Some of the blame being heaped on TC (not just by you, Rich) s a bit harsh. He
hasn't had his first XI ever available this season, and he can't buy a decent
piece of game-changing luck. He also doesn't buy the players. As I've said
before, we lost our entire spine over the summer and replaced them with players
who aren't as good. We shouldn't be surprised that our results are therefore
not as good. That's on Orta and Radz, not TC. I thought the two key moments
that turned the game today were, first, Bamba stepping (stamping? It was hard
to tell on TV) on Pontus. On another day, that might have been a straight red
for their best defender, and a penalty for us. Instead, we lost our best
defender and most significant aerial threat in a game against a team of
relative giants. The second turning point was Grujic's assault on Dallas, which
should have been a straight red but for which the ref didn't even give a
yellow. At 3-1 down, but with plenty of time left and 10 versus 10 we could hav
e given it a shot.
I continue to believe we lack a dominant midfielder, the sort who breaks up the
opposition's play, wins the ball and feeds it to Alioski/Hernandez/Saiz, who
then get down the wings cut it back for Lasogga. It was also a disastrous
decision not to sign a central defender for the first team during the winter
break.
Looking back at our season, we will see that the decision to field a
second-string team against Newport in the Cup, and (particularly) to put a
bunch of kids plus Saiz on the bench was the turning point of the season.
Instead of putting most of the first XI out and getting a comfortable win, we
were hanging on with 15 minutes to go. TC had put a bunch of kids plus Saiz on
the bench. Needing to lock the game down, he clearly didn't trust the kids (so
why have them on the bench?!?), so put on a temperamental attacker. We all know
what happened next.
Four games into Saiz' ban, we have picked up one point.
Oh well, at least with all those superkids signed from Barca, Real Madrid, Ajax
and Benfica the Under-23s are sweeping their lea... wait, what? Hmmmm...
-----Original Message-----
From: {broken-address} Richard Walker
<[email protected]>
To: Leeds List <[email protected]>
Sent: Sat, Feb 3, 2018 2:29 pm
Subject: [LU] Cardiff
Another red card, another defeat and another nail in TC's coffin as the season
slips away.Today's first half was just not good enough. It was clear that
Cardiff's team of 6 foot 3" giants had one thing in mind. Pressure through set
pieces and long throws. How did we set out to defend against that ? Zonal
marking with Pontus trying to get to every ball. This left Bamba and a couple
of other giants unmarked in the box and it was more by good luck that we
weren't one down after the first corner as the ball went over when it seemed
easier to score. A few minutes later though the inevitable happened when the
ball broke loose on the left and an easy cross from the left found a Cardiff
giant unmarked at the back post to nod home. Were was the marking ? De Bock ?
Pennington ? Where was the keeper ? He was firmly rooted to his line and games
like this against typical, strong championship teams only emphasise how
unequipped continental players like Wieldwald and De Bock are for the
Championshi
p. Then came the second, another long ball over the top. Pennington dithered
allowing the Cardiff player free to run on and cross low into the box. It
shouldn't have been a difficult ball to defend but De Bock went to sleep and
didn't see the blue shirt on his shoulder who nipped in at the far post to put
the ball home. Poor, poor defending from De Bock who to me looks big, static
and not up to the job. The third came after the worst moment of the game for
us. The ref decided to book players early in a physical match and that meant
players had to be aware. Beradi on a yellow and now playing at centre back
after Pontus had been stretchered off, decided unnecessarily to lunge at the
ball in a position which wasn't dangerous to us. If I'm being generous I'd say
he was a tad unlucky and the boy Madine made a real meal of it, rolling around
as if he'd ben shot. If I'm being realistic I'd say Beradi is a brainless twat
whose reputation seems to have gone to his head. Too many red cards an
d reckless challenges. Playing the hard man is great but when it's costing us
games then I think the fans have to reassess his hero status. I'd actually say,
he ain't that good. On display of the red card, Madine jumped up and ran
towards the Leeds box for the free-kick. Beradi saw red and wanted to chin him
and headed towards him. I think it would have been a good scrap, the stocky
bull against the 6 ft 3 Madine. I think Beradi would have flattened him,
luckily Pennington intervened and Beradi was shown the tunnel.From the
resulting free-kick it was obvious we hadn't got a plan on to the pitch and a
Cardiff player (Morrison) had anotehr free header to put Cardiff 3-0 ahead at
the break. It wasn't all one way traffic in the first half and if there's one
thing about Cardiff they sit back and let you attack so we had lots of the ball
in midfield and as a result created some good chances. Lasogga had a great
right foot long distance effort parried onto the post by the Cardiff keeper -
unlucky and then the chance of the game as Lasogga headed against the bar
unmarked from 5 yards. The rebound came to the hapless Allioski who missed from
5 yards. Good save from the keeper but both Lasogga's header and Allioski's
shot should have ended up in the net. That's the second glaring miss from
Allioski in as many games. I have to admit, I nearly left at half-time. I've
only done that once before and that was at a friendly in Dublin against
Liverpool. Glad I stayed because at least we put up a fight in the second half
but you have to question why it took a bollocking at half-time for some players
to realise that they had to put themselves on the line or was it that Cardiff
just took it easy in the second half. They certainly took their foot off the
