Pre-season In a post-match interview after a 2–0 defeat at home to
Bristol City on 30 April 2011, Derby manager
Nigel Clough stated that whilst talking with the fellow management staff during the game he had wondered "How many of those players out who started today we want out there on 6 August (and the answer is) not too many" and that he intended to bring in "6, 8, maybe 10" new players in the close season. Flying in the face of such talk was press speculation that Clough, fearing interference, would quit his position at Derby to return to
Burton Albion. The Rams ended the season in 19th, their lowest position on the league ladder in 5 years. The final tally of 49 points was the club's lowest ever from a 46-game season and their lowest in the second tier since
1984. At the end of May, the club announced it had sold 16,200 Early Bird Season tickets for the following campaign, just 500 down from the same point last season. Following the completion of the 2010–11 season, Derby announced their retained list for the 2011–12 campaign. Goalkeeping trio
Saul Deeney,
Ross Atkins and
James Severn were all given new deals to their expiring contracts, whilst
Callum Ball, Alex Witham, Aaron Cole and Chris Jones become first-year professionals after completing their scholarship programmes. The next month Ball also signed a new three-year contract, which extended his stay at the club until at least 2014. The club also confirmed the departures of
Michael Boulding,
Chris Porter,
Greg Mills and
Arnaud Mendy, alongside the retiring
Robbie Savage, as they would not be offered new deals, and Ward and Robinson signing for undisclosed fees, rumoured to total £500k. The first "new" capture of the summer came in the shape of
Kilmarnock captain
Craig Bryson, who signed for £350k, rising to £450,000 after add-on clauses. Later that same month, Derby added two additional signings in the shape of
Jason Shackell and
Chris Maguire.
Barnsley captain
Jason Shackell was the club's biggest signing of the Summer Transfer window. After several unsuccessful offers, Derby had a bid in the region of £1m accepted and the player joined on a three-year contract.
Miles Addison, who signed a contract extension until 2013 on the same day, joined Barnsley on loan for six months as part of the deal. Another protracted transfer concerned
Scottish international striker
Chris Maguire. On 1 June, it was announced
Chris Maguire would sign for the club on the expiration of his
Aberdeen contract after agreeing a three-year deal at
Pride Park. However, after Derby failed to match Aberdeen's £400,000 compensation claim, it was revealed that the final fee would be decided by a FIFA Tribunal. However, after much discussion between the two clubs, on 29 June, two days before the expiry of his contract, Maguire's signing was formally announced, with the two clubs agreeing to a compensation in the region of £400,000. Despite capturing six new permanent signings by the end of June, Derby still hadn't finished rebuilding and added two more captures on 1 July. The most controversial was that of
Nottingham Forest's
Nathan Tyson. On 7 June, it was confirmed that
Nathan Tyson was in contract talks with the club, despite a controversial incident where Tyson waved a Nottingham Forest flag in front of the Derby fans after the final whistle of the
East Midlands derby match in August 2009, a game which Tyson scored in and Forest won 3–2. Tyson was hit with a two-game suspended ban and a £5,000 fine for the incident. Tyson was confirmed as a Derby County player on 13 June, signing a 3-year pre-contract agreement and formally joining on 1 July. A less contentious signing came in the shape of
Burton Albion goalkeeper
Adam Legzdins, who joined from
League Two club
Burton Albion on a three-year deal, Clough stating that he would return to first choice goalkeeper
Frank Fielding. and impressed enough to earn a contract offer from the club, which he subsequently signed. The other signing came in the form of a six-month loan deal for
Hull City defender
Kevin Kilbane, who would challenge
Gareth Roberts for the club's left-back position. Uncompleted moved included a rejected £1.25m move for
Leicester City striker
Martyn Waghorn and an approach for
Watford midfielder
John Eustace, who had had a loan spell at the club in 2009. Rumoured targets included
Birmingham City pair
Kevin Phillips and
Lee Bowyer, and
Adam Rooney of
Inverness Caledonian Thistle The start of July also saw a rumours of a move for former Forest midfielder
Guy Moussi. There were also rumours of an audacious swoop for
Manchester United and
England striker
Michael Owen, which Clough himself later dismissed as "silly season" speculation. With the capture of ten players, there came the necessity of shifting out those not in the first team picture to balance the club's wage bill. The biggest sale, and the only one from which Derby received a fee, was
Luke Varney, who joined
Portsmouth for a fee of £750,000 after lengthy speculation. The only other permanent departure, not counting contract expirations, was
