# 2005–06 Derby County F.C. season

During the 2005–06 English football season, Derby County competed in the Football League Championship.

## Season summary

Derby County had high hopes going into the season after finishing fourth the previous season, but manager George Burley, who had transformed Derby from relegation candidates into promotion hopefuls, quit in June following the sale of young midfielder Tom Huddlestone to Tottenham Hotspur, without Burley's knowledge nor consent. His replacement, Phil Brown (in his first full-time managerial position) was unable to build on Burley's good work and their poor form dragged them into the relegation mire instead. He was sacked in January after a 6–1 thrashing against Coventry City in the league and a 3–1 defeat against League One side Colchester United in the FA Cup, with Derby languishing in 19th. Former coach Terry Westley stepped up as caretaker manager; despite no wins in his first five games, he was named as caretaker manager for the remainder of the season - Westley promptly won his first game two days later, 1–0 at home to Plymouth. Westley marginally improved Derby's form and they managed to confirm their Championship survival with a few games of the season to spare. Westley, however, was not offered the role of permanent manager; that went to former Preston North End boss Billy Davies.
Derby's form was especially poor away from home, with only 2 away wins all season, a complete contrast from the previous season from which they won 12 away games including six in a row.

## Kit

Derby changed both their kit manufacturer and sponsor this season, with Spanish company Joma producing the kits and the Derbyshire Building Society sponsoring the kits.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 18 | Hull City | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 52 | |
| 19 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 52 | |
| 20 | Derby County | 46 | 10 | 20 | 16 | 53 | 67 | −14 | 50 | |
| 21 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 50 | 65 | −15 | 50 | |
| 22 | Crewe Alexandra (R) | 46 | 9 | 15 | 22 | 57 | 86 | −29 | 42 | Relegation to Football League One |

## 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 | ENG | Lee Camp |
| 3 | DF | POL | Tomasz Hajto |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Alan Wright (on loan from Sheffield United) |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Jeff Kenna |
| 6 | DF | JAM | Michael Johnson (captain) |
| 7 | FW | ENG | Tommy Smith |
| 8 | MF | DEN | Morten Bisgaard |
| 9 | FW | MAR | Mounir El Hamdaoui (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 10 | DF | ENG | Pablo Mills |
| 11 | FW | CAN | Paul Peschisolido |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Paul Thirlwell |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Lee Grant |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Richard Jackson |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Adam Bolder |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Marc Edworthy |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Paul Boertien |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Seth Johnson |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Nathan Doyle |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Lee Holmes |
| 21 | MF | SCO | Michael McIndoe (on loan from Doncaster Rovers) |
| 23 | DF | JAM | Darren Moore |
| 24 | GK | ENG | Kevin Poole |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Mitchell Hanson |
| 27 | MF | ESP | Iñigo Idiakez |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Giles Barnes |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Lionel Ainsworth |
| 30 | DF | WAL | Lewin Nyatanga |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Miles Addison |

### Left 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 | ENG | Jamie Vincent (to Millwall) |
| 3 | MF | ENG | Peter Whittingham (on loan from Aston Villa) |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Andrew Davies (on loan from Middlesbrough) |
| 5 | DF | BIH | Muhamed Konjić (retired) |
| 9 | FW | POL | Grzegorz Rasiak (to Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 9 | FW | TRI | Stern John (on loan from Coventry City) |
| 21 | DF | NIR | Chris Turner (to Sligo Rovers) |
| 22 | FW | ENG | Dean Holdsworth (to Weymouth) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | FW | JAM | Kevin Lisbie (on loan from Charlton Athletic) |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Marcus Tudgay (to Sheffield Wednesday) |
| 25 | MF | SEN | Khalilou Fadiga (on loan from Bolton Wanderers) |
| 25 | FW | BRA | Elpídio Silva (to Corinthians Alagoano) |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Johnnie Jackson (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Dexter Blackstock (on loan from Southampton) |
| 33 | DF | BRA | Emerson Thome (on loan from Wigan Athletic) |
| 34 | FW | ENG | Danny Graham (on loan from Middlesbrough) |

### 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 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Mitchell Hanson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 31 | DF | ENG | Karl Ashton |

## Statistics
### Starting 11

These charts below depict the most used starters in the most used starting formation. The most recent starters/formations are listed when total starts are equal between two players/formations.
| No. | Pos. | Name | MS |
| 1 | GK | Lee Camp | 41 |
| 16 | RB | Marc Edworthy | 31 |
| 4 | CB | Andrew Davies | 23 |
| 6 | CB | Michael Johnson | 32 |
| 30 | LB | Lewin Nyatanga | 26 |
| 8 | RM | Morten Bisgaard | 26 |
| 18 | CM | Seth Johnson | 28 |
| 15 | CM | Adam Bolder | 27 |
| 27 | LM | Iñigo Idiakez | 43 |
| 7 | CF | Tommy Smith | 46 |
| 11 | CF | Paul Peschisolido | 17 |