3/1 To Win
Today marks 27 years since Jim Smith waltzed through the doors at the Baseball Ground. Not many would probably have predicted how his tenure would turn out, but, boy, did he make an impact. He started with promotion to the Premiership and he added safety and stability, as well as a push for Europe. Not many people can do that.
Jim is certainly the reason a generation of youngsters grew up as Derby County supporters. The football, the players, the atmosphere, he made it what it was.
Sadly, two-and-a-half years ago, he passed away, peacefully. December 10, 2019. A sad day. But his legacy remains. We look closely at his appointment and remember that famous first season in charge.
It was the summer of 1995 and Derby County were looking for their 19th new manager in their history. Roy McFarland’s 28-year association with the club, both as a player and as an assistant manager to Arthur Cox, and then manager, had come to end after Chairman Lionel Pickering decided against offering him a new contract. At the time, it felt harsh, especially as a number of key players had been sold. Striker Paul Kitson joined Newcastle United, Gary Charles and Tommy Johnson moved to Aston Villa whilst Mark Pembridge was sold to Sheffield Wednesday. Despite leading Derby to a respectable ninth-place finish, McFarland’s time was up, meaning a new man was needed to steer the ship.
Pickering knew his next decision needed to be the right one. Plans had been drawn up to move to a new state-of-the-art home located at the Pride Park business park. Whilst nothing had been finalised, due to the Taylor report, actioned after the Hillsborough disaster, Pickering knew he needed to either upgrade the club’s Baseball Ground home or move to a new one. Either way, the groundwork needed to be put in place to deliver Premiership football for when the decision was made. So, he gave himself some thinking time. He was in no rush to make a decision, but, as is the case with any managerial vacancy, the rumours and paper talk ramp up.
Steve Nicholson, who retired as Chief Football Writer for the Derby Telegraph this summer, was on the front line, so to speak. At the time, Steve was Sports Editor and second in command to lead reporter Gerald Mortimer.
And the rumours started straight away. Martin O’Neill was the early favourite. He had worked wonders at Wycombe Wanderers. Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Ossie Ardiles was also in the frame alongside Brian Horton, Mike Walker, David Pleat and Neil Warnock.
The Derby Telegraph even held a telephone vote to gauge opinion amongst supporters. Steve Coppell was the supporters’ choice, but Pickering was forced to deny contact had been made for the former Crystal Palace boss.
Another key man in the frame was Barry Fry who was the manager of Birmingham City. Colin Gibson, who worked for BBC Radio Derby at the time, received a tip off from a source that Fry would be offered the vacant Derby County managerial position, but it obviously didn’t come to fruition.
“I got a phone call on a Saturday from a Director at Derby County at the time saying Barry Fry looks like he is going to be our next manager,” Colin recalled. “They said if I wanted to speculate with it then I could do so on the Sunday morning as I was on the sports desk. I said live on air that Barry Fry was set to become Derby’s new manager. There were no quotes and it was just speculation.
“I got home and my house phone rang. I don’t know how they got my number and I can’t remember which of David Gold or David Sullivan, who now own West Ham United but used to own Birmingham City, it was but they said to me that they had gathered I had been on the radio talking about Barry Fry being set to be named as Derby’s new manager.
“I said that was correct and they asked how I knew about it. I said that I had a tip off from a reliable source. They told me that there was no way he was going to become Derby’s next manager so I think Barry Fry played Derby along to get himself a new contract with Birmingham, which he got on the Monday the following week.”
Then came a failed attempt to lure Steve Bruce away from his playing contract at Old Trafford into management with Derby County, but, soon after, Pickering had made up his mind. After a seven-week search, it finally came to a conclusion. A hastily-organised press conference was called at the Baseball Ground and in walked Pickering alongside the club’s new manager, Jim Smith.
There were a few raised eyebrows, mainly in surprise more than anything else. Whilst he was experienced following spells with Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Oxford United, Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle United and Portsmouth, it wasn’t an appointment to get the juices flowing. Ironically, it was a 3-0 televised defeat against Derby which ended his spell with Pompey six months prior.
“It was certainly a surprise when he was offered the job,” Nicholson remembered. “It was left-field because he wasn’t in management at the time. He was vastly experienced and had been successful previous but he just came in under the radar. I did all those back page leads with all different names and he wasn’t in any of them. Then suddenly, he just appeared.”
Gibson added: “It caught everyone by surprise and the reaction to his appointment was underwhelming. There is no getting away from that at all.”
Underwhelming was a perfect way to sum it up. Fans wrote into the Derby Telegraph - who led with the headline: ‘The Eagle Has Landed’ upon his announcement - to express their discontent over the appointment. One read: ‘I am disappointed by the appointment’, whilst another read: ‘This is not an imaginative choice’.
But Pickering was sure Jim would succeed.
So much so, he penned a letter to a supporter, recently obtained by the football club, who had personally written to him to tell him he had made the wrong decision.
