2007–08 Derby County F.C. season

Review

Derby's season began with a 2–2 draw against Portsmouth on the opening day of the season, followed by a narrow 1–0 defeat away to Sven-Göran Eriksson's Manchester City (the only two games which Derby spent outside the bottom three), but then conceded a total of 12 goals in three successive defeats. Following their 6–0 defeat to Liverpool on 1 September 2007, Irish bookmakers Paddy Power decided to pay out on the club to be relegated after just five games of the new season. The poor start saw fans accuse Gadsby and the board of failing to invest properly in players for the club. The repercussions of this saw Trevor Birch leave his position as Chief Executive on 19 October 2007 and, on 29 October 2007, Gadsby stepped down as chairman to be replaced by former Hull City owner Adam Pearson.

Meanwhile, results on the pitch were not improving, with another poor performance away to Aston Villa followed up by a 5–0 home defeat against a West Ham United side ravaged by injuries. After taking just 6 points from 14 matches, including their only win of the season with a 1–0 victory against Newcastle United, Davies left by mutual consent after a meeting with Adam Pearson, taking nearly all of his newly assembled backroom staff with him. The club had just been beaten 2–0 at home to Chelsea and were rooted to the bottom of the table. After the game, Davies had publicly criticised Derby's board for a lack of investment. Some critics believed that Davies was a victim of his own success after overachieving in his first season at Pride Park, while others cited his apparent tactical inefficiencies at top flight level, poor big money signings (including £3m Claude Davis) and suggested Davies had engineered his own departure, in the form of an outspoken rant against the board so as to avoid having a relegation on his CV.

Within two days of Davies's dismissal, on 26 November 2007, Derby appointed highly rated former Wigan Athletic manager Paul Jewell. He initially appointed Stan Ternent as his assistant but, when Ternent left to become Huddersfield Town manager in April, Jewell moved to appoint Chris Hutchings who had been his assistant at both Bradford City and Wigan. Jewell's first match in charge was a 1–0 defeat away at Sunderland on 1 December 2007, the winning goal coming in stoppage time. Although performances improved under Jewell, results didn't. The team developed a habit of conceding late goals and following the defeat to Sunderland, Derby conceded late winners or equalisers in seven games between late December 2007 and late January 2008, dropping seven points from games they had been winning or drawing. Many at the club had in fact already accepted relegation by the end of December 2007.

Jewell was busy in the January 2008 transfer window, selling several players and bringing eight new players in, namely Everton defender Alan Stubbs, Argentine striker Emanuel Villa, ex-England international defender Danny Mills on loan from Manchester City, Blackburn midfielder Robbie Savage, French winger Laurent Robert, Tottenham's Egyptian midfielder Hossam Ghaly on loan, Gençlerbirliği's Mile Sterjovski and Rangers goalkeeper Roy Carroll.

On 28 January 2008, it was announced that Derby had been purchased by American group General Sports and Entertainment, with Tom Glick taking the role of new President and Chief Executive. Derby's relegation was confirmed on 29 March, the first time a club had been relegated from the division before April and sealing the club's first immediate relegation following promotion in its history. Poor results continued: a 6–0 home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa on 12 April 2008 is the biggest defeat at Pride Park and, by the season's end, Derby had recorded the Premier League's lowest points total and equalled Loughborough's 108-year Football League record of going through an entire season with only one win. Their final game of the season was a 4–0 home defeat to Reading, who were also relegated.

League table

Main article: 2007–08 Premier League}}{{:2007–08 Premier League

Playing squad

:Squad at end of season

Left club during season

Transfers

Summer 2007 transfer window

In

• 29 June 2007 – Robert Earnshaw – £3.5m, from Norwich City{{cite news
• 4 July 2007 – Tyrone Mears – £1m, from West Ham United
• 7 July 2007 – Andy Todd – £750k, from Blackburn Rovers
• 10 July 2007 – Ben Hinchliffe – free transfer
• 25 July 2007 – Claude Davis – £3m, from Sheffield United
• 26 July 2007 – Lewis Price – undisclosed, from Ipswich Town{{cite news
• 1 August 2007 – Andy Griffin – free transfer from Portsmouth
• 10 August 2007 – Benny Feilhaber – undisclosed, from Hamburg
• 20 August 2007 – Eddie Lewis – undisclosed, from Leeds United
• 31 August 2007 – Kenny Miller – £2.25m, from Celtic

Out

• 31 May 2007 – Seth Johnson – retirement
• 31 May 2007 – Lionel Ainsworth – released
• 31 May 2007 – Morten Bisgaard – released
• 31 May 2007 – Paul Boertien – released
• 31 May 2007 – Steven Cann – released
• 31 May 2007 – Tom Cumberworth – released
• 31 May 2007 – Lee Grant – released
• 5 July 2007 – Ryan Smith – £150k, to Millwall
• 27 July 2007 – Lee Camp – £200k, to Queens Park Rangers
• 31 July 2007 – James Meredith – free transfer to Sligo Rovers
• 8 August 2007 – Richard Jackson – free transfer to Luton Town

