Derby County is saddened to hear of the passing of former director Richard Moore. Although the club never fell into the bottom three during the campaign (the lowest position was 20th) it spent just six fixtures in the top half of the table, only one of which was achieved after August. [3] Derby's European adventure came at the expense of their league campaign, with a run of just 3 wins in 11 towards the end of the season contributing to a disappointing seventh-placed finish in the club's first ever title defence, as they finished the 197273 First Division, 14 points behind eventual winners Liverpool. In one of the greatest nights in the club's history, Derby swept aside Benfica 30 in front of 38,100 fans and then held their nerve in the return leg to record a 00 draw at the Estdio da Luz in front of 75,000 (becoming only the second club in European football history, after Ajax, to keep a clean sheet against Benfica over two legs) to win 30 on aggregate and advance to the quarter finals. However, this proved a false dawn and a 10 defeat away to Gillingham in the next game signalled what was to come as the club won just 10 of its opening 29 fixtures and suffered embarrassing cup exits to lower league teams Brentford (FA Cup) and Oldham Athletic (League Cup). Hebberd's Oxford teammate Dean Saunders joined the club in October 1988 as Derby's first 1million signing, the club reached the dizzy heights of 5th in the 198889 Division One table. Chris Riggott rejoined the club on a one-year contract, but was released in December due to injuries. His most memorable strikes, and arguably the greatest single 90 minutes in Derby County's history, came in the 2nd Round of the European Cup where, on 22 October 1975, Derby hit 4 goals past Read Madrid, George claiming a hat-trick, in a 41 victory at The Baseball Ground. Derby started the 199798 at a fine pace, peaking at 4th following the 40 win over Southampton, and Francesco Baiano, Player of the Season, flourished in particular; equalling the club record of scoring in six consecutive league games. Bobby Davison (who finished top league scorer for the fifth season on a row, with 19 strikes, taking his league tally to 82 in 5 years) and Phil Gee grabbed 32 goals between them, half of Derby's total, and Cox's team set a club record with 11 away league victories to secure a return to top-flight football after a traumatic seven years away. However, results fell off in equally spectacular fashion after the New Year, as only 12 points from a possible 36 saw the Rams spiral down to 10th place, 10 points away from a play-off position. Whilst several players, such as Malcolm Christie, bought from Nuneaton Borough for 50,000 and eventually registering 30 goals in 129 appearances for the club over 5 years, Richard Jackson and Paul Boertien (both of whom spent nearly a decade at the club), were successfully captured from lower league sides, Smith's previous golden touch in the transfer market had appeared to desert him, as players such as Bjorn Otto Bragstad, Con Blatsis, and Daniele Daino where bought and barely registered on the field, with safety only guaranteed on the penultimate day of the 200001 FA Premier League season; Malcolm Christie's goal the difference in a 10 win away to Manchester United. [57] The planned development also coincided with plans from the City Council to build a multi-use sports arena on the same site as the proposed Plaza. In the 201011 season, the club entered the season with odds of 25/1 for the title, the same as the previous year, 61 to be promoted and 81 to be relegated. Out of a final two of Smith and Brian Horton. There was also the continued introduction of academy players to the side, with Tom Huddlestone and Marcus Tudgay making significant contributions alongside players such as Lee Grant and Lee Holmes. George grabbed another goal in the return leg at the Santiago Bernabu Stadium but Derby conceded 5 and crashed out 56 on aggregate. Entry into the European Cup in 1972 compelled the installation of new floodlights to match UEFA specifications. Described as Derby's "greatest ever season", the 197172 season saw Derby County's first team claim their first ever League title as well as win the Texaco Cup and the reserves win The Central League for the first time since 1936. Employing his new signings alongside incumbent players such as Dean Sturridge and Russell Hoult, as well as McFarland's last major signing, Notts County defender Dean Yates (who was Player of the Season), Smith started the 199596 season poorly, with just 4 wins from their opening 14 games, but the influential signing of Igor Stimac for 1.57m from Hajduk Split proved the key. 