Team of the week - Derby County FC (The Rams)

Derby County FC was formed in 1884 as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Their first competitive match was in the 1885 FA Cup, where they lost 7–0 at home to Walsall Town. Things could only get better.

The Football League was introduced in 1888 and Derby is one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the league since it was introduced. The opening day of the first ever league season was 8 September 1888, when Derby came from 3–0 down away to Bolton Wanderers to win 6–3.

In 1895 the club moved to a new stadium, The Baseball Ground, which became their home for the next 102 years, and adopted their traditional colours of black and white. In these early days, Derby were inconsistent in the league (though they did finish runners-up to Aston Villa in 1896), but were a strong force in the FA Cup, appearing in three finals in six years around the turn of the century.

Derby were one of several clubs to close down during the Second World War but restarted in the early 1940s, and were one step ahead of the opposition when competitive football resumed with the 1946 FA Cup and won their first major trophy with a 4–1 victory over Charlton Athletic. The club then had a patchy time up until 1967, when Brian Clough and Peter Taylor took over and led the Rams to their greatest glory.

Derby were promoted to the First Division in 1969, finished fourth in 1970, got banned from competing in Europe due to financial irregularities in 1971 and won their first ever League Championship in 1972.

Me aged 6 in Derby in the early 70s,
clearly pondering the merits of the 4-4-2 system

Derby did not retain their title the following season, but they did reach the semi-finals of the European Cup, losing to Juventus in a controversial match which was subject to subsequent allegations that the Italian club had bribed match officials. Clough, in his usual understated way, publically called the Italians "cheating bastards". His frequent outspoken comments eventually led to him falling out with the club’s directors and he left in 1973, much to the disappointment of the fans.

Derby's main club rivalries stem from the Clough era. Nottingham Forest, being only 14 miles east of Derby, were always fierce rivals, but the fact that Brian Clough took over at Forest a few years after leaving Derby probably didn’t help matters. Leeds are also disliked due to ongoing friction from the early 1970s when Derby and Leeds were two of the top English teams. The scarcely concealed hostility between Brian Clough and Don Revie is documented in the film The Damned United.

Derby's form declined towards the end of the 1970s after a string of managers, including former Man United boss Tommy Docherty, unsettled the club trying desperately to maintain its place at the top of the First Division. They were relegated to the Third Division for only the second time in their history in 1984.

After some further ups and downs, the club were back in the Premiership in 96-97. The club left the Baseball Ground, its home of 102 years, to move into the new 30,000-seat Pride Park Stadium for the 97-98 season. You can have a tour of the ‘new’ stadium for £8 (£6 for students, Amy) next time you find yourself in Derby with an hour to spare.

Derby have the dubious honour of the English league record for most matches without a win in 07-08.

Nigel Clough, son of Brian, took over as club manager in 2009 and since then the club has maintained a fairly steady position in the Championship.

Derby's current most popular celebrity supporters (apart from me) are Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, Asia singer John Wetton, who has been a fan for 57 years, Rebecca Adlington (niece of former Rams goalkeeper Terry Adlington) and actor Robert Lindsay.

Written by Jim after extensive research (thanks Wikipedia and the Rams website).