"Best in the country" - Derby County support lauded with Leeds United and Sunderland named | OneFootball

The Rams have averaged over 29,000 supporters at home so far in 2024/25.

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...

Derby County have always boasted a great fanbase.

Pride Park Stadium has been a hive of noise and a sea of black-and-white since it first opened in 1997.

This support has not faded over the years, and the Rams have been backed in droves despite years of hardship that saw the club enter administration, get relegated from the Championship, miss out on the play-offs in League One in their first season in the division and eventually celebrate promotion back to the second tier in front of a packed out stadium.

Those packed out crowds in DE24 have continued in 2024/25, with Derby's fantastic supporters helping the team on the pitch to four wins in their first five matches at home.

With such a strong connection between players and fans, it seems likely that Pride Park will continue to be a happy hunting ground for Paul Warne's side as the season progresses.

Derby's fans are some of the best in the country

There are a lot of great fanbases across the EFL, particularly in the Championship, but Derby may have a claim to be one of, if not, the very best.

Their consistent numbers at both home matches and away matches are some of the highest in the division, but they also provide a lot of noise from the stands.

Football League World asked their Derby Fan Pundit, Shaun Woodward, how highly he rates the support that the club has, including their attendance figures.

"I'm probably going to be biased, but our fans are the best in the country," he started. "I mean 28,000 in League One is almost unheard of and near to 29,000/30,000 in the Championship, considering what our club's been through in the last five to six years, to still be producing that kind of turnout every home game, it's remarkable really.

"There are not many clubs, with the exception of Leeds and Sunderland, that would be getting these types of crowds. I think we're probably in the middle of the Premier League with these kinds of attendances, so it's remarkable.

"The fans are truly amazing and there's a reason why our home form is one of the best in the country, and it's probably because of the 12th man, which is our fans. They're amazing."

Derby's attendances are phenomenal for the level

The Rams had the highest average attendance in League One last season, with 27,278. This figure was over 6,000 higher than that of Bolton Wanderers' mean attendance across the 23 matches, and while the new campaign is still young, this high total has continued in the Championship.

Derby are currently third in the attendance table in the second tier in 2024/25, behind Sunderland and Leeds United, who both have bigger stadiums than the East Midlands-based club.

So far in their opening five home games, they have averaged 29,184 fans at Pride Park, with their largest crowd coming against Middlesbrough, where 29,443 saw the Rams take their first three points in the Championship for over two years in a 1-0 win.

While they are yet to beat that figure, their 2-0 victory over QPR on Saturday came close, as 29,305 spectators filtered into Pride Park to witness Curtis Nelson's remarkable header and Marcus Harness' first goal as a Derby player.

The Rams still have 18 home matches left in the league, and clashes against Leeds and Sheffield United will only bring in higher attendances as they look to keep themselves away from any relegation danger.