Vital QPR assesses Friday night’s opponents – Derby County
It’s all change again at Pride Park, but it seems on this occasion that the ever-frustrated and frustrating Mel Morris may well be onto a winner with his appointment of now experienced Championship manager and former Rams player, Gary Rowett.
The decision-making from Morris in recent times has been called into question, but perhaps one of his biggest surprises was dismissing Paul Clement amid doing a fairly admirable job at Pride Park. ‘The Derby way’ or failure to adhere to this mantra was Morris’ justification as he allowed Darren Wassall to effectively torch Clement’s building blocks.
In came Nigel Pearson accompanied by a bullish confidence we have come to expect – it didn’t last too long for him and once his Steve McClaren came and went once again Mel Morris wasn’t exactly on anyone’s Christmas Card list. The resultant outcome could be a winner though with Rowett sure to be a fans’ favourite.
Whether he can reshape the squad to his tastes in time for the Rams to challenge the higher echelons of the Championship next season, remains to be seen.
Founded: 1884
Nickname: The Rams
Ground: Pride Park – 33,597
Manager: Gary Rowett
HONOURS
First Tier
First Division – Champions: 1972, 1975
First Division – Runners Up: 1896, 1930, 1936
Second Tier
Second Division – Champions: 1912, 1915, 1969, 1987
Second Division – Runners Up: 1926
Division One – Runners Up: 1996
Championship – Playoff Winners: 2007
Championship – Playoff Runners Up: 2014
Cup
FA Cup – Winners: 1946
FA Cup – Runners Up: 1898, 1899, 1903
RECORDS
Record Attendance: 41826 v Tottenham Hotspur (First Division, 1969)
Record league victory: 9-0 v Wolverhampton Wanderers (January 1981)
Record league defeat 0-8 v Blackburn Rovers (January 1891)
Record Buy: £8,000,000 – Matej Vydra from Watford (2016)
Record Sale: £10,500,000 – Jeff Hendrick to Burnley (2016)
Record Appearances: Kevin Hector – 581 (1966-1978 & 1980-1982)
Record Goals: Steve Bloomer – 332 (1892-1906 & 1910-1914)
GOALS: Tom Ince – 13, Darren Bent – 12, Matej Vydra – 4, Craig Bryson – 4.
YELLOWS: Bradley Johnson – 12, Will Hughes – 11, Tom Ince – 10, Craig Bryson – 7.
REDS: Bradley Johnson – 1, Jacob Butterfield – 1.
1 – Scott Carson
2 – Cyrus Christie
3 – Craig Forsyth
4 – Craig Bryson
5 – Jason Shackell
6 – Richard Keogh
7 – Johnny Russell
8 – Ikechi Anya
10 – Tom Ince
11 – Darren Bent
12 – Chris Baird
15 – Bradley Johnson
16 – Alex Pearce
17 – Julien De Sart (on loan from Middlesbrough)
18 – Jacob Butterfield
19 – Will Hughes
20 – Abdoul Camara
21 – Kelle Roos
22 – Nick Blackman
23 – Matěj Vydra
25 – Max Lowe
28 – David Nugent
29 – Marcus Olsson
30 – Timi El?nik
34 – George Thorne
35 – Jonathan Mitchell
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