Roy McFarland is a name synonymous with Derby County Football Club. The centre-back joined the Rams as a 19 year old from Tranmere Rovers in August 1967 for £25,000 and went on to play a pivotal role in the Rams’ rise to the top of English football during the 1970s. Across 530 appearances Roy’s leadership and defensive brilliance were instrumental in Derby’s success and cemented his status as one of the club’s all-time greatest players.

An unexpected visit

When Brian Clough and Peter Taylor took charge at the Baseball Ground in 1967 their first signing was John O’Hare. Soon after, they secured the arrival of Roy McFarland. The story of how Roy was convinced to join Derby has since become a well-known part of the club’s history.

“It was completely out of the blue; I had no idea” remembers Roy. “I was playing for Tranmere and it was the second game of the season at home [a 2-1 League Cup win against Wrexham]. I finished the game and my cousin was with me. We went by train back to Liverpool under the Mersey. I was shattered so went straight to bed when I got home. I was fast asleep then next thing I knew my mum was shaking me and said there’s two men downstairs. She said one was Brian Clough but didn’t know who the other man was.”

“I just wanted to forget it all but Brian and Peter didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, they were talking about their plans and the type of team they wanted. They were trying to get to the First Division but it wasn’t for me at the time. I asked if I could have the weekend to think about it as I wasn’t prepared to give an answer straight away and wanted to wait until Monday morning to make a decision. I wasn’t looking to play for another club other than Liverpool because I supported them throughout my youth. I asked my dad what he thought. He told me: ‘If it was me son, I would sign for them’”.

“After I had signed, I went to watch Liverpool play with my cousin. Tony Hateley and Ian St John were playing and I was leaning on the post next to me and told my cousin that I had made the biggest mistake of my life. But signing for Derby was the best thing I ever did. It was a rollercoaster that I didn’t want to get off.”

Roy made his first appearance for the Rams just three days after signing in a 3-1 win at Rotherham. He made 40 appearances in his first season, scoring two goals.

“It was a long night my debut. Mum and dad came down to watch me. Brian looked after them and got them a meal, then [Derby Chairman] Sam Longson’s son-in-law took them to the game. We won and after the game Sam’s son-in-law took me and my mum and dad to Manchester to catch the train. We were dropped off and rushed out to the station but the train had gone so we had to get a taxi home to Liverpool. When we got home dad had to run upstairs and look in his money box to pay for the taxi.”

At the end of Roy’s first season Derby finished 18th in Division Two, but under Brian Clough and Peter Taylor the Rams claimed the Division Two title in their second campaign before going on to be crowned Division One champions in 1972.

New management, injury setback, and a second title

When Clough and Taylor resigned in October 1973 Dave Mackay and Des Anderson stepped in to replace them. However, the transition was far from seamless and the players needed time to adjust to the change in leadership.

“We had our problems early on, there wasn’t the gelling that we had in 1972” said Roy. “What Dave and Des did very well right from the start was they handled the players because we wanted Clough and Taylor back. Dave met all of us and said: ‘listen, Brian has left this football club and won’t be coming back. I am the manager and from this day onwards we are in this together, all of us’”.

“We met Brian for the last time but it got back to Des and he said he wanted to see all of us after training. Des called us an absolute disgrace and he was right to because we were taking it too far. We should have been concentrating on football and we weren’t. He made us all think we had to move on, it was like self-pity. Our heads weren’t clear as we still thought Brian was going to come back. Once we realised that wasn’t going to happen, and Dave signed Bruce Rioch and Franny Lee, it made the team better.”

While on international duty with England in May 1974, Roy suffered an injury to his left Achilles tendon that sidelined him for six months. Just as he was nearing a return in November, he sustained another setback, this time injuring his right Achilles.

“I went to the majority of the games [in the 1974/1975 season]. It was surreal watching and thinking that it should be me out there. I saw Mr Tricky, the same surgeon who did the first operation, and he said my first injury had ripped right through the ligament but was convinced that the second injury wasn’t like the first one. I had to go through the same recovery procedure for my second injury but had a better recovery because it was not as bad. I was determined to get back for Derby, and back into the England team, and played in the last four games at the end of the season. It was hard work going to the gym, working hard and staying for extra training but I enjoyed the challenge and I am glad Dave [Mackay] involved me and was pleased I had some part in winning the league. I wish I had played the full season but it was never going to happen. It was interesting to watch the players develop and the team got better as the season went on.”

Peter Daniel was brought in to cover for Roy’s absence and went on to enjoy an outstanding season at the heart of Derby’s defence, earning the Player of the Year award for his performances.

“Peter had come into the team, but I think Dave thought that if he didn’t come up trumps then he might go and buy another centre half, which may have destroyed my career. You couldn’t meet a nicer guy, or a nicer footballer and more genuine lad than Peter. Throughout the 1972 Championship season Peter didn’t play at all, which shocked me, but when he took over from me he played really well and the thing that helped him was playing alongside Colin Todd, Ron Webster at right back and David Nish at left back. The players around him were good, and Bruce Rioch in midfield was great.”

Derby struggled at the start of the 1974/75 season, winning just one of their first seven league matches and sitting tenth in the table on Christmas Day. After an inconsistent first half of the campaign, their form surged after the festive period, with 13 wins from the next 18 games. Roy returned for the final four matches, playing a key role in Derby’s defensive resilience. The Rams kept clean sheets in 1-0 victories over Wolves and West Ham at the Baseball Ground, as well as goalless draws against Leicester and Carlisle – the latter coming in the final game of the season, with the title already secured.

