Here's my opinion of the game as I saw it from the live link to my Mars satellite relay station located on the far side of Jupiter where I'm holidaying in my home away from home. With respects to all opinions, I don't believe Berardi was at fault for their goal. Newell was in middle on his own, he was Coopers man if anything, Berardi had to come in from behind where he was keeping an eye on the player behind him. Mowatt, who saw the player on his own just continued ambling along like it was a Sunday afternoon stroll around Shaks pub waiting for a beer delivery, he should've been in there a lot quicker when he saw the danger man on his own. Scrappy game imo with neither team settling into a decent pattern of football, it wasn't hard to see why Rotherham are bottom (were) if that's how they play every game, and like Chesh said, we got dragged into a dog fight. As scrappy as the game was Rotherham seemed to have the better of our midfield (no surprises there then) we just cannot seem to dominate the midfield; out of the 4 midfielders, Dallas was the only one doing anything constructive, the rest were on Pluto mimicking bill and Ben and little weed. Mowatt was awfull (normal after a wonder strike), Murphy did very little and Cook did even less. All 3 need to be dropped and rested so we can give our other midfield players a chance to offer something different, like making through passes to our strikers, or actually positioning themselves in midfield and getting back to help our defence. Mowatt had one decent shot,........................ if he was trying to hit the corner flag that is (ghost of Austin returns) Once Mowatt and Cook F-off I guarantee we'll see a bigger and better difference in our midfield. I thought Bellusci, Cooper and Berardi all had decent games and Wootton was just being a Wootton. Wood, get rid of, useless and a waste of a position. I think it's time to start starting Botaka on one side and Dallas on other, bring Sloth, Bianchi/Adeyemi back into midfield, untill Evans spots the problems in midfield, just like other coaches didn't, we're going to continue to have the same problems; mind you, I said that quite a few matches ago too. Silvestri, not at fault for the goal, pulled off a couple of good saves that stopped the scoreline going into plural stats. Antenucci was his busy self but could've/should've done better with a couple of shots, having said that, service to our strikers from middle is as scarce as a virgin having twins. Best's elbow into Berardi's face was deliberate imo, and after Berardi shoved Best, Best just laughed, you could see he knew what he'd done deliberately. Not often you see Berardi lose his cool, but a deliberate elbow into the face would've blown a gasket in most steam engines. Bellusci and a Rotherham player had their little spat, why players kiss each other at the forehead is confuddling, maybe it's a new way to show you're happy to see someone, or an updated modern version of the eskimo kiss. Scrappy game all up, a draw at best would've been fair, although we did have our chances to steal all 3 points.
Right, chores all done, so it's assessment time ... Today's performances: Silvestri: Couple of very good saves. Came for the ball when required. I confirm what Leeds60 has noted about Cooper looking after the lad. Seems to have helped him regain his confidence. As I mentioned elsewhere, his distribution is still lacking, though is improved. He achieves more distance now, and I think that focus is affecting his accuracy. It's all good news IMO. He seems to be back on track. I've always liked him as a 'keeper. People tend to forget how young he is. Deffo a work in progress. Wootton: Bellusci: Took a battering from Best & managed to keep his temper. Changed days. Locked foreheads with another striker later on, and I thought there were going to be another 2 red cards. He was lucky though. Perhaps it's not changed days! He was largely good today, but lost concentration at times. He was chasing about, out of position when the goal came. I blame Berardi for not covering, but tbh, it was Bellusci that caused the gap in the defence in the first place. Then again, if we had midfielders tracking back properly, he wouldn't have felt the need to harry all over the place like a DM. Berardi: Sleeping for their goal. Unfairly sent off IMO. Evans stated that the managers have been instructed that red cards are at the refs' discretion for a push, & he will appeal it on the basis that it was most severely provoked. Will be sorely missed if the appeal fails (which we all know it will, us being Leeds ). Dallas: I know Shaks thinks he did well, but I was shocked when I noticed him on the park on the 20 minute mark. I hadn't realised that he's been picked! I thought he was quite poor, often anonymous, and certainly, for me, has never matched the hype. Today was the case in point. He was very poor IMO. (Botaka): I have no idea why this lad is not starting. He didn't get much game time today, and he rarely received a pass - but when he did get the ball, things happened! OK, the things were not always perfect football, but he created panic in their defence, and is always capable of scoring. We just need to give him more game time, and keep him wide on the right. Murphy: I have decided that he must go. Totally inconsistent from match to match, and often goes to sleep. Should have scored