Derby County hero led the way with one particular Championship statistic, Cardiff City fans must still be fuming

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Derby County’s players, supporters and coaching team are all settling down after an excellent end to the 2024/25 Championship campaign.

After finding themselves cut adrift and seven points from safety, the Rams won six of their last 11 matches to finish a point above the relegation zone thanks to a 0-0 draw at home to Stoke City on the final day of the season.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
16	PortsmouthPortsmouth	46	14	12	20	58	71	-13	54
17	Oxford UnitedOxford United	46	13	14	19	49	65	-16	53
18	Stoke CityStoke City	46	12	15	19	45	62	-17	51
19	DerbyDerby	46	13	11	22	48	56	-8	50
20	PrestonPreston	46	10	20	16	48	59	-11	50
21	Hull CityHull City	46	12	13	21	44	54	-10	49
22	LutonLuton	46	13	10	23	45	69	-24	49

John Eustace’s impact at Pride Park was huge, and without him Derby would more than likely have been relegated back to League One at the first time of asking.

However, the performances of their captain, Ebou Adams, were also vital to ensuring that the Rams beat the drop. After leaving Cardiff City in the summer transfer window on a permanent move to the East Midlands, Bluebirds supporters must surely be questioning the decision to let him go.

Derby County’s Ebou Adams finished at the top of the tackling charts in the Championship

After a spellbinding loan with Derby in the second half of the 2023/24 campaign, a deal worth £500k was agreed between the two clubs, as per Glen Williams, and the Gambia international made DE24 his permanent home.

It was the signing that all Rams supporters wanted to see happen, and he has comfortably made the step up to the Championship despite his lack of experience in the division and he is perhaps Paul Warne’s greatest signing during his tenure at the club.

He was handed the armband by his current head coach, and the 29-year-old has gone from strength to strength in the last few months, as he helped to form an excellent shield for the defence alongside Harrison Armstrong and Liam Thompson.

Adams, who paid tribute to Eustace for keeping Derby in the second tier, led the way in one particular statistic as he racked up the most completed tackles – 151.

Cardiff City’s decision to sell Ebou Adams has come back to haunt them

When Adams arrived at Derby in January 2024, not much was known of him as he had spent the majority of his time at Cardiff injured.

He had previously played alongside Kane Wilson at Forest Green Rovers, and it was quickly established as to why Warne was so keen to bring him in on loan. The midfielder was put straight into the starting XI, and he impressed greatly.

Therefore, it was a surprise to see that Erol Bulut did not hand him the opportunity to feature for the Bluebirds and instead the Rams made the move to sign Adams permanently where he helped the East Midlands outfit stay in the Championship while Cardiff were relegated.