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In praise of Tom Huddlestone


Comrade 86

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Lots of player-dedicated threads but as yet, none for the maestro himself, Tom Huddlestone. I’ve doubtless driven a few on here nuts with my blind faith in Tom but I feel to a degree he’s now vindicated the opinion that he should be one of, if not the first name on the team sheet. My argument has always been a simple one – that Hudds can operate better in tight spaces and against a high press, than anyone in the squad. I also believe him to be the best passer of a ball in the team. Folk will think I’m gushing again (no jokes please!) but I’d go so far as to say that if Tom had the athleticism and engine of someone like Jordan Henderson, he’d be at a top 4 club and a current England international.

So, is this an over the top appraisal? Maybe, certainly some will think as much, but if there’s a better passer of a ball in our division I’ve not seen him and I’m not convinced there is one in the current England set up either. Happy-clapper hyperbole aside, yes, Tom will occasionally have players waltz by him, yes, he’s not terribly mobile and lacks a yard of pace, but while these things are true, in games where we are on the front foot, our Tom is going to dismantle some teams given the wealth of attacking options he has at his disposal, all of whom now appear to be both more than willing and able to pick and make runs that stretch defences to breaking point.

For the record and for the sake of balance, Tom owes a deal of thanks to players around him who are working so hard to find space. Young Jack Marriott in particular is excellent off the ball and it’s no coincidence that Huddz has looked back to his best with the arrival of Jack in the starting line-up. The more movement Tom sees ahead of him, the more options he will have, I think this is a fair assessment and one borne out by last night's performance. After what was a pretty compelling statement to the rest of the division, most teams will now look to stifle us rather than outplay us, but if they press high, Tom’s golden feet will buy him space and if they sit back, his laser-guided passing allied to a super mobile 'front 5', might allow us to break our hoodoo against teams that park the bus. Whatever way you look at it, this season is shaping up to be an absolute belter and I’d wager the current squad will not crack under pressure the way we have in recent years. Some tough games ahead, no doubt, notably so in the coming weeks, but much to look forward to nonetheless yet with a dash of luck and a fair wind, I'm not convinced we have too much to fear.

COYR

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BJ did a good job in his absence but Huddlestone looks like he's getting back to his best now he's had a few games. What takes BJ/Joe Ledley 3 or 4 touches to achieve Tom does in 1. His passes are perfectly weighted, accurate and more than often put us on the front foot. 

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Looks really comfortable in the current set up,having all that pace and movement round him is letting him be so influential.

I still can’t fully work out what changed from Sheff Utd first half?

He certainly looks in good nick and I don’t think having Tomori behind him does him any harm and he’s certainly put Keogh at ease as he’s always got an outlet.

He’s a real bonus because I thought CDM would be a problem and Bradders has been great too and I thought Evans would be the one to be the regular.

As it stands he’s probably 3 rd choice.

 

 

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Just now, coneheadjohn said:

Looks really comfortable in the current set up,having all that pace and movement round him is letting him be so influential.

I still can’t fully work out what changed from Sheff Utd first half?

He certainly looks in good nick and I don’t think having Tomori behind him does him any harm and he’s certainly put Keogh at ease as he’s always got an outlet.

He’s a real bonus because I thought CDM would be a problem and Bradders has been great too and I thought Rvans would be the one to be the regular.

As it stands he’s probably 3 rd choice.

 

 

Tom Lawrence came on. 

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Not 100% sure he’s a long term option over the season but he’s certainly making me eat my words at the minute and I don’t mind one bit!

A thought I had last night was that as although there were a few of us who wanted to see Martin, Thorne, Butterfield and a few others get their chance this season that the players who are now in and around the 11 suit how we want to play perfectly and again I have no issue with who’s in/out for the first time in a long time.

What Frank/Jody have achieved is that we aren’t over reliant on one player anymore, if someone picks up an injury there’s enough trust with who comes in that they can pick up the pieces. 

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6 minutes ago, Anag Ram said:

He is so casual with it.

It looks awful when he gets it wrong (cue the critics) but is sublime when he gets it so right.

Beautiful to watch.

Indeed! It's really that that sets him apart. Technically, there's a few that can do a similar job but it's the ease with which he does things that marks him out as a prince amongst men. He's got more gears is the point, though maybe not in the running around really quickly sphere!  As we get better he'll get to show an increasingly expansive array of passing, I'm pretty convinced of that. He's not alone either as there's a good few in the current team who are impressing but still to show their absolute best form so there's still significant scope for improvement and in Frank and Jody we seem to have the guys best placed to extract those incrementals that will push us even further forward. That's a really exciting proposition for any Derby fan and a pretty scary one for other teams. Long may it last.

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I thought he looked great, there was a moment half way through the second half where he threaded a ball through to Wilson that I wouldn't have seen if I had been given a 3D computer simulation, a 360 degree mouse and two days to work it out.

Will say that he tired a bit towards the end of the game, last quarter there were a few loose passes - we were holding a four goal advantage by that time so no great worry. However, it's great to know that we have at least one solid option on the bench should he get like that in a tighter game. Before you reach for the 'roll eyes' emoji I'm not having a go, just saying it is to be expected from a player in that position and that age - how great that we have a Plan B for when it does.

Oh, and how much must his confidence have grown from last night? It can only be good.

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10 minutes ago, Mr Tibbs said:

BJ did a good job in his absence but Huddlestone looks like he's getting back to his best now he's had a few games. What takes BJ/Joe Ledley 3 or 4 touches to achieve Tom does in 1. His passes are perfectly weighted, accurate and more than often put us on the front foot. 

