Irish involvement in the Football League playoffs

[Charlie Darwin]

Hendrick was immense. Some performance considering he's been injured and had practically no gametime to get back.

[SwanVsDalton]

Why not?

I'm not convinced a guy whose relationship with the management could generously be described as ambigious, has a realistic claim to the number one jersey, appears fairly blase about international football and already travelled to a major tournament as a back-up is going to be all that bothered about hitting crosses for two others guys to catch when he could potentially be resting up before a Premier League season.

I don't mean to impinge Westwood's commitment by saying he's blase, I just mean it strikes me that he's decided he'll do his talking on the pitch and if he's picked, grand, and if not - c'est la vie.

I also think he'd be realistic enough to know that if he's taken along, he's very unlikely to get any gametime since he's not been involved at all and won't be around for the Holland game.

[Charlie Darwin]

I think MON has made it clear the #1 spot is up for grabs by dropping Forde, bringing in Randolph ahead of him when Given got injured, then giving Elliot an audition against Slovakia. Should be enough incentive for Westwood I think.

[OwlsFan]

Brilliant effort from Derby tonight, some contrast to Saturday. Guts and bottle in abundance but unfortunately just left themselves with too much to do. They can't have any complaints after the shambles at the weekend but some pride restored at least.

Bradley Johnson and Ince were dropped for Hendrick and Weimann and the changes really worked a treat. Hendrick actually played the holding midfield role, allowing Hughes to motor further forward. Those two and Johnny Russell were the pick of the bunch I thought, lovely intricate passing movements all night. It was a really mature performance from Hendrick and he showed no signs of not having played a proper match for a few weeks. He was far more suited to the role than Hughes was on Saturday, who was a little bit lightweight for the position.

Christie was instrumental in Derby's opening goal, a powerful run down the right before whipping in a decent cross that Martin kept alive and Russell bundled in at the second attempt. Keogh had an easy enough night, no major pressure applied by Hull for the majority of the game but he carried the ball out of defence well.

Meyler came on for Hull and used his experience to slow down the game, buying a free kick or two and generally adding a bit of composure to their play.

Last night just shows how much of football is played in the head. Hull thought the tie was done and dusted as did their fans. None of the intensity of Brighton or their fans the night before. Derby had to go for it and caught them on the back foot and played them off the park in the first half as did Brighton to Wednesday the night before. It reminded me of Ireland's visit to Paris where France were 1-0 from the first leg. They thought they just had to turn up to qualify. The team behind in the 2nd leg plays with intensity while the other one tries to sit on the lead. Once lost, initiative is hard to regain. As in Brighton, it was hard to keep that intensity going in the second half and I was pleased as I think Derby have better players than Hull. Sorry for the Irish of course. Christie was excellent. Even Meyler got on the ball (after a while) when he was brought on as a sub to stem the Derby tide.

[paul_oshea]

Ya you have got to wonder how good Derby really were, versus how much Hull were willing to do anything other than Sit on their lead.

And you can't say a holding midfielder was excellent in that kind of game where he was never going to be under the intense pressure of a team chasing a lead.

[DeLorean]

Hendrick was outstanding. It was his willingness to get on the ball, start and join in on attacks that was so impressive. He was the key component in their midfield that kept everything moving quickly and efficiently. His passing was so precise in tight areas, consistently forcing his team forward and into good attacking positions, it wasn't just the lateral stuff we see so much of these days. It was very little to do with the other holding midfielder tasks such as breaking up play or getting tackles in, even though he did that effectively when needed also. Did you even see it?

And Derby already won 2-0 at Hull this season, with two first half goals as well that night incidentally, as well as beating them 4-0 at the iPro, so I think it's safe to say that this was a more accurate representation of what they're capable of than their performance on Saturday.

[paul_oshea]

No I didn't see it, but hasn't Stutts proven already you don't need to see something to comment on it.

I didn't comment on how he played, just that its hard to imagine a holding midfielder doing excellent when "its" core duties are under pressure from the opposing team in his half to get that extra bit of time, make space, break out of defence, make tackles, break up play, keep a clear line from the opposition.

But none of what you described above, is anything that I would see as a holding midfielder Sounds more like he was a roaving/roamin midfielder, attacking just lying further back than the other midfielder.

[DeLorean]

He was the designated holding midfielder. I lost count of the times he took the ball off Keogh and got things going from there. His midfield colleagues, Hughes and Bryson, were always stationed further forward. When Derby were in possession he moved up the pitch, but always in front of the play. He didn't make overlapping runs or get himself into the box anywhere nearly as much as he normally would, as it was clear that he was aware of his defensive responsibilities should Hull break.

And the fact that you didn't even see it might just make you the biggest hypocrite in the world.

