Everything about Derby County Football Club totally explained
Andrew Appleby
|mgrtitle = Manager
|manager =
Paul Jewell
|league =
Premier League |
|season =
2007–08
|position =
Premier League, 20th
(relegated)
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Derby County Football Club is an
English football club based in
Derby. They were relegated from
Premier League in the
2007/08 season and will compete in the
Football League Championship in the
2008/2009 season.
History
1884 as an offshoot of
Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Derby initially played at the
Racecourse Ground. As well as competing in a number of friendly matches and informal competitions, Derby County also entered the
FA Cup.
Derby County were founder members of
The Football League when it was launched in
1888. In
1891 they absorbed
Derby Midland F.C..
Steve Bloomer, generally considered to be Derby County's best-ever player, joined the club in
1892. In
1895 the club moved to a new stadium,
The Baseball Ground, which became their home for the next 102 years, and adopted their traditional colours of black and white.
On
16 April 1898, Derby appeared in their first FA Cup final at
Crystal Palace, but lost 3-1. They were losing finalists again in
1899 and
1903. Derby were relegated to the Football League's
Second Division for the first time in
1907, but under
Jimmy Methven's management they re-signed
Steve Bloomer and regained their
First Division place in
1911.
In
1914 they were relegated again, but instantly won the Second Division to get promoted (though
World War I meant that they'd to wait until
1919 to play First Division football again). After two seasons, they were relegated yet again in
1921. However, more successful times lay ahead, instigated by Derby's promotion in
1926. The club became a formidable force, with high finishes from the late
1920s and all through the
1930s.
In the
1945-1946 season Derby got to the final of the FA Cup and won by beating
Charlton Athletic 4-1 after
extra time. The League restarted the following season after a break due to
World War II, but Derby couldn't reproduce their pre-War form and were relegated in
1953. In
1955 they were relegated to the
Third Division North for the first time in their history. The third tier proved easy for Derby, though: they were promoted after just two seasons.
In
1967,
Brian Clough took over and led them to their greatest glory. Having clinched the influential signing of
Dave Mackay, Derby were promoted to the First Division in
1969, finished fourth in 1970, got banned from competing in Europe due to financial irregularities in 1971, and won their first ever Football League Championship in
1972. Though Derby didn't retain their title the following season, they did reach the semi-finals of the
European Cup. They lost to
Juventus in a controversial match which was subject to subsequent allegations that the Italian club had bribed the match officials, leading Clough, to call the Italians "cheating bastards".
Clough's frequent outspoken comments against football's establishment eventually led to him falling out with the
board of directors at the club, and Clough left in 1973. Despite the departure, Derby's League success was repeated in
1974–1975 season when they won the title under
Dave Mackay. However, Derby's form declined towards the end of the 1970s and they went down to the Second Division in 1980. Though they challenged well in their first season, Derby's stay in the Second Division wasn't a happy one and they were relegated to the
Third Division in
1984.
After the relegation, the club appointed
Arthur Cox to stop the rot — and stop it he did. After a two year stint in the Third Division, Cox's emerging side were promoted to the Second Division and won it at the first attempt, returning to the old First Division in 1987.
The club finished fifth in the
1988-1989 season, with the team now containing stars like
Peter Shilton,
Mark Wright,
Dean Saunders and
Ted McMinn. However, English clubs were banned from European competition at the time following the
Heysel Stadium Disaster, so the Rams missed out on their place in the
UEFA Cup.
A lack of further investment from chairman
Robert Maxwell lead to a decline shortly after. With Maxwell soon dead, the club was relegated back to the Second Division in
1991. At this time, local newspaper businessman
Lionel Pickering became the majority shareholder of the club. In 1992 Derby paid £2.5 million for Notts County's central defender Craig Short. At the time — and for five years afterwards — he was the most expensive player to be signed by a club outside the top flight.
Cox resigned in late 1993 citing health problems, and
Roy McFarland returned as manager. McFarland failed to get the side anywhere near the top of the division apart from a defeat at the hands of
Leicester City in the
1993–1994 play-off final and was sacked in 1995.
Jim Smith was then appointed as the club's new manager. Although the season started slowly, the signing of sweeper
Igor Stimac proved pivotal. Throwing his brief of 'a top-half finish' out the window, Smith guided the Rams to a second-place finish and the
Premier League, now the top flight of English football.
