Derby County v Leeds United Match Thread

[1964white]

Reading through this match thread, there seems to be a fair bit of criticism for Nmecha.

I've only seen the highlights, which can be deceptive!

Made the run to win the penalty.

Played a part in Tanaka's goal.

Good save from Zetterström from his header on target.

Sublime pass for Justin's goal.

[Cjay]

I think, perhaps, that once we got the lead Okafor was going to see the game out and the players who Farke plans on playing against Fulham were taken off.

At least I hope so. I can't see how Okafor's performance today earned him a start on Saturday.

Let's hope so.

Gnonto, Piroe and Nmecha all earned a start over him (and a sub appearance as well).

[hector]

I am raving .......... Just thought I would put that out there

FTFY mate

[Jammy 07]

Make allowances for his lack of game time (Piroe and Gnonto the same).

But still 14 crosses poor.

What about the cross he put in with right that we should have scored from ?

Not all poor crosses from Harrison were they.

Regarding Piroe he was anonymous at the start of the game but slowly played his way into it just the same as Gnonto did . Both ended up having good games with Gnonto correctly named MOTM by TNT, although Piroe was probably unlucky in that regard and would have got it had he slotted the penalty. For me both enhanced their reputations with Piroe in particular looking classy, albeit against Championship opponents.

[weasel]

Probably because it was such an unusual thing to have happen - inevitable it would get talked about and debated a lot.

It's only happened twice in 33 years of PL history - and the other time it was also us vs Spurs in 2022.

Shame you focus on just the negatives. 3 times we took the lead against a very good Newcastle side.

[The Subhuman]

Reading through this match thread, there seems to be a fair bit of criticism for Nmecha.

I've only seen the highlights, which can be deceptive!

Made the run to win the penalty.

Played a part in Tanaka's goal.

Good save from Zetterström from his header on target.

Sublime pass for Justin's goal.

He's a decent back up but shouldn't be a starter, even in a 2 man forward line.. Think he got an 8 from me.

[The Subhuman]

What about the cross he put in with right that we should have scored from ?

Not all poor crosses from Harrison were they.

Regarding Piroe he was anonymous at the start of the game but slowly played his way into it just the same as Gnonto did . Both ended up having good games with Gnonto correctly named MOTM by TNT, although Piroe was probably unlucky in that regard and would have got it had he slotted the penalty. For me both enhanced their reputations with Piroe in particular looking classy, albeit against Championship opponents.

I mean, if I'm gonna blindfold myself and throw 20 darts at a dart board, one will hit the bullseye

[DDB220]

Reading through this match thread, there seems to be a fair bit of criticism for Nmecha.

I've only seen the highlights, which can be deceptive!

Made the run to win the penalty.

Played a part in Tanaka's goal.

Good save from Zetterström from his header on target.

Sublime pass for Justin's goal.

I think he has done a decent job for us since he joined. He can carry the ball and I prefer him to Okafor personally. Much of the criticism comes from him starting ahead of Piroe.

Piroe is a strange one, in the system we play if paired with DCL it would work on paper. But he isn’t effective at running the channels. In addition he isn’t a target man neither is Nmecha but he is better at it than Piroe IMO. Okafor is not a target man either but he has pace and that for me is the only reason he starts ahead of Piroe. My other concern with Piroe is that he can be easily dispossessed, but Okafor and Nmecha lose the ball regularly also. There is plugs and minuses for the three options up top with DCL.

But given the player traits and the system we play I can see why DF prefers the other two before him.

I

[Tom the Cat]

We weren't playing a PL team though were we ? One 13th in the Championship.

You can only play against what’s in front of you.
I thought that the side DF put out played very good football and but for their keeper having a very good game we woukd have had five or six.
I agree that Okafor had a poor match and that it’s strange that he gets so many starts.

[Sean_Nile]

Line up was a dog's dinner some say... what are they feeding dogs these days wagyu steaks?

[Cjay]

What about the cross he put in with right that we should have scored from ?

Not all poor crosses from Harrison were they.

Regarding Piroe he was anonymous at the start of the game but slowly played his way into it just the same as Gnonto did . Both ended up having good games with Gnonto correctly named MOTM by TNT, although Piroe was probably unlucky in that regard and would have got it had he slotted the penalty. For me both enhanced their reputations with Piroe in particular looking classy, albeit against Championship opponents.

If you throw enough sh1t at the wall some of it will stick.

He put in maybe one good cross out of a dozen + . You can forgive him if he struggled to defend but as a winger it's poor.

Hasn't played much for ages so some sympathy but any teams considering signing him certainly wouldn't have been impressed.

However I felt all 3 of the ones struggling for match sharpness (Piroe, Harrison and Gnonto) improved 2nd half as you say.

Piroe is classy, just lacks pace.

He's technically better than any of our other strikers imo.

[White Riot]

Couldn't watch the match today, but the only thing I'm hoping for in a Cup match is a win.

We got through, gave the fringe players some match time and scored 3 goals without conceding 4

What's not to love

4th round draw at 18:35 GMT tomorrow.

[CHAPELALLMAN]

You can only play against what’s in front of you.
I thought that the side DF put out played very good football and but for their keeper having a very good game we woukd have had five or six.
I agree that Okafor had a poor match and that it’s strange that he gets so many starts.

It was just a comment about the defensive side, and us this time holding onto a lead which I was replying to. Easier to hold on to a lead against a low grade championship team than a decent PL team with players who tend to think faster and often have more pace than championship players.

[CHAPELALLMAN]

Shame you focus on just the negatives. 3 times we took the lead against a very good Newcastle side.

How do you think a Bremner would have reacted at the end of that game ?

[Pullhard]

We are in the hat for the next round.
Job done.

The bonus out of today was Willy put his hand up as a starter ahead of Okafor

[Jammy 07]

Maybe Ampedu should keep Struijk out against Fulham to try and shore up that left hand side ? Especially as Harry Wilson operates down that flank.

[The Subhuman]

Maybe Ampedu should keep Struijk out against Fulham to try and shore up that left hand side ? Especially as Harry Wilson operates down that flank.

No.. Amps was ok against a championship team but he's not a full time CB. He's our best DMF. Plus Struijk has been our most consistanly good CB this season..

[Jammy 07]

No.. Amps was ok against a championship team but he's not a full time CB. He's our best DMF. Plus Struijk has been our most consistanly good CB this season..

Ampedu is underrated as a centre back and has more pace than Struijk.

Fair point about missing him in midfield though and consequently that's somewhere we should be looking to strengthen.

[malcolmw]

How do you think a Bremner would have reacted at the end of that game ?

He'd have had a smoke and a pint.

[weasel]

How do you think a Bremner would have reacted at the end of that game ?

In the aftermath I think he would have been distraught and angry. Then when calming down and able to analyse he would look at the positives and not just the negatives.

We were all p*ssed off after the game but you have to move on. Take the positives and build on them, take the negatives and work on them. But don't just focus on the bad.