1974–75 Derby County F.C. season

Derby County
1974–75 season
Chairman	Sam Longson
Manager	Dave Mackay
Stadium	Baseball Ground
First Division	Winners ; (In 1975-76 European Cup)
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Third round
UEFA Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Bruce Rioch (15); All: ; Kevin Hector (21)
Highest home attendance	38,000 v Carlisle United; (26 April 1975)
Lowest home attendance	17,716 v Servette FC ; (18 September 1974)
Average home league attendance	26,719
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1973–74 1975–76 →

The 1974–75 season was Derby County's 75th in the Football League and their 48th season in the top flight. They won their second league title in four years to qualify for the 1975–76 European Cup.

Season review

Whereas Brian Clough built his 1971–72 Championship winning team on discipline and a solid defence, Dave Mackay's 1974–75 side relied on attacking power to overwhelm its opponents. Midfielder Bruce Rioch bagged 15 goals to finish as the club's top league scorer, and the front three of Kevin Hector, Francis Lee and Roger Davies all contributed 12 or more. In March, Davies scored all the goals in a 5–0 win over Luton Town, becoming the first Derby player to net five times in a match since Hughie Gallacher in 1934. The Rams also put five past Queens Park Rangers and Burnley to finish the season as the league's leading scorers, though such abandon often left the side defensively frail and there were several heavy defeats along the way.

The season started in worrying fashion, with just one win in the club's opening seven fixtures, and despite a brief rally of six wins in 10 between September and November, a 1–0 defeat at Luton just before Christmas 1974 left them in 10th place. However, a run of just three defeats in their last 20 games, which saw them take 30 points from a possible 40, helped Derby surge up the table. A 0–0 draw away to Leicester City on the penultimate Saturday, combined with Ipswich Town drawing at Manchester City a few days later, confirmed the Rams as champions for the second time in four years.

Derby County First XI: 1974–75

Although domestic cup progress was limited (reaching the third round of the League Cup and the fifth round of the FA Cup), Derby's UEFA Cup debut proved relatively fruitful. A 6–2 aggregate victory over Servette FC was followed by a 4–4 aggregate draw with Atlético Madrid in the second round, both ties finishing 2–2. As a result, Derby took part in the club's first ever penalty shootout and overcame their opponents, winning 7–6. However, that was to be as good as it got for the Rams as Velež Mostar were able to overturn a 3–1 first league deficit to win 5–4 on aggregate and reach the quarter-finals.

Peter Daniel won the club's Player of the Season award after stepping in for Roy McFarland, who suffered an Achilles tendon injury whilst on international duty and missed all but the last five matches. Ron Webster became only the fifth player to break 500 appearances for Derby during his appearance in the defeat at Luton, while Colin Boulton broke the club record for goalkeeping appearances during the campaign on his way to a total of 344 appearances for the club. Colin Todd received the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, the only Derby County player ever to do so.

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Colin Boulton
—	GK	ENG	Graham Moseley
—	DF	ENG	Peter Daniel
—	DF	ENG	Roy McFarland
—	DF	ENG	David Nish
—	DF	WAL	Rod Thomas
—	DF	ENG	Colin Todd
—	DF	ENG	Ron Webster
—	MF	SCO	Archie Gemmill (Captain)
—	MF	ENG	Alan Hinton
—	MF	SCO	Jeff King


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Henry Newton
—	MF	ENG	Steve Powell
—	MF	SCO	Bruce Rioch
—	FW	ENG	Jeff Bourne
—	FW	SCO	Eric Carruthers
—	FW	ENG	Roger Davies
—	FW	EIR	Chris Egan
—	FW	ENG	Kevin Hector
—	FW	ENG	Francis Lee
—	FW	ENG	John Sims

Transfers

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
FW	Francis Lee	Manchester City

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
MF	John McGovern	Leeds United
FW	John O'Hare	Leeds United
DF	Jim Walker	Brighton and Hove Albion
FW	John Sims	Oxford United	loan

Competitions

Division One

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Derby County (C)	42	21	11	10	67	49	1.367	53	Qualification for the European Cup first round
2	Liverpool	42	20	11	11	60	39	1.538	51	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3	Ipswich Town	42	23	5	14	66	44	1.500	51
4	Everton	42	16	18	8	56	42	1.333	50
5	Stoke City	42	17	15	10	64	48	1.333	49

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H
Result	D	D	W	D	L	D	L	W	W	D	D	W	W	L	L	W	W	L	W	P	D	L	L	W	W	W	W	L	D	W	L	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	D
Position	13	15	7	4	12	11	14	10	7	8	9	5	5	7	7	7	5	10	6	7	8	9	10	10	9	7	5	8	9	7	8	7	3	6	7	6	5	3	4	1	1	1	1

Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; = Leader, 1975–76 European Cup; = Classified to 1975–76 UEFA Cup; = Relegation to 1975–76 Division Two

