Pre-season Following the final day of the 2007–08 season, Jewell publicly announced his displeasure with the current squad, promising drastic changes. Within four weeks of the close of the season Derby confirmed five new signings, namely
Plymouth defender
Paul Connolly,
Doncaster midfielder
Paul Green,
Watford F.C. defender
Jordan Stewart on frees.
Watford's
Nathan Ellington joined on a season-long loan (with a view to a permanent deal). In addition to these, the club signed out of contract
Tranmere youngster
Steve Davies on 12 June 2008 on a Bosman (although as he is under 24, a tribunal fee was set at £275k, with an additional £450k based on appearances and promotion).
West Bromwich Albion's
Martin Albrechtsen joined for free on 30 June 2008, and
Stockport striker
Liam Dickinson signed for £750k on 1 July 2008.
Sheffield United striker
Rob Hulse followed for £1.75m on 21 July 2008, the same day a season long loan deal for
FC Porto and Poland international midfielder
Przemyslaw Kazmierczak was finalised. On 7 August, just two days before the start of the new season, the club completed its eleventh and twelfth signings of pre-season, in the shape of Swiss-born
Serbian U-19 international Aleksandar Prijović, who rejected a new deal with
Parma to join the club, for free and
Latvian international midfielder
Andrejs Perepļotkins on a season long loan from
Skonto FC Rīga after impressing on trial at the club. Finally, on 19 August the club signed
Dutch attacking midfielder
Nacer Barazite on loan until 31 December 2008 from
Arsenal. These thirteen signings all came in addition to Australian midfielder
Ruben Zadkovich, who was signed in March. There were also unsuccessful attempts to sign
Swansea midfielder
Ferrie Bodde and
Wigan's
Marlon King on a season-long loan. Trials were also given to former Reading winger
John Oster (who rejected the offer of a contract), Nigerian midfielder
Richard Eromoigbe (whom the club decided not to sign), Australian defender
Daniel Piorkowski (who eventually joined
Walsall) and French midfielder
Julien Sablé. (who, as with Eromoigbe, the club declined to sign) Four players were initially allowed to leave the club, with the contracts of
Michael Johnson,
Lee Holmes and
Marc Edworthy not being renewed following their completion, and
Ben Hinchcliffe's contract being terminated. club record signing
Rob Earnshaw for £2.65m to rivals Nottingham Forest less than a year after joining the club;
David Jones, who joined Wolves for £1.2m;
Craig Fagan, who returned to
Hull City for £750k and
Darren Moore, who signed for
Barnsley on a free.
Stephen Pearson was expected to move to
Birmingham but the move fell through due to Birmingham's unwillingness to sign the player while injured and Pearson rejecting a loan move. Stephen Bywater was the subject of an accepted £200k bid from
Tottenham. However, despite taking a medical, Tottenham decided not to sign Bywater. Shortly after the start of the season, these players were joined by
Eddie Lewis, whose contract was terminated by mutual consent and
Benny Feilhaber who joined
Danish side
AGF Aarhus on a free. Another, unwanted, departure came with the news of club captain
Alan Stubbs' retirement through injury on 20 August.
August The first game of the new Championship season saw nine of Jewell's summer signings make their debuts (seven starting and two as substitutes), but lost 1–0 to
Doncaster. This stretched the club's winless run to 33 matches and saw Jewell express disappointment with his players failing to cope with the pressure. Jewell finally got his first win as Derby manager (not counting an FA Cup third round penalties victory against
Sheff Wednesday in January 2008) three days later as Derby beat
Lincoln 3–1 in the
League Cup first round, with Nathan Ellington getting his first goals for the club with a hattrick. A 1–1 draw with
Bristol City four days later saw the club break the league record for longest winless streak, stretching it to 34 matches. On 14 August 2008 the club finally announced the extent of the club's debt after several months of speculation. The club's new chairman, Andrew Appleby, announced that upon arrival at the club in January 2008, Derby were £31m in debt. This had been reduced by £6m to £25m in the first six months of the new boards tenure, with the aim to reduce it by a further £10m by August 2009, leaving Derby with only the £15m mortgage on the
Pride Park Stadium to repay. It was also announced that £10.4m of the 2008–09 season's £11.5m parachute payment has already been spent on players bought the previous summer. These players (such as
Kenny Miller and
Claude Davis) had still not completely been paid for, with Chairman of Football
Adam Pearson stating that "We’ve (Derby County) still got to find £3m this month for Claude Davis, Kenny Miller, David Jones and Benny Feilhaber – so that's another significant investment." Jewell responded, saying that Mears will never play for the club again whilst he is in charge. Following the trial, the clubs agreed that Mears would go on loan to Marseille for the duration of the 2008–09 season, for a loan fee of £160,000, with the French club having the option to buy him for £1.5m at the end of the loan.