's existence had been relatively consistent, the era covered here saw the club experience five promotions and five relegations as it rose dramatically to its peak and back. The Anglo Italian cup run, coupled with extended interest in the Coca-Cola Cup (where they took Arsenal to a third round replay) and reaching the FA Cup Quarter-finals for the first time in 9 years, taking Sheffield Wednesday to a replay after a 33 draw at The Baseball Ground meant the cup took part in 64 matches between 15 August 1992 and 8 May 1993, a new club record with Paul Kitson taking part in 61 of them and finishing the season as leading scorer, with 24 goals in all competitions. Clough had built a balanced team at Derby, one in which every player knew his job. A return of 10 points from a possible 12 in November saw the club peak at 9th in the league and showed that the club had the ability and wherewithal to stay in the Premiership although a crippling injury list contributed to a ten match winless streak mid-season[9] which made sure safety was never a foregone conclusion, Derby finished the season in 12th, 6 points clear of relegation. Although Derby reached the FA Cup quarter-finals (losing 10 to eventual runners-up Arsenal in a second replay at Filbert Street, Leicester), their primary cup success for 197172 came in the Texaco Cup, a competition between English, Scottish and Irish clubs who were not in European competition and featuring 16 clubs. estn en eBay Compara precios y caractersticas de productos nuevos y usados Muchos artculos con envo gratis! Derby County chairman Mel Morris (Photo: Getty Images) In keeping with the entire saga, which started in 2018 when Derby's owner Mel Morris exploited the legal loophole of selling Pride Park to . A 32 win at Blackpool on 8 March 1969 kicked started an unbeaten sequence which did not end for 22 matches and the following season with a 10 defeat away to Sheffield Wednesday on 27 September 1969, another club record and the final tally of just 5 defeats from 42 league fixtures was also unmatched in the club's history. Facing off against fellow big spenders Blackburn Rovers, Derby fell at the semi final stage as a 21 win at The Baseball Ground wasn't enough to overcome a 42 defeat at Ewood Park in the first leg and they crashed out 45 on aggregate and missed out on the opportunity to be a part of the inaugural Premier League, instead spending the 199293 season in the renamed Division One. [84] On 8 July 2021, the EFL imposed a transfer embargo on the club,[85] leaving Rooney with a squad of just nine contracted senior professionals;[86] however, the EFL later relaxed the embargo but said any deals will have strict wage limits. [21] Three years later, Murdo Mackay, Jeremy Keith and finance director Andrew McKenzie were charged with taking a secret commission worth 440,625 from the club and were each sentenced to a combined seven and a half years in prison.[22]. Despite the headline grabbing capture of Italian international Fabrizio Ravanelli from Lazio, who scored on his debut in a 21 win over Blackburn Rovers, Derby's first opening day win since beating Sunderland 50 at the start of the 199394 season, Derby only took five points from their opening seven games of the 200001 season and Smith left his position in early October 2001, rejecting the position of Director of Football. Following a seven-match winless run which saw the club drop to 5th place in the table, Clement was sacked on 8 February 2016, though Morris said the sacking was not due to results but because "not enough progress had been made" in the club's playing style. The league was unusually close throughout the campaign and the final table saw Champions Derby just one point of the teams in 2nd (Leeds), 3rd (Liverpool) and 4th (Manchester City). Mistakes, individually and collectively, carelessness and a lack of concentration have all proved costly. During his spell, the backbone of Derby's glory era departed, as Colin Boulton, Colin Todd, Archie Gemmill, Kevin Hector Charlie George and Leighton James either retired or were sold and on and not adequately replaced, with Docherty's "three Van Goghs" midfield trio of Bruce Rioch, Gerry Daly and Don Masson flopped in particular. With Derby clear in the high court, Taylor was fired as manager following a 51 defeat at Barnsley, with the club having won just 31 points from 33 games, and McFarland was appointed until the end of the season. Whereas Clough built his Championship winning team on discipline and a solid defence, Mackay's 19741975 side relied on its attacking power to overwhelm its opponents. Although they rarely swept away the opposition, instead building on the foundations of a strong defence as record signing defender Colin Todd claimed the club's Player of the Year, there were some memorable performances; 40 humblings of rivals Nottingham Forest and Stoke City at the Baseball Ground and away to Sheffield United. [10] An extended FA Cup saw The Baseball Ground hold its final three FA Cup fixtures ending with a 02 defeat by Middlesbrough in the quarter finals before The Baseball Ground held its final ever match, against Arsenal, on 11 May 1996. But it is his club, his 100m-plus investment, and he will run it his way.". However, a 02 defeat at home to Wimbledon (Derby's first home defeat in 23 league fixtures, equalling the club record set 67 years previously) showed a need for more experience and the inspired capture of Paul McGrath proved a key capture. but in the early 1970s it was clearly frowned upon. With Derby's home gates always over 20,000 they overcame Dundee United (85 on aggregate), Stoke City (43) and Newcastle United (42) before playing Airdrieonians in the final. Smith prepared for Derby's first tilt at the Premiership with the signing of two players who had competed at that year's European Championship finals in Denmark defender Jacob Laursen and Croatia midfielder Aljoa Asanovi. The club's reserve side had a less successful year than in the two previous seasons, with the club missing out on the Central League title by one