by Peter Scherer

An accomplished international striker, Darren Bent came to Derby County fairly late in his career.

He was spotted by Ipswich Town in 1998 playing for Godmanchester Rovers, and signed professional at Portman Road in 2001, making his first team debut the same year in the UEFA Cup.

During his first season he made five Premiership starts and scored one goal, but the team were relegated to the First Division.

He was a first choice for the next three seasons and a top scorer, which brought him to the attention of Premiership Charlton Athletic.

A £2 ½ million move proved to be an instant success, as Bent scored twice on his debut. He stayed for two seasons and even though he netted 37 goals from his 79 games, it wasn’t enough to save Charlton from relegation.

For 2007/8 he was back in the Premiership though with Tottenham Hotspur. His two seasons at White Hart Lane saw another 17 goals from his 79 games, but there was stiff competition for places.

He continued to play his football in the Premiership, with two seasons at Sunderland, before joining Aston Villa for £18 million in 2011. At Sunderland he also scored on his debut and was player of the year. While at Villa he once again had a debut goal and was team captain for a while.

There were loan spells at Fulham, Brighton and Derby, before Villa released him at the end of 2014/15 after 72 games and 25 goals.

During his loan spell at Derby he scored 12 goals in 17 games, so the Rams decided to take sign him permanently. It was a difficult time for the Rams, with various managerial changes.

But Bent stayed on into a third season, making 84 appearances, with 28 goals, before going out on loan to Burton Albion and being released at Derby at the end of 2017/18. He retired at the end of that season.

He played for England at every level up to gaining his first full cap in 2006. From his 13 full England games he scored four times.

by Peter Scherer

Derby born bred Wayne Sutton joined Derby County to serve his apprenticeship and turn professional in 1992.

He made his debut in the 1995/96 promotion year, but wasn’t a regular member of the squad.

To gain more experience he went to Herford United on loan, but only played seven games in total and was then released by Jim Smith on his Rams return, having only made five starts and three appearances as a sub.

He joined Woking in 1997 and has a couple of games there, before joining Burton Albion a year later and then Hinckley United in 1999.

Having already listed Derby County and Burton Albion as his former clubs, he is more than qualified to play in the NHS Allstars game, as his final years of playing semi pro football was at Station Road, with Mickleover Sports, having joined in 2000.

by Peter Scherer

Republic of Ireland international midfielder Paul Green was well into his footballing career when he joined Derby County in 2008.

He was initially on Sheffield Wednesday’s books, but after being released as a sixteen year old, he began a long spell with Doncaster Rovers.

After debuting in 2001 when Doncaster were in the Conference, he stayed for seven years, working up through the Third Division to League One, making 279 appearances and scoring 34 goals.

He was a winner at the Conference Play-0ff, won the Third Division, the League One Play-off and the Football League Trophy, but decided to move on for 2008/9.

A regular first choice in the Derby line-up he spent four seasons with the Rams, but his 143 games and 13 goals would have been more if injuries hadn’t sidelined him on a few occasions.

His final year at Derby was 2011/12 after which he joined fellow Championship rivals Leeds United. During his first year there he was a regular starter, with 36 games and four goals. But in his second year he fell out of favour and had a loan spell at Ipswich.

He wasn’t retained at Leeds and moved on to Rotherham United, newly promoted to the Championship. Two seasons saw him play 65 times, scoring four goals, but he moved onto League One’s Oldham Athletic for 2016/17.

It was a one-year deal and despite playing 56 games, he moved on again to Crewe Alexandra in League Two, where he continues to be part of their squad.

Green also made 22 appearances for the Republic of Ireland and scored one goal, and was part of their squad at Euro 2012.

by Peter Scherer

A Derby born junior player beginning his football career at Derby County, Chris Palmer never managed to break into the Rams first team.

After two years he firstly had a one month loan at Hereford United, which gave him three games, before joining Notts County, where he quickly established himself as a first team regular.

He could play midfield or defence and had a couple of good seasons at Meadow Lane, making 61 appearances and scoring six goals.

But in 2006 he moved on to Wycombe Wanderers, where after a regular place in the starting line-up was broken by injury, he was loaned to Darlington and then moved to Walsall after 42 games in Wycombe’s colours.

