Thanks for the match report fella, appreciate the effort for those of us abroad. Encouraged that the defence is looking better, concerned about an inconsistent midfield and ineffective strike force. I would still be happy if we stay in this division for this year and build a decent squad for the next season. At least we are top 10, happy with that if not with the performances week in week out.
Andy Pyzer > Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2010 23:04:17 +0000 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected]; [email protected] > CC: [email protected] > Subject: [LU] Hull > > I thought this was a pretty entertaining game and a definite improvement on > recent home performances. I’ll start with the positives as this was a game of > many however for every good thing there was at least one mistake to match. I > thought the defence was better, more solid, certainly not perfect but I think > Grayson should stick with that back four now and stop changing things at the > back. You couldn’t really blame the back 4 for either of the goals. Their > first > was a stupid tackle from Johnson giving them a 30 yard free kick. I thought > Schmeichel was a bit lapse with his wall organisation , he seemed to be > peeping > round the other side when Bostock stuck it in the top corner, a great > free-kick. > The second in the last few minutes was from a corner. Again the brain dead > Bradley Johnson threw his trusty left boot at it, he completely missed it and > sliced it into the top of the net. Complete school boy error. > > > I thought we started the game really well with the midfield moving and > passing > very effectively however there wasn’t much end product. Hull were also lively > in > the first half and caused us a few problems on the break. I thought they were > a > decent team and have one or two very good players. We didn’t create that many > chances but the ones we did were squandered including Becchio obligatory free > header in the 6 yard box that he unbelievably put up into the air when it was > easier to score. Our equaliser when it came was deserved. Becchio pounced on > to > a ball , tried to control it but it hit is knee and bounced off into the path > of > Johnson who cracked it along the floor into the bottom corner. Good strike > and > good to see a Johnson strike that doesn’t end up in row z. The main problem > with our first half performance was the formation / tactics. Why play with a > lone striker at home against a struggling Hull team ? Ok, we’ve won away with > the same system but come on Simon use your head ? Becchio is totally > ineffective > as a lone striker, he won nothing in the air tonight and they were completely > dominant against him (not hard to do !). To Grayson’s credit he realised this > and tried to change things second half by pushing the lively Gradel alongside > Becchio up front. I like Gradel, yes he can be inconsistent , yes he can be > frustrating but he works hard and really puts himself about a bit. He’s also > pretty decent in the air for a small lad – better than his strike partner. > > > I thought it was a strange decision to drag Gradel off after 70 minutes to be > replaced by Somma. Surely Becchio would have been the better bet. Grayson > eventually hauled Becchio off with 5 minutes to go to be replaced by Paynter > – > pointless. > > > Our second goal came from header from O’Brien after good work from Snodgrass. > We should have gone further ahead when Johnson was unmarked in the 6 yard box > but put his header wide, bad miss. > > > They then had a man sent off for 2 yellows and all of a sudden we decided to > play possession football in our own half. Just knew what would happen and it > did. > > > Scores: > > Schmeicel – 5. Had little to do other than pick the ball out of the net twice > and some long range kicking. I think he needs to sort out his defensive walls > better. I watched a later freekicj by Bostock where the players had no idea > what > he was asking of them. > > > Connolly – 7. I thought he did well tonight. Looked solid. > > Bruce – 7. A few dodgy moments but also some good defending. > > O’Brien – 8. Calm under pressure, good solid defending. > > McCartney – 7. Decent game. > > Johnson – 5. Average footballer at best, brain dead, lacking in consistency > and > quality. Won’t sign his contract – thank God. > > > Snodgrass – 7. Better. Lively throughout especially at times in the first > half. > Still needs better fitness. > > > Howson – 6. A few good contributions but one bad miss first half and > generally > didn’t do enough. > > > Gradel – 7. Worked hard, effective first half. Tried hard when up front but > nothing really came off. > > > Becchio – 4. Totally ineffective as a target man. Won none of the 50:50 balls > in > the air. One or two ineffective knock downs and a speculative sfloating side > footer that hit the bar were his contributions. Just don’t understand why he > is > our number 1 striker. His goal tally is looking a bit poor recently as well. > He’ll soon be hitting the 1 in 3/4 that we have come to expect from him. > > > Kilkenny – 7. Our best midfielder on the night. Links up play with > intelligent > football. When he was taken off Bradley Johnson took over this role and > showed > just how difficult Kilkenny’s brand of football is for someone without a > brain. > Not everything came off for Kilkenny but he did well. Needs to be in the team > week in week out. > > > Subs: > > Somma – didn’t do a right lot apart from look lively and make some runs. > > Paynter – not on for long. > > Grayson – I’d like to think he’s sorting the defence out but I fully expect > to > Collins to make a return on Saturday. My main concern is that our top scorer > is > sat on the bloody bench ? and that Becchio as a lone striker seems to be his > preferred option home or away. Not only is Becchio not good enough at this > level > I think it’s criminal for the Leeds fans not to see the best strikers > starting. > > > Decent crowd for a Tuesday night. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leedslist mailing list > Info and options: > http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > To unsubscribe, email [email protected] > > MARCHING ON TOGETHER _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] MARCHING ON TOGETHER
