Football is one of the biggest passions in the United Kingdom. It has produced amazing players that are known all over the world for their talent. Among these football players and clubs, there is one Derby County Football Club.
Even though it is not as well-known as other clubs they still hold a lot of potentials and have an interesting history. So, let’s not waste any time and dive right into who the Derby County Rams are and their history.
The History Of Derby County Football Club
The history of this club goes way back. This is because when the Football League was found in 1888, this was one of the original teams on it. Since then, they have been part of the league and are also known as the Derby County Rams.
The club is owned by Mel Morris currently. At first, he was just a minority shareholder, a director between 2006 – 2007, and an investor. However, in 2015 he bought the club.
The beginning of the club dates back to before the Football League was even formed. Derby County came into existence in 1884. Since there was no proper league the Derby County Rams just participated in the FA Cup and some friendly matches here and there.
However, the FA Cup gave them their first victory and this is how the small club went on to become a success just a year after it was founded. Then in 1888 came the Football League and this is when the landscape of football completely changed for clubs.
Facts About The Derby County Rams
Home Grounds
Every football club has a home stadium. For this club, their first Derby football stadium was the County Cricket Ground. This is where they played for the first 11 years of their club’s life.
This ground even held the first FA Cup that took place outside London in 1886. However, in 1895 the Derby County FC then moved to the Baseball Ground. This was their home for the next century.
After that, just at the turn of the 21st century, the club moved to Pride Park Stadium as their new home ground. In 2013 the park changed its name to iPro Stadium as it had a global sponsorship deal with iPro that was worth £7 million.
This deal was supposed to last ten years. However, in 2017 the stadium changed its name back to Pride Park Stadium.
Players
Here is the current player list of Derby County FC:
· Goalkeepers: David Marshall, Henrich Ravas, and Kelle Ross
· Defenders: Jordan Brown, Harrison Solomon, Curtis Davies, Matthew Clarke, Andre Wisdom, Nathan Byrne, Richard Keogh, Mike te Wierik, and Graeme Shinnie
· Midfielders: Jason Knight, Lee Buchanan, Ola Ibrahim, Tom Huddlestone, Max Bird, Louie Sibley, Duane Holmes, George Evans, Ikechi Anya, Krystian Bielik, and Craig Forsyth
· Strikers: Wayne Rooney, Martyn Waghorn, Tom Lawrence, Florian Jozefzoon, Jack Marriott, Josh Shonibare, Morgan Whittaker, Jahmal Hector-Ingram, and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy
Apart from these, there have been many notable players too that have been a part of this club. They are represented in the English Football Hall of Fame and players in this include:
· Brian Clough
· Peter Doherty
· Peter Shilton
· Dave Mackay
· Steve Bloomer
· Francis Lee
· Raich Carter
· Hughie Gallacher
· John Robertson
· Frank Lampard
Managers
The management team is just as important as the players and here is the current management team:
· Phillip Cocu as Manager
· Chris Van Der Weerden as Assistant Manager
· Twan Scheepers and Liam Rosenior as Specialist First Team Coach
· Shay Given as Head Goalkeeping Coach
· Wayne Rooney as Football Coach
· Justin Walker as First Team Development Coach
· Darren Wassall as Academy Director
· Amit Pannu as Club Doctor
· Steve Haines as Head of Fitness
· Robin Sadler as Head Physio
· Shane Nicholson as First Team Fitness Coach
Honours
Let’s see what the club has achieved ever since its inception.
· Premier League Champions in 1971 – 72 and 1974 – 75
· Premier League Runners-up in 1895 – 96, 1929 – 30, and 1935 – 36
· Football League Championship Champions in 1911 – 12, 1914- 15, 1968 – 69, and 1986- 87
· Football League Championship Runners-up in 1995 – 96
· Football League Championship Play-off Winners in 2006 – 2007
· Football League One Champions in 1956 – 57
· Football League One Third Place in 1985 – 86
· FA Cup Winners in 1946
· FA Charity Shield in 1975
· Texaco Cup Winners in 1972
· Watney Cup Winners in 1970
· Anglo-Italian Cup Runners-up in 1992 – 93
· Daily Express National Five-a-Sides in 1973
· Premier Reserve League South Winners in 2000 and 2001
· The Central League Winners in 1936, 1972, 1986, 2010, and 2011
· United Counties League Winners in 1894
Home Colours And Nickname
The home colours of this club are black and white since the end of the 19th century. Apart from that, the team is referred to as The Rams or the Derby County Rams. This is so because it is a tribute to the Ram which is the mascot of this club.
Club Rivals
The three biggest rivals of the Derby County Football Club are Leeds United, Leicester City, and Nottingham Forest. However, its biggest rival is Nottingham Forest. Both of them were given the title of the eleventh largest rivalry in English Football by a survey taken in 2008.
On the other hand, the rivalry with Leicester City is based on geographical factors rather than the clubs having a history. So, this is not as intense as the one with Forest.
Lastly, the rivalry with Leeds United comes from the hostility that has existed between these two clubs since the 70s. The rivalry was mainly between of their managers at the time. This rivalry is so popular that it was the subject of the movie The Damned United.
Although, the rivalry is now one-sided as it is, Derby fans still consider this club to be their rivals. Leeds United themselves consider other clubs as their biggest rivals as Derby is not on their top rival list.
Final Words
This is everything you need to know about the Derby County Rams. They have been an integral part of Derby and the Derby County Football Ground which is Pride Park Stadium which will remain their home ground for the time being. It is one of the founding clubs of the Football League that will always remain an integral part of the League.
