Di Matteo: Italian insight

When you've got a barnet like his - not to mention the white suits and the perma tan - you've got to have a sense of humour!

Peter Beagrie on Robbie Savage
Quotes of the week

LIVE FOOTBALL LEAGUE
MK Dons v Carlisle
12.00pm, Sat, Sky Sports 1 & HD1

To send Peter a question, send an email to skysportsclub@bskyb.com

Related links

Teams

• Brighton
• Bristol Rovers
• More TeamsCarlisle UnitedCheltenham TownColchester UnitedCrewe AlexandraHartlepool UnitedHerefordHuddersfield TownLeeds UnitedLeicester CityLeyton OrientMillwallMilton Keynes Dons Northampton TownOldham AthleticPeterborough UnitedScunthorpe UnitedSouthend UnitedStockport CountySwindon TownTranmere RoversWalsallYeovil Town

Also see

• League One fixtures
• League One table
• League One stats

My theory has always been this: play football and you'll find it easier to adjust after you've won promotion.

Swansea have been testament to that so far in the Championship and MK Dons have adapted equally quickly to life in League One.

Former Chelsea midfielder Roberto Di Matteo has picked up the baton and continued in the same vein as Paul Ince as far as playing style is concerned. Ince played more of a 4-5-1 formation with the emphasis on getting bodies forward from midfield, whereas Di Matteo likes more of a 4-4-2 but the MK Dons continue to try and keep the ball on the floor.

Interestingly, they haven't drawn a game yet this season and that reflects their seemingly 'all or nothing' approach. Equally efficient away from the stadium:mk, they have total belief in the way they play.

Keith Andrews was magnificent; an inspirational leader last season but I think the club did well to bank £1.3m for him from Blackburn. A lot of people forget the departure of Lloyd Dyer - who netted 11 goals and was terrific - to Leicester but the emergence of teenage trainee Sam Baldock, who has already netted seven, is particularly exciting for the club.

Throw in a visionary chairman like Pete Winkelman, who has built a fantastic infrastructure and stadium, plus a young, hungry manager, and things are looking good for the Dons.

I've had plenty of offers to take up a player-manager role but I feel I've given a lot of time to the game - playing into my 41st year was pretty greedy! I feel privileged to have had a long, established career and I'm now enjoying my role in the media. Whether you play it, watch it or talk about it, football, in my opinion, is the best game in the world.

So I'll leave it to other people to go grey early! Being a manager involves a lot of sacrifices. It's 24/7, your family suffer and you've got to be totally in love with football. Roberto clearly is, and he's made a very good transition so far.

His counterpart on Saturday, John Ward, is having a hard time at Carlisle in contrast. Losing last year's play-off semi final to Leeds - after they had done the hard part and won at Elland Road - was very disappointing but I think they actually over-achieved.

And defeat to League Two Rochdale on penalties in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy means they've now lost five in a row.

But John is a top-drawer coach - I know a lot of people who worked with him at Wolves and said he was brilliant. His man-management will be severely tested against MK Dons; it's chins-off-the-floor time but he has a squad that, although small, is full of quality.

When they're in full flow, the Blues are lovely to watch. John might have to look at bringing a couple of loanees in, and give them more of a physical presence because teams have recently tried to stop them playing, but I wouldn't expect them to fall any further than they have done.

I'm looking forward to watching Leeds' meeting with Brighton on Soccer Saturday. Prior to defeat against Peterborough, they'd won six out of six and Gary McAllister has really put his stamp on the Whites.

Rui Marques and Lubomir Michalik were led a merry dance in their disappointing JP Trophy defeat by Rotherham - what a great job Mark Robins is doing with the Millers, by the way - but one big positive for Leeds is that they score so many; the strikeforce of Jermaine Beckford and Luciano Beccio is a formidable one, complemented by plenty of width. Only Leicester have more points than Leeds away from home, so they are a real threat.

Brighton have grabbed the headlines following their loan capture of Robbie Savage. He's been much-maligned but Robbie's gone right up in my estimations after taking up that challenge on the South Coast because he could have easily sat on his fat wage packet at Derby.

I heard that he was greeted by the sight of his colleagues wearing blonde wigs and false teeth; well, he would have loved that, he's one of the game's practical jokers. And when you've got a barnet like his - not to mention the white suits and the perma tan - you've got to have a sense of humour!

Robbie knows Micky Adams from his time at Leicester and he could prove to be inspirational for the Seagulls, especially with all the young players they've got. I really hope it's a move that reignites his passion for the game, and, of course, is equally beneficial for Brighton.

