Pride Before the Fall

Pride Before the Fall is the ultimate cautionary tale of how chasing Premier League riches can lead a club to the brink of extinction. Eight months after play-off final heartbreak, Derby County were charged by the EFL for breaching profitability and sustainability rules, triggering a fight for the club’s life.

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Pride Before the Fall: How Derby County went from Play-Off Final to Near Extinction is the ultimate cautionary tale of how chasing Premier League riches can lead a club to the brink of collapse.


It’s a story of how one of English football’s greatest clubs were on the cusp of Premier League football, but instead were left to rue play-off heartache and then went down a path of EFL charges and legal battles, phantom takeovers from American and Saudi businessmen, administration, points deductions and a seemingly endless stream of financial woes.


That tiny snowflake in the background would turn into a raging snowstorm. But before all that England and Manchester United’s record goalscorer Wayne Rooney turned up to partner with former Barcelona captain Phillip Cocu to lead a play-off push back to English football’s top tier – at least that was the plan.


The book examines how a founding member of the English Football League – and two-time First Division champions – were nearly wiped off the face of the earth.