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1974–75 Derby County F.C. season

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[edit]

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.

McFarland

Todd

Webster

Nish

Gemmill

Rioch

Lee

Newton

Davies

Hector

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[edit]

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

Competitions[edit]

Division One[edit]

League table[edit]

Matches[edit]

League Cup[edit]

FA Cup[edit]

UEFA Cup[edit]

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[edit]

Players statistics[edit]

Substitute appearances indicated in brackets

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Division One		League Cup		UEFA Cup		FA Cup
				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

References[edit]

• Results database from Soccerbase