Ben Pringle. Pringle was told he was free to find another club, despite being handed a new 18-month contract just 3 months earlier, and subsequently agreed personal terms with
Rotherham United. signing for the club on a free transfer later the same day. The only other departures saw goalkeeper
Ross Atkins join
Burton Albion on a season-long loan move and another young goalkeeper,
James Severn joined
Eastwood Town until 1 January. There was also rumour of an
Aberdeen move for
Russell Anderson being accepted, but the player rejected the chance of a move, preferring to remain at Pride Park. The players and management team returned to pre-season training on 1 July, with former loanee goalkeeper
Matt Duke and left back
Danny Blanchett also joining training after being released by their respective clubs. Striker
Michael Boulding, who had been released at the start of the season, also trained with the club during pre-season and former Notts County left winger
Nathan Fox played 90 minutes during a pre-season friendly against Burton Albion.
August Derby's first game of the 2011–12 season came at home to relegated
Birmingham City and saw full debuts for Jason Shackell, Craig Bryson and Kevin Kilbane. Despite going a goal down, Derby struck back to claim a 2–1 victory, which included a debut goal for Shackell, who earned a spot in the Championship Team of the Week. This was followed by consecutive 1–0 wins away to
Watford and
Blackpool, with winning goals courtesy of Steve Davies, who earned a Team of the Week placing for his performance, and Craig Bryson respectively. The run was the first time Derby had opened a campaign with a three-game winning streak since 1948 and the first time in the club's history it had been achieved with two away fixtures in the run. The following match against
Doncaster Rovers was the 300th league game at the
Pride Park Stadium and saw Derby in with a chance of making their best start to a season in over 100 years if they could achieve a victory. In the result of the match
The Rams cruised to a 3–0 victory, with Steve Davies getting his third in four games, Kevin Kilbane getting his first goal for the club and Ben Davies scoring his first of the campaign and earning a place in the Championship Team of the Week. The result lifted Derby to second in the embryonic 2011–12 table and saw the Rams open with four from four, the first time this had been achieved since the start of the 1905–06 season when the club recorded a club record five straight opening victories. The visit of
Burnley was the final game before the international break and saw Derby crash to their first defeat of the season, as
Theo Robinson's equaliser turned out to be a mere consolation in a 2–1 home loss. Regardless of the defeat, Nigel Clough remained defiant, stating "I don't want this to diminish the start we've had. 12 points from 15 has been absolutely brilliant and the manner in which we've achieved them." With the international break stopping play, eyes moved to what the club would do prior to the closing of the Transfer Window on 1 September, with the long term chase for a holding midfielder and an additional striker suggesting that the club's work in the transfer market had not yet finished. However, the club's only movement saw academy graduate
Ryan Connolly join
Scottish First Division side
Ayr United on loan until 31 December and youth team winger Aaron Cole head out to Eastwood Town on a one-month deal. Glick explained the lack of activity with a statement via. the club's official website in which he said "We continue to make inquiries and calls in regards to strengthening the squad, but it may be that things happen when the loan window re-opens next week. We have been extremely active in our recruitment this summer - signing 10 players - and we very satisfied the quality and experience we have brought in. It is no secret that we expected, and needed, to move some players on during this window to balance the squad with the new intake, and that element has so far proved challenging. This means we are carrying players and wages that are not part of our plans for this campaign or beyond, and we need to rectify that. It is important not to abandon our philosophy of responsible governance of this Club; with the Financial Fair Play rules set to be introduced in the Football League in 2012, it makes it even more imperative." One of the players thought to not be part of the club's plans was defender Dean Leacock, with media speculation that he was going to be offered a contract termination. Other financial news saw it revealed amount of money Derby spent on agents' fees had fallen by almost £150,000 between July 2010 and July 2011, paying out £289,500 as opposed to £434,350 in the previous 12 months. The figure saw Derby tumble down the Championship Agent's Fees table to 18th, having topped it three years before. Thefigure was made up of 57 transactions, including 18 new registrations/transfers, eight updated contracts, 13 contracts cancelled and 18 loans.
