MrsRam Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Top lad. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/may/13/will-hughes-derby-county-interview-championship-play-off-hull-city The last time Will Hughes played in a Championship semi-final play-off, back in 2014, he scored surely one of the most sublime goals Derby County fans have ever seen. With the ball coming in low from the left, the then 19-year-old was tightly marked but running at full pelt towards the penalty spot and somehow managed to backheel the ball first-time into the far corner past Brighton’s Tomasz Kuszczak. It was a deliberate, inch-perfect, impish piece of skill and showed just why Derby had reportedly been fighting off a £15m bid from Liverpool for their academy graduate, a move that would have made him the eighth most expensive teenager of all time. I could play for the next 20 years and that will still be my best ever goal – I don’t think it’s going to get much better than that,” smiles Hughes, now two years on. “But my thoughts of those play-offs will always be of the subsequent play-off final against QPR at Wembley.” It is another thing that is hard to forget for Derby players and fans, but for very different reasons. With Hughes pulling the strings in midfield, County dominated the game, enjoying 68% possession, but Bobby Zamora struck in injury time with QPR’s first shot on target to take the London club to the Premier League. “I assumed we were going to go on and win, especially when they went down to 10 men,” Hughes remembers. “Their players were waiting for us to score. I was on such a high, expecting to win. But to go from that to the lowest of the low – the dressing room afterwards was silent, speechless. After 48 games, it changed in five seconds. Football summed up, that day.” Wembley and promotion is the aim this year, too, but first they must face Hull City on Saturday in the first leg of their semi-final play-off. “We’ve got more of a drive to do it this time,” Hughes says. “It was a freak.” For the most part, Hughes has not played his part this season, owing to a horrific ACL knee injury suffered on the opening day at Bolton. With nobody around him, Hughes fell awkwardly and spent eight months on the sidelines. FacebookTwitterPinterest Will Hughes damaged his ACL ligaments at Bolton in August and made his next appearance eight months later against the same opponents. Photograph: Andy Clarke/Rex Shutterstock “I knew straight away it was serious,” he says. “You never think it’s going to happen to you. I couldn’t walk for a good few weeks, after having surgery. You’re pretty much bed-bound. I went from confusion, to anger, to paranoia. You start to think: ‘Am I ever going to get back to where I was?’ I was very paranoid.” Ever since his Derby debut aged 16 in 2011, Hughes has oozed composure and confidence but it is obvious that his injury rocked him to the core, physically and mentally. It is the only part of the interview at Derby’s training ground when he doesn’t make electric-blue eye contact; where suddenly, he looks like a normal, shy 21-year-old. Hughes sought advice from those around him. His sisters, his mum – “she doesn’t know a great deal about football, but when I was down, she was always there” – and his housemate Josh Lelan, who plays for Northampton Town, were among those who pitched in. His team-mate George Thorne, who had a similar injury last year – and who will miss the play-offs after suffering a double leg break last weekend – was also on hand “to answer any questions I might have”. Hughes is bright. He was privately educated just south of Derby at Repton School – alumni range from Roald Dahl to Jeremy Clarkson – and despite leaving at 16 when he signed scholarship forms with County, got a tutor to complete his A-levels in politics and business studies. When he was injured, he learned Spanish: “I wasn’t very good when Paul Clement was here, so had to talk to him in English, but it’s something I always wanted to do to broaden my horizons, and it be very handy when I’m older, when I finish football.” But Hughes is far from finished, and if anybody needs an example as to how important Hughes’s return is for Derby, on his comeback – in Shaun Barker’s testimonial in March – the striker Chris Martin fell to his knees as if to worship the midfielder as he came on. Coming on as a substitute to make his first-team return in April against Bolton – almost eight months to the day after collapsing at the Reebok Stadium – Derby fans chanted his name the moment they spotted his distinctive ghost-white hair emerging from the bench. When Hughes’s name was read out on the PA system, it was as though a goal had been scored at the iPro Stadium. “It was nice to make my comeback in front of the home fans. The reception was worth it. That’s been the highlight of my year.” Hughes is back, and with recent injuries to Thorne, Bradley Johnson and Jeff Hendrick, his return to central midfield is timely for the manager, Darren Wassall, but may mean that he has to play in a holding role dictating the play from deep, rather than as a more natural No10. Hughes is now a senior member of the squad – of last weekend’s starting XI, only Craig Bryson has been in the first team longer than Hughes –and should Derby fail to gain promotion, one suspects there will be interested parties. Crystal Palace’s chairman, Steve Parish, tweeted his admirationfor a trademark Hughes assist against Brighton this month but he seems interested only in reaching the top flight with County at the moment: “I’m still young, I’ve still got a lot of time to play in the Premier League. But hopefully this year is our year.