Derby County Review

Last updated : 15 October 2016 By .

Those halcyon days of Don Revie and Brian Clough, Norman Hunter and Francis Lee.

Long gone now but fans who are old enough to reminise about such things, when Leeds United and Derby County play each other, will be hoping to reignite those hazy days of football folklore.

Both meet for the first time this year in the 2nd tier of English football. Both harbour strong ambitions of gaining top league status.

But the holy grail still seems a long way off as the Whites sit 11th in the table with Derby even lower down in 20th.

For Revie and Clough we now have Garry Monk and Steve McClaren.

For Hunter and Lee see Pontus Jansson and Matěj Vydra.

Different era. Different game. Same goal.

You get the feeling though that Jansson is very much a Hunter like figure, making crunching tackles first and asking questions later.

He has certainly fired the Leeds fans and he looks a certainty for cult-hero status. The Whites have only conceded 3 goals in 5 games since he was introduced. It was 10 in 6 before that.

Head coach Monk, who will watch from the stands due to a one-game touchline ban, will still have his skipper Liam Bridcutt (fractured metatarsal) absent.

Right-back Gaetano Berardi continued his rehabilitation with a game for the Under-23s last night at Hull following a long-term hamstring injury.

Northern Ireland winger Stuart Dallas faces a late fitness test after suffering a thigh injury while on international duty.

Frontman Chris Wood was due to resume full training yesterday after returning untroubled from New Zealand's two friendlies against Mexico and the USA.

Leeds have gained 12 points from the last 15 available; only Brighton with 13 have won more from their last five league games.

But they haven't won an away league game in the month of October since 2011, (Peterborough 3-2).

McClaren made a surprising return as Derby County boss this week. The former England manager agreed to comeback to the iPro Stadium just 17 months after being unceremoniously fired, making his return even stranger.

McClaren replaced Nigel Pearson after he left last week following a suspension and club investigation into his conduct last month.  

The first game of McClaren’s previous spell in charge, ironically also at home to Leeds, ended in a deserved 3-1 win for Derby.

Up until Wednesday, Leeds were preparing for a Derby team managed by assistant and caretaker Chris Powell.

Powell had been in caretaker charge and was expected to be appointed full time before McClaren re-emerged, especially as The Rams had scored as many goals in the two games since Pearson was suspended as they did in the nine he previously oversaw (3).

Ex-Rams boss Pearson was appointed on a three-year deal in the summer but won just three of his 14 games in charge. 

Jason Shackell and Craig Bryson will hope to return to contention for Derby as both missed games prior to the international break through injury.

http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/matches/19730317.htm