No report from me mate, thanks to Sky stupid Friday night football I was at a
family party. When I realised it clashed with Leeds game I mentioned this to
my wife and was informed "I really really want to go and I am not going on my
own, over to you"TO be fair to her for all our 32 years of marriage, Leeds have
pretty much come first (or first equal) everything we do is based around our
fixtures, including a trip to Edinburgh for 3 days for our wedding anniversary
in December rather than the week she wanted in Lanzarote due to fixture list
Having said that the texts / messages I got from my mates at the game were
saying it is the best they have seen for years, and that this was genuine not a
piss take.
I have watched it on TV and like everyone have been impressed. I never thought
we would keep a clean sheet with that back four , but all of them were great.
Looking back at my reports I did say the first time he played that Hernadez was
a class above. I have always maintained that Doukara was a decent player with
all the attirbutes but was missing something in his psyche that needed sorting
and Monk is on the way to sorting it - that is why his performance yesterday
when he showed commitment was so different from Cambridge when he could not be
bothered. Finally I have said since day one that Vierra was the best youngster
since Delph but was perhaps being played 6 months before he was fully ready -
well he is ready now and I think if he keeps fit and keeps learning he will
surpass even Delph.
I also quite like Wood and while I accept he has real limitations I do not
understand the stick that he gets , we would be a much weaker team without him.
Is there someone else out there who could do a better job - probably, but I
doubt they would be in our price range or be willing to drop a Division.
Overall though the credit must go to Monk (and Plotet?) - they really have
turned us around. I thought that Cellino was sack happy - in fact he was- but I
never thought that McDermott, Redfearn, Rosler, Hockaday,Milanic or Evans were
right for the job or going to get us where we wanted (albeit there was an
argument for Evans, in particular to be given a longer chance and some of the
others , notably McDermott and Redfearn were treated badly)Monk sorted the
defence so we are not vulnerable at corners, then he made it so our own
corners and set pieces were dangerous (2 of our one goal wins recently came
from goals at corners) then he gave them all licence to play and go at
defenders - Sacko and Roofe especailly are urged to take on players.Now, almost
the final piece of the jigsaw, he has made the squad players believe in
themselves and believe in his message. so Ayling and Berardi can play out of
position and fans not even notice they are not the 'proper' players. People
like Dallas, Phillips, Antonsson . Mowatt etc can come on and 'do a job' and
then take their place back on the bench
After yesterday he is starting to have real selection problems - does Sacko
come back, does Phillips or O'Kane (who have both had really good seasons) get
a start, and most of all does Cooper who is solid but mistake prone come back
next game, if fit, or does Ayling stay at centre back so that either Coyle or
Berardi ( if Taylor is back) go to right back - we really do seem to have some
options, options that will keep us solid but mean we can present the opposition
with different problems.
Monk has one dilemma really - what does he do to back up Wood ? Does he trust
Doukara or Antonsson to come in and score goals / hold the ball up / bring
others into the game. If Wood gets an injury that means him missing a few
games, we could have problems. However who can he bring in that is good enough
(better than Douks / Antonsson) but who will be happy to be second place and
only get a game when Wood is injured / rested
Watching the game on TV and seeing the whole ground waving scarves and singing
waccoe and the general level of noise, whilst not quite 89, is the best it has
been for years and something other teams (especially in the Prem) cannot match
- Fans are really buying into it and all and are sensing something special.
Like Rich, I have always been more pro than anti Cellino (I think he has
learnt from his mistakes and has changed the type and calibre of players he has
brought in, I think he genuinely loves his team,and money has been spent - not
sure if his or via loans that he wants back) Yes he is unpredictable to say the
least, but his 25% refund was a brilliant idea. In the past whenever things
look to be going OK he has come out and spoilt it but I think now he is only
half owner and with his ban looming I do not think he is able to 'upset the
apple cart' so the future really is looking good - the best since early Grayson
Dave
From: {broken-address} Richard Walker
<[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, 14 January 2017, 7:59
Subject: [LU] More armchair thoughts
Waiting for Dave's report to come through. Spoke to a mate who said ER was
bouncing last night and there definitely now a realisation that we could be
about to witness something special this season.
Scores:
Green - 8. Two brilliant saves to keep out Derby's only chances. Kicking a bit
dodgy and a bit lucky with their deflected 'goal'.
Coyle - 9. So what does Monk do ? It's obvious that this lad has the potential
to be great. He is simply too good to sit the rest of the season on the bench.
As ridiculous as it might sound if it came to a straight decision for who to
play right back between Coyle, Ayling or Beradi I would go with Coyle.
Beradi - 9. A right back, playing left back against one of the trickiest
players in the league and restricting him to one long range shot and a half
chance when he cleverly jinxed through I thought was remarkable. In the second
half Ince looked like a punch drunk fighter who'd had enough, Beradi was just
too strong and too clever for him.
Ayling - 9. Best compliment you could give him was that he didn't looked
troubled. I thought he was protected brilliantly by Vierra and Bridcutt but he
did everything well and didn't look out of place. Even had the cheek to go on a
a amazing run forward.
Bartley - 9. Won everything. He could have capped a perfect performance by
bagging 2 goals which he should have.
Vierra - 9. What can you say ? McClaren said 'Wow, 18 year old and he ran the
show'. He was immense and I just love his strength. Occasionally tries a pass
that doesn't come off but that is just inexperience.
Bridcutt - 9. Never tries a pass that doesn't come off. The perfect midfield
holding player. Tackl, Harry, get ball, pas ball move, receive ball, pass ball
watch attack. F'cking great little player.
Hernandes - 10. Man of the match. The commentator said he was on a different
level. He was unplayable. With those 3 in midfield Derby couldn't compete. That
blonde haired Derby lad supposed to be a real prospect. He looked Sunday league
next to our 3.
Roofe- 8. I thought first half was his best 45 minutes for the club. He looked
lively and looked like he had the beating of the Derby defenders. He linked up
well and showed good movement. Faded a bit second half but he showed promise
that I haven't seen so far.
Wood - 8. Good headed goal, unmarked in 6 yard box. I thought he ran hard,
battled hard, played some good link up football and in general played a very
effective no 9 role. I still think even though he played well he showed at
times bad control and a lack of pace. Also he does win very few of the 50:50
headers.
Doukara - 8. Inspired. It was a really surprising performance coming off
Rotherham and Cambridge which I thought were 2 of his worst performances in a
Leeds shirt. I'm not sure at times he knew where he was going but the
opposition certainly couldn't stop him.
Subs :
Dallas - I thought he came on and upped the energy levels.
Mowatt - came on a fell over a couple of times.
Monk- what can you say ? The guy is a miracle worker. Thank you Massimo Cellino
and if you saw the pictures of MC and new owner you realise they friends and
this is not a takeover but someone MC has brought in to help. MC has
transformed this club whether you like it or not and I said he would.
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