Review 2012–13 Derby County F.C. season

1 review

1.1 pre-season
1.2 august
1.3 september
1.4 october
1.5 november
1.6 december
1.7 january
1.8 february
1.9 march
1.10 april
1.11 may

review
pre-season

towards end previous season, derby began contract negotiations players approaching end of contracts. jake buxton , gareth roberts signed new contract length of 2 years , 1 year respectively. club entered contract talks paul green, contract expired @ end of season , had attracted interest leeds united, among others. club gave green until april 2012 respond. green rejected derby s contract offer on 20 april , left club in summer. rams coach johnny metgod stated club in contract talks jamie ward contract ended in summer of 2013. ward signed new two-year contract, option further year extend stay @ derby until @ least summer of 2014. lee croft , miles addison, both 1 year left on contract, told free leave club in summer. defender , captain shaun barker, injured in 1–0 win against nottingham forest in march 2012 set miss season due injuries medial, anterior cruciate , posterior cruciate ligaments. barker remains optimistic full recovery.

in april 2012 club ended interest in appointing director of football, club had been considering since may 2011. meant derby manager nigel clough retained control of club s player recruitment policy , keen add squad, stating desire sign striker , younger left cover gareth roberts. derby said expected season ticket sales @ 15,000 end of bird deadline on 15 april, down 2,500 on total season ticket sales compared 2011–12, ceo tom glick happy figures , predicted total season ticket sales similar previous season. season ticket prices had increased first time in 7 seasons. derby launched demand-based ticketing single match tickets, ticket prices fluctuating based on several factors such local rivalries, team performance, time of day etc. derby first club introduced style of matchday pricing popular in north american sports. club announced scoreboard in stadium replaced large screen television, improve advertising revenues , show action replays of key moments in game scores other games. on 29 may 2012, announced derby s chief executive tom glick leaving club take chief commercial , operating officer role @ premier league champions manchester city. glick remained in role @ derby during pre-season.

following completion of 2011–12 season, derby announced retained list 2012–13 campaign. goalkeeper james severn, defender chris jones , midfielders aaron cole , ryan connolly told contracts not renewed , joined paul green in leaving club. goalkeepers ross atkins , saul deeney had one-year contract options activated, whilst out of contract pair conor doyle , alex witham retained club. academy players stefan galinski, mats mørch , kane richards became first year professionals after completed two-year scholarships. miles addison, james bailey, lee croft, steve davies , chris maguire transfer listed club on 22 may. addison attracted interest of former loan club bournemouth , several championship clubs, later joining bournemouth undisclosed fee. davies, joint top scorer in 2011–12, transfer listed due turning down three-year contract offer due family reasons , decision nigel clough respected. newly promoted championship club sheffield wednesday had 2 bids maguire rejected in may before third offer in june accepted , maguire joined wednesday undisclosed fee. midfielder lee croft joined league 1 side oldham athletic until end of season.

derby linked several players in media, including west bromwich albion striker simon cox , northampton town winger michael jacobs. derby offered jacobs contract, accepted. jacobs under 24, northampton entitled compensation, either agreed 2 clubs or set tribunal. derby , northampton agreed undisclosed fee out-of-contract player , jacobs joined derby on three-year contract. club rumoured interested in season-long loan move liverpool left-back jack robinson , sheffield united right-back matthew lowton although club denied interest in lowton, later joined aston villa. wigan athletic striker conor sammon, club had missed out on in january 2011, target club. derby turned down 2 bids in excess of £1 million in june defender jason shackell, both believed burnley , 2 more bids further championship clubs, 1 thought cardiff city. club later accepted bid shackell burnley of £1.1 million , transferred burnley, signing four-year contract clarets. attention turned derby sign replacement, out-of-contract nottingham forest defender joel lynch first target. club spoke lynch denied rumours had undergone medical them , opted sign huddersfield town instead. coventry city centre-half richard keogh, attracting leeds united , bids bristol city , cardiff city, rejected, next defender club linked to, keogh later joined club on three-year contract, striker callum ball loaned out coventry season. nigel clough said although derby may outbid players, able offer chance part of think exciting young side . @ same time, club announced eighteen-year-old former bolton wanderers winger james caton had begun training them. other defenders derby linked following shackell s departure bristol city defender james wilson, leeds united left-back aidan white, out-of-contract dundee united centre-half garry kenneth, cardiff city centre-half anthony gerrard , sunderland centre-half john egan. derby offered out-of-contract crewe alexandra left-back kelvin mellor three-year contract after crewe offered player one-year deal, after extensive talks derby mellor turned down derby s offer after crewe offered player two-year contract signed in july. angry nigel clough hit out @ mellor saying must difficult him going dressing room after things said us. , when starting pre-season decided go ibiza mates 5 days. derby made enquiry preston north end outcast paul coutts. after enquiry accepted, derby started talks coutts , scot joined club on three-year contract reported fee of £150,000. ross atkins rejoined burton albion on loan, after spending previous season @ league 2 club.