Matches

17 August 1974 1	Everton	0–0	Derby County	Walton
		13		Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 42,193

21 August 1974 2	Derby County	1–1	Coventry City	Derby
	Lee 68'	15	21' Mortimer	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 25,717

24 August 1974 3	Derby County	2–0	Sheffield United	Derby
	Hector 4' Davies 76'	7		Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 23,088

27 August 1974 4	Coventry City	1–1	Derby County	Coventry
	Carr 77'	4	20' Davies	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 18,586

31 August 1974 5	Tottenham Hotspur	2–0	Derby County	Tottenham
	Ritchie 46', 59'	12		Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 20,770

7 September 1974 6	Derby County	2–2	Newcastle United	Derby
	Davies 42' Lee 51'	11	29' Macdonald 61' Burns	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 21,197

14 September 1974 7	Birmingham City	3–2	Derby County	Birmingham
15:00	Hatton 28' Francis 64' (pen) 79' (pen)	14	84' Rioch 87' Davies	Stadium: St. Andrews Attendance: 27,345

21 September 1974 8	Derby County	3–2	Burnley	Derby
	Hector 46' Rioch 55 ' (pen) Lee 65'	10	19' (o.g.) Todd 89' (o.g.) Daniel	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 21,377

25 September 1974 9	Derby County	4–1	Chelsea	Derby
19:30 BST	Rioch 10' Webster 24' Daniel 35' Hector 86'	7	14' Hutchinson	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 22,036 Referee: Ken H Burns

28 September 1974 10	Stoke City	1–1	Derby County	Stoke-on-Trent
	Hurst 87'	8	75' Lee	Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 23,589

5 October 1974 11	West Ham United	2–2	Derby County	Upton Park
	Robson 8' Bonds 59'	9	29' Lee 80' Hector	Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 32,900

12 October 1974 12	Derby County	1–0	Leicester City	Derby
	Rioch 39'	5		Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 24,753

15 October 1974 13	Sheffield United	1–2	Derby County	Sheffield
		5	Lee ,	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 21,882

19 October 1974 14	Carlisle United	3–0	Derby County	Carlisle
	Train 42' Martin 65' Clarke 69'	7		Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 13,353

26 October 1974 15	Derby County	2–3	Middlesbrough	Derby
	Lee 36' Hinton 69'	7	10' Hickton 35' Foggon 46' Mills	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 24,036

2 November 1974 16	Leeds United	1–0	Derby County	Leeds
		7	78' Lee	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 33,551

9 November 1974 17	Derby County	5–2	Queens Park Rangers	Derby
	Hector 31' Rioch 34' Hector 54' Hector 66' Lee 72'	5	44' Leach 88' Bowles	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 23,339

16 November 1974 18	Arsenal	3–1	Derby County	London
	Ball 52' Kidd 72' Ball 79' (pen)	10	75' (pen) Rioch	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 32,286

23 November 1974 19	Derby County	2–0	Ipswich Town	Derby
	Hector Rioch	6		Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 24,341

30 November 1974 20	Derby County	suspd.	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Derby
				Stadium: Baseball Ground
Note: Suspended because of a waterlogged pitch.

7 December 1974 21	Liverpool	2–2	Derby County	Liverpool
	Kennedy 18' Heighway 22'	8	13' Bourne 63' Davies	Stadium: Anfield Road Attendance: 41,058

14 December 1974 22	Derby County	0–1	Everton	Derby
		9	66' Latchford	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 24,991

21 December 1974 23	Luton Town	0–1	Derby County	Luton
	J Ryan 61' (pen)	10		Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 12,862

26 December 1974 24	Derby County	2–1	Birmingham City	Derby
	Bourne 38' Rioch 65'	10	87' Hatton	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 26,121

28 December 1974 25	Manchester City	2–1	Derby County	Moss Side
	Bell 64'	9	21' Newton 65' Lee	Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 40,188

11 January 1975 26	Derby County	2–0	Liverpool	Derby
	Newton 39' Lee 80'	7		Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 33,463

18 January 1975 27	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0–1	Derby County	Wolverhampton
15:00		5	32' Newton	Stadium: Molineux Attendance: 24,515

1 February 1975 28	Queens Park Rangers	4–1	Derby County	Shepherd's Bush
	Givens 10' Givens 80' Thomas 87' Givens 89'	8	3' Rioch	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 20,686

8 February 1975 29	Derby County	0–0	Leeds United	Derby
		9		Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 33,641

22 February 1975 30	Derby County	2–1	Arsenal	Derby
	Powell 2' Powell 28'	7	23' Radford	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 24,002

25 February 1975 31	Ipswich Town	3–0	Derby County	Ipswich
		8		Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 23,078

1 March 1975 32	Derby County	3–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Derby
	Rioch 30' Daniel 37' Davies 67'	7	11' Jones	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 23,000

