On the way to Leeds I tried to remember the last time I was so disinterested
in a Leeds game - I decided the answer was probably Lazio in Chumps League when
they were already out and we were already through, on that day the antics of
Ravinelli turned a non event into a decent evening out. This time it was the
ref and Grealish plus Villa in general
I felt all week that we would lose 3 0 and the team would be booed off at half
time and then by a half empty stadium at the end, and that certain players
would be singled out for abuse by Leeds fans, and that the only noise would be
Villa fans celebrating and taking the piss.
How wrong I was after a dodgy first ten minutes when they could have scored two
goals, we got our mojo back, the crowd was immense and it was all great fun
Yes this game, like so many others, did show where our problems lie - namely
converting our possession and (half) chances into goals, but I really enjoyed it
They were the masters of 'shit-housery' (copywright Talking Shutt podcast) -
diving, rolling around, dissent towards the ref etc etc. Clearly their game
plan was to disrupt our rhythm and break up play - hence the fact that we did
no kick it out when their player was 'injured'. As Rich says he was taken off
but I said at the time that after we let them score they had to do that -
imagine our reaction if he had been asking to come back on straightaway,which I
think he would have done otherwise.
I have moaned loads of times about teams kicking the ball out - it became such
a problem a few years ago that the FA or whoever makes the rules decided it was
up to the ref when it was a head injury, otherwise play on. I have no problem
with opponents kicking it out when it is clear the player is injured - think
David Busst or Henrik Larsson or even Alan Smith when feet are pointing the
wrong way or bones sticking out etc, other than that what difference will
waiting till the ball goes dead make ?
So firstly I think we were well within our rights to continue to play - I have
not seen it since but there is a suggestion that Roberts feigned to put the
ball out then sent it down the wing - whatever it was a great finish and we
celebrated it with style, a proper 'mental' . I cannot understand why we then
gave them the goal back - I did not see anyone saying Man City should have
missed the penatly or let the oppostion score when Stirling fell over his own
feet the other week !
I do think Pontus was a bit out of order in not obeying the team orders but I
think his attitude was correct
Even worse once play re-started one of theirs totally and deliberatley took one
of ours out - so where exactly does 'sportsmanship' and 'decency' start and
finish ?
I could not believe the lad (or even both of them) who grabbed Klich by the
throat after the goal did not get a red, rather than the lad who (did not?)
punch Bamford (agree he was bang out of order with his play-acting)
Many questions raised by their goal - would they have done the same ? Would we
have done it if we had needed to win ? What about if it affected other teams
around Villa ? Will a team do it in the final ? Imagine us v Villa, they score
an illegitimate goal - handball or yards offside and seen on the big screen
etc, will Dean Smith really tell them to let us score or will he try and claim
'that is different?'
Anyway back to the game, it was always spicy with Grealish showing why fans
want to run on the pitch a punch his lights out ! We huffed and puffed and had
some great goal mouth scrambles that really excited the capacity crowd, whilst
we always looked susceptible to a swift counter attack, again as Rich says
below they are a good team who looked big and strong but quick with it - a real
handful
We did however show that we still believe and put in a much better performance
than I was expecting - with Roberts perhaps doing enough to replace Harrison on
the wing for the remaining games and allowing both Forshaw and Phillips to play
Although I have bought my train tickets for Wembley I do not really think we
will get there and if we do it will become our 4th final defeat BUT what a
season it has been and Beilsa has just added to his legend with the 'free goal'
We now have 22,500 ST holders for next season and the club - (players, owners
and manager) have re-connected with both the fans and the city in general, so
the future does at least look happy, and as others have said I want promotion
but think this Division is miles better than the Premiership
So a fun day out and then a lot of beers post match as we discussed where it
has gone wrong and what to do for next season
As the shirt I wore yesterday said 'Keep the Faith' 'Leeds United Forever'
Dave
On Sunday, 28 April 2019, 17:11:38 BST, Richard Walker via Leedslist
<[email protected]> wrote:
Just got back from the maddest game I've ever seen. The ref from the start was
poor. I thought they could have had a couple of pens but overall the ref just
kept getting decisions wrong and missinges blatant fouls.