Dave Mackay and the Rams in Europe

After nearly a decade at Tottenham Hotspur 33-year-old Dave Mackay was persuaded by Brian Clough to prolong his career with Derby, rather than return to Scotland to manage Heart of Midlothian. The experienced Scotsman spent three years with the Rams, leaving a lasting influence on the young McFarland.

Roy recalls: “I had a great relationship with Dave and lived with him in the Midland Hotel for three years. We used to have dinner every night and go out for a drink somewhere. I used to drive Dave mad because I was always asking questions about football. He told me all the stories of doing the Double with Tottenham, but what intrigued me the most was when he talked about European football and qualifying for the Fairs Cup. I loved listening to his stories. I learnt so much from Dave. I was learning my trade all the time, we all were. Dave was such a strong person and loved football and it rubbed off on all of us. It was an absolutely fabulous education for me playing alongside Dave Mackay and then with Colin Todd. Dave was the best player I ever played with but the best after was Colin Todd, who slotted in and we were a partnership straight away. There was no practising, we just got on the field and played football. Toddy had so much pace that no one would get past him. He would deal with everything. Mackay taught me and gave me the education and the know-how, but me and Toddy were the best”.

Success in the league brought European football to Derby, and the magic of the European nights at the Baseball Ground remains etched in Roy’s memory.

“Those European nights were different and magical, which all of us at the time knew we would never forget. Our supporters loved the games, the place was buzzing and the town was buzzing. Playing Benfica and playing against Eusebio made me realise what a super player he was, but he didn’t score against Colin and I. The referee against Juventus in the first leg didn’t reflect on what European football was all about. The referee got caught, he was kicked out of football and didn’t referee again, which was some compensation. In Turin Morini ran into me and pulled me to the floor and every time I got up and looked at the ref and said: ‘surely that’s a penalty?’. I had never experienced that type of marking before.”

Scoring goals and The Belfast Boy

Roy McFarland netted 48 goals for the Rams – a remarkable number for a centre-back. What was his secret to finding the back of the net?

“At corners I went to the back of the 18 yard box and would run from there and if I timed it right I was good at hitting the target. I remember playing Manchester United in the Watney Cup against Bobby Charlton and all the great players. Dave took a free kick which hit the post and I took a gamble and ran past players and smacked the ball in the net past Alex Stepney. I anticipated things and if you want to score goals you need to attack areas. I attacked areas that Alan [Hinton] said he would hit the ball into in front of me. He would look where I was standing and put the ball a yard away with so much force that when it hit my head it flew. Occasionally in training Brian would set a situation up where we would all be on the edge of the box and Alan would smash the ball across. But Brian enjoyed allowing us to create and do things for ourselves and would encourage us to do something different.”

Throughout his career, Roy faced the challenge of nullifying many talented attackers. However, one player stands out above all others as the toughest opponent he ever faced.

“George Best had everything. You always knew he would stretch you to the limit. He could kick the ball with both feet, head the ball, he could tackle, and run like the wind. One game at Old Trafford he was on the half way line. I came across to him and he pretended to go along the line then dummied to go left and went straight inside. I tripped over, got up and sprinted after him and caught him on the other side of the centre circle and whacked him. I couldn’t believe it – once Best went past you he was away. Bobby Charlton told the referee to send me off, it was malicious. He was right, I did hit him and I should have been sent off. George was down for a while but luckily the tackle didn’t give him a major injury. I let myself down and I let my standards slip.”

Legacy

On 4 October 1980 Roy McFarland became the seventh, and to date the last, player to make 500 appearances for Derby in a 3-1 win at home to Sheffield Wednesday. Roy was released at the end of the season to take on a player-manager role at Bradford City and experienced success straight away by leading the Bantams to promotion from Division Four in 1982.

“Colin Addison had a chat with me and said it might be time to move on. He was right. I had taken my coaching badges and became a player-manager at Bradford. I didn’t play many games because I wanted to see the team develop. I had six months playing and enjoyed it and had some good young players there. They caught on with what I wanted them to do to approach games, doing things right and performing well.”

Roy returned to Derby in 1983 and made eight more appearances (three starts and five substitute appearances) but could not prevent the Rams from being relegated to Division Three.

“If there is one thing I shouldn’t have done it was to go back to Derby. I came back for Peter Taylor. I couldn’t turn it down as he had done so much for me. I left Bradford on a bad note and wish I had dealt with it better.”

After former Derby County Secretary, Chief Executive, Director and Chairman Stuart Webb rescued the club  from going out of business in April 1984, Roy McFarland took over as caretaker manager for the final nine matches of the season following Peter Taylor’s resignation. Soon after, Arthur Cox was appointed as the Rams’ permanent manager, with Roy as his assistant. Roy later took charge of Derby between 1993 and 1995 following Arthur Cox’s resignation due to ill health. His managerial career continued with spells at Bolton Wanderers, Cambridge United, Torquay United, Chesterfield and Burton Albion.

Roy McFarland’s place in Derby County’s history as one of its greatest ever players is unquestionable. Today, Roy remains closely connected to the Rams as a club ambassador – a far cry from the 19 year-old who once feared he had made the biggest mistake of his life by signing for the club.