Derby County great Colin Todd was a special guest at last weekend’s 2-1 home victory over Cheltenham Town in Sky Bet League One.
Todd, who is now 75, had a special reason to attend the fixture at Pride Park Stadium.
He recently contacted the club to make the kind offer to hand over his PFA Player of the Year award from the 1974/75 First Division title-winning campaign under the late Dave Mackay to have it on display at the Rams’ home.
Todd met with owner David Clowes prior to kick-off to formally place the impressive accolade in the Trophy Cabinet in the Main Reception at Pride Park.
He said: “I approached the club a few months ago and asked them if they would like to take my PFA Player of the Year award from 1974/75, which I believe is still the highest accolade a player can win.
“The club obliged and accepted my offer, so it is now in the Trophy Cabinet. I felt it was important and appropriate to give it to the football club so people can see it. You see many different trophies and caps on display, so I wanted others to see and remember it from the fantastic years I had at Derby County.”
He added: “Derby County has a wonderful tradition and brilliant supporters.”
Todd is one of the legendary names that will forever be associated with Derby County, no matter how many years and generations pass.
Two First Division titles with the Rams in the 1970s would be enough to elevate any player to iconic status with fans and within the city.
Even more impressive, though, is that he was recognised as the best player in the country as Derby finished top of the pile in 1975, as he joined the selection of greats to be named PFA Player of the Year.
Looking back, it would be simple to say that the achievement to be named the best player in England was the culmination of a journey that kicked into life when he was signed by Brian Clough from Sunderland in 1971.
In order to secure his services, Derby paid a British transfer record of £170,000 to Sunderland. He would go on to provide sterling service, playing 371 times and scoring ten goals, before departing in 1978.
Centre-back Todd also gained 27 England caps during a long and successful career, all of which came during his time at Derby, and he also later went on to play for Everton, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Oxford United, Vancouver Whitecaps and Luton Town before retiring in 1984.
After retiring as a player, Todd chose to go into coaching and management. As a manager, his first position came at Middlesbrough in 1990 and he went on to have further spells in the hotseat at Bolton Wanderers and Swindon Town.
He returned to Derby in November 2000 to become Jim Smith’s assistant after Steve McClaren had moved to Manchester United in a similar position alongside Sir Alex Ferguson. Todd replaced Smith as the Rams’ manager in October 2001, but it was a short-lived period following four wins in 17 games and he parted company with the club in early 2002.
He returned to management at Bradford City in 2004, over a two-and-a-half year period, before heading out to Denmark to manage Randers for 18 months. He returned to England to manage Darlington for 11 matches, which was followed by a return to Randers in July 2012.
Todd remained in charge until May 2016, during which time he underwent heart surgery, and his last spell in management came during a 21-game spell in charge of Esbjerg FB between July and December in 2016.
