Derby began the new decade in decline and turmoil.

Chairman Robert Maxwell had introduced a freeze on transfers and the Rams were only able to bolster their ranks with a couple of loan signings during 1990/91.

That had a disastrous effect on the team's form, and Arthur Cox's men suffered a club record 20-game winless run.

By the time they picked up three points on May 4, having not done so since December 1, they were, not surprisingly, already relegated.

And off the field it was time for change too.

Maxwell departed, paid off by the sales of Dean Saunders and Mark Wright to Liverpool for a combined fee of over £5m, and a new board of directors took over at the helm.

Money was scarce until the November 1991 arrival of Lionel Pickering, a local multi-millionaire, who would ultimately oversee some dramatic changes at the club.

On the field the Rams were looking for an immediate return to the top-flight, which would become the Premiership in 1992/93, and they came desperately close.

The season reached its final day and Derby needed to beat Swindon Town at home, and hope Middlesbrough slipped up, so they could sneak into second.

For a while things were going their way but while Derby did their part, Boro recovered and left the Rams in the play-offs.

There they lost to Blackburn Rovers in the semi-final, and despite some considerable spending - including doubling the transfer record to £2.65m on Craig Short - the Rams never threatened a tilt at promotion in 1992/93.

However, they did return to Wembley for the first time since 1975, in the final of the Anglo-Italian Cup.

The competition was for teams in the second tiers of their national leagues, and Derby faced up against Serie B side Cremonese in March 1993.

They fell behind early, Martin Taylor saved a penalty, Marco Gabbiadini equalised, and at half-time the 37,000-plus Rams fans were hoping for victory.

It wasn't to be however as the Italians netted twice more after the break, but for many Derby followers it was the first chance to see their side play at the famous stadium.

They were back at Wembley again the following season, but this time the prize was far greater.

Arthur Cox had resigned in the early part of the campaign and his long-time assistant Roy McFarland, a legend as a player, was handed the top job.

McFarland guided the Rams to sixth in what was now Division One, earning them a play-off place, and after semi-final victory over Millwall only Leicester City stood between Derby and the Premiership.

It all looked so good when Tommy Johnson opened the scoring in front of over 73,000 fans on a baking hot May day, but Steve Walsh equalised for the Foxes just before half-time.

The second half was a tense affair but late in the game, within the space of a couple of minutes John Harkes missed a sitter and Walsh won it for Leicester.

Steve Walsh celebrates his ultimately winning goal at Wembley in the 1994 play-off final

Defeat was cruel on Derby, while for Leicester it was success at the third attempt having lost in the previous two finals.

The play-off hangover was all too apparent as 1994/95 got underway and while Derby had their good runs during the season, they were never really up with the pace of the promotion challengers.

Key players departed during the season and by the end, another era in the club's history had closed when McFarland's contract wasn't renewed.

The Rams had finished ninth, and it was time for major change in the summer of 1995.

After weeks of speculation about who would take over, in flew the Bald Eagle - the experienced Jim Smith was appointed boss, and one of his first moves was to bring in ex-Rams midfielder Steve McClaren as his assistant.

Jim Smith

Many of Cox's big-money signings left, though Smith was wily enough to often complete player-plus-cash deals to bolster his squad.

But by October, there was the feeling that something was missing - a spark, an inspiration, that extra influence.

And Smith, as was his way, delivered when it mattered.

In came Croatian sweeper Igor Stimac for £1.57m, the second-highest fee in the club's history, and that despite competition from across the continent.

"I want to play in the Premier League" were Stimac's prophetic first words, though his debut gave no clues as to what would follow - a 5-1 defeat at Tranmere Rovers on November 4.

Twenty games later, on March 9, the Rams had embarked on an unbeaten run that had taken them to the top of the table.

Defeat at Sunderland ended that run, a record inside one season, and Sunderland went on to claim the title.

During the run it was also announced that the club would be leaving the Baseball Ground, its home for over a century, and moving to a new purpose-built facility on an up-and-coming city industrial unit called Pride Park.

Nerves began to set in and it was all down to the penultimate game of the season.

