We renew acquaintances with dodgy Derby County tomorrow evening, here’s seven questions on them going back to the sixties with the answers to be posted on here on Wednesday.
60s. Spotted playing for the Can Cans, who is the City related link between Norwich City, Derby County, Middlesbrough and Walsall?
70s. This forward’s career consisted mostly of multiple moves between two countries, neither of which were England. Starting off on a religious mission, he then moved to play for a side situated in an area which could hardly be called safe at that time. He then signed for a club, with a cockerel on its badge, which rejected, arguably, the greatest British player ever and then, in the first of his international moves signed for a team of uncouth individuals. It was while with this team that Derby became interested in him and he signed for them for a couple of seasons where he enjoyed modest success before returning to play for the dubious characters he’d been signed from for six years which were only interrupted by a year spent at home with one of his previous clubs. He finally left the bad influences once and for all and moved about two hundred and fifty miles south to become a partner in a city famous for something that had happened twenty odd years earlier, but he hadn’t been there too long before he picked up a three year suspension for assaulting a referee. This was enough for him to return to his native City straight away and he spent seven more years at the club with the bird on its badge he had played for twice before. He didn’t need to move city when he played for his final club and he was with them at the time their captain died after collapsing when a ball hit him on the chest. Retiring from the game in 1996, he had reason to remember Bulgaria with affection, but who is he?
80s. Besides England, this international played his club football in Australia, America, Hong Kong (twice) and Scotland. He had two spells with Derby and turned out in a match which did them more good than us during his second spell (minus the finger he had lost in a lawnmower accident in between times) with them. The fact that he was able to return to the Baseball Ground after playing for Nottingham Forest in a Cup Final is a testimony to his popularity at the club. His international career was brief following a falling out with then manager Don Revie – who am I describing?
90s. This defender is a particular favourite of mine because he was one of the best signings I ever made in the Trade Marks Registry Fantasy Football competition! I was able to steal a bit of a march on the others in the competition because I became aware of the nickname he acquired at the club Derby signed him from – “bazooka”, because of the power of his free kicks. He was a popular addition to the Derby ranks as well with a couple of derby goals against Forest helping greatly in that respect. A change of manager worked against him though and he spent time out on loan with cielo azuls before his release and return home to play for the team Derby had signed him from – who is he?
00s. His first name began with the letters Grz and he was in a Derby team beaten by City during this decade, name him.
10s. Arriving at Derby via a Cherry Orchard, this defender also played for the Dossers, a team of modistes, the Sandgrounders and probably never needs to buy another pint in Newport for as long as he lives – do you know who he is?
20s. Sounds like they threw away the key with this Derby player!
Answers
60s. Signed from Scottish club Forres Mechanics (nicknamed the Can Cans), centre forward Gordon Fraser only played four matches for City. His debut came in a goalless draw at Norwich in August 1962 and he was then in the side which won 2-1 at Derby three days later. He then played for the third time in four games when he made his only home appearance for City in a 2-1 defeat against Middlesbrough and then waiting another seven months for his only other appearance for the club – a 2-1 loss at Walsall. Fraser joined Millwall upon his release by City and played one more match for them than he had done with us, but, again, failed to find the net. He returned to south Wales to play for Barry Town and his form there earned him another Football League chance with Newport County in 1966 where he finally scored a goal, managing a couple of them in his thirteen appearances for County.
70s. Belfast born Billy Caskey started his career at Crusaders and then moved on to East Belfast before signing for Glentoran, the club which once rejected George Best because he was too small. Caskey then moved to America to play for Tulsa Roughnecks before his move to Derby where he scored three times in his twenty eight league appearances. In 1980, Caskey returned to Tulsa, and apart from a season back at Glentoran, stayed there through the first half of the decade. When left, it was to play indoor soccer for the Dallas Sidekicks, but an assault on a referee in a Cup Final soon put a stop to his time with them. Caskey returned to Belfast next to see out most of the rest of his career with Glentoran before a couple of season with Dunela, a club thats captain Michael Goddard died after being struck in the chest by the ball during a game in 1995. Caskey was capped seven times by Northern Ireland, with his only goal coming in a 2-0 win over Bulgaria on his debut for them in 1978.
80s. Charlie George was in the Derby team which drew 0-0 with City at the Baseball Ground in May 1982. The point helped Derby just about maintain their place in the old Second Division, but City were relegated a couple of weeks later. George had a short loan spell with Nottingham Forest in 1979 during which he picked up a winners medal when Barcelona were beaten in the Final of the European Super Cup.
90s. Horacio Carbonari signed for Derby from Rosario Central in his native Argentina and became a valuable member of a good Premier League team put together by Jim Smith, but John Gregory wasn’t as a big a fan of Carbonari’s as the bald eagle was and, following a short loan spell with Coventry, was released in 2002 – he played out the rest of his career with Rosario Central until his retirement three years later.
00s. Grzegorz Rasiak was in the Derby team beaten 1-0 by City in what was then called Pride Park on New Years Day 2005.
10s. Dublin born defender Mark O’Brien signed for Derby from Irish side Cherry Orchard and made thirty two league appearances for the Rams. During his time at Derby, he was loaned out to Motherwell and then, upon his release, signed for Luton (a modiste is a hat maker), before moving on to Southport from where he signed for Newport County – 0’Brien scored the very late goal that got Newport the win which preserved their Football League status in 2017.
20s. Max Bird.
