29 March 2008 - A New Low For Derby County

On 29 March 2008, a 2-2 draw with Fulham guaranteed Derby County's relegation--the earliest such guarantee in the history of the Premier League.

Derby had earned promotion to the Premier League the year before under new manager Billy Davies, who had joined the club in June 2006. But they struggled in the top flight, winning only one match all season (a 1-0 victory over Newcastle on 17 September). They dropped into last place in the fourth week, then rose to 19th before getting pinned to the bottom again in the eleventh week and staying there for the remainder of the season. Billy Davies left the club in November, replaced by Paul Jewell.

They entered the match against Fulham with only 10 points, 17 points shy of safety. With only seven games left, Derby needed a win to preserve any hope of survival. And Fulham were ideal opponents, as they were in the relegation zone themselves, only one spot above Derby.

Derby struck first with a 10th-minute goal from Emanuel Villa, but the visiting Cottagers claimed the lead after a header from Diomansy Kamara (24') and an own-goal from Derby's Dean Leacock (78'). Villa salvaged a point for Derby with a late goal in the 80th minute, but it was too little to save their season. They were 19 points from safety with only six matches remaining, thus ensuring their drop from the top flight. It is the earliest in the season that any team has been mathematically relegated, breaking the previous record set by Sunderland on 12 April 2003.

And it was Derby's last point of the season. They lost all of their remaining games to finish with 11 points, the lowest points total since Stoke City finished with 17 in 1985 and a record low since the league went to three points for a win.

28 March 1903 - Ireland's Good Old Goodall

On 28 March 1903, center-half Archie Goodall (pictured) scored the opening goal in Ireland's 2-0 victory over Wales in the 1903 British Home Championship. Goodall was 38 years and 283 days old, making him the oldest goalscorer in the history of the Irish national team.

Born in Belfast in 1864, Goodall spent his entire club career in England, starting with Preston North End in 1887. After one season in Deepdale and one with Aston Villa, he settled with Derby County for whom he made 380 league appearances (and scored 48 goals) between 1889 and 1903.

He received his first call up for Ireland in March 1899. Prior to that time, the Irish FA had refused to allow the national team to select footballers who were playing in clubs outside Ireland, making Goodall one of the first players based in England to don a shirt for the Irish national team.

Ireland's match against Wales on 28 March 1903 was their last of the tournament. Goodall's goal - the second and last of his international career - helped the Irish finish level on points with England and Scotland and, because there was no provision in the tournament rules to break a tie, the three sides shared the trophy equally. It was the first top finish for Ireland, who would finish as runners-up the following season, then win the title outright in 1914.

Goodall left Derby County in 1903 and spent a season with Plymouth Argyle before moving to Glossop North End as player-manager. After one season there, he moved to Wolverhampton in 1905, but made only seven appearances for Wolves before retiring later that year.

1 February 1936 - The Floodgates Opened

On 1 February 1936, the sides in the four levels of the English pyramid set a collective League record by scoring (or conceding) a total of 209 goals in a single day. Nine players scored hat-tricks and three players bagged four goals each.

The goals were scored in 44 different matches, for an average of 4.75 goals per match. Highlights included Chester City's 12-0 win over York City and Chesterfield's 5-6 win at Crewe Alexandra, both of which were in Division Three North. In the top flight, Brentford rolled over Wolves 5-0 and West Brom flooded Liverpool 6-1, while the largest margin of victory in Division Two was West Ham's 6-0 win over Bury. The only scoreless League match that day was Aldershot's 0-0 draw with Bristol City in Division Three South.

Division One's last place team Aston Villa delivered the day's biggest upset by beating hosts Derby County, then in second place, by the score of 1-3. The win did little to change Villa's fortunes, however, as they finished second from bottom are were relegated to Division Two.

30 January 2006 - The Rams Butt Brown Out

On 30 January 2006, second-division Derby County sacked manager Phil Brown after only seven months in charge.

Derby had taken a risk in hiring Brown, whose only prior experience in the top job consisted of five matches as caretaker manager of Bolton Wanderers. Bolton won four of the five, but gave the permanent position to Sam Allardyce, who retained Brown as an assistant.

After he took over at Derby in June 2005, the Rams won only seven of their 33 matches, with 14 draws and 12 losses. They were sitting in 19th place when Brown was fired. Derby replaced him with Billy Davies, who led the Rams to promotion for the 2007-08 season, but was himself fired in November 2007 as Derby floundered in the top flight.

Brown, meanwhile, moved to second-division Hull City in December 2006 and led them to the Premier League for the 2008-09 season. Unlike Derby, Hull managed to stay up in their first season, finishing one point out of the relegation zone. That season was not without controversy for Brown, who drew sharp criticism for his behavior, including one incident in which he kept his players on the pitch at halftime and shouted at them in full view of the crowd (pictured above).

Brown's position at Hull is precarious, as the Tigers are presently sitting second from bottom, with one win in their last ten matches.

[2012 update: Brown's contract at Hull ended in June 2010 after the club dropped into the Championship. In January 2011, he took over at Preston North End, but was unable to save the club from relegation and was sacked eleven months later.]

17 September 2007 - That Bright Light At The End Of The Tunnel? Train.

On 17 September 2007, Derby County defeated Newcastle 1-0 at Pride Park.

