List of Derby County F.C. seasons

This article chronicles the seasons of Derby County Football Club from their formation in 1884 to the present day.

Chart of Derby County League Performances

Details of Derby County's final league position is given (from the 1888–99 season, when The Football League was founded), along with which round they made it to in both the FA Cup, the EFL Cup (which began in the 1960–61 season) and any European competitions that Derby had qualified for.

Seasons

Overall

• Seasons spent at Level 1 of the football league system: 65
• Seasons spent at Level 2 of the football league system: 55
• Seasons spent at Level 3 of the football league system: 6
• Seasons spent at Level 4 of the football league system: 0

Season	League									FA Cup	EFL Cup[a]	Europe / Other		Top goalscorer(s)[b]
	Division	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Pos					Player(s)	Goals
1884–85[1]	There was no League football until 1888.									R1				N/A
1885–86[1]										R3
1886–87[1]										R2
1887–88[1]										R4
1888–89[2]	FL	22	7	2	13	41	61	16	10th	R2				Alex Higgins	12
1889–90[3]		22	9	3	10	43	55	21	7th	R1				Alex Higgins	14
1890–91[4]		22	7	1	14	47	81	15	11th	R2				John Goodall	14
1891–92[5]		26	10	4	12	46	52	24	10th	R1				John Goodall	15
1892–93[6]	Div 1[c]	30	9	9	12	52	64	27	13th	R1				John Goodall	14
1893–94[7]		30	16	4	10	73	62	36	3rd	QF				Johnny McMillan	21
1894–95[8]		30	7	9	14	45	68	23	15th	R1				Steve Bloomer	11
1895–96[9]		30	17	7	6	68	35	41	2nd	SF				Steve Bloomer	27
1896–97[10]		30	16	4	10	70	50	36	3rd	SF				Steve Bloomer	31
1897–98[11]		30	11	6	13	57	61	28	10th	R/U				Steve Bloomer	20
1898–99[12]		34	12	11	11	62	57	35	9th	R/U				Steve Bloomer	30
1899–1900[13]		34	14	8	12	45	43	36	6th	R1				Steve Bloomer	19
1900–01[14]		34	12	7	15	55	42	31	12th	QF				Steve Bloomer	24
1901–02[15]		34	13	9	12	39	41	35	6th	SF				Steve Bloomer	18
1902–03[16]		34	16	3	15	50	47	35	9th	R/U				Steve Bloomer	13
1903–04[17]		34	9	10	15	58	60	35	14th	SF				Steve Bloomer	25
1904–05[18]		34	12	8	14	37	48	32	11th	R1				Steve Bloomer	13
1905–06[19]		38	14	7	17	39	58	35	15th	R2				Steve Bloomer	12
1906–07[20]		38	9	9	20	41	59	27	19th	R3				Jimmy Long	9
1907–08[21]	Div 2	38	21	4	13	77	45	46	6th	R1				Alf Bentley	28
1908–09[22]		38	16	11	11	55	41	43	5th	SF				Alf Bentley	32
1909–10[23]		38	22	9	7	72	47	53	4th	R2				Alf Bentley	31
1910–11[24]		38	17	8	13	73	52	42	6th	QF				Steve Bloomer	24
1911–12[25]		38	23	8	7	74	28	54	1st	R2				Steve Bloomer	19
1912–13[26]	Div 1	38	17	8	13	69	66	42	7th	R1				Harry Leonard	15
1913–14[27]		38	8	11	19	55	71	27	20th	R2				Horace Barnes	25
1914–15[28]	Div 2	38	23	7	8	71	33	53	1st	R1				Jimmy Moore	22
No competitive football was played between 1915 and 1919 due to the World War I
1919–20[29]	Div 1	42	13	12	17	47	57	38	18th	R1				Noah Burton	13
1920–21[30]		42	5	16	21	32	58	26	21st	R2				Bill Paterson	8
1921–22[31]	Div 2	42	15	9	18	60	64	39	12th	R1				Jimmy Moore	17
1922–23[32]		42	14	11	17	46	50	29	14th	SF				Jimmy Moore	17
1923–24[33]		42	21	9	12	75	54	51	3rd	R3				Harry Storer	27
1924–25[34]		42	22	11	9	71	36	55	3rd	R1				Albert Fairclough	22
1925–26[35]		42	25	7	10	77	42	57	2nd	R4				Harry Bedford	28
1926–27[36]	Div 1	42	17	7	18	86	73	41	12th	R4				Harry Bedford	26
