Tom Lawrence appreciation thread

[cannable]

1 hour ago, MuespachRam said:

He isn’t fit to be mentioned in the same scents me as Ince. I can’t think of 5 games that he has been brilliant in during his whole time here. 

I mean, he wasn’t comparing ability… he was comparing the fans attitude untoward. Ince was twice as productive and still got the same poo as Lawrence.

[Andicis]

No issue with Lawrence as a person, nor do I condone any of the abuse he gets. That being said, his performances have warranted criticism, if we're being honest. Too many games he doesn't show up, too many games does he needlessly waste the ball. The vast majority of games he gets a stupid petulant yellow card for no good reason. I'd like to see him get a bit of time outside of the team, it might help him get his head right but also I just don't think his performances have been great for the team. 

[BriggRam]

2 hours ago, Big Trav said:

Our tom get a lot of stick. Like a lot. I would say hes our scapegoat that many fans use against him. He receives a lot of abuse rightly or wrongly. I just wanted to give my  two sense on this situation. The problem with Tom is he needs to play as a 10 behind 2 strikers. Out wide he has to cut in as his crossing isn’t the greatest. Also the lads a massive confidence player. Massively. Do you think 20,000 shouting abuse at him will help his confidence?? He always tries hard and presses well however he can be lazy tracking back. The lads been involved with a lot outside the world of football. He’s lost his bloody mother not long ago. And this has led to him drinking a load which ended up with joinersgate. He looks broken inside. I’m just begging you to please not scapegoat Tom. He isn’t a bad football he’s not the worst player you’ve ever seen just get behind the lad show him extra appreciation we need to make sure he knows we’ve got his back not get angry and shout abuse at him. 

 

I do think Tom needs a break from football to really sort himself out. You can tell he’s heartbroken just by the way he never plays with a smile anymore. 

 

Im begging each and every single person that reads this post to just think before you shout abuse at any Derby player but tom in particular. He needs picking up from the ground not being kicked while on the ground. 

Great post.....he is young he has been through a lot this year, no one here knows him personally, does he need a masculine kick up the arse or a arm round the shoulder and a little love, I don’t know, but I’m sure what he doesn’t need is constant berating and criticism from 25000 people in the ground, it must play on his mind before he enters the pitch, the first mistake he makes is going to be noticed and voiced, then as soon as it is confidence is drained out of him.....it’s hard as a fan watching to not  get annoyed when a player ducks up time and time again, but I  think Lawerence has got the “crowd on his back syndrome” so bad now he’s flapping as soon as he gets the ball....maybe he needs time out...I’d say play him in the U23’s but he’d probably stand on a land mine and lose his legs “ could only happen to Derby”

[Alph]

Thought he did well today. 

All I ever moan about is that he doesn't play to the strength of his teammates and is greedy. I don't mind his poor execution sometimes so long as he's trying to work for the team.

Thought today he played for his teammates. A few times it opened up for him slightly and I thought "here we go" and then he did the unexpected. 

One was an attempted early cross. I think some fans gave him poo for it but it was the right thing to do. Just a good block. 

Two others were when he was dribbling into shooting range and teammates had started to make the angles for him. He used them nice and early when there was a small shooting opportunity. They didn't have to keep angling their runs or wait patiently to be marked

Was hoping he'd get in a position where his options were to have a solo. Like Knight did but I think was guided out of play. He would have done a better job than Knight there. Like a few of the positions Bogle got. Unfortunately he didn't get that service.

Still, got an assist that his performance deserved. He didn't shine today but you can't always. He played a good part in the win though.

Less is more with Lawrence. Like it was with Jamie Ward. 

[Bob The Badger]

3 hours ago, Srg said:

He gets so much unfair stick. He’s been tarred with the same brush Ince was. 

No he’s not perfect, but this level of criticism and commentary about his consistency is ridiculous. If he was consistent he wouldn’t be in this league with all the other inconsistent wingers. 
 

 

p.s. duck Ramage for continually perpetuating the Lawrence hate brigade 

He's not even close to being as good as Ince as a footballer. Plus he's a much different player and doesn't possess Inces' ability to drift past defenders  

He's as sullen as Ince was, but that's about where the similarities end .

His distribution today prior to that good corner was dreadful  

Having said that, he does do a lot of unappreciated stuff and I *think* some fans miss work he does off the ball and his effort level is higher than his demeanor would suggest.  

He does also flash brilliance - see the goals at Huddersfield - but it is flashes.

So, I think too many fans either rush to support him, or rush to attack him and avoid the middle ground. But I'd swap him for the Ince that played for us in a heartbeats heartbeat. 

[sage]

I'm not going to jump on the Lawrence bandwagon...He has always frustrated me...Way back when most fans rated him I thought he was pants.

 

Just to clear a couple of myths up.

He isn't a young player. He is 26.

Yes he has had a tough time but he was running into cul de sacs and generally playing like a Poundland Ronaldo before this season.

 

Yes he is better in the number 10 role but only in a YouTube way. Look at his highlights on an 8 minute video and he may look great but watching repeated 90 minutes is tortuous. I don't boo him or indeed any player but he has been a bad signing

We had 3 wide forwards under early Mac in Ward, Russell and Dawkins (and Ibe on loan) We've spent a fortune replacing them with Ince, Lawrence, Anya, Camara and Josefzoon and have gone steadily backwards with each signing.

