Derby County vs Leeds United

[archied]

1 hour ago, superzak said:

sorry everyone about last night, a combination of a large glass of merlot , slimming world and it being dirty Leeds made me ultra critical of our manager lol. I so hope G.R succeeds and gets the club to were it deserves to be.

Respect,,,,,Quality mate ,,,, 

[Raich Carter]

4 minutes ago, Ellafella said:

A great post...don't agree with #7 and #8 but respect your views. #6...yep I too am finding TL "irritating". His decision-making is abysmal so frequently that it leads me to suggest that he just doesn't "get it". No end product and I don't expect to see any, any time soon. 

Sorry, I'll add that I'm basing my view of Baird on his 2nd half performance when he was in front of us and likewise with Olly but first half. I've raved about Baird this season (i.e. I'm not a hater) but I was really disappointed with and for him. TL - really needs to think about his game more. He plays on instinct and that's not enough at this level. Doesn't seem focussed enough.

[Comrade 86]

Drawn again huh! Am I in time for the apocalypse or did I miss it?

 

[Millenniumram]

56 minutes ago, kash_a_ram_a_ding_dong said:

I thought we played the ball more on the floor in the first half than I've seen this season but it's not very joined up or comfortable yet....

However there were still far too many long balls down the wing that just didn't connect with anyone when the pressure came on.I don't mind Huddlestones efforts but the rest were wasteful.

If much rather see us continuing to develop our football to the feet and getting the team confident with that.

Not sure you were watching the same game as me, I remember very few aimless long balls down the wing, and frankly I don’t remember that many since October onwards. There were a few ones late on by Davies that were aimless but mainly Huddlestone was distributing well, and much of our joy as usual came through the floor with Vydra. Sometimes I think fans see what they want to see with our style of football, early on in the season it was awful admittedly when we had Johnson at cdm and were launching it to Martin who couldn’t trap a bag of cement, but since ledley joined even when we’ve lost games we’ve generally at least tried to play football- tho it is true that when we panic we do seem to launch it, don’t think that’s under instruction however.

The watsefullness really comes from wide imo, the amount of times that Vydra or Huddlestone got the ball to Lawrence in acres of space was astonishing, but every time without fail he ******* it up. God knows what’s up with him, any half decent winger would have made something of most of those chances, so so frustrating- when andi Weimann is twice the player you are, you know you have a problem. That’s where we fail, the style of football ain’t guardiola but it ain’t Pulis either, it should be effective if the widemen contribute when they get the ball and the strikers can bloody well finish. It’s almost like teams double up on Vydra and comepletky leave Lawrence because they know he’s about as much as a vegaterian at the slaughterhouse.

[kash_a_ram_a_ding_dong]

7 minutes ago, Millenniumram said:

Not sure you were watching the same game as me, I remember very few aimless long balls down the wing, and frankly I don’t remember that many since October onwards. There were a few ones late on by Davies that were aimless but mainly Huddlestone was distributing well, and much of our joy as usual came through the floor with Vydra. Sometimes I think fans see what they want to see with our style of football, early on in the season it was awful admittedly when we had Johnson at cdm and were launching it to Martin who couldn’t trap a bag of cement, but since ledley joined even when we’ve lost games we’ve generally at least tried to play football- tho it is true that when we panic we do seem to launch it, don’t think that’s under instruction however.

The watsefullness really comes from wide imo, the amount of times that Vydra or Huddlestone got the ball to Lawrence in acres of space was astonishing, but every time without fail he ******* it up. God knows what’s up with him, any half decent winger would have made something of most of those chances, so so frustrating- when andi Weimann is twice the player you are, you know you have a problem. That’s where we fail, the style of football ain’t guardiola but it ain’t Pulis either, it should be effective if the widemen contribute when they get the ball and the strikers can bloody well finish. It’s almost like teams double up on Vydra and comepletky leave Lawrence because they know he’s about as much as a vegaterian at the slaughterhouse.

