The match was dubbed "The 60m Final" (in reference to what the winning club would expect to earn as a result of competing in the Premiership[28]) and, after three failed attempts, Derby finally won promotion via the playoffs thanks to Stephen Pearson's 61st-minute goal, his first for the club, proving the decisive moment in a 10 victory. The club announced on Friday that they had been . A lack of consistency was one reason; not only in results (the club never recording more than two consecutive victories) but also in the club's inability to field a consistent team selection. Other late signings, such as John Barton and John McAlle were also vital, and an ageing Kevin Hector was still contributing to the cause; he grabbed his 200th Derby goal in a 23 League Cup 2nd Round defeat by West Ham and made his final appearance for the club, his 589th (a club record), in a 32 victory over Watford on the final day of the season at the Baseball Ground and notched his 201st and final goal for the club with the opener, only Steve Bloomer having more goals for the club,. With chairman Lionel Pickering's increased frustration at no return on his investment, the purse strings were tightened and McFarland was unable to buy suitable replacements, instead blooding youth products such as Dean Sturridge, Russell Hoult and Lee Carsley to fill the gaps created by the departures. Paul Clement was announced as McClaren's successor ahead of the 201516 season,[65] with local businessman Mel Morris named as the new Club Chairman. At one stage touted as a future England manager, Gregory had been in place at Aston Villa but his relationship with Villa chairman Doug Ellis led him to walk out to take charge at Derby. Derby County Football Club is a club steeped in great tradition within the English game. When Derby County ascended to the top of English soccer in the early 1970s the game was a lot more meritocratic than it is today. "The board told me I could then have some of the cash to buy players, and they've kept their word. Despite the addition of Craig Short for 2.5m from Notts County a record for a team outside of the top flight and for a defender at any level the club could only an 8th-placed finish in the 199293 Division One table, largely as a result of taking three points from their opening 7 fixtures, missing out on the playoffs altogether. 1970/71 Football League Arsenal v Derby County 31st October 1970. opened the scoring in the opening ten minutes before Arsenal took over to win 31 with Ian Wright grabbing the last ever first team goal at the ground in the 90th minute.[11]. George made his competitive debut in the 1975 FA Charity Shield at Wembley Stadium as Derby overcame FA Cup winners West Ham United 20 under the Twin Towers to claim the shield for the only time in their history. 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. 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. 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. During the season Roy McFarland overtook Alan Durban to become Derby's most capped player, earning his 28th cap in Rome against Italy, and Ron Webster broke Steve Bloomer's 60-year-old appearance record with his 526th appearance for Derby in a 11 draw with Sunderland in April 1977. He lost in the Republican primary on June 28, 2022. Wayne Rooney's valiant attempt to keep Derby County in the Championship despite a 21-point deduction came to an end on Monday as a 1-0 defeat at QPR saw the Rams relegated [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. The form soon dipped again and, after a run of just 2 wins in 11 matches which left the club 18th in the table, Jewell quit as manager on 28 December 2008 after just over a year in the job. In his two years in charge at Derby, Docherty could only oversee 12th placed and 19th placed finishes. Whilst the media optimistically predicted a push for a playoff place[44][45] Derby once again struggled against relegation for much of the season, before a run of just two defeats in the final 10 fixtures saw the club finish in 14th, their third highest finish in their respective division in the previous ten years. "[14] Another former Rams hero. When this was not granted, Mackay's position became essentially untenable and he was sacked on 25 November 1976. Phillip Whitehead. Dino Zoff in goal for Juventus. Derby's upturn in form had also sparked an upturn in attendances, which had fallen dramatically during the late 1970s and early 1980s. but in the early 1970s it was clearly frowned upon. 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. He left office in 2016. In reality though, the campaign was disastrous as years of financial mismanagement caught up with Derby and both the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise issued winding up petitions on the club. [58] Derby City Council's Planning Control Committee gave planning permission for The Plaza @ Pride Pride Park development in January 2012,[59] with chief executive Tom Glick stating the club had started looking for a development company to build the plaza.[59]. He also praised Derby's home form, their best in six years, and noted that "foundations are in place" for a top six finish. Many of the departing players were high-wage earning flops from the Billy Davies/Paul Jewell-era, (such as Claude Davis, Roy Carroll and Martin Albrechtsen) many of whose contracts were cancelled by mutual consent as the club tried to reign in its spiraling wage bill. [80] A potential deal with a Middle Eastern-backed company was discontinued in March 2021, after which a sale to a Spanish businessman, Erik Alonso, was agreed in April 2021,[81] but in May 2021 it too was discontinued after doubts about Alonso's funding emerged,[82] alongside possible EFL sanctions regarding breaches of financial fair play regulations[83] (a deduction of nine points remained under consideration in mid-September 2021). Within two days of Davies's dismissal, on 26 November 2007, Derby appointed highly rated former Wigan manager Paul Jewell. Form declined badly and key players departed Paul Goddard was sold to Millwall for 800,000 whilst injuries bit into a squad increasingly short of depth. 