Derby County make their return to the Championship in the coming weeks after a two-year absence from the division.
The Rams suffered a heartbreaking relegation to League One in 2022, following months of uncertainty over the club’s future.
Fortunately for Derby, local businessman David Clowes made a late swoop to take them out of administration and begin a swift rebuild.
Those two years haven’t been easy, with restrictions on spending, inevitable squad churn and the challenge of rebuilding parts of the whole club that were impacted by the administration.
However, the Derby owner managed to do all of that, placing his faith in Paul Warne to guide them back to the Championship.
The Derby boss earned that promotion at the second time of asking, placing the Rams back where they started.
There’s still more work to do if they are to secure their status as a second-tier team for the long term once again.
It may take some risks on the transfer front or even in the backroom to give Derby that edge over their rivals.
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David Clowes explains Mo Bobat and Ed Smith arrival at Derby County
While there is plenty of focus on how Warne and his team will approach the transfer market and the season on the pitch, there’s lots of work behind the scenes aimed at giving Derby a competitive edge.
One of the changes that Clowes has made is to the backroom structure, where a new Sporting Intelligence unit is being set up.
The two latest hires for this are former cricket consultants Mo Bobat and Ed Smith, who both helped England win the 50-over and 20-over World Cups in their roles as head of performance and squad selector respectively.
The duo have joined in an impressive step for the Rams to attempt levelling the playing field with their rivals.
Speaking to the Derby Telegraph about the appointments, Clowes said: “The idea of doing this is to have an edge competitively on other clubs in the Championship.
“I am certainly aware of two clubs in the Premier League, and I am not going to name them, who have gone down this route and done well.
“You look at the data, sports science, medicine all that type of thing.
“You’ve got Paul [Warne], the first-team, the intelligence will sit in the middle of that and you’ve got Matt Hale and the academy side. It will all slot together.
“Take the cricket out of it, they (Bobat and Smith) are very knowledgeable and good guys. Data is data whether it is football, cricket or motor racing.”
It underlines the ambitions of Derby to attempt to reach new heights through new means, rather than staying stuck due to the financial side of the game.
Mo Bobat on Derby County move
That message from Clowes aligns well with the thoughts of Bobat after he made the switch to Derby this summer.
Speaking to the Training Ground Guru, the former ECB chief said: “Credit to the CEO and Board for having the courage to think differently and for taking a punt on a couple of cricket guys.
“The club have been keen that they don’t make the mistakes that Derby – and other clubs – have made in the past.”
That is the key change seen under the ownership, with decisions being made for the best long-term outcome rather than possible short-term gratification.
It may take some time, but there are plenty of teams in the Premier League that have shown what a clear vision and building of that vision can do to establish a side at the top.