8 March 1975 33	Chelsea	1–2	Derby County	Fulham
15:00 Greenwich Mean Time	Hollins 62'	3	58' Daniel 61' Hinton	Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 22,644 Referee: Donald Biddle

15 March 1975 34	Derby County	1–2	Stoke City	Derby
	49'Hector	6	75' Greenhoff 89' Greenhoff	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 29,985

22 March 1975 35	Newcastle United	0–2	Derby County	Newcastle Upon Tyne
		7	16' Nish 87' Rioch	Stadium: St. James' Park Attendance: 31,010

29 March 1975 36	Derby County	5–0	Luton Town	Derby
	Davies 7' Davies 11' Davies 32' Davies 78' Davies 86'	6		Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 24,619

31 March 1975 37	Burnley	2–5	Derby County	Burnley
	Hankin 18' James 66' (pen)	5	1' Rioch 20' Nish 29' Davies 78', 89' Hector	Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 24,276

1 April 1975 38	Derby County	2–1	Manchester City	Derby
	Rioch Rioch	3		Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 32,966

5 April 1975 39	Middlesbrough	1–1	Derby County	Middlesbrough
	Mills 34'	4	90' Hector	Stadium: Riverside Attendance: 30,066

9 April 1975 20	Derby County	1–0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Derby
	Lee 68'	1		Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 30,109 Referee: J Benet
Note: Originally scheduled for 30th November but was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.

12 April 1975 40	Derby County	1–0	West Ham United	Derby
	Rioch 66'	1		Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 31,336

19 April 1975 41	Leicester City	0–0	Derby County	Leicester
15:00 Greenwich Mean Time		1		Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 38,943

26 April 1975 42	Derby County	0–0	Carlisle United	Derby
		1		Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 38,000

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
11 September 1974	Second round	Portsmouth	A	5–1	Hector 2, Lee, Rioch, Roberts (og)	13,582
8 October 1974	Third round	Southampton	A	0–5		14,911

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
4 January 1975	Third round	Orient	A	2–2	Todd 2	12,490
8 January 1975	Third round replay	Orient	H	2–1	Lee, Rioch	26,501
27 January 1975	Fourth round	Bristol Rovers	H	2–0	Hector, Rioch (pen)	27,980
18 February 1975	Fifth round	Leeds United	H	0–1		35,298

UEFA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
18 September 1974	First round 1st Leg	Servette FC	H	4–1	Hector 2, Daniel, Lee	17,716
2 October 1974	First round 2nd Leg	Servette FC	A	2–1	Lee, Hector	9,600
Derby County win 6–2 on aggregate
23 October 1974	Second round 1st Leg	Atlético Madrid	H	2–2	Nish, Rioch (pen)	29,347
6 November 1974	Second round 2nd Leg	Atlético Madrid	A	2–2 (aet)	Rioch, Hector	35,000
4–4 on aggregate, Derby County win 7–6 on penalties
27 November 1974	Third round 1st Leg	Velež Mostar	H	3–1	Bourne 2, Hinton	26,131
11 December 1974	Third round 2nd Leg	Velež Mostar	A	1–4	Hector	15,000
Velež Mostar win 5–4 on aggregate

Statistics

Players statistics

Substitute appearances indicated in brackets

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Football League Division One		Football League Cup		UEFA Cup		FA Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ENG	Colin Boulton	54	0	42	0	2	0	6	0	4	0
	DF	ENG	Ron Webster	34	1	24	1	2	0	6	0	2	0
	DF	ENG	Peter Daniel	49	4	37	3	2	0	6	1	4	0
	DF	ENG	Colin Todd	50	2	39	0	2	0	5	0	4	2
	DF	ENG	David Nish	49	3	38	2	2	0	5	1	4	0
	MF	SCO	Bruce Rioch	54	20	42	15	2	1	6	2	4	2
	MF	SCO	Archie Gemmill	52	0	41	0	2	0	6	0	3	0
	MF	ENG	Henry Newton	48	3	35+1	3	1+1	0	6	0	4	0
	FW	ENG	Roger Davies	49	12	39+1	12	2	0	2+1	0	3+1	0
	FW	ENG	Kevin Hector	48	21	38	13	2	2	6	5	2	1
	FW	ENG	Francis Lee	46	16	34	12	2	1	6	2	4	1
	GK	ENG	Graham Moseley	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	WAL	Rod Thomas	25	0	22	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
	MF	ENG	Steve Powell	18	2	12+3	2	1	0	1	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Alan Hinton	19	3	8+5	2	0	0	0+4	1	0+2	0
	FW	ENG	Jeff Bourne	27	4	7+10	2	0+1	0	4+1	2	3+1	0
	DF	ENG	Roy McFarland	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Jeff King	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	SCO	Eric Carruthers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	EIR	Chris Egan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	John Sims	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

References

Results database from Soccerbase