Derby County F.C.
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| Full name | Derby County Football Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | The Rams, The Sheep Shaggers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1884 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Pride Park Stadium, Derby (Capacity: 33,597) |
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| Owner |  Tom Glick |
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| Chairman |  Adam Pearson |
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| Manager | Paul Jewell |
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| League | Football League Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007-08 | Premier League, 20th (relegated) |
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 Current season |
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Derby County Football Club is a professional football club based at Pride Park Stadium in Derby, England, playing in the Football League Championship.
The club was founded in 1884 and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888. It is therefore one of only eleven clubs to have appeared in every seasons of league football since its inception. Derby's competitive history includes two spells as English League Champions, one FA Cup title and an appearance in the European Cup semi-finals. The club is nicknamed The Rams in tribute to its links with The First Regiment of Derby Militia, which took a ram as its mascot and the song The Derby Ram as its regimental song.[1]
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[edit] History
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For more details on this topic, see History of Derby County F.C..
The club was formed in 1884 as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club[2], initially playing 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[2]. In 1891 they absorbed Derby Midland F.C. Steve Bloomer, generally considered to be Derby County's best-ever player[3], joined the club in 1892. In 1895 the club moved to a new stadium, The Baseball Ground[4], 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.[5] They were losing finalists again in 1899[6] and 1903.[7] Derby were relegated to the Football League's Second Division for the first time in 1907[8], but under Jimmy Methven's management they re-signed Steve Bloomer and regained their First Division place in 1911.[9]
In 1914 they were relegated again, but instantly won the Second Division to get promoted [9] (though World War I meant that they had 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.[10] The club became a formidable force, with high finishes from the late 1920s and all through the 1930s.[10] [11] For example, in the 1929-1930 season Derby County finished in second place in the First Division with 50 points behind Sheffield Wednesday on 60 points. Second place was repeated with the Hughie Gallacher inspired side of 1935-36.
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.[12] [13] The League restarted the following season after a break due to World War II, but Derby could not 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.[14]
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[15], got banned from competing in Europe due to financial irregularities in 1971, and won their first ever Football League Championship in 1972[16]. Though Derby did not 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".[17] 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 was not 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 in the early autumn 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. His first-team coach was Steve McLaren, later to become coach at Manchester United and manager of Middlesbrough and the England team.
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. Players like Italians Stefan Eranio and Francisco Baiano were signed.
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 had succeeded McLaren on his move to Old Trafford. Todd, a former Derby and England player, 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, another former Rams player, John Gregory was appointed Derby manager, after quitting his job as manager at Aston Villa. 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[citation needed] and former Ipswich Town boss George Burley was brought in temporarily. He later received the job on a permanent basis, after turning the club's playing fortunes around.
The club's parent company went into liquidation in October 2003 and chairman Lionel Pickering, who had presided over the club's promotion and Premiership seasons but was suffering from ill health, gave way to a new board led by Yorkshire solicitor John Sleightholme, who bought the club for £1, despite interest from a local consortium led by former club director Peter Gadsby. 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 Bolton first team coach,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 court case against three members of that board and two advisors, alleging irregularities involving club finances, is still pending two years later.
A 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. 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 and unrest between board members. 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, whilst the Marples departure was put down to the death of a family friend in a helicopter accident [18]. 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,[19], Martin Ridgeway as Financial Director & Company Secretary, John Vicars as Operations Director and Steve Coakley as Commercial Director.
In October 2007, Peter Gadsby stepped down as Chairman to be replaced by former Hull City owner Adam Pearson.[20] After a poor start to the season, manager Billy Davies left by mutual consent in November.[21] He was succeeded by Paul Jewell,[22] who failed to save the club from relegation. Derby became the first club to be relegated from the Premier League in March,[23] recorded the Premier League's lowest-ever points total[24] and equalled Loughborough's 108-year Football League record of going through an entire season with only one win.
Derby's match at home to Sheffield United on 13 September 2008 generated much media coverage as it was approaching a year since Derby's last league win, a run which saw the club break the English league record for most matches without a win. Just four days short of the anniversary of the 1-0 win over Newcastle, Rob Hulse scored against his former club as Derby ran out 2-1 winners, earning Paul Jewell his first league win as Derby boss at his 27th attempt. As of 22nd November 2008, the club currently lie 13th in the Championship table, four points of a play-off place. The club has recently reached the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.
