“What a fantastic experience it was, parading the trophy around the pitch” says former Rams striker Roger Davies as he fondly recalls the moments leading up to the final game of the 1974/1975 season against Carlisle United at the Baseball Ground. The players and management team learned they had secured the Division One title just days earlier while attending an awards dinner at Bailey’s in Derby. “I’m sure Franny and Rod Thomas were still inebriated!” he adds with a laugh.

Signing for Derby

In September 1971, Brian Clough signed Roger Davies from Worcester City for £12,000, a record fee for a non-league player at the time.

“I only played seven games for Worcester before I moved to Derby. Peter [Taylor] had been to watch me. Training was on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Brian Clough came to watch. I didn’t know he was there. I’m from Wolverhampton and didn’t have much of a clue where Derby was. Me and my father went over to watch Derby play Dundee United in the Texaco Cup and then did the signing. I was very fortunate as a player to have a professional hobby. I don’t think I ever argued or questioned what I was paid in my career. Money was never the motivation for me. It was always about playing the game.”

With several players away on international duty, Roger made his first-team debut six months later on 26 April 1972 in the second leg of the Texaco Cup Final against Airdrie at the Baseball Ground. After a goalless first leg in January, Derby secured a 2-1 victory, lifting the trophy thanks to an Alan Hinton penalty and a debut goal from Davies – a header from Barry Butlin’s cross in the 50th minute.

Derby went on to claim their first-ever Division One title in the 1971/1972 season, but Roger had to wait another six months to make his full league debut. That moment came on 4 November 1972, in a 4-0 defeat against Manchester City.

“It was an experience at Maine Road, and so was the score! I remember my father and brother coming from Wolverhampton to watch the game. It came out of the blue for me when I found out I was in the team so I was surprised to see my name on the teamsheet on the Thursday or Friday in the dressing room.”

Roger missed the following two games but scored his second goal for Derby in the next game against Arsenal in 5-0 win.

Hat-tricks, open goals and a red card

Roger began to establish himself in Derby’s first team during the 1972/1973 season and played a crucial role in the Rams’ FA Cup campaign, scoring in every round as they advanced to the quarter-finals. His standout moment came in February when he netted a memorable hat-trick, inspiring Derby to overturn a 3-1 deficit at Tottenham and secure a dramatic 5-3 victory after extra time.

“People come up to me and say: ‘do you remember Tottenham?’ Of course I do! That game is my favourite. It was brilliant to be part of that game. I scored on the Saturday as well. We were losing 3-1 with a few minutes to go. One of [my goals] was goal of the month. After the game, Brian said ‘don’t speak to the press’. I had a phone call from a journalist and told them I couldn’t do the interview. He said he had cleared it with Clough so I did the interview. When I went into training Brian asked me what that was all about!”

Just weeks before Derby’s FA Cup triumph at Tottenham, Roger made headlines for a very different reason—an infamous open-goal miss in a 1-1 draw at Chelsea. Finding himself clear through on goal, he rounded goalkeeper John Phillips but kicked the ball wide.

“As I was about to knock it in, the ball just bobbled slightly and as I side footed it I put it wide. I remember going in the dressing room and Cloughie looked at me. I said I thought I had scored and he said: ‘don’t you ever think you have scored until the ball is in the net’”.

The 1972/1973 season also saw Derby County embark on a memorable European Cup run, reaching the semi-finals before bowing out in controversial fashion to Juventus over two legs. After a 3-1 defeat in Turin, the Rams were held to a goalless draw at the Baseball Ground, a match that saw Alan Hinton miss a penalty and Roger sent off after reacting to provocation.

Roger recalls: “Francesco Morini the centre back kept pulling my shirt. I never touched him but he went down as if I headbutted him. Later in my career I played against him in America and I told him I hadn’t forgotten him!”

1974/1975 champions

Although Derby County eventually ended up winning Division One for a second time, the Rams made a slow start and only won one of their first seven league games with Roger finding the net in a 2-0 home victory over Sheffield United.

“I was very fortunate to play with the lads that we played with. Peter Daniel came in and was immense alongside Toddy, who was brilliant that season. Bruce Rioch was instrumental in us winning the league. Franny Lee came in and scored goals. We had a squad of 16 players that season, that was all. I can’t imagine being part of better squad of people in those years. We were always together, the fun and the laughter we used to have was fantastic.The same team played most weeks and we started getting goals and winning games and got ourselves up towards the top. During the Easter period we won all three games and took all six points against Luton, Leicester, and Burnley which put us in a good position.”