the club s first pre-season friendly 2–1 defeat mansfield town. trialists james caton , swiss centre-half valentin gjokaj both featured club.

august

versatile doncaster rovers defender james o connor joined club undislcosed fee @ start of month. under premier league s controversial elite player performance plan, derby county applied tier 2 academy, meant entered professional development league 2 – north, replaced premier academy league , premier reserve league, result derby withdrew entry of reserve team in central league, manager nigel clough saying we’ve had great few years in reserve league, winning twice, our resources cannot stretch fielding first team, reserve team, under 21 team , under 18 team @ moment – games falling close each other. club stay play reserve games in behind closed doors friendlies. former newcastle united left michael hoganson joined club on one-year contract, after trial. american attacking midfielder danny barrera club on trial , featured in reserve pre-season friendly against belper town. finnish cesena striker, roope riski joined club on trial ahead of last first team pre-season against chesterfield, game saw steve davies, made first appearance after talks broke down on move ipswich town, scoring in 3–1 loss. fee of £1.2 million reported have been agreed derby , wigan athletic on transfer of conor sammon.

derby started competitive season in league cup against scunthorpe united new signings paul coutts, michael jacobs , richard keogh made debuts , keogh opened scoring on 30th minute after jacobs corner, jake buxton scored second goal jacobs corner in 34th minute, theo robinson scored on 3rd on 40th minute jacobs corner. in second half andy barcham pulled goal scunthorpe, buxton got second of night minute later jacobs free-kick, before mike grella scored second scunthorpe in 63rd minute, robinson had 72nd-minute penalty saved sam slocombe , bobby grant brought derby s lead down 4–3 minute later, nathan tyson got first derby goal on 83rd minute against assisted jacobs, connor jennings made 4 in stoppage time , grant penalty spot made 5–5 take game time. no goals scored in 30 minute time period , game want penalty shoot-out, scunthorpe won game 7–6 on penalties tom naylor missing deciding penalty.

the final friendly of season saw derby xi included trialists gjokaj, barrera, riski , livingston striker marc mcnulty beat matlock town 2–1. ahead of club s first league fixture of season swiss defender valentin gjokaj signed two-year deal, option of third. derby drew game 2–2 first half goals nathan tyson (first league goal derby) , jake buxton , chris o grady wednesday, réda johnson equalized stoppage time. after game reported bristol city had agreed transfer fee wantaway striker steve davies , huddersfield town interested in signing nathan tyson on loan. also, conor sammon joined club on four-year contract , steve davies left bristol city. sammon made debut in following game @ bolton wanderers, james o connor making first start club, derby had goal disallowed in second half before kevin davies scored in 77th minute , chris eagles scored stoppage time bolton won 2–0, result left derby in relegation zone after 2 games. welsh under-21 international kieron freeman local rivals nottingham forest undisclosed fee. theo robinson reprimanded after broke club rules posting on twitter had been dropped squad before team announced. derby s last league game month ended in 1–1 draw @ wolverhampton wanderers, kevin doyle scored in first half home team, robinson equalising rams in stoppage time. on transfer deadline day, young forward kane richards joined matlock town on loan.

september

derby started month 5–1 win against watford, first half goals richard keogh, jeff hendrick , conor sammon first club. in second half hughes scored first goal senior team before jamie ward made 5 matej vydra scored consolation goal visitors. young midfielder alex witham released club, after allowed train @ unnamed league 1 club. injured defender shaun barker signed one-year contract extension new contract running out in summer of 2015. polish youth international stefan galnski joined corby town on months loan. 18-year-old new zealand defender luke adams joined club on one-year contract. after international break, derby returned league action @ huddersfield town, daniel ward scoring goal in first half hosts in first minute, there no further goals in game derby lost 1–0. sam rush named tom glick s replacement club s ceo on 17 september, rush departed role @ wasserman media group , joined derby on 1 january. day later, derby played charlton athletic @ home jamie ward opening scoring form 25-yards, craig bryson made 2–0 after 53 minutes, ward scored 64th-minute penalty, danny green , yann kermorgant scored in 70th , 72nd minutes respectively visitors game finished 3–2 derby. 4 days later, derby played burnley @ home jamie ward , charlie austin scoring in first half, austin scored winning goal burnley in 89th minute. out of favour midfielder james bailey joined coventry city on loan 3 months. stefan galinski s loan @ corby town extended until 9 december, whilst kane richards loan @ matlock town extended 3 november. derby ended month, playing in east midlands derby game @ city ground against nottingham forest, after scrappy first half, forest striker dexter blackstock sent off on 46th minute elbow on richard keogh , 9 minutes later craig bryson scored winning goal derby earned derby s first clean sheet , away win season, derby rose 12th in table 20th.