September The international break saw a surprise call-up to the
England squad for Frankie Fielding following
West Ham United's
Rob Green's withdrawal through injury. Although Fielding was unused for the two
Euro 2012 qualifiers, he became the first Derby player in 11 years to have a role for England, since
Seth Johnson's appearance against
Italy in 2000. When Fielding returned to Derby he and his teammates resumed Championship action away to
Coventry City, where two second half goals condemned them to a second consecutive defeat, this time 2–0. The day before the Coventry defeat it was announced that
Nigel Clough had been nominated for the Championship Manager of the Month award, but lost out to
Brighton & Hove Albion's
Gus Poyet. Prior to the game, Clough also spoke of his desire for patience and his commitment to bringing through youth at Derby. Reflecting on Clough's comments, the Derby Evening Telegraph stated "The conveyor belt at Derby has juddered and stalled at times and in many ways it has been rusted by constant changes within the Academy set up" before highlighting past academy-graduates England international
Tom Huddlestone, Northern Ireland international
Lee Camp, Wales international
Lewin Nyatanga and England U21 internationals
Lee Grant,
Giles Barnes and
Lee Holmes (all of whom were no longer with the club) as examples that the current youth set-up should aim to emulate. As if to prove that Derby's youth production was back on track, academy graduate
Mark O'Brien, who had played in every game of the new season despite being just 18 years old, signed a new four-year contract, extending his stay at the club until the summer of 2015. On the same day, winger
Dave Martin joined
Walsall on a months loan and the following week
Stephen Bywater moved to
Sheffield Wednesday until the end of the year with goalkeeping coach
Martin Taylor saying of Bywater "He's not in the squad at all. Nothing against Stephen because he's worked really hard but he doesn't figure in our plans. At his age he just needs to play games and get in the shop window." There was also a link with
Mansfield Town's
Tom Naylor, who played for the reserves in a bid to earn a contract offer from the club, and Clough laughed off
West Bromwich Albion's rumoured £3m interest in John Brayford, saying "Is that all, £3million?" 17 September bought the first
East Midlands derby of the season, as Derby travelled to the
City Ground to face
Nottingham Forest. With midfielder
James Bailey injured in the week prior to the match, an ankle injury which ruled him out for three months. Derby unsuccessfully tried to sign former-Captain
Matt Oakley on loan from
Leicester City to bolster the midfield. The already contentious fixture saw tensions heightened by the news that
Nathan Tyson, who had injured himself in pre-season following his move to Derby from Forest, was finally available for selection for
the Rams. In the event of the match, Frank Fielding was sent off after just 66 seconds after bundling over Forest striker
Ishmael Miller giving
Adam Legzdins to make his first appearance for the club, with his first action being to pick
Andy Reid's penalty out of the back of the net. However,
Jamie Ward's 29th-minute equaliser, a mazy run past three Forest defenders before he beat
Lee Camp at his near post from the byline, saw the ten-man Derby side level at half-time. The second half saw
Nathan Tyson come on for his Derby debut, but it was 19-year-old academy graduate
Jeff Hendrick, who like Mark O'Brien had broken into the first team after impressive performances and was named in the Championship Team of the Week on the back of his performance, who grabbed the headlines when he scored midway into the second half with his first professional goal and claimed Derby's third win at the
City Ground in five attempts. The victory was followed with four points from the next two home games - a 3–0 thumping of
Millwall which saw
John Brayford,
Ben Davies and
Jeff Hendrick named in the Championship's 'Team of the Week' and a 1–1 draw with
Barnsley - to take them into the automatic promotion spots. The results came in midst of discussion over Clough's contract - which was due to expire at the end of the season, with Forest allegedly interested in securing their former-player's services.
