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Derby County have had a rollercoaster 25 years, with the club spending at least one year in three different divisions.
Now safely and firmly back in the Championship for a second successive season, the Rams are hoping to return to the Premier League under John Eustace, having been away from the top flight for 17 years.
This summer transfer window is a big one for Derby, with the club looking to ensure that they are not involved in the fight against relegation once again after coming desperately close to an instant return to League One in 2024/25.
Nevertheless, new signings will be hoping to make a name for themselves at Pride Park and become fan favourites. In that spirit, EFL Analysis has taken a look at the best Rams XI since 2000.
The best Derby County team of the last 25 years
GK – Mart Poom
Estonian goalkeeper Mart Poom was and still is a cult hero to those in DE24 after he joined the club in 1997 from Portsmouth.
Poom made 162 appearances in all competitions for the Rams before departing in 2003, but he perfectly encapsulated everything that was right about that Jim Smith team with his wild personality shining through. However, he did score against Derby for Sunderland not long after leaving.
RB – Andre Wisdom
Andre Wisdom arrived in the East Midlands in 2013 on loan from Liverpool, and he quickly impressed at right-back in Steve McClaren’s wonder team, registering three assists in 34 league games as his team reached the Championship play-off final.
He returned permanently in 2017, and once again he was a force on the right side of defence as Gary Rowett took Derby to 6th. Wisdom spent four years with the club before leaving in 2021, but unfortunately his performances on the pitch never truly recovered after he was stabbed in Liverpool a year prior.
CB – Horacio Carbonari
Another player signed by Jim Smith in the late 1990s, and another who instantly became a favourite in black-and-white, Horacio Carbonari’s intense style of play instantly made him a Rams hero.
The Argentine was famous for his incredible free kick technique, earning the nickname ‘Bazooka’ due to the power with which he struck the ball. Nine goals in 100 games for Derby followed before he eventually left in 2002. Yet, those who were there at the time will never forget his impact on the club.
CB – Curtis Davies
A true Rams favourite, and a player who showed on multiple occasions that he would give his body for the badge, Curtis Davies left Hull City in 2017 to move to Pride Park.
Over the course of the next six years, the now-retired centre-back played 175 times as he saw the club transform from a top Championship side to one in League One.
He stuck with Derby throughout administration, while he also played on the final day of the 2020/21 campaign despite still being injured after signing a waiver. Davies will always be loved in DE24, and his commitment can never be doubted.
LB – Craig Forsyth
The only current player on this list, Craig Forsyth has reportedly signed a new two-year deal at the club. Nigel Clough was excited about Forsyth when he arrived in 2013, and he had every right to be as the Scottish defender became a permanent fixture in the East Midlands.
The 36-year-old has played 382 times for Derby now, and despite multiple ACL injuries, he has come back and proven time after time why he is the Rams’ best left-back in the 21st century by usurping multiple teammates who have come in to take his position.
DM – George Thorne
George Thorne’s career is perhaps the greatest ‘what if?’ in football as the defensive midfielder struggled with injuries throughout his time in black-and-white.
However, after his incredible loan spell in the 2013/14 campaign, there is no doubt that Thorne should be in this team. Strong, tall and with an incredible eye for a pass, the ex-West Bromwich Albion midfielder excelled under McClaren.
Had injuries not scuppered him, there is no doubt that the now 32-year-old would have been playing Premier League football.
CM – Craig Bryson
A Derby legend, Craig Bryson joined the club in 2011 for just £350k from Scottish outfit Kilmarnock, as per a report from BBC Sport.
276 appearances, 42 goals and 39 assists later, the central midfielder wrote his name into the history books in the East Midlands, with his hat-trick against bitter rivals Nottingham Forest still the greatest day in his career.
Rams fans will all be in agreement about Bryson’s impact on the club, and every year they are hoping for the second-coming of the incredible Scotsman.
CM – Will Hughes
Completing the midfield from the 2013/14 campaign, Will Hughes came through the Rams’ academy and burst onto the scene as a teenager.
It’s hard to believe that he was only 22 when he left for Watford in 2017, but the left-footed midfielder was simply sensational in a ball-playing midfield and he has gone to great success in the Premier League since leaving.
Now with Crystal Palace, Hughes won the FA Cup in May but the dream for Derby fans will be to see him return to the club that he made 187 appearances for, scoring 12 goals including one incredible backheel against Brighton in the play-off semi-finals.
RW – Harry Wilson
One of the toughest positions to choose from, the Rams have had some extraordinary talents on the flanks over the years, but Harry Wilson’s consistency while on loan in the 2018/19 campaign sees him take the right wing position.
He excelled under Frank Lampard, scoring 18 goals including a vital penalty against Leeds United in Derby’s incredible play-off semi-final victory.
Wilson had a near-perfect free kick technique, and any time he lined the ball up from a set piece, you could almost guarantee it was going to cause an issue for the opposition goalkeeper.
ST – Chris Martin
Chris Martin was another player signed on loan by Clough in the 2012/13 campaign before his deal was made permanent that summer, and what a superb decision that was.
Derby’s former number nine was vital to the team’s play-off pushes in the following three years, before he was sent out on loan to Fulham, Reading and Hull.
Nevertheless, on his day, there were few better in the Championship than Martin and his ability to find the back of the net in any situation made him a threat against every team in the division. He scored 76 goals in 224 matches before leaving in 2021.
LW – Johnny Russell
The final player to make the team, Johnny Russell joined the club in the summer of 2013 as a striker before going on to make a name for himself at both left and right wing.
The tenacious Scot was a nuisance on the flank with his pace and stunning left foot causing trouble for full-backs on a weekly basis during his time at Pride Park. While he struggled in his final months at Derby, you could never fault his efforts and he left after five years to move to the USA.
Russell’s greatest moment came in the 5-0 win over Forest in March 2014, as he scored the fourth goal with an incredible strike from distance that Karl Darlow could not even get a fingertip to.
Derby County’s best XI honourable mentions
Not every player who deserves to be in this team was able to find a place, including goalkeeper Scott Carson who was influential between the posts after joining in 2015. The shot-stopper was the first-choice until 2019 when he eventually left on loan to Manchester City.
Richard Keogh also played an important role at Derby throughout the 2010s, before his time in black-and-white ended in controversy. Nevertheless, he captained the club for a number of years and was a regular for multiple managers.
In midfield, Mason Mount excelled under Frank Lampard while on loan during the same season as Wilson. Had it not been for the success of Bryson and Hughes over a longer period, then there is no doubt that the Champions League winner would have made this list.
Tom Ince, one of the Championship’s top scorers of all time, is another player to have narrowly missed out. Like many others on this list, he started out on loan before his deal was made permanent and he scored at an excellent rate before leaving for Huddersfield Town in 2017.