Another side with the feel-good factor is one of my old clubs, Scunthorpe, and Nigel Adkins is doing a very good job.

When he initially took over and got promotion, people were saying it was Brian Laws' team but Nigel impressed me by sticking with the basic 4-4-2 that Brian and I had put in place. He proved he had no ego by resisting the temptation to tamper.

Scunthorpe, like Colchester, were really victims of their own budget last season; it was no coincidence that two of the Championship's most poorly backed clubs, in terms of attendance and financial clout, went down.

It's a tough division, especially if injuries and suspensions start to bite, and I think automatic promotion could prove just beyond them in the end but for now, I'm absolutely ecstatic that they're doing so well; it's a great response after relegation.

To send Peter a question, send an email to skysportsclub@bskyb.com or use the feedback form below...

Peter answers your questions...

ROYAL STANDARD
Hi Peter, who do you think has the deadliest strike force in the Championship this year? I have to say I am biased and think that Kevin Doyle and Noel Hunt will bag hatfuls this year. Noel (Steve Hunt's brother) has only broken into the team three games ago but he looks real quality and is a surefire starter for every game now, while Kevin Doyle has scored eight goals in his last three home games. Is there any pairing better? Paul Cowin (Reading fan)
PETER REPLIES: Their goals would certainly back up your argument, Paul! I think the only two that come close are Chris Iwelumo and Sylvain Ebanks-Blake at Wolves. Both teams have been flying and scoring for fun, although Wolves have obviously been dealt a big blow in the injuries to Michael Kightly and Matt Jarvis. Kevin Doyle definitely struggled in the Premier League last season because he was feeding off scraps but this year they're creating plenty of chances for him; he's very mobile, good in the air and he's got a cool head. Noel Hunt has been a fantastic signing and it's obviously helped him having his brother Stephen around, too. I'm delighted for Steve Coppell, who was backed by the Reading fans after relegation; I don't know anyone in the game who doesn't think he's the bee's knees - he's astute, intelligent, and knows what he wants in a player.

ARGY-BARGY
Hello Peter, Argyle fan exiled in West Midlands. What do you think the chances are of Plymouth Argyle getting any sort of mention this season. I sometimes wonder if anyone realises we're actually a Championship side. Kev Rees
PETER REPLIES: Well you must be delighted with your team's current fifth placing, Kev - and what a good job Paul Sturrock has done. Argyle have been a selling club in the past but they've pulled off two great transfer coups in Emile Mpenza and Paul Gallagher, who might be a bit over-zealous at times but certainly wears his heart on his sleeve. Rory Fallon has got himself sent off too much for my liking in the past but he's started to show more responsibility in the goalscoring stakes and with his hold-up play. The Pilgrims' 4-0 win over Sturrock''s old club Sheffield Wednesday was tremendous; it was great to see Home Park bouncing again because when I went there with the Sky cameras for the Swansea game back in August, the place was like a morgue, it was so quiet. I know that Argyle fans are a passionate bunch; they can create an incredible amount of noise and they're seeing some lovely stuff on the pitch at the moment.

JUMPING FOR JOY
Hello Peter. Harking back to your playing days, are you still able to carry out your famous somersault goal celebration??! Regards, Richard Powell
PETER REPLIES: I'm able to, Richard, but just not daft enough to anymore! My last one was at a barbeque where everyone was winding me up saying, "you can't do them, you can't do them" and like a fool, I took the bait. I couldn't get out of bed the next morning! The first time I did it, actually, was when I was a kid playing for Middlesbrough Juniors against Barnsley in the Youth Cup. I'd already scored a 25-yard free-kick and then we got another on the half-way line. It was 2-2 and I thought, "I'm just going to smash this," and it went over everybody's head into the top corner. So that was it - a bit of over-exuberance and my somersault celebration was born! The first time I did it professionally was in the late '80s, away at Brighton, in front of the Sheffield United travelling supporters. Myself and John Burridge, who could also perform a trick or two, both did it after we'd clinched a slender 1-0 away win! Incidentally, up until a year ago, I'd always thought I had pulled each of my somersaults off with aplomb - but then I saw one I'd attempted for Bradford. I didn't mis-land but I definitely had a bit of a stumble; my mitigating circumstances were that it was the 89th minute and I was 36 at the time! My dad once compiled a DVD of all the goals that I'd scored but Tony Henry, my old agent and a former teammate at Stoke, took it and I never got it back - if you're reading this Tony, I haven't forgotten!

To send Peter a question, send an email to skysportsclub@bskyb.com or use the feedback form below...