October The first game of October, and Derby's final game before the
international break saw Derby make the short trip to
Leicester City. In the event of the game, Derby were on the end of a thumping 4–0 defeat, which included two goals in the final two minutes, but remained in third place in the table thanks to results elsewhere. It was the club's biggest defeat for almost exactly two years (after a 1–6 mauling at
Cardiff City on 29 September 2009) and left Clough asking supporters to not let the result "overshadow what has been a great start to the season for us." The heavy nature of the defeat, which was partially attributed to player exhaustion due to the constraints of a regular Championship season being placed on Derby's small squad, led to questions about potential investment over the next two weeks, with CEO Tom Glick stating that "we have our eye firmly on what it will take to get through the first half of the season before January and if we feel we're light, we'll make a move" before reaffirming that he didn't foresee any new signings ahead of the next game, at home to
Southampton. The draw came despite the absence of
John Brayford, who missed his first match since joining Derby 15 months previously after picking up an injury in training, and top-scorer Steve Davies' early exit after picking up an eye injury. With the Brayford ruled out for six weeks and Davies for twelve, Derby cast their eye over the emergency loan market and confirmed they have enquired about
Newcastle United's
James Perch though Newcastle denied the request as the player was providing defensive cover. and Mason Bennett also made his first home appearance, coming on in the second half. The match saw injuries to
Theo Robinson (hamstring),
Mark O'Brien (shoulder) and
Chris Maguire (broken nose) to add to eight other injured first team players (
Shaun Barker,
John Brayford,
Steven Davies,
Saul Deeney,
Nathan Tyson,
James Bailey,
Paul Green and
Chris Riggott). With eleven senior players unavailable, the club admitted it "might" consider entering the loan market, Away from the pitch, Derby County announced that they had submitted plans to Derby City Council for a £7 million development of land outside the stadium, which the club named "The Plaza @ Pride Park". Despite Derby's numerous injury issues. Clough insisted loans weren't needed and instead loaned out midfielder
Stephen Pearson to fellow Championship side
Bristol City until 2 January. The last match before the November international break saw Derby race into a 2–0 lead away to
Peterborough United, courtesy of a
Theo Robinson brace, before losing 3–2 thanks to a stoppage time winner and slipping to a season low of 8th in the table. The winning goal was a bone of contention for Clough, whose post match criticism of referee Iain Williamson was strong enough to earn him a £2,000 fine from the FA. Speaking after the defeat, Clough stated that the recent results (one win from eight) had clouded the seasons positives, such as the "emergence of (the) youngsters". The match saw
Will Hughes make his debut as a late substitute at the age of just 16, meaning Derby finished the game with five
Academy graduate players aged 19-or-under on the pitch (
Jeff Hendrick,
Mark O'Brien having started and
Mason Bennett,
Callum Ball and Hughes appearing as substitutes). During the international break Derby added to the squad, with the loan signing of
Mansfield Town defender
Tom Naylor and trials for defender
Daniel Lafferty and forward Edwin Gyasi. The first game after the break, at home to
Hull City, also saw the return to the squad of
Shaun Barker,
Paul Green and
John Brayford., though it was not enough to prevent
The Rams crash to their third straight defeat as the visitors ran out 2–0 winners. The result meant Derby had won just one of the last 9 fixtures, slumping from 2nd to 9th in the table, though Clough dismissed the poor form as "not a concern". The game also saw top-scorer
Theo Robinson go off with a hamstring injury in the first 15 minutes, an injury which saw the club begin to scour the loan market for a replacement striker ahead of the emergency loan window's closure the following Thursday. On the day that the emergency loan window closed,
Ipswich Town's
Tamás Priskin joined
The Rams on a five-week deal, with youth team winger Aaron Cole going out on loan to
Conference National side
Stockport County on a similar deal. Priskin scored on his debut to give Derby the lead at
West Ham United but
The Rams eventually fell to a 3–1 defeat to slip to 15th in the table on the back of a fourth consecutive defeat. This was followed by a 1–0 defeat at home to
Brighton and Hove Albion, which was a fifth straight defeat and meant that November yielded no points and just three goals.
