Derby County is a football club that has been through the wringer over the last couple of decades, and while new owner David Clowes appears to be getting them back on track, there is still a way to go.
It’s safe to say life as a Derby County fan is quite the rollercoaster ride, and not always the fun kind.
Supporters have had to see their club register a record-low points tally in the Premier League thanks to the disastrous Derby County team of 2007/08, which saw the team relegated to the Championship.
Since then, the previous owner, Mel Morris, took huge financial gambles that took the club to the brink of promotion, before financial collapse and an administration-enforced points deduction saw the Rams drop to League One.
Now, David Clowes has steadied the ship, and the club are now back in the Championship after two years away from the second tier. So, surely everything is feeling pretty positive for the new Derby County owner? Well, not quite.
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Derby County are second-worst run club in the Championship
According to a nationwide study carried out by the team at Fair Game UK, Derby County rank second from bottom when it comes to the way the club is run compared to other teams in the Championship.
The Rams picked up a Fair Game Index (FGI) score of 29.3, with teams marked on a whopping 226 touchpoints across the following criteria: financial sustainability, good governance, fan engagement, and equality and ethical standards.
The survey was carried out by working “closely with clubs, supporters groups, leading academics and industry experts” to determine what is important to clubs and the fans.
Teams are then scored out of 100 to calculate their FGI rating (40 marks for financial sustainability, 30 for good governance, 20 for equality and ethical standards, and 10 for fan and community ratings).
| Criteria | Derby County FGI score |
|---|---|
| Financial sustainability (out of 40) | 14.1 |
| Good governance (out of 30) | 4.4 |
| Fan engagement (out of 10) | 5.0 |
| Equality and ethical standards (out of 20) | 5.8 |
| Total (out of 100) | 29.3 |
Of the teams now in the Championship this season, Derby were only marginally better than Coventry City, who scored 27.3 in the survey.
It is worth noting that Derby’s score is based on findings from the last year, and may not be entirely representative of the progress the club has made in the last few months since gaining promotion from League One.
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David Clowes is working to fix things behind the scenes
In fairness to Clowes, there has been a vast improvement behind the scenes since he took over the club in 2022. David Clowes was urged to take a ‘different’ approach to success to his predecessor, and he has obviously listened.
Not only has Clowes revealed plans to improve the facilities at Pride Park, but the owner also changed the approach to the Derby County Supporters Board by giving fans the chance to become Independent Directors at the club.
More recently, Clowes has been seeking further investment in Derby County, and he could end up selling up to 80% of his stake in the club if a suitable opportunity arises that will benefit all parties.
All things considered, where Derby are now compared to the perilous situation they found themselves in from 2019 onwards, fans are likely just relieved their club still exists, and the future is looking positive for the Rams with Clowes at the helm.