We are now 15 games into the Championship season, and while there’s a long way to go, it’s becoming clear what is going right and what is going wrong for Paul Warne and his Derby County side so far.
Derby County are back in the Championship after two years in League One, and the club appears to be slowly recovering from the financial strains of recent years.
Paul Warne has steadied the ship in terms of the players and performances on the pitch, and the Rams now find themselves in 12th place in the Championship table with one-third of the season gone.
Whether Warne knows his best Derby County XI right now is up for debate, but the Derby boss will be buoyed by results and there are hopes the Rams can not only avoid relegation but achieve a respectable finish this season.
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Paul Warne is doing a good job at Derby County
Derby are grinding out results
The Championship is a wild league, and results are highly unpredictable week to week, but one important factor in Derby’s success this season is that they are being competitive and getting results on the board.
Four 1-1 draws against Plymouth, Hull, Oxford, and Millwall in the last month may look like points dropped, but every point is valuable at this level, and Derby are making sure they are hard to beat, especially against the teams around them.
Derby County are effective at set-pieces
Former Derby boss Wayne Rooney recently praised the Rams for their work at set-pieces, and he was right to do so. Warne’s side are the highest-scoring team in the division when it comes to goals from dead ball situations.
It’s not even close, either. Derby have ten goals from set-pieces this season, while their nearest competitors in that metric, Millwall, have seven. If Derby can keep up their proficiency in that area, they will always have a chance in any game.
Pride Park is a fortress
Every single team in the Championship poses their own unique challenge, and the big difference between the teams that stay up and those that don’t is how strong they can be at their own ground. Luckily, Derby County are turning Pride Park into a formidable ground to visit.
Warne’s men have lost just one of their seven home games, winning four and drawing two, giving them the ninth-best home record in the league so far.
Jerry Yates was a top signing
Derby recruited shrewdly in the summer, and a number of their new faces have integrated into the squad really well. Jacob Widell Zetterström came in and has become the number one goalkeeper under Warne, and the Swedish stopper has registered three clean sheets already this season.
Kenzo Goudmijn has been a bit of a revelation in midfield, offering creativity, goals, and the dynamism and flexibility needed to cover a lot of ground in the middle of the park.
Meanwhile, the signing of Jerry Yates was a masterstroke. The seasoned striker has registered three goals and two assists already this term, and is leading the line brilliantly for the Rams. Indeed, Derby fans have been left in awe by the displays of Jerry Yates, and he looks likely to score the goals that’ll keep them up this year.
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Still room for improvement for Paul Warne
Derby County aren’t getting enough of the ball
One key area Derby County are struggling in this year is in possession; more specifically, they are not getting enough of the ball at all. The Rams are among the worst in the division when it comes to average possession in games, with just 42.9% going their way overall.
This has, predictably led to a number of problems in Derby’s buildup play. Simply put, Derby have not been good enough at putting together sequences in deeper areas, and have resorted to playing a direct, long ball far too often.
However, Yates, for all his qualities, is not a traditional target man, and when his hold-up play fails, the ball comes right back at Derby as quickly as it went forward, putting them under unnecessary pressure.
| Statistic | Derby County 2024/25 (Championship only) |
|---|---|
| Possession % | 42.9 |
| Possession rank | 23rd |
| Shot-creating actions per 90 | 17.87 |
| Shot-creating actions rank | =20th |
Derby need to create more chances
Further up the field, Derby are struggling to generate enough chances in attacking areas. Again, the Rams rank near the bottom of the league for shot-creating actions per 90 minutes, which could become a long-term concern.
As it stands, Derby have scored 19 goals this season, which is around the average in the division so far. But, if those possession stats don’t improve, and chances aren’t created more regularly, the goals could well dry up.
Away form a concern for Derby County
While Derby have been great at home, their away form is among the weakest in the Championship. Warne’s men have won just one of their eight games away from Pride Park this season, drawing two and losing five, putting them 19th in the league for away results.
Playing away from home is incredibly difficult at every level, but Derby will need to start picking up more points on the road if they are to push for a place in the top half this year.