Derby County made a strong Premiership début in the
1996–1997 season, finishing 12th in the final table. The club moved into the new 30,000-seat
Pride Park Stadium for the
1997–1998 season.
Progress continued in the next two seasons, before a sudden decline in form. In
2000–2001 Derby narrowly avoided the drop, finishing 17th — one place clear of relegation.
Jim Smith resigned as manager in October 2001. He was replaced by assistant manager
Colin Todd, who remained in charge for just three months before he was sacked in the aftermath of a humiliating FA Cup Third Round home defeat against Third Division strugglers
Bristol Rovers. At the end of January 2002,
John Gregory was appointed Derby manager. Despite a promising start, seven defeats from their final eight fixtures condemned Derby to relegation.
Derby County's relegation saw the club enter a serious financial crisis, which forced them to sell many key players. Gregory was later suspended from his managerial duties over alleged misconduct and former
Ipswich Town boss
George Burley was bought in temporarily. He later received the job on a permanent basis.
The club's parent company went into liquidation in October 2003 and Lionel Pickering gave way to a new board led by
John Sleightholme, who bought the club for £1. Derby finished 20th in the
2003–2004 season, but improved dramatically in the
2004–2005 season and finished 4th in the
Football League Championship, qualifying for a promotion play-off spot. They lost in the semi-finals to
Preston North End.
Soon afterwards, Burley resigned citing differences between himself and the board. He was replaced by
Phil Brown. Brown failed to find much success in the job, however, and was sacked in January 2006, after a bad run of results. Terry Westley, the academy coach at the time, took over first team duties until the end of the season and saved Derby from relegation.
Derby's Chairman, John Sleightholme, resigned in April 2006, saying his position had become untenable. The rest of the board followed him later that month. A popular consortium of local businessmen led by former vice-chairman
Peter Gadsby bought the club, reducing its debt and returning Pride Park Stadium to the club's ownership in the process.
Recent times
In June 2006, former
Preston North End boss
Billy Davies was appointed Derby County's new permanent manager, with
Julian Darby as his first-team coach. In his first season, Davies took Derby to the Championship
play-offs, where they beat
Southampton on penalties in the semi-finals before defeating
West Bromwich Albion 1–0 with a second-half Stephen Pearson goal at the new
Wembley Stadium to secure a return to the Premier League and the associated £60m windfall.
Despite Derby's promotion however, there were persistent rumours of a row between Davies and the Managing Director
Mike Horton over the appointment of an assistant for Davies. On
5 June 2007 Horton resigned from his position on the board, and he was followed shortly afterwards by Jill Marples and her husband Peter Marples. Horton claimed at the time that his departure was for family and business reasons however, whilst the Marples departure was put down to the death of a family friend in a helicopter accident . With the departure of Horton and the two Marples, the remaining directors appointed 4 new members to the Board. Experienced football executive
Trevor Birch came in as Chief Executive,, Martin Ridgeway as Financial Director & Company Secretary, John Vicars as Operations Director and Steve Coakley as Commercial Director.
In preparation for the club's return to the Premier League Davies spent the summer busily improving the playing and backroom staff. In the period between the win over West Brom and the opening game of the 2007/08 season Derby signed goalkeeper
Lewis Price from
Ipswich Town for around £200,000, the defenders
Claude Davies from
Sheffield United for £3 million and Andy Todd from
Blackburn Rovers F.C. for an undisclosed fee, two American international midfielders in the shape of
Hamburg's
Benny Feilhaber and
Eddie Lewis from
Leeds United and striker
Robert Earnshaw for a club record £3.5million from
Norwich.
In the coaching department, Derby appointed Colin Miller as Assistant First Team Coach and Craig Brown as Footballing Consultant as part of a change to the backroom staff at the club, while Billy Davies also signed a 12 month contract extension until 2010. Finally, on 6 July 2007 it was announced that
David Kelly, Davies former assistant at Preston, would be joining the club as the new
Assistant Manager, an appointment which Davies had been pursuing for several months.
Despite this strengthening, Derby made a disastrous start to the
Premier League 2007-08 season and following their 6–0 defeat to Liverpool on 1 September 2007, Irish bookmakers
Paddy Power decided to pay out on the club to be relegated after just five games of the new season.. The poor start saw fans accuse Gadsby and the board of failing to invest properly in players for the club. The repercussions of this saw Trevor Birch leave his position as Chief Executive at the beginning of October and, on October 29th 2007, Gadsby stepped down as Chairman to be replaced by former Hull City owner
Adam Pearson.