September Following the two-week break for international fixtures, Derby's next match was against
Sheffield United. The game generated much media coverage as it was approaching a year since Derby's last league win, a run which saw the club break the English league record for most matches without a win. On 13 September 2008, four days short of the anniversary of the 1–0 win over
Newcastle, Rob Hulse scored against his former club as Derby ran out 2–1 winners, earning Paul Jewell his first league win as Derby boss at his 27th attempt. The win sparked an upturn in the club's fortunes and Derby went the whole of September undefeated, including the club's first away win in 18 months with a 2–0 success away to
Q.P.R. and a draw at home to league leaders
Birmingham City. The form of defender
Martin Albrechtsen saw him nominated for the Championship Player of the Month award, though he lost out to
Reading's
Kevin Doyle.
October Derby's undefeated run was stretched to six games after a 2–1 win away to
Norwich City, which saw
Nathan Ellington get his first league goal for the club with an 85th-minute winner. The win meant that Derby had earned more points in six matches than in the whole of the
previous season and put them within two points of a play-off place going into the international break. Returning from the international break, The Rams continued their run, taking it to seven games, by beating Plymouth Argyle 2–1 at home. A 3–2 defeat away to
Blackpool ended the club's unbeaten streak, but the Rams recovered to earn a point at
Coventry City and beat Norwich for the second time in a month, winning 3–1 at home with a performance Paul Jewell described as "Our best yet".
Rob Hulse's form during October saw him awarded the Championship Player of the Month award, after he scored four goals in five games, while Paul Jewell earned his first
Championship Manager of the Month nomination as Derby boss, though he eventually lost out to
Cardiff City's
Dave Jones.
November November started with the return of the
East Midlands derby against
Nottingham Forest to the fixture list, following a three-year absence. The match ended as a 1–1 draw after referee
Stuart Attwell disallowed two Derby goals in the final few minutes. Atwell also booked eight players and issued a straight red card to Forest midfielder
Lewis McGugan. Jewell was especially vocal in his dismay at Attwell's performance, accusing the 25-year-old official of 'losing control' of the game and 'robbing' the Rams of a victory. The press furore around his display saw Attwell called in for a meeting with Referee's Chief
Keith Hackett and was consequently axed from the following week's fixture list. Days after the game Derby manager
Paul Jewell said that a member of
the Football Association had contacted him and told him that the second goal should have stood. The Attwell controversy overshadowed Derby's run of only one defeat in 11 and their retention of the
Brian Clough Trophy. It also stretched Derby's unbeaten streak against Forest to five, having lost just once to their rivals in the last 11 meetings. Following the Forest game however, Derby's form began to stutter – despite two wins over
League One clubs
Brighton & Hove Albion (4–1) and
Leeds United (2–1) in the
League Cup, taking Derby to their first quarter-final in the competition since 1989, Derby won just one of their next four league games, a 3–0 win over
Sheffield Wednesday that gave them their biggest league win since a 5–1 win over
Colchester United in May 2007. The club's dip in form saw Jewell making vocal his desire to bring fresh legs and impetus into a squad being hit by injuries and a busy fixture list, whilst assistant manager Chris Hutchings called for greater 'consistency'. Despite the club's disappointing form they remained in contention for the play-offs. The last week of November proved to be a busy one as the club signed former
Southampton defender
Darren Powell on a free transfer and brought in
West Ham United youngster
James Tomkins and
Charlton Athletic's
Luke Varney in on loan, with Andy Todd, Liam Dickinson, Jay McEveley and Mitchell Hanson going out on loan to Northampton, Blackpool, Charlton and Notts County respectively.
December Despite these changes the club's poor form carried into December, where defeats by
Crystal Palace and
Wolves saw the club drop to 18th in the league and claims within the media that Jewell's position as manager was under threat, rumours denied by the club itself. Away from the league, a 1–0 win away to
Stoke City in the League Cup saw the club reach the semi-final of a major cup competition for the first time since the 1976 FA Cup semi-final against
Manchester United, who, ironically, the club drew to face this time around too. The league form continued to worsen, with defeats against
Preston and
Ipswich leaving the club just five points clear of relegation and, with pressure from supporters and the media increasing, Paul Jewell resigned as manager on 28 December, with assistant manager
Chris Hutchings taking over as caretaker manager. His first move was to recall
Liam Dickinson from his loan spell at
Blackpool.
