Derby County

Like so many English football clubs, Derby County FC came to be when the members of the county’s cricket club were looking for ways to keep their players active during cold winter months. They started out playing friendlies against established teams before losing their first competitive match 7-0 against Walsall Town in the 1885 FA Cup. The next year marked a very important one for Derby when they overcame Aston Villa 2-0 and really put the city and its club on the map. This seemingly inconsequential game led to more glamorous friendlies and their eventual invitation into the inaugural Football League in 1888. As one of 12 founding members of the league, Derby mostly competed in the top flight but did suffer some relegations to the newly formed Second Division, which they won twice in 1912 and 1915. The pre World War 2 era didn’t bring any other silverware until 1946 when Derby won it’s only ever FA Cup with a 4-1 win over Charlton Athletic.

Derby County have had three significant stadiums. They started out at the Racecourse Ground, the then and current home of Derbyshire County Cricket Club until in 1895 they moved to the Baseball Ground. The latter was their home for over a century until in 1997 Derby moved into Pride Park, where they continue to play today. The club’s nickname, “The Rams” dates back to the 1800s when the cricket club adorned their badge with a triumphant ram’s head, celebrating the county’s links with the wool industry. When the football team was created, they inherited the same logo, and are still lovingly known as “The Rams”. A white ram still stands proudly on the team’s badge.

When it comes to Derby County, the years between World War 2 and the introduction of the Premier League are synonymous with one man: Brian Clough. The six years he spent in charge between 1967 and 1973 are without doubt the club’s finest. Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor brought in the likes of Alan Hinton and John O’Hare and immediately set about ending The Rams’ 14 year exile from the top flight. Not only did they achieve that, but they delivered County’s first top flight championship, one of only two, and led the East Midlands side to the semi-finals of the European Cup, which they lost to Italian giants Juventus. The impact of Clough and Taylor was so seismic that today you can still see a 9ft bronze statue outside Pride Park commemorating their legacy. The pair left in 1973 amid irrevocable differences with the board, and after a short, ill-fated spell in charge of top-of-the-table rivals Leeds United - captured in popular football film The Damned United - Clough took over at fierce local rivals Nottingham Forest. This move, along with geographical location, contributed to the East Midlands Derby becoming one of the most ferocious in all of English football.

The pair were subsequently replaced by Dave Mackay, previously signed by Clough as a player to help them win the Second Division title in 1969 and achieve promotion to Division One. He had similar success as a manager of the club, emulating his former boss and building on the great work he did by inspiring “The Rams” to their only other top flight title in 1975. The 1980s were a time of struggle for Derby. A fall from grace meant several years spent outside Division One, even including some time in Division Three. It was largely a decade to forget, with a 1987 Division Two title a solitary consolation.

The late 90s were a good time to be a Derby fan with the club achieving promotion to the Premiership for the first time in 1996. As the club settled into their new state-of-the-art Pride Park stadium they enjoyed back-to-back top flight finishes under beloved manager Jim Smith. Players like Paulo Wanchope, Dean Sturridge and Chris Powell stood out in a side more than capable of mixing it with the modern day big boys. Unfortunately this could not be sustained and after several relegation battles, even talismanic forward Fabrizio Ravanelli couldn’t save them from the drop in 2002. After five years in the Championship, they did bounce back with a play-off win in 2007 but many fans probably wish they hadn’t as the following season they registered a humiliating all time record low top flight points tally of 11 and went back down to the Championship where they remain today.

“The Rams” have participated in four of the last seven Championship play-offs, agonisingly missing out most recently under current Chelsea boss Frank Lampard in 2019. His successor Dutch legend Phillip Cocu finished a respectable 10th last season but after a tumultuous start to this campaign, he was eventually replaced by all time England goalscorer Wayne Rooney in his first managerial role. After a disastrous start to this campaign, Derby fans will be hoping they can preserve their place in the second tier and try to build something positive for years to come.