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Derby County Football Club were formed in 1884, as an offshoot from Derbyshire County Cricket Club. In the early days there was no league competition, so the club contested in friendly matches and the FA Cup. The league itself was introduced in 1888, and Derby were one of the twelve founder members. Their opening game was against Bolton, whom they brushed aside comfortably 6-3.

Struggling for consistency in the early years, Derby narrowly avoided relegation in 1894/95. They beat Notts County in what amounted to a play-off, to retain their Division 1 status. The following season was easily their most fruitful to date, finishing runners-up and reaching the FA Cup Semi Final.

Derby were to progress to the FA Cup Final on three occasions in six seasons. Unfortunately they were unable to win any of them, beaten in 1898 by Notts Forest 3-1, then again the season after by Sheffield United 4-1. The worse defeat of all three, and indeed the biggest margin in an F.A.Cup Final ever, came in 1903 when Bury thundered six goals past the helpless Derby defence.

There was no doubt who Derby's star player was in the early days, a man named Steve Bloomer who had made his debut for the club aged 18. During his career, at the side nicknamed The Rams, he enjoyed two spells, and managed a total of 332 goals, a club record that still stands to this day.

Bloomer re-signed for the club in October 1910, and the results were immediate, his 18 league goals saw Derby promoted back to Division 1.

Goalkeeper Ernald Scattergood wrote his name into Derby folklore when he scored a penalty against Manchester City, he went on score two further goals for Derby, and is still the only goalkeeper ever to score a goal.

Manager Jimmy Methven had been at the club for 31 continuous years, the last 16 years as manager. He made a remarkable 511 appearances as a player and was in charge for 498 games. His services were terminated when Derby finished a lowly 12th in Division 2 in 1921/22.

It was left to George Jobey to promote Derby back up to the top Division in 1925/26, and they continued to entertain, finishing runners-up in Division 1 in 1929/30. The side found that they were more than competent at scoring the goals, but less so at defending their own goal, scoring 90, yet conceding 82.
Jack Bowers was another name synonymous with goals, he found the net 39 times in 1930/31 and a further 43 during 1932/33.

Crowds were flocking back to The Baseball Ground, 38,063 crammed in during the FA Cup tie against Northampton in 1950. An attendance record that stood at Derby for nearly 20 years.

FA Cup success was achieved in 1946, when they beat Charlton 4-1. An incredible moment in the dying moments of the 90 minutes saw Jack Stamps handed a great opportunity to win the game with the score deadlocked at 1-1. As Stamps struck his shot goalwards, the ball burst, taking the game into extra time. Stamps made amends for the freak incident by bagging a double in extra time. Peter Doherty and a Bert Turner own goal ensured Derby could enjoy the celebrations.
Following on from their Cup triumph, manager Stuart McMillan broke the British transfer record twice, when he signed, firstly, Billy Steel for £15,500 and then Jonny Morris came for £24,500, from Greenock Morton and Manchester United respectively.

It was not enough to save McMillan's job, he was sacked in 1953 with the side languishing in Division 2. Jack Barker took the Rams down again in 1955 to Division 3 North. Ray Straw equalled the record number of league goals in 1957 with 37, to take Derby back up.

The 1960's saw two significant figures in Derby history arrive. Kevin Hector joined from Bradford P.A. for £40,000, and he was to go on and score 201 goals for the club. Then in 1967, Brian Clough was unveiled as the new manager.

Clough's inspiration took Derby to levels previously unthinkable. In 1971/72 they were crowned Champions of England with a victory over contenders Liverpool in their final game of the season. However, the title was not yet won, both Leeds and Liverpool had one more game remaining and could overtake Derby to pole position. Both failed, and Roy McFarland became the first man to lift the trophy for Derby County.

European Cup football visited The Baseball Ground, and Benfica, even with the Great Eusebio, could not prevent the Rams from progressing. Juventus, did though, at the Semi-Final stages.

In October 1973, Brian Clough's tenure came to an end, following disputes with the board. Peter Taylor, Clough's right-hand man also left. Fans favourite Dave Mackay took over, and continued the good work that Clough had started.

A third placed finish brought another European adventure, albeit in the UEFA Cup, but they were unable to enjoy the success previously achieved, as they were knocked out in the third round.

New signing Francis Lee from Man City influenced Derby's second Championship honour, as Ipswich slipped up in their final game, and Derby had the won the league for the second time while not engaged in a match.

There is no bigger draw in Europe than Real Madrid, and on October 22 they brought their star studded side to The Baseball Ground. Charlie George, a £100,000 signing from Arsenal, stole the show with a hat-trick, and Derby had unbelievably gained a 4-1 first leg lead. It was not to be enough, as Madrid turned on the style at The Bernabeu to win the second leg 5-1.

