Parts were promising, I keep having to tell myself this was Bradford we were playing and if they can score two might have been three it is worrying. Nunez is very promising, not the finished article and you can see why he wouldn't start every week, needs to badly work on that left foot. Bradford soon had him worked out but good goal. McCormack played better second half, Clayton deserved mom (I was his worse critic on Saturday) but Parker, O'Brien and Conolly, shocking and words can't describe how bad which angers me that this wasn't addressed pre season. Howson another who I felt should have done better considering the opponents and Brown better than Saturday but hasn't convinced me he is a good enough signing yet. Going back to Parker nothing was good about him, positioning poor, tackling rubbish and constantly placed Lonergran under pressure with the back passing. He always wanted another 5 seconds on the ball and I cringed everytime it went out to him.
Your keeper would never of saved the 3 goals that soton scored past leeds on Saturday... i know!! he was in Reading ****ing hard from there
O'Brien ****s it up for everyone and puts every other defender under pressure due to his constant blunders. Absolute useless crock of **** he is, he should never play for us again. Lees and Kissa should have been together there from start of season and then we will see a different Leeds team. Soton finishing was top class on Sat, not taking that away from them, but O'Brien allowed them to get in those positions.
well you cant both be right simon how many more than 5 would leeds have conceded with Kasper ? dont bed well for you lot this season then if thats what your telling me that Lonergran kept the scores down
Honestly I don't think the scores would have been different. None of the 5 goals were Lonergan's fault and he only had to make a couple of saves. Against Soton we were undone by extremely accurate finishing. Same against Bradford, they had 3 attempts on target, one was a comfortable catch and the other 2 went in.
Lonergan - 5 - average. Kicking was nothing special and if he'd had a good game, he could have done more about the second goal. Parker - 2 - awful defender and only made two tackles all game. He needs to be cut loose. I'd rather have seen Bessone. Kisnorbo - 5 - average. Bit out of position for the first goal and beaten in the air a few times. He's still sharpening up so it's to be expected I guess. O'Brien - 3 - failed to make the tackles and interceptions though he played the ball quite nicely at times. Connolly - 5 - average. Got destroyed by Syers at one point, though I didn't think he did much wrong otherwise and bombed forward well. Brown - 6 - made the simple pass when needed, but didn't really imprint himself on the game. Did an acceptable job, I'm not complaining. Clayton - 9 - magical. Other than scoring, he couldn't have done much more. If he plays like that every game, he'll be in team of the season. Passing (both short and long-range), tackling and pressure/positioning were all spot on. Howson - 5 - roamed a lot and looked a bit out of position, as I anticipated, to blow my own trumpet somewhat. Nunez - 7 - lost the ball a bit and reminded me of an early Gradel: a bit brainless at times but some touches of brilliance. Two goals and lots of chances so you can't complain. Sam - 6 - always drove forward and did what he does. Workmanlike stuff, though I'm not sure he'd have got as much time from Championship fullbacks. McCormack - 7 - worked hard, got his goal and struck some belters. Needs the ball playing to his feet which means he struggles sometimes in that lone striker position. It didn't affect his game hugely tonight. Others: Lees - 8 - didn't put a foot wrong and played a great cross for Ross. Bromby - 5 - nothing to say, as usual with Leigh. Taylor - CBA. Main culprits for the goals had to be Parker and O'Brien, I thought. The front six looked very good and I was glad to see more desire and pressure in the second half. Clayton amazing and fully deserved man of the match - striking up a good little duo with Michael Brown which I hope will continue. Shame Ramon won't get 90 minutes on Saturday; it's so hard to judge whether he'd be more effective than Howson! All in all, a pretty entertaining cup tie which was always going to be a difficult one when you're playing a team whose demanding fans boo loudly every time 'Marching on Together' is sung by Leeds fans and whenever Grayson pops up on the big screen. We still need two or three players in and I don't think this squad will be a promotion challenger, though there were signs that good things could come of these players.
Good management from SG tonight. Fielded a strong team which was necessary against a Bradford side who were really up for it and well backed. I'll admit I was wrong earlier when I suggested an almost complete change from the Southampton lot. Asked them to press more after half time and identified that as an area to work on. That was what helped change the game. Made two decent substitutions, especially Lees at right-back. Gave the attacking midfield trio very free roles, backed by Clayton and Brown who look like they're made for each other based on that performance. Shame about some individual human errors by our less talented defenders but Grayson did a very good job. Were you singing 'you're getting sacked in the morning' with the City fans when they were 1-2 up Clivey?
Did you enjoy Mr Positivity's 4-6-0 formation and him bringing on a teenage left back for a striker, so we finished the game 5-5-0 at home to League 2 Bradford City?
Yes. I actually had to leave the match early because it aroused me so much that families around me began to complain.
