As a football fan, you know you are going to suffer devastating lows and extraordinary highs, it’s just part of devoting yourself to the club that you love. As Derby County fans, it feels like we’ve experienced far more of the lows recently.
This time last year we were looking back and reflecting on what might have been as the play-offs slipped away and we were faced with another season in League One. Like you, I was in pain that day but, after 24 hours, I brushed myself down and began to look forward to the new season.
I sensed something special was building at Pride Park. I felt we were already so close – albeit not quite close enough – that I couldn’t be too despondent in the face of that disappointment. The seeds of success were there, they just had to be nurtured.
That’s why this feels so very, very special now those seeds have blossomed into the joy of promotion back to the Championship.
There were dark times during this season, of course there were. Nothing that’s truly worth savouring comes easily, as Derby County fans we should all know that only too well!
But we stayed strong as a club, players, staff and fans all shoulder-to-shoulder in the face of the adversity we inevitably faced, and we came through it together.
I don’t need reminding why this club means so much to so many but on days when this stadium has been rocking or we’ve packed out away ends all over the country, I know why supporters deserve these moments of joy.
Your dedication has been matched by Paul Warne and the players. It’s not only the people you see every Saturday or in midweek, though, it’s also all those behind the scenes who work tirelessly in every aspect of their daily jobs to support the team on the pitch.
I don’t want to keep harking back to when the future of this club was under threat because we want to write new stories.
However, one of the deciding factors behind our decision to buy the club was the thought that Derby fans and generations of Derby fans to come might be deprived of moments like this, when all the bad times are forgotten for a moment of precious joy.
It’s too easy to say the hard work starts here, although it does as we plan for life in the Championship. Before that, though, we should all take some time to enjoy what’s been achieved and how far we’ve come this season. You, Paul, the players, and everybody at the club deserves that.
Over the last couple of seasons, I’ve got used to watching matches from my seat in the Directors Box. The emotions are just as strong, the pain when we lose is just as intense and the pleasure of victory just as great.
But I tell you what, there is just the odd occasion when I’d like to be back in my old seat, shouting and singing, surrounded by passion.
Saturday was one of those days!
Enjoy every moment, you all deserve it.
David Clowes