1927–28[37]		42	17	10	15	96	83	44	4th	R4				Harry Bedford	28
1928–29[38]		42	18	10	14	86	71	46	6th	R4				Harry Bedford	30
1929–30[39]		42	21	8	13	90	82	50	2nd	R4				Harry Bedford	31
1930–31[40]		42	18	10	14	94	79	46	6th	R3				Jack Bowers	39
1931–32[41]		42	14	10	18	71	75	38	15th	R5				Jack Bowers	26
1932–33[42]		42	15	14	13	76	69	44	7th	SF				Jack Bowers	43
1933–34[43]		42	17	11	14	68	54	45	4th	R5				Jack Bowers	37
1934–35[44]		42	18	9	15	81	66	45	6th	R5				Hughie Gallacher	24
1935–36[45]		42	18	12	12	61	52	48	2nd	QF				Hughie Gallacher	16
1936–37[46]		42	21	7	14	96	90	49	4th	R5				Dai Astley	29
1937–38[47]		42	15	10	17	66	87	40	13th	R3				Dai Astley	17
1938–39[48]		42	19	8	15	66	55	46	6th	R3				Ronnie Dix Dave McCulloch	16
1939–40		Abandoned due to World War II
No competitive football was played between 1940 and 1946 due to the World War II
1945–46[49]	Suspended due to World War II									W				Raich Carter	12
1946–47[50]	Div 1	42	18	5	19	73	79	41	14th	R5				Raich Carter	21
1947–48[51]		42	19	12	11	77	57	50	4th	SF				Reg Harrison	18
1948–49[52]		42	22	9	11	74	55	53	3rd	QF				Billy Steel	15
1949–50[53]		42	17	10	15	69	61	44	11th	QF				Jackie Stamps	29
1950–51[54]		42	16	8	18	81	75	42	11th	R4				Jack Lee	29
1951–52[55]		42	15	7	20	63	80	37	17th	R3				Johnny Morris Jack Parry	11
1952–53[56]		42	11	10	21	59	74	32	22nd	R3				Jack Lee	17
1953–54[57]	Div 2	42	12	11	19	64	82	35	18th	R3				Hugh McLaren	11
1954–55[58]		42	7	9	26	53	82	23	22nd	R2				Jimmy Dunn Tommy Powell Jesse Pye	8
1955–56[59]	Div 3 (N)	46	28	7	11	110	55	63	2nd	R2				Jack Parry	27
1956–57[60]		46	26	11	9	111	53	63	1st	R2				Ray Straw	37
1957–58[61]	Div 2	42	14	8	20	60	81	36	16th	R3				Reg Ryan	14
1958–59[62]		42	20	8	14	74	71	48	7th	R3				Jack Parry	16
1959–60[63]		42	14	7	21	61	77	35	18th	R3				Peter Thompson	12
1960–61[64]		42	15	10	17	80	80	40	12th	R3	R3			Bill Curry	20
1961–62[65]		42	14	11	17	68	75	39	16th	R4	R3			Bill Curry	25
1962–63[66]		42	12	12	18	61	72	36	18th	R4	R3			Bill Curry Barry Hutchinson	22
1963–64[67]		42	14	11	17	56	67	39	13th	R3	R2			Alan Durban	11
1964–65[68]		42	16	11	15	84	79	43	9th	R3	R2			Alan Durban Eddie Thomas	22
1965–66[69]		42	16	11	15	71	68	43	8th	R3	R3			Alan Durban Eddie Thomas	17
1966–67[70]		42	12	12	18	68	72	36	17th	R3	R2			Kevin Hector	16
1967–68[71]		42	13	10	19	71	78	36	18th	R3	SF			Kevin Hector	24
1968–69[72]		42	26	11	5	65	32	63	1st	R3	QF			Kevin Hector	20
1969–70[73]	Div 1	42	22	9	11	64	37	53	4th	R5	QF			Kevin Hector John O'Hare	16
1970–71[74]		42	16	10	16	56	54	42	9th	R5	R4	Fairs Cup	Ban[d]	John O'Hare	15
1971–72[75]		42	24	10	8	69	33	58	1st	R5	R2			Alan Hinton	20
1972–73[76]		42	19	8	15	56	54	46	7th	QF	R3	European Cup	SF	Kevin Hector	23
1973–74[77]		42	17	14	11	52	42	48	3rd	R4	R2			Kevin Hector	19
1974–75[78]		42	21	11	10	67	49	53	1st	R5	R3	UEFA Cup	R3	Kevin Hector	21
1975–76[79]		42	21	11	10	75	58	53	4th	SF	R3	Charity Shield	W	Charlie George	24
												European Cup	R2
1976–77[80]		42	9	19	14	50	55	37	15th	QF	QF	UEFA Cup	R2	Charlie George	16
1977–78[81]		42	14	13	15	54	59	41	12th	R5	R3			Gerry Daly	12
1978–79[82]		42	10	11	21	44	71	31	19th	R3	R3			Gerry Daly	13
1979–80[83]		42	11	8	23	47	67	30	21st	R3	R2			Alan Biley	9