I don't think our view of the game is that different to be honest..

As I said Huddlestones long balls have purpose but many (from other players) in the second half when we lost our shape and control were hopeful punts at best into the wings.

If you read my previous assessment of the match I stated that the football was played more on the floor than any Derby match I've attended this year....so an improvement in my mind but still not brilliant and we clearly revert to type easily.

Vydra,despite his best efforts and zippy runs was largely anonymous as he was constantly muscled out of the game.

 

[FindernRam]

Interesting that more people are coming round to my view that Lawrence is a waste of a shirt. I got slammed for that a few weeks back but he hasn't really improved. I grant he is a tryer and played a bit better last night. I certainly don't agree with Ramage that he was the centre of everything good from Derby last night. Poor decisions all the time.

Tom Hud was for me the centre of good. He suddenly seems more mobile, elegant, and composed. Maybe shrugged off an injury.

 

[ram1964]

3 hours ago, chadlad said:

Hi all, don't post very often but here is my take on last night....

We somehow managed to turn a comfortable and routine home win into a lucky draw. If you concede not one but two soft goals you probably don't deserve to be promoted. Dire defending by Olson for both goals, IMO.

I thought we played well first half and should perhaps have been 2 or 3 goals up. We did however look edgy and fell behind but we managed to score just before the half time whistle and I thought that we would push on in the 2nd half and win by 2, 3 or even 4 - 1 against an ordinary looking Leeds side. Instead we conceded an awful 2nd goal from our own free kick in their final third. In the end we were perhaps a little fortunate to grab a late equalizer.

Huddleston for me was our standout performer by some distance but Nugent seemed to have a nightmarish 2nd half, Jerome needed to be on much earlier. Lawrence did well and deserved to stay on but Vydra was kept very quiet and for me should have been replaced by Palmer in the No 10 role. Not a huge fan of Weiman but he took his goal well and seemed to become more confident as the game wore on.

Forsyth needs to come in for Reading at the weekend, otherwise the same team. Still a long way to go but we desperately need a win.

 

 

Thought Vydra worked hard and often played too deep trying to gain possession,agree Nugent wasnt on top form and should have come off sooner. Olson had lost his man for the first goal and was to slow to close him down to stop the cross ,but where were the centre backs ?Carson had no or very little chance.

Thought Baird,Ledley,keogh,Vydra and Hudds played well,but we never really  tested their keeper through out the game despite creating a good number of chances.

Think the team have forgot how to win and disappointed we seem to be leaking goals after we appeared tto have sorted our defensive issues.

[Spanish]

43 minutes ago, ram1964 said:

Thought Vydra worked hard and often played too deep trying to gain possession,agree Nugent wasnt on top form and should have come off sooner. Olson had lost his man for the first goal and was to slow to close him down to stop the cross ,but where were the centre backs ?Carson had no or very little chance.

Thought Baird,Ledley,keogh,Vydra and Hudds played well,but we never really  tested their keeper through out the game despite creating a good number of chances.

Think the team have forgot how to win and disappointed we seem to be leaking goals after we appeared tto have sorted our defensive issues.

sorry disagree, Scotty had the best view of the whole event, once the brilliant pass caught olson out the cb's were left facing their own goal.  Scotty, as is his only weakness, was left on his line instead of claiming the cross.  Still think it was a very well worked goal

[Leicester Ram]

Think we might miss Winnall more than we thought, would have definitely buried some of the chances we created last night. Not very often I identify the problem with a performance as one player but we are struggling at striker.

Jerome hasn’t had much of a chance yet, I hope he can step up and win his place but Nugent really wasn’t up to it last night and hadn’t been for a while.

After a good start he’s now on 6 goals in 27 appearances, 4 of which came in two games. Only two goals in the past 3 and a half months, both of which came in one game. His link up play is still good, he’ll hassle defenders but he’s really not effective outside of that.

