# 1994–95 Derby County F.C. season

During the 1994–95 English football season, Derby County F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

During the 1994–95 season, several players left Derby, including Kitson joining Newcastle United for £2.25m, Charles and Johnson moving to Aston Villa for a combined £2.9m and Pembridge moving to Sheffield Wednesday. The side was also weakened when goalkeeper Martin Taylor, an ever-present the previous season and touted for a place in the England squad, broke his leg in a 1–0 defeat at Southend United and was out of action for the next 29 months. With chairman Lionel Pickering's increased frustration at no return on his investment, the purse strings were tightened and McFarland was unable to buy suitable replacements, instead blooding youth products such as Dean Sturridge, Russell Hoult and Lee Carsley to fill the gaps created by the departures. In the event Derby could only record a 9th-place finish and McFarland, in the knowledge his contract was not going to be renewed, said his goodbye's in the penultimate match of the season, a 2–1 home defeat at Southend United, ending a 28-year association with the club, broken only by a two-year spell as player-manager at Bradford City.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 7 | Watford | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 52 | 46 | +6 | 70 |
| 8 | Sheffield United | 46 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 74 | 55 | +19 | 68 |
| 9 | Derby County | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 66 | 51 | +15 | 66 |
| 10 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 65 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 50 | 53 | −3 | 63 |

## Results

Derby County's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 13 August 1994 | Barnsley | A | 1–2 | 8,737 | Pembridge |
| 20 August 1994 | Luton Town | H | 0–0 | 13,060 | |
| 27 August 1994 | Millwall | A | 1–4 | 8,809 | Sturridge |
| 31 August 1994 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–1 | 14,659 | |
| 3 September 1994 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–1 | 12,027 | Charles, Pembridge |
| 11 September 1994 | Swindon Town | A | 1–1 | 9,054 | Kitson |
| 13 September 1994 | Bristol City | A | 2–0 | 8,029 | Kitson, Carsley |
| 17 September 1994 | Oldham Athletic | H | 2–1 | 13,746 | Carsley, Short |
| 25 September 1994 | Stoke City | H | 3–0 | 11,782 | Hodge, Gabbiadini, Charles |
| 1 October 1994 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 12,015 | |
| 8 October 1994 | Watford | H | 1–1 | 13,413 | Hodge |
| 16 October 1994 | Southend United | A | 0–1 | 12,317 | |
| 23 October 1994 | Notts County | A | 0–0 | 6,390 | |
| 29 October 1994 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–2 | 12,588 | Short, Johnson |
| 2 November 1994 | Reading | H | 1–2 | 10,585 | Gabbiadini |
| 6 November 1994 | Portsmouth | A | 1–0 | 5,117 | Gabbiadini |
| 12 November 1994 | Sheffield United | A | 1–2 | 15,001 | Simpson (pen) |
| 19 November 1994 | Port Vale | H | 2–0 | 13,357 | Johnson (2) |
| 27 November 1994 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 2–0 | 22,768 | Johnson, Stallard |
| 3 December 1994 | Notts County | H | 0–0 | 14,278 | |
| 11 December 1994 | Luton Town | A | 0–0 | 6,400 | |
| 17 December 1994 | Barnsley | H | 1–0 | 13,205 | Johnson |
| 26 December 1994 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–3 | 11,581 | Johnson |
| 31 December 1994 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 | 13,979 | Johnson |
| 2 January 1995 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–1 | 16,035 | Trollope |
| 14 January 1995 | Charlton Athletic | A | 4–3 | 9,389 | Short, Stallard, Gabbiadini (2) |
| 22 January 1995 | Portsmouth | H | 3–0 | 11,143 | Simpson (3) |
| 4 February 1995 | Sheffield United | H | 2–3 | 15,882 | Kavanagh, Williams |
| 11 February 1995 | Reading | A | 0–1 | 8,834 | |
| 21 February 1995 | Port Vale | A | 0–1 | 9,387 | |
| 26 February 1995 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | 11,003 | Yates, Mills |
| 4 March 1995 | Stoke City | A | 0–0 | 13,462 | |
| 7 March 1995 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–0 | 5,310 | Pembridge |
| 11 March 1995 | Millwall | H | 3–2 | 12,490 | Trollope, Pembridge, Gabbiaidini |
| 15 March 1995 | Burnley | H | 4–0 | 13,922 | Mills, Trollope, Gabbiadini, Simpson (pen) |
| 18 March 1995 | Middlesbrough | A | 4–2 | 18,168 | Mills (2), Gabbiadini, Pembridge |
| 22 March 1995 | Swindon Town | H | 3–1 | 16,839 | Simpson (pen), Pembridge, Mills |
| 25 March 1995 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–1 | 7,696 | |
| 1 April 1995 | Bristol City | H | 3–1 | 14,555 | Gabbiadini, Williams, Wrack |
| 8 April 1995 | Sunderland | H | 0–1 | 15,442 | |
| 12 April 1995 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3–3 | 16,040 | Simpson (2), Gabbiadini |
| 15 April 1995 | Burnley | A | 1–3 | 11,534 | Trollope |
| 17 April 1995 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 5–0 | 11,711 | Pembridge (2), Mills, Gabbiadini, Williams |
| 22 April 1995 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–0 | 15,265 | |
| 29 April 1995 | Southend United | H | 1–2 | 12,528 | Mills |
| 7 May 1995 | Watford | A | 1–2 | 8,492 | Pembridge |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 7 January 1995 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 29,406 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 First Leg | 20 September 1994 | Reading | A | 1–3 | 6,056 | Gabbiadini |
| R2 Second Leg | 28 September 1994 | Reading | H | 2–0 (won on away goals) | 9,476 | Gabbiadini, Williams |
| R3 | 26 October 1994 | Portsmouth | A | 1–0 | 8,568 | Simpson |
| R4 | 30 November 1994 | Swindon Town | A | 1–2 | 8,920 | Stallard |