December Derby's first fixture of December saw them earn their 5,000th league point in their history, as a
Paddy McCarthy own goal helped earn the club a 1–1 draw away to
Crystal Palace and earn
The Rams their first point in six games. A week later they followed it with a first win since October, as
Callum Ball's first senior goal say Derby turn a 1–0 deficit into a 2–1 victory at home to
Bristol City. The match was sandwiched by two contracting pieces of contract news - the day before the game it was announced midfielder
Jeff Hendrick had committed to the until 2015, whereas two days after it was announced
Russell Anderson's injury plagued two years at the club had been ended when his contract was cancelled by mutual consent. There was also strong rumours that
Stephen Bywater would make his loan move to
Sheffield Wednesday permanent. On 22 December, Chris Riggott's contract was terminated by mutual consent, a move which formally went ahead on 1 January. The Bristol City victory was followed by a 1–0 defeat away to
Ipswich Town. now managed by Clough's predecessor
Paul Jewell, and a
Boxing Day victory over
Leeds United, to take Derby to 31 points at the half-way stage of the season - 1 point ahead of the same stage previous season. The Leeds game saw
Nathan Tyson make his first start for Derby, five months after joining the club following a succession of groin problems. Ahead of the final game of the year, a home fixture against second placed
West Ham, and with the club's wage bill restricting Derby's potential in the transfer market Clough revealed his intention to move on no less than six players in the upcoming transfer window, with
Stephen Pearson (
Bristol City),
Stephen Bywater (
Sheffield Wednesday),
Dean Leacock,
David Martin,
Lee Croft and
Tomasz Cywka, all of whom were entering the final six months of their contracts, seemingly on their way out. Bywater was the first to leave following the cancellation of his contract by mutual consent. The Rams rounded off 2012 with a 2–1 home victory over second placed
West Ham United which saw
Callum Ball and
Paul Green, with his first goal in over a year, give Derby a 2–0 lead within 10 minutes. It was only the second time in the last ten years that Derby had finished the year with maximum points and saw them rise to 10th in the table, just two points from the play off positions.
January The club opened the season with a 1–0 victory away at
Hull City, courtesy of a
Theo Robinson goal. It meant that Derby became the only side in English football to take a full 9 points from the festive fixtures and was the first time Derby had achieved the feat for 16 years. The win was followed by 1–0 home victories over
Crystal Palace (in the FA Cup 3rd Round) and
Coventry City in the league, to take
The Rams to five consecutive victories in all competitions, their best run of form of the season. The winning run ended with a 2–0 FA Cup defeat to
Stoke City and then subsequent results of a 0–0 draw at
Burnley and a 3–2 midweek defeat at
Barnsley. With the opening of the transfer window, Derby made permanent
Tom Naylor's loan move from
Mansfield Town on a three-year deal, and signed
Sunderland striker
Ryan Noble on a month's loan for a second time; Noble having also had a loan spell at the club in the
previous campaign.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder
Tom Carroll joined the club on loan until the end of the season. These were the only three incoming transfers, though several players left the club;
Dave Martin joined
Southend United for an undisclosed fee and
Stephen Pearson and
Dean Leacock both had their contracts terminated by mutual consent, allowing them to join
Bristol City and
Leyton Orient respectively.
