"He needs help" - David Clowes urged to take Derby County ownership action amid on-pitch struggles | OneFootball

The Rams have been under the ownership of David Clowes since he saved them from administration in 2022

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

David Clowes is seen as a hero at Derby County after saving the club from administration back in the summer of 2022, when the club’s financial issues had spiralled out of control.

The Rams owner claimed the club were a week from going bust before he took over proceedings two-and-a-half years ago, before he invested £55 million to keep the club afloat as they headed down into the third tier.

After promotion was secured back to the Championship last season, reality has once again set in for County, who have struggled to compete with the financial clout of the EFL’s big-hitters in the second division, and currently find themselves staring down the barrel of an immediate return to League One.

With that in mind, we spoke to Football League World’s Derby fan pundit Shaun Woodward about his thoughts on the man who pulls the strings at the club he supports, and what demands he would set for the County chief.

David Clowes urged to take investment action after Derby County saviour

County chief executive Stephen Pearce revealed last week that County are in talks about investment into the football club, although no timescale was put on any potential windfall from negotiations.

As a man who loves the football club, Clowes is understandably keen to keep the Rams’ best interests in mind when entering talks with any external stakeholders, and as a result things haven’t gone as quickly as County fans will have liked.

Woodward counts himself among the contingent who would love to see extra funds available to his side before too long, with the Pride Park regular outlining his desire when asked what he would say to Clowes given the opportunity.

The Rams fan pundit told FLW: “If I could send a message to David Clowes, I think I would speak on behalf of all Derby fans by thanking him for everything he has done for the club.

“He took over us during one of the most turbulent times in our history, he saved us and he rebuilt the club, stabilised the club, and we saw a great year last year that ended in promotion.

“I think he would be the first to admit it as well that he needs help, he needs someone to come in and buy a percentage of the club to support us financially if we want to take the next step, which is to become a team that consolidates in the Championship where we used to be.”

Derby County crave Championship stability after administration issues

Having been a side that frequented the Premier League at the start of the Century, the last few years have been tough for Derby County supporters, with their team falling to their lowest ebb in recent history.

After working so hard to get out of League One under Paul Warne, the Rams could well find themselves back in the third tier if new boss John Eustace doesn’t turn things around in the next couple of months, with four points separating them and safety with 12 matches of the season remaining.

While the short-term impact of dropping back into the third tier might not be earth-shattering for the football club, Woodward believes things need to be changed from the top down to instigate change and bring longer term success to his side over time.

Shaun continued: “We have proved this year that we are not good enough at the moment, so we need investment, we need a serious reset at the club.

“It is looking like we are going to be back in League One so it is going to be a tough year again next year, because we are going to have a lot of new players needing to be bedded in.

“So it is going to be a tough year or so, but I don’t think anyone can put any blame on David Clowes for what he has tried to do for the club.

“He is a fan, he wants the best for the club and we all wish him the very best, but I do think it is time he brings in someone either to replace him or support him to push the club forward.

“Otherwise we are just going to be a yo-yo club between League One and the Championship.”