Derby County
Player of the Year

It started in 1969 when Roy McFarland, arguably the greatest defender in the history of Derby County, was crowned the club’s first Player of the Year.

Derby County’s supporters voted themselves Player of the Year in 2008, following on from Steve Howard, hero of the fans in 2007 as the Rams marched back into the Premier League.

The parallels are intriguing. Back in ’69 an outspoken genius of a manager, Brian Clough, dragged Derby County out of the doldrums to win promotion to the top flight of English football for the first time in 16 years.

In 2007 another firebrand boss, Billy Davies, achieved a similar miracle with a club that had flirted with relegation the previous season.

This book features every single Player of the Year since 1969, giving an insight into the managers and personalities that have made Derby County irresistible through years that have included two Championship wins, famous European adventures… and a few disasters along the way too.

From McFarland, O’Hare, Mackay, Todd and Hector, through Buckley, Gemmill, Davison, Saunders and McMinn, to Gabbiadini, Yates, Poom, Idiakez and Howard…they are all here, the Rams stars voted as the best by fans throughout almost 40 years of football at the Baseball Ground and Pride Park.

This is a must-have for any Rams fan!

About the Author

Jim Fearn was born in Derbyshire and educated at the Ernest Bailey Grammar School in Matlock before training as a journalist.

After editing newspaper and magazine titles in the county, he was appointed press officer at Derby County Football Club in the summer of 1995, just in time to get aboard a roller coaster ride that took the Rams to the Premier League for the first time and saw the building of the magnificent new Pride Park Stadium.

A Derby County fan from his earliest years, he has written, edited and narrated numerous club videos and co-authored books on the Baseball Ground and Pride Park. Jim also played a major role in the organisation of two massive Pride Park events: the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebration and the memorial service for Rams legend Brian Clough.

He left the club in May 2008, a year after representing the Rams as the guest announcer on the new Wembley pitch before the most memorable Derby County day in recent history, the Play-off Final victory over West Bromwich Albion.

With 250 illustrations on 192 pages, Derby County Player of the Year is available now from Waterstones, W.H. Smith and Breedon Books priced £14.99.