First of all lads I just wanna send my condolences on today's results - although I'm not complaining in any shape or form, as I feel we deserved the win. The thing that saddens me about Leeds, is not only do you have one of the best fan bases in the country, a rich and successful history, but you also have so much potential as a football club on the whole - you have a Rugby League style manager and a pathetic excuse for a chairman, and it just seems such a waste. I sincerely hope you get taken over at some point (or things start to change) and a decent manager is installed because with players like Gradel, 'Snoddy', Howson, Becchio and McCormack you should be ripping teams apart at the back, when in reality you hardly troubled us all afternoon. It's not the players that's the problem (well not half of them anyway) it's the tactics of Grayson and the way he gets you to play. It doesn't seem as though you have a good team morale or that the players were fighting for eachother, and in all honesty everything you did today was a little disjointed. I don't mean to be overly harsh on your team - but this is the way, from an outsiders view, I see it. The defense needs work, a lottttttttt of work.. Start by getting that dirty skate b*stard O'Brien out of your club, he's useless and always has been. Gradel made some good runs etc today, but the end product was either poor or there was no one on the end of it. Snodgrass was invisable and McCormack isn't a lone striker and never will be. Brown and Clayton have to be the two dirtiest players I have ever seen grace the St.Marys turf and Howson was the only one who seemed a threat. I know there will be a good few of you saying "It's only ONE game" etc, but you have to look at the performance as a whole, and that doesn't bode well for the future. Anyway! Good luck throughout the season though lads, I truly mean that. The Premiership needs Leeds, Forest & Saints to replace the likes of Wigan & co' to get back to the good old glory days! Hopefully all is not lost, Bates will invest and you can bring in some more quality to back up that of what you already have. All the best & see you at ER on the 3rd of March, but until then, good luck!
I generally think Grayson is a good manager. He irritates me a bit with some of the post match drivel he comes out with, but I think it's nothing more than a script he's been given by that old fart Bates and I think his hands are tied. Bates has a god complex and I think he's got Grayson by the short and curlies. He's a fat old ****er and he's ruining the club that he so recently saved. I'm strongly considering having a good old rant when I send him an email demanding a new free away shirt, since the sponsorship started coming off the one I have. Third shirt in a season and a half to have this problem. I'll tell him how he's like a paramedic who restarts a mans heart, demands he be grateful and then we he is, stabs him in the throat. His defense in court is "I saved his life, I can do whatever the **** I want".
Trust me we've had worse games to even worse competition last year. like going from 4-1 up to 6-4 defeat at Preston who were relegated, or 5-2 loss to Barnsley who were relegation contenders. One thing about Leeds, when we are the underdog we pull of spectacular wins and draws (like beating Man U, QPR twice, drawing with arsenal and tottenham) but when were favourite or equal we always seem to be our own worst enemy like Barnsley, Preston, a host of League one clubs that beat us last season that shouldn't off. It's irritating when you know at your best your team is good enough to beat someone but somehow you still manage to f*ck it up. If we could've played the same way we did for Barnsley, Middlesbrough, Derby ect as we did against the big contenders of the league like QPR, Burnley, Norwich ect i'm sure we would of got into the play offs, if not automatic promotion spots. We just need consistency, coz I know at our best we can beat anyone.
You're spot on about Grayson, some of the players have changed but the same problems are still there. It shows that he's the problem and he had the look of a man who'd been found out today. Yet I've been given all kinds of abuse, been threatened with physical violence and someone even wants me shot for speaking out against him. He's the most negative manager I've ever known, even though he has rubbish defenders, no holding player and a positive attacking team, he always likes to sit back away from home. Pretty much every game away from home has been like today under him. It's only when we go a goal down and have to chase the game that the attacking players come into their own, but that's only when Becchio plays. It absolutely amazes me that Grayson is a professional football manager.
Very good assessment, Grayson got it wrong yet again playing one up and pairing Clayton with Brown. Nunez on the left and Gradel up front with McCormack leaving Brown and Howson to work the midfield would have made Leeds more solid. Grayson lacks intelligence and is a cliche of a manager who is now starting to hurt the club. Promotion or bust for him, but Bates likes a weakling manager so only relegation will cost Grayson his job. Mid-table at best if this is all we can manage. Oh, and Bristol City will go down.
Leeds were terrible yesterday and I'm sure we will bounce back next week. O'Brien could have done better for your first 2 goals, O'Dea was constantly out of position and Brown was just awful!! Also I have never seen Snodgrass have such a bad game for Leeds - he was shocking!! I knew it would have been a tough game especially with your momentum and home form from last year but I actually thought it would go either way by the odd goal or even a draw but Leeds made you look like Brazil!! Hopefully this was a one off and won't happen again!! It better not!!
Darren, do you not realise that it's happened many times in the past and will continue to happen with Grayson?
Did someone piss in Browns cornflakes, he looked so angry all day, well till he disappeared down the tunnel.
I wont jump on the bandwagon and push the panic button after just one game - we lost at home on the opening game to Derby last year and still finished 7th. However................we were woefull yesterday and Grayson has to make sure a "rot" does not set in. We have to start by thumping Bradford in the week and then really having a go at Boro the followinng Saturday. Before Yesterdays game I predicted we would finish between 10th and 15th and if anything after yesterday I would only revise me prediction slightly to now say we may finish as low as 16/17th and can only dream of top 10 unless attitudes and performance buck up considerably. If Gradel and Snodgrass are playing with sulks on because they want away then sell them now while there is time to get in 2 hungry young players even if they are league 1 or league 2. I would be starting to repair this by putting in a million pound bid for Adam Le Fondre tomorrow!!!!!
I remember writing earlier on that Leeds morale seems to flip-flop dramatically during games. One minute tails up then their heads drop. This looked like the latter from the off and worringly like it could be persistent. Something isn't right in the whole team.
I will put yesterday down to early season rustiness. A timid excuse for a professional football club who have been preparing from early July. They really looked like they got off the bus at 3 o'clock thinking they were on a mystery tour, only for Grayson to "spring" it on them that they were actually playing a match at 5.20.They really looked that surprised to me. Let's not take anything from Southampton, they played us off the park in every department and 6 or 7-0 would not have flattered them. Gradel's penalty kept us off bottom place, where we thoroughly deserved to be. IT HAS TO GET BETTER .......... SURELY!
Fellas, First of all thanks for the positive comments about Saints. Forgive me for adding my tuppence worth, but I think what you really need to do is draw a line under yesterday's match and move on. I appreciate there will also be a recriminations, accusations and the need for a full 'post-mortem' after such a performance, but you really don't need to. As has already been said in other threads, it's the first game of the season, players are rusty and perhaps lacking match practice, etc. Give it 2 or 3 games and see how the land lies then once the players have bedded into the new season and the team is happy with formations and so on. Keep it all in perspective. I remember last season all the Huddersfield fans were ready to top themselves when results did not go their way. Is it a Yorkshire mind-set or something? Pull yourselves together lads, it will get better. Moreover, you will probably whoop our assess in the return fixture at ER. Best of luck for the rest of the season.
