IslandExile

And Dave Mackay who, after all, won us the top division.
And, no, it wasn't all Clough's team. The great man also said Mackay was not given enough credit.
Hard act to follow Clough and, especially, to cut through the turmoil at the club.
I wasn't happy at the time - I just wanted Clough back - but, now looking back, I think Mackay did an amazing job.

Think you have forgotten Arthur Cox 🤔

Narrow it down...."an amazing opportunity elsewhere" could be anywhere away from Stoke.

His record is pretty good..

Tommy Docherty. End of conversation.

1 Tommy Docherty
2 Tommy Docherty
3 Tommy Docherty
4 Tommy Docherty
5 Tommy Docherty
6 Tommy Docherty
7 Tommy Docherty
8 Tommy Docherty
9 Tommy Docherty
10 Tommy Docherty
 

Docherty

Skeg 2nd eleven?

Narrow it down...."an amazing opportunity elsewhere" could be anywhere away from Stoke.

I think these figures are excellent but only go so far to demonstrate  the value of the academy.
This is because you also have to factor in every minute any of those players have played for the first team, where we have saved having to buy someone else in to do their job. 
Hughes and Hendrick nearly got us promoted, Bogle likewise and the value of those young lads who have kept us going on the pitch these last two seasons has been tremendous.
I know we pay them a wage, but it will probably have been modest by comparison to bought players.

Why, has he got his car keys in his trunks pocket?

This didn't quite work out.
 

Probably one of the most iconic symbols of a football ground, the turn stile, they all have them and they last for years, mainly until clubs move ground, then they are tossed to one side, so it was a privilege to become the custodian of this original Ellison surge control turnstile dating back to the start of the last century, when you think of the hundreds of thousands of Rams fans that will have passed through it, myself, my dad and my grandad being three it makes you stop and think.
it was there through everything, Bloomer, the FA Cup paraded around the ground, Clough and Taylor, Jim Smith etc, it’s a real snapshot of our clubs history and heritage.
Anyhow, it’s now fully restored in working order with brass keep plate and counter and looks resplendent,
it belongs in an official club museum so I’m going to keep on endeavouring to get one.
we have a massive Rams Heritage display at Pride Park on the 3rd and 4th June so come along.

He's been a great servant. Absolutely stellar in so many ways. I felt his time was going to come when Cocu arrived and the Academy was going to be front and centre, but alas that all spiralled out of control. When you look at our return on investment, it's been surprisingly poor, for one reason or another, and that shows the danger of putting too much faith in it.
At the moment we have Sibley, Cashin, Bird and Knight which is incredibly impresive, but given we're a third division team with a Category 1 academy you'd hope we'd have some players to show for it. Maybe Liam Delap and Kaide Gordon were the ones who got away?
We won the English league and competed well in Europe. Timi Elsnik and Jack Stretton came close. Max Lowe, Jayden Bogle, Festy Ebesole, Lee Buchanan, Dylan Williams, Luke Thomas, Farrend Rawson, Morgan Whittaker, Archie Brown, Mason Bennett, Calum Guy and Kelle Roos all hint at us producing good players but not great players. Will Hughes and Jeff Hendrick, from the early days, have reached highest without quite fulfilling their early promise. 
If there had been a better overall plan of academy to first team I think we'd have seen the real benefit and I thought Wass should one day become the first-team coach overseeing his charges, but like it all it's been nearly but not quite. We probably won't know exactly how important and how good he's been until he's gone and we see what changes. A new broom is sweeping through the club and I think that's no bad thing, plus now we're in our second season in the third tier, we really do have to cut our cloth accordingly.
But huge thanks to Darren Wassall for everything.

Stupid decision.

We’ve lost a lot of talented potential over the last couple of years due to our situation. We’ve not been able to see how they could have flourished if they’d have stayed and gained first team experience.
On the subject in hand, Wassall has done a good job and stepped in wherever we’ve needed him.
The dogs abuse he got when he replaced Mac was completely uncalled for.
He’s seen the academy through good and bad times and always done a good job. 
 
Shame to see him go and good luck to him!

http://thera.ms/wass245
 
after 14 years Darren as gone wonder if this is part of the great reset 

One of the rarest Derby County shirts, 
I have never seen a player version let alone in long sleeve ! 
It’s the Admiral Centenary away shirt from the 1984/85 season, most probably worn by Rob Hindmarch rip.
It has been kept in fantastic condition by its previous owner.
A real piece of history that captures vividly that snapshot in time of 100 years of the club.
We really need a museum at our club for everybody to share in these shirts and items that we keep finding and the great work being done by @lukeyb07 @P_T4T_R4M @dcfccollection and of course the @RamsHeritage .
There is a great display at Pride park on the 3rd and 4th June to give a taste of what could be expected come and join us.

September 1969, Cloughs team had been promoted to League One, 9 matches unbeaten, away to Fairs Cup winners  (google it young uns) Newcastle United, travelled up on the Trent buses football special, travelled back on a different bus, but more of that later, 40,000 crowd.
David Craig Mackay was unbelievable!
You could see why Clough had persuaded  the 33 year old to sign for the club.  Organising, pointing, shouting, encouraging, passing short, passing long, crunching tackles and strutting around at the back like he owned the place and that clenched fist…………..magnificent.
Anyway, Roy Mac scored the winner, the bus got smashed up and my team Derby County were top of the league! 
 
………………..happy days. 👍🐏