During the 2006–07 English football season,

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

competed in the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

Season summary

Derby County finished the season in third place in the Championship, four points behind champions

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and two points behind runners-up

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

. With new ownership, Derby had been able to compete in the transfer market for the first time in a number of years, with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

Steve Howard Steven John Howard (born 10 May 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Howard was usually cited as a typical target man and renowned for his aerial strength. Club career Early career Howard began his career at non- ...

becoming the club's first £1 million signing since

François Grenet François Jean Henri Grenet (born 8 March 1975) is a French former professional footballer who played mostly as a right-back and also as a midfielder. Club career Bordeaux Grenet was born in Bordeaux, capital of the ''départment'' of Gironde ...

six years previously and, alongside captures from Premiership clubs such as

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

Stephen Bywater Stephen Michael Bywater (born 7 June 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He has made appearances for thirteen clubs, most notably for Derby County, where he made over 150 appearances and won the 200 ...

and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

Dean Leacock Dean Leacock (born 10 June 1984) is an English former professional footballer. He was primarily a centre-back, but could play as a right back or defensive midfielder. Career Fulham Born in Croydon, London, Leacock signed his first professional ...

, manager Billy Davies began shaping a side capable of competing at the right end of the table. This wasn't apparent from the off, however, and a return of just five points from the club's opening six fixtures did not hint at instant success for Davies, leaving influential and creative players such as Tommy Smith and

Iñigo Idiakez Iñigo Idiakez Barkaiztegi (born 8 November 1973) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a midfielder or forward, and is a manager. Beginning his career at Real Sociedad, he appeared in 254 official matches during his tenure while competi ...

to depart the club prior to the closing of the August transfer window. However, a 1–0 win at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

on 12 September proved a catalyst as the club lost only four of its next 27 fixtures (a run which included winning all six league fixtures in November and an eight-match winning streak of six league and two FA Cup games from 30 December to 10 February). After a 2–2 draw at home to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

on 10 February, Derby were six points clear at the top of the table and had strengthened for the promotion run-in with the signing of Tyrone Mears,

Jay McEveley James Michael "Jay" McEveley (born 11 February 1985) is a footballer who plays as a defender for Warrington Town. Born in Liverpool, he represented Everton at junior level before signing for Blackburn Rovers where he made his professional de ...

Gary Teale Gary Stewart Teale (born 21 July 1978) is a Scottish professional football player and coach. Teale started his career in Scotland in 1995 with Clydebank and Ayr United. He moved to England in 2001 when he signed for Wigan Athletic and played a ...

, David Jones,

Craig Fagan Craig Anthony Fagan (born 11 December 1982) is a football coach and former player who is currently assistant manager of Maidstone United. He played as a winger or forward, notably in the Premier League for Birmingham City, Derby County and Hull ...

Stephen Pearson Stephen Paul Pearson (born 2 October 1982) is a Scottish former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He began his career at Motherwell F.C., Motherwell and joined Celtic F.C., Celtic in 2004, where he won do ...

and

Jon Macken Jonathan Paul Macken (born 7 September 1977) is a football manager and former professional player who played as a striker. He is manager of Stalybridge Celtic. He began his career with Premier League side Manchester United in 1995 but was rele ...

for a combined £5 million. However, a 2–0 defeat away to

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

in the fifth round preceded a notable wobble in results and the club recorded a return of just six points from the next five games, conceding top spot to Birmingham City after a 1–0 defeat at St. Andrews on 9 March. A resounding 5–1 win against

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

(by far the biggest win of a campaign which saw victory by a two-goal margin or greater on just six occasions) looked to have put the club back on track, but, after taking just 12 points from the next ten fixtures, the club slipped out of the automatic promotion places altogether and a 2–0 defeat at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

in the penultimate game of the season confirmed a 3rd-placed finish and entry into the 2006–07 Championship playoffs. Derby defeated

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

1–0 in the play-off final with a goal from

to return Derby to the topflight of English football for the first time in five seasons. Striker Steve Howard, who was also Derby's top scorer that season, was awarded the Jack Stamps Trophy as Derby's player of the season. Defender

Darren Moore Darren Mark Moore (born 22 April 1974) is a professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He is the manager of club Port Vale. Moore was born in Birmingham, though represented Jamaica at international level. He ...

was named in the PFA's Championship Team of the Year.

Kit

Spanish company

Joma Joma Sport, S.A. is a Spanish sports clothing and shoes brand. History Joma was founded in 1965 by Fructuoso López to produce shoes for general use. The brand name comes from the given name of Fructuoso's first born son (José Manuel). In 196 ...

remained Derby's kits manufacturers, and introduced a new home kit for the season, the first time since 1998 that Derby had not used the same kit for two seasons running. The Derbyshire Building Society continued sponsoring the kits.

Season summary

Kit

Final league table

Results

Legend

Football League Championship

Championship play-offs

FA Cup

League Cup

Players

First-team squad

Left club during season

Notes

References