Derby County can be pleased with the progression they’ve made as a club both on and off the pitch.
Since David Clowes tookover the club in July 2022 and appointed Paul Warne months later, the Rams have been on an upward trajectory.
From winning promotion to the Championship last term and currently stabilising in the second tier, Derby fans have a lot to be excited about, especially with Clowes eyeing fresh investment into the football club.
Compare that to where the club was just over two years ago and the improvement under new ownership has been incredible.
Derby were close to going extinct altogether after being relegated from the Championship in 2022, as Wayne Rooney was unable to keep the Rams afloat following a 21-point deduction.
However, Rooney still developed a strong connection with the supporters and was hailed for the job he did under difficult circumstances.
Curtis Davies was ‘gutted’ when Wayne Rooney left Derby
Rooney turned from a player into a manager when Phillip Cocu was sacked from his role as Derby manager in November 2020.
The Rams were bottom of the Championship after 11 games but the former Manchester United star kept them up on the final day.
In the following season, there was no surprise that Rooney was unable to perform a similar miracle as a 21-point deduction saw them finish bottom, although they would have finished 19th without it.
- READ MORE: Curtis Davies shares what Phillip Cocu told him privately after he was sacked by Derby County
With uncertainty over the future of the club during that summer ahead of a campaign in League One, Rooney decided to walk out of Pride Park and it was a decision that left former defender Curtis Davies feeling ‘gutted’.
Davies played with and under the 39-year-old during his six years at the club and felt in the third tier, the former England striker would have given it a good go.
Praising Rooney on the Essential EFL podcast, Davies said: “As a man manager, brilliant, the little snippets that you get from Wayne Rooney compared to, with all due respect, getting them from another manager, similar to Frank as well.
“When he pulls you aside and says, even if he’s telling you defensive point or he’s telling you a winger’s point or something that he didn’t play, you still listen because it’s Wayne Rooney and he knows football.
“He was just so good with the man management and like I say, those little nuggets of information around whatever was being set up by the other coaches.
“But I was really gutted when he left, to be honest, because I thought, you know, in League One, they have a good go at it, especially if we were going to be able to get an owner.”
- READ MORE: Paul Warne could unearth Derby County’s next Dajaune Brown in ‘excellent’ academy teenager
Rooney walking out of Derby was a blessing in disguise
Following his exit from the club over two years ago, Rooney’s managerial career has failed to take off.
He struggled during his time at DC United and then played a contributing role in Birmingham’s relegation to League One.
Now at Plymouth Argyle who are 21st in the Championship, one point above the relegation zone, Rooney is in danger of damaging his reputation even further.
Meanwhile, his departure from the club saw Warne drafted into the managerial hot seat months later and that has proven to be an excellent decision.
Whilst Rooney didn’t have the experience of leading a side to promotion as manager, Warne previously achieved that feat on three occasions with Rotherham and made it a fourth at Derby.
If Rooney had stayed following a takeover, there is a huge chance the Rams would still be in League One right now, and that is why his departure was a blessing in disguise.