The new season is upon us, and yet Derby County fans remain impatient. Alongside the usual mix of tension and excitement that accompanies the start of a new campaign, there is a rather large elephant in the room. That being the pending investment from Saudi government official and billionaire boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh. Four years on from David Clowes’ reluctant act of heroism, this has potential to be a season that is most consequential, as the lifelong fan hands over

That’s a wrap on the 2026 Derby County reunion tour. But whether in the presence of Jake Buxton, Nigel Clough, or as at the AESSEAL New York Stadium, Rotherham United technical director Steve McClaren, The Rams’ performances haven’t exactly been vintage. Though, in fairness, that is not the point of pre-season friendlies. They are simply the warmup gigs. The opportunity to tweak the set list, fine tune the staging or test out new equipment. Finding the optimum set-up takes

Many boxing fans have long praised prospective Derby investor Turki Alalshikh for making huge fights happen. While many of the Pride Park faithful are hoping for a similarly big impact, head coach John Eustace seems more cautious. In his first media interview of the season, Eustace spoke to BBC Radio Derby after Saturday’s 1-0 Bass Charity Vase defeat to Burton Albion. He said: “Obviously I’ve spoken to the club and they’ve mentioned that there is a takeover, but I think

It may soon be known as the Liam Thompson Derby, but this was apprentice versus master. In the first of two games in 24 hours, John Eustace took on the man who brought him to Pride Park twice, Nigel Clough. The former Rams boss has transformed Mansfield Town into a stable League One side, now sporting a strike partnership which Paul Warne likely dreams of: 2022-23 Rams player of the year David McGoldrick, and perennial target Michael Smith. Thompson was nowhere to be seen

Friendly, what friendly? After a quick glance at the surroundings, it was easy to see why Bundesliga outfit SC Freiburg have adopted the Austrian town of Imst as their pre-season base for two decades. But neither they, nor Derby were there to relax. Among the idyllic coniferous trees and mountains, there was more than a fitting amount of needle. As Julian Schuster’s side took to the pitch for the first time since their Europa League final defeat in May, you wondered if Cr

If Filip Bilbija turns out to be as hard to mark as he is to categorise, Derby County will have a player on their hands. The Rams have described their third summer signing in an abundance of ways. As a ‘midfielder’, an ‘AM’ or attacking midfielder, and a ‘versatile attacker’ capable of playing as a ‘wide man, and as the focal point of the frontline’. But this is not a case of crossed wires in the scouting department, or editorial mix-ups.

The Rams got their pre-season started on a glorious evening in Derbyshire (Photo: Archie Brown). From Argentina to Alfreton. The Atlanta Stadium to the Solana. England may be out of the World Cup (who cares about the third-place play-off?) but Derby County are back. First half goals from Joe Ward and Bobby Clark saw Derby through, and fortunately, they didn’t unfurl a banner claiming ownership of the Amber Valley town. This was professional football at the other end of th

Bearing down on goal, Bobby Clark takes a subtle touch to take the ball away from Middlesbrough’s Matt Targett. With Lars-Jørgen Salvesen having leapt out of the way, Clark lines up his shot and drills it low past Sol Brynn. A first league goal to start 2026 with a win. A moment of magic from the midfielder that decided a gritty, backs-to-the-wall display. Clark was billed as a creator, a playmaker, a technician. He is all of those things but also showed more grit and det

How do you sum up the past nine months in one article? It’s a near impossible job. So instead, let me take you back to the seven games, over five weeks (what’s a few days for the purpose of a headline?) that encompassed the lowest point, some of the highest points, and key themes of the men’s first team’s campaign. We must start, I’m afraid, at the Kassam Stadium. Derby County’s worst performance of the season. ‘Outplayed. Outbattled. Outclassed,’ I wrote, in my bluntest as

If you could bottle the feeling inside Pride Park during the opening ten minutes on Saturday for The Rams to sell, they would not be worried about the financial incentives of promotion. In stupendous sunshine, the Derby faithful rocked as John Eustace’s side flew out of the blocks against Sheffield United knowing a win and a bit of luck would be needed for a top six finish. Within sixteen seconds, Joe Ward shot low, his effort on the turn gathered by Adam Davies in net. M

