Derby County 0 Chelsea 2

Derby have parted company with manager Nigel Clough.

The worrying sight since the weekend of Jeff Hendrick “hobbling around on crutches” in the words of his manager Nigel Clough was followed yesterday by the expected confirmation from the FAI that the Derby County midfielder is now out of the Irish squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Austria.

Republic of Ireland U21 international Joe Mason was the matchwinner as Cardiff stretched their lead at the top of the Championship table to seven points yesterday.

Derby have signed striker Conor Sammon from Wigan for an undisclosed fee.

Ipswich 1 Derby 0

THE New Orleans Saints suffered a shock 31-21 defeat to the previously winless St Louis Rams and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New England Patriots in NFL action on Sunday.

The Football Association today charged Bolton striker Kevin Davies, Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock and Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell with improper conduct.

Derby have denied receiving an approach from Premier League strugglers Wolves for striker Rob Hulse.

Derby 2 Wolves 3

Nigel Clough will set about trimming down Derby’s squad when he officially begins his job as the Rams' new manager this morning.

Nigel Clough’s hopes of following in his father’s footsteps and managing Derby are closer to realisation after Rams chairman Adam Pearson admitted yesterday he was one of the names on a “very small radar” being monitored by the club.

LIFE cannot get much sweeter for Kevin Doyle. The Wexford-born striker has just enjoyed the kind of week he must have wished would never end: a lucrative new contract, tying him to the Royals until 2011, two goals here which brought him his half-century for the Berkshire club three years after joining and the chance to enhance his international credentials in next week’s clash with Poland.

Derby 0 Reading 4

MARK HUGHES hailed Roque Santa Cruz as one of the best natural finishers he has ever seen after the Paraguay striker ensured Derby entered the record books as the worst team in Premier League history.

Blackburn 3 Derby 1

Derby boss Paul Jewell has opted to scrap his reserve side.

Derby boss Paul Jewell is keen to keep hold of on-loan midfielder Hossam Ghaly for next season – but admits he may face a struggle.

Alex Ferguson has hailed the courage of Cristiano Ronaldo in the wake of another match-winning performance.

Derby 0 Manchester United 1

Derby manager Paul Jewell fears Chelsea counterpart Avram Grant could be out of a job this summer – even if he brings silverware to Stamford Bridge.

Man Utd 4 Derby 1

OPTIMISTS are in precious short supply in Derby, but Billy Davies found comfort from an unexpected source after his team’s latest capitulation.

Derby striker Kenny Miller faces a race against time as he bids to be fit for the Rams’ trip to Aston Villa.

Derby manager Billy Davies has admitted there will come a time when the club will sell star midfielder Giles Barnes, but is currently concentrating on getting the youngster fit enough to prove himself in the top flight.

Premiership new boys Derby have smashed their transfer record by signing Norwich striker Robert Earnshaw for £3.5m.

Derby 0 Stoke 2

Steve Howard’s 12th goal of the season fired Derby six points clear at the top of the Coca-Cola Championship in a match which ended with both managers and a player being sent off.

POLICE have launched a formal investigation into allegations of financial irregularities at Derby.

Derby 0 Preston 0

Derby manager George Burley went for broke from the outset in his attempt to overturn Preston’s 2-0 advantage from the first leg of the Coca-Cola Championship semi-final play-off by handing shock starting roles to Grzegorz Rasiak and Inigo Idiakez.

Derby’s hopes of securing promotion to the Premiership have been dealt a hefty blow with the news midfielder Inigo Idiakez has been ruled out for the Championship play-offs.

Wigan claimed automatic promotion to the Premiership today thanks to a 3-1 win over Reading at the JJB Stadium.

Wigan climbed to the top of the Coca-Cola Championship with a gutsy 2-1 victory over relegation-haunted Coventry at Highfield Road.

Derby 2 Leeds 0

ST LOUIS and Denver got the victories they needed, while Minnesota and the New York Jets didn’t have to win to book their play-off berths as the National Football League regular season ended on Sunday.

Derby midfielder Simo Valakari has revealed how news of the club’s takeover has taken the Rams’ first-team squad utterly by surprise.

John Gregory’s turbulent reign at Derby has drawn to a close with the failure of an appeal against his sacking.

Derby boss John Gregory believes his experiences while manager at Aston Villa have held him in good stead during his time with the Rams.

DerWIMBLEDON’S sequence of seven matches unbeaten ended last night as Derby came from behind to win and move up to twelfth in Nationwide Division One.

Derby have agreed a deal to bring former Spanish international goalkeeper Toni Jimenez to Pride Park until the end of the season.

Derby 3 Aston Villa 1

Derby boss Colin Todd is expected to keep faith with the side which grabbed three crucial points against Southampton last week for the Rams’ difficult trip to Newcastle.

Derby 1 Ipswich 1