He had a year at Walsall, played 48 times and scored one goal, but then joined League One Gillingham for a successful two season spell. With 38 games and five goals under his belt, his next stop was Burton in League Two.

50 appearances and five goals later he was on the move again in 2013, but this time to New Zealand, where he played for Waitakere United.

On his return to the UK he played for Ilkeston Town, Oxford City and Rainworth, before his final career stops in 2014 saw have spells with both Tamworth and Mickleover Sports.

by Peter Scherer

A big bustling old style centre forward Marvin Robinson spent almost five years with Derby County, but was unable to force his way into the regular starting line-up.

He played for England under 18’s while still at school, before becoming professional at Derby in June 1998, making his league debut the following year.

The following season he made eight Premier League starts, but went the out on loan to Stoke City in the Second Division for 2000/2001. He scored on his Potters debut, but after colliding the opposing goalkeeper in his third game, he had a long spell out with a broken leg.

He made two appearances in a Rams Shirt in 2001/2 and scored what was to be his only goal, when after a single appearance a year later and a loan spell at Tranmere, he left Derby having made only 12 first team appearances.

His next stop was Chesterfield, then a Second Division team. He spent a season with the Spireites, scoring seven goals in his 32 games. 

Over the next few years he was regularly on the move, taking in Notts County, Rushden & Diamonds, Walsall and Stockport County, before settling in 2005/6 with Lincoln City, where he scored 10 times in his 27 appearances.

After short spell at Macclesfield he joined Oxford United in the Conference, over his two seasons he played 30 games, scoring three times, as well as having a short loan spell with Cambridge United.

He also played for Kettering, Redditch, Nantwich, Brackley, and Oxford City.

But for 2014/15 he joined Hednesford for a second time, this time he stayed to make 55 appearances and score 11 goals. 

Further travels for Stafford Rangers and Indian side Sporting Khalsa followed before he came back to Hednesford again, first as a player, then coach and for a while assistant manager.

by Peter Scherer

An Irish International striker, Jamie Ward played for a number of local teams.

Although he started as a trainee at Aston Villa, he captained their reserve side, and played in the 2004 Youth Cup Final, but never made a first team appearance.

His league debut came in a loan spell at Stockport County, where as well as making nine appearances he also scored his first goal.

At the end of the 2006/7 season Villa released him and he signed for Torquay United, but after 25 games and nine goals he returned to the midlands with Chesterfield.

Ex Rams star Roy McFarland was the Chesterfield manager and Ward was regular first choice during his two year stay, netting 29 goals in 67 appearances.

In January 2009 he went to Championship side Sheffield United, where he played in the 2009 play-offs. Injuries and suspensions intervened at times, but he played 63 times scoring nine goals before being loan to a struggling Derby County in 2010.

His loan at Derby became permanent and with four years in a Rams shirt, it was his longest stay at any club in his career. He was a regular goal scorer but injuries again played their part. So after 138 games and 34 goals, he made the surprise move to Nottingham Forest.

He was regular first choice in his first season, but the games became less and he had loan spells over the next couple of years at Burton, Cardiff and Charlton, before joining Scunthorpe United in League two last season.

After being capped by Northern Ireland at under 18 and under 21 levels, he has made 35 appearances for the senior side and scored four International goals.

by Peter Scherer

Jamaican International and rock solid central defender Darren Moore has tasted success with a number of clubs in his career.

He made his league debut for Torquay United in March 1992, before he had signed professional and was quickly established as a key player in the Devon team’s defence.

He had three seasons at Plainmoor, with 103 starts and eight goals, before moving on to Doncaster Rovers for £62,500 in July 1995, along with two other of his Torquay team mates.

Behind the scenes dramas and scandals at Doncaster made it a difficult two years for Moore, and after 76 appearances and seven goals, he headed to Bradford City in June 1997 for £310,000.

The highlight of his stay at Bradford was being part of the team that took them into the Premier league for the first time. But his stay from thereon was relatively short, moving to Portsmouth for £500,000 in November 1999.

