The Cox years

[The Ram]

I can remember going to Anfield in the first season in Div 1 under Cox. We lost 4-0 but kept the Kop quiet, it is still a vivid memory I was 11yrs old.

We highjacked their song chanted to them "You'll Never Work Again, Sign On Sign On" then we chanted "4-0 4-0". We sang from the moment we went into the ground until about 30 mins after the game as the rule then was to keep away fans in ground until the home fans had left. The best memory was the Old Sergeant Copper wearing the old black drench coat with a massive night stick looking like a sergeant major. We started shouting "You Fat B*stard, You Fat B*stard". His reaction was to laugh and use hisnight stick like a conducter. That for me was the best night away game I have been to watching the like of Barnes and Co.

Brilliant

I remember that game very well, a night game if its the same one ,and we sang all night like you said.

I drove up from Harlow for that and drove back same night as I was at work again 5am!

[Smalley Ram]

Paul Hooks, Jossy!

I seem to remember that when Cox took over the club there were only 8 full-time proffessionals on the books and from memory they included:

Bobby Davison

John Robertson

Yosser Burns (maybe he was out of contract and was signed up again)

Steve Powell

Kevin Wilson

Can't think who the others were - maybe Dick Pratley?

The job that Cox did with virtually no money was incredible I think his first signings were:

Charlie Palmer

Rob Hindmarsh

Steve McLaren

Ross Maclaren

Eric Steele

All free transfers I think

[Saunders89]

I seem to remember that when Cox took over the club there were only 8 full-time proffessionals on the books and from memory they included:

Bobby Davison

John Robertson

Yosser Burns (maybe he was out of contract and was signed up again)

Steve Powell

Kevin Wilson

Can't think who the others were - maybe Dick Pratley?

The job that Cox did with virtually no money was incredible I think his first signings were:

Charlie Palmer

Rob Hindmarsh

Steve McLaren

Ross Maclaren

Eric Steele

All free transfers I think

Who signed Steve Biggins?, was that Arthur too or was it a Taylor signing?, can't remember

[wittgenstein]

I seem to remember that when Cox took over the club there were only 8 full-time proffessionals on the books and from memory they included:

Bobby Davison

John Robertson

Yosser Burns (maybe he was out of contract and was signed up again)

Steve Powell

Kevin Wilson

Can't think who the others were - maybe Dick Pratley?

The job that Cox did with virtually no money was incredible I think his first signings were:

Charlie Palmer

Rob Hindmarsh

Steve McLaren

Ross Maclaren

Eric Steele

All free transfers I think

I'm not sure those were his first signings. What about Floyd Streete and Jeff Chandler? I think he also had Steve Buckley and Paul Blades on the existing playing staff, maybe people like Graham Harbey and Paul Hookes as well. I can't remeber who signed Steve Biggins either, its the first time I've heard his name for about 25 years!

[Smalley Ram]

I'm not sure those were his first signings. What about Floyd Streete and Jeff Chandler? I think he also had Steve Buckley and Paul Blades on the existing playing staff, maybe people like Graham Harbey and Paul Hookes as well. I can't remeber who signed Steve Biggins either, its the first time I've heard his name for about 25 years!

Bucko of course (damn my memory) and Andy Garner. Paul Blades I think was only a youth player along with Neil Bailey (anyone remember him?). Can't remember if Hooks and Harbey were Cox signings or already here. I could be less lazy and dig out my old programmes from the time but that means going upstairs. I'm sure Floyd came along later in the summer or even after the start of the season. Jeff Chandler came in later in the season as we had dear old Robbo for much of the first half of that first season. Cox definitely signed Biggins but we were into the season when he came (November sticks in my mind for some reason).

I do remember a lot of players coming in that first season and always rushing home from school to read the news in the Derby Evening Telegraph and to this day I can still feel the dismay at reading the Kevin Wilson had been sold to Ipswich for £150k (huge money back then of course).

[RotherhamRam]

I remember that game very well, a night game if its the same one ,and we sang all night like you said.

I drove up from Harlow for that and drove back same night as I was at work again 5am!

