Soccer Special

Are Leeds United's foundations solid enough to build a winning team on?

2016-02-25T11:07:00.001+00:00

It is my 56th birthday today and all but seven of those have been spent following Leeds United. It is easy to be reflective - especially on your birthday - but I live by a mantra that life is all about 'what's next?' rather than 'what if?' As an LUFC fan it has helped me through the dark days down the years and still I look forward to the next match (even though it is Brighton away!!).

I was one of the 17,000 freezing fans at Elland Road on Tuesday evening for the match against Fulham. The Londoners don't generally travel well and had clearly come for a point yet looked dangerous each time they broke away. Lewie Coyle had a very assured debut and I was delighted that Steve Evans kept him on to the end. Yes he looked nervous at times but showed speed and determination to quickly get his recovering tackles in or regain his position.

Lewis Cook scored his first league goal for the club and he will have to go some way to ever beating it. Alex Mowatt has scored some spectacular goals this season but Cook's shot is probably still going... As with Coyle (and Mowatt) Cook is a young lad who is learning from match experiences. I do think he tries to take one player too many on at times but I'd rather see that kind of confidence and determination at this stage and what a gem of a player he is going to be.

I have been hoping that Evans might give Erwin a run and he duly had 25 minutes on Tuesday. Certainly he gave the Fulham defenders something different to to think about but I think he is going to need far more of a physical edge to his game if he is to be a Leeds United centre forward. Bamba has that bite and so does Diagouraga - both of whom I thought were magnificent.

So where does that leave us? The nagging fear - and I had this when Sam Byram first broke through - is whether we will hold on to such talented young players. That Cook goal and good debut from Coyle just place them even more clearly on other clubs' radars. Yes the club will put out a glowing PR statement about the finances of the club; yes we have craved financial stability for some time, but everyone can see how they've achieved it; yes, McCormack did not look like an £11 million player on Tuesday so why not sometimes cash in?

No. More than anything, as our young players break through physically they have to mentally know that they have the chance to be part of a long-term plan and that there is more to life than money. Howson, Snodgrass and Byram all left because they did not believe this plan really existed. The optimism that we continue to show as fans has to be part of the development of our own players and a calling card for those players we want to join us. Don Revie wanted to emulate the winning team of Real Madrid not a big savings pot at Barclays.

Of course money is part of football - this discussion often forgets the huge amounts we fans pay for tickets and travel - but, like everything in my own life to date, you have to work hard to earn it and believe in what you are doing. You also have to look at what you are less good at, recognise it and deal with it, not hide away from it or make excuses publicly or privately.

Our defence is getting better and Silvestri will improve with age. Bellusci is less of a liability but still gets caught out of position - especially on quick opposition breaks. Bamba and Cooper will improve as a partnership. I think that, undoubtedly, protecting the defence against teams on the break requires Diagouraga and one from Bridcutt or Adeyemi to sit in front and hold. We then have an embarrassment of riches in creative midfield players to support an attack that clearly needs to be more deadly. Wood is too static and - like Erwin on Tuesday and Matt Smith before either of them - often surprisingly poor in the air to play the sole striker role, which so frustrated us during Rossler's time at the club. I'd play Doukara or even try Sloth just off of a central striker and encourage high-line wing play, given that we now have good holding midfield options.

But what do I know? I am just a lifelong fan who remembers the good times but also looks forward to each match. In life, not worrying about the future enables me to enjoy the present. I think that Leeds United do have good foundations in key areas. Whether the transfer bucket is half full or half empty in the summer we shall have to wait and see.

For me, mental strength is the key - even if we don't have quality in every area in most matches. Our energy levels nosedived on Tuesday in the second half. We need that 'all for one' determination in every match. We as fans have never lost it and, when each player finds it for themselves, we will be a match for anyone as we have certainly become harder to beat.

It's great to look back and it's great to look forward but none of us knows what is just around the football or financial corners in life so let's just enjoy some of the quick passing moves we are beginning to make once again and enjoy the days before the years pass us all by.

If Julie Andrews had confidence in Leeds United

2015-11-04T12:19:00.000+00:00

As Maria prepares to leave the Abbey in The Sound of Music she sings about having "confidence in me" as she looks forward to a new life, full of hope and expectation.

Sitting just along from the Old Peacock before last night's match between Leeds United and Cardiff City last night our eldest son announced, a bit dejectedly, that we had never beaten Cardiff in his lifetime (he is 23). In fact we hadn't beaten them since doing the double over them in 1983/84 when I myself was just 24.

There wasn't much hope or expectation around last night before we and the other 17, 911 fans prepared for the worst. On the way up from Cambridgeshire we had agreed that a draw would be a really good outcome after Thursday's disgrace and 31 years of feeling, well, sheepish. Throw in the awful Play-Off final against Watford at the Millennium and that FA Cup defeat at Ninian Park in 2002 - that seemed to signal the beginning of the end of O'Leary's team - and it all added up to a big negative.