october

top scorer jamie ward out ruled 4 weeks after picking grade 1 hamstring injury in forest match. derby started october s action mid-week trip middlesbrough; theo robinson opened score rams 16th-minute penalty, before lukas jutkiewicz equalised 3 minutes later after frank fielding error, jutkiewicz scored second on 81 minutes, paul coutts scored first goal club equalising in 87th minute. game followed home match against brighton & hove albion, finished goalless derby remained in 13th ahead of international break. 15-year-old irish youth international defender jack tuite joined club cherry orchard, after trial @ moor farm. hughes signed new contract, committing future club until summer of 2015. derby returned international break home match against managerless blackburn rovers, derby drew 1–1 34th minute jordan rhodes goal , 88th-minute equaliser theo robinson. 3 days later in action @ ipswich town, , goals dj campbell , theo robinson in first half ensured scores equal @ 1–1 after end of first half, before nathan tyson score late winner derby in stoppage time. derby ended month @ peterborough united , lost 3–0 goals michael bostwick , late double saido berahino after jake buxton sent off second bookable offence adam legzdins saved lee tomlin penalty @ 0–1.

november

derby signed 16-year-old scunthorpe united striker charles vernam undisclosed fee. derby began league action in november against managerless blackpool, after ian holloway left crystal palace on day of match, derby won game 4–1 first half goals theo robinson , john brayford first goal in on 2 years, tom ince scored on in second half visitors through penalty, before robinson second shortly after , conor sammon scored first goal in 2 months close scoring. 3 days later, derby secured first back-to-back victories in 24 league matches, after beating barnsley 2–0 second half goals james o connor (his first club) , nathan tyson in last minute of regulation time. derby unchanged second consecutive game @ millwall, trailed @ half time after 33rd-minute goal liam feeney, before hughes eqaulised 8 minutes second half, andrew keogh got winner hosts on 76 minutes. hughes called england u21 squad , became second youngest player in side history. after callup, hughes linked moves arsenal, liverpool , manchester city, nigel clough reportedly under-pressure raise £1.8 million in january 2013 transfer window derby setting asking price of £4 million 17-year-old. right john brayford linked move premier league outfit, in case west ham united. nigel clough denied speculation , said there no need sell players, wasn t surprised @ interest shown both players. out-of favour defender tom naylor joined football league 2 side bradford city on loan 2 months. derby returned league action on 17 november @ table toppers crystal palace, derby lost consecutive league games first time season goals 2 goals glenn murray , single effort andré moritz. further speculation surrounded hughes spanish giants fc barcelona reported have interest in hughes, after scouts catalan club compiled detailed dossier on hughes when appeared england u17 in algarve tournament in february 2012. young swiss defender valentin gjokaj joined league 1 outfit carlisle united on loan 6 weeks. derby won third consecutive match @ home 3–2 win @ birmingham city, derby dominated first half scored once in half through conor sammon, second half more equal marlon king scoring penalty hosts 17 minutes then, sammon netted again regain lead derby, before peter løvenkrands got winner 2 minutes, nathan tyson score winner further 2 minutes later. derby ended month match @ home leaders cardiff city, visitors taking lead after 11 minutes through heidar helguson, lead cardiff held until half-time, craig noone sent off hosts after 63 minutes second bookable offence, theo robinson equalised 8th goal of season 21 minutes go, derby pushed winner scores stayed 1–1, derby 12th in table, 5 points behind play-off places , 12 above relegation zone.

