Derby County fans would give anything to be back in the Premier League again, but only if it ends up being more successful than the team from 2007/08.
It has been quite the rollercoaster ride for Derby County over the last 16 years, with the club falling into the second tier, finding itself in financial ruin, dropping into League One, and then climbing their way back to the Championship.
Now, things are a lot more stable thanks to Derby’s owners taking a ‘different’ approach, and Paul Warne has got his players performing fairly well this season.
But, that disastrous 2007/08 campaign will always linger as a bad memory for anyone associated with the club, so let’s see where the players from that side are now.
- READ MORE: Four things Paul Warne has got right at Derby County this season – and three things he hasn’t
Derby County got 11 points in the Premier League
Derby broke a few records in the 2007/08 season, none of them records they’d want to shout about. The most notable is that their haul of 11 points across the campaign was, and still is, the lowest points tally of any club in the top flight.
The Rams were also the first team to be relegated from the Premier League in March, and also put together a top-flight record run of 32 league games without a win. They won just one game all season, a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United on September 17, 2007.
Here’s a look at the starting XI from the final game of the season, a 4-0 defeat to Reading, and where those players are now.
Roy Carroll
The former Manchester United and Rangers goalkeeper signed for the Rams in January 2008, but will probably wish he didn’t. Roy Carroll retired in 2021, but returned for one last stint with Ballinamallard United in the Irish league at the age of 45 in 2023.
As per Belfast Live, Carroll leaned on his own battles with depression and addiction to set up a support group for young professional footballers. He also has his own coaching business, and now holds the role of Irish FA Head Goalkeeper Development Coach.
Tyrone Mears
Tyrone Mears joined Derby County permanently in the summer of 2007 after a loan spell with the Rams the previous season, and was a prominent figure in that relegation campaign. He went on to play for Burnley, Bolton Wanderers, and West Bromwich Albion among others, before he retired in 2020.
In 2023, Mears joined Inter Miami CF Academy’s U-17 side as their Assistant Coach, and is now Head Coach of Super League Fort Lauderdale.
Darren Moore
Darren Moore left Derby following that relegation, joining Barnsley, and then Burton Albion, before retiring in 2012. He has since gone into management, and has been fairly successful.
Moore became the first Jamaican to manage in the Premier League when he took over at West Brom in 2018. He won a Premier League Manager of the Month award there, too, but was unable to prevent the Baggies being relegaed.
Since then, Moore has coached Doncaster Rovers, led Sheffield Wednesday to promotion from League One, managed Huddersfield Town, and is now doing a great job as Port Vale manager.
Lewin Nyatanga
By the end of the season, Derby were naturally thinking about the future, and gave academy product Lewin Nyatanga a run in the team. He remained with the club until 2009, when he joined Bristol City, and later went on to play for Barnsley and Northampton Town before retiring in 2017.
Nyatanga had a solid international career, making 34 appearances for Wales. Since hanging up his boots, he is now a sports massage therapist and is pursuing an MSc in Physiotherapy.
Eddie Lewis
The USA international had already made an impact in England, playing for Fulham and Preston North End before joining Derby County in the summer of 2007. Eddie Lewis returned to America after the relegation with Derby, signing for LA Galaxy before retiring in 2010.
He is now the founder and CEO of TOCA Football, a training company that leans on technology to improve football standards in the USA.
Mile Sterjovski
Sterjovski signed for Derby in the January transfer window of 2008, and was a regular in Paul Jewell’s side until the end of the season. He remained at Pride Park through the following season in the Championship, before returning to his homeland to join Perth Glory.
After retiring, Sterjovski has taken up a career in management in Australia. He was initially Assistant Manager at Macarthur, before taking the top job at Northbridge FC, and then returned to Macarthur to become Head Coach.
Robbie Savage
By far the most famous of the 2007/08 Derby County squad is Robbie Savage. Not only was he the face of the team back then, as club captain, but he has also gone on to forge a very successful career in the media since calling time on his playing career in 2019.
Savage has appeared as a pundit for the BBC, ESPN, and TNT Sports. He’s also been on Strictly Come Dancing, but has left the dancefloor behind to get back into management, and is now the Head Coach at Macclesfield in the Northern Premier League.
Hossam Ghaly
After his loan spell at Derby County, Ghaly moved to the Saudi Pro League before it was trendy, playing for Al Nassr and Al Ahly before retiring in 2018.
Ghaly worked as Football Director at El Gouna FC from 2018 to October 2020, and was even one of the presidential candidates of Al Ahly of the 2021 management elections.
David Jones
The former Manchester United academy product left Derby County following their relegation, joining Wolverhampton Wanderers. He also played for Wigan Athletic, Burnley, Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday, and Wrexham, where he retired in 2022.
He is now a First Team Coach at Wrexham, working with Phil Parkinson as the Red Dragons look to make it to the Championship.
Emanuel Villa
Another January signing for the Rams, Emanuel Villa scored three goals in the second half of the 2007/08 campaign but could not stop Derby being relegated. He stuck around, though, but soon moved on to Mexico to turn out for Cruz Azul and Pumas UNAM before retiring in 2018.
Kenny Miller
Kenny Miller was a Scottish icon in many ways, forging a successful career in his homeland for both club and country. He left Derby in 2008 to join Rangers, making him one of only a few players to turn out for both Rangers and Celtic. He retired from playing in 2018.
He has since had a couple of experiences in coaching, as manager of Livingston and caretaker boss at Falkirk. Miller is now the Assistant Coach at Al Wahda FC in Abu Dhabi.