The Remembrance silence was, as usual, immaculately observed and fantastic to see so many members of the armed forces in attendance at Elland Road again; it and they served to remind us that for all the passion we have for our football clubs, it is and was only a game. However it was a game we desperately wanted to win to get over the Cardiff and Elland Road hoodoos and to have Steve Evans and his team properly up and running.

Cardiff threatened little to be honest and undoubtedly the day trip to Suffolk and back at the weekend had taken its toll. However, each time they did attack there was no doubt in our minds that they would eventually break through our defence. The benchmark our young team had set against Derby seemed a distant battle won.

I have read online since the match that LUFC were awful, clueless, and hopeless throughout. As a glass half-full supporter for almost fifty years this always amazes me. Silvestri made a couple of fine saves but on more than one occasion he did look like a man waiting for a train who would then almost forget to get on it once it had arrived. Bellusci is not - and never will be - in my view, a natural centre-half. His starting position is frequently poor and his distribution of the ball quite shocking. Cooper had a little Blackburn-esque wobble early on but seemed to get over it. Wootton looks like a rabbit in the headlights and the great mystery is why he hasn't been run over by now. All too often he made progress on the flanks but quickly played the ball backwards each time. Berardi was solid. So, on the face of it, as a collective unit the defence were useless. Except that they weren't. Bellusci and Cooper battled like men possessed. Wootton eventually had the confidence to pass forward and it actually worked. We did not concede.

Cook was easily the man of the match and Mowatt's goal was one of the finest I have seen at Elland Road; no, really. Murphy was industrious but looked terrified of making a mistake. Dallas was inspirational in the first half but faded badly in the second. My overall take on the midfield was that occasionally Murphy or Cook or Mowatt would press but too often did not do this as a collective unit. However, occasionally there were glimpses of passing and movement that were breathtaking in their speed and accuracy. We may not see a lot of it at the moment but it hasn't gone anywhere.

Wood is woefully static up front but also poor in the air. He lost almost all of the aerial battles and if he is to now have support in Antenucci then he needs to start providing far more for his partner than he does at present. We were all trying to suck the ball into the net late on when he had cleverly rounded Cardiff's goalkeeper, Marshall, but nerves got the better of him again. Antenucci ran and ran and ran all night but with little to work with. I expect he is still running a shower now. I only saw him walking when he was substituted at the end. Yes, Doukara looks terrible at the moment but let's not forget that amazing performance against Dundee United in pre-season last year or his clever winner at Carrow Road. He just doesn't believe he will score and Woods has forgotten his strike at Derby. But we shouldn't.

You may think I am clutching at straws here - and perhaps I am - but I do believe that we have talent and fight and spirit in the squad. However we have a leak in the plumbing and individual and collective confidence has drained away. How often do we hear that things don't go for struggling teams? What that really means is that they also have plumbing problems. Lack of confidence is the most corrosive force in football so how impatient fans with their constant supply of negativity and bile hope to plumb these holes is beyond me. I prefer to trust Steve Evans and his coaching staff to work on rebuilding shattered self-belief and build on what was a really important win last night. Oh yes: we won.

In the same way as Julie Andrews had confidence in herself, we need to help everyone at our club to have confidence in themselves and what they are trying to do for all of us. The South Stand and Kop sang throughout - it was almost like singing in rounds. We could all see what was happening in the football round but, for goodness sake, let's actually consider what is happening in hearts and minds too. The sound of music never dies for loyal Leeds United fans and, you know what: we could all climb mountains if we believed in ourselves a bit more.

Leeds United's kids need to grow up

2015-10-04T09:36:00.000+00:00

So , another Sunday morning after the afternoon before for Leeds United fans. Over the last fifty years I remember these days and the weekday depressions for far longer than the glorious celebrations. Psychologically that's probably normal as we do tend to dwell on the bad things in life rather than the good things we are blessed with but fail to notice for so much of the time.

I suppose it isn't so bad now for lifelong LUFC supporters of a certain age. We genuinely expected to win back then or at least leave our mark on every game (and player) we played against, which is why the David Webbs, Ray Crawfords and Ian Porterfields made such shuddering impacts on our lives. These days we are just as passionate about supporting Leeds but more philosophical. We can see that things take time to build and that impatient short-termism might stop the rot or win us a few matches but it isn't going to end our 23 year wait for significant silverware any time soon (ask Newcastle United fans about that strategy).