december

derby started final month of 2012, 4–1 defeat @ local rivals leicester city, after goals zak whitbread, martyn waghorn , dave nugent twice, theo robinson scored rams make 2–1 before half time. derby s fourth away defeat in 4 games. week later, derby took on leeds united, rams taking lead through sammon on 15 minutes, visitor equalised on stroke of half time through former ram paul green, before jake buxton scored make 2–1 on 66 minutes, late substitute ben davies made sure win secured in stoppage time derby 3–1, club s eighth win in row against yorkshire club. derby ended run of 4 away defeats in row 2–0 victory @ bristol city after 2 first half goals jeff hendrick on 34 minutes , craig bryson on 36. valentin gjokaj s loan carlisle united cut short 2 weeks after reacalled derby, swiss defender made on appearance in fa cup cumbrians. derby targeting 3 wins row first time during season in friday night home match against hull city, rams fall behind on 25 minutes through robert koren goal before michael jacobs scored first goal derby equalise in first half stoppage time, abdoulaye faye scored 5 minutes second half give visitors lead second time. result second home defeat during season rams. derby went burnley on boxing day , lost 2–0 first half goal charlie austin , second half effort michael duff. derby ended calendar year 1–1 draw @ charlton athletic, hosts taking lead after danny haynes scoring after 19 minutes, charlton held lead until 72nd minute when jamie ward scored penalty spot on return after three-month absence, ward s goal came penalty spot after michael morrison sent off foul on richard keogh led second booking, ward lasted 15 minutes on first team return replaced after 83 minutes. result left derby 11th in table, 6 points off play-off places.

january

the transfer window started james bailey re-joining coventry city on loan remainder of season. derby played first league game of 2013 on new year s day @ home 3rd placed middlesbrough; game rams won 3–1 first half goals michael jacobs , jeff hendrick , conor sammon in second half, lukas jutkiewicz got late consolation goal visitors. championship club, derby started fa campaign against league 1 leaders tranmere rovers, derby taking lead through ben davies after 42 minutes, conor sammon got 7th goal of season in second after 54 minutes, john brayford got third derby on 63 minutes, jeff hendrick made 4 on 72 minutes, before 16 year old mason bennett got first goal club on 87 closed scoring derby 5–0 up, goal ensured became youngest goal scorer in club s history. nineteen-year-old polish youth international defender , striker kane richards both released club without making first team appearance. derby went brighton & hove albion , 2–0 @ half through 2nd-minute goal ashley barnes , andrea orlandi after 25, jeff hendrick pulled 1 after 70 minutes score third goal in 3 derby s, derby couldn t force equaliser , fell 10th defeat of season, 8 of these away home. goalkeeper ross atkins recalled derby after fell down third choice @ loan club; burton albion. tom naylor s loan @ bradford city extended month however. , out of favour striker nathan tyson joined fellow championship club millwall until end of season. derby returned league action in east midlands derby game @ home forest, forest taking lead after 31 minuted through chris cohen, jamie ward equalised after 52 minutes. derby ended january fixtures fa cup fourth round tie @ home blackburn rovers, rams falling behind after 44 minutes colin kazim-richards strike, scott dann got second on 66, jordan rhodes made 0–3 on 71. in league, derby finished month 13th in table, 9 points behind play-offs , 10 ahead of relegation. transfer deadline day quit on derby, on departure, lee croft on loan @ oldham athletic had contract terminated.

february

derby began february programme home fixture managerless huddersfield town, game derby won 3–0 first half goals craig bryson , jamie ward, richard keogh netting third in second half. week later derby on road against sheffield wednesday , derby taking two-goal lead goals hendrick , jamie ward penalty, hosts pulled got level through leroy lita , miguel llera. 3 days later, derby in league action in yorkshire @ hull city game derby lost 2–1 through debut goal mohamed nagy, jamie ward scored fourth goal in 4 games on 84, before ahmed elmohamady got winner 3 minutes later, gareth roberts on 100th derby appearance sent off serious foul play on 89 minutes, second red card derby player during season. michael hoganson given first senior start after roberts 3 game ban , played apart in defence kept clean sheet game wolverhampton wanderers finished 0–0, derby s first goalless result since 6 october. derby drew @ home again 3 days later, against bolton wanderers, derby fell behind in first half stoppage time through goal richard keogh, before jamie ward got 10th goal of season 9 minutes before full-time secure 1–1 draw. theo robinson lost place in starting 11 conor sammon , jamie ward joined fellow championship side huddersfield town on loan until end of season. norwich city striker chris martin joined derby on initial months loan, becoming derby s first loan signing of season. after return bradford, tom naylor made available loan , reported turned down move grimsby town. grismby joint manager paul hurst stated naylor set join conference national side. however, on 22 february 2013 naylor completed loan move grimsby town until end of season. derby ended fixtures in february 2–1 defeat @ watford, through goals matej vydra on 35 minutes , joel ekstrand on 68, jamie ward scored penalty rams on 73 minutes.

