sage Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Lawrence Ebosele Thompson Plange jono and Crewton 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Max Bird a worthy mention here. jono and Crewton 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Contain Nuts Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 (edited) On the face of it all of those. However... Still not enough evidence for Thompson (gone backwards again) or Plange (10 games, we don't really know how capable he was before) but Lawrence yep (although he would always shine in a team who were lower down the table and looking for a talisman) and definitely Ebosele....maybe, or maybe he was always going to improve with experience. It's just a difficult thing to prove I guess. Edited February 10, 2022 by Coconut's Beard jimtastic56 and ck- 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyhill60 Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Lawrence is reaching heights we have not seen previously. I am sure giving him the captaincy was a Rooney masterstroke. For players like Thompson, who were never seen before Rooney, claiming improvement is not possible. What is certain is Rooney has, with his decisions on the timing of their introductions, managed the younger players superbly. His leadership and the values he has demonstrated have enabled a unity of purpose that has led to us having a chance of survival. jono and Kathcairns 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magicman Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 (edited) Lawrence, Davies, Knight, Bird, Ebosele, Fozzy, & Plange. Edited February 10, 2022 by Magicman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van der MoodHoover Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Putting Buchanan in a CB position may yet be a masterstroke Carnero, EtoileSportiveDeDerby, Kathcairns and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavesaRam Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Ebolele’s improvement has come in the last two or three matches - he is now providing passes and lay-offs, crosses and, of course, that goal! ck- and jono 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 I can’t say he has improved anyone other than Lawrence - the whole team has fight and determination which is a collective but players like Davies have simply performed that way their whole career IslandExile, jimtastic56, jono and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathcairns Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Don't think its a case of improvement, he's put his trust in these young players and they are repaying him tenfold. BriggRam, archram and IslandExile 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crewton Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 4 hours ago, Coconut's Beard said: Still not enough evidence for Thompson (gone backwards again) Erm, he's had 13 appearances for the first XI - how can he possibly be described as having "gone backwards" at all, let alone more than once?? He's been promoted into the first team squad and doesn't look overawed or out of his depth. I'd call that "improvement" and some of that can be attributed to the first team coaching and management set up, surely? Kathcairns, Wolfie20 and jono 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sage Posted February 10, 2022 Author Share Posted February 10, 2022 4 hours ago, sunnyhill60 said: Lawrence is reaching heights we have not seen previously. I am sure giving him the captaincy was a Rooney masterstroke. For players like Thompson, who were never seen before Rooney, claiming improvement is not possible. What is certain is Rooney has, with his decisions on the timing of their introductions, managed the younger players superbly. His leadership and the values he has demonstrated have enabled a unity of purpose that has led to us having a chance of survival. Thompson wasnt getting in thr team and now has been a regular. He was keepint Shinnie out at one point. That is a pretty dramatic improvement Crewton, jono and Kathcairns 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriggRam Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 45 minutes ago, Kathcairns said: Don't think its a case of improvement, he's put his trust in these young players and they are repaying him tenfold. He's put his trust in them, and shown by turning down a Everton job interview he is in the trenches with them......what a leader ? jono and Kathcairns 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 2 hours ago, Van der MoodHoover said: Putting Buchanan in a CB position may yet be a masterstroke It could well be. I was impressed early on by this pacy wing back who could actually tackle, even though he seemed to want to be a marauder. Promising, but ….. The CB thing the other night showed that he really can defend, so maybe a pacy CB is where he can naturally stand out rather than being another in the long line of reasonably ok wannabe wingers. it’s heartening to see the the academy has developed young footballers who can fit in different shaped holes and contribute wherever they are on the pitch angieram, Crewton and archram 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramifications Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Ryan Allsop too. He seems to be getting better. Carl Sagan, ck- and jono 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MackworthRamIsGod Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Max Bird. And the great thing with Bird is, now that Bielik is back, Bird will play further forward, as Rooney tried until he got injured. Bird is getting better and better. angieram 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuwtfly Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Bird, though I think he was well on the way under Cocu already. Ebosele definitely. Byrne looks better I think. Davies having arguably the best season of his life, so you'd have to say him. Tom Lawrence definitely the most obvious, though. Think that Captain's armband has worked wonders. Looks to me like Rooney just gets him in the way that maybe Lampard seemed to. jono 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alty_Ram Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 7 hours ago, sunnyhill60 said: Lawrence is reaching heights we have not seen previously. I am sure giving him the captaincy was a Rooney masterstroke. Maybe (and particularly given his recent revelations) Rooney has a bit more empathy with players who have had a few challenges in their personal lives. Probably figured that some responsibility and focus might help Tom keep his head on football matters. jono, sunnyhill60 and LeedsCityRam 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angieram Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 14 hours ago, Van der MoodHoover said: Putting Buchanan in a CB position may yet be a masterstroke Always rated him playing there for the academy. I like a player with good mobility at the side of a more traditional CB, and his heading ability is surprisingly good for his height. Where he'll struggle is against a real bruiser of a CF, as evidenced after the substitutions on Tuesday. LeedsCityRam, Van der MoodHoover, jono and 1 other 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 (edited) There is one thing Rooney has improved beyond all measure. Team play….. Whatever the individual merits of any of these players, they play better, as a complete unit, they are genuinely teammates if you like. More than I have seen any Derby team for 20 plus years. That’s improvement of the whole. Edited February 11, 2022 by jono DavesaRam, Kathcairns, Miggins and 4 others 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeedsCityRam Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 Liam Rosenior did an interview just before Christmas in which he was talking about the players & how many of them had set personal bests for sprint speed & distance covered in games. What Rooney & Rosenior are doing this season is the purest form of coaching - have a set squad due to circumstances outside their control with no prospect of additions (and forced departures) & are tasked with getting the best out of it. Which they absolutely have done. Most of the obvious improvements are with the younger players like Festy & Plange who have come from nowhere to be matchwinners for us. Max Bird has improved massively from last season where he looked lost & was only an intermittent starter. Liam Thompson's emergence has also improved our options centre of the park. Outside the younger lads, Tom Lawrence is having his best season for us in terms of goals & assist output - no-one would have thought he was a captain but Rooney did & called it right. I've also been very impressed with how Curtis Davies has adapted - looks much more comfortable on the ball this season & is playing every match so evidencing an improvement in fitness levels. Also impressed with Ryan Allsop, who looks very suited to being our number 1. RoyMac5, Kathcairns and angieram 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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