11 | Jeremy Doku - 2023/24

[Academica]

I think a lot of people are criticising him unfairly, it's become the thing to say that he constantly gives the ball away, he doesn't. His final ball needs work, but if you look back at games he has played, he has been unlucky and with better finishing by others his assist record would be better. I know we are all missing the Grealish goals and assists that he gets every game, but for a young player in his fisrt season at a new club I think he is doing ok, bags of potential and exciting to watch.

 

[Ste68]

A lot of the criticism of this lad is a little let’s just say “coloured”.

It’s weird and people can see it.

I like Doku and think he will get better. I think when Sterling was at his peak there was an element of that in the crowd but can't say its the same with Doku.

Think its more down to the sort of winger he is causing frustration. He will go at people and lose the ball on occasion - its his job to go at the back four and take that risk , fans want to see that and get annoyed if he plays more conservatively or if he isn't successful when he tries to get round defenders.

It will come together and he will learn when to play conservatively , when to take a risk and the big one for me is when to get into the box for the half chance or cross to get his goal ratio up. At 21 will take a season or so to get there.

 

[Belgian Flash]

I'm worried about how he handles all the scrutiny about the penalty. He's already under a lot of pressure for "end product" and the whole "take on players the whole time but never lose the ball" attitude fans have, so adding this media attention to it will be a major test for his resilience.

IMO it was not a penalty, he got the ball and barely grazed Macallister; the problem is people look at a screenshot out of context and think it was some kind of violent kick when in reality it was extremely soft touch and Macallister made a huge meal out of it. Yeah he should have headed the ball but in the end he managed to use his agility to not follow through too much and make enough damage for a penalty.

Defensively he should be better, I agree. But he just doesn't have the energy to be explosive at both ends, its just simple physics considering how much he explodes with the ball. So hes always been a player that covers rather than presses, and his defensive speciality is pass interceptions or steals where he uses his quickness again, not relentless pressuring.

If he starts scoring and assisting, he will get more of a pass for his lack of defensive contribution. Hes finding chances in every game, but it doesn't feel like hes really looking for the goal. It really feels like its kind of a secondary option for him. I know it sounds cliche, but he needs to visualize himself scoring in every action. That will make him sharper. His crosses are kinda kick and hope someone gets at the end of it, but to be honest they very often seem to go to where a player (Haaland) should be, but he isn't there, so it might be a problem of the recepient's anticipation and positioning.

 

[PSmyth07]

I don't think I'd be that bothered with his performance if he just used some of that pace to get back and help Ake, the amount of times he jogs back is poor

 

[Haaland94]

I think a lot of people are criticising him unfairly, it's become the thing to say that he constantly gives the ball away, he doesn't. His final ball needs work, but if you look back at games he has played, he has been unlucky and with better finishing by others his assist record would be better. I know we are all missing the Grealish goals and assists that he gets every game, but for a young player in his fisrt season at a new club I think he is doing ok, bags of potential and exciting to watch.

It's his bad touch more specifically. He miscontrolled the ball 69 times in 36 appearances (including 2 apps for Rennes, some for Belgium, and us) and got dispossessed 41 times. That's 110 times he lost the ball. In comparison, Jack played 37 times (us+England), miscontrolled the ball 38 times, and got dispossessed 31 times. That's him losing the ball 69 times (and he is having a very troubled season).

For me, Jeremy looked incredible for a new signing but got "figured out" and has to develop his game to recreate the sort of impact he had early in the season.
Having said that, I still agree that he has bags of potential and is an exciting prospect, but we need to manage him more carefully. I said it earlier in the thread, but for me, he should play against the bottom half of PL teams + appearances off the bench as an impact sub for now. He will do well long-term, though. I am sure of it.

 

[Phil1]

The fine lines of a footballer. He was ok when he came on and so we can give him credit where it’s due but that gets given as a pen then this thread would be probably locked by now..

 

[balotellishaircut]

I like Doku but he’s a braindead ****, you just don’t make that challenge if you’re a footballer that’s got something upstairs.

 

[The Stockport Iniesta]

I like Doku but he’s a braindead ****, you just don’t make that challenge if you’re a footballer that’s got something upstairs.

You don't let the ball bounce in the box in the first place. You head it away from the danger area. He was in a perfect position to head that ball, it's schoolboy stuff.

 

[TP2707]

He's just not used to high pressure clearances in the box like that. I mean, he should be better than he useless attempt but he isn't at the moment and he hesitated before throwing his foot up. It's the sort of situation where he will learn LOADS from it and considering we got away with it - it was a very inexpensive lesson. That moment will be in his mind for a long time and that's a good thing.

 

[jamesha]

I'm worried about how he handles all the scrutiny about the penalty. He's already under a lot of pressure for "end product" and the whole "take on players the whole time but never lose the ball" attitude fans have, so adding this media attention to it will be a major test for his resilience.

IMO it was not a penalty, he got the ball and barely grazed Macallister; the problem is people look at a screenshot out of context and think it was some kind of violent kick when in reality it was extremely soft touch and Macallister made a huge meal out of it. Yeah he should have headed the ball but in the end he managed to use his agility to not follow through too much and make enough damage for a penalty.

Defensively he should be better, I agree. But he just doesn't have the energy to be explosive at both ends, its just simple physics considering how much he explodes with the ball. So hes always been a player that covers rather than presses, and his defensive speciality is pass interceptions or steals where he uses his quickness again, not relentless pressuring.

If he starts scoring and assisting, he will get more of a pass for his lack of defensive contribution. Hes finding chances in every game, but it doesn't feel like hes really looking for the goal. It really feels like its kind of a secondary option for him. I know it sounds cliche, but he needs to visualize himself scoring in every action. That will make him sharper. His crosses are kinda kick and hope someone gets at the end of it, but to be honest they very often seem to go to where a player (Haaland) should be, but he isn't there, so it might be a problem of the recepient's anticipation and positioning.

Good post. I think the rest of the team could certainly be set up to help him more when he is driving at players. Some more movement to pull defenders around in the box and then have the likes of Bernado and Phil getting into the box for the crosses.