Ryan Hedges

We've had Sanderson, Van Gass, Johnson, Ward, Nyambi, all trying to fill a gap in their right back with varying levels of success.

We had Ryan Hedges, who we're told was brought in as cover for the left back position once Derry Murphy got injured.

He's now playing on the right wing.

That's all a bit strange.

To be honest, really, for the first half, there was fluidity of movement in terms of players kind of changing where they were on the pitch and their roles.

There was no fluidity to the play.

You know, Ryan Hedges started on the right wing at points and would come across the press as a left central midfielder.

Bobby Clark would go out.

Went with a f- a, a front three of Sammy Schmodics, Bobby Clark, and Mohammed Fasina, I think.

And Ryan Hedges was there as well.

[laughs] I, I don't understand what's going on with the starting 11s, for example, uh, or to start with.

But with this, I think the, the, the main thing with, with, with Derby is they just, they're not creating anything.

Starts away at West Ham two years later in the Championship.

Ryan Hedges kept his place and we had a first start as well for Henrik Meister the first time we'd seen him in a Derby shirt too what did you make of the team when you saw it?

I was a little bit surprised definitely by Niambe starting I think what was it Who did we play and we had like all the right backs on the bench? Was it Portsmouth in midweek? We had like three right

backs

He played out wide for a bit as well.

And he looked good, but no one else did that.

I mean, Ryan Hedges was doing his best Caden Jackson impression and sitting about two yards in front of Niyambe for most of the game.

And, I thought that killed us completely down the right-hand side.

So, They just went with two sort of little ones up front, Smodics and Bobby Clark.

And every time they broke, those two combined really nicely and took up the pitch and combined as well quite nicely with Ryan Hedges at times.

And they got their goals, you know, so Sub Salverson scored a really good goal as well.

So it was a good away performance, solid, took their chances, but I wouldn't get carried away about Derby.

We've seen the ball get cleared and come back and we remain under pressure.

But I thought they did that and I thought Ryan Hedges was very commendable in supporting them.

Yeah, I'd say all round a very good derby performance.

Always like amusing bits, like starting without a recognised right back and finishing with three.

As you say, Clarke almost becoming, as the 10, almost becoming a striker, certainly in the press.

And then Smodic, when he was the 10 himself, came on very much to up front.

And Ryan Hedges, I thought, had his best game in the Derby shirt, to be honest.

I mean, just to dig into what worked well with him.

And really, he should be looking at the bench and thinking, do you know what? I might have a Harry Leonard, for example.

I might have a Ryan Hedges that can come on.

You know, just to name a couple of players that obviously we've sold previously.

And that's why I was getting frustrated because we were there.

So I think at some point you've got to start taking risks.

Like from a Derby and Eustace point of view, don't start 31-year-old Ryan Hedges on the wing.

Start 17-year-old Owen Eames.

See what, see what he's about.

Yeah, yeah.

So I think at some point you've got to start taking risks.

Like from a Derby and Eustace point of view, don't start 31-year-old Ryan Hedges on the wing.

Start 17-year-old Owen Eames.

I mean, I think their fans are understandably livid about what's happened.

So then you see John Eustace open up his Blackburn Rovers address book and sign Ryan Hedges instead.

Do you remember when Ron Atkinson used

to do that? Yeah, yeah.

He's signed on a free transfer from Germany.

They signed Ryan Hedges, who's a last-minute squad option.

He signed last week on a one-year deal.

Charlie Taylor's come in as, as cover at left back, but he's going to need to start because Derry Merkin, the first-choice left back, is injured.