Derby County v Crystal Palace, second v third, and a win would be enough to send Smith's side up.

Dean Sturridge opened the scoring early on, Kenny Brown levelled for Palace almost immediately, and there couldn't have been many tenser occasions in the Baseball Ground's history.

Derby were back in front midway through the second half through a powerful header by Robbie van der Laan, the inspirational central midfielder signed by Smith and immediately installed as captain in the summer of 95.

There was no more fitting a man to score the winning goal and when the final whistle blew, the Baseball Ground erupted to scenes of great celebration.

Igor Stimac and Jim Smith celebrate promotion in 1996

Dressing-room scenes as the Rams win promotion

Derby were heading to the Premiership - and with a new ground just over a year away, another exciting chapter in the club's history was getting going.

Consolidation in the first season in the Premiership and the last at the Baseball Ground was the aim, and with the aid of some astute signings, Derby managed it comfortably.

Republic of Ireland legend Paul McGrath arrived at the age of 36, barely trained during the week yet was a true rock come the weekend.

At the other end of the scale, 20-year-old Costa Rican striker Paulo Wanchope joined in March 97 and made his debut in a memorable 3-2 win at Manchester United, where he scored one of the great Derby County goals of all-time.

Paulo Wanchope celebrates THAT goal at Old Trafford in 1997

Arsenal were the last-ever league visitors to the Baseball Ground and somewhat spoiled the party by going away with a 3-1 win, but no matter - Derby were already safe, and looking forward to bringing the cream of the crop to their new home.

The last match at the Baseball Ground

Ashley Ward scored the Rams' last goal at their historic home, and then netted their first at Pride Park - which had been opened in July by Her Majesty The Queen at a ceremonial occasion.

Her Majesty The Queen opens Pride Park Stadium

However, his record didn't remain in the books for long due to what was literally one of the darkest nights the club had faced.

In August 1997 Derby led Wimbledon 2-1 when, 11 minutes after half-time, the floodlights failed and proceedings were abandoned - not how they wanted to mark their first league game in the new surroundings.

The lights go out on Pride Park

Italian duo Francesco Baiano and Stefano Eranio arrived that summer, from Fiorentina and AC Milan respectively, and it looked as though the good times were heading back to Derby.

Eranio went on to become the first Ram to net at the new home.

The Rams produced some spectacular football in their first season at Pride Park and went unbeaten there until February 1998.

A challenge for one of the European places was a realistic one until six defeats in the last ten games saw them ultimately finish ninth.

The 98/99 campaign began solidly enough and six games unbeaten from the start left them second during the early weeks.

But inconsistency proved a problem as the Rams were never quite able to match their sparkling form of the previous year, although they did record a memorable 2-1 win away at Liverpool in October 98.

Soon-to-be-relegated Nottingham Forest were beaten at Pride Park in April by a late goal from Argentinian defender Horacio Carbonari, the club's new record signing at £2.7m, and the Rams went on to finish eighth - their highest placing under Smith.

Representative football came to Pride Park for the first time in February 1999 when England U21 took on their French counterparts in front of 32,865 fans.

England U21 v France U21 at Pride Park in Februrary 1999

A run to the quarter-final of the FA Cup suggested more progress, but the following season was a major step backwards.

The disastrous August 99 signing of Argentinian striker Esteban Fuertes didn't help matters as he was refused re-entry to the country following a training break abroad after irregularities were found with his passport, just ten games into his Rams career.

Only four wins in the first half of the season left Derby struggling near the bottom of the table so big bucks were spent.

Seth Johnson and Lee Morris had already arrived for £3m and £2m respectively, then Branko Strupar and Craig Burley both came in for £3m - along with the loan signing of Giorgi Kinkladze.

Belgian striker Strupar bagged the first goal of the new Millennium in English football, and looked a class player when fit.

Branko Strupar celebrates his Millennium-opening goal

Derby hung on to their Premiership lives and survived by five points, having only secured their safety on the penultimate day of the season.

Some good young players were starting to emerge, but it had been another difficult decade in the life of Derby County - and worse was to follow.