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Championship 2015-16 season preview: Derby County

Sports Mole wonders if Derby County can live up to their expectations as bookies' favourites for promotion from the Championship in 2015-16.

With 13 games of the 2014-15 season to go, Derby County were top of the Championship and on course to end their eight-year wait for Premier League football.

There was not much separating those in the hunt, but the Rams were still expected to get at least a top-six place and perhaps go one better than the season before when they were cruelly beaten in the playoff final by Queens Park Rangers.

What transpired was a woeful collapse as Steve McClaren's side recorded just two victories in those last 13 matches to plummet to eighth by the end of the season. Despite the slump, former England boss McClaren is back in the Premier League with Newcastle United and Derby have been busy since his departure.

There will be plenty of expectation on Paul Clement's shoulders as he embarks on his first managerial role, with promotion a must following a summer of big spending.


In

Chris Baird (West Bromwich Albion), Darren Bent (Aston Villa), Scott Carson (Wigan Athletic), Alex Pearce (Reading), Andreas Weimann (Aston Villa), Tom Ince (Hull City), Jason Shackell (Burnley)

Out

Shaun Barker, Sam Dryden (Dundee), Ross Etheridge (Accrington Stanley), John Eustace, Luke Hendrie, Josh Lelan (Northampton Town), Lee Naylor, Tom Naylor (Burton Albion), Mark O'Brien (Luton Town), Rhys Sharpe (Notts County), Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest), Zak Whitbread, Farrend Rawson (Rotherham United, half-season loan), Kelle Roos (Rotherham United, season-long loan), Raul Albentosa (Malaga, season-long loan), Conor Sammon (Sheffield United, season-long loan), Kwame Thomas (Blackpool, half-season loan)

Last season - 8th



Manager - Paul Clement

Derby County manager Paul Clement looks on during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Northampton Town and Derby County at Sixfields Stadium on July 18, 2015© Getty Images

Carlo Ancelotti's assistant at Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid has taken the step into management after several years as a number two and he certainly seems to have landed on his feet at the iPro Stadium.

He has inherited a squad full of talent and been able to sign both exciting youngsters like Ince and experienced old heads like Baird and Shackell. They have been added to a squad that was already perhaps the strongest in the league and it would be a massive failure if Clement cannot do any better than McClaren last season.


Key Player - Tom Ince

After understandably leaving sinking ship Blackpool last summer, Ince did not get much of a look-in with Hull City in the Premier League. His first loan spell back in the Championship was unsuccessful as Nottingham Forest took a turn for the worse after a fast start to the season.

He failed to score in six appearances under former England Under-21 manager Stuart Pearce, but had much more success with Forest's East Midlands rivals Derby, bagging 11 goals in 18 appearances. That haul impressed Derby enough to pay his Hull release clause and Rams fans will hope there are more Player of the Month awards after he scooped the gong for his April displays earlier this year.

Derby winger Tom Ince with his Championship Player of the Month award for April on April 30, 2015© Getty Images


Possible starting lineup

Grant; Christie, Keogh, Shackell, Forsyth; Hughes, Baird, Hendrick; Ince, Martin, Weimann

First game: Bolton Wanderers (A), Full fixture list



Sports Mole says

The Rams are the bookies' favourites for promotion and although the Championship always throws up some big surprises, it is hard to look past Derby for the title this season. The big question mark is with Clement and whether he will be ready for the rigours of managing in one of the toughest leagues the world, but even if it takes him a little while to adapt, there is just so much quality in the squad.

The club recently told us that it was not promotion or bust this term, but it certainly feels that way given just how much money has been splashed on new faces. With Jamie Ward the only notable departure and signings like Ince, Darren Bent, Jason Shackell and Andreas Weimann, Derby should storm to the title.

Prediction - 1st

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Derby County players celebrate after Chris Martin scored during the Sky Bet Championship match between Ipswich Town and Derby County at Portman Road on January 10, 2015
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland1695226121432
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1610422191232
3Burnley168621961330
4Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
5Middlesbrough1683529191027
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom166821811726
7Watford168262524126
8Millwall166641914524
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City165742020022
11Derby CountyDerby165562020020
12Stoke CityStoke165561920-120
13Norwich CityNorwich164752524119
14Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds165471826-819
16Luton TownLuton165381826-818
17Coventry CityCoventry164572223-117
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd164571924-517
19Plymouth ArgylePlymouth164571728-1117
20Preston North EndPreston163761624-816
21Cardiff CityCardiff164481524-916
22Hull City163671621-515
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR161871326-1311


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