January The resignation of Paul Jewell saw a raft of names being linked with Derby County, including former manager
Billy Davies ,
Paul Ince,
Nigel Clough,
Dean Saunders,
Aidy Boothroyd and
Alan Curbishley. The same day Adam Pearson announced that a shortlist of managerial candidates had been written up, with suggestions it contained caretaker manager
Chris Hutchings,
Burton Albion's
Nigel Clough,
Peterborough boss
Darren Ferguson and former Derby player
Dean Saunders, manager of
Wrexham, with Clough as the 'top target'. The same day saw Clough officially approached about the position and he was announced as Derby's new manager on 6 January 2008, bringing his backroom staff of
Gary Crosby,
Andy Garner and
Martin Taylor with him from
Burton Albion. Clough was introduced to the Derby support on 7 January, prior to the kick off of the League Cup Semi-final First Leg against
Manchester United. The match presided over by Academy Manager
David Lowe as a result of
Chris Hutchings leaving the club following Clough's appointment and
Kris Commons's 30th minute 25-yard strike was enough to give the Rams a 1–0 lead to take into the second leg. The win was their second against
Premier League opposition in the competition and put the club in the strange position of beating more Premier League teams in the 2008/09 season than the previous campaign when they had actually been in the Premier League. Clough's first game in charge was due to be
Cardiff City away in the Championship, but it was called off due to a frozen pitch. Clough also announced his intention to cut the squad as he felt it had 'too many players', with his first move being to cancel Latvian winger Andrejs Pereplotkins' loan, release defender
Darren Powell when two-month contract expired and loan out
Aleksandar Prijović,
Giles Barnes,
Lewis Price and
Claude Davis out to
Yeovil Town,
Fulham,
Luton Town and
Crystal Palace February Clough earned his first away win as Derby manager with a 3–2 win away at
Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup 4th Round replay on 4 February 2009 to book an FA Cup 5th Round tie at home to
Manchester United. The win was Derby's first win at the
City Ground since October 1971, when the club was managed by Nigel's father
Brian, and saw the club come from being 2–0 down after 15 minutes to get the win, earning the Rams the F&C Performance of The Week award. A 3–0 win away at
Plymouth Argyle the weekend after was Derby's biggest away win for seven years and saw the club leap up to 16th in the table. The Rams three match winning streak was ended when Man Utd knocked them out of a cup competition for the second time in a month as they ran out 4–1 winners in the FA Cup Fifth round. The Rams returned to winning ways with a 4–1 victory over
Blackpool and a 3–1 win away at
Nottingham Forest, their second win at their
rivals ground in a month, before a 2–1 defeat away to
Doncaster Rovers.
March The first game of March saw Chris Porter grab his first goals for the club since his move from Motherwell in a 2–2 draw at home to
Swansea City, a match in which The Rams threw away a 2–0 lead, leaving them just 5 points clear of the relegation zone, though still with games in hand on the majority of their relegation rivals due to the club's various cup successes. Despite only drawing, Clough declared the performance "the best since we have been here. " Away from the pitch, the same week saw the club take
Blackburn Rovers youngster
Josh O'Keefe on trial, with a view to a permanent move in the summer when his contract expired.,
Jordan Stewart's 25-yard strike in the October 2008 win over
Sheffield Wednesday nominated for the Football League
Mitre Goal of the Year 2008 award and key players
Miles Addison and
Paul Green seasons ended by injury. Despite these setbacks, the Rams returned to winning ways with a 2–1 victory over play off chasing
Bristol City, with Chris Porter scoring his third for the club after just 52 seconds and Rob Hulse grabbing his 15th of the campaign to seal the win just 2 minutes after Bristol City had equalised. The result meant the club had taken 16 points from the last 21 available and took the club to 15th in the table, eight points clear of the relegation places. In an attempt to soften the blow of losing Green and Addison, midfielders
John Eustace and
Barry Bannan were brought in on loan from
Watford and
Aston Villa respectively. As Clough stated he felt the club had too many strikers, strikers
Liam Dickinson (
Leeds United),
Aleksandar Prijović (
Northampton Town) and
Paris Simmons (
Lincoln City) were sent out on loan, though Simmons returned after just 4 days due to an ankle injury. The new signings could not help the Rams record a win in the months remaining fixtures, with draws against
Southampton and
Barnsley sandwiching a 2–4 defeat away to playoff chasing
Sheff Utd.
April April proved to be a difficult month for the Rams, with 4 of the first six matches of the month coming against clubs in the Top 6. Three ended in defeat – 4–1 away to
Cardiff City, 3–2 at home to
Wolves and 2–0 at home to
Reading. The club did earn a point at home to
Burnley, thanks to
Paul Connolly's 93rd-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw, but a defeat away at midtable
Crystal Palace meant that only a 1–0 victory at
Sheffield Wednesday gave Derby three points. It meant a run of only one win in 9 games, but the victory at Hillsborough did take the club over the 50 points marker set by
Clough as the target for survival. The last home game of the season against
Charlton Athletic saw Hulse presented with the
Jack Stamps Trophy for Player of the Season by 1997 winner
Chris Powell. He celebrated by hitting his 18th goal of the season as Derby won 1–0 to guarantee their Championship survival. With safety assured, Clough began to restructure the squad and backroom staff ahead of the 2009–10 season. In terms of backroom staff, Clough announced his intention to restructure the academy, appointing former Derby players
Darren Wassall and Michael Forsyth and
Wolves Academy director John Perkins to the backroom staff, to replace the departed Phil Cannon, David Lowe and Brian Burrows. In terms of playing staff it was announced that Andy Todd and Paris Simmons would not have their contracts extended, with loanees Przemyslaw Kazmierczak, Nacer Barazite and Barry Bannan returning to their clubs.
May The season ended with an experimental line-up, featuring
Rob Hulse at centre-half and
Stephen Pearson at left back, losing 3–1 away to
Watford to finish 18th in the Championship, the club's lowest league finish for three years, eight points clear of the relegation zone. The day after the match, Clough announced his intention to cut the playing staff by up to 17 players. == End of season squad ==