Well, that was tough to watch today, yet watch I did ... it was almost as painful as watching Harry Hill's TV Burp!! We really made Wendys look a lot better than they actually are, but they will soon get back to normal, hopefully with Gray getting the job permanently. Now, on to the more pressing issue, our struggles of late.
Firstly, let's look at the real problem, which is the diseased club Bates left us with ... Haigh is slowly draining the poison from where Bates dug his fangs into us, but we're not at full health just yet. We still have some rotten bits floating about, but come June most of the rubbish will be gone. Just think:
Michael Brown
David Norris
Luke Varney
Paul Green
Adam Drury
Danny Pugh
El Hadj Diouf
Michael Tonge
Jamie Ashdown
Imagine all these wage eaters off our books in the summer, either because their contracts are up or we move them on. This is almost an entire team of non-contributors who simply aren't good enough for Leeds United. Not one of these were signed by McD. But its not just these that have caused our club to suffer long term illness. Think of these geniuses who did nothing to help our club progress:
Paynter
O'Brien
Rachubka
Kilkenny
Hughes
O'Dea
Bruce
Habibou
Morison
etc etc etc
You getting the picture? And what about talent totally wasted by inept managers? Such as:
Barkley
Livermore
Townsend
Bannan
etc etc etc
And talent shipped out instead of building with them:
Howson
Snodgrass
Beckford
Gradel
Becchio
etc etc etc
Yep, Bates really messed us up, and muppets like Grayson and Warnock did very little to improve things. Their collective handiwork came home to roost these past few weeks. Today was awful, very difficult to watch, yet I didn't feel as despondent as I thought I might. Why? Because I still believe we have the right manager who just needs the time to build HIS team. What was worse than today? Sitting in the upper tier of the East Stand on a freezing Tuesday night watching us race into a 4-1 lead against a poor Preston, only to end up losing 6-4 - you see I knew Grayson was incapable of taking us forward even before that game, and so it proved. Then there is the scouting system that was dismantled by Bates and allowed to happen by the managers, the ridiculous setup at Thorp Arch, etc etc etc.
So what happened against the Wendys? Let's start with the engine room ... Austin and Mowatt were both maseively off the pace, and both looked decidedly jaded ... Mowatt is understandable, he is still a baby and this is a tough division to learn in, but who do you rest him for? And rest doesn't mean one game either, it means two or three ... Austin is more of a concern, he is looking like a 20-games a season player right now, and he could do with a few games on the bench, but who comes in?
Our wing-backs didn't work today because they are, well, just very average players, and their inability to bring the wingers into the game highlighted their shortcomings, although the midfielders losing possession and territory didn't help at all.
The central defenders were under serious pressure all game because Wendys had players running at them from all directions, and Mowatt/Austin simply didn't have the legs to keep up and defend in front of them. Very hard when spare runners pop up all the time, including their full backs who got beyond Pugh/Peltier far too easily.
The red card robbed us of the chance to see if a 4-4-2 would have changed things, although in this match all I could see happening was long balls from the back up to Smith ... we struggled to keep the ball, and were nowhere in terms of creativity, showing us the problems we have in midfield right now. But who to pick? Tonge? Norris? Green? Brown? Oh fcuk it!!
McD is very good manager, much better than Warnock or Grayson before him. I would like to see him stay to the end of next season, giving him the time he needs to rebuild our club and squeeze the last of the poison out of us. He is intelligent, a gentleman, and someone we can trust. I really like him as a person, and I like him as a manager. He is honest, and he takes responsibility rather than blame Tom Lees or bang his secretary. McD is doing his best to bring the club together and put the bricks in place, one by one, but these things take time, especially when you're hampered by having so many poor players still in contract.
So let's look to the future ... the transfer window promises at least another couple of signings, and this will help us a lot, as these will no doubt influence the spine of the team now that we have wingers in place. Our season isn't over just yet, but I'll admit its not looking clever. Tactically McD is forced to make decisions according to the players available to him, and particularly those he trusts, or shall I say trusted? And for me there it is, the big issue ... McD has defended his players time and again, taking the responsibility squarely on his shoulders, but this will definitely be the last straw.
In his post debacle interview he said the players were going to be in tomorrow morning to reassess their performances and discuss the way forward. He made it clear that he was "going back to basics with this group of players." And he is right. The players have abused his trust and protection, and now they need to go back to school and learn that this is just not acceptable, regardless of which club you play for. Let's see who steps up to the plate and who wilts. McD will find out who will be in his squad next season at the very least. Still a lot to play for.
And so to next season. We are going to need at least nine new players in the summer, and although they may all be quality signings, the problem is can we put together a team that gels quickly and competes? At the end of this transfer window I'll start a thread dedicated to looking at the summer potential ins and outs, and we can then discuss the new problems facing McD. For now we must stick together, shrug off this recent dissapointment and back our manager ... he is after all a very good manager and he will get it right, no thanks to Bates!!
