Groundwork: The Inside Story Behind Jim Smith's Derby County

by Ryan Hills

When Jim Smith took charge of Derby County in the summer of 1995, he joined a club needing to balance the books after several seasons of failing to reach the Premier League. Little was expected of him. Yet alongside Steve McClaren, Smith oversaw a transformation that took Derby to a new home, a new division and to the brink of European competition for the first time since the days of Dave Mackay. Smith built a side capable of matching the very best in English football, amassing an array of international talent almost never before seen in the British game, alongside hugely impressive home-grown players. This is the story of Jim Smith's Derby County, told with the exclusive insights of Smith's players, coaching staff, friends and supporters. Rams legends including Igor Stimac, Stefano Eranio and Steve McClaren speak in depth on what made that Derby County side, while those closest to Jim reveal what the legendary man-manager was like to deal with, both in and out of football.

Genres: Football

304 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2022

Reviews

[Peter K · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a Rams fan this is a very enjoyable and affectionate review of the period in the club's history when it was managed by Jim Smith.

I feel that as fans we perhaps did not appreciate just how enjoyable and remarkable the time was from the point that Jim Smith was appointed ( after some mis-steps ) in 1995 upto 2000 a time that saw promotion and flourishing in the Premier League as well as the move to the modern home that is Pride Park.

Sometimes this time in this history of our club feels very recent , almost like it was yesterday but this book helped to remind me that this is now a quarter of a century ago and little has gone well since then in the fortunes of the team many of us passionately support.

As with his previous book - Pride - Ryan Hills has managed to involve a who's who of people involved at that time, a whole host of players as well as coaching staff and members of the board and this again adds real flavour and enjoyment to the work. Fans like me know the broad details of what happened but to have the details filled in as they are in this work is a delight, bittersweet sometimes.

I understand the author's decision to compress the decline of this glorious period into one chapter but to help me understand the details of what went wrong and how I would have appreciated ( if not enjoyed ) a more detailed review.

The warmth felt towards our late manager from players. colleagues and opponents alike glows from this book and I enjoyed it throughout, reminding me of just what a special time it was.

[Steve Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Ryan for yet another insightful read. We are Derby.