...at what point in the world of English football did people who are completely unable to do the basics get offered the chance to be a professional footballer? Is the only quality you need to be an English footballer the ability to run all day long (or not! in the case of LUFC) and be strong? Why is it that so few players have any ability to control the ball? Why is it that so few players can pass the ball with both feet direct to the place where it is best for the player receiving it? Why is it that so few players have periphgeral vision to see the player whio is making that run, out of the corner of their eye, and to know that there is no-one near them, and get the ball to them so that they have the chance to carry on their run without faltering? Why is it that so few players understand the slight movement required to ensure they are in a great position that makes it so easy for someone else to pass to them? Why is it that so many players hide so that it is impossible for others to pass the ball to them? There are so many great players who have these qualities who play football in local Saturday and Sunday leagues week in week out and who never ever got the opportunity to play professional football, yet they rae streets ahead in terms of technical skills than thei professional counterparts in the British leagues. Anyone can learn to be fitter. Anyone can bulk up to be stronger. But it clearly takes nurturing in the right way from a young age, alongside some innate intelligence and ability, to be classified as a proper footballer. The Spanish system has shown that many pleayers can be produced that can play real football if the teaching is right. Why do our clubs persist in taking on ****e footballers who, by right, should never get the chance to call themselves professional?
What I want to know is... ...at what point in the world of Leeds football support do people who are completely unable to avoid your endless banality get time off for good behaviour?
Don't you have anything in the least football-related to say, Davy? Never mind. Back to Animal Jam for you
Davy, I completely agree with Sheldon in honesty. I played at a semi-pro level at a young age (I will not ever claim I was good enough to go on from there to be pro) and I'm pretty confident I could do a considerable amount more keep-ups than Becchio. I don't understand how these players progress The movement thing I don't tend to agree on as you need a natural instinct to be in the right place at the right time, its harder to teach although not impossible, thats if your a striker getting into a goalscoring position though. If your referring to general movement off the ball to look for a pass then they should be better, Leeds movement off the ball is horrendous, we are never looking for cutting balls through defences. I blame that on poor vision and poor movement, having Diouf is all well and good because in fairness he keeps possession well and doesn't waste much but he doesn't make those type of runs like McCormack does and I think McCormack is possibly the only one in our team that shows both excellent vision and movement.
If McCormack had Becchio 's heading ability and Beckford 's speed, he would be unstoppable But he would still need someone who knew how to pass the ball to get it to him Then again he would have been snapped up by Barca or Real if he was that good
But the movement still wasn't that good against Everton. We played well, yes but that was more man for man rather than great movement and splitting passes. First goal we scored against Everton was due to Austin's work rate and winning the ball and Aidy's great run and finish and the second goal was a free-kick which was again due to Austin's powerful running. The rest of the game was possession keeping and good defending with every chance we created due to an individual brilliance. I'm taking nothing away from that win as it was great but we won't win every week playing like that and relying on a single player or a small group of players producing moments of brilliance
I personally thought some of our passing play was the best I'd seen since our first season back in the Championship. Our players always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, we were getting all the 50/50s and the second balls and we were cool and composed on the ball. I'm still sticking with poor concentration as the reason we're struggling. Coupled with terrible players and trying to play a hoofball game with a front man who simply isn't big enough to be effective in that role.
You mentioned on the other thread about Premier League teams giving the opposition more time on the ball, could that be the reason why we gained the initiative to play a more possession style of play? In the Championship when teams close you down more rapidly, perhaps our players don't have the confidence to remain calm and play the ball short and receive it in tight areas, therefore choose or are instructed to play the "percentages".
Yes I agree the passing was good and we won most 50/50s and everything was good. I'm not complaining about the performance whatsoever and how could you. I still don't think you'll win most games with that style of play unless you have the players which we don't unless they play out of there skin for the entire season which won't happen This is also a good point which is worth thinking about
No use focusing on single matches when any team can turn things on for a short time. Football is all about consistency week in week out, with occasional blips of bad games, not the other way round.