Pickering’s response read: “The Board were unanimous in their decision to appoint ‘the Bald Eagle’, Jim Smith, and I predict that he is the man to bring success to Derby County Football Club. He will pleasantly surprise you!”
The Chairman was confident, however, it didn’t start great for Jim and his squad. A 0-0 home draw against Port Vale wasn’t the ideal start. One win, one draw and three defeats in their next five games was hardly inspiring. In fact, the Rams only recorded four wins before the end of October. That record gave supporters ammo to question Pickering’s decision and some started to ask questions of his appointment.
"The results weren’t coming,” Gibson said. “I don’t think Jim was under pressure but Radio Derby were giving the team some stick. Robin van der Laan came to me after the Stoke game and said: ‘Just to let you know, none of us are going to give you interviews whilst your commentator is giving us stick that is being given’.
“I said: ‘Fair enough but it’s always your opportunity to speak but I’m not going to stand here and have an argument with you. We stand by the criticism that we give out and we think it’s fair and I’m sure it will all work out in time.’ It only lasted a week but I remember Jim saying to me that the players won’t speak to you so don’t ask the players for any post-match interviews.”
Jim’s masterstroke came with the signing of Croatian defender Igor Stimac. He scored on his debut in a drab 5-1 defeat against Tranmere Rovers but following that game, that forced Jim to tear up his tactics and start something new.
“He bought in Igor Stimac and everyone wondered who he was,” Gibson continued. “The same Director, who had told me about Barry Fry, told me we had signed a Croatian defender and he knew so little about him that he told me his name wrong. Whether it was good fortune or something else, I don’t know but he was some player. He made the team tick.”
A move to three at the back, with Stimac as the sweeper, saw a more robust and ruthless Derby County take to the field. Wins started to follow, too. The Rams took 34 points out of a possible 36 moving into 1996 and suddenly found themselves at the top of the table in mid-January.
The difficult questions stopped and Jim could start to show his personality during interviews. “He was brilliant with the media,” Gibson explained. “The best part was that he would argue with you. I would do an interview and he would argue during it!
“We had two commentators, a main commentator and a summariser, and Jim would say that he listened and said they were talking rubbish and he would lecture you out during the interview and as soon as it was finished, that was it, it was forgotten. He never held grudges.”
The unbeaten run didn’t stop after the new year, either. It continued, but the Rams started to draw more and more games. Derby went 20 games unbeaten in total, their best-ever run in a single season. They had achieved a 22-game unbeaten run in 1969, but that spanned across two campaigns. So, when they faced Sunderland in a top-of-the-table showdown aiming to make it 21 unbeaten, all eyes were on Roker Park. However, Derby would lose 3-0.
The Black Cats overtook the Rams and it suddenly became squeaky-bum time. Two away defeats against Norwich City and Ipswich Town in the next four games saw the gap close between second and third place but wins against Oldham Athletic and Tranmere Rovers over the Easter weekend steadied the ship back on course towards promotion.
The last home game of the season saw the Rams come up against third-placed Crystal Palace. It was basically winner takes all. Derby needed to win to secure promotion, whilst a win for Palace would see them in the driving seat heading into the final game of the campaign. You could feel the tension in the air.
Dean Sturridge had put Derby ahead very early in the game but minutes after, Palace found the equaliser through Kenny Brown. It was nervy. You could feel it in the stands but you also felt it on the pitch, too. Especially with what was on offer, Premiership football, which was exactly what Pickering had brought Jim in to deliver.
And midway through the second half, tensions were eased as captain Robin van der Laan headed home at the back post to put Derby ahead. They were still tense moments. The Rams needed to defend, but with Stimac sweeping away all the danger, it was Derby who were celebrating at the final whistle. Jim even had a smile on his face, too. The job was done.
“After the game, I went into the dressing room after the players had done their lap of honour and the sense of relief was that we had got over the finishing line,” Gibson recalled. “I opened the dressing room door, as we could go in and see all the celebrations, and as I entered, I was met by a wall of cigar smoke as Jim had been handing them out to the players.
“They were all sat there puffing on cigars and drinking champagne and having a whale of a time, letting their hair down because they knew they had done it. They had done it in style, too.
“Of all the seasons I’ve ever covered, that was the most enjoyable. It was just so much fun. The football was good, the players were good, Jim was good to deal with, Steve McClaren was a breath of fresh air. It was an exciting era in terms of the move to Pride Park so it was great fun and it was deserved as well.”
On his first day in the job, Jim said: “I believe in winning with quality and style.”
That couldn’t have been more accurate.
But what about the man who had the faith and offered Jim the job? Hindsight is a wonderful thing, of course, but Chairman Lionel Pickering saw something nobody else did. Jim was a perfect fit for Derby County and at the time of his appointment, only he could see it. He was confident Jim would succeed and Jim delivered on that promise.
The first part of the job was done. Promotion to the Premiership was secured. The next task would be the hardest, surviving. Derby County were back in the big time and the fun was set to continue.