That is the one. Spoke to a Liverpool fan who we gave a lift up to. In a little Maxi there was My Dad/mum/their friend and his son and me and my brother. They were in the KOP and said it was brilliant the only time the KOP kept quiet. If I remember rightly it was Kenny Daglish was the manager and the season after I went again and we got a mention in the managers comments about the atmosphere and support we gave as they thought it was outstanding.

We never stood a chance with that Liverpool team (their real last best team) but I would not have missed that night for the world

[Saunders89]

Bucko of course (damn my memory) and Andy Garner. Paul Blades I think was only a youth player along with Neil Bailey (anyone remember him?). Can't remember if Hooks and Harbey were Cox signings or already here. I could be less lazy and dig out my old programmes from the time but that means going upstairs. I'm sure Floyd came along later in the summer or even after the start of the season. Jeff Chandler came in later in the season as we had dear old Robbo for much of the first half of that first season. Cox definitely signed Biggins but we were into the season when he came (November sticks in my mind for some reason).

I do remember a lot of players coming in that first season and always rushing home from school to read the news in the Derby Evening Telegraph and to this day I can still feel the dismay at reading the Kevin Wilson had been sold to Ipswich for £150k (huge money back then of course).

Trawlling through the internet i found this page, it says Paul Blades debut was v dirty Leeds on 18th Sept 1982, it quite surprised me really, thought his debut came a few years later, totally forgot about John Barton, though i'm quite sure he'd left by Arthur's tenure, some good pics on this....

http://www.ozwhitelufc.net.au/18-09-1982%20LUFC%20v%20Derby%20County.htm

[The Ram]

That is the one. Spoke to a Liverpool fan who we gave a lift up to. In a little Maxi there was My Dad/mum/their friend and his son and me and my brother. They were in the KOP and said it was brilliant the only time the KOP kept quiet. If I remember rightly it was Kenny Daglish was the manager and the season after I went again and we got a mention in the managers comments about the atmosphere and support we gave as they thought it was outstanding.

We never stood a chance with that Liverpool team (their real last best team) but I would not have missed that night for the world

We were in the corner section of the ground if I rememebr right (a bit like the North Stand/East Stand as it is at PPS if you know what I mean) must have been 3,000 of us singing none stop. Football wise, Liverpool were just too good for us, made us look slow although we played quite well. Seem to recall Mel Sage getting ran ragged by John Barnes but not giving up, and Shilton making a couple of world class saves. Great memories!

[uttoxram75]

Trawlling through the internet i found this page, it says Paul Blades debut was v dirty Leeds on 18th Sept 1982, it quite surprised me really, thought his debut came a few years later, totally forgot about John Barton, though i'm quite sure he'd left by Arthur's tenure, some good pics on this....

http://www.ozwhitelufc.net.au/18-09-1982 LUFC v Derby County.htm

good read that Deano, brought back some hidden nightmares though, Skivington, Brolly, Emson, Leeds v Derby 16,000! Take Steve Buckley and (possibly) Kevin Wilson out of that team and its up there with one of the worst DCFC teams ever!

IIRC, despite the small crowd, there was one hell of a fight along Elland Road after that game. Without checking, I think the return fixture that season was the famous battle when the Leeds scum threw the old wooden seats down on the Ossie Enders. That deserves a thread on its own!

[Smalley Ram]

good read that Deano, brought back some hidden nightmares though, Skivington, Brolly, Emson, Leeds v Derby 16,000! Take Steve Buckley and (possibly) Kevin Wilson out of that team and its up there with one of the worst DCFC teams ever!

IIRC, despite the small crowd, there was one hell of a fight along Elland Road after that game. Without checking, I think the return fixture that season was the famous battle when the Leeds scum threw the old wooden seats down on the Ossie Enders. That deserves a thread on its own!

I was looking at some old programmes and noticed how much lower crowds were than nowadays. 16k would have been quite a decent crowd back then - albeit not necessarily for that fixture.

[liverpoolram]

The championship winning season under Sir Arthur was a million times better than that under Smith or King Billy.

