DONE DEAL: Derby County beat Cardiff City and Leeds United to strike a gold deal for Coventry City star Richard Keogh, personal terms agreed
DONE DEAL: Derby County beat Cardiff City and Leeds United to strike a gold deal for Coventry City star Richard Keogh, personal terms agreed
Richard Keogh had been a stalwart of the EFL for six years by the time he made the move to Coventry City, yet it was his transfer to Derby County that truly showed off his ability.
After starting his career at Stoke City, Keogh moved on to Bristol City after just one full season in senior football in 2005.
His three years in Bristol were filled mostly with loan deals, spending time at Wycombe Wanderers, Huddersfield Town, Cheltenham Town, and Carlisle United. The latter of which signed the then 22-year-old on a permanent deal, where he would ply his trade for the next two seasons.
Keogh drew the attention of Coventry during his time in Cumbria, moving to the Midlands in 2010 and making 95 appearances in all competitions at the Ricoh Arena.
His performances for the Sky Blues piqued the curiosity of several clubs, with Cardiff City, Leeds United, and Derby all apparently vying for the centre-back’s signing.
Becoming a Ram and creating a legacy
With Coventry’s relegation to League One confirmed at the end of the 2011/12 season, Championship clubs started to circle round the Sky Blues’ two-time Player of the Season.
Cardiff refused to pay the reported £12,000 a week that Keogh was commanding, while Leeds also had an interest under Neil Warnock. Speaking to The Athletic, the now-retired defender said: “Leeds were potentially about to be taken over, and Neil (Warnock) told me he needed a bit more time.
“I told Leeds that if they had a bid accepted then I’d talk to them.”
A bid never arrived from Yorkshire and so it was the Rams who won out in signing Keogh for a fee of over £1 million, a decision that proved to be a perfect match for both player and club.
After a fantastic debut season in black and white, in which he won The Jack Stamps Trophy (Derby’s Player of the Season), Keogh went on to help the team reach their first play-off final since being relegated from the Premier League in 2007/08.
However, it was not to be at Wembley in 2014, when a last-minute Keogh error gave Bobby Zamora the opportunity to propel QPR to the top flight with almost the final kick of the match.
The Rams advanced to the Championship Play-Offs three more times over the next five seasons, with the former Republic of Ireland international appearing in all but nine of Derby’s next 230 league games following their defeat to QPR.
In 2015/16, he earned the Rams’ Player of the Year title again, solidifying his reputation as one of the club’s most consistent and greatest performers of the twenty-first century. However, on the game, Derby struggled to find success, failing in all of their promotion attempts.
| Richard Keogh Derby County Championship Stats (TransferMarkt) | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| 2012/13 | 46 | 4 | 2 |
| 2013/14 | 41 | 1 | 1 |
| 2014/15 | 45 | 0 | 1 |
| 2015/16 | 46 | 1 | 1 |
| 2016/17 | 42 | 0 | 2 |
| 2017/18 | 42 | 1 | 5 |
| 2018/19 | 46 | 3 | 1 |
| 2019/20 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
With 356 appearances, Keogh has more than club legends such as Alan Hinton, Colin Boulton, and John O’Hare – yet it was his controversial departure that will be most infamously remembered.
One night that changed everything
Derby began the 2019/20 season poorly by their standards, finishing 18th after winning only one of their first eight matches.
A 90th-minute equaliser against Leeds appeared to put the Rams back on track after a disastrous first two months. However, it was the final match of Keogh’s Derby career.
Three days after their 1-1 draw at Elland Road, Derby players spent the day bonding as a team. However, a car accident involving Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett near the conclusion of the night sent shockwaves through the club.
Both players, who were uninjured, were charged with and eventually pleaded guilty to drunk driving. However, as a passenger in Lawrence’s automobile, club captain Keogh sustained a knee injury that sidelined him for a year.
Keogh was fired for his role in the evening’s events in October 2019, but after a court hearing, he was given a £2.3 million settlement from Derby for wrongful dismissal.
He announced his retirement from football last month, having spent the previous four years with six different teams, including Blackpool, Huddersfield, and a promotion-winning season with Ipswich Town in 2022/23.
After seven years at Derby, and 356 appearances, Keogh is undoubtedly a modern legend at Pride Park and will be the club he is forever associated with. His unceremonious exit may have left a sour taste in the mouths of supporters, but his on-field achievements speak for themselves.
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