Meanwhile, results on the pitch weren't improving, however, with another poor performance away to
Aston Villa being followed by a 5-0 home defeat against a West Ham side ravaged by injuries.
After taking just 6 points from 14 matches Davies left by mutual consent after a meeting with Adam Pearson, taking the majority of his newly assembled backroom staff with him. The move was seen to be more as a result of Davies publicly questioning Adam Pearson's chairmanship of the club in a post-match interview following a 2-0 home defeat by Chelsea than actual results (as Pearson publicly gave Davies his backing a few weeks previously), with some supporters suggesting Davies engineered his dismissal as he was unable to turn the club around. Within two days of Davies's dismissal, on
November 26 2007, Derby appointed highly rated former
Wigan Athletic F.C. manager
Paul Jewell.
Jewell was busy in the January
2008 transfer window, selling several players and bringing eight new players in, namely
Alan Stubbs Argentine striker
Emanuel Villa, ex-England international defender
Danny Mills on loan from
Manchester City,
Blackburn midfielder Robbie Savage, French winger,
Laurent Robert and
Tottenham's Egyptian midfielder
Hossam Ghaly on loan,
Genclerbirligi's
Mile Sterjovski and
Rangers goalkeeper
Roy Carroll. Although performances improved, results didn't, with many at the club already accepting relegation by the end of December.
On
January 28 2008, it was announced that Derby had been purchased by American group
General Sports and Entertainment, with
Tom Glick taking the role of new President and Chief Executive. Derby's relegation was confirmed on
March 29 2008, the first time a club had been relegated from the division before April and sealing the club's first immediate relegation following promotion in its history. Poor results continued: a 6-0 home defeat at the hands of
Aston Villa on
12 April 2008 is the biggest defeat at
Pride Park and, by the season's end they'd recorded the football league's lowest points total since the introduction of 3 points for a win and equalled
Loughborough's 108-year Football League record of going through an entire season with only one win.
Following the final day of the season, Jewell has publicly announced his displeasure with the current squad . He has confirmed signings including that of
Ruben Zadkovich and
Paul Connolly and a reputed 5 or 6 others, as of yet unnamed, are in place. The club are also repeatedly linked with several other contracted players.
Season-by-season history
» For full article see See Derby County F.C. seasons
1888 Founder member of the Football League; 1907-12 Division 2; 1912-14 Division 1; 1914-15 Division 2, 1915-21 Division 1; 1921-26 Division 2; 1926-53 Division 1; 1953-55 Division 2; 1955-57 Division 3 (N); 1957-69 Division 2; 1969-80 Division 1; 1980-84 Division 2; 1984-86 Division 3; 1986-87 Division 2; 1987-91 Division 1; 1991-92 Division 2, 1992-96 Division 1, 1996-2002 Premier League; 2002-04, Division 1; 2004-07 Football League Championship; 2007-08 Premier League; 2008- Football League Championship
Kit
2007–08 season is black.
Kit manufacturers
Shirt sponsors
1884-1980: No sponsor
1980-1981: BMI
1981-1984: Patrick (also kit manufacturers)
1984-1986: Bass Brewers
1986-1987: Sportsweek
1987-1992: Maxwell Communications Corporation (known by its former name, BPCC in 1987-1988)
1992: No sponsor
1992-1995: Auto Windscreens
1995-1998: Puma (also kit manufacturers from 1995-2001)
1998-2001: EDS
2001-2005: Marston's Pedigree
2005-2008: Derbyshire Building Society
Club badge
Like most old football clubs, Derby County didn't initially have any badge displayed on their shirts. Their first badge was introduced in 1924. The badge consisted of a circular shield spilt into three equally-sized sections, representing the club, its fans and the area, in three equally-sized sections, all containing items traditionally associated with the city of Derby: a Tudor rose and a crown in one section, a buck in a park in the second and a ram's head in the final section. The badge was worn on the players' shirts for just two seasons before they reverted to plain shirts.
By 1934, another badge had been introduced. This time it was a traditionally-shaped shield, again with three sections. The buck in the park had been removed and the rose and the crown had been split up and now occupied a section each. The ram's head also remained and was now given the largest section of the shield. The badge never appeared on the players' shirts. The shield was modified in 1946 when the rose and crown were removed and replaced with the letters DC (Derby County) and FC (Football Club) respectively. The badge, right, was featured on to the player's shirts from its introduction onwards, though the ram's head on its own was used from the late 1960s (the full shield, however, remained the club's official logo).