On 29 March 1975, Roger set a record that still holds a special place in Derby County’s history. He scored all five goals in a 5-0 home win over Luton Town, becoming the first Derby player to achieve such a feat since Hughie Gallacher in 1934. Sadly, no video footage exists of any of his goals from that memorable day.

“I had two disallowed as well and I could have had 8 or 9!” says Roger. “I was so proud of myself walking off the pitch scoring five goals in a First Division game. We played Saturday, Monday, Tuesday. When a side is winning and things are going well, it is easier to play three games over four days. My father didn’t make the game as he was doing some jobs on the Saturday morning. He could not believe he missed it. I have still got the ball signed by all the Derby players.”

Belgium, Leicester and the USA

Roger continued his goal-scoring form for the Rams in the 1975/1976 season, netting the winner in a 3-2 victory over Leeds at the Baseball Ground in November. The match, however, was overshadowed by the now-legendary fight between Francis Lee and Norman Hunter.

“My left foot wasn’t the best but I just swung my foot and it went right in the top corner to the right hand side of David Harvey and got goal of the month. The games against Leeds were something special, they were physical. You know they are always going to be difficult games. Leeds were a good side with good players. I remember Franny said he didn’t know he cut his lip until he put his tongue through it. We had a team at the time playing with lots of confidence and we believed we could win most games.”

Roger’s final game for Derby came in the last match of the 1975/1976 season at Ipswich Town. After making 144 appearances (22 as a substitute) and scoring 44 goals, he moved to Club Bruges for £135,000. His time in Belgium was highly successful, with Roger winning the Belgian League and Cup, as well as being named Belgium Player of the Year in 1977. However, he returned to England in December 1977, signing for Leicester City.

“I was in and out of the team at Derby. In the close season I had phone call to say Bruges were interested in buying me. It is another part of my career which I am proud of. In my first year there we won the league and cup and I won player of the year in Belgium. But I fell out with the manager and Leicester came in for me but it was not the best part of my career and it didn’t work out. I missed the chance to play in the European Cup Final at Wembley (where Liverpool beat Bruges 1-0).”

In 1979, Roger moved to Tulsa Roughnecks in the North American Soccer League, where Alan Hinton was the manager. He returned to Derby for the 1979/1980 season but couldn’t prevent the team’s relegation from Division One. Later in 1980, Davies returned to the NASL, signing for the Seattle Sounders, where he had an outstanding season, scoring 25 goals in 29 games and being voted the league’s Most Valuable Player by his fellow players. He played two more seasons with Seattle before moving to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in Florida then left the NASL in 1983 and returned to England.

“Myself, David Nish, and Bruce Rioch were there and there were lots of good players in America. I won Most Valuable Player [in 1980] and we had a really good side. Pele, Cruyff and Carlos Alberto were there [in the NASL] and there were crowds of 60,000 in Seattle. I played against my favourite player of all time George Best. What a talented played, everything a footballer could want.”

Life after playing

After retiring from professional football, Roger transitioned into a successful career at Rolls-Royce, where he applied the lessons he learned from his time on the pitch. “If you look after people, they will look after you,” he says, echoing the wisdom of his former manager, Brian Clough.

“I remember one game at Derby and we were playing away somewhere and I got taken off. Cloughie said to me: ‘do you realise the minute you went off, I lost interest in the game’. It made me feel 10 feet tall. I took what I learnt from Brian and used that when I was a manager at Rolls Royce. That is why he was so successful. He knew what buttons to press with every player.”

Today, Roger still enjoys watching football, though he notes the changes in the modern game.

“It’s not the same game today. The game that we played has changed, with things like shirt pulling and rolling around on the floor. I don’t know how they’re going to stop it,” he reflects. “It’s not just the Premier League – I see it when I watch my grandson play on Sunday mornings. All the teams play in the same way. There is never a weekend that goes by where I don’t see goals being given away from playing out from the back”.

Roger Davies’ legacy extends far beyond the goals he scored and the trophies he won, despite the crucial role he played in the historic 1974/1975 title-winning season. Alongside Roy McFarland, Roger continues to serve as a club ambassador for Derby County, dedicating his time to many community projects across Derbyshire over the past decade.