My generation still craves success though and precisely because we are getting old. We were spoiled by the great Don Revie years and, despite some excellent teams being built since then, nothing has satisfied us like our childhood and teenage years did. For all our more rounded views on things we do begin to wonder if Leeds United will ever play in the top division again; whether Elland Road will become that fortress and whether we will actually win anything again. 'Leeds 'till we die' is all well and good but we actually might die first? I've only seen England win one major trophy and each Euro and World Cup tournament makes 1966 stand out in the gloom just a little bit more.

The hardest thing of all is to remember that we were young once and had the world at our feet. Beyond the usual 'Rosler out' and puerile 'what do we think of Sam Allardyce?' comments on the social media channels and forums are criticisms of young players on and off the field. I suspect that a lot of these comments come from younger supporters who themselves may be just a little bit jealous of their high-earning counterparts but also people of my age who are both envious and disparaging rather than constructive.

I am sure Rosler knows better than any of us that he and his team are underachieving. We have every right to voice our worries but it isn't going to help. I personally think that we still need some kind of experienced but quality midfield general who can drive the team along from just in front of the defence - releasing our young players to move forward. Maybe Rosler and the scouts are already working on this? Mowatt may have had a poor game yesterday but were any of us always consistent and fabulously creative in whatever we were doing every day? High wages doesn't make that a formality and anyone who thinks it does is marching against us not with us. Cooper is young and raw and learning. How do 'fans' honestly think that hounding him or Byram is going to help?

These are young men who were being praised for that win at Derby before the last international break - and rightly so. I see that Rosler is being slammed for his 'bad day at the office' comments this morning. For goodness sake, you do win things with kids but only if you nurture them and support them and, yes, give them a kicking now and again. I am sure he really does know this. They need time to grow up together. What do 'fans' want: for this team to be broken up and the manager replaced by 'experience?' Have we forgotten Warnock already?

Football history shows us that things can change for the worse or the better but also that we must learn from it and we can only do that by looking forward. The greatest Leeds United teams were built on youth but also had stability and purpose and, most importantly, a vision and plan for executing that vision. We have a great squad of young players and will see if Rosler is flexible enough to change his tactics to achieve the bigger goals and whether Cellino will allow him to do so.

One thing we cannot do is to undermine the young players who hold all our futures in their (as yet) inexperienced feet. If we do, then yet another opportunity will be lost and we will move closer to our graves with only inscriptions from a distant past to mark us out.

Was there a conspiracy behind Adam Pearson leaving Leeds United?

2015-09-16T11:24:00.002+00:00

If you have been a Leeds United supporter for as long as I have you will now be an expert in Machiavelli, conspiracy theories and the almost inevitable promise of doom.

Last night Adam Pearson decided to 'take a break' from his role as executive director at LUFC. Less than a week ago I also took a break and was lucky enough to be standing on a beach at a wedding in Greece. The bride's father is also a Leeds United fan and we discussed at length - I suspect to keep his mind of the speech he was going to have to make - the role of Pearson in the club and the perception that he was the steadying influence we had all wanted and, in particular, for keeping Massimo Cellino 'in check.'

An hour is a long time in Leeds United land, let alone a week. My first reaction was one of shock as I don't believe anyone outside of the Adam family - including Uwe Rosler if we are to believe his comments this morning - saw this coming. There must be a reason and, as far as the club is concerned, very few people know what it is. It may come out in public or it may not. Unfortunately the 'take a break' language is sufficiently inconclusive that the conspiracy theorists (what did I tell you?) have dived in with full force.

I suppose the timing was made even worse by it coinciding with our first league defeat of the season. I know that Planet Leeds often orbits the truth in a different way to most others but I do think this is ridiculous. Ipswich will be a Play-Off contender as they were last season and Mick McCarthy (a lifelong Leeds fan allegedly) is a fine manager. That team were always going to provide a reaction after losing to Reading 5.1 last Friday; not doing so and then having to sit on a bus with Mick all the way back to Suffolk was much scarier than facing the Elland Road crowd I suspect.

Yes, there was a defensive error again and yes Marco Silvestri was involved again but he then went on to make some decent second-half saves. Gary Sprake only threw the ball into his own net at Anfield once and was a truly outstanding keeper most of the time. Unfortunately the doom merchants have joined the dots of a goalkeeper who has trouble with high crosses with a Machiavellian owner who didn't like Adam Pearson doing his job well with a home defeat that marks the end of the road for Uwe Rosler.

I do understand how easy it is to do this, given the recent history, but I also think that it is wrong. Adam Pearson showed that things can be calmed down and someone else will do that until he comes back which I actually believe he will. The coaching staff he helped to bring in will be already have been working on Silvestri's fear of heights. If the club is now 'washing its face' without the need for external income then they won't be wanting a huge compensation package to be paid to Rosler yet.

It's great being a Leeds United fan. It has always been a rollercoaster ride but one I wouldn't ever want to get off. It would be much easier to be negative this morning than positive but I'm joining the dots too and there aren't enough of them for me to form a pattern of what's going on so let's all just calm down and hammer the MK Dons on Saturday...

