Interview: Derby fans

We managed to catch up with Chris Smith who runs the Ramspace.co.uk site; Shakira from the Yankee Ram in Exile blog; and Dave from Derby County Supporters' Club Germany to ask their thoughts ahead of tomorrow's match. Thanks to all of them for their time.

Q. How are you enjoying life back in the Premier League and how has it measured up to your expectations?
CS. Not sure. The media exposure is great, the atmosphere is great, the games are better, the opposition is tough, the jump is massive.
S. Other than the thumpings we have endured, I have enjoyed our return to the top flight. The Newcastle win was awesome but I still fear for our survival at this point.
D. I am not enjoying life in the Premier League at the moment

Q. You've had some mixed results so far with heavy defeats, some battling displays and a great win against Newcastle. How do you rate the team's performance so far?
CS. Disappointing. At the end of the day we are bottom of the league. It's a massive jump, we are improving but some of the well publicised away canings were not nice.
S. Bi-polar. We play pretty well at home, look much more organized and are getting some points. On the road we look like a pub team with no clue of what's going on. I think that the awe of being in the Premiership was a factor at first; I can only hope this has worn off now.
D. I rate the performance as not too good

Q. Are you happy with the progress under Billy Davies?
CS. Yes. Bizarrely he's not actually that popular as a guy. As a manager you cant fault him. He took us form the abyss to the Premier league in 9 months. Enough Said.
S. Absolutely. He had a three year plan to get us up and we exceed that by far. He doesn't have as much as other clubs to work with. There a few times I have scratched my head at his tactical decisions but overall he has my total support.
D. Yes

Q. In which areas do you need to improve?
CS. Blimey! Defence would be an obvious call, but I would suggest wide right and left midfield.
S. What areas don't we need to improve?! We need a new back four, a goalkeeper would be nice and another striker. We are weak down our left so a strong left back or left sided midfielder would be nice.
D. Defence & Strikers

Q. Where do you think you will finish this season?
CS. 17th!
S. I think in the bottom three without some major improvement. I can see us being 18th or 19th. I just can't predict 20th. If we can get some key signings (see back four) we might squeak out 17th.
D. Middle of the table

Q. Who would you say have been your best and worst performers/performances this season so far - and why?
CS. The best was Newcastle because we won well and deserved to. The worst was Spurs away. They were there for the taking and we didn’t turn up.
S. Best: Matt Oakely and Kenny Miller. Both are our leading scorers, Miller came in and has had an instant impact. Pearson has also been fairly consistent. Worst: Our entire back four. They have been horrible as a group. Andy Todd had a great debut game and then seems to fallen off the radar.
D. The best performers have been Kenny Miller and Steve Howard. The worst has been Dean Leacock.

Q. Which players should we be looking out for this weekend?
CS. Steve Howard as he'll probably be playing for you in January! Otherwise Steven Pearson, a class act.
S. Kenny Miller, Giles Barnes, and maybe Robert Earnshaw. Miller can score at this level and has, Barnes is a game changer if he is fit, and Earnie finally got a goal for Wales, maybe that will translate for Derby.
D. Can’t say!

Q. How do you rate the Fulham old boys Eddie Lewis and Dean Leacock?
CS. Deano was awesome last year but started this season injured. He's just starting to form a partnership with Claude Davies and is looking good again. Eddie Lewis is OK. He's a trier with a decent left foot but in fairness he's just a square peg in a square hole until we sign someone better in January.
S. I was somewhat skeptical about Lewis signing but he has been pretty solid. He can cross the ball better then anyone on the squad and I think he is a positive influence on the team. Leacock, he is decent but I don't think he is a Premiership back, he has the attention span of a gnat at times.
D. Eddie Lewis great, Dean Leacock not to good

Q. What's your view of Fulham this season?
CS, Pre-season I thought Sanchez had bought well. Kamara is a barn door merchant for sure (6 chances to score a goal) but otherwise good signings. I'm actually surprised how you've slipped away. If you can get Jimmy Bullard fit that could be the key as he was always a great player at Wigan.
S. Pretty poor really. You have as porous a back four as us, but you can at least score goals. I think you guys are in for a dogfight with the bottom five clubs all season unless some signings are made in January. Dempsey is a bright spot for you, he has finally settled into the English game and will be a threat.
D. Well, to be honest you are better than us, but time will tell.

Q. What's your prediction for this weekend results wise?
CS. 2-2. End to end, open game.
S. I see draw written all over this,Derby is bound to score on the road at some point and I think it will be this weekend. Final score 1-1.
D. 1:3 for Derby