Derby 1974-75

[Romanis]

Sorry for the slew of topics created but I really need views on this.

I was a wee bit too young, but reading up Wikipedia on the season, it seems you were never really top until late March or was it early April? Man City, Everton (especially), Liverpool and Ipswich seemed to the likely title winners and then 1 by 1 they failed.
What actually happened in 1975? Andy and Roger, this should be up your street.

[Romanis]

Come come, help me out here

[Romanis]

Maybe you felt the title hopes faded after this match?

[Romanis]

Then a month later....

[MadAmster]

Two defeats and 3 draws from the last 14 games giving us 21 points out of a possible 28. A much better finish to the season than any of the other challengers. That's it basically.

Liverpool dropped 10 points in the last 14 games starting with 6 consecutive draws.
Ipswich dropped 14 points over the same period.
Everton dropped 13 points.
Man City dropped 13 points.

The final table showed us 2 points ahead of both Liverpool and Ipswich and 3 points ahead of Everton with City 7 points back in 8th place.

At the start of this 14 game run Liverpool were 1 point ahead of Derby, City 1 point behind, Everton 3 points ahead and Ipswich 5 points ahead. A completely open title race at that point.

The suggestion is that others lost the title rather than Derby winning it. It's a marathon not a sprint. You all play the same number of games and at the end of the season, IMO, the team that is top has won it.

Even today, City are only top because other teams failed to win all of their matches........... if you follow the logic of the OP.

[Andy_Faber]

Sorry for the slew of topics created but I really need views on this.

I was a wee bit too young, but reading up Wikipedia on the season, it seems you were never really top until late March or was it early April? Man City, Everton (especially), Liverpool and Ipswich seemed to the likely title winners and then 1 by 1 they failed.
What actually happened in 1975? Andy and Roger, this should be up your street.

Bear in mind I was a ****ager so my foresight tended not to go much beyond the next game/gig/snog, but I remember feeling we had a better side than the previous champ team and I was 'confident' from November. We'd just lost 3-2 at home to Middlesborough (which featured possibly the best untelevised goal (therefore I can't prove it) I ever saw, by Alan Hinton), and I was a bit despondent, but then we beat Dirty Leeds 1-0 at their place with the Superwomble Frannie Lee getting the goal, and we played well too (I went to that one), and from then on I thought we'd do it, just had a feeling. I've only felt like that once since, when we beat Birmingham 4-1 in the 95/96 promotion year, so the feeling was reliable!

We stuttered a bit in December, and lost one of the forwards with a rare injury for boxing day, but God Bless Supersub Jeff Bourne who got us a goal to beat Birmingham on an absolutely freezing day, I nearly expired from exposure on the walk back from the BBG to Chadd.

We then really picked it up with win after win, of course there was the famous 5-0 over Luton with Roger Davies getting all 5, but more important was a win over Burnley, can't remember the score but Bruce Rioch played like 3 players to win the game for us, IMO he was the big difference between the first and second champ teams, anyone who could improve over Alan Durban had to be pretty ****-hot, and he was.

We eventually won at a bit of a trot, and it was only spoiled by those BL***Y awful last two games, the biggest waste of time and (my dad's) money of my ****age years.

As has been my habit through life, I took little interest in what any other teams were doing as it wasn't reported in the NME, so can't comment on who faltered.

All the above from memory not the internet so E&OE

[Romanis]

Two defeats and 3 draws from the last 14 games giving us 21 points out of a possible 28. A much better finish to the season than any of the other challengers. That's it basically.

Liverpool dropped 10 points in the last 14 games starting with 6 consecutive draws.
Ipswich dropped 14 points over the same period.
Everton dropped 13 points.
Man City dropped 13 points.

The final table showed us 2 points ahead of both Liverpool and Ipswich and 3 points ahead of Everton with City 7 points back in 8th place.

At the start of this 14 game run Liverpool were 1 point ahead of Derby, City 1 point behind, Everton 3 points ahead and Ipswich 5 points ahead. A completely open title race at that point.

The suggestion is that others lost the title rather than Derby winning it. It's a marathon not a sprint. You all play the same number of games and at the end of the season, IMO, the team that is top has won it.

Even today, City are only top because other teams failed to win all of their matches........... if you follow the logic of the OP.

No that's not what I meant, I didn't say Derby didn't deserve to win the title, of course they did. What I'm saying (which I stand to be corrected - hence the thread), is that although Derby were within striking range, it didn't appear that they would finish top come game title time.
Ipswich, Everton and Liverpool were the likelier winners, then they started to falter whereas Derby really got going after February.
A bit like 72, everyone expected someone else to win it, but hey-ho, Clough and Taylor's magic did the trick and even then most thought, hey good try but surely others will catch up. They didn't - Derby stayed top.

So what I'm asking for clarification based on what little I could glean from Wikipedia, when exactly did Derby seize top spot? Were they displaced or did they go from strength to strength. My understanding was that they only seized the lead, with about 3-4 games to go. Is this correct?

[Romanis]

I'll try to gather some more videos for you Andy.

[Romanis]

Happy memories Andy...and Amster

[Romanis]

The day you disguised yourselves as Sheff Weds and so confused Boro, that George scored strange 2nd.


Ooops, I got the wrong season, this was after you won the title, from 75-76