Derby County supporters have taken to Twitter to comment on Andy King after his debut at Ipswich Town.
The midfielder joined the Rams on loan from Leicester City until the end of the season.
With manager Frank Lampard seeking to keep his squad fresh for the upcoming FA Cup tie at Brighton and Hove Albion, he made changes for the trip to Ipswich and opted to play King from the start.
(Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
The 30-year-old was left out of Claude Puel’s Leicester City squad this season. Prior to Wednesday, he had only played one FA Cup game this season. His lack of minutes told, as he struggled against a youthful Ipswich side with nothing to lose.
Taking to Twitter, Derby fans who posted admitted they expected more from the player and they felt his debut was one to forget as the Rams were held to a 1-1 draw against the Championship’s bottom club.
How Andy King failed to shine at Portman Road:
Andy King didn’t particularly fill the 8 role the same way Mount and Holmes have. Tomori and Keogh, to Ipswich’s credit, weren’t allowed to play out of the back. #dcfc #dcfcfans #itfc pic.twitter.com/YBNcpdk8yo
— Ram Srinivas (@rramesss) February 14, 2019
Very out of character for FL to start two player with little or no game time, I was there & to me it looked like King & Johnson were struggling to keep up with the pace. Not like FL at all, must have 👀on Brighton game.🐏🐏🐏🏴🏳️🏴🏳️🏴🏳️
— Arthur Cox🐏🐏 (@arthurs21mil) February 14, 2019
Hard to see how King rated same as Johnson and Indont think Johnson played well. thought King was really poor…totally anonymous. Very poor selection decisions yet again #dcfcfans
— Steve Naylor (@stevenaylor) February 14, 2019
Haha, Wilson and King rated higher than Lawrence….oh dear oh dear, what a blinkered view that is!! Did Wilson make one pass to a Derby player?! King did absolutely nothing….this negativity towards Lawrence is a disgrace!
— Scott H (@scotthammond1) February 13, 2019
Johnson was alright tday, I expected so much more from King and Wilson was abysmal
— ◇ (@adam_dcfc00) February 13, 2019
Poor selection tonight for me Johnson & king no were match fit lost the game in midfield , yes it feel like a loss
— [email protected] (@Paul50254487) February 13, 2019
Very poor performance. King, Johnson absolutely dreadful and Wilson gone off the boil lately. #dcfc
— Andy Buckley-Taylor (@BuckTaylor64) February 13, 2019
The stats behind Andy King’s performance:
King started alongside Bradley Johnson and Harry Wilson in a midfield three. After Tom Lawrence gave Derby an early lead, many expected the Rams to go on and comfortably win. However, the Championship playoff challengers were largely second best throughout.
According to Whoscored, King kept possession well with a 92.9% pass-accuracy rate, yet he lacked urgency. Moreover, he offered little going forward and failed to register a single tackle. King was ultimately replaced with 20 minutes remaining, prompting a late surge from the visitors.
(Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City via Getty Images)
Lampard’s team selection has thrown up several questions, and now the pressure is on having failed to break back into the Championship’s playoffs.
Derby’s form has dipped with away games at Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa on the horizon. Lampard will be counting on the likes of King, Johnson and the currently injured Mason Mount to get back up to speed.
Also see: Tom Huddlestone’s Hull performance shows why Derby County would have been mad to sell him
(Photo by Action Foto Sport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)