# 2000–01 Derby County F.C. season

During the 2000–01 English football season, Derby County competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

## Season summary

Derby's season started with one defeat and four draws in their first five games during which they scored 11 goals. However, the goals soon dried up and overall, another season of struggle plagued Pride Park, but Jim Smith's men were saved with one week of the season left after a shock 1–0 win over champions Manchester United at Old Trafford as well as Manchester City losing their penultimate game of the season at Ipswich Town. The attention was then quickly focused on improving the squad for 2001–02 in a bid to prevent another relegation battle.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 15 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 45 | 50 | −5 | 42 | |
| 16 | Everton | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 45 | 59 | −14 | 42 | |
| 17 | Derby County | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 59 | −22 | 42 | |
| 18 | Manchester City (R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 41 | 65 | −24 | 34 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |
| 19 | Coventry City (R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 36 | 63 | −27 | 34 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: 2000–01 FA Premier League table

### 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 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | D | D | D | L | D | L | L | L | L | D | D | W | L | W | L | W | W | D | L | W | L | D | L | W | D | W | W | D | L | L | L | W | L | L | W | D |
| Position | 8 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 |

## Results

Derby County's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 19 August 2000 | Southampton | H | 2–2 | 27,223 | Strupar, Burton |
| 23 August 2000 | Newcastle United | A | 2–3 | 51,327 | Strupar, Johnson |
| 26 August 2000 | Everton | A | 2–2 | 34,840 | Sturridge, Strupar |
| 6 September 2000 | Middlesbrough | H | 3–3 | 24,290 | Christie (2), Strupar |
| 10 September 2000 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–2 | 22,310 | Christie, Valakari |
| 16 September 2000 | Sunderland | A | 1–2 | 45,343 | Christie |
| 23 September 2000 | Leeds United | H | 1–1 | 26,248 | Kinkladze |
| 30 September 2000 | Aston Villa | A | 1–4 | 26,534 | Riggott |
| 15 October 2000 | Liverpool | H | 0–4 | 30,532 | |
| 21 October 2000 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–3 | 34,483 | Riggott |
| 28 October 2000 | Leicester City | A | 1–2 | 20,525 | Delap |
| 6 November 2000 | West Ham United | H | 0–0 | 24,621 | |
| 11 November 2000 | Arsenal | A | 0–0 | 37,679 | |
| 18 November 2000 | Bradford City | H | 2–0 | 31,614 | Christie, Delap |
| 25 November 2000 | Manchester United | H | 0–3 | 32,910 | |
| 2 December 2000 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–0 | 22,003 | Delap |
| 9 December 2000 | Chelsea | A | 1–4 | 34,317 | Riggott |
| 16 December 2000 | Coventry City | H | 1–0 | 27,869 | Christie |
| 23 December 2000 | Newcastle United | H | 2–0 | 29,978 | Carbonari, Burton |
| 26 December 2000 | Manchester City | A | 0–0 | 34,321 | |
| 30 December 2000 | Southampton | A | 0–1 | 15,075 | |
| 1 January 2001 | Everton | H | 1–0 | 27,358 | Burton |
| 13 January 2001 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–4 | 29,041 | |
| 20 January 2001 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | 31,174 | Powell |
| 30 January 2001 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–2 | 20,043 | Burley |
| 3 February 2001 | Sunderland | H | 1–0 | 29,129 | Burley |
| 10 February 2001 | Leeds United | A | 0–0 | 38,789 | |
| 24 February 2001 | Aston Villa | H | 1–0 | 27,289 | Burton (pen) |
| 3 March 2001 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 29,410 | Strupar (2, 1 pen) |
| 18 March 2001 | Liverpool | A | 1–1 | 43,362 | Burton |
| 31 March 2001 | Coventry City | A | 0–2 | 19,654 | |
| 7 April 2001 | Chelsea | H | 0–4 | 29,320 | |
| 14 April 2001 | West Ham United | A | 1–3 | 25,319 | Guðjónsson |
| 16 April 2001 | Leicester City | H | 2–0 | 28,387 | Boertien, Eranio |
| 21 April 2001 | Bradford City | A | 0–2 | 18,564 | |
| 28 April 2001 | Arsenal | H | 1–2 | 29,567 | Eranio |
| 5 May 2001 | Manchester United | A | 1–0 | 67,526 | Christie |
| 19 May 2001 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–1 | 33,239 | Christie |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 6 January 2001 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 3–2 | 19,232 | Christie (2), Eranio |
| R4 | 27 January 2001 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–0 | 18,858 | |
| R4R | 7 February 2001 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–5 | 15,203 | Riggott, Eranio |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 19 September 2000 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–2 | 12,183 | Burton |
| R2 2nd Leg | 26 September 2000 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 4–2 (won 5–4 on agg) | 19,112 | Bragstad (2), Riggott, Burley |
| R3 | 1 November 2000 | Norwich City | H | 3–0 | 11,273 | Delap, Burley (pen), Christie |
| R4 | 29 November 2000 | Fulham | A | 2–3 | 11,761 | Christie, Powell |