It was the sixth game of the season, and the first win, for the newly-promoted Premiership side. The winning goal was scored in the 38th minute by Scottish striker Kenny Miller (pictured), making his league debut in his first season with the Rams.

The excitement, however, was short-lived. Derby's next match was a 5-0 loss at Arsenal, the first of an English record 37 consecutive League matches without a win. That streak of futility saw Derby become the first team in history to be mathematically relegated from the Premiership in March. They ended the 2007-2008 season with a record-low 11 points from one win and eight draws.

In November, two months after the win over Newcastle, manager Billy Davies left the club by mutual consent and was replaced by Paul Jewell. Miller, whose goal secured Derby's only win of the season, left the following summer for Rangers.

It was almost a year before Derby claimed another league win, a 2-1 English League Championship victory over Sheffield United at Pride Park.

30 August 1919 - A Nation's Long Wait Is Over

On 30 August 1919, English League football began its first season since 1915, when the League was suspended for World War I.

While many clubs fielded teams for regional competitions during that period, all Football League and FA Cup matches were cancelled for the duration of the war. When League play resumed on 30 August 1919, it picked up where it had left off, so that clubs who had been relegated or promoted in 1915 finally appeared in their new surroundings.

Both Derby County and Preston North End played their first League matches since achieving promotion at the end of the 1914-15 season by finishing first and second, respectively, in Division Two. Derby enjoyed their season debut with a 1-1 draw against Manchester United (whose 1919-20 squad is pictured above), while Preston suffered the top flight's most lopsided result of the day, a 4-0 beating at the hands of Blackburn.

Tottenham Hotspur, on the other hand, opened its season in the Second Division, relegated after finishing at the bottom of the First Division table in 1915. Their Division Two opener was a stellar 0-5 win away to Coventry City, which was the largest margin of victory that day in the second tier. The start was no fluke, as Spurs went on to win Division Two and earn promotion back to the top flight in 1920.

20 July 1974 - Leeds Hits A Clough Patch

On 20 July 1974, controversial manager Brian Clough was named manager of Leeds United. He was dismissed from the post on 12 September 1974, after only 44 days in charge.

A star striker for Middlesbrough (1955-61) and Sunderland (1961-64), Clough's playing career was cut short by a knee injury. He turned to management and, in 1965, took over at Hartlepools United. He was then just 30 years old, making him the youngest manager in the League at that time.

In May 1967, Clough took over at Derby County, then languishing in the Second Division. Clough, along with assistant manager Peter Taylor, reversed Derby's fortunes and led them to the First Division title at the end of the 1971-72 season. Clough and Taylor soon fell out with Derby's Board of Directors over issues including transfer fees and Clough's propensity for making controversial statements (such as his criticism of the Derby supporters as "a disgraceful lot"), and the pair resigned in October 1973.

After a brief and unsuccessful spell at Brighton & Hove Albion during the 1973-74 season, Clough took the reins at Leeds, who were coming off their own First Division title. Taylor remained at Brighton.

Clough's move to Leeds raised more than a few eyebrows, as, during his time at Derby, he had been especially critical of Leeds and their previous manager, Don Revie. In particular, he had accused Revie's Leeds side of playing dirty and suggested that the club should be relegated and Revie himself fined.

Despite his appointment as manager, Clough reportedly remained vociferously critical of Revie and Leeds' prior tactics, which alienated him from many of the team's best players, including the midfield pair of Irish international Johnny Giles and Scottish international Billy Bremner. Clough's Leeds side won only one match and drew two from its first six, after which he was promptly sacked.

Clough cemented his status as a coaching legend, however, after moving to Nottingham Forest in 1975. At that time, Forest was a mid-table Second Division side, but Clough and Taylor (who joined Forest from Brighton in 1976) led them to promotion in 1977 and the Division One title in 1978. At Forest, Clough also achieved his crowning glory, winning back-to-back European Cup titles in 1979 and 1980.

Clough retired in 1993 and died in 2004. In 2006, author David Peace published a fictionalized account of Clough's time at Leeds, titled The Damned Utd. Critics generally praised the book, but Clough's family and former players—including Giles—claimed Peace's portrayals of events was inaccurate and painted Clough in an unfairly negative light. A film version of the book was released in 2009, starring Michael Sheen as Clough.

8 July 1941 - A Beacon Of Stability In An Otherwise Turbulent Profession

On 8 July 1941, Dario Gradi, future football manager and Member of the Order of the British Empire, was born in Milan.

Gradi's father died when he was very young and Gradi, along with his English mother, moved to London after the end World War II. He had an undistinguished spell as a professional footballer, playing for Sutton United and Tooting & Mitcham United before turning to a career in management. His first managerial position was as assistant coach at Chelsea in 1971.

From 1971 to 1983, he coached at several other clubs, including Sutton United, Derby County, and Wimbledon as an assistant coach, then as a full manager at Wimbledon and Crystal Palace.

In 1983, he moved to Crewe Alexandra, a club that had spent the previous two decades toiling in the Football League's bottom division. He led them to promotion in 1989. They were relegated two years later, but were promoted again in 1994 and then advanced to the second-tier Division One in 1997, where they remained until 2002.

Gradi retired from management on 1 July 2007 after 24 years and 1,244 matches in charge of Crewe Alexandra. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving manager in English football. In recognition of his contribution to the game, he was admitted in 2004 to the English Football Hall of Fame.

He is currently Crewe Alexandra's director of football.