It can be taken as self-evident that time and money are what is really required if a promoted club is to make a decent fist of surviving in the Premier League. But for those clubs promoted via the play-offs both are often in short supply. What lessons, then, can the clubs currently battling for play-off places in the Championship learn from Derby’s dismal season?

Firstly, you need experience on the pitch: proven, battle-hardened professionals who can offer leadership and nous. Persuade old heads that they’ll get a last (well-paid) hurrah with your club and offer them a two-year deal. They’ll still be useful in the Championship if you get relegated.

If Derby had managed to sign Alan Stubbs and Robbie Savage in August, along with an experienced forward (Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink anyone?) then their season would have been very different. There is no room for sentiment either. The players who got you there aren’t likely to keep you there so don’t believe that they deserve a go at it.

'By January, the pace and intensity of the Premier League meant that Derby could barely find eleven fit first teamers for some fixtures'


Players like Steve Howard were embarrassingly out of their depth, and a perceptive management team would have realised this in May. Sell them back into the Championship and use the cash obtained wisely. When you do sign new players, ensure that they’re physically up to the job. Give new signings proper medicals so that they don’t spend most of the season out of action with mysterious niggles, like Andy Todd. Also, ensure that the players you’ve got are in peak condition.

By January, the pace and intensity of the Premier League meant that Derby could barely find eleven fit first teamers for some fixtures, at a time in the season when points were rapidly becoming priceless. New signings should also fit into a tactical plan. Derby, under Billy Davies, played direct, physical and defensive football. Quite how the diminutive Robert Earnshaw fitted into this, perhaps even Davies himself couldn’t explain, with the result that the £3.5m record signing spent the season playing the odd reserve game and watching most Premier League fixtures from a comfy seat on the bench.

When you do look for signings, look in the right places, particularly if you’re looking abroad. Affordable English talent is rare, so have a scouting network in place in countries that regularly produce quality players. Derby made much of recruiting people who knew the North American market. Beyond a few goalkeepers and a Canadian striker of Italian descent (Paul Peschisolido), North America hasn’t proved to be a goldmine of talent over the years.

The African Cup of Nations proved that Africa is the place to look for quality, skilful players with all the pace, strength and hunger required. That is where you’ll find affordable talent.

Be flexible in your planning too. Clubs should plan for every eventuality, whether it be being promoted earlier, or later, than expected. Derby’s management spoke about a ‘Three Year Plan’ and going up too soon. Well, supporters don’t care and other teams aren’t going to go easy on you just because your circumstances have drastically altered. Tear up the old plans and come up with new ones quickly, because the sheer ruthlessness of the Premier League will find you out quickly.

Ruthlessness is a good quality to have, particularly with regard to your manager. To most observers, it was fairly apparent by October that Billy Davies wasn’t up to the job and he should have been moved on. By the time Paul Jewell took over, the fear-filled, over-cautious, defeatist mentality that Davies had inculcated had so deeply infected the club that it may have, already, terminally damaged Derby’s confidence for next season.

The Premier League is an unforgiving and cynical place. Derby, more than any other club in recent years, have shown just how unforgiving it can be. Hopefully, other clubs will not repeat their mistakes and we can look forward to promoted teams competing more effectively in future, and providing the kind of challenge to the established sides that keeps the game interesting.