Coming Home - After 20 years as a Ram in exile, Derby County Blog author Ollie Wright returned to the East Midlands with a young family in tow. Once Covid restrictions lifted, Pride Park would once again be in easy reach… unless, of course the Rams’ seemingly endless ownership saga ended not in a takeover, but in liquidation.
This is a story of administration and relegation, interwoven with personal reflections on being a dad, being a son and learning to live with depression and anxiety. It was written at Pride Park at half-time intervals and on trains to and from games.
“Of all the seasons for me to come home, this was the season.”
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CNYQ4PVS
5* Amazon review
T D Gibbs - A deeply personal insight into Derby County's darkest days
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 June 2024
As ever with Ollie's work, an excellent read which chronicles his personal odyssey through the traumatic dark days of Derby County's administration period and the start of their re-birth.... It was refreshing that the book did not dwell on these matters but focused on the personal impact on Ollie, his family and his friends at a time when he had returned to live in the East Midlands. The openness and transparency perfectly captured Ollie's personal and emotional journey during these two seasons, whilst also focusing on football matters in equal measure. It was also great to recall how enjoyable, from a footballing perspective, the 2022/23 season was, and the strides that the club has taken under the leadership of David Clowes. I avidly await Ollie's next instalment!
Tens and Nervous: Derby County in the 2010s: Volume 1 (2010 - 2015) - This was the period in which Nigel Clough patiently built a team that Steve McClaren took to new heights, only for crushing disappointment to follow as the Rams twice fell short of promotion in dramatic style.
But alongside the desperate lowlights were some fine performances to savour - not least the unforgettable 5-0 - as the likes of Craig Bryson, Will Hughes and Chris Martin rose to become Derby heroes.
Ollie Wright's Derby County Blog turned ten years old in 2020. This book compiles the highlights from his first five years of Rams coverage.
“The biggest risk of all, the thing I dread, is that the Morris story – the local boy made good, the dream owner – turns into a Fawaz al Hasawi-shaped nightmare of instability and kneejerk head loss… Whatever your conception of the ‘Derby County Way’, one thing we can all agree on is this – it is bigger than one man.”
From the departure of Steve McClaren to the arrival of Wayne Rooney, this chaotic era in Derby County history was directed and dominated by executive chairman and owner, Mel Morris. The carousel of managers twirled, millions were spent like confetti and the Rams suffered repeat play-off heartbreak. Mel’s Way was certainly never dull.
Ollie Wright’s Derby County Blog documented the madness as it unfurled.