 

 

 

[Mick Brolly]

9 hours ago, Big Trav said:

I do think Tom needs a break from football

What should he do during this break from football if he has got problems maybe playing takes his mind off them, but as for criticism only Tom can stop that with more consistent performances it's just the way football is, play poorly on a regular basis fans will criticise and that goes for any player at any club. 

[minesahartington]

First half he was playing half arsed and deserved stick. Had a personal spat with a fan and second half did his bit for the team with great corner..which finally beat the first man and then a great yellow card to bail out a team mate at the end. They were through so that card showed me more than the assist. He wanted it.

build on that Tom lad

[Tyler Durden]

The more pertinent question is why is he not being dropped from the team if his performances are that garbage.

Which is either down to the fact that the managers opinion is diametrically opposite to the fans slating him or that we have no one better to play. Neither of which are attributable to Lawrence himself. 

[Ellafella]

7 hours ago, RamNut said:

He just said the quality of the final ball was poor and if you want them to improve then you have to tell them what they need to work on.

Absolutely. Well said. Goodness me; they’re professional footballers. They’re adults. They get well paid and it’s part of the territory to have to endure public scrutiny. They get the applause when they do well so they also get to know when the opposite is true. 

[Srg]

5 hours ago, Bob The Badger said:

He's not even close to being as good as Ince as a footballer. Plus he's a much different player and doesn't possess Inces' ability to drift past defenders  

He's as sullen as Ince was, but that's about where the similarities end .

His distribution today prior to that good corner was dreadful  

Having said that, he does do a lot of unappreciated stuff and I *think* some fans miss work he does off the ball and his effort level is higher than his demeanor would suggest.  

He does also flash brilliance - see the goals at Huddersfield - but it is flashes.

So, I think too many fans either rush to support him, or rush to attack him and avoid the middle ground. But I'd swap him for the Ince that played for us in a heartbeats heartbeat. 

Not really comparing ability. Just the fact they are both creative players who get called lazy and called out for not being “team” players. Never seemed to matter what Ince did, he was always criticised for that and Lawrence gets the same treatment. It’s always hard to know what the manager wants - with Ince and Russell at the time, Russell ran around with the guarantee of being subbed off where Ince played the 90 every time which could give the illusion of laziness when in fact he was conserving energy and we left him further up as the outlet on the break. 
 

As far as Lawrence goes these past couple of weeks - and I think someone else has alluded to it in this thread - he seems to be playing more within the structure of the team and less of the Lone Ranger stuff. First half for example, where he would usually try and drift inside and shoot he made 2 back heels out wide for Lowe on the overlap - could be more of an indictment on Mr Tickle though. 

[Mick Brolly]

Yesterday was his best performance for a long time and he was one of our least impressive players. 

[bucktwo]

Time out of the team , not time away from the game.

I reckon hes in the way of us playing our best system whether on the left or in the 2nd or third striker roll .

 

[Sparkle]

He’s lucky to be getting a game in the league if you ask me - yesterday he was not great or bad and frequently never actually involved and take an actual look at his corners ( again not open play) - max bird probably puts 80% of his corners into the box past the first man yesterday Lawrence managed that once with the floaty one that Clarke scored from but come one that was just catching practice for the goalkeeper who made an appalling mistake.

he will only improve his performance when ———— actually I don’t think he can

I would have Holmes playing wide leaving us with another midfielder in the middle - maybe Shinnie or sibley  

[Big Trav]

1 hour ago, Mick Brolly said:

What should he do during this break from football if he has got problems maybe playing takes his mind off them, but as for criticism only Tom can stop that with more consistent performances it's just the way football is, play poorly on a regular basis fans will criticise and that goes for any player at any club. 

Like what many of us would do if our mum had died recently. Take time off work to properly sort your mental health out. When you see him play you see his body language which most fans seem to think he’s not bothered or lazy but actually he’s probably a bit lost inside and still heartbroken. If I was Phillip I would tell Tom to take a couple weeks off or as long as he needs and I’d visit him most days and I’d get him a personal physiatrist to help him. I unlike others think he’s come on leaps and bounds this season compared to last and that is because of him not being greedy or wasting the ball through trying to take every man on or shooting from ridiculous angles. He’s a team player. He presses hard he works back. He’s everything a team player would be. He doesn’t get on the ball much admittedly but when he does he’ll go for the best option for the pass. 

[Philmycock]

Two sense, brilliant ? 

[CBRammette]

Coincidence that our better performances started when he was  suspended? 

[Curtains]

Couple of great flicks yesterday .

Played well I thought and made the goal yesterday with a very good corner delivery as he did for first at Boro by hounding down player in corner He is a scapegoat for some. 

They can’t  wait to have a go at him  

 

[jimbo jones]

8 hours ago, Bob The Badger said:

Having said that, he does do a lot of unappreciated stuff and I *think* some fans miss work he does off the ball and his effort level is higher than his demeanor would suggest.  

There are plenty of things to criticise Tom for. But you are spot on here. I hear a lot of comments of him not working for the team, which is not true at all. He has a bit of sulk at times, but will then get back and do his job.

[Wolfie20]

12 hours ago, Van Gritters said:

Oh my dearest ?‍♀️

FTFY