The 2019–20 season was Derby County's twelfth consecutive season in the Championship in their 136th year in existence. Along with competing in the Championship, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup. The season covered the period from 1 July 2019 to 22 July 2020.
This season was the first for manager Phillip Cocu, after the previous manager Frank Lampard left on 4 July 2019 to become head coach at Premier League club Chelsea.
After a poor first half of the season saw Derby in 17th and just seven points clear of relegation, the arrival of Wayne Rooney saw a galvanised Derby side lose just three of their sixteen games after the New Year and just three points off the playoff positions with just five games remaining. However a run of four straight defeats - all against teams occupying the top six - ended any hopes of a third consecutive playoff campaign as they finished six points behind Swansea City in 6th. The 10th-placed finish, and a return of 64 points, was Derby's worst league performance since the 2012–13 season, when they also finished 10th but achieved just 61 points.
Review
Pre-season The Derby squad reported back for pre-season training on 1 July, with uncertainty remaining over the future over Frank Lampard, who was excused from attending training to undergo talks with Chelsea about their vacant managerial position. With speculation over Lampard's future, Phillip Cocu was installed as favourite to replace Lampard, with former Ram Darren Moore, Lincoln City's Darren Cowley, Derby Academy boss Darren Wassall, Chris Hughton and Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth also rumoured. Lampard was officially appointed as Chelsea's head coach on 4 July, after just one year at Derby and Phillip Cocu was confirmed as his replacement the next day, becoming the first foreign manager in the club's 136-year history. Following Cocu's arrival, and with the new season just a month away, Derby were given promotion odds of 11/2, putting them as ninth-favourite.
Pre-season preparations began with a 10-day training camp at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. A 2–0 victory over local USL League Two side Sarasota Metropolis was followed by a match with fellow EFL Championship side Bristol City, which was abandoned at half-time due to extreme weather conditions, with the Rams trailing 1–0. The match was rearranged for the following day and played over two, 30-minute halves, with the Derby winning 2–0. Derby returned to England to round off their pre-season preparations with a 5–2 victory at Burton Albion in the Bass Vase, and 1–0 defeats to Segunda División side Girona and Scottish Premiership side Glasgow Rangers.
Following their failure to gain promotion the previous campaign, Derby set about reshaping the squad with three first team players, former club-record signing Bradley Johnson, Nick Blackman and Jacob Butterfield, leaving the club to join Blackburn Rovers, Maccabi Tel Aviv. and Luton Town respectively. Three players joined the club, Everton midfielder Kieran Dowell and Brighton & Hove Albion defender Matthew Clarke on season-long loans, with the sole permanent signing being Arsenal's Krystian Bielik for a potential club-record fee.
August Derby started the season with a 2–1 victory away to recently relegated Huddersfield Town, with the result itself coming against a backdrop of rumours that Manchester United and England all-time leading scorer Wayne Rooney was on his way to the club on a player-coach deal. The deal was confirmed the following day, with Rooney signing a deal which would see him join the club following the end of the MLS season on a £100k-a-week deal, which would be partly subsidised by club-sponsor 32Red. The end of the transfer window on 8 August saw Derby sign Huddersfield Town goalkeeper Ben Hamer and Bristol City's Jamie Paterson on loan, with Scott Carson leaving on loan for Manchester City.
Friendlies
Pre-season In June 2019. The Rams announced their pre-season schedule.
Mid-season On 14 June 2020, ahead of the season's resumption following the enforced break during the COVID-19 pandemic, Derby County played two friendlies at Pride Park against fellow EFL Championship side Stoke City. The club had previously played an inter-squad friendly at Pride Park Stadium on 9 June 2020.
Competitions
Championship
League table
Results by matchday
Result summary
Matches On Thursday, 20 June 2019, the EFL Championship fixtures were revealed. Fixture dates and kick-off times are subject to change due to televised games.
On 13 March 2020, all professional football fixtures in the United Kingdom, including those of Derby County, were postponed until at least 3 April 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On 19 March 2020, this postponement was extended until at least 30 April 2020.
FA Cup
The third-round draw was made live on BBC Two from Etihad Stadium, Micah Richards and Tony Adams conducted the draw. Derby County were drawn away to Premier League side Crystal Palace. The fourth-round draw was made by Alex Scott and David O'Leary on Monday, 6 January.
