John Charles Gregory
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John was born in Scunthorpe on the 11th May 1954. His footballing career started at Northampton Town as an apprentice.
His first professional club was Aston Villa where he signed professional forms in January 1973.
John's Rams career began in 1985 when shrewd manager Arthur Cox snapped Gregory up from Queens Park Rangers for only £100,000. Prior to his move to the Rams, Gregory had been involved in the FA Cup final of 1982 with QPR when losing to Spurs and was also in their second division Championship winning side of 1983.He also won six England caps whilst with QPR.
It could be argued however that Gregory's greatest contribution to a side came after his move to the Baseball ground. Johns grit, determination and no little skill paved the way for the Rams to rise from division 3 obscurity to Division one (now the Premiership) in successive seasons.
Arthur Cox praised Gregory's skill and most of all his passing ability, saying that it improved the whole teams ability to pass the ball correctly. An inspiration on the field for the Rams then, it is now hoped that John can become as big a hero to the Derby faithful as manager.
His task again to bring Derby County out of the wilderness and back to the promised land of the Premiership. We wish him well.