Latest news with #DavidClowes
BBC News
6 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Golfer hits first hole-in-one day after turning 90
A golfer hit his first ever hole-in-one just one day after celebrating his 90th Payne achieved every golfer's dream on the sixth hole at Brailsford Golf Course, near Ashbourne in Derbyshire, on Payne said his deteriorating eyesight meant he didn't initially realise he had hit an ace until a fellow player informed him."It is a miracle because it is very difficult. I have played here for 30 years and I've never had a hole-in-one," he said. Mr Payne said his friends "could not believe" what they saw once he hit the ball."I hit the ball with my driver and it hit the downslope of the bunker. It rolled and rolled until it dropped in the hole."Magic, once in a lifetime." Operations manager at the course, Gurj Bowbanks, described Mr Payne as a "character and a real joy to be around"."I think we are all in awe of him and he's put us all to shame," she said."We are really over the moon for him."Mr Payne said he would now like to golf with David Clowes, the owner of Derby County and Brailsford Golf the meet up were to go ahead, Mr Payne said he would not be able to use his hole-in-one ball because he had lost it.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'No secret' Price is searching for Derby investment
Derby County owner David Clowes' search for new investment has resulted in him working with the man who helped broker his takeover of the Price - founder of Union Rights Management, a company which promotes itself as a sales advisory service for sports business owners - earned £100,000 from the part he played in Clowes taking the club out of administration in the summer of initially worked with Derby's previous owner Mel Morris, who put the club into administration, when he was searching for financial own search for fresh investment, which has been going on for a year, has resulted in Price being involved in board Price's continued presence at Derby was first raised, in late 2023, BBC Radio Derby reported, external that he was there without any attachment to former owner chief executive Stephen Pearce insisted Price is working only in an advisory role and does not influence how the club challenged by BBC Radio Derby about Price reportedly having a say in the decision to sack head coach Paul Warne in February, Pearce replied: "That's absolutely not true."Pearce added: "He has no operational or decision-making power in terms of day-to-day on the football club."Jonathan Price is just an adviser to David and there are no secrets. It's not a mystery figure."Jonathan works for David in terms of (being) his representative in those investment discussions." Pearce said Price has been entrusted by Clowes to lead the search for investors and is "having conversations" with potential financers."I introduced Jonathan initially to Mel when he was struggling in terms of investors," said Pearce. "And Jonathan was the one that effectively got David to the table and managed to sell the football club to David after initially getting him to buy the stadium."So there is no myth or secret. And because of the work he did, and the relationship he built with David, he has continued to represent him in investment discussions that David has had since then."Obviously he has to be across issues that are ongoing and has to be involved to know what's going on because he is that lead person having conversations with investors."
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Warne delay allowed Eustace to take Rams job
Derby County chief executive Stephen Pearce says the club would not have landed John Eustace as manager if they had sacked Paul Warne Rams escaped relegation back to League One on the last day of the season having been seven points adrift at the foot of the Championship when Eustace came in on 7 delay in dismissing Warne was questioned by fans, who felt the club missed a chance to bring in Eustace - who had taken Blackburn Rovers into the play-off positions - earlier so he could have influenced the club's business in the transfer window."Would we have liked to do it earlier? If we had to, yes, but all of the signs told us John would not have come if we'd done it earlier and we wouldn't have got the same calibre of manager as we got in John Eustace," Pearce told the Rams Daily Podcast. Asked if he should be held accountable for the way things went wrong under Warne, Pearce replied: "The results speak for themselves. "I'm accountable to the board and to David [Clowes] but ultimately I would also say that when we made that decision with regard to making that change and appointing John Eustace, I have to be accountable for that because I was the one that put him forward, that said to David 'Let's go and get him' and that got him over the line."In terms of something going wrong, Paul got us promoted. We missed out on the last game of the season in the first season to Sheffield Wednesday to get into the play-offs."Second season we were promoted with our record points total. Paul wasn't a failure." Derby drew with Stoke City on the final day of the season to ensure safety, and now they head into the summer with a transfer budget boosted by the sale of centre-back Eiran Cashin to Brighton in of the fee received from the Seagulls went on bringing in replacement Sondre Langas from Norwegian club Viking, but the rest is still in the pot, says Pearce."David has been very open and clear on it, we have a budget every year," he said. "This is how much we'll put in, and anything you generate over and above that doesn't get taken out and goes back into the pot to build for the future."We don't want to get carried away. All I will say is that the base we have got, the way we finished the season from when John came in, post the week of the build-up to the QPR game when he hadn't had time to instil his way of working, is a massively positive base for us to go forwards. His points per game tally speaks for itself."We are going to strengthen the squad and we've got a bigger budget. Our ambitions are to finish as high as possible, we're not going to put a position on it, but hopefully it will be an exciting season."Fans are still waiting to hear the outcome of talks held by owner David Clowes with an unnamed investor, but Pearce says he has no intention of leaving if there is a said that he is not party to ongoing talks but added: "I will stay at this football club until the day it's decided I'm not. I love this football club."What we've built over the last couple of years and what we're continuing to build is genuinely exciting, I believe in, but ultimately I'm not naive enough to believe that in football things can't change on a sixpence, so let's see what happens moving forward."
BBC News
06-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Derby County: It's time for the Rams to look forward, and up
Mission accomplished for Derby County. Championship survival was a must if the club was to continue the upwards trajectory put on its way owner David Clowes in 2022. A few weeks before the culmination of the season, wing-back Kane Wilson uttered: "It's important we don't waste the hard work done last season" by getting out of League One at the second attempt. For me, this is the moment in time when the club can shake off its damage and rebuild culture brought on by former owner Mel Morris' decision to put it into administration. Staying in the second tier means the club can be recognised as that Championship team, no sprinkling of sugar but a solid recipe for growth. The story of this season has been split into two halves. Perhaps there was an underestimation of the challenges of the Championship and what was needed to finish without a relegation battle. Or perhaps there were bouts of imposter syndrome from the then head coach. Paul Warne's achievements at Derby County will go down in the history books. At times he played exciting, attacking football, he was an infectious personality who you enjoyed being around. But did he really believe he deserved the role as Derby County head coach? He spoke in his first media conference about how proud his father would have been that he was managing the same team as Clough and Taylor. I am not sure he thought he was worthy of that. That run of seven straight defeats brought an end to his tenure. No manager can survive a goal drought and a lack of points. The fans had turned and they let him know. A brave decision was made by David Clowes and chief executive Stephen Pearce to remove Warne and find an alternative. Derby were heading down without it. Former Ram John Eustace had told me years ago during a conversation while we were watching our boys play football, that he always wanted to return to manage Derby one day. This was his moment. Prizing him away from Blackburn took time and money and, with the Rams bottom of the table and seven points a drift on 7 March, the journey was going to be tough. Eventually, with his coaches Matt Gardiner, Keith Downing, Paul Clements and 'football genius' Jake Buxton, the Rams showed signs of recovery. The improvement in each individual was noticeable. Suddenly the mistakes were not being made, the goals were not punishing them and they looked like they could play. Marcus Harness said after the win at Plymouth Argyle: "Some players thrive in chaos, some thrive with structure and information." This insight into his mindset made observers look differently at the players. All of them showed signs of confidence, creativity and understanding. From 7 March, when the club were rock bottom and seven points adrift, Eustace's Rams took 21 points and won away from home three times. The togetherness got the Rams over the line to be able to take that next step. But it isn't a rebuild now, it is a strengthening of the foundations laid in the past three seasons. Derby County should be looking up now, not down, and with investment and a solid summer transfer window there is every possibility.
