Programme of the week number 9 – Carlisle v Derby County 1968-1969 (postponed)
The Rams were due to travel to Carlisle United for a Division Two fixture on Saturday 8 February 1969 but the game was postponed due to severe frost and snowfall in Scotland and northern England. Manchester had recorded temperatures of -13°C and only two games in the division went ahead, in Cardiff and Portsmouth. Brian Clough and Peter Taylor’s team were four points clear at the top of the league on 40 points from 29 games, with Carlisle in mid-table on 30 points.
In the programme, Tony Pullein reported that ‘Playing with all the confidence in the world, Derby County look ready to reclaim the First Division status they lost in 1953’ and the team news page reminded readers that Willie Carlin was ‘a great Brunton Park favourite of not long ago’. Derby’s line up was listed as: Green, Webster, Robson, Durban, McFarland, Mackay, McGovern, Carlin, O’Hare, Hector, Hinton.
The rearranged game was played on Tuesday 11 March and ended in a 1-1 draw, Kevin Hector scoring for the Rams. This was the last time Derby would drop points before embarking on a 9 game winning run that would see them promoted to Division seven points clear of Crystal Palace.