today, too! He's had his chance. Time to move over & give someone else a chance. (Adayemi): Did ok, given the circumstances when he came on. Still think this lad has bags of potential & hope he gets plenty game time. Think he will come on leaps & bounds if we sign a barsteward destroyer in midfield that scares the living daylights out of the opposition (and our team too). Cook: Quiet-ish today. At his best running at defences, but had little opportunity to do this today. Suspect Redders had more to do with this than Cook. (Erwin): Not enough game time to assess him, tbh. Looked lively & interested. Not sure if he has the maturity (or the skill!) to lead the line, but must be worth a try, surely? Mowatt: I don't mind if he does nothing in a match then scores, but he didn't score. Most of our attacks seemed to go through him on the left (would you trust Wootton on the right?), and didn't come to much. I realise that I'm not a pro football coach/scout, but wtf does Evans see in him? I think Evans just hopes he regains his form & is trying to build up his confidence again. Perhaps I as an amateur should just shut up about him. Wood: Should have scored with his nut late on in the game today. Golden chance. Screwed it up. There's something really wrong with his timing when he jumps to head a ball. Can no-one in the coaching team see that? End result is that he is useless heading the ball. If he does manage it, there's no predicting where it'll go. Not much better when he tries to chest the ball either. And don't start me on his passing. A hamstrung dwarf with a club foot could do better. Absolutely shocking. Should be dropped until he gets the basics right. I'd rather see Evans pull on his shirt! Antenucci: Should have bagged 2 today. Both easy chances. Hive of industry, but really disappointed he didn't take his chances. Would still be my first name on the teamsheet for the next game, right enough. Referee: Where do they dig them up from? This one insisted we went back about 22 yards (ok, maybe only 16) for one free kick. It was ridiculously obvious that he got it wrong. He even had the crowd counting out the paces for him for every subsequent free kick. Missed so much & if it wasn't for his single functioning assistant, we'd have got even less (the other one was as crap as he was!).
No sarcasm in Redders comments then, Rotherham United manager Neil Redfearn: "This is sweet, it has been tough. Leeds fans will probably be as happy as Rotherham fans tonight. "It was a real battling performance and I thought we wanted it more than Leeds today. "When it mattered we wanted it more than them and that was apparent."
Shaks, I'd love Dallas to be a great success. Everyone banged on about us getting wingers, as they were the final link in the chain etc. I was never convinced (hence previous Alf Ramsey comments), and I honestly believe the team has got worse since the wingers have arrived. Dallas & Buckley have been disappointments for me. I didn't expect much from Bokata, but tbh, he's been a breath of fresh air. Perhaps it's because we expect less of him, being an unknown young foreigner. The other thing is that I've been out of the country for a month, so perhaps I've missed seeing any improvements. But I still expected more form Dallas yesterday. And going by th fct that he got hooked, clearly so did Evans. Did you really think his performance was that good?
Maybe some of these picked and unpicked players have certain clauses in their contracts, we all remember Antenucci and his contract trigures last year and give him his due, he never once kicked off about it. He might have behind closed doors but out in the open a true professional. Wood, Buckley and Dallas have all disappointed me, just a thought, if we insist on squeezing Mowatt into the side play him up front sitting just behind a front man. Personally I would drop him but then there are several players constant inclusions that puzzle me.
On three occasions Silvestri hooked goal kicks left and the ball landed 10m short of the half way line and was hooked on by the player that was luckily stood there. So **** knows what you were watching. Ok so only two of the four defenders were ****, but when you add that to the defensively ****e midfield that's a million miles from where we need to be. The chance wood squandered wasn't a challenged header the defender didn't contest the ball. Powder puff was out muscled before the header. Rotherham as Redfearn always did came for 0-0 with the vague hope they would possibly get a chance, against our ****e they were always going to score one and we were never going to score. Can you explain why for the first half all our players were stood on the side of the pitch furthest away from you? You must have noticed? It was weird and none productive. Looked like schoolboys all gathering round the ball.
Morning Shaks. Laffertys not coming and never was according to the Norwich manager. Was only ever one phone call asking if he was available. Why would anyone worth a damn want to join our current mess anyway. Wouldnt be for the money, atmosphere or free flowing football
Only viable option to play Mowatt as a 10 would be play ant up front, drop Wood ( we wouldn't miss him)! Botaka should be the first name on our team sheet.
Redfearn confirms Leeds Utd would not grant him a car park pass today "it's a bit childish" was his reply.
