# 1995–96 Derby County F.C. season

During the 1995–96 English football season, Derby County F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

Jim Smith became the new manager of Derby County in the summer, replacing former boss Roy McFarland. Although the new season started slowly, the signing of sweeper Igor Štimac in the early autumn proved pivotal. Throwing his brief of "a top-half finish" out the window, Smith guided the Rams to a second-place finish and promotion to the Premier League.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sunderland (C, P) | 46 | 22 | 17 | 7 | 59 | 33 | +26 | 83 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Derby County (P) | 46 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 71 | 51 | +20 | 79 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 3 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 75 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 4 | Stoke City | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 60 | 49 | +11 | 73 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 5 | Leicester City (O, P) | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 66 | 60 | +6 | 71 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |

## Results

Derby County's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Results per matchday

| Matchday | 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 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | D | L | D | L | W | L | W | D | L | D | W | D | D | W | L | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | D | D | W | D | W | D | D | W | L | D | L | W | L | W | W | D | D | W | L |
| Position | 14 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 13 August 1995 | Port Vale | H | 0–0 | 10,869 | |
| 19 August 1995 | Reading | A | 2–3 | 9,280 | Preece, Sturridge |
| 26 August 1995 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–1 | 10,564 | Sturridge |
| 30 August 1995 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–3 | 15,170 | |
| 2 September 1995 | Luton Town | A | 2–1 | 6,427 | Sturridge (2) |
| 10 September 1995 | Leicester City | H | 0–1 | 11,767 | |
| 13 September 1995 | Southend United | H | 1–0 | 9,242 | Sturridge |
| 16 September 1995 | Portsmouth | A | 2–2 | 14,434 | Flynn, van der Lann |
| 23 September 1995 | Barnsley | A | 0–2 | 8,929 | |
| 1 October 1995 | Millwall | H | 2–2 | 9,590 | Willems, van der Lann |
| 7 October 1995 | Sheffield United | A | 2–0 | 12,721 | Gabbiadini, Willems |
| 14 October 1995 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–1 | 13,034 | Gabbiadini |
| 22 October 1995 | Stoke City | A | 1–1 | 9,435 | van der Lann |
| 28 October 1995 | Oldham Athletic | H | 2–1 | 11,545 | van der Lann, Simpson |
| 4 November 1995 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–5 | 8,565 | Štimac |
| 11 November 1995 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 3–0 | 13,765 | Gabbiadini (2), Sturridge (pen) |
| 18 November 1995 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–0 | 12,963 | Willems, Gabbiadini |
| 21 November 1995 | Birmingham City | A | 4–1 | 19,417 | Sturridge, Willems, D Powell, Gabbiadini |
| 25 November 1995 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–0 | 13,506 | |
| 2 December 1995 | Sheffield United | H | 4–2 | 13,841 | Willems (2, 1 pen), Sturridge, Gabbiadini |
| 9 December 1995 | Barnsley | H | 4–1 | 14,415 | Gabbiadini, Carsley, Sturridge, Willems (pen) |
| 16 December 1995 | Millwall | A | 1–0 | 7,694 | Sturridge |
| 23 December 1995 | Sunderland | H | 3–1 | 16,882 | Gabbiadini, Willems (pen), Sturridge |
| 26 December 1995 | Huddersfield Town | A | 1–0 | 17,878 | Willems |
| 1 January 1996 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | 16,714 | Willems, Gabbiadini |
| 13 January 1996 | Reading | H | 3–0 | 15,123 | Sturridge (2), Flynn |
| 20 January 1996 | Port Vale | A | 1–1 | 11,947 | Sturridge |
| 3 February 1996 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–1 | 7,818 | D Powell |
| 10 February 1996 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–0 | 17,460 | |
| 17 February 1996 | Southend United | A | 2–1 | 8,331 | Simpson, Willems |
| 21 February 1996 | Luton Town | H | 1–1 | 14,825 | D Powell |
| 24 February 1996 | Portsmouth | H | 3–2 | 16,120 | Sturridge, Yates, Gabbiadini |
| 28 February 1996 | Leicester City | A | 0–0 | 20,911 | |
| 2 March 1996 | Huddersfield Town | H | 3–2 | 17,097 | Simpson (2), van der Lann |
| 5 March 1996 | Watford | A | 0–0 | 8,306 | |
| 9 March 1996 | Sunderland | A | 0–3 | 21,644 | |
| 16 March 1996 | Watford | H | 1–1 | 15,939 | Simpson (pen) |
| 23 March 1996 | Norwich City | A | 0–1 | 15,349 | |
| 30 March 1996 | Stoke City | H | 3–1 | 17,245 | Sturridge (2), D Powell |
| 2 April 1996 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–1 | 16,210 | |
| 6 April 1996 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–0 | 8,119 | Simpson (pen) |
| 8 April 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 6–2 | 16,723 | Yates, Simpson (3), D Powell, Sturridge |
| 14 April 1996 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–0 | 11,334 | |
| 20 April 1996 | Birmingham City | H | 1–1 | 16,757 | Simpson |
| 28 April 1996 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–1 | 17,041 | Sturridge, van der Lann |
| 5 May 1996 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–3 | 23,858 | Ward, Sturridge |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 7 January 1996 | Leeds United | H | 2–4 | 16,155 | Simpson, Gabbiadini |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 First Leg | 19 September 1995 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 3–1 | 3,170 | Simpson, Gabbiadini, Stallard |
| R2 Second Leg | 4 October 1995 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 1–1 | 8,825 | Willems |
| R3 | 25 October 1995 | Leeds United | H | 0–1 | 16,030 | |

## Players
### First-team squad

    The following players all appeared for the first team this season.
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 | Russell Hoult |
| — | GK | ENG | Andy Quy |
| — | GK | ENG | Steve Sutton |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Boden |
| — | DF | ENG | Matt Carbon |
| — | DF | ENG | Jason Kavanagh |
| — | DF | ENG | Shane Nicholson |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Powell |
| — | DF | ENG | Gary Rowett |
| — | DF | ENG | Wayne Sutton |
| — | DF | ENG | Darren Wassall |
| — | DF | ENG | Simon Webster (on loan from West Ham United) |
| — | DF | ENG | Dean Yates |
| — | DF | CRO | Igor Štimac |
| — | MF | ENG | Lee Carsley |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Kevin Cooper |
| — | MF | ENG | Glyn Hodges |
| — | MF | ENG | Sean Flynn |
| — | MF | ENG | Darryl Powell |
| — | MF | ENG | David Preece |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Simpson |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Trollope |
| — | MF | ENG | Darren Wrack |
| — | MF | NED | Robin van der Laan |
| — | FW | ENG | Marco Gabbiadini |
| — | FW | ENG | Mark Stallard |
| — | FW | ENG | Dean Sturridge |
| — | FW | ENG | Ashley Ward |
| — | FW | NED | Ron Willems |

### Reserve team

    The following players did not appear for the first team this season.
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 | Martin Taylor |
| — | DF | ENG | Rob Kozluk |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Nick Wright |