Young Leeds United players on deadline day

2015-09-01T11:22:00.001+00:00

Football deadline day has not always been kind to Leeds United fans in the past has it? We have all worried about securing new players and, much more so, about losing those players who can be sold for high fees now or for their high potential in years to come. Too often LUFC has, despite the club's PR campaign to the contrary, been all too willing to give in to the cash registers in the finance department rather then the differences our youth products could subsequently register on the pitch.

All clubs are vulnerable to approaches in spite of the 'we don't need to sell' or 'we won't make panic buys' protestations. Some are spending next year's TV money now and others are looking for sell-on fees at a later date. I wonder how many Barnsley fans are salivating at the prospect of a sell-on fee for John Stones as opposed to still watching him play for them week in and week out?

I'm delighted to say that, for once, Leeds appear to be doing their business quietly and conscientiously and behind the blinds of this particular transfer window. Adam Pearson has to have had a lot to do with this and clearly has a positive influence on Cellino. Whatever actually is going on behind the scenes, I am pretty confident that our main characters will remain in place - at least until January!

And why would any of our young players wish to leave? Bremner, Lorimer and Gray all believed in the vision of Don Revie; Woodgate, Robinson and Smith did the same under Howard's 10-year plan, winning two FA Youth Cups on the way to the first team. Why would they not want to become part of a great home-grown team?

Uwe Rosler has young talent in abundance and with that goes a tremendous responsibility. Cook, Mowatt and Taylor have signed up for the vision of the future. We all still talk about the Glory Years but, for them (and us) those years are ahead not behind. Watching us win at Derby for the first time in 13 years and with a team of under 25's - apart from Bamba, our outstanding captain - makes me truly believe that youth will prevail for some years to come.

I read over the weekend that Paul Hart may well be taking over at Thorp Arch. I used to watch him play at the end of the 'Seventies and then witnessed the first flourishing of that young youth team in the 'Nineties that he and Eddie Gray built together. He was under tremendous pressure when he signed from Blackpool because he was effectively replacing Gordon McQueen (who, himself, had previously had to help to fill the huge gap left by Jack Charlton). I always felt fairly safe on the Kop behind Hart's defence. He had real presence and I am sure he will have again if he does take on the development of the next generation of Leeds United youth.

Paul Hart himself signed on transfer deadline day in March 1978. There was a lot less hype then of course and much less money. Clubs did not speculate in quite the same way and players' agents had a fraction of the influence that they do today. Hart just got on with the job in hand and it feels that the whole club is now doing that. We are building. We are a long way away from completion but I hope the fans will support Rosler - and Pearson - in this process.

Youth development has worked for us in the past and produced two of the greatest Leeds United teams we have seen. It may not be very glamorous on Deadline Day but they can knock us down and we will still come back. I feel that we are a very long way now from being dead behind the eyes of the accountants - and it's such a good feeling.

Leeds United score a draw with Nottingham Forest

2015-03-16T10:20:00.001+00:00

Seven wins out of ten for Leeds United; 30,000 packed into Elland Road and optimism in the air, the like of which we haven't really experienced on an ongoing basis since the momentum of our Championship campaign under Simon Grayson after League One promotion finally ran out four years ago...

Yes there have been good days amongst the bad and the downright shocking but 'ups and downs' has never really been more appropriate than when describing our form since just missing out on a Play-Off place in 2011.

It would be so easy to say how frustrated and disappointed all LUFC fans must be feeling after the weekend's 0.0 draw. I must admit that not winning - in any circumstances - has put a dampener on my Saturday evenings ever since I was seven year's old. Today though I can honestly say that hope and expectation are intact, as they have been generally in 2015.

Nottingham Forest under our old creative mentor, Dougie Freedman, have found themselves and a way of playing which saw them come to Leeds in really impressive form too. In the Nottingham papers, Dougie is recognising that a draw against us was a really valuable away point. Not withstanding the PR pressure on him to say this, I think he will be as relieved as Neil Redfearn at not losing the match late on. A draw was clearly a fair result on the day.

Almost exactly three years ago we were losing 3.7 at home to Forest, after losing earlier in the season to Blackpool 5.0. I can't see that happening next Saturday - even though it is the away match this time. In fact I can't really see us either getting a good hiding or having no shots on target in any match (I still haven't forgotten that game at Hull away).

Even with Byram and Austin injured we managed to keep a solid shape in front of a sound defence. When Morison and Sharp came off we had Antenucci and Doukara to replace them. Also on the bench was yet another Academy product - Kalvin Phillips - who could have joined up with Cook or Mowatt in midfield, not to mention a rejuvenated Murphy. Oh, and Adryan is still in the building. If he is patient then I am sure Redfearn will get the best out of him too but it won't be at the expense of losing our team's formation and way of playing which looks better each week we see it.