My worry with Jerome and Nugent is that their strength is off the ball, not on the ball. We’ve got strikers who can run around and be a nuisance up top but they’re not getting the goals we need. Most teams that go up automatically have two players who hit about 35-40 goals between them, we’ve got Vydra who will get over 20 but outside of that there’s no one else scoring consistently enough.

Nugent is a good finisher but last night he spurned two really good chances, one header where I think you could tell his age because he was a yard off where he needed to be and one where he had time in the box but hit it first time on his weak foot.

Theyre not being helped out by the wingers much either, I’m glad Lawrence is at the club, he’ll be a good player but in this promotion run-in right now? Wasteful and frustrating. Weimann makes the right runs and played really well but he can’t do it all on his own, he’s not a clinical enough finisher. We’re sort of banking on Palmer coming good now, start him next game.

It’s frustrating right now but it’s not Rowett’s fault, this is what happens when you’re in the first year of reshaping the squad and haven’t got all the pieces in place yet. Says a lot that we’ve done this well but Rowett will want/have better options in the future.

[chadlad]

4 hours ago, Ellafella said:

Great post...you should do it more often. 4 brilliant points which I'm in total agreement with. For me, Olson isn't a left-back because his first job should be to tackle and defend yet he really seems to be incapable of that. In contrast, Forsyth can at least snuff out attackers. Olson should have "prevented" both goals by fair means or foul. He looked to me like a school-boy left back who has watched Man Ure too often...all prettiness and no testicles. 

Agree with this. Pretty sure that whoever plays at LB for Cardiff would have - rather than face the wrath of Colin!

 

[OohMartWright]

A few random observations from last night:

1. As Huddlestone's fitness has improved, so has his contribution to games. As well as his eye for a killer pass, last night he made several crucial "foot in" challenges to win the ball which earlier in the season he wouldn't have got to. Definitely MOTM for me.

2. Weimann had his best game for ages. His energy and movement created many of our chances and he took his goal well.

3. Strange though this may sound, I believe that GR should start with the same eleven at Reading. People looking to drop Olsson are the same people who were looking to drop Forsyth after an equally bad mistake at the Wendies last week. How are either of these players going to build any confidence if the left back position is a revolving door?

4. I actually thought that was one of our better performances last night and we could (perhaps should?) have won by three or four goals.

5. Am I the only one who sees Jerome as a very similar player to Chris Martin - slow to get back from offside positions, not a great deal of movement off the ball but a strong presence when he has it or when challenging aerially? I still believe that he is better as an impact sub than as a starter. I believe that if GR keeps faith with Nugent as a starter we will see him return to his early season form.

6. Did anyone else think that Saiz and Alioski were Leeds' best players and wonder why they had been on the bench?

 

[angieram]

1 minute ago, OohMartWright said:

A few random observations from last night:

1. As Huddlestone's fitness has improved, so has his contribution to games. As well as his eye for a killer pass, last night he made several crucial "foot in" challenges to win the ball which earlier in the season he wouldn't have got to. Definitely MOTM for me.

2. Weimann had his best game for ages. His energy and movement created many of our chances and he took his goal well.

3. Strange though this may sound, I believe that GR should start with the same eleven at Reading. People looking to drop Olsson are the same people who were looking to drop Forsyth after an equally bad mistake at the Wendies last week. How are either of these players going to build any confidence if the left back position is a revolving door?

4. I actually thought that was one of our better performances last night and we could (perhaps should?) have won by three or four goals.

5. Am I the only one who sees Jerome as a very similar player to Chris Martin - slow to get back from offside positions, not a great deal of movement off the ball but a strong presence when he has it or when challenging aerially? I still believe that he is better as an impact sub than as a starter. I believe that if GR keeps faith with Nugent as a starter we will see him return to his early season form.

6. Did anyone else think that Saiz and Alioski were Leeds' best players and wonder why they had been on the bench?

 

Yes in the main.  Especially 5 & 6.