That's a really good point and I think you've nailed what sets Tom apart. Other players can make similar passes but Tom seems to have the unerring ability to put the ball where players will be rather than just where they are. With the likes of Marriott, Lawrence and WIlson careering forward it means we become something of a handful, as evidenced by poor old West Brom's capitulation last night!

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Evans can watch and learn and hopefully develop into a long term replacement.

What I love about Huddlestones passes is they are not to a Derby player, they are often to where the Derby player should be. By passing in front of the derby player means we save 1-2 seconds. How often does a pass out wide go to where a player is standing when if it was 20-40 feet in front they would be running onto it instead.

Now couple the above with the wealth of attacking talent in the team (including two full backs) its so refreshing to see.

 

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23 minutes ago, 86 points said:

Lots of player-dedicated threads but as yet, none for the maestro himself, Tom Huddlestone. I’ve doubtless driven a few on here nuts with my blind faith in Tom but I feel to a degree he’s now vindicated the opinion that he should be one of, if not the first name on the team sheet. My argument has always been a simple one – that Hudds can operate better in tight spaces and against a high press, than anyone in the squad. I also believe him to be the best passer of a ball in the team. Folk will think I’m gushing again (no jokes please!) but I’d go so far as to say that if Tom had the athleticism and engine of someone like Jordan Henderson, he’d be at a top 4 club and a current England international.

So, is this an over the top appraisal? Maybe, certainly some will think as much, but if there’s a better passer of a ball in our division I’ve not seen him and I’m not convinced there is one in the current England set up either. Happy-clapper hyperbole aside, yes, Tom will occasionally have players waltz by him, yes, he’s not terribly mobile and lacks a yard of pace, but while these things are true, in games where we are on the front foot, our Tom is going to dismantle some teams given the wealth of attacking options he has at his disposal, all of whom now appear to be both more than willing and able to pick and make runs that stretch defences to breaking point.

For the record and for the sake of balance, Tom owes a deal of thanks to players around him who are working so hard to find space. Young Jack Marriott in particular is excellent off the ball and it’s no coincidence that Huddz has looked back to his best with the arrival of Jack in the starting line-up. The more movement Tom sees ahead of him, the more options he will have, I think this is a fair assessment and one borne out by last night's performance. After what was a pretty compelling statement to the rest of the division, most teams will now look to stifle us rather than outplay us, but if they press high, Tom’s golden feet will buy him space and if they sit back, his laser-guided passing allied to a super mobile 'front 5', might allow us to break our hoodoo against teams that park the bus. Whatever way you look at it, this season is shaping up to be an absolute belter and I’d wager the current squad will not crack under pressure the way we have in recent years. Some tough games ahead, no doubt, notably so in the coming weeks, but much to look forward to nonetheless yet with a dash of luck and a fair wind, I'm not convinced we have too much to fear.

COYR

Agree with that. Love the double entendre too. Yipp! Yipp! 

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8 minutes ago, coneheadjohn said:

Looks really comfortable in the current set up,having all that pace and movement round him is letting him be so influential.

I still can’t fully work out what changed from Sheff Utd first half?

He certainly looks in good nick and I don’t think having Tomori behind him does him any harm and he’s certainly put Keogh at ease as he’s always got an outlet.

He’s a real bonus because I thought CDM would be a problem and Bradders has been great too and I thought Evans would be the one to be the regular.

As it stands he’s probably 3 rd choice.

 

 

I've been thinking about this and folk will laugh at me but I'm wondering whether Frank switching Wilson into midfield might have helped. As outlets, Mount and WIlson are a pairing most clubs (an CDMs!) would dream of having. ALso, Tom's not young and perhaps just needed a hour or two of proper game time to loosen up his wheels! 

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3 minutes ago, 86 points said:

That's a really good point and I think you've nailed what sets Tom apart. Other players can make similar passes but Tom seems to have the unerring ability to put the ball where players will be rather than just where they are. With the likes of Marriott, Lawrence and WIlson careering forward it means we become something of a handful, as evidenced by poor old West Brom's capitulation last night!

I honestly didn't read this before my post!

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Huddlestone is everything we hoped George Thorne would grow into. The ease of his play coupled with his sight for a pass makes him as good as any holding midfielder in the league. 

I think bringing Wilson inside has done him the world of good too. Wilson and Mount clearly have a strong understanding of each other's play, let them do the leg work while Hudds covers the defense. 

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Quite a weird one last night because yes, he was good, but he was actually not as good as he usually is and wasn't as good as several others on the night. We actually chuckled when he got given the man of the match award because it was such a surprise. Thought he over/under hit several passes, got caught in possession a couple of times and his radar was off from time to time, but still, he's what we need in that position.

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29 minutes ago, 86 points said:

I've been thinking about this and folk will laugh at me but I'm wondering whether Frank switching Wilson into midfield might have helped. As outlets, Mount and WIlson are a pairing most clubs (an CDMs!) would dream of having. ALso, Tom's not young and perhaps just needed a hour or two of proper game time to loosen up his wheels! 

This isn’t a dig at Bryson, but whilst lightweight l think Wilson offers better positional balance in the midfield three. Bryson is more combative and all energy, but you need to put a tracker on him to know where he is at times. If you are quickly ‘transitioning’ l think Huddlestone will always be more certain which pockets he might find Mount and Wilson in but he might need a second or two more to locate Bryson.

l just gagged typing transitioning.

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Anyone else think Tom Huddlestones back heel last night to get out of trouble was a bit of his football genius.

He played well last night.

He had outlets and energy around him. 

WBA did give him loads of space though. 

Might be more difficult against a Pulis  team but I hope not. 

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