Nice article about our Jeff, comes across as being quite a modest bloke!
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/inter...-with-ireland/
Bad news, this might be a bad one. Hopefully it's just precautionary.
http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/socc...jury-1.1508704
Out for 3 months: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/f...174839405.html
FFS!!
Hendrick nearing a return
Good news about Mark O'Brien in the final paragraph also.
Update: Played 56 minutes
Last edited by DeLorean; 19/11/2013 at 3:52 PM.
Haha... and you can't even see the zimmer frame!
Came on in the 62nd minute away to Wigan with Derby leading 3-1.
Only came on for last ten minutes against Blackpool when they were 4-1 up. Obviously it was an easy situation to come in to but he was very involved for the time he was on. Appears to have an excellent range of passing. Might have to bide his time a bit before getting back into the side seeing as Derby are on such a good run.
Having some banter with a Forest fan on Twitter after drawing Chelsea in the FA Cup, reminding him of his winner at the City Ground when Derby played most of the match with ten men.
Heard an interview with the manager who referred to some "squad" players returning from injury like Hendrick. I was a bit surprised at the term used.
Played the full 90 mins in the 2-0 win at Charlton on Saturday, replacing Will Hughes who was ill.
I'm bordering on 'The Doc/Sledge' at this stage, but this is a good read and relates to what PG was saying above, and what CD was asking in the Conor Sammon thread.
Derby Telegraph
Where does Jeff Hendrick fit in with Derby County's current midfield shape working so well?
STEVE McClaren, like Nigel Clough before him, is full of praise for Derby County’s midfield.
Clough went on record as saying the Rams have a midfield that is the envy of most teams in the Championship, a statement difficult to argue with when you consider the personnel.
Few midfielders are in better form than Craig Bryson at this moment, none have scored as many goals as the Scot. He has nine.
Eighteen-year-old Will Hughes and 21-year-old Jeff Hendrick, when he is at full match fitness, are two of the best young players in the division and the midfield mix and options has a lovely blend when the experience of John Eustace and Kalifa Cisse are added not to mention Paul Coutts, who is working his way back from a knee injury.
Blend is the key word because departments of a team work more effectively when balanced, especially the midfield and the defence.
Derby’s team has a balanced look about it, highlighted by the central midfield trio.
Bryson and Hughes had been playing slightly advanced of Eustace until the win at Charlton on Saturday when Hendrick stepped in for Hughes, who was laid low by a sickness bug.
McClaren has described Eustace as the “old warrior”. “Eusty does a great job for us and allows Jeff, Will and Brys to get forward and join in,” McClaren said.
“There’s a good balance in there. You need a good midfield, and we’ve got a very good one.”
The importance of the deepest of the midfielders, the holding player, should not be underestimated as Eustace has displayed this season.
A fifth yellow card of the season for Eustace in the defeat away to Queens Park Rangers left Derby with a hole to fill when they faced Sheffield Wednesday. They toyed with the idea of moving right-back Andre Wisdom to the “Eustace role” before opting for a player who knows the position, Cisse.
The Mali international provided an effective shield for the back four on his debut. He kept things simple and held his position from where he broke up play and used the ball sensibly.
Again, this allowed Hughes and Bryson to do what they do best, and Derby chalked up a comprehensive 3-0 win.
A piece in the Derby Telegraph’s Kick Off Special supplement, published a week before the season started, pointed to the Rams’ midfield being a force in the Championship.
One of the issues has been fitting Hughes, Bryson and Hendrick into a shape that suits the trio, when all are fit and available.
At times last season Derby tried to squeeze the trio into a four-man midfield and this led to an imbalance as one of them had to play slightly out of position, Bryson or Hughes on the left, Hendrick towards the right being examples of this. Often there was a switch of shape after 20 minutes or half an hour of a game.
In the opening fixture this season, against Blackburn Rovers, Hendrick was asked to play on the right of the central midfield pairing of Hughes and Bryson, with Jamie Ward on the left.
Chris Martin and Johnny Russell formed the attack but Derby only improved when the Rams reverted to a 4-3-3/4-5-1 with Hendrick joining Hughes and Bryson in the middle of the park although none of them is a natural defensive midfielder.
Eustace, armed with years of know-how, is just that and injuries opened the door for him.
Hendrick was sidelined for three months after damaging his ankle in the victory at Yeovil in August before Coutts suffered a serious knee injury during the Capital One Cup tie against Leicester City in September.
Derby’s midfield has taken on a settled look in the past three months. The trio of Eustace, Hughes and Bryson have started 10 of the last dozen matches.
The Rams have also settled on a shape.
The clamour for 4-4-2 appears to have long drifted away, along with the comment saying it is negative not to play two out-and-out strikers at home. Eight wins and two draws in those dozen matches, plus 28 goals scored, have done the trick.
Hendrick is now available again. He made his first start since August in the win at Charlton at the weekend when he came in for Hughes. The Republic of Ireland international started slowly but grew into the game and his performance was praised by McClaren and first-team coach Paul Simpson.
Hendrick’s ankle injury ended a run of 34 consecutive starts in the first team stretching back to November last year. It will be interesting to see where he figures in the current midfield shape.
I have been very impressed with what I have seen of Hendrick including his debut appearance for the Irish team. Has a touch of class about him.
The thoughts of an Irish midfield including McCarthy, Hendrick, an in-form and fit Gibson as well as Grealish and McGeady/McClean on the flanks with Shane Long up-front - that's exciting.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
Only on the bench with return of Hughes.
When a chicken lays three eggs is it called a Hendrick?
Not even in the matchday squad today..
Had a mild concussion.
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