skysports.com is going to get inside the minds of the players this season..
SHAUN DERRY
Notts County were my team as a youngster and their results are always the first I look for. I've had a long-lasting relationship with the club. My dad is a fan and I've got two brothers - one is a County fan and one supports Nottingham Forest - so I followed the journey of my dad and then started playing for the club on my 10th birthday. I was there for exactly ten years and the relationship with me and Notts County is deep-rooted without a doubt.
I left the club for £750,000 which was quite a lot of money for a club that was in League Two at the time. The funny thing is I've never actually played against County since leaving them which has always been a regret of mine. It's never coincided that they've have been in the same league that I've been playing in and I've never actually played them in any cup competition either, but family loyalties would defiantly be put to the test if that did happen.
I left the club when I was 20 and it was a shame to leave in the sense that it was an end of an era, but what it enabled me to do was jump a couple of leagues and play for a big club in Sheffield United at Bramall Lane with some fantastic players.
With my parents living in Nottingham on the odd occasion I have been able to get back and watch them. It's always nice going back to Meadow Lane and I played in the centenary game there at the end of last season and that was great and a fantastic day not just for me, but for my parents as well.
It's been an incredibly disappointing season for Notts County so far. They're second from the bottom of the league and that's really upsetting for everyone in Nottingham. Not only is Nottingham a big city, but it's a city that loves its football and with Forest doing well over the river it's a shame. The rivalry that the two clubs have isn't a vicious one, but supportive and it's always nice when both clubs can do well.
It would be absolutely fantastic to manage my home-town club it really would be, but I think when it comes to finding the right club to start your managerial career everything has to be right and there are so many different consequences that make things right for first-time managers these days. You really have to look at the bigger picture and decide whether that would be the best decision taking away your own feelings for a club.
KEVIN DAVIES
I'm a Sheffield United fan and grew up a mile from the stadium. My older brother used to drag me down to Bramall Lane from when I was about eight or nine and I've got a lot of memories from going down there. My dad supported Sheffield Wednesday so there was a bit of a divide, but my brother used to take me to all the home games and I remember being stood on the Kop as a young kid and watching all the players.
I was at their school of excellence from about the ages of 13-15 but I was released when I was 15 and didn't make it into their youth training scheme which was disappointing because I was kept behind and told I had a future with them.
It was heart-breaking being released because I was a fan as well, but it helped me learn from an early age how ruthless football really is. I was one of the few who was made guarantees that I'd be taken on after I left school and then when I started to go through puberty and my body started to change a little bit I went a little bit out of form and before you knew it I was replaced.
It was upsetting but I was fortunate enough to have an older brother who would make me practice and work extra hard, kicking it about down the park. Fortunately I was then spotted by Chesterfield when I was playing for Sheffield Boys and the rest is history.
I had the opportunity to go on loan to Sheffield United around the time I was at Millwall and I do know Neil Warnock has tried to get me a few times over the years when he's been in charge. It was nice to go and play at Bramall Lane again this season because the support is still fantastic. Once you get out there on the pitch you've got a job to do for your own team. I also played against them a few times for Bolton and managed to score a couple of times, but that's what I'm paid to do so you forget about the fact you support them and get on with the job.
Nigel Clough was on my A License course over the summer and I think he's a fantastic coach and I believe he was unfortunate to find himself sacked from Derby because he'd built something good up. I think he's a great appointment for Sheffield United and he'll certainly help them. I don't think they will be fighting relegation this year. It's a real shame to see both Sheffield clubs struggling to be honest because they're both fantastic clubs and it's a brilliant city.
I don't know if I'd ever like to manage Sheffield United but I did throw my name in the hat last time they were looking for somebody just to put my name out there to be honest. I never really intended to go for the job and I don't think I could do the player-managing thing. It's a club that I love and have grown up with and even though I got rejected at 15 it doesn't stop me loving the club and looking out for their results.
GUY BRANSTON
I first watched Leicester as a seven-year-old, it was Gary McAllister's debut and my stepdad took me. I think it was against Wolves and we were in the family enclosure - I was hooked from then on.
I went down regularly because I lived near the ground and worked near there because my family had a stall on Leicester market. The family had a passion with Leicester City, especially my stepdad who was big into football and we watched them a lot, then as a 12-year-old I started to play for them.
I left the club when I turned 20 and there was a bit of anger and a bit of hatred, nothing too sinister but I wasn't very happy because I thought I could give a lot more back.
The few years I was with the so-called development squad our idea was running on a treadmill most days because the coach at the time didn't want to take us through proper training - luckily he didn't last long in the game anyway. But he shouldn't have been taking us if he couldn't do coaching - this was crazy at a top Premier League club back then. That's where the anger came from and something I was bit annoyed about because had I had the opportunity to work a bit a harder I think I could have progressed in to making my debut, but that didn't happen.
Two seasons after I left the football club as a pro I ended up meeting them in the Championship. It was unbelievable: we drew 1-1 at Rotherham and we lost 2-1 at the Walkers Stadium. It was a tough thing to take but there were enough of my mates in the stands to get me over it after the game and it was just a great occasion for me, it was like an FA Cup final because Leicester were so high up in the leagues I never thought I was going to be playing against them for Rotherham.
I spoke to Liam Moore - the Sky Bet Football League Young Player of the Month for September - last weekend and I'm still in contact with some of the legends of the club like Muzzy Izzet, Steve Walsh and Neil Lennon, who I speak with on Twitter. It's nice to be involved with the football club's history. I couldn't get into the team but when you look back that was their best team in 25 years.
I think they're doing great and do every season under Nigel Pearson who is such a successful manager in the Championship because he knows the league so well and I think he's brought a bit more quality to it this year with David Nugent, Jamie Vardy and Liam Moore - who I knew was going to come through as soon as I saw him at Bradford. You've got really talented kids coming through the youth systems and I think they'll get promoted this year, it's their year and I think when they want to press the button they'll start winning the league and I think they're the ones to watch this season.
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