1980–81[84]	Div 2	42	15	15	12	57	52	45	6th	R3	R2			David Swindlehurst	11
1981–82[85]		42	12	12	18	53	68	48[e]	16th	R3	R2			Kevin Wilson	9
1982–83[86]		42	10	19	13	49	58	49	13th	R5	R3			David Swindlehurst	11
1983–84[87]		42	11	9	22	36	72	42	20th	QF	R2			Bobby Davison	18
1984–85[88]	Div 3[f]	46	19	13	14	65	54	70	7th[g]	R1	R2	Associate Members' Cup	R1	Bobby Davison	26
1985–86[89]		46	23	15	8	80	41	84	3rd	R5	R3	Associate Members' Cup	PR	Bobby Davison	23
1986–87[90]	Div 2	42	25	9	8	64	38	84	1st	R3	R3			Bobby Davison	22
1987–88[91]	Div 1	40	10	13	17	35	45	43	15th	R3	R2	All English Clubs banned from European competition due to the Heysel Stadium disaster.[h]		Phil Gee John Gregory	6
1988–89[92]		38	17	7	14	40	38	58	5th	R4	R3			Dean Saunders	15
1989–90[93]		38	13	7	18	43	40	46	16th	R3	QF			Dean Saunders	21
1990–91[94]		38	5	9	24	37	75	24	20th	R3	R4			Dean Saunders	21
1991–92[95]	Div 2	46	23	9	14	65	51	78	3rd	R4	R3	League play-offs	SF	Paul Williams	16
1992–93[96]	Div 1[i]	46	19	9	18	65	57	66	8th	QF	R3	Anglo-Italian Cup	R/U	Paul Kitson	24
1993–94[97]		46	20	11	15	73	68	71	6th	R3	R3	Anglo-Italian Cup	DNQ	Tommy Johnson	19
												League play-offs	R/U
1994–95[98]		46	18	12	16	66	51	66	9th	R3	R4	Anglo-Italian Cup	GS	Marco Gabbiadini	13
1995–96[99]		46	21	16	9	71	51	79	2nd	R3	R3			Dean Sturridge	20
1996–97[100]	Prem	38	11	13	14	45	58	46	12th	QF	R2			Dean Sturridge	14
1997–98[101]		38	16	7	15	52	49	55	9th	R4	R4			Paulo Wanchope	17
1998–99[102]		38	13	13	12	40	45	52	8th	QF	R3			Deon Burton	12
1999–2000[103]		38	9	11	18	44	57	38	16th	R3	R3			Rory Delap	8
2000–01[104]		38	10	12	16	37	59	42	17th	R4	R4			Malcolm Christie	12
2001–02		38	8	6	24	33	63	30	19th	R3	R3			Fabrizio Ravanelli	11
2002–03	Div 1	46	15	7	24	55	74	52	18th	R3	R2			Malcolm Christie Lee Morris	9
2003–04		46	13	13	20	53	67	52	20th	R3	R1			Ian Taylor	12
2004–05	Champ[j]	46	22	10	14	71	60	76	4th	R4	R1	League play-offs	SF	Grzegorz Rasiak	17
2005–06		46	10	20	16	53	67	50	20th	R4	R1			Iñigo Idiakez	11
2006–07		46	25	9	12	62	46	84	3rd[k]	R5	R2	League play-offs	W	Steve Howard	19
2007–08	Prem	38	1	8	29	20	89	11	20th	R4	R2			Kenny Miller	6
2008–09	Champ	46	14	12	20	55	67	54	18th	R5	SF			Rob Hulse	18
2009–10		46	15	11	20	53	63	56	14th	R5	R1			Rob Hulse	12
2010–11		46	13	10	23	58	71	49	19th	R3	R1			Kris Commons	13
2011–12		46	18	10	18	50	58	64	12th	R4	R1			Steve Davies Theo Robinson	12
2012–13		46	16	13	17	65	62	61	10th	R4	R1			Jamie Ward	12
2013–14		46	25	10	11	84	52	85	3rd	R3	R3	League play-offs	R/U	Chris Martin	25
2014–15		46	21	14	11	85	56	77	8th	R5	R5			Chris Martin	21
2015–16		46	21	15	10	66	43	78	5th	R4	R1	League play-offs	SF	Chris Martin	15
2016–17		46	18	13	15	54	50	67	9th	R4	R3			Tom Ince	15
2017–18		46	20	15	11	69	48	75	6th	R3	R2	League play-offs	SF	Matěj Vydra	22
2018–19		46	20	14	12	69	54	74	6th	R5	R4	League play-offs	R/U	Harry Wilson	18
2019–20		46	17	13	16	62	64	64	10th	R5	R2			Chris Martin Martyn Waghorn	12
2020–21		46	11	11	24	36	58	44	21st	R3	R2			Colin Kazim-Richards	8
2021–22		46	14	13	19	45	53	34[l]	23rd	R3	R2			Tom Lawrence	11
2022–23	L1	46	21	13	12	67	46	76	7th[g]	R4	R3	EFL Trophy	GS	David McGoldrick	25
2023–24		46	28	8	10	78	37	92	2nd	R1	R1	EFL Trophy	R2	James Collins	19
2024–25	Champ	46	13	11	22	48	56	50	19th	R3	R2			Jerry Yates	10