January 2008 transfer window

In

• 4 January 2008 – Danny Mills – on loan from Manchester City
• 4 January 2008 – Emanuel Villa – £2m, from Estudiantes Tecos
• 9 January 2008 – Laurent Robert – free transfer
• 9 January 2008 – Robbie Savage – £1.5m, from Blackburn Rovers
• 11 January 2008 – Hossam Ghaly – on loan from Tottenham Hotspur
• 31 January 2008 – Roy Carroll – free transfer from Rangers
• 31 January 2008 – Mile Sterjovski – undisclosed, from Gençlerbirliği
• 31 January 2008 – Alan Stubbs – free transfer from Everton
• 11 April 2008 – Ruben Zadkovich – free transfer from Sydney FC

Out

• 3 January 2008 – Steve Howard – £1.25m, to Leicester City
• 11 January 2008 – Andy Griffin – £300k, to Stoke City
• 11 January 2008 – Matt Oakley – £500k, to Leicester City
• 28 January 2008 – Jon Macken – £200k, to Barnsley
• 31 January 2008 – Bob Malcolm – contract terminated
• 31 January 2008 – Lewin Nyatanga – loan to Barnsley
• 29 February 2008 – Michael Johnson – loan to Notts County
• 2 April 2008 – Laurent Robert – free transfer to Toronto FC

Results

Premier League

FA Cup

Football League Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances, goals and cards

Notes

References

References

1. McNulty, Phil. (29 March 2008). "Derby 2–2 Fulham". BBC Sport.
2. Flanagan, Chris. (13 November 2017). "Derby County's shocking 2007/08 revisited: the Premier League's worst ever season, told by those who were there".
3. Langdon, Mark. (1 September 2007). "Power ready to pay out on Rams falling". Racing Post.
4. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/d/derby_county/7053629.stm Birch leaves Derby chief exec job] BBC Sport Online
5. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/d/derby_county/7067444.stm New Derby chairman backs Davies] BBC Sport Online
6. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080724055356/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/derby/article2946767.ece Bily Davies leaves Derby by mutual consent] Times online
7. (27 November 2007). "Billy Davies leaves Derby County". [[BBC Sport]].
8. (2 September 2009). "Gerald Mortimer: No sad farewell to Davis". therams.co.uk.
9. Jackson, Jamie. (25 November 2007). "Davies rages at Derby dilemma". The Guardian.
10. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2326932/Paul-Jewell-appointed-Derby-manager.html Paul Jewell appointed Derby manager] Telegraph
11. (24 April 2008). "Hutchings set to take Derby role". BBC Sport.
12. (31 January 2008). "Stubbs Brings Steel". dcfc.co.uk.
13. (4 January 2008). "Rams sign Argentine striker Villa". BBC Sport.
14. (9 January 2008). "Savage completes switch to Derby". BBC Sport.
15. (September 2024). "Hossam Ghaly recruited for Derby's rescue effort". Timesonline.co.uk.
16. (24 January 2007). "Derby complete Sterjovski signing". BBC Sport.
17. (22 February 2008). "Carroll Extends Derby Stay". BBC Sport.
18. (28 January 2008). "New owners reveal Derby ambition".
19. (29 March 2008). "Dismal Derby take Cats' sad place in the record books". Sunderland Echo.
20. (4 July 2007). "Derby complete signing of Mears". BBC Sport.
21. (7 July 2007). "Todd joins Derby". lancashiretelegraph.co.uk.
22. (10 July 2007). "County tie up Todd swoop". football.co.uk.
23. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/d/derby_county/6276226.stm "Davis agrees £3m switch to Derby"], BBC Sport, 6 July 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
24. (5 May 2012). "Derby complete capture of Griffin". British Broadcasting Corporation.
25. (9 August 2007). "U.S. midfielder Benny Feilhaber gets work permit to play for Derby County". [[USA Today]].
26. (20 August 2007). "Eddie Lewis Is A Ram". dcfc.co.uk.
27. (6 March 2008). "Jewell demands fair Miller price". BBC Sport.
28. (1 June 2007). "Experienced pair to leave Derby". BBC Sport.
29. (5 July 2007). "Millwall tie up Rams winger Smith". BBC Sport.
30. (27 July 2007). "Camp pens deal". Queens Park Rangers F.C..
31. (31 July 2007). "Sligo Rovers announce new signings". Sligo Rovers F.C.
32. (8 August 2007). "Luton sign ex-Derby man Jackson". BBC.
33. (4 January 2008). "Danny Mills joins Derby on loan". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
34. (11 January 2008). "Derby confirm signing of Robert". BBC Sport.
35. (31 January 2008). "Derby capture goalkeeper Carroll". BBC Sport website.
36. (17 April 2008). "Derby complete Zadkovich signing". BBC.
37. (1 January 2008). "Leicester confirm deal for Howard". BBC Sport.
38. (11 January 2008). "Griffin ties up Potters transfer". British Broadcasting Corporation.
39. (11 January 2008). "Oakley secures Leicester switch". BBC.
40. (28 January 2008). "Barnsley capture Macken from Rams". BBC Sport.
41. (31 January 2008). "Nyatanga and Malcolm head out". Derby County official website.
42. (29 February 2008). "Magpies seal Rams raid". Sky Sports.
43. (2 April 2008). "Robert leaves Derby for Toronto". BBC Sport.