EFL Cup
The first-round draw was made on 20 June. The second-round draw was made on 13 August 2019 following the conclusion of all but one of the first-round matches.
Statistics
Appearances and goals
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
Goal scorers
Rank No. Nat. Po. Name Championship FA Cup League Cup Total19 FWMartyn Waghorn 12001219 FWChris Martin 111012310MFTom Lawrence 100010432FWWayne Rooney 510638 MFJason Knight6006640MFLouie Sibley 5005714FWJack Marriott 210323MFDuane Holmes 210394 MFGraeme Shinnie2002102 DFAndre Wisdom01017 MFJamie Paterson100116 DFMatthew Clarke100132DFJayden Bogle 100144MFTom Huddlestone 100146DFScott Malone 100148DFLee Buchanan 001152FWMorgan Whittaker 1001Own goals 1001Total 625168
Assists record
Rank No. Nat. Po. Name Championship FA Cup League Cup Total119FWChris Martin 600637DFJayden Bogle 510633 DFCraig Forsyth 30039FWMartyn Waghorn 300310MFTom Lawrence 300323MFDuane Holmes 300332FWWayne Rooney 300387 MFJamie Paterson200217MFGeorge Evans101241MFMax Bird 200240MFLouie Sibley 2002122 DFAndre Wisdom 10018 MFKieran Dowell 100111FWFlorian Jozefzoon 100114FWJack Marriott 100125DFMax Lowe 100133DFCurtis Davies 100152FWMorgan Whittaker 1001Total 401142
Transfers
Transfers in Date Position Nationality Name From Fee 1 July 2019 DM Graeme Shinnie Free transfer 3 July 2019 CF Osazee Aghatise Undisclosed 2 August 2019 CB Krystian Bielik Undisclosed 12 August 2019 CF Jahmal Hector-Ingram Free transfer 1 January 2020 CF Wayne Rooney Undisclosed
Loans in Date from Position Nationality Name From Date until 11 July 2019 AM Kieran Dowell 3 January 2020 2 August 2019 CB Matthew Clarke 30 June 2020 8 August 2019 GK Ben Hamer 30 June 2020 8 August 2019 SS Jamie Paterson 1 January 2020 31 January 2020 CF Rushian Hepburn-Murphy 30 June 2020
Loans out Date from Position Nationality Name To Date until 8 August 2019 GK Scott Carson 30 June 2020 19 August 2019 DM George Thorne January 2020 4 September 2019 CB Max Hunt 4 January 2020 24 September 2019 AM Alex Babos October 2019 5 October 2019 GK Matthew Yates 30 June 2020 26 October 2019 GK Sam French 2 November 2019 14 November 2019 GK Sam French December 2019 20 December 2019 CF Javaun Splatt January 2020 6 January 2020 AM Jayden Mitchell-Lawson 30 June 2020 21 January 2020 GK Jonathan Mitchell 30 June 2020 30 January 2020 SS Mason Bennett 30 June 2020 31 January 2020 GK Joshua Barnes 29 February 2020
Transfers out Date Position Nationality Name To Fee 1 July 2019 CB Efe Ambrose Free agent Released 1 July 2019 CM Craig Bryson Free transfer 1 July 2019 LB Ashley Cole Retired 1 July 2019 CM Timi Elšnik Free agent Released 1 July 2019 RB Aaron Eyoma Released 1 July 2019 CB Sven Karič Released 1 July 2019 CF David Nugent Released 1 July 2019 LB Marcus Olsson Free agent Released 1 July 2019 CB Alex Pearce Released 1 July 2019 CB Fuseine Rashid Released 1 July 2019 RW Luke Thomas Undisclosed 5 July 2019 CM Bradley Johnson Free transfer 12 July 2019 DF Panashe Makokowe Undisclosed 12 July 2019 MF Adnaan Moti Undisclosed 16 July 2019 CF Liam Delap Undisclosed 18 July 2019 RW Nick Blackman Undisclosed 25 July 2019 RM Kellan Gordon Undisclosed 30 July 2019 CM Jacob Butterfield Free transfer 9 August 2019 RW Kyle McAllister Undisclosed 27 August 2019 LB Calum MacDonald Free transfer 30 October 2019 CB Richard Keogh Sacked Richard Keogh: Derby County sack captain for 'gross misconduct' - BBC Sport 10 January 2020 CB Max Hunt Undisclosed 22 January 2020 DM George Thorne Undisclosed
References