and we're gonna be relying on him in the centre with Butts. He could have a mare like Berthe did and then we're f***ed.
I think the rest of the defence, although slow, is solid enough. But we really need this new chap to do the business in the centre or we could face another slaughter.
If however, he does prove solid then I am hopeful we can contain the pressure and possibly even cause Derby some worries with the pace of our young strikeforce.
To be absolutely honest however, this does represent one of the toughest fixtures of the campaign, potentially, and in some ways I'm glad it's the first game of the season. For one thing it gets it out of the way, but also first day games are inevitably utterly unpredictable so it may be our best chance of getting a result against the Rams, to be playing them before they get their groove going so to speak.
I won't be demoralised if we lose, Derby are a very good team and I expect them to be challenging for promotion this season. However, we all know what happens to teams that underestimate us and there's nothing to say we can't surprise a few people again.
Derby County v. Brighton & Hove Albion (Official Thread)
Saturday 6 August 2005
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COCA-COLA FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Derby County v. Brighton & Hove Albion
Referee: Brian Curson (Leicestershire)
Assistant Referees: Neil Hancox (W Midlands) and Tom Howes (Norfolk)
Fourth Official: Martin Harris (Lincolnshire)