Ideally, Smith should be playing that holding role or failing that, Jones plays there and we get a more experienced centre-half alongside Greaves. We need to shore up the back against Fulham otherwise I think we could be on the receiving end of a good hiding. Something like this, hopefully, but I won't hold my breath.
Tom came on when Derby stopped pressing. They went deep and crowded out the passing channels, isolated KLP etc. Tom got time on the ball, he'll not get in other games....
Yeah, and Docherty was playing alongside Smallwood in a 4-2-3-1. Didn't see him do much box-to-box play or get forward much.
He also slowed the tempo down like he's always done too. Kept saying it, we need a defensive midfielder, Smallwood was getting turned at will tonight. Tonight was frustrating but I'm not surprised. Actually reminded me a lot of the TV game against Pompey last season without Honeyman. We look completely clueless without him and end up just going long. No surprise but Doc looks a shadow of the player without him too.
Maybe they did but equally we didn’t push forward, Tom always finds time and space, the only time he’ll struggle in the bigger games is because he hasn’t got the quality around him
Even in his previous spell there were times where starting Huddlestone was like taking a scalpel to an axe fight.
Doubht 50 year old jagielka will have an easier day this season , other teams will probably do something really obvious like get at him and make him run
What I do know is that it didn't work. Like others have mentioned, for all of his leadership qualities, we looked a better team last season when Alfie was playing in that holding midfield role next to Honeyman and Docherty. Having Smallwood and Smith in a midfield three against Fulham will be more of the same ****e as tonight but with a bigger goal margin. It should be one or the other, and I'd prefer Smith there for now.
He slowed us down!!! Did I miss the previous 70 mins of high tempo, high pressing football where we created chance after chance
Losing Burke is a massive loss and one we haven't properly replaced. Bernard isn't the solution either, unfortunately.
Don't think he broke sweat all night. To think some on here reckoned he was too old and slow for the Championship and not good enough for us. He was quality tonight.
We needed somebody to come on tonight and lift the energy of the lads. Smith did it well when he came on first half against QPR. We certainly didn't need somebody to keep everything slow and one-paced.