So I for one am really, genuinely optimistic about next season providing the suits at the club ensure that their talented superiors remain on our balance sheet and not anybody else's. Let the Canaries sing but no longer over our bird food.

We are not going to win every match and will lose the odd game by the odd goal. It is called rebuilding. However, I can now see the wood for the Trees.

Keep your eyes on the Leeds United cakes

2015-02-05T17:19:00.000+00:00

King Alfred lived for fifty years, twenty eight of them as King of Wessex. He saw off the Vikings who came to conquer our island and was famous for his financial and military expertise. He was much loved and admired and, following his death in 899, became known as Alfred the Great. No other English King has been revered in the same way.

He was also famous for a tale I first heard in school back in the early 1960's which was that while taking shelter in the house of a peasant woman on the Somerset Levels he was asked to watch over some cakes that she had left cooking on the fire. Alfred agreed but found himself worrying instead about his own problems across the kingdom and let the cakes burn by accident. The woman was not impressed - king or no king.

I was thinking about this today. I have supported Leeds United for almost fifty years - equal to the whole of Alfred's life - and I also love cakes! However, that does not mean that I would be as successful at making them as eating them.

To make a cake you need a good mixing bowl. I remember my mum having one of those light brown-coloured china bowls which seemed to be used to make absolutely everything. When it cracked, my father - also a cake lover - quickly bought her a new one. Our football club had a crack in it, through which our own glorious history nearly fell through, never to be repeated. Various people tried to paper over the crack and some even considered taking our bowl to a second-hand market stall to make money on it, but none of this worked. At last, a cake lover from a far away land learned of our plight, travelled all the way to our country and bought us a new one.

We had long ago joined a group of friends called The Football League in the hope that they would help to keep our new mixing bowl safe but, unlike King Alfred, they weren't really interested in their people, only the money they could raise from them. They were also deeply jealous and suspicious of a man who appeared to walk on water in order to save us and, asked to carry the bowl to the oven, they promptly dropped it on the floor on purpose several times. Miraculously, legend tells us that the bowl would not break. It was and is unbreakable because of the strongest material a bowl can be made out of. That material, glazed all in white, is known as Leeds United Fanbase. I have long been a constituent part of it and it is truly magical.

Ingredients for a cake are vital. We have had to use some sub-standard ones from time to time such as the Kandol and the Varney but still we have given them the chance to rise or fall, bake or burn in the cooker - also known by some as 'the furnace of Elland Road'. We knew that some were unlikely to make the grade, much less admired across the land, such as the Bremner or the Speed. Some like the Pearce and the Paynter we cooked for too long, in the hope that they would eventually blend with the others to produce cakes we could all enjoy. We now have a number of fresh new ingredients with names such as Cook and Moffatt and even a Murphy that we thought would never be able to rise to the occasion.

We have also asked various cooks to mix the ingredients and make them work to produce the best cakes. We had the Warnock whose cakes were high and without any real substance, the McDermott whose always looked the part but flattered to deceive and now the Redfearn whose cakes are fundamentally sound and tasting better by the week,

The difference between the recent cooks has been that the Redfearn has not been afraid to mix the ingredients in a different way to get results; neither has he thrown away his trusted ingredients at the first opportunity. He hasn't been afraid to change the recipe, though many in the realm have doubted the wisdom of this and have questioned his abilities often.

I trust in the benefactor who finally gave us a new bowl in which to mix our cakes. I am excited by the new ingredients we are using and the man charged with mixing them together to produce beautiful results consistently. Many have simply spent time blaming every part of the process or bemoaning the fact that the cakes don't taste the same as they used to. What they were really doing is what Alfred did: allowing the cakes to burn while spending their time pontificating on the problem rather than giving others enough time to find a better solution.

Alfred was not a particularly healthy man and some scholars have suggested that he may have suffered from a form of Crohn's Disease. But he persevered. He won over the doubters, won the battles and eventually won the war. It is all there for us as it was for him. The icing is yet to come.

Leeds United's defence will always be pierced

2014-12-09T11:20:00.001+00:00

I expect I will get a lot of abuse over this but as a Leeds United fan of nearly fifty years' standing I feel I have to say what I think about the LUFC defence. Regular readers of my blogs will know that I always try to be positive and forward-looking. I really believe that this now applies to the team - positive and forward-looking. Unfortunately that will get us nowhere while our defence keeps shooting the rest of the team in the feet - usually after going ahead in games. I seem to have heard the same speech from Simon Grayson onwards about 'cutting out mistakes,' or 'becoming more organised' and still it happens. Like too many of our defenders too often we just stand still and will do again this season - if the forwards can even keep us in the division.