[paul_oshea]

No Delorean, I never commented on him though or how he played, I agree completely I couldn't comment on his performance because I didnt see it. But what I expect of a holding midfielder might be different to what you do. I see it more as a deep lying playmaker by the sounds of it.

Either way wherever he was meant to be playing or whatever "position" he was in, it sounds like he had a positive impact from the attacking side of things, that can only be a good thing.

[DeLorean]

He was selected in the holding midfield role, just as Will Hughes was on Saturday. It's usually George Thorne's position but he broke his leg in the final game of the regular season. Obviously every game is different and the player in that position is going to react to the flow of the game. They can become a deep lying playmaker as you say or a even more orthodox midfielder.

Just because Mascherano starts attacks for Argentina doesn't make him more of a deep lying playmaker and just because Pirlo breaks up play sometimes doesn't making him more of a holding midfielder. It's not as if Hull didn't have any attacks on the night, they didn't spend the whole game in their own penalty box.

And you can't say a holding midfielder was excellent in that kind of game where he was never going to be under the intense pressure of a team chasing a lead.

To be honest this is a crazy statement without having seen the match. You have no idea whatsoever how the game ebbed and flowed. It could also be argued that because Derby were the dominant side, chasing the game, it made their need for a good performance from their holding midfielder even more important, given Hull's biggest potential thread would have been hitting Derby on the break.

In short, Hendrick sat in front of the centre backs when Hull has possession, this was obviously his primary function on the night, but as the game developed he saw more and more of the ball and was able to contribute in other areas also.

[Stuttgart88]

Did he play well?

[DeLorean]

How could he possibly play well? he was playing as a holding midfielder... keep up.

[seanfhear]

He was selected in the holding midfield role, just as Will Hughes was on Saturday. It's usually George Thorne's position but he broke his leg in the final game of the regular season. Obviously every game is different and the player in that position is going to react to the flow of the game. They can become a deep lying playmaker as you say or a even more orthodox midfielder.

Just because Mascherano starts attacks for Argentina doesn't make him more of a deep lying playmaker and just because Pirlo breaks up play sometimes doesn't making him more of a holding midfielder. It's not as if Hull didn't have any attacks on the night, they didn't spend the whole game in their own penalty box.



To be honest this is a crazy statement without having seen the match. You have no idea whatsoever how the game ebbed and flowed. It could also be argued that because Derby were the dominant side, chasing the game, it made their need for a good performance from their holding midfielder even more important, given Hull's biggest potential thread would have been hitting Derby on the break.

In short, Hendrick sat in front of the centre backs when Hull has possession, this was obviously his primary function on the night, but as the game developed he saw more and more of the ball and was able to contribute in other areas also.

Pirlo may have shuffled about a bit when out of procession but to call this breaking up play might be a bit of a stretch

[paul_oshea]

I've never seen Pirlo break up play :8

Whatever position he played sounds like played well, for someone out of position ;-) Only joking.

We have completely different understandings of the term, I am happy to move on Delores

[paul_oshea]

Did he play well?

Sure you know, you didnt even see him play. ;-)

[OwlsFan]

Fans call (apparently) for Westwood to be named in squad for the Euros http://www.newstalk.com/Fans-call-fo...uro-2016-squad but the writer is a bit silent on the source of his information (other than the few comments under the article).

[paul_oshea]

Central African Nation suffering severe drought calls for more rainfall.

[Closed Account]

So Westwood and Forde will both miss the Netherlands friendly

Sky Bet Championship Final 28 May
Sheff Wed: Westwood (should start), McGeady(unlikely)
Hull: Meyler (50/50), Lenihan (unlikely)

Sky Bet League One Final 29 May
Barnsley: Hourihane (should start), White (likely sub)
Millwall: O'Brien (likely sub), Williams (likely sub), Forde (likely sub)

Sky Bet League Two Final 30 May
Plymouth: McHugh (should start), Carey (should start)
Wimbledon: Smith (likely sub), Murphy (likely sub), Sweeney (likely sub), Shea (likely sub)

[Stuttgart88]

Central African Nation suffering severe drought calls for more rainfall.

I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to say here. While I prefer Westwood over Randolph, it's a gross exaggeration to say it's a crisis. Furthermore, central Africa has a tropical, non-arid climate. Rainfall is totally reliable there

[DeLorean]

Hourihane is lifting his second trophy of the season at Wembley as Barnsley beat Millwall 3-1 to secure their place in the Championship next season. He assisted their third goal from a corner, which Forde's nemesis Archer made a bit of a balls of. Their second goal was quite similar to Diame's winner yesterday actually, the goalkeeper got nowhere near it this time though. Hourihane also credited with an assist for that. O'Brien and Williams made it off the bench for Millwall, Forde and White stayed on their respective benches.