march

derby started march friday night fixture @ home crystal palace, derby lost 1–0 through 13-minute yannick bolasie goal, conor sammon had 87 minute penalty saved palace keeper julian speroni. top scorer jamie ward suffered re-occurrence of hamstring injury in game , response, derby brought in watford winger craig forsyth on months loan ahead of derby s trip @ table toppers cardiff city. in first half, derby had handball penalty appeal turned down , had chris martin goal disallowed offside, derby took lead on 75 minutes through conor sammon first goal in english football away home before, craig noone equalised on 82 leave derby winless in seven. derby took in birmingham city looking win @ st andrew s second time in twenty-five matches, through 40th minute ben davies goal, before wes thomas equalised hosts on 67, nathan redmond gave hosts lead on 75 before redmond secured 3–1 win birmingham in stoppage time. week later, derby took on local rivals @ leicester city @ home hoping end 8-game run without win , led 2-0 @ half time through richard keogh on 16 minutes , chris martin first club on 44. in second half leicester opened account through jeff schlupp on 62 minutes, derby held on win 2–1. after this, club extended martin s loan until end of season. derby ended month easter friday meeting @ home bottom of table bristol city, jamie ward had 3rd-minute penalty saved tom heaton, jeff hendrick opened scoring tenth goal club , seventh of season on 36 minutes, ward made 2–0 in second half on 54 minutes, substitute ben davies got third goal of league season in stoppage ensure 3–0 win derby. result ensured back-to-back league wins first time since mid-december.

april

derby started april, easter monday evening kick off @ leeds united aiming ninth consecutive win against yorkshire , season record of 3 league wins in succession. first half event-less , petered out 0–0 draw. in second half, derby had conor sammon goal ruled offside, before ross mccormack scored opening goal leeds on 67 minutes, on 73 minutes derby won penalty sammon took; hit post paul coutts got second goal derby in rebound, derby pushed winner jake buxton got on 88 minutes; ensure 2–1 win derby. result moved derby eighth in table, 6 points off play-offs , virtually ensured season in championship @ minimum. leeds manager neil warnock resigned shortly after match. following saturday, derby welcomed ipswich town @ pride park , in 44th minute missed fourth consecutive penalty, third in 3 games jamie ward s effort saved scott loach, derby made pay penalty miss when carlos edwards scored winner visitors in stoppage time. defender jake buxton signed new two-year contract before derby went relegation threatened blackburn rovers, rovers leading 2–0 @ half time through jordan rhodes penalty , scott dann in stoppage time, there no further goals in second half. 3 days later derby returned league action away match @ barnsley team under threat relegation, derby drew game 1–1 after falling behind through chris o grady goal on 47th, derby s equaliser came in stoppage time through paul coutts. hughes said years extension contract , returned matchday squad derby s penultimate home game of season against peterborough united, derby lead 3 nil after 52 miutes goals craig bryson, chris martin , richard keogh visitors allowed match after frank fielding sent off professional foul on 62 minutes, chris mccann converted penalty derby held on win 3–1. derby concluded away fixtures tie @ fellow midtable side blackpool winning 1–0 @ half-time through gary taylor-fletcher, tom ince missed penalty hosts in first half, substitute ben davies made 1–1 on 65 minutes before ludovic sylvestre got late winner hosts derby lost 12th away game in 23 games. after game, loan left-back craig forsyth re-called promotion chasing watford whilst club offered one-year contract ben davies.

may

it announced on 2 may left-back gareth roberts released, having spent 3 years rams. season drew close, club linked number of players, including birmingham city winger chris burke, blackpool defender alex baptiste, former loanee craig forsyth, on-loan chris martin, norwich city striker james vaughan , former derby goalkeeper lee grant. ever-present defender richard keogh won jack stamps, club, , supporters player of year awards. hughes won sammy crooks young player of year, kieron freeman winning under-21 player of year award. max lowe winning academy award , jamie hanson scholar award. jeff hendrick won goal of season strike against middlesbrough, faye nixon won brian clough award , academy head darren wassall won president s award derby ended season 1–0 win @ home millwall, conor sammon scored ninth goal of season bench on 85 minutes derby finished season 10th in table, 7 points above relegation zone , 7 points play-offs. on 7 may announced former goalkeeper lee grant join club on free transfer in summer, signing three-year deal.