I have been a fan of Jason Pearce and thought him a worthy candidate for the captain's armband. I try not to join this or that currently favourable criticism of our players and really do think that we need to march on together, everywhere that we go. But, I'm afraid that enough is enough. Jason will put his heart and soul into defending for Leeds United and never shirks or hides - nobody could ever question his work ethic; if anything he tries too hard - but he is just not a good enough defender for this league, and certainly nothing higher. We need a commanding defender who can not only help to organize younger defenders but one who naturally reads the game. Jason - and it really does pain me to say this - is not our man. I saw a goal against us from a completely unmarked player at Norwich and saw the ball float over Jason's head again at Ipswich, not to mention forwards such as Murphy and Smith being in acres of space for much of the match - before, during and after scoring against us. Jason has two states, it seems to me, sleepy or anxious; what we need is calm authority that can only come from being in control of his game and allowing his fellow defenders to be in control of theirs, rather than feeling as if we are either joining them on a pleasant nature walk along the River Aire on a summer's day or blind panic mode.

I am still not sure if Bellusci is a natural defender or not but he and Cooper do seem to be a more natural pairing. I also think that Byram and Tom Lees before him are quality defenders who are let down by the lack of organisation and authority and made to look much worse than they really are. I was never convinced that Tom's mistakes were totally of his own making: you simply do not become a bad defender overnight. I really rate Cooper but worry that he too will suffer as a result of Jason's shortcomings and eventually leave the club. It is fine for Neil Redfearn to call the defending 'abject' and that we need to find solutions. No doubt people will also say that you should go with your 'tried and trusted' players in big matches. Unfortunately we have tried and can no longer trust in Jason. Why not try Del Fabro or Ross Killock - it can hardly be any worse than the shambles at Portman Road and, let's face it, the other kids that Neil has nurtured and encouraged aren't doing badly are they? I feel disloyal to Jason in writing this post and am certainly not one of the 'bandwagon haters' but if it is not going to work then for the love of Leeds United please let's get past it and build a new defensive foundation for the future.

Leeds United: A point made at Norwich

2014-10-22T12:06:00.000+00:00

I was at the game at Carrow Road last night to witness Leeds United come back to gain a point against a poor Norwich City team who only scored thanks to a gift from the LUFC defence.

But there are a few more points to make:

None of the vile animals in white or harmless beasts in green and yellow had any idea why Mark Clattenburg stopped the game in the first half. It transpires that Cameron Jerome accused Giuseppe Bellusci of making a racist remark towards him. Because of Clattenburg's own previous involvement in racist disputes he was bound to take it seriously enough to report it. If proven, Bellusci will be punished and rightly so. There is absolutely no room for racism in football or any other aspect of a civilised society. I tell my children now about the games I attended in the 'Seventies and the shocking behaviour we all witnessed. Thankfully as a society we can and have moved on, but none of those players then or now could ever change the colour of their skin. It was shameful and I am immensely proud that, as a club, Leeds United has been at the forefront of trying to change people's attitudes and perceptions.

We will have to wait and see what the investigation finds. From previous FA and Football League 'investigations' against Leeds United, the omens are not good. Jerome, meanwhile, clattered Bellusci shortly afterwards and went on to have another poor game, as did Clattenburg who was petty throughout and failed to let the game flow - which was difficult enough in the swirling wind.

Bellusci had frustrated Jerome up until that point and effectively nullified his footballing presence. I still do not think, though, that he is a natural centre half. The goal we gave away to Norwich captain, Russell Martin, in the second half was dreadful - a corner that lands on the head of the biggest man in the stadium who is unmarked and unchallenged is a disgrace and this has to be eradicated or we will be let down time and time again.

I think Bellusci has a sweeper role just in front of the defence and I'd bring Cooper in as partner for Pearce. I thought Byram was OK and Berardi was a revelation. He closed players down, got his tackles in and showed real speed on the flanks. I hadn't really rated him so far but he was excellent last night.

Unfortunately the diamond does mean that we lack width and, even with Adryan on from the start, playing through a packed midfield (Norwich showed little ambition as the home team) gave our forwards precious little to work with. Adryan is fantastic on the ball but obviously very slight and was outmuscled a lot of the time last night. I think he is a player to bring on, not to start. I also think that Lewis Cook immediately gave us more going forward and I have to say that, for me, our troubles against Rotherham started when he went off last Friday. I would certainly rest him from time to time - he is only 17 for goodness sake - but I'd start with him and bring Adryan on for Austin as a general rule and possibly replace Cook with Sloth later on in games if necessary.

Doukara makes far too many misplaced passes for me but took his goal really well. People around me were screaming for him to be replaced by Sharp but with so little service to the forwards. especially from the wings, I don't see how he would have fared that much better. It will be interesting to see what happens against Wolves with Doukara now suspended.

