It’s a complex club, Derby County. “Don’t you think Derby’s weird?” Cameron Jerome asked me towards the end of our interview. He’s got a point.
Since moving to Pride Park in 1997, things have gone strange. First came relegation, subsequently followed by the potential of financial ruin. George Burley brought home, before the Amigos brought court cases. Promotion should have been a high but only led to the single worst season in the history of English football.
Next came more a period of frugality under Nigel Clough, transforming into the messiah-like turnaround under Steve McClaren. Derby can’t have nice things though and in the years since, have simply gone through the same season on repeat. That is excluding the one where they sacked the captain after a car crash involving two other drunken players and the EFL tried to sue them.
Pride: The Inside Story of Derby County, aims to get to the bottom of all of this on a season by season basis. Led by almost 60 former players, managers, officials and supporters, Pride goes within the club to provide light on those moments supporters simply didn’t get to see.
From Stefano Eranio’s sweet memories of becoming a Derby County legend to Harry Wilson’s tales of almost becoming the same, the men at the heart of the club gave up their time to help Pride come to life.
Simply, 125,000 words is probably not enough to tell the story. So I’ll be sharing insights that didn’t quite fit into the book in the run up to publication. The never before heard stories of life inside the dressing room, within the academy and out on that Pride Park pitch.
To follow all of the latest developments on Pride, head over to @PrideDCFC on Twitter and keep an eye out for more information.
Pride: The Inside Story of Derby County in the 21st Century is available to purchase from the DCFC Megastore and can be pre-ordered at all good book retailers now.
Pride 