Ramballs

After a defeating the newly promoted Peterborough United by two goals to one on Saturday, The Rams now head to the Don Valley Stadium to take on league two side Rotherham. Rotherham, having started last season with -17 point deduction, ended the season in 14th place with a respectable 58 points. Had the millers not had the point deduction, they would have in 5th place, well inside the play-off places, so the Millers are a force to be reckoned with in League two.

Rotherham got off to a winning start this season as they grabbed a 1 – 0 win over Accrington at the weekend. Paul Warne, 36, returning to the club this summer after a four year absence from Rotherham, scored the late winner. An old head on the field was exactly what they needed as manager Mark Robins said “Paul coming on shook people up a bit and we certainly needed it. It was good to see him back in a Rotherham shirt in a competitive game because that is how I remember him and he has always worked his socks off,”

Rotherham have also signed 23 year old Tom Pope from Crewe for a club record fee of £150,000. The 6′3″ striker has found himself in a spot of bother as he was recently found guilty of affray for an incident at a Hanley nightclub. He’s a confident young striker and has set himself the target of 20 goals this year and, after banging in plenty of goals in pre-season, Pope is expected to do well for the millers this season. Tom said; “I work hard and try and get myself in the box. I don’t keep running all over the pitch. I stay down the middle because I want to get on the end of chances.”

Ryan Taylor, another of Rotherham’s young strikers, hasn’t found his feet just yet but his 6′2″ frame should be his biggest asset. He’s a big striker who should be capable of bullying defenders off the ball but so far has failed to live up to expectations. Last year he made 18 starts and scored just four goals for the Yorkshire team but, having just secured a new two year deal with the club, he managed to bag a goal in Rotherham’s pre-season victory over a Man City XI.

The Rams strikers will be facing a veteran goalie in the form of Andy Warrington who has been playing professionally since 1994. Warrington is said to have played well at the weekend and managed to keep a clean sheet against Accrington, a result he’ll be keen to replicate on Tuesday night.

Pablo Mills, the former Rams defender who made over 50 appearances for The Rams, now makes a living playing as a centre mid. He signed for the residents of the Don Valley stadium back in July 2006 and has since made over 100 appearances for the club.

Rotherham are genuine contenders for promotion from League 2 this season but, given The Rams performance against Peterborough, beating us will be a tall order indeed. Kris Commons is away on international duty and Paul Green looks likely to miss this game after picking up a knock against Peterborough. Luke Varney may have recovered enough from illness to find himself a place in the squad or Nigel Clough may even choose to field some of our younger players with the likes of Prijovic, Mendy and Pringle all having performed well in pre-season.

The Rams have a good record against the league 2 outfit having won four of the last six competitive meetings between the sides, although when playing at Rotherham the last three games read one won, one lost and one drawn. This is the first time the clubs have ever met in in a cup competition and The Rams have only won one of their last seven games away from Pride Park.

Derby had a great run in this competition last season, reaching the quarter finals before eventually being knocked out by Manchester United 4-3 on aggregate. Kris Commons scored a stunning goal against the Red Devils in the semi-final home leg and Tito Villa, now of Cruz Azul, prevously scored a hat trick against Brighton & Hove Albion to send The Rams through to the fourth round.

Can Derby County repeat last seasons success? Hopefully, but before they can think of the second round, they have win at the Don Valley Stadium.

Following last Tuesday’s slightly damp outing to Meadow Lane, RamBalls decided to have another soggy evening out of the house watching The Rams. Peter Kay would say the rain was “that fine rain that soaks you through”.

Finding the ground was a bit of a mystery; google maps sent us to a housing estate and the sat nav parked us at a chip shop. Eventually we found the ground, paid the £5 admission and found a seat amongst the few other Derby fans (around 25 of us) who were strange enough to make the 40 mile journey.

The match kicked off with former Stoke striker, Mark Grocutt, playing as a lone striker. Kris Commons played down the right with Ben Pringle on the opposite flank. Arnaud Mendy, the last minute goalscorer against Stoke, played in midfield alongside the trialist David Toukam, a young Cameroonian who plays for the Juventus youth team.

Kris Commons was the creative outlet for much of the first half and the Scottish international danced past a the Solihull defence on the right and shot just wide from outside the box on 20 minutes.

Arnaud Mendy used his power well in the middle and showed some neat control and some good exchanges with Toukam. Toukam also looked lively, showing for the ball and generally looking composed when on the ball.

The next attack came as Jordan Stewart picked up a loose ball, brought it out towards the left and crossed low to Commons who set himself up for a volley. He struck the ball on the turn and it was always going wide.

Minutes later and Commons was beating the Solihull defence again. He skirted across the 18yrd box, took a shot which was parried by the keeper back to Commons who then tried to chip the keeper only to see the ball cleared off the line.

The Rams took the lead through a penalty on 33 minutes. Mark Grocutt had the ball in the box only to be fouled and brought to the deck, right in front of the ref. Kris Commons was the man to step up to the plate and he slotted the ball away with ease, sending the keeper the wrong way in the process.

That was the first half. The second half was less eventful.

I could probably write more about the strange odours that my nose kept on being introduced to than I could the second 45 minutes. Honestly, whoever it was that kept on producing those less than delightful aromas should seek urgent medical advice.

I can’t remember us troubling the keeper in the second half. Commons was frequently on the ball although he didn’t have much to aim for in the middle. Pringle was subbed off for Ojamaa early in the half but his first half performance was good.

The closest Derby came to scoring in the second half was when Solihull defender and ex-ram, Theo Streete, nearly put the ball in his own net from a low cross.

The home side managed to grab a goal around 75 and a good one it was too. The ball found it’s way to John Pugh around the penalty spot and he struck it with a sweet volley beyond the helpless Atkins.

Full time score 1 - 1

RamBalls little camera struggled to get any decent pictures but you can see the gallery here.

Have you seen the latest range of Rams leisurewear? Check it out now.

This year sees the club turning the grand old age of 125 years old and as part of their celebrations they have teamed up with some local organisations.

Cycle Derby, Derbys cycle demonstration town project, are one of the clubs official 125 year anniversary partner organisations. Cycle Derbys aim is to get more kids out on their bikes more often while making sure they do so in a safe manner. This involves visiting schools and teaching children to ride bikes through Cycling Englands Bikeabilty scheme: cycling proficiency for the 21st century.

Each year Cycle Derby hosts a cycling festival called The Big Cycle Weekend at Markeaton Park and the 2009 event is this coming weekend (July 11th & 12th).

On Sunday there will be a five parks ride that is open to all and, as part of Cycle Derby and Derby Countys ongoing partnership, Nigel Clough & Rammie will be opening the event. The ride follows local cycle routes and paths for 6 circular miles around the green heart of Derby. It’s a short and easy ride that takes you through many of the city’s parks, open spaces, along the river and through the city centre.

Not only will the you get to see Rammie and Cloughie but you can also get a free pair tickets to the Rams pre-season friendly against Premier league Stoke City when you complete the ride!

The first forty kids on both the Saturday and Sunday to complete five of the various activities and hand in a completed activity form will also get a pair of tickets to the Stoke friendly.

Tyrone Mears has sealed his transfer to Turn Moor. Burnley have paid £500,000 for the defender although this figure could rise depending on add-ons.

Derby County took Mears on loan in January 2007 and later signed Mears on a permanent basis. Mears played 48 times and scored twice for the rams.