The 2009–10 season was Derby County's 111th season in the Football League. It is their 42nd season in the second division of English football and their second consecutive season in the second tier following an 18th-placed finish in the previous campaign. Derby struggled against relegation for much of the season, but a run of just two defeats in the final 10 fixtures saw the club finish in 14th, their third highest finish in their respective division in the previous ten years. The Derby Evening Telegraph described the campaign as "Good in patches, poor in others, and ultimately frustrating."
The season was Nigel Clough's first full season in the job following his appointment in January 2009. The club started the season with odds of 21/1 for the title, though the media prediction was that they would improve greatly on the previous campaign's struggles and push for a playoff place. This proved overly optimistic, however, as the club battled relegation from the Championship for the fifth time in eight seasons. Although the club never fell into the bottom three during the campaign (the lowest position was 20th) it spent just six fixtures in the top half of the table, only one of which was achieved after August. A lack of consistency was one reason; not only in results (the club never recording more than two consecutive victories) but also in the club's inability to field a consistent team selection. A club record 40 players represented the club, with only 6 players making 30 or more league starts, and an over-reliance on loanees (14 players signing temporary deals over the season) also played a part, as did injuries; one match, away to Ipswich Town in October, came at the height of the club's injury problems and saw them unable to even name a full complement of substitutes such was the lack of players available. A purple patch of form in February saw the club end local rivals Nottingham Forest's 19 match unbeaten run, inflict eventual-Champions Newcastle United's biggest defeat of the season (3–0) and hit five in a match for the first time in three years when they edged out Preston North End 5–3 at Pride Park, but a run of just three wins in twelve through the end of February until the end of April, ensured that safety was not achieved until the 44th fixture of the season after a 1–1 draw at home to relegation rivals Crystal Palace. One bright point to the campaign came with the reserves successful The Central League Division One Central Section campaign, which saw them finish top and become the first Derby reserves team to win the title since Arthur Cox's reserves claimed it in the 1985–86 season. It was also the first time a Derby County reserves side had won its respective division since the club successfully captured the Premier Reserve League in 2000–01.
The club sold 21,406 season tickets for the 2009–10 season and had an average home attendance of 29,207 (down from 29,440 the previous season), second only to Champions Newcastle United's 43,388 and over 4,000 ahead of third placed Sheffield United. The ground operated at 86.9% capacity, putting it third behind Cardiff City and Blackpool. These averages made Derby the 12th best supported club in the country for the third consecutive season.
Team kit The team kit for the 2009–10 season is produced by Adidas and sponsored by Bombardier. The new home kit, the fifth in as many years, was officially unveiled at a special event on Derby market place on 3 July 2009 and the away kit was launched in a special exhibition at the Westfield Centre on 4 August 2009. The club retained the Argentina inspired third kit from the 2008–09 season.
Review
Preseason The day after the final game of the 2008–09 season, a 3–1 defeat by Watford, Clough announced his intention to cut the playing staff by up to 17 players (including loanees), with the first casualties being Andy Todd and Paris Simmons, whose contracts were not renewed, and the loanees Nathan Ellington, Barry Bannan, John Eustace, Przemysław Kaźmierczak and Nacer Barazite returning to their parent clubs. Todd signed for Perth Glory and was later joined there by Mile Sterjovski, who left the club on a free transfer.
Others leaving the club were Tyrone Mears, who signed for Premier League club Burnley for a fee of £500k, rising to £600k with add-ons, Emanuel Villa, who moved to Mexican club Cruz Azul for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around £1.7m, and Lewis Price joined Football League One Brentford on a season-long loan. Liam Dickinson was the subject of two 'small' bids from Norwich City, both of which were rejected, leaving Dickinson to criticise the club for placing an 'unrealistic' valuation on him, before moving to Brighton & Hove Albion for £300,000. Lewin Nyatanga joined Bristol City for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around £500,000. Additionally, Martin Albrechtsen was told he was free to find a new club, and Claude Davis entered into negotiations to cancel his contract two years early.
Rumours consistently surfaced regarding Player of the Year Rob Hulse and Kris Commons being sold, with Clough stating he was 'unsurprised' by speculation linking Hulse with a £3m move to Middlesbrough, and Kris Commons with £3m and £4m moves to Celtic and Everton respectively.
Clough's first signings were non-League pair Jake Buxton from Burton Albion on an initial one-year deal and Ben Pringle from Ilkeston Town. They were joined by Exeter City's Dean Moxey, who signed for an initial £300,000 and former Norwich City winger Lee Croft and ex-Burton Albion goalkeeper Saul Deeney on free transfers. There was also a drawn out chase for Blackpool defender Shaun Barker, who also attracted interest from local rivals Nottingham Forest. An initial offer of £400,000, rising to £500,000 was rejected, with a rumoured £750,000 plus add-ons later offered. Other sources suggested that both Derby and Forest has made offers of £700,000 plus an unnamed player (rumoured to be Liam Dickinson, who had had a loan spell at Blackpool the previous campaign). He eventually signed on 15 July 2009 for a fee of £900,000.
