We've discussed the defensive problems we've had under the Grayson to death, but in the last few games, we've not been at our usual attacking heights at all. Our main creative player Clayton has looked Howsonesque and our main goalscorer McCormack has stopped firing. We all know about the situation with Becchio's operation and his sluggish play since coming back from it this season. But why are Clayton and McCormack looking so mediocre all of a sudden? Mental weakness leading to a shortage of confidence after one or two poor performances? Grayson asking Clayton to sit deeper in midfield and therefore unable to create as much? McCormack getting tired already? Simply uninspired and not motivated to do as well as they did earlier on? Or not getting enough cover/support from the players around them? I just can't place it. I think McCormack's is almost certainly one of low confidence, but Clayton is a real mystery after his energetic box-to-box displays and classy passing earlier on. We've got to start scoring again, starting at Barnsley on Saturday. With a defence as frail as ours, we've got to score more than your average team to even stand a chance of finishing in the top half.
Not to be a dick. But i've maintained that McCormack's goals earlier in the season was a purple patch. I don't rate the lad and never have done, he's never been prolific (apart from the start of this season of course) anywhere he's been. I think Clayton's quality, but like Wellens, I think he'll come good again. Clayton seemed to be the core of your side, as Wellens is with ours, which could be a contributing factor to your recent stutter?
I should say 'our main creative midfielder' for Clayton; obviously Snodgrass is our main creator overall, but he's not the playmaker you expect to see in the middle of the park linking things up. Earlier in the season, he was the complete midfielder and could tackle, pass and shoot as well as anyone I've seen in a Leeds shirt. People have suggested that Grayson's asked him to sit deeper and maybe that is it. But nonetheless I'd still expect more from him than I saw against Reading, for instance. Hopefully Michael Brown can provide that support in the next couple of games. I'm actually starting to be quite impressed with him. And I've said a couple of times that I think McCormack's a striker who massively depends on getting those purple patches you mention. He's still a good striker for this level, but overall it doesn't say a lot for his mental resilience. Then again, he's not getting fed as well as he could be. It's a vicious circle really. We try to be more defensive, but keep conceding and therefore score less too.
What I meant was, when Leeds are in possession is it usually Clayton that the team try find? So he can find Snodgrass on the wing or play McCormack through. That's what we do with Wellens but he's been pure ****e.
Clayton is young, and this is his first serious season at this level so he is still adjusting physically. He will be better next season.
If we're playing it from the back, it's usually a hopeful punt from Kisnorbo or they try to find Snoddy on the right. Clayton's looked a lot less involved. I've not been at Derby or Watford, so it's hard to say whether he's been given good service there, but at the Barnsley, Reading and Millwall games, he just played the simple pass rather than bombing forward with it or looking for the through ball. When he wasn't being bypassed by the hoofers at the back, that is. I think it should also be noted that he's not playing with Jonny Howson any more since his injury, and they'd forged a pretty effective partnership in midfield. He's been next to Pugh and Brown of late and that's a midfield relationship they'll have to work on before it clicks immediately. I hope Grayson gives him the licence to bomb forward again though, something that would be helped by bring back the 4-2-3-1 formation that has always worked for us. That's a good point, but at the age of 23 in two weeks' time, he can't be excused as a vulnerable youngster any more. He seems to have a very mature attitude judged by his interviews and stature on the pitch, so I'd have hoped he'd look a bit more hardy when things have been going against us. Still overall a very good player, and we've got to live in hope that he actually will be here next season!
1) We lack an inspired leader on the pitch 2) I don't believe the players are all 100% behind Grayson, I don't believe Grayson knows his best 11 or formation 3) I don't believe we get the training right 4) It doesn't matter how good or bad some players play, you can look at the bench and know a certain player is going to get substituted (McCormack usually) I feel we could cure McCormack by playing him wide left, he wouldn't be expected to score the goals so much. If McCormack doesn't score we moan he isn't scoring yet if Keough doesn't score we say it is okay as he creates them, well as far as I can tell Keough isn't doing either at the moment. Maybe we are all expecting far too much from a team that on paper is above average but certainly not serious contenders for promotion, an outside chance yes.