On 3 I would argue the same point but in favour of Fozzy as I still think he is stronger of the two defensively.  

Looking forward to Reading as we seem to get results there when I go!

[Coneheadjohn]

1 minute ago, OohMartWright said:

A few random observations from last night:

1. As Huddlestone's fitness has improved, so has his contribution to games. As well as his eye for a killer pass, last night he made several crucial "foot in" challenges to win the ball which earlier in the season he wouldn't have got to. Definitely MOTM for me.

2. Weimann had his best game for ages. His energy and movement created many of our chances and he took his goal well.

3. Strange though this may sound, I believe that GR should start with the same eleven at Reading. People looking to drop Olsson are the same people who were looking to drop Forsyth after an equally bad mistake at the Wendies last week. How are either of these players going to build any confidence if the left back position is a revolving door?

4. I actually thought that was one of our better performances last night and we could (perhaps should?) have won by three or four goals.

5. Am I the only one who sees Jerome as a very similar player to Chris Martin - slow to get back from offside positions, not a great deal of movement off the ball but a strong presence when he has it or when challenging aerially? I still believe that he is better as an impact sub than as a starter. I believe that if GR keeps faith with Nugent as a starter we will see him return to his early season form.

6. Did anyone else think that Saiz and Alioski were Leeds' best players and wonder why they had been on the bench?

 

I’ll agree with most of that,definitely 1,2,3 and 4.

Didn’t the commentators say that Heckingbottom wasn’t happy with the squads fitness levels which might explain 6.

I agree with the Nuge bit,I don’t see Jerome as Martin at all but your other points were so sensible that I’m going to look at it closely in future games.

[Jimbo Ram]

My ratings:

Carson 7-Didn't have a lot to do but could he have come for the cross for their first goal?

Baird 7-Steady

Keogh 7-Apart from going to sleep for 5 seconds for their first goal a decent game

Davies 8-Mr Dependable, hardly seems to put a foot wrong of late

Olsson 5- Had a bit of a mare, at fault for both goals and didn't offer a lot offensively

Hudders 8-Excellent, great passing and got stuck in (My MOTM)

Ledley 7-nothing spectacular but went about his business well

Vydra 8-worked tirelessly but didn't have much of a look in in terms of chances

Lawrence 6-had a good 20 mins first half but faded

Nugent 7-tried hard but missed a good chance second half

Weimann 8-one of his best games, looked lively and took his goal well

Subs:

Jerome 6

Palmer 7

Johnson 6

[Millenniumram]

1 hour ago, OohMartWright said:

A few random observations from last night:

1. As Huddlestone's fitness has improved, so has his contribution to games. As well as his eye for a killer pass, last night he made several crucial "foot in" challenges to win the ball which earlier in the season he wouldn't have got to. Definitely MOTM for me.

2. Weimann had his best game for ages. His energy and movement created many of our chances and he took his goal well.

3. Strange though this may sound, I believe that GR should start with the same eleven at Reading. People looking to drop Olsson are the same people who were looking to drop Forsyth after an equally bad mistake at the Wendies last week. How are either of these players going to build any confidence if the left back position is a revolving door?

4. I actually thought that was one of our better performances last night and we could (perhaps should?) have won by three or four goals.

5. Am I the only one who sees Jerome as a very similar player to Chris Martin - slow to get back from offside positions, not a great deal of movement off the ball but a strong presence when he has it or when challenging aerially? I still believe that he is better as an impact sub than as a starter. I believe that if GR keeps faith with Nugent as a starter we will see him return to his early season form.

6. Did anyone else think that Saiz and Alioski were Leeds' best players and wonder why they had been on the bench?

 

Agree with pretty much all if that aside from three. Think there needs to be a couple of changes because of a few individual performances, tho if the team is the same I won’t have a breakdown- we could’ve scored a hatful.

