MOT View: Derby show lack of class after horror show for Leeds Under-23s
The Leeds Under-23s had a standout campaign last season, winning the PDL National title after beating Birmingham City on penalties.
They also made it to the semi-finals of the Premier League Cup, beating Newcastle United, Southampton and Fulham before falling to the Magpies in the semi-final.
Their strength was cited as part of the change Marcelo Bielsa had swept in, along with the close ties between him and Under-23s manager Carlos Corberan.
Corberan's side was brought back down to earth last night by a strong Derby Premier League 2 outfit, who swept into a 4-0 lead after 30 minutes before ending up 7-1 victors on the night in the PL Cup fixture, with the Leeds consolation coming in injury time.
The Derby side had some first-team players in, including Mason Bennett, but given how many first-team players regularly grace the Leeds Under-23 side, that's not anything unusual.
The only players for Leeds with first-team experience last night were Leif Davis and Ryan Edmondson – the former hasn't started this season and Edmondson has only ever made two cameo appearances.
It was a young side and they were completely taken apart by Derby in what was probably the worst Under-23s performance we've seen since Bielsa arrived.
Most of the goals were preventable and it will have been a rough experience for the players.
However, that won't have been helped by a tweet from the official Derby Academy Twitter page this morning that was retweeted by the official Derby account.
You can maybe understand the Academy page getting carried away but the official Derby page retweeting it is just classless.
These are young players fighting for a career in a very tough and competitive environment. There's a saying "Get it quietly" and Derby would be best advised to take stock of it.
Their over-the-top celebrations after beating Leeds in the play-off semi-final last year didn't end up working out that well for them.
As for the Under-23s, it's all part of the learning experience, but it might stop some fans saying some of the talented Under-23s players deserve immediate call-ups to the senior squad. The jump up, as this proved, is a big one.
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