Agree with tha Ristac. Would also add we need someone to put in those incicive shot inviting balls into the box. main concern - Speed. We look so slow when building up attacks and pass it about so much that the opposition just snuff out our attacks now. McCormack is very good when he has space and can jump on a good pass to score (not had a decent ball in to get on the end of) Clayton..... I dunno, looks good still.... Maybe we need to start pressing these other teams, suck them in , create space and hit em hard and fast on the break. (The team's looking tired and slow)
I think that McCormack has stopped firing because keogh has lost his starting spot to becchio (for some unknown reason to me), just because it fails for 2 or 3 games doesnt mean it is always going to fail, plus grayson should've rested mccormack earlier in the season to bring him back down to earth when he was scoring. Clayton i think has a little to do with Howson going out to be honest, everyone has said howson is playing badly this season but i have always disagreed with that statement, he's simply playing a different role which allows clayton more time to create. Brown hasn't been able to do this, and i also think that clayton was another player that may have needed a rest as well and someone we were relying on far too much for a player that was very new to the championship. It also does have a great deal to do with a loss in form of the whole team, when we win 4-0 and its a great alround performance its always hard to pick a man of the match but it works vice-versa as well.
I think our team is very much like McCormack overall. When we're confident and playing well we're unstoppable, but when confidence is down and we're on a bad run nothing seems to go right.
You don't rest players to bring them down to earth when they are scoring goals, you leave them playing and scoring. If Grayson had rested McCormack when he was scoring and we hit this slump we would be blaming it on that. You never know when a player is going to stop scoring. McCormack is still second leading scorer, our problem is not enough goals from midfield and certainly not enough from a second striker. If we had Gradel playing and another 6-8 goals and another striker sitting on 8 goals I dare say we would be up there challenging. Clayton has had several stinkers with Howson on the pitch so I can't agree with this. We have had a couple of International breaks, we have only played 15 games since October 1st it works out at 1.25 games a week, I think Clayton was suspended anyway for one of those. He should not be tired however I do believe we lack quality and someone to shine when he isn't performing and a captain who can inspire him and a few others to perform week in and week out. Snodgrass - Goal against Forest, two against Millwall, late equaliser against Watford but now two defeats and no goals from within the team. What would you do now, rest him or say we need him? - Just using this as an example pointing out you just don't know when a players form is going to dip for 3-4 games or when they are going to hit a dry spell.
I hope the old saying is true, Wait for a bus (or Goal) for ages then three come all at once. Hopefully we'll start firing again and batter Barnsley. (as he takes off the rose tinted glasses)
While Clayton is a key part to our midfield and I agree he will come good again, he's got far too much class and the lion's share of the right attitude, I think we're missing Howson more than people are willing to admit. He's been a bit anonymous alongside Clayton but his "leadership" (if you can call it that) is definitely missing. He also put in a shift that allowed Clayton to be more creative. Brown doesn't appear to be doing that as well, in fact it would appear Brown is taking the spotlight and doing most of the creation, to little effect.
I'd say that McCormack was going through a great goal scoring run, but was never going to keep that up. I don't think that him being subbed early most games since the Brighton game has helped his confidence, but he's a 15-20 goal a season (at most) for me, rather than a 20-30, which with his early form was were he was heading. Clayton has been way overrated. He started the season on fire, but has he actually been that good since October?
He has been okay but nothing special hence why the absence of Howson has nothing to do with Claytons dip in my opinion. Maybe Clayton hasn't dipped, maybe he was just above and beyond at the start of the season? The Clayton we are seeing now is more how I expected him to be at best after watching his outings last year. I was amazed and pleased at his early season showing but alas he hasn't managed to sustain that effort.
I just can't understand why if a player can play like that, they aren't playing like that. It's down to how fired up they are in the end, and no one at the club is doing that successfully. All their energy is probably spent kissing Bates shoes.
At the start of the season nobody had heard of Clayton and now he is doing well he is a marked man. Thats probaly part of the reason he is doing aswell. It will take him time to learn how to adapt But McCormack is crap
A manager's job is to be proactive, not reactive. If it was obvious to me, then it damn well shoulda been obvious to Grayson, he should be able to see things when fans cant. He shouldn't really care whether fans are going to blame him or not, this is his problem, he worries about the fans starting to chant at him to bring McCormack on or Becchio on. I said he shoulda been rested after the brighton game, he thought his position wasn't able to be taken from him and as i said, he shoulda been rested to be brought back down to earth. It wouldn't have looked like he was being dropped, more just rested but when he finally did leave the first team, he was actually dropped. And Clayton is another player who i feel shoulda been rested but then i also thought howson shoulda been rested. Grayson doesnt use his squad, he plays his first team regardless of the situation, he needs to have more faith in his fringe players imo. The squad is there to be used