Tomasz Cywka saw a transfer back to
Poland fall through (which later turned out to be
Ekstraklasa leaders
Śląsk Wrocław), with Clough indicating that the player could leave as his contract was up in the summer and there was no intention of offering him a new deal. Cywka eventually joined
Reading on a free transfer. whilst
Miles Addison and Aaron Cole extended their loans at
Barnsley and
Stockport County respectively by one month. Away from the pitch, Derby City Council's Planning Control Committee gave planning permission for The Plaza @ Pride Pride Park development, The club's form in February was disappointing, with club picking up only one point in a 0–0 draw against
Millwall, a 61st minute
Noel Hunt goal ensured a 1–0 defeat to
Reading, this was Derby's first home defeat since losing 1–0 against
Brighton & Hove Albion in November, the club suffered their joint worst result at
Southampton where Derby lost 4–0 to goals from
Jos Hooiveld,
Aaron Martin,
Adam Lallana and
Tadanari Lee. Right-back
John Brayford picked up a thigh injury in the game, which ruled him out for at least 6 weeks. Derby ended the month with on further defeat at home to local rivals
Leicester City, a
Neil Danns goal was the difference between the sides. This poor form dropped Derby from 12th in the league at start of month to 15th at the end of the month, with the gap to the play-off place increasing from 4 to 9. Defender
Miles Addison back from a loan spell at
Barnsley, joined
Bournemouth on loan until the end of the season.
March Derby began the month at 3rd placed
Birmingham City, a team who have lost only one home game this season, Derby were 2–0 down after 57 minutes with goals from
Erik Huseklepp and
Marlon King,
Ben Davies made his first appearance in the first team in 2 months as a 59th-minute substitute replacing
Nathan Tyson and he made an immediate impact, creating a goal for
Steve Davies (the first goal since his return) 2 minutes later, with
Theo Robinson grabbing an equaliser in the 66th minute, the game finished 2–2 as Derby's winless run extended to a season record 7 games. Derby got their first win 7 weeks as Derby beat play-off chasing
Blackpool 2–1, Derby went behind from a
Tom Ince goal, before
Steve Davies scored twice in his first start since his return from injury, the performance from Davies in the game got praise from Derby coach
Andy Garner and Blackpool manager
Ian Holloway. Derby lost 2–1 at home to
Watford, with Derby being 2–0 down after 15 minutes with goals from
Sean Murray and
Troy Deeney, with Steve Davies getting his fourth goal in a week with a consolation goal. Derby played local rivals
Nottingham Forest in a re-arranged fixture from February, in the 80th minute defender
Shaun Barker was involved in a collision with Forest striker
Marcus Tudgay and Derby goalkeeper
Frank Fielding and after a 6 minute in the game was substituted and rushed off to hospital with a suspected broken leg. In stoppage time
Marcus Tudgay was sent off after a tackle with Steve Davies, 4 minutes in stoppage time
Jake Buxton scored a late winner, which ensured Derby's first league
double over Forest in 40 years as Derby won 1–0. A day after the game, Barker was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a dislocated kneecap. However, on 22 March after further scans in hospital, Barker was facing a 16-month recovery from his injury, (ruling him out of the entire 2012–13 season) after rupturing his
medial,
anterior cruciate and
posterior cruciate ligaments. Barker also had a hour operation to remove damage to the
patellar ligament, Barker will also wear a brace to the first 8 weeks to help protect the dislocated knee. Barker remains optimistic for a full recovery. Derby picked up their first away win since 2 January as they beat
Doncaster Rovers 2–1 with goals from
Theo Robinson and a first goal for Derby from
Gareth Roberts,
El Hadji Diouf scored a consolation goal. Derby lost 2–0 to
Brighton & Hove Albion with goals from
Iñigo Calderón and
Ashley Barnes. Derby ended the month with a 3–2 win against
Crystal Palace with goals from
Steve Davies,
Jeff Hendrick and a
Theo Robinson penalty put Derby in a 3–0 lead after 49 minutes, Palace scored two late consolation goal from
Chris Martin and
Darren Ambrose. Derby ended the months with a 1–1 draw at
Bristol City with a first half
Craig Bryson goal cancelled out by
Brett Pitman goal in the second half. Derby ended the month in 13th in the table, 7 points off the play-offs and 19 points clear of relegation.
