And it arguably contains their most consistent sequence of results in the FA Cup since formation, albeit without going all the way to the final - but they went so, so close. Derby opened the 1970-71 season with a pre-season participation in the inaugural Watney Cup, an invitational tournament in which the top two scorers from all divisions of the Football League who had not earned promotion or European football, took part. 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. 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. 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. Several key players left in the build-up to the 19992000 season; Igor timac joined West Ham United for 600,000, Paulo Wanchope joined him at Upton Park for 3.5m, Lee Carsley joined Blackburn Rovers for 3.2m and Francesco Baiano also left in the course of the season. Derby County have confirmed the US-based General Sports and Entertainment (GSE) group as the new owners of the club. Derby ended the season with a 10 win over title rivals Liverpool at the Baseball Ground, John McGovern netting the crucial winner, leaving Derby on 58 from 42 games, Leeds on 57 from 41 and Liverpool on 56 from 41. Whilst the first 80 years of Derby County F.C. Although results did not improve dramatically (most games ended in draws, taking the club to a record 20 draws in a single campaign) Derby managed to take 18 points from their final 16 games and avoided relegation, finishing 20th. [75], "Mel Morris (is) a micro-manager who demands success and is not known for his patience - four managers in just over a year testify to that. [87] Following a long term injury to Colin Kazim-Richards in the early stage of the 2021-22 season, the club were given special dispensation by the EFL to bring in veteran defender Phil Jagielka and striker Sam Baldock. 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. With money tight, Clough was forced to cobble together a team from free transfers and loan deals ahead of the 200910 season, with 14 players signing temporary deals over the season and only Shaun Barker and Dean Moxey of the nine permanent signings arriving for fees, despite almost 3m being made in player sales (including 1.5m for Emanuel Villa). A buoyant feeling had returned to The Baseball Ground, and Cox was in his pomp, shaping a tightly knit group of players who each knew their jobs and respected each other which was supplemented with considered signings such as Phil Gee from Gresley Rovers and Nigel Callaghan from Watford. The season started in encouraging fashion, with a 12 match unbeaten run, though 7 of these were draws, only coming to an end 10 defeat away to Manchester United. GEORGE Clooney has told fellow fans of struggling Derby County he would love to help out manager Wayne Rooney - by buying the cluband sparing them of . They came to despise one another although it was still Clough . 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. Despite this disappointment, the club maintained a healthy tilt at the league title and were well in the race until March, when George dislocated his shoulder in a 11 draw at home to Stoke City saw the striker miss the run-in, with Derby taking just 6 points from the remaining 14 and finishing the season in fourth, 7 points behind winners Liverpool. Two days later, Clough and Taylor resigned their positions as Derby County manager. A refinancing scheme was put in place which saw Pride Park sold to the "mysterious"[18] Panama-based ABC Corporation and the club paying rent of 1m a year to play there, which local journalist Gerald Mortimer described as "an affront.. to those who put everything into building (the ground)."[18]. 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. Kevin Hector, who grabbed a brace in the match, became only the 7th Derby player to score 100 league goals when he hit the second in a 20 win over Coventry City in April 1973 and Derby broke the British Transfer Record for the first time in 24 years with the 250,000 capture of Leicester City's David Nish in August 1972. After starting the season with a 33 draw with old rivals Leeds United, Derby lost only one of their opening seven fixtures, recording a creditable 11 home draw with Champions Manchester United as well as a 21 win at Blackburn Rovers and a 10 win over Sunderland. This wasn't apparent from the off, however, and a return of just 5 points from the club's opening 6 fixtures did not hint at instant success for Davies, leaving influential and creative players such as Tommy Smith and Iigo Idiakez to depart the club prior to the closing of the August transfer window. Candidates seeking office for County or Precinct Chair must file an application (PDF) to have their name placed on the ballot for the primary election.. Filing Period. They reached the FA Cup Quarter finals for the third time in seven years, losing out only to late Nwankwo Kanu goal in a 01 away defeat by Arsenal, and recorded some memorable victories, including a league double over Liverpool 21 at Anfield and 32 at Pride Park and a 10 win over Nottingham Forest in the teams' first ever meeting at Pride Park. However, that was to be as good as it got for The Rams as Yugoslavian Vele Mostar were able to overturn a 31 first league deficit to win 54 on aggregate and reach the quarter-finals. However, a Steve Howard header in a 10 win at Wolves on 12 September 2006 proved a catalyst as the club lost only 4 of its next 27 fixtures (a run which included winning all 6 league fixtures in November 2006 and an 8 match winning streak, 6 league, 2 FA Cup, from 30 December 2006 up until 10 February 2007). Nixon was President at the time. He won 43 Scotland caps and will forever be remembered for his contribution in the 1978 World Cup. 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. [24] With new ownership, Derby were able to compete in the transfer market for the first time in a number of years, with Luton Town's Steve Howard becoming the club's first 1m singing since Franois Grenet six years previously and, alongside captures from Premiership club's such as West Ham United's Stephen Bywater and Fulham defender Dean Leacock, Davies began shaping a side capable of competing at the right end of the table. Arthur Cox retired in October of the 199394 season, citing severe back problems, leaving the role after 9 years in charge. 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 ownership trio of Sleightholme, Keith and Harding, dubbed "The Three Amigos", came under increasing criticism from the Derby support, with two separate supporters groups set up in protest of their ownership in the form of the RamsTrust and the Rams Protest Group (RPG). 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. Derby maintained their top 2 position in September, with the main highlight being a 21 win at local rivals Nottingham Forest, despite the fact that goalkeeper Frank Fielding gave away a penalty and was sent off after 67 seconds, Jeff Hendrick's winner in the game was his first goal in senior football. Some memorable results occurred along the way, including a 22 draw away to Arsenal, a 42 victory over Tottenham Hotspur and a remarkable 32 victory against Manchester United, in which Mart Poom and Paulo Wanchope made their Derby debuts, Wanchope scoring a goal which was later voted the greatest in the club's history. 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). The third of these wins, 31 away to Bolton Wanderers looked like pointing towards survival, but it proved to be Derby's last win of the season as they proceeded to lose their next seven games on the trot, the sixth of which, 02 at Liverpool, confirmed relegation after a 6-year stay in the top flight. 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). 1. For all his faults, however, Docherty had kept an increasingly ailing Derby County side in the top flight and this proved impossible for Colin Addison the following season. Derby County: Season 1970/1971: 22 Players/Coaches: Derby County: Season 1969/1970: 21 Players/Coaches: Derby County: Season 1968/1969: 22 Players/Coaches: Derby County: . Former Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson was appointed head coach in May 2016. Although the club won its first game following the exodus 30 against Rotherham United[16] they then embarked on 9 match winless streak which seriously threatened relegation. [7] Steve Bruce rejected the chance to be player-manager before the club finally selected Jim Smith. 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.