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | EST | Mart Poom |
| 2 | DF | ARG | Horacio Carbonari |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Brian O'Neil |
| 4 | MF | JAM | Darryl Powell (captain) |
| 5 | MF | IRL | Rory Delap |
| 6 | MF | SCO | Craig Burley |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Seth Johnson |
| 9 | FW | JAM | Deon Burton |
| 10 | MF | GEO | Georgi Kinkladze |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Lee Morris |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Malcolm Christie |
| 14 | MF | ISL | Þórður Guðjónsson (on loan from Las Palmas) |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Danny Higginbotham |
| 16 | DF | FRA | Lilian Martin (on loan from Marseille) |
| 17 | DF | FRA | Youl Mawéné |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Richard Jackson |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Steve Elliott |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | MF | ITA | Stefano Eranio |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Chris Riggott |
| 22 | DF | NOR | Bjørn Otto Bragstad |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Paul Boertien |
| 24 | GK | ENG | Andy Oakes |
| 25 | FW | BEL | Branko Strupar |
| 26 | FW | ENG | Marvin Robinson |
| 27 | DF | AUS | Con Blatsis |
| 28 | MF | FIN | Simo Valakari |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Ian Evatt |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Adam Murray |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Adam Bolder |
| 32 | GK | ENG | Lee Grant |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Lewis Hunt |
| 34 | DF | NGA | Taribo West (on loan from AC Milan) |
| 35 | MF | IRL | Fiachra McArdle |

### Left the club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 3 | DF | GER | Stefan Schnoor (to Wolfsburg) |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Dean Sturridge (to Leicester City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | MF | NOR | Lars Bohinen (to Lyngby Boldklub) |
| 16 | DF | DEN | Jacob Laursen (to København) |

### Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | NIR | Gerard Doherty |
| — | DF | ENG | Wayne Adams |
| — | DF | WAL | Karl Brown |
| — | MF | ENG | Patrick Bannister |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | IRL | Brendon Canning |
| — | MF | FIN | Kristoffer Weckström |
| — | FW | ENG | Scott Rickards |
| — | FW | SCO | Gary Twigg |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 June 2000 | MF | Simo Valakari | Motherwell | Free transfer |
| 5 July 2000 | DF | Danny Higginbotham | Manchester United | £2,000,000 |
| 26 July 2000 | DF | Bjørn Otto Bragstad | Rosenborg | £1,500,000 |
| 2 August 2000 | DF | Youl Mawéné | RC Lens | £500,000 |
| 8 August 2000 | DF | Con Blatsis | South Melbourne | £150,000 |
| 1 November 2000 | DF | Lilian Martin | Marseille | Loan |
| 2 November 2000 | DF | Taribo West | Milan | Monthly |
| 13 November 2000 | DF | Brian O'Neil | VfL Wolfsburg | Swap |
| 1 March 2001 | MF | Þórður Guðjónsson | Las Palmas | Loan |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 20 May 2000 | MF | Marc Bridge-Wilkinson | Port Vale | Free transfer |
| 6 June 2000 | GK | Richard Knight | Oxford United | Free transfer |
| 16 June 2000 | FW | Esteban Fuertes | RC Lens | £2,800,000 |
| 5 July 2000 | MF | Mikkel Beck | Lille | £500,000 |
| 11 July 2000 | FW | Sinclair Le Geyt | Port Vale | Free transfer |
| 12 July 2000 | DF | Tony Dorigo | Stoke City | Free transfer |
| 24 August 2000 | DF | Jacob Laursen | FC Copenhagen | Free transfer |
| 13 November 2000 | DF | Stefan Schnoor | VfL Wolfsburg | Swap |
| 19 January 2001 | FW | Dean Sturridge | Leicester City | £350,000 |
| 23 January 2001 | MF | Lars Bohinen | Lyngby Boldklub | Free transfer |
    Transfers in: £4,150,000
    Transfers out: £3,650,000
    Total spending: £500,000

### Loan in

* Lilian Martin – Marseille, 1 November
* Taribo West – A.C. Milan, 2 November, three-month loan (later extended by a further five months on 24 January)
* Þórður Guðjónsson – Las Palmas, 1 March, three-month loan

## Statistics
### Starting 11

    Considering starts in all competitions
* GK: #1, Mart Poom, 38
* RB: #5, Rory Delap, 35
* CB: #2, Horacio Carbonari, 31
* CB: #21, Chris Riggott, 34
* LB: #15, Danny Higginbotham, 28
* RM: #6, Craig Burley, 28
* CM: #4, Darryl Powell, 30
* CM: #7, Seth Johnson, 34
* LM: #20, Stefano Eranio, 29
* CF: #12, Malcolm Christie, 36
* CF: #9, Deon Burton, 29