11 | Jeremy Doku - 2023/24

[Mad_fer_it]

No need to think - I do. Do you like thinking bang average is fantastic? No need for another swift response.

I feel sorry for you.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Was slightly nervous when he dropped to be a number 6 in our build up and received the ball facing our goal, but he did well.

Even Haaland gave it a go too!

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

I thought he was excellent to be honest. Lit a dull game up.

 

[Mike N]

Had a good game tonight. I think he needs to pick his head up a bit more. Haarland made a few runs in the first half that Doku really should have picked out.

 

[Wretched Vengeance]

Had a good game and worked his balls off.

 

[hammersmithlad]

Great idea to let him play in the mid with a lot of freedom vs the defence of big butchers who had problems to stop his quick dribbles, very good first half!
Thought he ran out of steam a bit and played LW 2nd half, when we closed the match for more control.

Great tactical option. Hope we'll see more of that vs similar opponents.

The Bald Fraud finally managed to put him in an effective position instead of sticking him out on the wing facing 3/4 defenders ;-)

Joking aside, put a shift in & was a constant menace to the Geordies when playing this so called false-winger position dropping in the spaces & ball carrying into midfield.

As others have mentioned needs to work on his final production & I’m sure with time & the right attitude will get there.

 

[Belgian Flash]

Had the most off ball runs in any match played so far. He can be twice as dangerous if he looks for pockets like this all the time. But his chemistry with Haaland is clearly a problem, they are not reading each other well. And so is his stamina, he was clearly gassed out by the hour mark as usual. I like that he isn't a statpadder but in a game like this where chances emerge for you, you should try to score until the end. And lift your damn head when people are making runs in front of you. It feels like hes not capable of picking out a pass when hes running at full speed despite his passing technique being pretty solid.

All in all, not great, not terrible, which is how his season is in general. You wonder how a few things going right for him could have changed his season: a goal against Liverpool instead of the post, same against Tottenham, couple of tap ins that Haaland doesn't miss... he would have probably gone from strentgh to strength. Hopefully next year the real Doku will arrive. Its a hard season for him physically and mentally, I don't feel like he's enjoying himself very much and Im not sure being reined in by Pep and having his instincts curbed so that he becomes a functional cog in the machine is the best way to develop him, but lets see.

 

[TrentGrisham]

His end product makes Sterling look like Pele. He’s nowhere near good enough in the final third.

That said, if he can improve his end product and keep the rest of his natural ability, he could produce numbers like Saka or even Salah.

He’s frustrating but exciting in equal measure.

You've been told already, but I'll let you know again, he's 21.

 

[bluesmith]

Can't help think that his blistering start is almost hindering him, he was always a work in progress signing, like most of out wingers. If Pep can sort that final ball we have a great player.

 

[Keeper!]

Looked far better today, picking the ball up deep and running well with the ball, final pass/shot is poor, but that will come and when it does he will be a proper top player.

 

[Akira]

Did well overall. Was energetic and always looking to make something happen, the final ball is just lacking.

 

[Metal Biker]

That's more like the Doku we've seen! He deosn't have to beat his man in the box everytime, just get the ball up the pitch and allow support to arrive in attack.

 

[merz]

looked toothless for a while. last 2 appearances were a step in the right direction though. good game overall yesterday.

 

[come-on-barney]

Thought he had a game, and took the game to them early on which set the pace. The Newcastle defenders were frightened of him. Just needs to resolve his end product but it will come.

 

[OB1]

Was creating havoc yesterday.

Clearly, he needs more end product but he is just a kid.

 

[pudge]

Thought Haaland was fit to strangle him in the first half with his inability to pass it. Not sure where the great game was but sure we all see things differently

 

[Belgian Flash]

Now that I rewatched the highlights, both occasions when it seemed he missed a clear through ball to Haaland don't look that easy, the first one was really a split second decision where he wanted to get closer to the box before playing him, and then in the next split second he had to hold off the defender from behind, so the moment was lost. And the other one would have either been an over the top pass or he would have to be a Ronaldinho level passer to thread the needle.

There was another counterattack where he had Haaland on his left as a decoy and Foden on the right, where it also seemed he made a bad pass because it was intercepted, but actually the defender played it to perfection, was well positioned throughout, and also Foden didn't separate himself enough. Shame again, hes doing good work but he simply doesn't get any luck.

I don't know if the lack of connection between Haaland and Doku is more on Haaland or Doku. On one hand, Doku seems to be out of sync with him on the counter, so thats on him. But when he gets a ball inside from the left, Haaland is mostly sleeping. He should be making the run in the moment Doku gets by his defender, but he usually is too late. Doku sends the ball to dangerous areas where Haaland should be but hes not there. I don't see Pep working on fixing this until now tbh and he really should.

 

[GaudinoMotors]

Now that I rewatched the highlights, both occasions when it seemed he missed a clear through ball to Haaland don't look that easy, the first one was really a split second decision where he wanted to get closer to the box before playing him, and then in the next split second he had to hold off the defender from behind, so the moment was lost. And the other one would have either been an over the top pass or he would have to be a Ronaldinho level passer to thread the needle.

There was another counterattack where he had Haaland on his left as a decoy and Foden on the right, where it also seemed he made a bad pass because it was intercepted, but actually the defender played it to perfection, was well positioned throughout, and also Foden didn't separate himself enough. Shame again, hes doing good work but he simply doesn't get any luck.

I don't know if the lack of connection between Haaland and Doku is more on Haaland or Doku. On one hand, Doku seems to be out of sync with him on the counter, so thats on him. But when he gets a ball inside from the left, Haaland is mostly sleeping. He should be making the run in the moment Doku gets by his defender, but he usually is too late. Doku sends the ball to dangerous areas where Haaland should be but hes not there. I don't see Pep working on fixing this until now tbh and he really should.

Who'd have thought you'd come up with that?

 

[BigJoe#1]

Oh...and if anyone fancies a genuinely pretty insightful (if I don't say so myself) dive into what we can expect from him I made this video last night looking into his stats. It's quite remarkable actually when you really look into it how much he resembles a young Sterling or Hazard.

Sorry, have to disagree with you but, I think he's miles better than Sterling ever was for us. So much quicker and definitely has the early burst, as was demonstrated by his performance on Saturday. It was phenominal.

 

[Phil1]

Who'd have thought you'd come up with that?

Don’t know why we bother picking Haaland.
According to the BM braintrust he’s the reason behind all our failings.
Blaming him for another players issues might as well be added to the list.