# 1968–69 Derby County F.C. season

The 1968–69 season was Derby County's 69th in the Football League and their 11th season in the Second Division. The team finished in 1st spot to clinch promotion to the First Division after being relegated 16 years ago.

## Season summary

In his third season as chairman, Sam Longson and his second season manager Brian Clough clinched the influential signing of midfielder Dave Mackay from Tottenham Hotspur. Also from Hartlepools United arrived young midfielder John McGovern being crucial during the second half of the season allowing MacKay to play as Full-back. Meanwhile, assistant and former Goalkeeper Peter Taylor recommended the transfer in of Les Green to reinforce the squad. After a last year failed bid, finally, Clough signed midfielder Willie Carlin for a fee of £63,000.
The squad won the 1st spot in Second Division getting back to the First Division after being relegated in 1953. Meanwhile, in Football League Cup the team advanced to the quarterfinals only to lose in Replay against Swindon Town. In FA Cup The Rams were eliminated by Burnley in the third round.
Scottish Full-back Dave Mackay was named Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, the only Derby County player to earn the honour.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Colin Boulton |
| — | GK | ENG | Les Green |
| — | DF | ENG | Ron Webster |
| — | DF | ENG | Tony Rhodes |
| — | DF | ENG | Peter Daniel |
| — | DF | ENG | Roy McFarland |
| — | DF | ENG | Mick Jones |
| — | DF | ENG | John Richardson |
| — | DF | ENG | John Robson |
| — | DF | ENG | Pat Wright |
| — | DF | ENG | Jim Walker |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | SCO | Dave Mackay (Captain) |
| — | MF | ENG | Willie Carlin |
| — | MF | WAL | Alan Durban |
| — | MF | SCO | John McGovern |
| — | MF | ENG | Alan Hinton |
| — | MF | NIR | Arthur Stewart |
| — | FW | ENG | Kevin Hector |
| — | FW | SCO | John O'Hare |
| — | FW | ENG | Frank Wignall |
| — | FW | ENG | Richie Barker |
| — | FW | ENG | Barry Butlin |

### Transfers

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| MF | Dave Mackay | Tottenham Hotspur | £5,000 |
| MF | Willie Carlin | Sheffield United | £63,000 |
| MF | John McGovern | Hartlepools United | £7,500 |
| GK | Les Green | Rochdale A.F.C. | |
| DF | Mick Jones | | |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| GK | Reg Matthews | Rugby Town | |
| DF | Mick Hopkinson | Mansfield Town | |
| MF | Gordon Hughes | Lincoln City | |
| DF | Bobby Saxton | Burton Albion F.C. | |
| MF | Phil Waller | Plymouth Argyle | |
| FW | Barry Butlin | Notts County | loan |

#### Winter

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| FW | Frank Wignall | Wolverhampton Wanderers | |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| FW | Richie Barker | Notts County | |

## Competitions
### Second Division
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Derby County (C, P) | 42 | 26 | 11 | 5 | 65 | 32 | 2.031 | 63 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | Crystal Palace (P) | 42 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 70 | 47 | 1.489 | 56 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 61 | 52 | 1.173 | 50 | |
| 4 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 58 | 49 | 1.184 | 49 | |
| 5 | Cardiff City | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 67 | 54 | 1.241 | 47 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
* ↑ Cardiff City qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1968–69 Welsh Cup winners.

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 |
| Ground | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | H |
| Result | D | D | L | L | D | W | W | D | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | D | D | W | D | D | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | W | L | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Position | 11 | 12 | 18 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

#### Matches

* source: https://www.11v11.com/teams/derby-county/tab/matches/season/1969/

### FA Cup
## Statistics
### Players statistics

    Substitute appearances indicated in brackets
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Football League Second Division | Football League Second Division | Football League League Cup | Football League League Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Les Green | 51 | -37 | 42 | -32 | 8 | -2 | 1 | -3 |
| | DF | ENG | Ron Webster | 46 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Roy McFarland | 51 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Dave Mackay | 50 | 2 | 41 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | John Robson | 51 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | John McGovern | 19 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | WAL | Alan Durban | 44 | 8 | 36 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | MF | ENG | Willie Carlin | 43 | 8 | 36 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Alan Hinton | 48 | 12 | 41 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Kevin Hector | 50 | 20 | 41 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | John O'Hare | 49 | 10 | 41 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | Colin Boulton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Jim Walker | 31 | 1 | 20+3 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | John Richardson | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | NIR | Arthur Stewart | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Richie Barker | 10 | 2 | 3+4 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Frank Wignall | 4 | 4 | 2+2 | 4 |
| | DF | ENG | Peter Daniel | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Barry Butlin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Mick Jones |
| | DF | ENG | Tony Rhodes |
| | DF | ENG | Pat Wright |
* Source: https://www.11v11.com/teams/derby-county/tab/players/season/1969/