On top of these signings, several trialists were taken. Of those trialled, the club declined to sign former Norwich City captain Mark Fotheringham and Cambridge City's Scott Neilson. A loan was agreed, in principle, for Arsenal's Mark Randall, though the club declined to sign the player after he failed to impress on trial, and initial contract talks were held with Patrick Kisnorbo, before he eventually joined Leeds United. There were also trials given to ex-Stoke City youngster Mark Grocott, Berwick Rangers forward Fraser McLaren and Juventus midfielder David Junior Toukam.
There were also links with Crewe Alexandra's John Brayford, Rangers midfielder Charlie Adam, Blackburn goalkeeper Frank Fielding and Charlton Athletic's Nicky Bailey.
August Derby kicked off the 2009–10 season with a home match against newly promoted Peterborough United. Three players, Dean Moxey, Lee Croft and Jake Buxton, made their full debuts, with a fourth, Ben Pringle, coming on as a substitute. Gary Teale's 87th-minute goal sealed a 2–1 win and ensured that the club won its opening game of the season for the first time since 2002 and Robbie Savage's performance saw him named in the Championship Team of the week. The club's next three games were all away from home. A 2–1 defeat away to League Two side Rotherham United, which saw Derby exit the League Cup, a competition in which they reached the semi-finals the previous season, in the First round was followed by two league fixtures; a 3–2 defeat at Scunthorpe United, a match which saw Paul Green perform well enough to earn a pace in the Championship Team of the week, and a 0–0 draw away to Blackpool, which saw Stephen Bywater celebrate his 100th appearance for the club with his first clean sheet of the season and Robbie Savage replace Paul Connolly as team captain. The club's return to Pride Park saw them grab their second win of the season, coming from behind to beat Plymouth Argyle 2–1, Miles Addison scoring the winning goal and earning a place in the Championship team of the week. The first East Midlands derby at the season completed the opening month's fixtures, with Derby suffering their first defeat by Nottingham Forest in six years as they lost 3–2 at the City Ground. Following the match a scuffle broke out between the Derby and Forest players after Nathan Tyson celebrated in front of the Derby County support, an incident the FA said they would investigate with some "urgency", the end result of which saw both club's fined for failing to control their players and Tyson charged with improper conduct. Derby were fined £20,000, of which £10,000 was suspended, and ordered to pay £400 costs, Nottingham Forest were fined £25,000, of which £10,000 was suspended, and ordered to pay £1,200 costs and Tyson was fined £5,000 and given a two-match ban and ordered to pay £400 costs.
Away from the pitch, Clough continued to restructure the club's playing staff. Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jake Livermore was brought in on an initial one-month loan, which was extended to the end of the year. He was joined by Leicester City's Paul Dickov, who also signed on loan until 1 January 2010. Southend United's young midfielder Medi Abalimba was signed for an undisclosed fee after a successful trial spell and former West Ham United goalkeeper Jimmy Walker was also taken on trial. These additions saw the contracts of Roy Carroll, Claude Davis and Martin Albrechtsen cancelled by mutual consent. Luke Varney was also sent out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday for a second time, this time for four months. A blow was dealt when Chris Porter was ruled out until Christmas after having surgery on his hip, though his strike partner Rob Hulse committed his future to the club in the face of speculation of an imminent £5m bid from Middlesbrough.
Financially, the club announced that it had cut £400,000 off of the amount paid to player's agents for the first six months of 2009 in comparison to the same period at the end of 2008 and had reduced its debt to just the £15m mortgage on Pride Park Stadium, down from a £31m debt 18 months previously.
September The summer Transfer deadline day on 1 September saw Derby make just one move in the market, as Jordan Stewart moved to Sheffield United in part exchange for Lee Hendrie. There was also interest in other Derby players, with Ipswich Town making a bid for Paul Connolly which was rejected and Rob Hulse the subject of a £4m+ bid from Middlesbrough. Hulse rejected the opportunity to move, citing his fondness for club as the reason. It was later revealed that, had the deal gone through, Derby had set up a loan move for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Sam Vokes as a replacement. An additional striker was eventually brought into the club with the loan signing of Everton youngster James Vaughan until January 2010 on 18 September. Derby increased their defensive options towards the end of the month with the addition of Swedish International right back Fredrik Stoor, who joined on an initial months loan from Premiership side Fulham and Clough revealed the club still has an active interest in young Blackburn goalkeeper Frank Fielding and would make a fresh approach in the January transfer window. Youngsters Greg Mills and Jermaine Johnson also moved out on loan to Solihull Moors and Stafford Rangers respectively.
On the pitch, the club's poor run of results continued as four of the month's five fixtures ended in defeat, including a 6–1 mauling at Cardiff City. The only win came courtesy of an 85th-minute goal from Gary Teale, his third of the season, in a 1–0 home win over Bristol City, a match which saw Dean Moxey perform well enough to feature in the Championship Team of the week. The run coincided with a number of injuries to key first team personnel including Kris Commons, Stephen Pearson, Paul Green and Steve Davies.