Well despite the train problems I actually got into Leeds a bit earlier than
normal and thankfully that gave me time for an extra pint - the one that puts
you just over the line drunk-wise, the pint that deadens the pain and blurs the
memory , the good pint on this occasion , because this was an occasion to not
see properly and to promptly forget
Pre match we were laughing about the free tickets for the Bolton game and
suggesting they were too expensive and they should be paying us !
The gallows humour and general shitness of the day was made worse by the fact
that Saiz, the only player worth watching was absent. Would the introduction of
Pearce make up for it ? Not a chance as he had as poor a debut as pretty much
anyone. I have seen him on TV for u23s and he has looked excellent but whether
it was being overawed, being part of a poor defence and team or just that he is
not good enough, I don't know. What I do know is that time and time again he
gave the ball away cheaply and seemed unable to win it back for us. To be fair
he did improve slightly in the second half before being subbed but it was a low
bar that he had set himself. Having said that I do hope we keep him in the team
to find out his real potential
Talking of potential I think BPF again did his long term prospects no harm - he
made the one save that he could from a long range shot first half and looked
composed. There was not much he could do with either goal so he must keep his
place for the rest of the season.
The game started in bright sunshine and we started Ok, then the game our
performance and the weather all deteriorated into an absolute nightmare. When
the board went up for time added on (at 1 1) everyone in the ground hoped for
1minute maximum so we could all just f'''k off home, but no the ref decided we
had to endure another 6 minutes of dross in the freezing cold, and , of course,
this allowed them to score the winner. The 6 mins was probably fair given the
number of subs and the ridiculous stoppage when one of theirs went down and the
ref stopped play just cos he was rolling around for a bit - not a head injury,
and quite clearly not a bad leg break or similar. When will referees and the
players stop falling for this tactic and let play go on?
As Rich says below Sheff Wed were as bad a team as we have seen all season and
yet we created almost nothing all game against them. First half a lovely
pre-practiced free kick routine (I wondered if our specialist had been sent
packing with TC) led to a great opening for Ekuban who should have buried it
but his lack of composure (and skill?) meant an easy save for the keeper. That
was pretty much it for the first half and 0 0 flattered both teams - neither
deserved a point at this stage
Second half as the snow fell heavily and visibility got worse we half hoped for
it to be abandoned, but only half since we did not want to come out again to
watch this game
Then with their first bit of play in our half, a ball was crossed in and
flicked on at the near post, instead of it going into the 6yd area as it was
supposed to it actually hit the far post, and this is where you can tell if you
are playing well or not, the ball instead of bouncing harmlessly away or to one
of ours, fell direct to their striker a couple of yards out for an easy tap in.
Luck really does desert you when you are crap
We did try and get back into it, a great dribbling run into the box by Alioski
did result in him being bundled to the ground, a good shout for a penalty ?
Then, miracle of miracles - a goal by Grot. As I have said before , this lad
should have started his Leeds career in the u23s, and probably would have if
Ekuban was not always injured, to give him a chance to settle in etc. Hopefully
this goal will both help his all round confidence and get the fans off his
back. A short corner was played back to Pablo who floated the ball in and Grot
using all his height for once , rose up and nodded it home 1 -1
Could we go on and win in worsening conditions against an awful team? Of
course not, this is Leeds 2018 and a disaster waiting to happen
The lino puts up the board for 6 minutes and fans started to drift away when
they played a straight forward big hoof from the back, Pontus half jumped but
it went over his head, no worry there was Pennington behind him ready to clear
up, but no, the slightest of touches by their striker put him on his arse, you
have to be much much stronger than that, and that left the striker through to
slot home with a good finish and it was goodnight Vienna. Another home loss to
a dreadful team - it is hard to explain quite how bad they were and yet we lost
to them !
A special mention to Forshaw yesterday, he was MOM by a mile and looked really
good again but is hampered and limited by those around him
Where do we go from here ? No idea, but a lot of work is needed and we need to
replace a lot of players
DaveRoll on a week on Friday and Bolton game (glutton for punishment, me)
From: Richard Walker <[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>; Michael Benjamin <[email protected]>
Cc: Leeds List <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, 17 March 2018, 19:24
Subject: Re: [LU] Oh great
Too right Dr Mike, they were trying, trying their arses off but isn't it
completely obvious that most of the players in that team are nowhere near good
enough to play in a team who has top 6 ambitions. We've relied heavily on Siaz
and Hernandez this season and when they've been absent or having a nightmare as
Hernandez did today we look clueless.
I was supposed to be staying out in Leeds for a few beers tonight but after
that I just did a swerve for the train and I am now sat a bit happier with my
glass of vino tinto.
But reflecting, just makes this worse. One fact, which I'm sure everyone who
was at the game today will state is that Sheff Wed were the poorest team that
have come to ER this season and yes that includes Burton. They were clueless,
slow and had a big lump up front who gave us more problems that he should have.
George Boyd who I thought was a decent player looks finished and in general
they looked like a team incapable of winning this match.
So what does that say about us ? For me, Hecky is turning us into Barnsley. I
don't see any signs that he is having a positive affect ? There's been
absolutely no 'new manager affect' and if anything I see a system and players
that appear far more pedestrian than they did under the hapless Thomas
Christiansen. Hecky's main changes have been the keeper (yes that was forced)
and bringing back Dallas and Ekuban. It hasn't worked and today and whilst Dr
Mike was right in that there was clearly a lot of effort there was nobody
capable of hurting Wednesday.
Their goals were really worrying. Pennington for me has failed. I thought he
looked like a player but their second showed he hasn't got the strength or the
defensive nouse to be a top defender. You also have to ask where he was for the
first goal ? The defence was all over the shop today not helped by bringing in
a yound lad for his debut. Like a lot of modern day, young defenders, Pearce
looks the part and to give him credit he showed second half that he has a nice
left foot, but FFS he's a defender and to be honest I think I know how to
defend better than him and the number of times he put his defence under
pressure with stupid back passes. A poor debut for me.
I was hoping it might get snowed off second half. It was a miserable afternoon
even a goal from Grot couldn't cheer things up. He's worth a start now though
and I do think with confidence he will make it despite some horror shows this
season.
Scores:
Farelly Peacock - 5. Made a couple of saves. He's not the answer for me though.
Beradi - 4. Tried as captain to get things going but he couldn't also suspect
defending.
Pearce - 3. Poor defending. He's not in the team to play 40 yard left foot
passes.
Jansson - 5. I thought he looked shaky but not surprising given his co-defenders
Pennington - 2. Really poor. I think he will going back to everton at the end
of the season and they wil surely terminate his contract if they've been
watching him.
Forshaw - 7. I thought that was possibly his best game for us. He really worked
his arse off and actually drove forward whe he could.
O'Kane - 2. Did he do owt ?
Dallas - 2. Come on Hecky ? You've given this guy a chance but he's clearly got
nothing to offer. A totally average player. In fact average is flattering him.
Hernandez - 5. Had more of the ball than anyone but he just kept giving it
away. Not a good day for Pablo.
Allioski - 5. First half he tried but just didn't have the ability to hurt them.
Ekuban - 1. Had the chances , missed them. Poor.
Subs:
Lasogga - did make a difference
Grot - scored . I think that's the 7th goal of his career
Philips - why ?
Crowd - big, cold and pissed off.
Hecky - if Cellino was in charge he'd be a gonner and that might not be a bad
call ?
More red wine for me ...
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RIP Jimmy WAC-COE