Financial problems blighted the club in the early 80's, and these worries were eased when Robert Maxwell took over as Chairman, and the cheque book was opened to sign England internationals Peter Shilton and Mark Wright.

More trouble on the pitch came in 1990/91, resulting in relegation and again changes at boardroom level. Local multi-millionaire Lionel Pickering assumed control.

The passage back up to the top was never going to be easy, but the man known as the 'Bald Eagle', Jim Smith, with his assistant Steve Mclaren achieved it in 1995/96. With a new ground just over a year away optimism swept through the County. The Baseball Ground had been Derby's home since 1895 until 1997, but Pride Park was an impressive and modern new football stadium, capable of holding 33,597 supporters. Although in June of this year, plans were announced to expand the capacity to 44,000 for the 2008/09 season.

Survival towards the end of the 90's became a continuous struggle, and it became an inevitability during the 2001/02 when relegation was sealed.

Pride Park staged its first International, with England hosting Mexico in a friendly match in May 2001.

Of course, recent achievements mean Derby County are back in the Premiership for the 2007/08, and they will hope to compete and stay in top flight football for years to come.


DERBYCOUNTY'S RECENT HISTORY

Having finished the 2005/06 season in 20th position, a push for the promotion places in 2006/07 were perhaps not at the forefront of the Derby fans thoughts. That was certainly the plan for manager Billy Davies, who turned the clubs fortunes around, and they missed out on automatic promotion by just 4 points.

So a third placed finish meant they were to meet Southampton in the Play-Off Semi Final, and after tense penalty shoot out, Derby were on their way to the new Wembley Stadium for a showdown with WBA. It was billed as the most lucrative Play-Off Final in the history of the game.

Stephen Pearson was to send the Derby faithful into raptures when he scored the only goal of the game. Premiership football had returned.

Davies' team may not have played the free flowing attacking football of other sides, but they were difficult to beat and an effective unit, with good organisation.


SUMMER TRANSFER ACTIVITY

Derby broke their record transfer fee in June, paying Norwich City 3.5 million pounds for their sniffer Rob Earnshaw. The 26 year old Welshman has signed a three year deal, and will be hoping that injuries that kept him out of the majority of the second half of last season will have disappeared. He still managed 18 goals in that campaign.

Andy Todd has joined the club where his dad, Colin Todd, enjoyed such a distinguished career, and Andy is clearly excited to follow in his footsteps. He will give some steel at the back, as well as adding much needed Premiership experience to this Derby squad. He cost a figure around £750,000 and signed a two year deal.

His partner at the back is likely to be another new signing, Sheffield United's Claude Davis. The tall Jamaican has cost 3 million pounds, and Davies will be looking for him to add his commanding presence to the defence.

Tyrone Mears has also joined from West Ham for 1 million pounds. The young full back came through the ranks at Man City, and had joined Derby on loan in the January transfer window. He made enough of an impression to convince Billy Davies that a million pounds would represent good business to acquire his services.

Paul Peschisolido and Seth Johnson were the highest profile players to be released from the club in the summer, while Ryan Smith completed his move to Millwall for £150,000.

You feel that more Premiership experience may need to be added before the season gets underway, if they are to avoid repeating Watford's struggles last season. There may, however, not be a great deal of money available to Davies to enhance the strength of his squad.


KEY PLAYERS

New signing Rob Earnshaw will have the burden as the most expensive signing in the clubs history, so it will be interesting to see if he can cope with the expectancy that will weigh on his shoulders.

His partner is likely to be last season's top scorer for Derby, big Steve Howard. The powerful target man was Davies' first signing, in July 2006, and he repaid his manager's faith by banging in 18 league goals in their promotion campaign. The test will be if he can take his football to the next step up.

Winger Gary Teale will offer an abundance of pace and trickery down the right hand side and will be a handy source of assists for Derby, but it may boil down to Andy Todd's desire and experience if Derby are to survive.


EXPECTATIONS FOR THE NEW SEASON

Quite simply, survival. Anywhere outside of the bottom three will be regarded as a hugely successful campaign. Cup competitions may well prove to be a welcome distraction from what is likely to be a long, arduous season.

They need to remain organised and solid at the back, making it difficult for any side to have an easy ride, especially at Pride Park. Their home form could have a huge say on what division Derby County will be competing in next season.

Another factor will be the ability of the younger players to adapt to life in the Premiership, a transition few find without its share of problems.  Through our network you can watch Derby live through the course of the season.