point from Sheffield United, as well as being beaten in the Derbyshire Senior Cup final by Buxton. [8] The run ended with a 03 defeat by title rivals Sunderland at Roker Park but the club recovered to take 12 points from their next 8 fixtures, including revenge on Tranmere with a 62 win at The Baseball Ground. On the pitch however, things fell to a new low. In the event of the fixtures, a tigerish Wolverhampton Wanderers overcame Leeds 21 at Molineux and Liverpool could only record a 00 draw at Highbury against Arsenal. Other notable results, such as a 31 win over Chelsea, a 41 win away at Middlesbrough and a 44 draw with Bradford City showed the club was still competitive and fans still attended in large numbers; 33,378 attending a 20 home defeat by Liverpool setting a new record for a Derby match at Pride Park. and Burnley 52 and Luton Town 50 (with Davies becoming the first Derby player to hit 5 goals in a match since Hughie Gallacher in 1934) to finish the season as the league's leading scorers. The season itself started in unconvincing fashion with two draws and two defeats. The club also had another notable League Cup run, reaching the quarter finals and beating top-flight Everton and Chelsea in successive rounds, before again being knocked out by the competition's eventual winners, falling 10 away to Swindon Town in a replay. [9] Of the players at the club when Cox arrive, the key man was Peter Taylor signing Bobby Davison, who became the first Derby player to hit 20 league goals in a single campaign since Kevin Hector in 196768 when he hit 24 goals in 46 matches to finish as the club's leading scorer for the third consecutive season. He won 43 Scotland caps and will forever be remembered for his contribution in the 1978 World Cup. As an invitational, the player's participation in the competition is not officially recorded in the club's records but the tournament did give Derby their first cup win since 1946, with a 41 win over Manchester United in the final at The Baseball Ground. The biggest event of the 199596 season, however, wasn't Derby's promotion but the announcement prior to a 11 draw with Luton Town on 21 February 1996, that the club would leave the Baseball Ground. (Leakey, 1971) 2. Derby twice broke its transfer record in the space of a month when in March 1992 they signed Paul Kitson for 1.3m from Leicester City (Phil Gee being one of two players going in the opposite direction) and then Tommy Johnson for Notts County ten days later. This was Cox's team at its peak and, as Peter Shilton put it, it was a "battling fifth"[5] and further investment was required if Derby were to maintain the surge back to their peak. In mid-October, Nigel Clough and his backroom staff signed new .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}3+12-year contracts. [26] A resounding 51 win against Colchester United (by far the biggest win of a campaign which saw victory by a two-goal or above margin on just 6 occasions) looked to have put the club back on track but after taking just 12 points from the next 10 fixtures, the club slipped out of the automatic promotion places altogether and a 02 defeat at Crystal Palace in the penultimate game of the season confirmed a 3rd-placed finish and entry into the 200607 Championship playoffs. [54] Derby ended the season with a win and a draw as they finished in 12th place on 64 points, 7 places and 15 points better off than the previous season, the club's first top half finish since promotion in 2007 and best league standing since relegation in 2008. After Steve Howard (the club's Player of the Season) netted his 18th and 19th goals of the season in a 21 win at St. Mary's in the first leg, a dramatic 120th-minute strike by former Ram Grzegorz Rasiak took the game to penalties after the match finished 32 to Southampton after extra time in the second leg at Pride Park. They also won the Derbyshire Senior Cup, scoring 24 goals in their four fixtures including a 141 win over Shirebrook Town. Clough also fired the club secretary, the groundsman and the chief scout, along with two tea ladies he caught laughing after a defeat. [91] On 22 September 2021 the club formally went into administration and were deducted 12 points leaving it bottom of the Championship. A host of names were linked with the Baseball Ground managerial spot including Martin O'Neill, Steve Coppell, Ossie Ardiles and Neil Warnock. What may just strike a distant chord with Benitez is Clough's dysfunctional relationship with Longson, his chairman at Derby County. The campaign also saw Reg Matthews set the club record of 246 appearances by a goalkeeper, as he surpassed Harry Maskrey's previous record of 222. To maintain the momentum of winning the Championship, Mackay added more firepower to his side with the 100,000 capture of Charlie George from Arsenal. "The board told me I could then have some of the cash to buy players, and they've kept their word. Todd's tenure was a disaster as he recorded the shortest ever reign of a Derby manager, lasting just 98 days before he was sacked. 