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. What may just strike a distant chord with Benitez is Clough's dysfunctional relationship with Longson, his chairman at Derby County. However, neither the club nor Clough would back down and, after being turned down by Ipswich Town boss Bobby Robson, the club approached former player Dave Mackay, then Nottingham Forest manager, who took over at the end of October 1973. Jewell was replaced by Nigel Clough, manager of local non-league club Burton Albion and son of the club's greatest ever manager Brian. He was replaced by Colin Todd, who had been his assistant since November 2000. Unlike the flair of Burley's playoff team, Davies side was built on a strong defence with more than 1 goal conceded in a match on just 4 occasions as a tightly knit defence of Marc Edworthy, Dean Leacock, Darren Moore and Mo Camara helped Bywater to keep 12 clean sheets, including 5 on the trot through January. [61][62] Derby finished seven points off the play-offs, with poor away form being another factor in missing out on the top, however they again showed decent home form, but the cup results were a disappointment, losing in the First Round of the League Cup and Fourth Round of the FA Cup. Alan Hinton finished the season as the club's top scorer with 15 goals, whilst Kevin Hector netted his 100th for the club in a 60 FA Cup Fourth Round win over Notts County and Alan Durban became the club's most capped international, overtaking Sammy Crooks, with his 27th and final appearance for Wales. [8] On 2 November 2009 it was announced by Hull that Pearson would be returning as chairman with immediate effect. Of the eight loanees, only Everton's Osman made a significant impact[17] and without him Derby could well have been relegated, as the club collected almost half of its 52 points from his 17 games. With no money for players, and the need to slash the club's wage bill, big names such as Fabrizio Ravanelli, Georgi Kinkladze and Craig Burley left the club with the gaps of their departure shored up by free signings; Candido Costa was taken on a season long loan whilst seven others including Mathias Svensson and Leon Osman were recruited on short-term loans, as Derby used a club record 36 different players in the course of the season. Derby's destiny was not in their own hands and they left the country to escape the pressure; Clough holidayed with his family in the Isles of Scilly whilst Taylor went to Majorca with the players. 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. Although the improved end to the season had given fresh hope that the impetus of the late 1990s could be revived, such plans were dashed when the club took 14 matches to record its first league win of the 200001 season beating Bradford City 10. Derby finished the season 12th in the league, 11 points off the play-off players, with Nigel Clough being satisfied with the performances of the team, stating a lack of firepower as the reason why they fell short and a target to improve in 201213. Allsop played 33 times last season as Derby were relegated after a 21-point . Burley achieved safety against a background of boardroom uncertainty Chairman Lionel Pickering, after putting temporary faith in former Coventry City chairman Bryan Richardson and a notional 30m bond, was removed from the chair after the club temporarily entered receivership by The Co-operative Bank, who instantly installed a new board composed of John Sleightholme, Jeremy Keith and Steve Harding, for the cost of 1 each. Peter Daniel, who stepped in for Roy McFarland who suffered an Achilles Tendon injury whilst on international duty and missed all but the last four matches, warned the club's Player of the Season award and Ron Webster became only the fifth player to break 500 appearances for Derby during his appearance in the defeat at Luton, whilst Boulton broke the record for goalkeeping appearances during the campaign, on his way to 344 appearances total for the club. Pride Park was something of a fortress in its first six months as, after the abandonment of its first game against Wimbledon due to floodlight failure, Stefano Eranio's penalty in a 10 win over Barnsley kicked off a 12 match unbeaten start at the stadium, which included a 30 win over Arsenal and a 40 victory against Southampton. The EFL confirmed Derby would face a 12-point deduction. Derby entered the 198182 season expecting promotion, but just 6 wins from their opening 20 games put paid to any ambitions and Colin Addison was sacked in January 1982, to be replaced by his assistant John Newman. 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. When the European Cup was launched in 1955, Derby had been in the Third Division and now stood as English football's sole representatives in Europe's premiere club competition. 1. In becoming Derby's third manager of 1982 Taylor created friction with former partner Brian Clough, from which the pair's friendship never recovered. Derby County won the English First Division title twice in the 1970s On a deserted suburban Derby street on the night of Monday, 8 May 1972, two men were jumping in jubilation next to a. The club recorded an average attendance of 26,023, a figure more than 3,000 down on the previous campaign but still the second highest in the Championship behind Leeds United's 27,299 and the 15th best in the country. When Derbyshire Constabulary received allegations of financial irregularities, Sleightholme resigned his position as chairman in April 2006, stating "My position has been made untenable. The season started very strongly, with just two defeats in the opening half of the season seeing Derby sitting at the top of the table with 47 points after 23 games. Personal Twitter. "[20] A group of local businessmen, dubbed "The League of Gentlemen" by the local press, and led by former board member Peter Gadsby, emerged to take over the club at the end of April 2006, although Jeremy Keith, with the back of London venture capital company SISU, fought hard to retain control. Whilst the first 80 years of Derby County F.C. In this sequence the club won 13 of its fixtures, scoring three or more goals on 8 occasions and recorded a 41 win at Birmingham City, their first win at St. Andrews since 1948, and catapulted themselves from the bottom five to the top of the table in the space of four months, at one point finding themselves 7 points clear at the top of the table. Derby County chairman Sam Longson greets new manager Brian Clough and assistant Peter Taylor at the . 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 Although Taylor had an indifferent start to his career, a run of 15 unbeaten between 22 January 1983 and 30 April 1983 kept Derby up once more, and guided them to a 13th-place finish.