A new club badge was introduced in 1971, featuring a more modern design that, with modifications, is still in use today. The badge was initially consisted of a stylised white ram facing left. The badge was first modified slightly in 1979 to include the text 'Derby County FC' under the ram (though the ram remained on its own on away kits). In 1982 the ram turned to face to the right and the text under it was removed. The ram was surrounded by a wreath of laurel and the text 'Centenary 1984-1985' was printed underneath for the club's centenary season. The laurel was removed and the text reading 'Derby County FC' returned from the next season. In 1993, the ram faced left again and the text was removed once more. From 1995, the ram faced right and was enclosed in a diamond, with a gold banner reading 'Derby County FC' underneath and the text '1884' (the year of the club's foundation) underneath that. The design was changed again in 1997 (see right): the ram faced now left and the golden banner now simply read 'Derby County'; the diamond and year of formation were removed. A decade later, in 2007, the badge was modified again (to the one seen at top of this article), with the ram (still facing left) and the text 'Est. 1884' now in the middle of a circular frame featuring 'Derby County Football Club' in gold lettering.
Stadia
Derby County have played at three different stadia:
1884-1895: The Racecourse Ground
1895-1997: The Baseball Ground
1997-: Pride Park Stadium
Supporters and rivalry
Derby County's fiecest rivals are Nottingham Forest, who are based in Nottingham, a city a few miles north-east of Derby. When the two sides meet it's known as the East Midlands Derby. In future, whenever the clubs play each other the winners will be awarded the Brian Clough Trophy. On 31 July 2007 Derby won the first ever Brian Clough Trophy after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0. Leicester City, also based in the East Midlands, are also local rivals, as are Notts County, also from Nottingham.
There is also a significant amount of rivalry with Leeds United, despite Leeds not being geographically close to Derby; the rivalry is due to Derby and Leeds being two of the top English teams in the early 1970s.
Current squad
As of 15 May 2008
Out on loan
Notable former players
See also:
A complete list of all the Club's former players can be found here
Player of the year (the Jack Stamps Trophy)
It was initially announced at a fans forum conference on 11 March 2008 that the trophy wouldn't be handed out for the 2007/08 campaign. However, this was changed when it was announced before the Aston Villa home match on April 12 2008 that it would be held but with the Fans included as a nominee, mirroring the 2002/03 season when the fans (who had been given the number 12 squad number by then manager John Gregory) voted themselves 2nd, narrowly behind Georgi Kinkladze. The Derby fans voted for themselves in protest at the disastorous 07/08 campaign and won the trophy.
Managers
Managerial history
Current management team
Manager: Paul Jewell
Assistant Manager: Chris Hutchings
First-team Coach: Mark Seagraves
Fitness Coach: Nigel Ashley-Jones
Goalkeeping Coach: Gary Walsh
Assistant Goalkeeping Coach: Alan Fettis
Chief Scout: Bill Green
Scout: David Hamilton
Academy Manager: Phil Cannon
Academy Head Coach: David Lowe
Academy Head Scout: Mick Elliot
Physiotherapist: Alan Tomlinson
Assistant Physiotherapist: Ben Taylor
Kit Managers: Gordon Guthrie, Jonathan Davidson
Board of directors
Andrew Appleby (Chairman)
Tom Glick (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Adam Pearson (Chairman of Football Operations)
Martin Ridgeway (Finance Director)
John Vicars (Operations Director)
Perry Deakin (Commercial Director)
Peter Gadsby (Non-Executive Director)
Don Amott (Non-Executive Director)
Club mascot
The club's mascot is a ram named Rammie. The Rams were named after the mascot of the Sherwood Foresters (formerly The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) which was formed three years before Derby County. Rammie emerged as a more friendly option to the club's traditional links with the army. At half-time staff of Derby County "Football In The Community" get small goal nets out and he acts as goalkeeper allowing children to take penalties at him. In 2005, Rammie released his first DVD, which features the character reading from Aesop's Fables in the Derbyshire countryside.