In his post-match interview with Rams TV, John Eustace echoed the away end in bringing back a phrase the flock have used a lot over the past few years: “We fight to the end.” That was the sentiment four years ago, almost to the week, when the administration-stricken Rams were relegated at Loftus Road. Again, last season during The Great Escape. Even after the nightmare start to Eustace’s tenure that was the 4-0 defeat at the same ground 14 months ago. Reflecting on that g

When Jacob Widell Zetterström dived down to his left to push away Mohamed Toure’s poor penalty after eight minutes, Derby should have woken up. The opening stages had been nervy, sloppy even. The Rams’ number one had already had to dash out of his goal twice, first to beat Liam Gibbs to a loose ball, and then to clear Sondre Langås’ weak backwards header. Making his first start in nearly three months as Dion Sanderson was given a night off playing through the pain barrier

Travelling 70 yards in eight seconds, Jaydon Banel executed Derby’s only successful dribble of the first half. It was more than a dribble. Released by Sam Szmodics on the edge of his own box following an Oxford throw, the Dutchman motored majestically from coast to coast, cutting inside two defenders and drilling the ball through Myles Peart-Harris’ legs and into the bottom-left corner. It surely got the approval of his compatriot Robin van Der Laan and his former Rams

Southampton already know they’re off to Wembley, but Derby’s hopes of playing under the famous arch this season now hang by a thread. John Eustace has been keen to keep things in perspective, talking about the progress of his side – recently with a view to next season. But after defeat at St Mary’s, his frustration was palpable. “It’s too easy from the free kick, organisation [was] not good enough and we’ve got to improve on that,” he told BBC Radio Derby . Eustace was of

The flock are ¡Olé!-ing in the Easter sunshine. In cruise control, Derby are taunting Stoke as they look to see out a fifth-straight win at Pride Park for the first time since October 2019. And then the goal that Carlton Morris had so deserved. At last, an 11 th of the season, nearly four months since he previously found the net . Unlike his goal in Staffordshire , this was not just a neat bit of individual quality, but a sublime team move. Starting with Morris flicking

“We’re really excited, we’re playing against the best team in the league. We’ve got nothing to lose.” John Eustace told Sky Sports in his pre-match interview. And despite the absence of Sam Szmodics and Rhian Brewster, who will miss the rest of the season following knee surgery, adding to an already lengthy injury list, his side played like it. While this encounter may not quite have lived up to the 5-3 at Pride Park back in August , it was still utterly enthralling, with m

Spring is in the air, and there’s a spring in Derby’s step too. That’s now four straight Championship home wins for the first time since February 2021 for Derby, and the 1-0 victory over Birmingham City seemed sweeter than most for John Eustace. At Thursday’s Fan’s Forum he revealed a liking for Oasis songs. While the former Blues boss won’t look back in anger , he did find time to take subtle swipe at the Birmingham owners. Knighthead cited their desire for a ‘no fear’

Nobody enjoyed watching that. Portsmouth fans tearing their hair out. Derby fans biting their nails from behind the sofa, or a padded seat in the directors’ box as it was for the suspended John Eustace. Perhaps it was predictable that a game some fans billed as a battle of Rams skippers past and present would be ugly and marred by bookings. Neither Ebou Adams nor Lewis Travis are known for their playmaking prowess. Adams' second-minute shove on his armband-sporting successor

Sometimes the written word alone is not enough to adequately express frustration. Take the ‘enraged face’ emoji which accompanied the Derby County tweet when Patrick Agyemang’s 94 th -minute effort struck the post. The ball just would not go in. It should have been the perfect crescendo to the final 25 minutes, where Eustace had thrown players forward to great effect. The Rams fashioning three other golden chances. First, Agyemang’s great strength to hold off Tristan Cr

"When I see Matt Clarke on the left wing, I have a bloody heart attack!” John Eustace joked to me in his post-match press conference. But potential palpitations aside, Eustace was clearly delighted as his side got their third straight home win in a game full of heart. The Rams also broke a second hoodoo in as many weeks by winning a game with the majority of the ball (55 per cent possession) to move within three points of the top six. South American football expert Tim Vick