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With just five-and-a-half weeks to go until the new Championship campaign begins, preparations are well underway at Derby County.
The Rams were transformed by John Eustace last season, with the 45-year-old changing the fortunes of the East Midlands outfit following a really tough winter.
Derby are still waiting on investment, but they are pursuing a huge deal for Patrick Agyemang after years of shrewd business in the transfer market after the club entered administration in the 2021/22 campaign.
David Clowes rescued the team that he supported later that summer, and three years to the day that he purchased the Rams, EFL Analysis has taken a look at the club’s top five moments during that time.
The best moments of David Clowes’ Derby County ownership
5 – Opening day win over Oxford United
Derby returned to the third tier for the first time since 1986 for the 2022/23 season, and there was a lot of excitement building as they put behind their past financial issues with a fresh start in a new division.
Oxford United visited Pride Park on the opening day and they became the first victim of the Clowes era as captain Conor Hourihane fired in from just outside the box in the 80th minute to send over a near sold-out Pride Park into ecstasy.
The Rams held on for a huge three points on an incredibly warm day in DE24.
4 – Crucial victory over Bolton Wanderers
Next on the list is another 1-0 victory at Pride Park, but this one was colossal for plenty of other reasons.
Derby and Bolton Wanderers were battling it out for the second automatic promotion spot in League One by the time March 2024 came around and this game was seen as a make-or-break clash in that race.
After a tense first half, which saw Joe Wildsmith produce a splendid save to deny Jon Dadi Bodvarsson the opener, Kane Wilson headed in a late winner to hand his side a four-point advantage over the Trotters with seven games to go in front of 32,000 in one of the great days at Pride Park in the last decade.
3 – Derby County’s incredible transfer spree
After losing so many players following relegation, bringing in new players was a must for then interim manager Liam Rosenior and David Clowes.
Tom Barkhuizen, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (who is now playing for MK Dons) and Joe Wildsmith were the first through the door as the likes of Eiran Cashin, Curtis Davies and Craig Forsyth signed new deals.
A few days later, Hourihane, James Chester and fan favourite David McGoldrick all made their way to Pride Park. James Collins and Korey Smith also joined inside that first month as preparations began for League One.
2. John Eustace arrives at Derby County
Perhaps the biggest coup out of any new arrival over the course of the last three years, John Eustace proved to be the difference between relegation and survival last season after he became the club’s new head coach following Paul Warne’s sacking.
While it was a tough start for Derby, with three defeats in their first three under the ex-Blackburn Rovers boss, results picked up quickly and big wins against Coventry City, Plymouth Argyle and Hull City helped keep them in the division.
Eustace has brought a different mentality to the Championship side over the last few months, and the work that was done to help bring him back to Pride Park after he retired as a player in 2015 was huge.
1. The Rams win promotion to the Championship
One of Derby’s greatest days of the 21st century, the promotion battle in 2023/24 went to the final day as the Rams faced Carlisle United at Pride Park.
It was in their hands, knowing that a point would see them return to the Championship in place of Bolton, and Max Bird got the party started early with a stunning strike inside the first five minutes.
James Collins ensured victory in the second-half, with supporters rushing the pitch after the final whistle as the Rams celebrated their return to the second tier, just two years after Clowes had rescued them from liquidation. It was a day that fans will never forget and they will always be thankful to their owner for allowing them to have moments like that again.