### Anglo-Italian Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| Group B | 24 August 1994 | Ancona | A | 1–2 | 748 | Pembridge |
| Group B | 6 September 1994 | A.C. Cesena | H | 6–1 | 2,010 | Hodge (2), Kitson (4) |
| Group B | 5 October 1994 | Piacenza | A | 1–1 | 1,710 | Williams |
| Group B | 15 November 1994 | Udinese | H | 3–1 | 1,562 | Johnson, Stallard |

## 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 | Steve Sutton |
| — | GK | ENG | Russell Hoult |
| — | GK | ENG | Martin Taylor |
| — | GK | ENG | Andy Quy |
| — | DF | ENG | Gary Charles |
| — | DF | ENG | Craig Short |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Williams |
| — | DF | ENG | Darren Wassall |
| — | DF | ENG | Jason Kavanagh |
| — | DF | ENG | Dean Yates |
| — | DF | ENG | Michael Forsyth |
| — | DF | ENG | Shane Nicholson |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Boden |
| — | DF | ENG | Wayne Sutton |
| — | DF | ENG | Will Davies |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Simpson |
| — | MF | USA | John Harkes |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | WAL | Mark Pembridge |
| — | MF | ENG | Lee Carsley |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Trollope |
| — | MF | ENG | Gordon Cowans |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Hodge (on loan from Leeds United) |
| — | MF | ENG | Martin Kuhl |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Hayward |
| — | MF | ENG | Darren Wrack |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Ashbee |
| — | MF | ENG | Kevin Cooper |
| — | FW | ENG | Marco Gabbiadini |
| — | FW | ENG | Tommy Johnson |
| — | FW | ENG | Lee Mills |
| — | FW | ENG | Mark Stallard |
| — | FW | ENG | Paul Kitson |
| — | FW | ENG | Dean Sturridge |

### 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 |
| — | DF | ENG | Andrew Tretton |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Nick Wright |