Section 4
This was the era that saw Lionel Pickering take over as Chairman and owner
the millions spent in an effort to regain promotion and THAT Wembley play-off final
unexpected 1st time success under Jim Smith, the state of the art Pride Park Stadium
and the decline and relegation followed by a mangerial merry-go- round.
Phew ! Hold on tight !
1992-93 Home - this was an umbro kit and had a very strange almost Bowie
style lightening flash on the right sleeve. After several months of the
season without a sponsor 'Auto Windscreens' came to the rescue. This kit in all
honesty was very poor and very thin, not for those winter days. This could be
where the fashion of wearing a sweatshirt under the shirt started!
1992-93 Away- In contrast to the home shirt, I personally believe that this
was a masterpiece of design, I know that my penchant for Yellow takes over
again. However, this shirt was universally worn by the majority of the
travelling fans.
1992-93 Home & Away - no not an Australian soap! Both shirts and full kit,
seen here modelled by youth/reserve team players.
1993-94 Home- The association with Umbro came to an end and Derby in
their wisdom went with Bukta, a press release from the club heralded the 4year
deal as "representing an excellent commercial opportunity for the club and
is worth significantly more to us than any other playing strip contract"-
more on this later. The strip itself was very good , based on a baseball shirt
design it re- inforced the 'traditional' identity of black and white and it
looked good, there is no doubt of that. The reverse of the shirt has a ram logo
on it as names were not yet the norm. Also a 1st was that numbers for the rear
were also available in the club shop for replica shirts.This was also the season
that saw the departure of Arthur Cox who had suffered long term ill health.
1993-94
Away kit by Bukta, this kit has caused some argument as a few fans have mailed
me and said that this kit is the 'bar code' kit that I referred to in section 3.
I must agree that on close inspection this kit does look more like a bar code
than the other. The kit in the photo was kindly donated by Rams fan Tim Pearson
- thanks Tim. We hope that the shirt may feature in a DCFC museum sometime in
the future.
1994-95 Home - The same kit as the season before, but sadly the much heralded
deal with Bukta collapsed Bukta went out of business. So the shirt appeared
under the guise of 'Rams pro-wear'. My assumption and it si only that is Derby
County bought whatever stock was left from the receiver and had it re- badged. I
would again assume that Derby would have been a fairly 'major' creditor with a
three year contract remaining at the time of the firm's collapse. This strip
will forever be etched in to the memory as the one worn at THAT play off final.
This was the season in which Roy Mac was manager and was then cast aside.
Compare his efforts to those of recent and you may feel he was harshly treated.
1994-
95 Away - in my view a terrible shirt lacking in any emotion whatsoever- again
from the 'Pro Wear' stable apart from historic value it would no doubt have
ended up as a car cleaning rag with many fans who may have bought it.
1995-96 Home- Widely acknowledged as one of Derby's best kits, this is not
all attributed to the success that was seen in it. A quality shirt made by and
sponsored by Puma, the material was quality and I would say that it was the most
comfortable shirt for many years. A departure from the thin silky stuff we had
endured for years it was almost a dual layer- great stuff and the black trim
looked smart and the introduction of the yellow set it off. A centre Ram placed
in a diamond logo also had the club name underneath on a yellow banner. The kit
will also be remembered as the return to the premiership kit under Jim Smith,
who with Steve Mac seemed to effortlesssly take us back up. The kit remained for
one more season so has the dual accolade of being the last Premiership kit seen
at the Baseball Ground. My kit (very well worn) is pictured above and also a
close up of the Marco Gabbiadini autograph on it.
1995-96 Away- described as 'petrol blue' this was another excellent quality
kit by Puma, this only survived one season but to those who saw it away it will
have many memories of that glorious season. The yellow trim sets off the colour,
the material was imprinted and note that the numbers and letters were not set by
the league at this stage but were stylised by individual club choice. I remember
that demand was so high in the club shop that they ran out very early in the
season.
1996-97 Again a Puma kit rumored to have been based on 'Hearts' kit this was
another popular kit and a total break away with any traditional away kit the
Rams had seen before. This photo also shows the late Kevin Lloyd aka 'Tosh
Lines' from The Bill' who was an avid Rams supporter. So much so that he even
had a script partially re-written to include a speech about The Rams 1st
Championship winning side.
1997-98 Home (worn here by Ciccio) - whilst being more lightweight than the
previous kit, this was still an excellent kit both in design and quality. The
puma badge and Rams badge were separate patches sewn on and gave the shirt an
almost designer feel. The dual line trim on the sleeves set of the whole shirt
to give it a 'neat' appearance. The rear lettering and numbering was now a set
standard by the F.A. hence the premiership logos on the numbers. This kit also
takes it's place in history as the first to be worn in the debut season at Pride
Park Stadium. Little did we know this was to be the start of the end.
1997-98 Away- photographs and TV never showed the true colour of this gold
and blue shirt. It always appears as an orange colour, but in fact it was very
bright gold. The material as with the home shirt had a series of zig-zags and a
mini ram in the stitching. This was either a love it or hate it kit. I bought
one ! At least it is an excuse to show a photo of IGOD - remember his prophetic
words upon parting company with Derby?
1998-99 Home and Away - I've put these to together as they are basically the
same as teh previous kits- only the sponsor has changed with EDS taking the
reins from Puma. The kit was still manufactured by Puma
2000 Home - sadly the last of the Puma kits - obviously a version of the
'old' 60's derby kit with a v-neck instead of a round neck. This much heralded 'millenium'
shirt allegedly suffered problems with the EDS Logo and the millenium logo
failing. Although looking a smart kit it was not the fan's favourite that i
should have been. Some would say the cracks appearing allegedly mirrored the
behind the scenes finances at DCFC.
2000 Away - Millenium kit did redeem itself slightly with this number. My
favourite yellow and blue combination. A stylish shirt and for me far better
quality than the home kit close up the material is almost cheesecloth in
pattern. My EDS logo stayed on, but sadly the millenium logo faded fairly
quickly.
2001 - away - the millenium home kit stayed for another season as FA rules
started to clamp down on replica kits and the 'money making' machine. However,
this strange blue hue number that verged on purple wasn't that popular as the
fortunes of the club had now changed from Premiership new boys to relegation
strugglers.This kit has it's place in history as our last Puma kit before the
contract went to Italy.
2001-2003 home - The signs were there, but the club had spoken of
ring-fencing and other finances that seemed that all was okay at the bank. But
Puma were no loner around and EDS had not renewed their sponsorship. It seemed
that the Rams would enter a season like that of the early 90's with no
sponsorship- a strange veiw in this now heavily commercialised world. However, a
kit deal was struck with Italian firm Errea and local brewers gave the
'Pedigree' name to provide a brand that many fans had become familiar with in
the times of recent troubles. The shirt itself is not designed for the average
'Pedigree' drinker and is not flattering to the 'ehem' larger figure. Another of
the thin silky materials it is great design but not exactly a pleasure to wear.
Some fans have another name for the shirt which libel laws forbid me from saying
here.
2001-03 Away- sorry but this shirt design is in my opinion truly awful- like
the performances of the team during its reign it is dull, unexciting and
uninspiring. Errea made and sponsored by Pedigree. This shirt will serve as a
memory to the revolving door manager ship and deepening financial state of the
Rams during its tenure.
Section 5
will contain the new 2003-2004 when it is released
please click here
so until Derby show us the kit that will inspire our revival why not visit the other sections below
see some of the designs that never made it in 'odd kits'
or see the new graphic section
or simply check out some more past kits and relive those memories
to go back to main page