Club academy
The Moor Farm training complex at the club is one of the best in Europe, with world class training facilities. The purpose-built complex in Oakwood was built at a cost of £5.2 million and it covers fifty acres and features six full-sized training pitches plus a state of the art indoor pitch as well as a gym and a restaurant. This has provided young players from the likes of Tom Huddlestone, Lee Camp, Lewin Nyatanga and Giles Barnes.
Honours
Note: the leagues and divisions of English football have changed somewhat over time, so here they're grouped into their relative levels on the English football league system at the time they were won to allow easy comparison of the achievement
Premier League and predecessors (level 1 of the English football league system)
- Football League First Division Champions, 1931-32 in English football|1931–32 1971-72 in English football|1971–72,1972-73 in English football|1971–72,1973-74 in English football|1971–72 1974-75 in English football|1974–75, 1988-89 in English football|1971–72
- Football League First Division Runners-Up, 1895-96 in English football|1895–96, 1929-30 in English football|1929–30, 1935-36 in English football|1935–36
Football League Championship and predecessors (level 2 of the English football league system)
- Football League Second Division Champions, 1911-12 in English football|1911–12, 1914-15 in English football|1914–15, 1968-69 in English football|1968–69]], 1986–87
- Football League Second Division Runners-Up, 1925–26
- Football League First Division Runners-Up, 1995–96
- Football League First Division Play-Offs Winners, 2002-03 in English football|2006–07
- Football League Championship Play-Offs Winners, 2006-07 in English football|2006–07
Football League One and predecessors (level 3 of the English football league system)
FA Cup
- Winners, 1945-46 in English football|1945–46 1970-71 in English football|1970–71 2007-2008 in English football|2007–08
- Runners-Up, 1897-98 in English football|1897–98, 1898-99 in English football|1898–99, 1902-03 in English football|1902–03
Football League Cup|League Cup
- Winners, 1971-72 in English football|1971–72
European Cup
- Runners-Up, European Cup 1972-73|1973
UEFA Cup
- Runners-Up, UEFA Cup 1976-77|1977
FA Community Shield|Charity Shield
- Winners, 1975-76 in English football|1975–76
Brian Clough Trophy
Club records
All-time club records
Record league victory: 9–0 v Wolves at The Racecourse Ground, Football League First Division, 10 January 1891) & v Sheffield Wednesday at The Baseball Ground, Football League First Division, 21 January 1889)
Record cup victory: 12–0 v Finn Harps F.C. at The Baseball Ground, UEFA Cup First Round, First Leg, 15 September 1976)
Record defeat: 2–11 Everton at Goodison Park, FA Cup, First Round, 18 January 1890)
Record home attendance: 41,826 against Tottenham Hotspur, Football League First Division, 20 September 1969 at the Baseball Ground
Record league points (2 for a win): 63, Division 2, 1968-69 and Division 3 (N), 1955-56 and 1956-57.
Record league points (3 for a win): 84, Division 3, 1985-85 and 1986-87 and Football League Championship, 2006-07
Record league goals: 111, Division 3 (N), 1956-57
Highest league scorer in a season: 37, Jack Bowers, Division 1, 1930-31 and Ray Straw, Division 3 (N), 1956-57
Most league goals in total aggregate: Steve Bloomer, 292 league goals, 1892-1906 and 1910-14
Most goals in one match: Steve Bloomer 6 v Sheffield Wednesday at The Baseball Ground Football League First Division, 21 January 1889)
Record goal-scorer: Steve Bloomer, 332 goals, 1892-1906 and 1910-14
Most capped player: Deon Burton (42 caps for Jamaica)
Record appearances: Kevin Hector, 486 league matches, 589 total matches
Youngest player: Lee Holmes (15 years, 268 days, v Grimsby Town, 26 December 2002)
Record Transfer Fee: £3.5m to Norwich City for Robert Earnshaw
Record Fee Received: £7m from Leeds United for Seth Johnson
Sequences
Longest sequence of League wins 9, Division 2, 15 March 1969 - 19 April 1969
Longest sequence of League defeats: 8, Division 1, 12 December 1987 - 10 February 1988.
Longest sequence of League draws: 6, Division 1, 26 March 1927 - 18 April 1927
Longest sequence of unbeaten League matches: 22, Division 2 & 1, 8 March 1969 - 20 September 1969
Longest sequence without a League win: 32, FA Premier League - 22 September 2007 - (ongoing)Further Information
Get more info on 'Derby County Football Club'.
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