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Derby County signed Steve Wicks from Chelsea in January 1979 for a fee
of £275,000, the twenty-two year old central defender having made 118
league appearances for the London club. His tough, no nonense, approach
made him an attractive proposition for the "Rams" manager Tommy
Docherty, who saw him as a short term fix to his sides defensive
problems. The giant defender made his debut against Southampton on
February 3rd, and his presence alongside Roy McFarland saw County win
2-1, so ending a sequence of five games without a victory.
Steve missed
just one of the Rams remaining nineteen fixtures and, although many of
the Baseball Ground supporters were crtical of him for not having the
finesse of McFarland, he battled his way through matches despite
carrying an assortment of niggling injuries. Although he did not score
during his time at the Baseball Ground, Steve's particular strengh in
the air also made him a constant danger at corners and free kicks. A
19th place finish in the First Division saw Derby just escape
relegation, but Docherty resigned soon afterwards and was replaced by
Colin Addison.
Wicks started the 1979/80 campaign in the heart of the
"Rams" back four but, after a poor start which saw just one win in six
starts, the new manager opted to sell him back to Docherty at his new
club Queens Park Rangers, the Londoners paying the exact fee of £275,000 that County had paid for the player nine months earlier. In all
Steve made just twenty-four appearances for Derby County and, over a
longer time spell in a stronger side, would likely have been more
appreciated by the clubs supporters. (Mike Cockayne)
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