Author: Gareth Davis
Derby County: A Season Review
In 2005–06 Derby County were close to financial meltdown and were almost relegated to League One. In 2006–07 they became financially stable and returned to English football’s top table after winning promotion to the Premiership.
That’s quite a 12-month turnaround, even for this club’s long and distinguished – and often turbulent – history. Even the most ardent of Rams followers couldn’t have expected a year like it, not least after a summer of change that had seen a new board installed, a new manager appointed, new coaching staff arrive and a wave of new players. But when Billy Davies took over the Pride Park hot seat in June there was a feeling that the new directors had got the right man for the job.
Davies, after all, had just taken unfancied Preston North End to the Play-offs in each of the previous two seasons. Upon arrival Davies spoke of a three-year plan and asked the Derby supporters to be patient while he shaped the club as he desired. It would, he said, take a few transfer windows for him to mould his squad and bring in the players he wanted. The signing of Steve Howard was an immediate signal of intent that Derby weren’t just there to make up the numbers, a message that the club was to be reckoned with in the transfer market, and that backing continued with several other arrivals before the close of the first window.
By the time the second window opened in January, the Rams were right up with the chasing pack, and Davies invested further in his squad – there was a chance of promotion, and Derby were going for it. Davies predicted plenty of twists and turns, and he was right, as a six-point lead at the top was eroded and the Rams ultimately finished third in the Coca-Cola Championship. That in itself was a remarkable achievement, considerably ahead of schedule in the three-year plan. The most dramatic of Play-off semi-finals against Southampton followed, and then it was Wembley…