Key

Key to league record: Pld = Matches played W = Matches won D = Matches drawn L = Matches lost GF = Goals for GA = Goals against Pts = Points Pos = Final position

Key to divisions: FL = Football League Div 1 = Football League First Division Div 2 = Football League Second Division Div 3 (N) = Football League Third Division (North) Div 3 = Football League Third Division Prem = Premier League Champ = EFL Championship L1 = EFL League One

Key to rounds: Ban = Banned DNQ = Did not qualify for main competition GS = Group stage PR = Preliminary round R1 = Round 1 R2 = Round 2

R3 = Round 3 R4 = Round 4 R5 = Round 5 QF = Quarter-finals SF = Semi-finals R/U = Runners-up W = Winners

Champions

Runners-up

Promoted

Relegated

Notes

1. The EFL Cup was founded in 1961.
2. Goals in all competitions (English Football League or Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, EFL Trophy, Charity Shield and European) are counted.
3. At the beginning of the 1892–93 season, the Football League expanded to include a second division; the existing division (which Derby were playing in) was renamed the First Division.
4. Derby qualified for the Fairs Cup, but were banned from competing due to financial irregularities.
5. At the beginning of the 1981–82 season, the Football League changed the points system from two to three points for a win.
6. At the beginning of the 1958–59 season, the Football League's Third Division (North) and Third Division (South) were replaced by a national Third Division and a national Fourth Division; therefore, Derby competed in the national Third Division upon relegation in 1984.
7. Lowest League finish.
8. Had English clubs not been banned from competing in European competition, Derby would have taken part in the UEFA Cup in the 1989–90 season.
9. At the beginning of the 1992–93 season, the clubs in the Football League First Division broke away to form the FA Premier League; as a result, the Football League's three remaining divisions were renamed: the Second Division (which Derby were playing in) became the First Division, the Third Division became the Second Division and the Fourth Division became the Third Division.
10. At the beginning of the 2004–05 season, the Football League renamed its divisions: the First Division (which Derby were playing in) became The Championship, the Second Division became League One and the Third Division became League Two.
11. Promoted via the play-offs.
12. Derby were deducted 21 points, 12 for entering administration & 9 for breaking EFL accountancy rules.