We kept our shape pretty well but against a better attacking team I think we'd be punished. I remember vividly Forest pulling teams on to them in the late 'Seventies and hitting them on the break. Although Antenucci ran and ran all night I just think that we not only starved Norwich but also ourselves. When we did attack we showed little conviction and I got the feeling - apart from the goal - that we didn't really believe we'd score. We didn't really go for it when we did get one of the few chances in the match to do so.

Norwich fans surrounded us on the train back and were moaning about Neil Adams and his playing of players out of position and so on. For me, a point at Norwich is a good point but not sure whether we'd have got one if they'd really been on their game. I certainly felt - and feel this morning - more optimistic for the future than they did and, once again, to be part of such a huge away following on a cold night in an overpriced stadium many miles from anywhere shows what Leeds United is really all about: a passion for football, and what a pity that this simple truth is so often overlooked by other news.

Leeds United's player choices

2014-10-07T09:20:00.000+00:00

In more than forty five years of supporting Leeds United I cannot remember a time when we had such a choice of quality players in every position on the field.

Yes David O'Leary had a large, well-paid squad but I'm not sure the quality was there in such depth and injuries to one or two key players were felt more keenly. Even in the glory days I used to groan when star players were injured as Yorath, Ellam and Bates were fine squad players and did their jobs well for Don Revie when called-upon, but I don't think there were enough of them able to step up and neither were they, unsurprisingly, able to fill the quality gaps.

One criticism of Don (and Norman infers this in his autobiography) was that he overplayed some of the stars but then who could blame him with such riches in his midst? Coupled with fixture congestion - encouraged rather than alleviated by League and FA - this meant though that too often our tired team simply could not climb those final hurdles.

Reading reports about last night's Develepment Squad win against Doncaster reminded me again of the strength in depth we now enjoy. Adryan, Del Fabro and Montenegro of the new arrivals all made their marks as did Chris Dawson and Zac Thompson of the 'home-grown' lads among others.

The fusion of artistry and youth is already there to see in the LUFC first team with Mowatt, Cook and Byram alongside the likes of Bianchi, Bellusci and Antenucci. Just having those kinds of choices alongside the likes of Sharp and Austin and Morison and, yes, Noel Hunt, who played really well last night, as well as injured players like Walters and White and those who are knocking on the door such as Ajose must be incredible as a coach.

There are signs that we are beginning to create more chances, are more aggressive in the final third and more compact under Darko Milanic but surely the most important aspect to this is being able to coach such a rich squad of hungry players into winning teams that can do so by playing fast, passing football? It really is a different game these days - a squad game - and players have to be athletic like never before with corresponding recovery periods required. How refreshing on Saturday that Cook was rested after such a tremendous contribution in recent matches!

And yet, the doubters continue to find fault with the manager, the players and the selections. As paying fans they have every right to do so but, in contrast, I do always try to see the positives (after so many years of ups and downs that hasn't always been easy either!) until there can be absolutely no doubt in my mind that things need to change. I welcomed Neil Warnock and Brian McDermott and even David Hockaday until it became obvious that things were not going to work out and change was needed.

Throughout all of this I have been worried that Neil Redfearn might leave but if he and Milanic can work together with their shared coaching experiences here and abroad, coupled with the squad we have, I do believe we have the platform now to go on and achieve great things again. I don't think it will be this season but am very confident for next. I know it could all go wrong in the Spaghetti Western surrounding the club and that many players are on loans etc etc, but I am keeping the faith as I have done for so long.

Until they absolutely drive me mad I shall stand behind every player who pulls on the white shirt and scream my support for the team. We have to be patient and believe in Leeds United. How can we expect any coach or player to do so otherwise?

Neil Redfearn to stay at Leeds United for the long-term?

2014-09-04T09:24:00.000+00:00

For Leeds United fans this has been the most exciting transfer window in history. Fifteen players have joined the club and the emphasis on youth and flair is fantastic.

Matt Smith and Dominic Poleon left the club, and Tom Lees before them. For all his height and threatening physical presence I have always felt underwhelmed by Matt Smith's actual ability in the air - witness the last minute header over the bar against Bradford - and his ability to actually make the difference that people say he brought to the squad and which we will now miss.

With Poleon and Lees I am not convinced they would/will go on to a higher level and are probably somewhere between being good League One players and average Championship players. I have to say that I think Luke Murphy may be in the same boat.

With each of the above, Neil Redfearn will have had a view and that view will have been listened to. For me, he has been the saving grace over the last few years when the usual LUFC madness has prevailed. 'Thank goodness Neil is still there' has been my late-night mantra to my sleeping wife. I believe he has done a fantastic job at the Academy and with the Development Squad and the emergence of Lees, Byram, Poleon, Mowatt, Taylor, Cook and Dawson - to name just some of his charges - in recent years is testament to the outstanding coach that he is.