After just under two years at Fratton Park came his most expensive move, as he moved back to his West Midlands home to join West Bromwich Albion for £750,000. 

During his 104 games at the Hawthorns he was promoted to the Premiership in 2001/2 relegated and promoted again the following year, before Phil Brown paid out an initial £300,000 to bring him to Derby County.

He was part of Derby’s promotion winning team in 2006/7, beating West Brom in the play-off final, but after 83 games and being relegated again, he moved on to Barnsley where he stayed for just under two years again.

After a couple of seasons at Burton Albion, where he became captain,  he retired from playing professionally and had a short spell with Wellington Amateurs, before returning to the Hawthorns as Youth Coach.

He became caretaker manager at West Brom too before it was made permanent, but despite being fourth in the championship he was sacked after just under a year and became Doncaster Rovers manager  a few weeks later, where he is still in charge.

He is a Jamaican international with three caps and is also on the PFA Management committee.

by Peter Scherer

71 consecutive games in a Derby County shirt were one of the highlights of Stephen Bywater’s career.

Having started off in the Rochdale youth scheme, he was quickly spotted by Harry Redknapp, who took the 16 year old goalkeeper to West Ham after only one senior appearance.

There was immediate success for him at Upton Park, winning the 1998 Youth Cup.

His continuing development didn’t however earn him a regular first team spot after debuting in 1999 when Shaka Hislop broke his leg.

Although he stayed for almost eight years, it was only in 2004/5 where he held his place with 39 starts.

He went out on loan to Wycombe Wanders, Wolves, Cardiff, Coventry and Derby, until the emergency loan at Derby became permanent in 2006 for a £225,000 fee, after 68 games for the Hammers.

At Derby he was part of the play-off team that beat West Bromwich Albion to regain Premiership status and was first choice for a number of seasons.

Only injury stopped his 71 game consecutive run, but he played over 150 games in a Rams shirt.

After falling out of favour he was loaned to Ipswich, Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday, joined the latter on a permanent basis in 2012, after five years with the Rams.

He spent a season at Hillsborough, before stays at Millwall, Gillingham, Doncaster Rovers and Kerala Blasters in India finally brought him to Burton Albion in 2016, where he is still on the books.

He had played in three play-off finals, two for West Ham and one for Derby and was a League One runner up with Sheffield Wednesday, as well as playing for England at under 19 and 21 levels.

by Peter Scherer

Injuries plagued Shaun Barker’s career throughout his Derby County career, but for a while he was club captain.

Having come through the junior ranks at Rotherham United he made his debut for the South Yorkshire club in March 2003.

He had four seasons with the Millers and was junior player of the year in his first season.

Once established he was virtually ever-present in their starting line-up, but after a 133 games and seven goals, he declined a new contract and moved to Blackpool on a free transfer in August 2006.

Although arriving as a centre back he tended to be played more at right back, but again became a regular in his three seasons at Bloomfield Road.

He was a League One play off winner in 2006/7 and Blackpool’s player of the year in the year in the same season. Having moved back to his centre back position he had a spell as club captain, notching up 149 appearances with six goals before moving to Derby for the start of the 2009/10 season.

A slight injury delayed his Rams debut, but having then played on with a torn thigh muscle, he had a run of successive games and was named player of the year.

He was a first choice centre back the following year and had played every game in the struggling team but with a knee injury. Only after the team’s league safety was assured did he have the required surgery.

Having missed the start of 2011/12 he fought his way back into the team, but a collision during a Nottingham Forest match in Match 2012 virtually ended his career.

He was made club captain off field but despite hours of painful surgery he never played for the first team again and officially left the club in 2015.

After a trial with ex manager Nigel Clough at Sheffield United, he played a few games for Clough at Burton Albion, retired in April 2018 having played for Burton as they beat Derby 3-1.

Why not celebrate VE Day with some delicious Real Ale and Cider takeouts from Mickleover Sports Real Ale and Cider Club?

Pop down to Mickleover Sports Club on Friday 8th May.

12noon – 7pm • Social distancing measures in place • Cash or Contacless

Ale/cider pre-orders are recommended by emailing preorder@mickleoversportsfc.com