Not particularly the style of football, just the whole vibe of the day.

And, imagine what we WOULD have done if he had just listened to his scout and signed Stevie Bull too....so close...

As I have mentioned the days out we had following the Rams then will never be beaten, some of the places we went to and tore apart, metaphorically and physically..happy days...

It was a just great time to be a teenager following your local football team on the up and up. Beating everyone in front of you, going to hell whole places and battling your way from the railway station and back again, never knowing what was round the corner.

I would give anythign to go back to that era again, you never truly appreciate how great it was until it is in your memory.

Scoring goals for Derby, Phillip Gee... OOOOOOOOOHHH Bobby Bobby...... Davison,Gregory,Mickelwhite and Phillip Gee la lalalalalalalalala.....Wally.....wallly.....We all agree that Georgey's better than Robson.....

Arthur Arthur give us a wave.......MaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacFarland............There's only one Gordon Guthrie........

Great days...our away support during that era was envied.....the BBG atmosphere.....i live in liverpool now but the locals here still remember their visits and rate it as one of the greatest grounds they visited for pure atmospheric passionate support....THE GOOD OLD DAYS....COLUMBO/POP SIDE......ARTHUR COX.....DERBY LEGEND

[Saunders89]

good read that Deano, brought back some hidden nightmares though, Skivington, Brolly, Emson, Leeds v Derby 16,000! Take Steve Buckley and (possibly) Kevin Wilson out of that team and its up there with one of the worst DCFC teams ever!

IIRC, despite the small crowd, there was one hell of a fight along Elland Road after that game. Without checking, I think the return fixture that season was the famous battle when the Leeds scum threw the old wooden seats down on the Ossie Enders. That deserves a thread on its own!

Agreed, that really was a very poor side, when you consider the sides we had 10 and 7 years prior to that, the slide down was brutal, a lot of my blame goes on the Doc, he got rid of some good players too soon, i could never understand why he sold Billy Hughes, he was having a great season for us, maybe a clash of personalities.

John Newman should never of been manager of such a prestigious club either imo, i see him a lot in Mickleover at Tesco's, i'd add Stevie Powell to Buckley and Wilson (though i think he must of been out injured for this game), he always gave 100% in a Rams shirt.

The daft thing is, the away games were so much more fun in those days even though we got beat a lot!

[Ilsonexile]

The Goddard signing shows the kind of bloke that Arthur Cox was. Goddard was at Newcastle but his family were homesick for London and he wanted a move further south. He'd agreed a deal with Liverpool and was due to sign when Cox got hold of him at the last minute and persuaded him to come to Derby instead.

The basis of him joining Derby and not Liverpool was a gentlemans agreement between Arthur & Goddard that if a London club came in for him at any point he'd be allowed to leave. Arthur kept his word despite the fact he could no doubt see his team would be far poorer without Goddard.

Another good story about Arthur is that my uncle used to run a local junior rams football team at the time. There used to be a junior rams do at the Assembly Rooms every Christmas and usually a few first teamers would turn up to sign autographs. The 87-88 event was very badly attended by the playing staff; I think only Dick Pratley, Dave Penney and Steve Cross turned up. My uncle wrote a letter to Arthur basically saying it was a disgrace that the club would let their young supporters down and that it 'wouldn't have happened in Clough's time' and that they 'shouldn't forget we paid their wages' etc.

A few days later he got a phone call from an irate Arthur who said he'd never been so insulted by a letter and demanded my uncle come down to the Baseball Ground to sort it out 'man to man' (I kid you not!). Never one to back down from confrontation, my uncle got in his car and headed down there. When he got to the ground Arthur's secretary said that he'd unfortunately had to leave at short notice because a player had just become available he was desperate to sign (turned out to be Ted McMinn) but he'd left a message saying on reflection my uncle was right in principle and that the club would sort something out.

A few weeks later the club arranged another event at the Assembly Rooms for young fans to get things signed and every single first team player attended except Shilton and Wright who were on England duty.

