When he turned himself in on Friday, he informed Quantuma’s administrators and Derby’s CEO Stephen Pearce that he would be stepping down.
Rooney’s former assistant, Liam Rosenior, is given the chance to earn the job on a permanent basis and is desperate to play his part in the Derby revival. Pride Park is sold out on Saturday for the visit to Oxford.
“I can’t wait for the atmosphere and the feeling in the stadium, and we are in a good place to repay those supporters,” Rosenior said. “My job is to make sure we go out every game and give it our all and make sure the fans enjoy watching us.”
Clowes, who stood on the old terraces of Baseball Ground as a child, is reluctant to cause any more commotion and focuses on cleaning up the mess he inherited.
HMRC owes an eye-watering £35 million, a bill to be paid in one lump sum next month after a deal has been negotiated. It won’t be for the full amount, but it’s still a significant debt being settled.
About £20million was paid back to MSD, the US private investment company, and £5million is still outstanding to Arsenal in two transfer terms for the record purchase of Krystian Bielik.
Derby will make the first payment at the end of August before the final amount is settled next year. Bielik, the Polish international, is Derby’s biggest earner and is likely to leave because he wants to play in the World Cup this year.
Derby will make the first payment this month before the final amount is settled next year. Poland’s international Bielik is Derby’s biggest earner and is likely to leave this month as he wants to play in the World Cup this year.
Academy decimated in the past two years
While 11 members of staff were laid off and around 15 resigned during the nine months in office, the collateral damage of Derby’s financial difficulties was the club’s respected academy.
It has been completely decimated in the past two years, with homegrown players like Jayden Bogle, Max Lowe, Kaide Gordon, Omari Kellyman, Dylan Williams, Morgan Whittaker, Luke Plange and Kain Ryan all sold.
Three under-15s were sold to Manchester United for a small sum to provide cash flow at a critical time. Malcolm Ebiowei was sold to Crystal Palace last month, despite Derby offering the teenage forward a lucrative new deal. Palace offered just £30,000, so the dispute will go to a tribunal.
Irish winger Festy Ebosele also signed for Udinese, with Derby receiving around £290,000 in training compensation when he officially registered on July 1.
Derby estimates it could take up to five years to rebuild the academy, but that is one of the main goals for Clowes. It is imperative to maintain the club’s Category 1 status.
Relations with the Football League have now greatly improved, following frequent disputes with former owner Mel Morris, and club staff are confident that season ticket sales will soon exceed 17,000.
This may have been the most tortuous period in their 138-year history, but most Derby supporters are simply grateful that there is still a club to support this weekend.