Peter Beagrie Q&A: Derby can cope without injured midfielder Jeff Hendrick

Peter Beagrie is here to answer YOUR Football League questions.

The former winger, who played over 770 games, representing clubs in all four tiers of the English footballing pyramid, including Manchester City, Everton, Bradford, Sheffield United, Scunthorpe and Grimsby, forms part of the Sky Sports punditry team for all the big matches in the Championship, League One and League Two.

So if you have a poser for Peter, whether it's about a team, player, match or incident that has caught your eye, a wider point on the Football League or something a little left field, then send it in via the feedback form at the bottom of the article.

Read on for this week's column where Beags talks Derby, Wigan, Birmingham and more...

NO BIG BLOW
Hi Beags, How big a dent will it be for Derby if Jeff Hendrick is out for a decent period? Would they need a loan signing or would it be a chance for Will Hughes to step up? Angelo Doni

BEAGS SAYS: Well, Angelo, if the Rams are equipped to cover an injury in any department it’s in their multi-faceted midfield. It is one of Derby’s main strengths and a major reason why I, amongst others, would not be surprised if they went one better than last season and achieved automatic promotion to the Premier League. I say 'multi-faceted' because they have midfielders with lots of attributes including physicality, creativity, pace and athleticism and players who can beat people with a pass or use their trickery to bypass the opposition’s midfield or defence. It is desperately unlucky for Hendrick to have dislocated his shoulder as he found himself starring as a first choice following the terrible injury to George Thorne.

The Ireland international has got forward at will and scored in the opening two fixtures of the season against Rotherham and Carlisle but in his absence County can call upon John Eustace, Craig Bryson, Paul Coutts and Omar Mascarell and, as you rightly say, Angelo, a ready-made replacement in William James Hughes (pictured), who has enjoyed a meteoric rise and is a proven Championship performer. If needs be, Derby could also play tenacious wideman Jamie Ward in a central three, with Simon Dawkins and Johnny Russell in the wide berths. So although it is always a blow to lose a regular like Hendrick, there are plenty of options for Steve McClaren to pontificate and ponder as he looks to maintain your club’s tremendous progression.

TRANSFER TALES
Were you ever involved in any down-to-the-wire transfers - and what constituted a medical in your playing days? Oli Jones

BEAGS SAYS: Yes, Oli, I was. My transfer to Manchester City from Everton was completed with five minutes to spare. I was sat in my front room in Formby when I was informed that The Toffees had agreed a £1.1million fee with City, but I was told I didn’t have to go if I didn’t want to. Then, though, I heard Everton had sealed the signature of fellow winger Anders Limpar from Arsenal, so I decided to phone then-Toffees manager Mike Walker for reassurances. He unconvincingly said Anders and myself could play in the same team but on further prompting said we couldn’t play in the same position. As a player you like to feel wanted but the very fact Mike had agreed a fee for me set the alarm bells ringing and because managers like to just