[Saunders89]

The Goddard signing shows the kind of bloke that Arthur Cox was. Goddard was at Newcastle but his family were homesick for London and he wanted a move further south. He'd agreed a deal with Liverpool and was due to sign when Cox got hold of him at the last minute and persuaded him to come to Derby instead.

The basis of him joining Derby and not Liverpool was a gentlemans agreement between Arthur & Goddard that if a London club came in for him at any point he'd be allowed to leave. Arthur kept his word despite the fact he could no doubt see his team would be far poorer without Goddard.

Another good story about Arthur is that my uncle used to run a local junior rams football team at the time. There used to be a junior rams do at the Assembly Rooms every Christmas and usually a few first teamers would turn up to sign autographs. The 87-88 event was very badly attended by the playing staff; I think only Dick Pratley, Dave Penney and Steve Cross turned up. My uncle wrote a letter to Arthur basically saying it was a disgrace that the club would let their young supporters down and that it 'wouldn't have happened in Clough's time' and that they 'shouldn't forget we paid their wages' etc.

A few days later he got a phone call from an irate Arthur who said he'd never been so insulted by a letter and demanded my uncle come down to the Baseball Ground to sort it out 'man to man' (I kid you not!). Never one to back down from confrontation, my uncle got in his car and headed down there. When he got to the ground Arthur's secretary said that he'd unfortunately had to leave at short notice because a player had just become available he was desperate to sign (turned out to be Ted McMinn) but he'd left a message saying on reflection my uncle was right in principle and that the club would sort something out.

A few weeks later the club arranged another event at the Assembly Rooms for young fans to get things signed and every single first team player attended except Shilton and Wright who were on England duty.

Great post, it makes you realise even more that Arthur was just as important to our history as Cloughy, Taylor, Mackay and the F.A. Cup winning team.

[wittgenstein]

Thats what I think. His achievements and contribution are not properly recognised. To this day, I am convinced that if he had been backed financially to the extent Clough was, after finishing fifth, he would have taken us on to challenge for the title and maybe even win it and equal Clough's achievements at Derby

One other thing for the Nigel Clough doubters. Not since Arthur have we had a manager so proud to be Derby manager and so committed to the club.

[Ilsonexile]

I moved house a couple of years ago and rediscovered the 1988-89 season video when we finished 5th. Fond memories; I was 14 and it was the first season me and my mates went unchaperoned for away games.

I'd forgotten just how good we were back then. Some of the football we played was out of this world. I think if we'd have actually signed the two Czechs, Callaghan & Goddard had stayed and we added another top quality centre half, that side would have challenged for the title. We were so close and unfortunately I doubt we'll ever be that close ever again.

[RotherhamRam]

I moved house a couple of years ago and rediscovered the 1988-89 season video when we finished 5th. Fond memories; I was 14 and it was the first season me and my mates went unchaperoned for away games.

I'd forgotten just how good we were back then. Some of the football we played was out of this world. I think if we'd have actually signed the two Czechs, Callaghan & Goddard had stayed and we added another top quality centre half, that side would have challenged for the title. We were so close and unfortunately I doubt we'll ever be that close ever again.

I was listening to Radio 5 the other day and I can't remember who was think it might have been Graham Taylor and for once I agreed with a comment of his. You can spend millions and buy the reputed best players in the world but still come last if they can not play together. They talked about Derby championship side along with Forest European side, he highlighted Clough played 3 or 4 players who might not have got a 1st team game elsewhere but in the teams they made the teams click. People get hung up now a days on how much a club pays for a player instead of watching himand seeing what he offers to the team. Look at Liverpool, Dalglish gave youngsters a chance in front of the players Beinitez and Hodgson brought in for millions of pounds and they paid his trust back if that team played all season like they did in the second half Arsenal would not be in top 4 and they would have been in top 2 or 3. A team well worth backing for the league next yr but they do not have players like the current top 4 but they have the right blend.

Nigel is starting to develop his squad now he has the backing and I honestly believe that he will be every bit as good as his dadd and for me as I was not born under Cloughs Snr era I would love to be part of the new Clough era.