I think Villa are a decent team. Grealish and McGinn are tricky and inventive
in midfield and at the back I think they are really strong with Tuanzebe who
looked strong and quick. On one occassion in the first half he took the ball
from his own box right through to our box showing amazing speed and strength.
One thing to remember is that their top scorer and most dangerous player Tammy
Abraham wasn't playing today.
Cooper was booked for a strong tackle on Grealish and it's fair to say that
Grealish doesn't like it up him. He's one of those players that you can easily
knock off their game and today he wasn't that effective although you could
still see his ability.
We had a few chances in the first half but to be honest none were clear cut and
are shooting was just a continuation of Wigan ... over the bar or wide. With
Forshaw and Philips both playing it took me the best part of 30 minutes to work
out who had been dropped ? (Roberts) and to be honest although Forshaw and
Philips both had decent games, Bamford looked isolated and we rarely threatened
them. They too created little. Kiko made one decent save first half but really
didn't have much to do in the 97 minutes.
Second half, Bielsa made 2 good subs. Dallas was injured apparently and made
way for Beradi. Why was Dallas playing left back ? He isn't a defender never
mind a left back. Risky stuff from Bielsa. The ineffective Harrison made way
for Roberts.
The Leeds goal was high drama. The Villa striker (Kodja ??) when down after a
challenge with Cooper and the ball went to Roberts who looked like he was going
to put it out but instead he poked it forward to the unmarked Klich who took it
on and scored. He still had a lot to do. Yes the Villa players stopped but my
opinion is that the goal was valid. We were then treated to 10 minutes of
pushing, barging and arguing as the ref just stood back and observed. It looked
like there was a skirmish on the touchline as well with Bielsa already on a
yellow. When the game was restarted I thought it was weird seeing 3 Villa
players standing side by side next to the ball as they kicked off. They ran the
ball forward unchallenged then Jansson made a half hearted attempt to tackle
but we let them score. I've never seen that before.
So here's my opinion. Our goal was valid and we should not have let them score.
How many times have we been on the receiving end of bad decisions through the
years ? The Villa forward had been throwing himself to the ground all game and
continued to get up and play on. How were we to know that this was any
different (he did go off after this) ? In the pub afterwards there were quite a
few angry folk giving Bielsa stick as he was doing his Sky press conference.
Would Bielsa have done the same if we had needed 3 points for promotion ? Who
knows.
With Roberts on second half and Villa down to 10 men as a result of the melee
we started to stretch them but time and time again the ball went into the box
from Ayling and cleared easily. We did make their keeper make a decent save
late on but I never felt we were gonna score.
Overall, it was probably a fair result but I wouldn't fancy our chances against
this lot at Wembley.
Scores:
Kiko - 7. One good save first half but v.little to do other than some standard
collects.
Ayling - 7. He got forward a lot in both halves but his quality was low.
Dallas - 6. Didn't do a lot wrong playing completely out of position. Tried to
get forward with Harrison first half but it didn't really happen.
Jansson - 6. I thought he really had to battle hard first half and didn't
always win his battles.
Cooper - 7. Steady and solid.
Klich - 7. Good goal and hopefully that will give him some of his lost
confidence in front of goals back.
Hernandez - 7. Lively as always but all his shots were high / wide. Just
couldn't break Villa down.
Philips - 7. Put in some good work and good last ditch tackles.
Forshaw - 7. Was busy and covered a lot of ground. Had a couple of have decent
efforts.
Bamford - 4. Isolated and ineffective. I haven't seen the sending off incident
but there were a few in the pub saying it was disgusting,
Harrison - 3. Very poor.
Subs:
Roberts - 8. Did ok but against a knackered 10 men.
Beradi - 7. Steady at right back.
Bielsa - wins all the plaudits for his actions but for me we take the goal and
f'ck em. Nobody ever does Leeds any favours.
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