Chris Maguire joined Championship strugglers
Portsmouth on a month-long emergency loan. Goalkeeper
Adam Legzdins rejoined former club
Burton Albion on a month's loan.
April Derby started April with a 0–0 draw at home to
Ipswich Town, before taking on
Leeds United at
Elland Road two days later, Leeds were down to ten men as
Michael Brown was given a straight red card in 25 minutes after a stomach-high tackle on
Theo Robinson, goals from
Craig Bryson after 32 minutes and
Steve Davies after 66 minutes were enough to beat the Yorkshire side 2–0, Derby 7th consecutive win v Leeds and their 3rd consecutive league double. This result moved Derby up to 11th in the table, 5 points off the play-offs with 4 games remaining, Derby manager
Nigel Clough however ruled out a play-off place, wishing there was more the 4 games left as the club picked up 14 points from a possible 21. Ward was fit to start the next against, a visit to
Portsmouth whilst Naylor was not in the matchday squad,
John Brayford made his first start in two months. Derby took the lead in the 41st minute, with
Jake Buxton scoring his second goal of the season. At half time goalkeeper
Frank Fielding was substituted off with a groin injury to be replaced by
Adam Legzdins who returned from his loan spell at
Burton Albion earlier in the week, playing only one game after picking up a hip injury after a 1–0 defeat against
Northampton Town in March. In the second half, former Rams striker
Luke Varney scored an equalising goal in the 74th minute. On the 78th minute,
Steve Davies scored a penalty to give Derby a 2–1 lead, which is how the game ended as Portsmouth were relegated to
League One. Academy graduates
Mason Bennett &
Will Hughes were both given runouts as second-half substitutes. Ahead of the final game of the season at home to
Peterborough United, midfielders
Craig Bryson &
Jeff Hendrick were awarded the club's
Jack Stamps Player of the Year & Sammy Crooks Young Player of the Year respectively. Derby drew the game 1–1 through a 21st minute
Theo Robinson goal, with
David Ball equalising in the 82nd minute for Peterborough. This result lead Derby to finish 12th in the league, their best league finish since relegation in 2008 and their first top half finish and best points haul since promotion in 2007.
Steve Davies and
Theo Robinson finished the season joint top goal scorers on 12 goals. Derby began contract negotiations with players approaching the end of their contracts,
Jake Buxton and
Gareth Roberts signed new contract to the length of two years and one year respectively. . The club have also been in contract talks with
Paul Green with club giving Green until April 2012 to respond.
Leeds United were reportedly interested in Green, an offer that Green rejected which means the player will leave the club in the summer. Derby manager
Nigel Clough responded to the news by dropping Green for the matchday squad in the penultimate game against
Portsmouth, with 17-year-old academy winger
Will Hughes taking his place in the matchday squad. Rams coach
Johnny Metgod stated that the club were also in contract talks with
Jamie Ward whose deal ends in summer 2013, Ward signed a new two-year contract on 19 April, with an option for a further year which will extended his stay at Derby until at least the summer of 2014.
Lee Croft and
Miles Addison, both with one year left on their contract, have been told that they are free to leave the club in the summer.
Chris Maguire's loan at Portsmouth was extended until the end of the season. Surgeon Dr Andrew Williams said in April 2012 that he was happy with the progress that captain
Shaun Barker had made in his injury recovery after his first check-up, with Barker expected to be in a leg brace and crutches for at least 12 weeks. Barker has also spent 6 hours a day in a Kneehab XP, which Barker calls a "machine of death" the machine helps re-build
quadriceps muscles through set spells of contraction and relaxation. Barker has also spent time in an ice machine. At the end of the month,
the Rams finally ended their interest in appointing a
director of football, something the club had been considering since May 2011. The club also confirmed their interest in 20-year-old
Northampton Town winger
Michael Jacobs, who is out of contract at the end of the season. ==End of season squad==