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Firstly, let's look at the real problem, which is the diseased club Bates left us with ... Haigh is slowly draining the poison from where Bates dug his fangs into us, but we're not at full health just yet. We still have some rotten bits floating about, but come June most of the rubbish will be gone. Just think:
Michael Brown
David Norris
Luke Varney
Paul Green
Adam Drury
Danny Pugh
El Hadj Diouf
Michael Tonge
Jamie Ashdown
Imagine all these wage eaters off our books in the summer, either because their contracts are up or we move them on. This is almost an entire team of non-contributors who simply aren't good enough for Leeds United. Not one of these were signed by McD. But its not just these that have caused our club to suffer long term illness. Think of these geniuses who did nothing to help our club progress:
Paynter
O'Brien
Rachubka
Kilkenny
Hughes
O'Dea
Bruce
Habibou
Morison
etc etc etc
You getting the picture? And what about talent totally wasted by inept managers? Such as:
Barkley
Livermore
Townsend
Bannan
etc etc etc
And talent shipped out instead of building with them:
Howson
Snodgrass
Beckford
Gradel
Becchio
etc etc etc
Yep, Bates really messed us up, and muppets like Grayson and Warnock did very little to improve things. Their collective handiwork came home to roost these past few weeks. Today was awful, very difficult to watch, yet I didn't feel as despondent as I thought I might. Why? Because I still believe we have the right manager who just needs the time to build HIS team. What was worse than today? Sitting in the upper tier of the East Stand on a freezing Tuesday night watching us race into a 4-1 lead against a poor Preston, only to end up losing 6-4 - you see I knew Grayson was incapable of taking us forward even before that game, and so it proved. Then there is the scouting system that was dismantled by Bates and allowed to happen by the managers, the ridiculous setup at Thorp Arch, etc etc etc.
So what happened against the Wendys? Let's start with the engine room ... Austin and Mowatt were both maseively off the pace, and both looked decidedly jaded ... Mowatt is understandable, he is still a baby and this is a tough division to learn in, but who do you rest him for? And rest doesn't mean one game either, it means two or three ... Austin is more of a concern, he is looking like a 20-games a season player right now, and he could do with a few games on the bench, but who comes in?
Our wing-backs didn't work today because they are, well, just very average players, and their inability to bring the wingers into the game highlighted their shortcomings, although the midfielders losing possession and territory didn't help at all.
The central defenders were under serious pressure all game because Wendys had players running at them from all directions, and Mowatt/Austin simply didn't have the legs to keep up and defend in front of them. Very hard when spare runners pop up all the time, including their full backs who got beyond Pugh/Peltier far too easily.
The red card robbed us of the chance to see if a 4-4-2 would have changed things, although in this match all I could see happening was long balls from the back up to Smith ... we struggled to keep the ball, and were nowhere in terms of creativity, showing us the problems we have in midfield right now. But who to pick? Tonge? Norris? Green? Brown? Oh fcuk it!!
McD is very good manager, much better than Warnock or Grayson before him. I would like to see him stay to the end of next season, giving him the time he needs to rebuild our club and squeeze the last of the poison out of us. He is intelligent, a gentleman, and someone we can trust. I really like him as a person, and I like him as a manager. He is honest, and he takes responsibility rather than blame Tom Lees or bang his secretary. McD is doing his best to bring the club together and put the bricks in place, one by one, but these things take time, especially when you're hampered by having so many poor players still in contract.
So let's look to the future ... the transfer window promises at least another couple of signings, and this will help us a lot, as these will no doubt influence the spine of the team now that we have wingers in place. Our season isn't over just yet, but I'll admit its not looking clever. Tactically McD is forced to make decisions according to the players available to him, and particularly those he trusts, or shall I say trusted? And for me there it is, the big issue ... McD has defended his players time and again, taking the responsibility squarely on his shoulders, but this will definitely be the last straw.
In his post debacle interview he said the players were going to be in tomorrow morning to reassess their performances and discuss the way forward. He made it clear that he was "going back to basics with this group of players." And he is right. The players have abused his trust and protection, and now they need to go back to school and learn that this is just not acceptable, regardless of which club you play for. Let's see who steps up to the plate and who wilts. McD will find out who will be in his squad next season at the very least. Still a lot to play for.
And so to next season. We are going to need at least nine new players in the summer, and although they may all be quality signings, the problem is can we put together a team that gels quickly and competes? At the end of this transfer window I'll start a thread dedicated to looking at the summer potential ins and outs, and we can then discuss the new problems facing McD. For now we must stick together, shrug off this recent dissapointment and back our manager ... he is after all a very good manager and he will get it right, no thanks to Bates!!
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