[Sparkle]

2 hours ago, Leicester Ram said:

Think we might miss Winnall more than we thought, would have definitely buried some of the chances we created last night. Not very often I identify the problem with a performance as one player but we are struggling at striker.

Jerome hasn’t had much of a chance yet, I hope he can step up and win his place but Nugent really wasn’t up to it last night and hadn’t been for a while.

After a good start he’s now on 6 goals in 27 appearances, 4 of which came in two games. Only two goals in the past 3 and a half months, both of which came in one game. His link up play is still good, he’ll hassle defenders but he’s really not effective outside of that.

My worry with Jerome and Nugent is that their strength is off the ball, not on the ball. We’ve got strikers who can run around and be a nuisance up top but they’re not getting the goals we need. Most teams that go up automatically have two players who hit about 35-40 goals between them, we’ve got Vydra who will get over 20 but outside of that there’s no one else scoring consistently enough.

Nugent is a good finisher but last night he spurned two really good chances, one header where I think you could tell his age because he was a yard off where he needed to be and one where he had time in the box but hit it first time on his weak foot.

Theyre not being helped out by the wingers much either, I’m glad Lawrence is at the club, he’ll be a good player but in this promotion run-in right now? Wasteful and frustrating. Weimann makes the right runs and played really well but he can’t do it all on his own, he’s not a clinical enough finisher. We’re sort of banking on Palmer coming good now, start him next game.

It’s frustrating right now but it’s not Rowett’s fault, this is what happens when you’re in the first year of reshaping the squad and haven’t got all the pieces in place yet. Says a lot that we’ve done this well but Rowett will want/have better options in the future.

Intresting one but who is better for the team nugent or Jerome and which one is likely to score the most given equal amount of games? For me nugent on both counts 

[archied]

Just now, Sparkle said:

Intresting one but who is better for the team nugent or Jerome and which one is likely to score the most given equal amount of games? For me nugent on both counts 

Agree

[Sparkle]

2 hours ago, OohMartWright said:

A few random observations from last night:

1. As Huddlestone's fitness has improved, so has his contribution to games. As well as his eye for a killer pass, last night he made several crucial "foot in" challenges to win the ball which earlier in the season he wouldn't have got to. Definitely MOTM for me.

2. Weimann had his best game for ages. His energy and movement created many of our chances and he took his goal well.

3. Strange though this may sound, I believe that GR should start with the same eleven at Reading. People looking to drop Olsson are the same people who were looking to drop Forsyth after an equally bad mistake at the Wendies last week. How are either of these players going to build any confidence if the left back position is a revolving door?

4. I actually thought that was one of our better performances last night and we could (perhaps should?) have won by three or four goals.

5. Am I the only one who sees Jerome as a very similar player to Chris Martin - slow to get back from offside positions, not a great deal of movement off the ball but a strong presence when he has it or when challenging aerially? I still believe that he is better as an impact sub than as a starter. I believe that if GR keeps faith with Nugent as a starter we will see him return to his early season form.

6. Did anyone else think that Saiz and Alioski were Leeds' best players and wonder why they had been on the bench?

 

All of this, in regards to Forsyth over Olson I believe Forsyth to be the better defender but we don’t know how fit he currently is and remembering his two serious injuries but Olson always stands off for me and allows crosses and totally doesn’t see sone runners against him

[archied]

2 minutes ago, Sparkle said:

All of this, in regards to Forsyth over Olson I believe Forsyth to be the better defender but we don’t know how fit he currently is and remembering his two serious injuries but Olson always stands off for me and allows crosses and totally doesn’t see sone runners against him

It’s a tough one ,, for me Fozzy at his best is first choice easy but the Fozzy of late makes it a Hobson s choice 

[RIMBAUD]

I’m surprised nuge is getting off lightly on here.  His misses were pretty poor from someone’s of his experience and calibre. Once again he was kept on too long. And for what it’s worth I thought CJ did quite well.