Why Wisdom Was So Popular

There’s little doubt that Andre Wisdom was a popular figure with the Derby County faithful during his first spell at Pride Park Stadium.

He impressed during a 38-game loan spell with the Rams from Liverpool during the 2013/14 season.

Derby finished third in the Sky Bet Championship table, picking up a club-record 85 points in a season, and reached the Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium.

After making his Rams return today, joining a permanent basis from Liverpool for an undisclosed fee, we’ve taken a look at five factors behind why the 24-year-old was so popular the first time around.

Impressive Debut…

Wisdom’s debut against Birmingham City at Pride Park Stadium, just days after arriving on loan for the rest of the season, was a real taster of what was to come.

Straight into the side at right-back, Wisdom produced a solid and impressive display as the Rams claimed a point against their West Midlands rivals.

Just a handful of games into Steve McClaren’s tenure as Head Coach, Derby were still coming to grips with what was required from them as a side.

Jamie Ward had put the Rams ahead early on, but the visitors hit back to equalise early in the second half through Lee Novak.

Wisdom went on to start every single one of the Rams’ remaining league games, plus three more play-off ties, and he certainly got off to an impressive start.

He Parks Where He Wants…

‘He’s Andre Wisdom, he parks where he wants!’

That’s the song that echoed around Pride Park Stadium from November 2013 onwards and, if you don’t know this story by now, we’ll fill you in very briefly!

Wisdom was forced to abandon his Porsche in a mud-filled puddle after his SatNav took him down a woodland track, assuming it was a main road, as he sought to head to Pride Park Stadium for the home game against Sheffield Wednesday.

Only weeks after his arrival at the club, and still un familiar with the local area, he got himself in a bit of a pickle!

He had to hitch a lift to the game, which he played the full 90 minutes in as Derby won 3-0, and later have the car towed out the puddle.

It was a moment he wanted to forget; but it seemed to endear him even more to the Rams crowd.

Winning Run…

Soon after Wisdom’s arrival at Derby, the Rams went on a fine winning run to establish themselves as a promotion contender.

Seven wins in a row, from early November through to Boxing Day, saw Derby move from mid-table and into the play-off places.

After breaking into the top six at the start of December, with a 3-1 victory at Wigan Athletic, the Rams never dropped below sixth place.

The winning run was ended with a 1-1 draw at Huddersfield Town before the side responded with a 2-1 victory at Barnsley to round off 2013.

Chris Martin scored both goals at Oakwell, before a huge Rams following, with Wisdom embarking on a lung-bursting run down the right to cross for Martin to head home his second goal of the game just after half-time.

That run proved to be instrumental in the promotion charge, in addition to raising confidence and belief.

History Makers…

Wisdom was part of a Derby side that created history on a number of occasions during the 2013/14 season.

The side finished third in the table on 85 points, a club record in a season, on top of scoring 84 goals in 46 matches – also a club record.

Another historic moment during the campaign was the 5-0 trouncing of local rivals Nottingham Forest in March 2014.

The victory was a record-equalling victory against the Reds, 112 years on from their last victory over their opponents by such a margin.

Steve Bloomer was the hat-trick hero that day and Craig Bryson was the man to hit a treble in 2014, joining Jeff Hendrick and Johnny Russell on the scoresheet.

Every single player involved during those successes in 2013/14 will be long-remembered for their contribution.

A Real Pleasure…

After seeing his loan spell with Derby come to an end with an unfortunate play-off final defeat against Queens Park Rangers, it was back to Anfield for Wisdom.

He had nothing but glowing words to say about his time at Pride Park Stadium to further strengthen his credibility with the supporters.

“I have had a brilliant time at Derby County and every minute of it has been a real pleasure,” he told dcfc.co.uk before returning to Liverpool three years ago.

“The aim was to come out and play games and I have done that for the last seven months.

“I think I have grown as a player and a person and when I report back at Liverpool for pre-season training, I’ll be a better player for the brilliant experience I have had.

“I think I have improved because of being at Derby and it is just a shame we didn’t get the promotion we deserved.”

“I’ve made some good friends as a result of coming to Derby and I can’t speak highly enough of the place.”