Sunny day, 30,000 fans all up for it , destiny in our own hands – everything was perfect for a Leeds win. What did we get ? A completely incompetent display from just about everyone who turned out in a white shirt today. I wanted Grayson to try something brave and new in an attempt to spark the team into life after many dismal showings with a 4-5-1 formation. Credit to him in that he tried but he got it so wrong and when you couple that with the fact that we’ve got a defence who not only lack confidence but also lack basic defending abilities it’s always going to be hard to win games even against mediocre sides like Watford. At times we made Watford looked good and they’re not.
So Grayson went 4-4-2 which a lot of us had been asking for. So what went wrong. Well, for starters he put Howson on the left wing ????????????? Now since when has Johnny Howson being a left winger ? Yes we’ve tried him on the right wing and we know that never worked but why the left wing ? He was like a fish out of water and I felt sorry for the lad because every time he got the ball he just didn’t know what to do and looked really uncomfortable. If Howson doesn’t fit the 4-4-2 don’t play him but don’t try and accommodate him for the sake of it. Swapping Howson and Gradel would have been one option. By putting Howson on the left you break up what is usually our best attacking option – Gradel and McCartney together on the left wing. Gradel was asked to play up front with Somma – a combination which failed miserably for 2 main reasons. Reason1 – Neither are that good at holding up the ball, winning headers and playing with their back to goal which is what they were asked to do most of the day today Reason 2 – Grayson went with Johnson and Kilkenny in central midfield. Johnson is as pedestrian as they come and Kilkenny, although he started pretty well, looked rusty as he always does when you leave him out of the side for a lengthy period. Snodgrass doesn’t look fit so with Howson on the left completely lost, Snodgrass not doing anything on the right, Johnson strolling around thinking he’s Paul Madeley and Kilkenny struggling to get things going we relied on our secret weapon – Lee Bromby. Time and time again Kasper rolled the ball to Brombmy who had come short. He then treated us to a dazzling array of 30 yard passes into space or touch. Unbelievably bad tactics. At the back it was a circus, headlined by the king clown Lee Bromby. I was watching him closely today after the rumour that he played well against Forest. I didn’t think so although I was under the influence of many pints of Wetherspoons beer. Well, I can report that he was terrible. He isn’t aware of anything, he plays with his head down and even when his team mates are giving him a roasting for not being where he should be he doesn’t listen or argue back. He really played poorly yesterday but he wasn’t the only one. Andy O’Brien was brought in as an experienced pro who would steady the ship and for a while, paired with Bruce hid did, but he looks very pedestrian at the moment and if you look at their second goal it was shocking to see how Graham went through him as if he wasn’t there. Bromby and O’Brien has now been tried, failed and now has to change. Going back to the first half, our only success was when Grayson swapped Snodgrass and Howson on the wings. Snodgrass immediately created a chance which Gradel smashed against the bar – unlucky. Somma also showed some good touches but nothing much came off. Second half continued in much the same way. Watford grew in confidence as they realised that Leeds were there for the taking and were unlucky not to have taken the lead when a totally unmarked forward headed against the post with Kasper beaten. He was lucky that it hit the post and came back into his arms. We changed it with Kilkenny coming off, Becchio playing up front with Somma, Howson moving centrally and Gradel back to the left wing. Lots of things wrong with those moves: 1) Kilkenny was our playmaker 2) Howson and Johnson centrally is not the way forward 3) Somma and Becchio are completely incompatible When Bannan came on a few things started to happen but it was all huff and puff. We then got a free kick which Bannan put a nice cross in. Becchio managed to be unmarked from 6 yards and place a nice header goalwards. Not only did he look offside I think you need to look at their keeper who just punched it into the roof of the net. Good header though and credit to Becchio for being there again. Minute later Becchio was presented with a much easier chance – 5 yards out with only the keeper to beat. In true Becchio style he ballooned over. It was a really bad miss. At the other end though it was still not happening. Watford continued to push forward and eventually they got the equaliser – another unmarked catastrophe. Why did Grayson watch this unfold before him and not do a damn thing about it ? It’s rare that you take your defenders off but in this case it would have been merited. Watford then took the lead through a really poor goal which highlighted the way we had defended all day. We had ample opportunities to clear the ball but we didn’t and in the end it was an easy goal for them. We then got lucky from a corner and an own goal and we did push forward towards the end but nothing was happening. Watford looked the more likely. A very disappointing afternoon all round. I’m beginning to question the manager in terms of the defence and some of the players he’s brought in. I also think he knows no other way to play other than 4-5-1 and now is struggling because that options seems to have run out. Scores: Kasper – 5. The communication between him and his defence is a problem. Eric – 5. Did ok going forward and has pace that is useful. McCartney – 2. I think it’s time to realise that this bloke is not a left back. O’Brien – 2. All over the shop, pedestrian, poor clearances, poor tackling. Over the hill ? Bromby – 1. Never been a fan. He’s just not good enough. Howson – 4. Totally out of position. When he moved centrally he did improve and played one ball in particularly over their defence which is what Somma needs. Unfortunately Somma had gone off by then. Johnson – 5. On the face of it he didn’t do a lot wrong and did a lot of things pretty well however he’s so pedestrian , not very creative and just highlights everything about our game at the moment – one paced, uninventive and predictable. Snodgrass – 6. Obviously not 100% fit – still created our best chances. Kilkenny – 5. Started well, but what do you do when you’ve got Howson as a left winger and Johnson as your partner. Somma – 4. Played with his back to goal, was asked to win headers, fight for balls etc. Not his game at all. Gradel – 7. Bad decision to play him up front with Somma but you have to hand it to Max he covered every blade of grass and was unlucky when he hit the bar. Subs: Becchio – 7. Came on scored a good header, got involved, fell over, missed a sitter, got an injury, typical Becchio performance. I think he did what was needed and I can only applaud that however the fact remains that this bloke can’t play football, he is still, for me, the lowest technically gifted player I’ve ever seem put on a white shirt and I can’t stand to watch his brand of football. I hope his injury puts him out for the season. Sorry but that’s the way I feel about him. Bannan – 5. Was at fault for their goal when he didn’t track back. Nice little player but not sure where he fits in. Grayson – 0. got it all wrong yesterday. I am worried about the future under Grayson but I hope he gets a chance to put it all right. _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] MARCHING ON TOGETHER (There's it)
