Don Goodman spoke more in his interview with OLBG about Derby County…
On the Rams’ business so far: “The attackers Derby County have signed, both Jerry Yates and Kayden Jackson, will be desperate to prove themselves at Championship level. Kayden Jackson never let Ipswich Town down when he featured last season and Jerry Yates was okay at Swansea City, but it concerns me that they have allowed him to go on loan to a Championship rival. I’ve got no doubts that if chances are provided, they’ll both be able to stick the ball in the back of the net. The worry is whether Derby will be on the front foot often enough at Championship level to create such a volume of chances.
“Those signings were definitely needed as they had an ageing forward line and an ageing team. At the minute, unless Derby’s defence is strengthened, I would also envisage them struggling to deal with Championship attackers, especially those at the top end of the league.
“There’s work to be done but Paul Warne is seasoned and is another person who will be wanting to dispel the myth that he’s a brilliant League One manager but can’t do it at Championship level. Derby County is a different kettle of fish compared to Rotherham in terms of size and expectation, though.
“I suspect there will be an awful lot more business to be done at Derby County this season.”
Asked who do you fancy for promotion and relegation from the Championship, he said: “Last season was one of the easiest Championship seasons to predict in terms of who would be at the top as Leeds, Leicester and Southampton all retained a plethora of Premier League-quality players They were always going to be competing at the top end of the league.
“However this season I’m not so confident in the relegated clubs. For Burnley and Luton, it depends on what their squad looks like when the transfer window shuts. Will Burnley keep the likes of Lyle Foster, Luca Koleosho and Sander Berge? If they do, you fancy them to be a force. Will Luton keep the likes of Alfie Doughty, Elijah Adebayo and Carlton Morris? If they do, you’d also tip them to be competing at the top.
“But Sheffield United look like a club in disarray and are coming down from the Premier in a very weak state. A massive overhaul is required for Chris Wilder and his backroom staff. I’m not saying they can’t do it, but he’s up against it at the moment.
“You’d expect Leeds to be towards the top, with the sale of Archie Gray possibly meaning they’ll be able to keep hold of the attacking force that tore apart Championship defences for 80% of the season before falling at the last hurdle.”
“Then with some teams, you don’t really know what to expect from them. You cannot rule out West Brom with Carlos Corberan in charge still, Coventry’s FA Cup semi-final proved a hindrance to their promotion hopes last season, and Middlesbrough ended the campaign very strongly.
“The upcoming Championship season will not be as strong as last season’s, which had the best top-four that I’ve ever seen. That’s going to give an opportunity for some teams to surprise us.
“At the bottom, Des Buckingham has a huge job on his hands at Oxford as play-off winners are notoriously the teams that struggle the most. It’s just brilliant that they’re in the Championship.
“Derby County remind me of Sheffield Wednesday last season as they have one of the oldest teams in the division. Wednesday struggled with the physical side of things early on last year, so it’s interesting to see Paul Warne move on a number of 30-plus-year-olds and bring pace and energy into the club. That gap still needs to be bridged, though.
“I would expect Portsmouth to be the strongest of the relegated clubs and, therefore, I’m looking at the clubs that just about survived. John Eustace has a big job on his hands at Blackburn after they relied so heavily on Sammie Szmodics, it would be some achievement if he could replicate such performances. I’m not sure about Plymouth, and that’s not because of Wayne Rooney, it’s just the nature of them being in the Championship.
“Even Sunderland finished the season winning just two of their last 15 games. They’ve got a new manager in Regis Les Bris, whose background is in developing young footballers but this is the Championship so it’s very difficult for a whole group of young players to succeed and they didn’t have any strikers capable of performing at that level and struggled for goals. Those would be the clubs I’d be concerned about.”
Derby – Fixtures
Fri 9 Aug (A) Blackburn Rovers – 8pm
Sat 17 Aug (H) Middlesbrough – 12.30pm
Sat 24 Aug (A) Watford – 3pm
Sat 31 Aug (H) Bristol City – 3pm
Sat 14 Sep (H) Cardiff City – 3pm
Sat 21 Sep (A) Sheffield United – 3pm
Sat 28 Sep (H) Norwich City – 12.30pm
Tue 1 Oct (A) Sunderland – 7.45pm
Sat 5 Oct (H) Queens Park Rangers – 3pm
Sat 19 Oct (A) Millwall – 3pm
Tue 22 Oct (A) Oxford United – 7.45pm
Sat 26 Oct (H) Hull City – 3pm
Sat 2 Nov (A) Stoke City – 3pm
Wed 6 Nov (A) Coventry City – 7.45pm
Sat 9 Nov (H) Plymouth Argyle – 3pm
Sat 23 Nov (A) Preston North End – 3pm
Wed 27 Nov (H) Swansea City – 7.45pm
Sat 30 Nov (H) Sheffield Wednesday – 3pm
Sat 7 Dec (A) Leeds United – 3pm
Tue 10 Dec (A) Burnley – 7.45pm
Sat 14 Dec (H) Portsmouth – 3pm
Sat 21 Dec (A) Luton Town – 3pm
Thu 26 Dec (H) West Bromwich Albion – 3pm
Sun 29 Dec (H) Leeds United – 3pm
Wed 1 Jan (A) Sheffield Wednesday – 3pm
Sat 4 Jan (A) Bristol City – 3pm
Sat 18 Jan (H) Watford – 3pm
Tue 21 Jan (H) Sunderland – 7.45pm
Sat 25 Jan (A) Cardiff City – 3pm
Sat 1 Feb (H) Sheffield United – 3pm
Sat 8 Feb (A) Norwich City – 3pm
Tue 11 Feb (H) Oxford United – 7.45pm
Sat 15 Feb (A) Queens Park Rangers – 3pm
Sat 22 Feb (H) Millwall – 3pm
Sat 1 Mar (A) Middlesbrough – 3pm
Sat 8 Mar (H) Blackburn Rovers – 3pm
Tue 11 Mar (H) Coventry City – 7.45pm
Sat 15 Mar (A) Plymouth Argyle – 3pm
Sat 29 Mar (H) Preston North End – 3pm
Sat 5 Apr (A) Swansea City – 3pm
Wed 9 Apr (H) Burnley – 7.45pm
Sat 12 Apr (A) Portsmouth – 3pm
Fri 18 Apr (H) Luton Town – 3pm
Mon 21 Apr (A) West Bromwich Albion – 3pm
Sat 26 Apr (A) Hull City – 3pm
Sat 3 May (H) Stoke City – 3pm
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