Derby County FC
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History
Derbyshire Cricket Club was formed in 1871 and in 1884 began the football club now known as Derby County. The local football association claimed that Derbyshire County FC was too long a name for a football team, hence Derby County.
As there was no football league those days they had to make do with friendlies and the FA Cup and played their games initially at the Racecourse ground, home to the cricketers, before moving to the Baseball Ground in 1895. The football league came to be in 1888.
Derby's first major piece of silverware was the FA Cup, when they defeated Charlton after extra time in 1946. Full time arrived with the teams 1-1 and a goal by Peter Doherty and two from Jack Stamps in extra time saw Jack Nicholas lift the Cup for the first and only time in the club's history.
It was the 70s though that brought real success to Derby with the legendary Brian Clough at the helm. In the 1972 season Derby defeated Liverpool in their final game to put themselves top of the League. Liverpool and Leeds, still with a game to play, could overtake them however, but both those results went Derby's way and Brian Clough and Peter Taylor paraded the Championship trophy around the Baseball ground.
Another title followed in 1975 with Dave Mackay as manager after replacing Clough, who left the club after frequent outspoken comments against football's establishment led to his falling out with the board.
The club went into decline after that and were in the third division by 1984. They then appointed Arthur Cox as manager, and after two years in Division three, he and the club began their ascent back to the top tier, which they were promoted to by 1987.
Peter Shilton, Mark Wright, Dean Saunders and Ted McMinn joined and the club finished fifth in 1989. A lack of investment saw another decline though and relegation came in 1991.
In 1995 Jim Smith took over as manager and with the signing of Igor Stimac guided the club to the top tier once again. In 1996/97 the club finished 12th and moved into a new 30,000 seater stadium at Pride Park.
Smith resigned in October 2001 and John Gregory took over in January of 2002. The club lost seven of their last eight games though and were relegated once again.
The club changed hands over the next few years until a popular consortium of local businessmen, led by former vice-chairman Peter Gadsby, bought the club, reducing its debt and returning Pride Park Stadium to the club's ownership in the process.
In June 2006, former Preston North End boss Billy Davies was appointed Derby County's new manager. In his first season, Davies took Derby to the Championship play-offs, where they beat Southampton on penalties in the semi-finals before defeating West Bromwich Albion 1-0 with a second-half Stephen Pearson goal (his first for the club) at the new Wembley Stadium to secure a return to the Premier League and the £60m windfall that achievement is reputed to bring.
Major Honours
League Champions:
1971-72, 1974-75
FA Cup Winners:
1946