32 of 81. After a 21 win in Yugoslavia saw Derby proceed through to the second round 41 on aggregate, the club found itself drawn again Eusbio's Benfica, one of European football's leading lights. Steve Powell also became Derby's youngest ever player, a record he held for almost 30 years, when he made his debut in a Texaco Cup tie against Stoke City aged just 16 years and 30 days. [89] Having invested "in excess of 200m" in the club, owner Mel Morris apologised to fans and staff about the administration. Squad / Appearances; Transfers; Manager history; Players from A-Z; . Important information has been withheld from me. In front of a sellout 18,287 crowd, the largest of the season, the match was preceded by a minutes silence as fans reflected on the memories of Derby's 102 years at the old stadium. Dino Zoff in goal for Juventus. A family stands in front of the grocery store they proudly own. Following a 30 capitulation away to title rivals Leeds United following an inconsistent period of form which saw 5 wins and 6 defeats from 11 fixtures, Clough savaged his squad and produced the desired effect Derby lost just 3 of their remaining 19 fixtures and did enough to hold off both Leeds United and Liverpool to claim the title. Having to contend with a discontented dressing room, who had nothing against Mackay but simply wanted Clough reinstated, and an indifferent start to his Derby management career seeing the side go winless until a December win at Newcastle united, and leave the League Cup at the first hurdle with a 30 mauling at the hands of lower league Sunderland, Mackay was initially under pressure. The club relied less on loan signings and more on the club's academy as Jeff Hendrick, Mark O'Brien, Callum Ball, Mason Bennett and Will Hughes all broke into the first team, Bennett and Hughes making their debuts with Bennett setting a club record for youngest ever team player, making his first appearance against Middlesbrough on 22 October 2011 at 15 years and 99 days old,[56] beating Lee Holmes' record by 169 days. The club paid the price, earning only 3 wins from their first 17 fixtures. The funds to purchase the club will come from Alonso's personal wealth as well as several investors in a consortium. After an opening day home defeat by Oldham Athletic the club went unbeaten at The Baseball Ground in the league for the rest of the season. He did not run for re-election in 2018. After over a decade in the second tier of English football, Brian Clough took charge at Derby and kickstarted a revolution at the club; it went on to win the Football League First Division twice in the 1970s and reach the European Cup semi finals in 1973 before rapidly declining back to the third tier and near financial meltdown within ten years of its second Championship. However, Brown was unable to match Burley's ability to bring in quality players on a restricted budget, and was further weakened when Grzegorz Rasiak was sold under his nose to Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the August Transfer Window, not giving him time to bring in a replacement. After a 22 draw at home to Hull City on 10 February 2007, Derby were 7 points clear at the top of the table[25] and had strengthened for the promotion run in with the signing of Tyrone Mears, Jay McEveley, Gary Teale, David Jones, Craig Fagan, Stephen Pearson and Jon Macken for a combined 5m. [49][50], In the 201112 season Derby started the season well, winning their first 4 league games in August, which was also the club's best league start since the 190506 season. Maxwell was replaced first by Brian Fearn and then by Lionel Pickering, who made his fortune through the founding and running of a free newspaper, and brought majority shareholdings and invested 12m in the form of a loan. Richard, who was also a director of knitwear company Cox Moore, joined the Rams' board in the mid-1970s. Brown needed a wise head with him as assistant but instead selected Dean Holdsworth, with no experience in the role, as his support and built a side constantly in flux; 22 Derby players made their debut during the 200506 season many of whom were "ineffective"[18] loanees, such as Stern John, Khalilou Fadiga and Johnnie Jackson. Former Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson was appointed head coach in May 2016. Derby had budgeted for a fourth bottom finish (i.e. The Start 1900 to 1940 1946 FA Cup Winners 1946 to 1970 1970 to 1980 1980 to 2000 2000 to 2010 2010 to 2020 2020 to Present Day CLUB CONTACTS Club Telephone Number: 0871 472 1884 * Ticket Office: 0871 472 1884 * (opt 1) DCFC Megastore: 0333 011 0452 On 29 October 2007 Pearson was named as the executive chairman of Derby County after buying the majority share holding from Peter Gadsby. Poor results continued: a 60 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 had recorded the Premier League's lowest points total (11). [33] Despite this however, Derby made a disastrous start to the Premier League 2007-08 season and following their 60 defeat by 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. Although shorn of the star names of the previous decade, Derby had the ever consistent Steve Buckley in the ranks, alongside a striking combination of Alan Biley and Dave Swindlehurst, who both broke double figures for the season, as well as the experience of McFarland and Steve Powell. Colin Todd was awarded the PFA Players' Player of the Year award for the 197475 season, the only Derby County player to do so. Prior offices. They were bottom of the league going into the August international break, after a 20 defeat away to Barnsley left the club with a single point from the first four games of the season.