In their return to action last Friday night the Rams were more than dire as they tried to stem the tide of Swansea and hang on for a draw. Instead, as often happens when a team abandons all thoughts of attack, a crack finally opened wide enough for all to be lost through.

Nigel identified the need for pace in the squad and it seems that he see’s new loan signing D.J Campbell as part of the solution to that problem. But who is this initialled attacker who has been out of favour at the Foxes but seen as a potential saviour for Derby.

Born in 1981 Dudley Junior Campbell began his career at Aston Villa but was never  offered a professional contract so instead plied his trade in 2000 with non-league football club Chesham United, scoring sixteen goals in 29 league appearances.

In 2001 Conference National club Stevenage Borough provided a home for two years and made 23 appearances, scoring 3 goals. 2003 brought him to Yeading on a free transfer who were then in the Isthmian League Division One North. This is where the player finally began to show his true potential scoring an impressive 83 goals in 109 appearances.

In 2005 Brentford came in for Campbell and secured his signature for £5,000 and in 2006 the player made headlines as he scored both goals which secured a 2–1 victory over Premier League club Sunderland, in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

He made a total of 28 appearances for Brentford, scoring 12 times, in his seven months at the club. He was named the League One Player of the Month in January 2006 after scoring 5 goals in his final 4 league games plus 3 goals in two FA Cup games.

It was this impressive form that led to Campbell attracting Premier League club Birmingham City to sign him for £500,000 on a three-and-half year contract. The big move failed to produce big results as the season ended with the club being relegated.

Campbell started twenty games for the Blues the following season in their return to the Championship, scoring 12 goals as they were promoted once again to the Premier League.

In July 2007, Campbell signed a four-year contract with Leicester City for an initial fee of £1.6 million. Leicester was relegated at the end of the season after Campbell had made a total of 32 league appearances, scoring only 4 goals. In his defense, during the season he was sidelined through injury suffering from osteitis pubis for over three months.

After struggling to secure a regular place for the Foxes, Campbell was loaned back into the Championship with Blackpool. At the end of the 2008–09 season he was Blackpool's top goal scorer with 9 goals in 19 appearances.

Although proving he was more than capable of scoring in the league Leicester were about to re-join, he instead was stripped of his squad number at the start of the 2009-10 season.

D.J eventually made an appearance on October 3 against Coventry but it seems there was no intention to allow him to try and re-establish himself.

Less than two months later his next appearance will be as a Derby County player as he has now joined them for an initial one month loan.

When speaking to therams.co.uk Nigel Clough seemed happy:

"I'm really pleased we've managed to get the deal done to bring DJ here," said Rams boss Nigel Clough. He has raw pace and as I've said already this week that is something we've been missing up top".

"It certainly gives us another option and more competition alongside Rob Hulse, Paul Dickov and Chris Porter, who is getting closer to full fitness".

"This is a deal we've worked hard on and it is always nice when your hard work pays off."

While D.J Campbell was slightly reserved with his comments:

"I'm really pleased to have completed this loan and I'm looking forward to training with the team and, hopefully, playing some role at the weekend against Reading".

"I want to play football and the gaffer has indicated I will get that opportunity here, although I know I will have to perform well to be in the starting 11”.

"Derby County showed the strongest interest and although other teams were interested, this is the club that I want to join the most, so it has been a straightforward decision. I've heard the manager say that they need pace in the side, so, hopefully, I can help them with that and also chip in with the odd goal”.

"I'm certainly looking forward to it and will be doing my very best up until January."

Campbell may have been careful in what he said to the press after causing controversy earlier in the season with reports he told journalists in Blackpool that he was not part of the Foxes plans.

He later denied the comments and it seems Leicester manager Nigel Pearson is keen to make it clear that Campbell need not expect to escape his grip any time soon.

"The move (to Derby) gives him the opportunity to get some games as we have a lot of competition in forward positions but it is only for a month”.

There is little doubt that Campbell can score goals at Championship level, having been quite prolific for both Birmingham and Blackpool in recent years. The Seasiders were desperate to make the signing permanent or at least continue the loan this season but a deal could not be struck.

It seems that no matter what their boss says, D.J has found himself out of favor at Leicester much like the Rams other loan signing from the Foxes in Paul Dickov. Fans can only hope that Campbell shows the same desire and commitment that Dickov has produced in his far too few appearances for the Rams.

Adding a speedy striker may address one of the problem areas that Nigel has identified but it seems that it may be Paul Dickov who will suffer most from the arrival of D.J. That is unless Nigel has a surprising new formation up his sleeve for their home game on Saturday against Reading.

I for one would welcome a  '4-1-2-1-2' formation and can only dream that the Rams would decide to go for the jugular, attempting to grab the momentum from the first whistle.
It may be wishful thinking but with players becoming available by the day, I think the Rams may finally have the squad to cover such a bold experiment.

If nothing else it would be a total departure from tactics that have been much criticised by fans and pundits alike. Plus if Nigel and his coaching staff want affirmation it is worth a try, I just tried it out on Fifa 10 and the very formation defeated Real Madrid. Nuff said!

Daniel J’s FIFA 10 team (4-1-2-1-2):
 
Bywater, Stoor, Barker, Leacock, McEveley, Savage, Green, Addison, D.J, Dickov, Hulse.