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srg Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Called us County twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannable Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Not sure I'd class him as a '10' either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazram80 Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 I'd class him as the Derby way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rammeister Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 4 minutes ago, Srg said: Called us County twice. Given current media apathy and apparent dislike of us, it could be typo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Love ya, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Am I missing something here? When he was injured, he learned Spanish: “I wasn’t very good when Paul Clement was here, so had to talk to him in English" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerbyPride Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 5 minutes ago, David said: Am I missing something here? When he was injured, he learned Spanish: “I wasn’t very good when Paul Clement was here, so had to talk to him in English" Dunno about the Clement thing but it seems like those Barca rumours from a few years back are coming true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rynny Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 10 minutes ago, David said: Am I missing something here? When he was injured, he learned Spanish: “I wasn’t very good when Paul Clement was here, so had to talk to him in English" I read it as he wanted to speak to PC in Spanish but wasn't advanced enough in his learnings to have a full conversation with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rynny Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 36 minutes ago, MrsRam said: When he was injured, he learned Spanish: “I wasn’t very good when Paul Clement was here, so had to talk to him in English, but it’s something I always wanted to do to broaden my horizons That's it he is going to Barca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 13 minutes ago, David said: Am I missing something here? When he was injured, he learned Spanish: “I wasn’t very good when Paul Clement was here, so had to talk to him in English" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottingram Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Good article, that. Is it just me or since he has come back from injury he's been doing quite a lot of stuff in the press? I'm sure he did a pre- or post-match conference the other week and Owen Bradley said it was the first one he's done. I might be wrong (usually am) but he definitely seems more active than before. Quite good to read from him because he's obviously more intelligent and insightful than the average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MK Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 21 minutes ago, David said: Am I missing something here? When he was injured, he learned Spanish: “I wasn’t very good when Paul Clement was here, so had to talk to him in English" Clement is fluent in Spanish. I assume he tried to chat to him in Spanish but wasn't good enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rampage Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 31 minutes ago, David said: Am I missing something here? When he was injured, he learned Spanish: “I wasn’t very good when Paul Clement was here, so had to talk to him in English" Bizarre quote, David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale The Ram Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 22 minutes ago, nottingram said: Good article, that. Is it just me or since he has come back from injury he's been doing quite a lot of stuff in the press? I'm sure he did a pre- or post-match conference the other week and Owen Bradley said it was the first one he's done. I might be wrong (usually am) but he definitely seems more active than before. Quite good to read from him because he's obviously more intelligent and insightful than the average. He did a fair bit of interviews for the FA a few months back and I cant remember if he said so or not but it looks as though he wants to be a bit more involved in the media side of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 26 minutes ago, nottingram said: Good article, that. Is it just me or since he has come back from injury he's been doing quite a lot of stuff in the press? I'm sure he did a pre- or post-match conference the other week and Owen Bradley said it was the first one he's done. I might be wrong (usually am) but he definitely seems more active than before. Quite good to read from him because he's obviously more intelligent and insightful than the average. After months on the sidelines, it's probably all part of the relief that he's back and wants to shout about it. I know I would. Presumably the club have to give the OK for the media stuff. This is me clutching at straws but would they let him become much more active in the media if they were going to then sell him straight away?. That could be total BS but on the basis that it just leaves a bigger hole to fill in the eyes of the fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rampage Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 There is a lot of pressure on Hughes to save our season, He could be a target for the bruisers. If so let us hope that they do not injure Will and get sent off in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Not just Will who suffers from paranoia, it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rampage Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 A number of games that i have watched recently have featured big fouls early in the game that have gone unpunished. Chelsea v Spurs was the worst example. Let us hope that refs take appropriate action with hatchet tackles early on in the Play Off games. To believe that some of these early tackles are not entirely deliberate is rather naive. Many games are decided by poor refereeing in the early stages of games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariotofmyown Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 22 minutes ago, eddie said: Not just Will who suffers from paranoia, it seems. I've just seen an advert on here for edie live at the nec. It's not paranoia if they are really putting on events about you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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