Anyone who thinks Leeds United don't have any problems with their defence, must be living in cloud cuckoo land. It seems whoever we play in central defence, they cost us big style and I doubt there are many Leeds fans who don't panic whenever they read the team sheet, as we all know that the opposition will have a go at our centre backs. So as it appears unlikely we will bring the required players in before the next game, I ask what the hell do we do? Do we play five or six at the back, to simply not lose goals and hope for a miracle that a long ball falls to McCormack and he scores! Unless we get 2 central defenders with ability and at a COST, we are fecked and I would suggest the other teams in the league will exploit our clear weakness, as often as they can and with ease.
I turned to my son at half-time last night and said "well at least we might get a draw" and I wasn't joking. It's ridiculous that we go in two up and still don't expect to win a game but that seems to be the norm nowadays.
To sort the defence, I think that we need a defensive coach. I don't know who obviously, but it's not uncommon for managers to bring in a coach to work specifically on the defensive side. At Man Utd, Alex Ferguson has different coaches to work on different things - including a defence coach. Am I right in think that we only have 3 coaches? Grayson, Miller and Snodin. We should get a proper defensive coach to come in, and give his opinion on why the defence has been so poor and then work on it. Also, the centrebacks we have simply aren't good enough. It's weird that some defenders seem haven't put in the performances at Leeds that they had at previous clubs - Bessone comes to mind. Aidy White is the only one of our defenders who's had a good season so far. Yes, his thrown yesterday led to a goal, but it the awful positioning of O'Dea and then Bromby being turned so easily that led to the goal. He's 19 years old, has impressed so far and will improve much more over the season. But he needs to have some good CBs next to him, that aren't as fragile. Connolly needs to be reintroduced next game. Aidy White to keep his place at leftback. But honestly, I don't have a clue who of our CBs should play. They're all ****.
We've lost all our width and are still managing to break through defenses, I say we play 5-3-2. Clayton and Pugh doing the middle and Howson moving forward. Have Keogh and McCormack up front and see what happens
1. Try the kids: ZAC THOMPSON - TOM LEES - DARREN ODEA - CHARLIE TAYLOR 2. Or play the sqaud: PAUL CONNOLLY - ALEX BRUCE - ANDY O'BRIAN - DANNY PUGH Stick White on the left of midfield and let him cover back when Thomson/Connolly go forward with Snoddy to draw off their right back... It is simple stuff.
We need to look beyond these shores to pick up some quality South American defensive talent looking to make it over here,with the hunger & desire to succeed,players who have that ruthless defensive streak built into them. Whenever I see the likes of Uruguay play,I've always admired the way their defenders take no prisoners,are hard but fair. I'm so fed up seeing ponces like O'Dea in the famous all white,can't get off the ground to head the ball,can't tackle,pass,turns like a double decker bus only slower,totally useless. Get some proper,latin type hard men defenders.
Don't care where they come from, as long as they are up to the level required. Just a thought, but noticed Richard Dunne isn't getting a regular game at Villa, could his experience be usefull for our defence, if a loan was on offer?
Yes Richard Dunne.....I'm sure Grayson would manage to turn him into a pile of ****e in no time at all. At the end of the day we need a George Graham type defensive coach to work with them on a daily basis,we need a scout specifically employed to pinpoint defensive talent.
Not convinced Miller, Snodin and Redfearn are at the level of coaching required, especially Miller. Time for a change of coaching style and personel?
You often see people saying what decent manager would want to work for Bates, but what decent coach would want to work for a gormless idiot?
Miller, Snodin and Redfearn among others. They have been mentioned as decent coaches in the football world. Sadly, they may be decent coaches, but not at Leeds United.
How do you know they're not decent coaches, though? It's hard to judge a coach as a fan. We can judge Grayson by his signings, his tactics and results. People often defend Grayson by pointing out things haven't been that bad as we got promoted and finished just outside the play-offs. Why can't the coaches take credit for that, instead of being the scapegoats when things go wrong? I actually think if it wasn't for Snodin, things would be a lot worse. He seems to encourage positive play. I remember him saying he got Grayson to bring Kilkenny back into the side after he dropped him when he first took over.
That's enough to make me want him sacked with immediate affect, Kilkenny was a disgrace to professional football and anyone who suggests he should be in the first team, needs their coaching badges removed. Football is about passing, movement, forward playing, technical skill, physical ability, positional sense etc, all of which Kilkenny hasn't got.
You appear to be blinkered when it comes to the utter crap that was Johnson and Kilkenny. I'm happy with my own thoughts on the two of them and in particular Kilkenny.
It's one thing to not rate him, but to say what you just said is ridiculous. Your views on Arsene Wenger are ridiculous, too.
Well if you do, then you can't possibly ask for Grayson to be sacked, for at least he has achieved something with Leeds in the last two years, where as Wegner and all the money they have spent, have achieved nowt. Most Arsenal fans will tell you the club are going backwards and needs a change, so how come you and Clive no better? Football is not about how many passes your team can do or how pleasing it is to watch, it's about goals and about winning games, sadly Wegner and his Arsenal team have consistantly failed to do that, when it actually matters. Only one person to blame at Arsenal for their situation and it's Wegner. Actually Wegner and Grayson have something in common, they both wouldn't know a decent defender if he stood right in from of them.