[edit] Season-by-season history
[edit] Kit
Derby County's original colours (right) were amber, chocolate and blue, though by the 1890s the club had adopted its now traditional colours of black and white, still in use today.[25] The colours of away kits have varied widely, and although they are usually yellow/gold or blue, the colour for the away kit for the 2008-09 season is fluorescent green, and was first shown to the general public on 12 August 2008[26]. The club also introduced a surprise third kit on 30 August 2008. Similar in design to the club's away kit of the 1970s, designed with blue and white stripes, reminiscent of the Argentina strip, the style was reintroduced following feedback from fans who said it was one of their favourite kits from the clubs past.[27]
[edit] Kit manufacturers
- c. 1973-1979: Umbro
- 1979-1982: Le Coq Sportif
- 1981-1984: Patrick (also shirt sponsors)
- 1984-1985: Admiral
- 1985-1987: OSCA
- 1987-1993: Umbro
- 1993-1994: Bukta
- 1994-1995: Rams Pro Wear
- 1995-2001: Puma (also shirt sponsors from 1995-1998)
- 2001-2005: Erreà
- 2005-2007: Joma
- 2007-2012: Adidas
[edit] Shirt sponsors
- 1884-1980: No sponsor
- 1980-1981: British Midland
- 1981-1984: Patrick (also kit manufacturers)
- 1984-1986: Bass Brewers
- 1986-1987: Sportsweek
- 1987-1992: Maxwell Communications (known by its former name, BPCC in 1987-1988)
- 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
- 2008-: Bombardier
[edit] Club badge
Like most old football clubs, Derby County did not 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.
[edit] Stadiums
Derby County have played at three different stadia:
- 1884-1895: The Racecourse Ground
- 1895-1997: The Baseball Ground
- 1997-: Pride Park Stadium
[edit] Supporters and rivalry
[edit] Rivalries
Derby County's fiercest rivals are Nottingham Forest[28], who are based in Nottingham, a city a few miles north-east of Derby. When the two sides meet it is known as the East Midlands Derby and the winners are awarded the Brian Clough Trophy. Leicester City, also based in the East Midlands, are also local rivals. [29]
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. [29]
[edit] Support
Derby is often acknowledged as a 'passionate football town' by rival supporters[30] and the press alike - as Tony Francis of The Daily Telegraph noted when discussing the East Midlands Derby "Derby is a passionate football town. Possibly more so than Nottingham... Even in Division Two, it's a reasonable bet that crowds at Pride Park would not fall far below 20,000. It's historical, it's geographical, it's in the blood. Some places have it, some don't."[31] A 2008 survey by Sky Sports Magazine named the club's supporters as 'the most loyal in the country.'[32]
During the 2007-2008 Premiership season Derby County fans were repeatedly referred to as amongst the best in the country due to their loyalty despite the club's disastrous campaign.[33] Almost every home game at Pride Park Stadium was sold out by the Derby fans and the club also had a great following away from home. The recognition included them being named fans of the season in much national coverage of the season and even winning an award from Nuts Magazine.[34] The club also has some notable celebrity fans, such as former manager Brian Clough, former James Bond star Timothy Dalton, former Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett MP, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon MP, double gold medal-winning Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington, actor Tim Brook-Taylor, actor Robert Lindsay (who wrote the club song "Steve Bloomers Watching"), singer and songwriter James Blunt, author Simon Singh, actor Christopher Biggins, former Blue Peter presenter Simon Groom and actress Tracy Shaw .[35]
Statistically, the club had the 12th highest average attendance in the country[36], despite only having the 15th largest club ground[37], and were also 8th in the table for percentage of ground occupancy.
[edit] Players
[edit] Current squad
- As of 28 November 2008.[38]
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[edit] Out on loan
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[edit] English Football Hall of Fame
Several ex-players/managers associated with Derby County are represented in the English Football Hall of Fame, which was created in 2002 as a celebration of those who have achieved at the very peak of the English game. To be considered for induction players/managers must be 30 years of age or older and have played/managed for at least five years in England.
Managers
Brian Clough, 2002 (Inaugural Inductee)
Players
Peter Doherty, 2002 (Inaugral Inductee)- Peter Shilton, 2002 (Inaugral Inductee)
- Steve Bloomer, 2008
[edit] Notable former players
Derby's greatest ever player
- See also: Category:Derby County F.C. players
- A complete list of all the Club's former players can be found here
[edit] Player of the year (the Jack Stamps Trophy)
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