gas. Dallas came on and played as a right winger, De Bock moved into centre
back position alongside Pennington and actually looked more comfortable
although as I say, Cardiff had got their slippers and dressing gowns on by
then. H
ernandez was busy as always and he pushed forward and we began to cause them
problems. Roofe ran hard but to no great affect and Allioski actually started
to cause one or two problems. I think it was Dallas who got down the wing,
crossed low and with Roofe running in at the back post, Bamba tried to
intercept but ending up poking it into his own net. I think he was feeling
sorry for us. It raised our tempo and there was a belief that we could get back
into it and we continued to cause them half problems from good tempo and
effort. Pennington looked a different player and he was driving us forward from
the back. Why did it take us so long to start looking like a team ? It wasn't
nearly enough though and at times we struggled through players failing to
control simple balls - Roofe and Lasogga being the main culprits. If there was
ever a game which highlighted Kemar Roofe's deficiencies and weaknesses this
was it. Yes he ran round in the second half but how many times did he fall over,
mis-ontrol the ball or just lose possession. I think most fans realise that
he's not ready for the championship - will he ever be ? He's a young lad but in
the lower league I think he relied on his pace and athleticism but it's nothing
special in this division and you never see him out sprinting defenders. Then to
a pivotal moment in the game and in the season for me. TC decides to sub
Lasogga and bring on Sacko. Now you could say Lasogga was having just as bad a
game as Roofe - I don't think so and despite showing poor touch at times I
thought he worked hard and looked decent at times and you know that he has the
capability of getting on the ball and scoring. TC said post match that he took
Lasogga off because he wanted to use Roofe's pace up front and Sacko on the
right. FFS ! That tells me that the manager really doesn't know what he's
doing. The Lasogga substitution was greeted with the loudest boo of the season
followed by "You don't know what you're doing" aimed at TC. I have
n't heard that for a while and I was reminded of the Leeds v Sunderland game
when we were 3 down and the kop sang the same chant to Kevin Blackwell. He was
sacked the following day and I was a happy man. Would I like to see TC go the
same way ? I'm not sure. I think the suspensions and injuries (Pontus the
latest) are making life difficult but I think some of his team selections and
formations are suspect. I also think some of his tactics are a complete failure
especially the wish for the keeper to be a footballer and play 'intelligent'
balls out from the back. That put us under immediate pressure today and you
could see Forshaw and others gesturing towards Weidwald to ask 'What the f*ck
are you playing at ? - we're not good enough to be pissing about at the back.
The game petered out when Pilkington (inevitable) got their 4th and the ground
emptied. I have left games early about 5 times in my 40+ years of supporting
Leeds but as soon as that 4th went in I was off. Totally and utte
rly pissed off with the afternoon. The thing is I don't rate Cardiff. I think
they're a big , organised team but ultimately they will fail to get promotion
because they're not good enough. Given that I found it too hard to take that
they came to ER this afternoon and had the freedom of the park. A really bad
afternoon.Sncores:Wieldwald - 1. He may have had some decent games but does
anyone think this keeper is a championship keeper ? I think he's the weakest
link in the team. Beradi - 1. Brainless play that cost us the game. Idiot and
I'm fed up with the hard man image. De Bock - 3. Another player that I don't
think is suitable for the Championship. He may adapt but at the moment he's a
liability. Jansson - 4. Overwhelmed by the sheer amount of 6 footers he had to
mark. What was he doing in their box when he got injured ? and why did the
linesman not spot the foul. There was some really poor reffing today.
Pennington - 5. He was poor first half but he showed second half that he is a
decent defender and I believe he should be given a run to settle in. I think
he will make a good championship centre back. Forshaw - 6. Played with his back
to goal for most of the first half but he's a decent player and I think when
Siaz comes back he could link up well with him. Could be too late then though.
Hernandez - 6. I thought he battled and ran all day and created our best
chances. Not sure why he was playing on the left wing ?Vierra - 5. Steady but
nowhere near what we saw last season from him. Allioski - 5. Poor first half
but battled hard second half. Don't think he's good enough though and I think
he typifies our season - some highlights but not consistent and generally
lacking. Lasogga - 4. Should have scored and it could have been different
although I doubt it. Poor touch at times. Roofe - 3. Ineffective throughout.
Ran hard second half but ultimately a lack of pace, control and ability will
let him down at this level. Subs:Dallas - 5. You always think he's going to
have a big impact but he rarely does. Is he any good ? I'm not sure. Grot -
so here's the thing, Lasogga is subbed and we end up chasing a game with Grot
and Roofe up front. Is that what TC wants ? Clueless.TC - I think the crowd my
have turned and he's got hard games coming up. Not sure what the future holds
for him if I'm honest.Owners - I was looking around today and when you look a
the videos post match and the whole PR show that is now on offer at ER it turns
my stomach a bit. I'm not a fan and think Radrizzini has done a good PR job
with the Leeds fan so far but doe she really understand Leeds and does he
really have Leeds at heart. I'm not sure. Red wine going down fast tonight -
very depressed about the state of the club at the mo.
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