# 1993–94 Derby County F.C. season

During the 1993–94 English football season, Derby County F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

In October of the 1993–94 season, Arthur Cox retired from football following severe back problems, leaving the role after 9 years in charge.
He was replaced by his assistant Roy McFarland (who became the only man to manage the club permanently in two separate spells) who steered the club's to a second playoff campaign. After overcoming Millwall 5–1 on aggregate in the semifinal legs, and surviving a pitch invasion in the 3–1 win at the New Den, Derby came up against local rivals Leicester City at Wembley. Despite taking the lead through Tommy Johnson, Derby lost 2–1 after a double from Steve Walsh and missed out on promotion yet again.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 4 | Leicester City (O, P) | 46 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 72 | 59 | +13 | 73 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 5 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 69 | 53 | +16 | 72 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 6 | Derby County | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 73 | 68 | +5 | 71 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 7 | Notts County | 46 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 65 | 69 | −4 | 68 | |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 60 | 47 | +13 | 68 | |

## Results

Derby County's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 14 August 1993 | Sunderland | H | 5–0 | 18,027 | Pembridge (2, 1 pen), Gabbiadini, Short, Kitson |
| 18 August 1993 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–1 | 26,684 | Forsyth |
| 21 August 1993 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–3 | 15,168 | |
| 28 August 1993 | Bristol City | H | 1–0 | 15,643 | Gabbiadini |
| 4 September 1993 | Birmingham City | A | 0–3 | 14,582 | |
| 11 September 1993 | Peterborough United | H | 2–0 | 14,779 | Gabbiadini, Johnson |
| 18 September 1993 | Millwall | A | 0–0 | 9,881 | |
| 25 September 1993 | Notts County | A | 1–4 | 11,000 | Gabbiadini |
| 3 October 1993 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 5–3 | 13,370 | Simpson (2), Kitson, Pembridge (pen), Short |
| 9 October 1993 | Luton Town | H | 2–1 | 15,885 | Kitson, Johnson |
| 16 October 1993 | Portsmouth | A | 2–3 | 12,404 | Kitson, Johnson |
| 23 October 1993 | Crystal Palace | H | 3–1 | 16,586 | Harkes, Kitson, Pembridge |
| 30 October 1993 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 2–0 | 11,464 | Pembridge, Simpson |
| 2 November 1993 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–1 | 8,123 | Simpson, Pembridge |
| 7 November 1993 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–4 | 14,310 | |
| 13 November 1993 | Oxford United | A | 0–2 | 7,151 | |
| 20 November 1993 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–1 | 13,498 | Short, Pembridge (pen) |
| 27 November 1993 | Southend United | H | 1–3 | 14,458 | Simpson |
| 5 December 1993 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 2–2 | 16,900 | Gabbiadini (2) |
| 18 December 1993 | Sunderland | A | 0–1 | 16,001 | |
| 27 December 1993 | Barnsley | A | 1–0 | 11,562 | Kitson |
| 28 December 1993 | Leicester City | H | 3–2 | 17,372 | Gabbiadini, Pembridge, Johnson |
| 1 January 1994 | Stoke City | A | 1–2 | 20,307 | Gabbiadini |
| 3 January 1994 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 4–0 | 16,874 | Gabbiadini (3), Williams |
| 15 January 1994 | Portsmouth | H | 1–0 | 15,645 | Johnson |
| 22 January 1994 | Luton Town | A | 1–2 | 9,371 | Forsyth |
| 29 January 1994 | Watford | H | 1–2 | 15,308 | Kitson |
| 5 February 1994 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–1 | 15,615 | Charles |
| 12 February 1994 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–0 | 16,698 | Pembridge, Gabbiadini |
| 19 February 1994 | Watford | A | 4–3 | 8,277 | Watson (own goal), Gabbiadini, Kitson, Johnson |
| 22 February 1994 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–1 | 14,716 | |
| 26 February 1994 | Birmingham City | H | 1–1 | 16,624 | Johnson |
| 5 March 1994 | Bristol City | A | 0–0 | 8,723 | |
| 12 March 1994 | Millwall | H | 0–0 | 15,303 | |
| 16 March 1994 | Peterborough United | A | 2–2 | 7,371 | Nicholson, Johnson |
| 26 March 1994 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–1 | 17,437 | Johnson, Simpson |
| 29 March 1994 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 0–4 | 7,114 | |
| 2 April 1994 | Barnsley | H | 2–0 | 14,968 | Johnson, Harkes |
| 5 April 1994 | Leicester City | A | 3–3 | 20,050 | Kitson (2), Willis (own goal) |
| 9 April 1994 | Stoke City | H | 4–2 | 16,593 | Pembridge, Simpson, Short, Kitson |
| 16 April 1994 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–0 | 15,784 | Johnson, Kitson |
| 20 April 1994 | Notts County | H | 1–1 | 18,602 | Dijkstra (own goal) |
| 23 April 1994 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–1 | 7,451 | Kitson |
| 27 April 1994 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–2 | 19,300 | |
| 30 April 1994 | Oxford United | H | 2–1 | 11,602 | Pembridge (pen), Johnson |
| 8 May 1994 | Southend United | A | 3–4 | 8,119 | Johnson, Simpson (2) |

### First Division play-offs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SF 1st leg | 15 May 1994 | Millwall | H | 2–0 | 17,401 | Cowans, Johnson |
| SF 2nd leg | 18 May 1994 | Millwall | A | 3–1 (won 5–1 on agg) | 16,470 | Gabbiadini, Johnson, Van Den Hauwe (own goal) |
| F | 30 May 1994 | Leicester City | N | 1–2 | 73,671 | Johnson |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 8 January 1994 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–2 | 12,810 | Johnson |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st leg | 22 September 1993 | Exeter City | A | 3–1 | 5,634 | Kitson, Gabbiadini, Simpson |
| R2 2nd leg | 6 October 1993 | Exeter City | H | 2–0 (won 5–1 on agg) | 10,569 | Gabbiadini, Johnson |
| R3 | 27 October 1993 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–1 | 19,855 | |

### Anglo-Italian Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| Group 2 | 31 August 1993 | Notts County | A | 2–3 | 3,276 | Harkes, Johnson |
| Group 2 | 8 September 1993 | Nottingham Forest | H | 3–2 | 6,654 | Simpson, Kitson, Kuhl |

## Players
### First-team squad

    The following players all played 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 | Gary Charles |
| — | DF | ENG | Simon Coleman |
| — | DF | ENG | Michael Forsyth |
| — | DF | ENG | Jason Kavanagh |
| — | DF | ENG | Shane Nicholson |
| — | DF | ENG | Craig Short |
| — | DF | ENG | Darren Wassall |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Williams |
| — | DF | WAL | Kevin Ratcliffe |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Gordon Cowans (captain) |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Hayward |
| — | MF | ENG | Martin Kuhl |
| — | MF | ENG | Craig Ramage |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Simpson |
| — | MF | WAL | Mark Pembridge |
| — | MF | USA | John Harkes |
| — | FW | ENG | Marco Gabbiadini |
| — | FW | ENG | Tommy Johnson |
| — | FW | ENG | Paul Kitson |

### 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 | Steve Sutton |
| — | DF | ENG | Andrew Tretton |
| — | MF | ENG | Lee Carsley |
| — | MF | ENG | Martyn Chalk |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Kevin Cooper |
| — | FW | ENG | Stewart Hadley |
| — | FW | ENG | Mark Stallard |
| — | FW | ENG | Dean Sturridge |