Neil is a West Riding man and understands what it means to be part of the biggest club in Yorkshire. I think that provides the feet on the ground for others to hit that same ground running. Eddie Gray always understood the importance of youth development and encouraged it in the same way as Neil, being part of the most successful team in our club history whose core was developed and nurtured through that same process.

We are also the biggest one-city club in Europe and I do worry about Neil having to work more closely with Cellino and dealing with a multi-national squad which will move him away from the heartland of coaching young players that he obviously loves - and is the unsung hero of our club for doing - year after year. Cellino has saved us - no doubt at all about that - but I don't know whether he would give even Neil the time he or anyone else will need to mould a team that can make a successful bid for promotion and Premier League competitiveness.

I wholeheartedly approve of Neil having the chance to progress as has been his philosophy with his players and why shouldn't he have the opportunity to do so? I also worry, though, that if things didn't work out we would lose Neil not only as head coach but as any kind of coach and that he would leave the club altogether. That to me would be tragic and a much bigger loss to us than any individual player.

My wife and I celebrated twenty six years of marriage yesterday (and yes, she knew that Leeds United were my first love as much then as now!); our best man read out a letter from the club wishing us a happy future together and the club promptly lost 4.0 at Portsmouth (obviously!). It has been a very happy marriage but, apart from Howard's revolution, a Charity Shield, some memorable European nights and a trip to the old Wembley for that League Cup final, we have lost a generation, largely through financial turmoil.

For some football supporters, the above would have been more than enough, but we have to strive harder and I really want Neil to be part of that - for the long-term. I didn't compromise over my wife or choice of football club - it was love at first sight in both cases. I think Neil is the best man for doing what he does, playing just behind the front man, and the thought of (quite understandably) impatient Leeds United fans turning against him in droves if he didn't get instant success fills me with horror.

Cellino gives Leeds United's David Hockaday a vote of confidence

2014-08-25T10:11:00.001+00:00

Leeds United's owner and 'President' has given coach David Hockaday his vote of confidence after two months of a two year contract. He then completely undermined the gesture by admitting that after the defeat at Watford on Saturday, he had decided to sack him.

None of us loyal LUFC fans will know or understand what went through his mind after that other than that he decided to give it 24 hours before executing his plan- something he has 'learned to do.' I also have learned to bite my tongue over the years and (because of my positive, 'cup half full' nature) tried to seek out the positive. I have also been guilty of sending out memos and then emails and texts too quickly without giving them the overnight test that important sentiments should demand. As a writer I have been appalled the next day at the poor grammar and spelling mistakes my passion had conjured up!

And I am passionate. All Leeds United fans are. I was described as an 'older, armchair fan' last week and yet I still go to as many games as I can and am as keen for success this season as any other. Saturday defeats ruin the evenings for both my family and I as they did when I was just a small boy. However, I have become wiser and know that major developments take time. A number of Watford fans wrote on various Leeds forums after the game on Saturday to sympathise with the general frustration we all feel but also to give us salutary reminders of the situation they too faced after their Italian takeover. It took time for that club to be turned round and we are a bigger ship than they ever were.

Fans who felt disrespected by an unknown coach taking over our club have poured out their venom and disgust as we knew they would. They feel vindicated and they are entitled to their views. The bottom line is that anger often comes from fear that more permanent damage is being done to the club above and below the watermark. Certainly that midfield of Tongue, Murphy and Austin (with Norris on the bench) is never going to provide the dribbling, ingenuity or speed to get past players that Hockaday says we need. We have no width but also do not want him to panic as McDermott did by buying two average to awful wingers to address a longstanding problem - probably since Gradel and Snodgrass left, to be honest. We do not want hoofball up to Smith and mindless, reckless tackles will ultimately sink us.

We also want intelligent substitutions to match the situations in hand. On Saturday it did appear that Hockaday did not know what he was doing once Bellusci was sent off.. And yet I am sure he does. All coaches know what to do and which direction to go in (apart from an unfortunate Wallace Arnold experience I had in Manchester some years ago...) but how can you plan for the Bellusci incident? Maybe surprise or panic set in before he recovered his poise? The haters will say that this just proves that we need more experience and that he is out of his depth. Maybe we should allow him to find his feet too and learn how to do better. Each and every one of us can do better if we really try and are given the time to do it. I believe he is trying his best and - regardless of Cellino's vote of confidence - hope he really does get more time. Contrary to the sensationalist media, Bradford is not a huge game. Yes we want to win it and no we don't want that West Yorkshire cloud over us but it is a Carling Cup tie! It is an opportunity to try things and improve areas where there are problems. I don't mind losing if the team plays well and there are real signs of progress which we can take into the next meaningful game against Bolton.

We actually played pretty well against Watford for large periods, just lacking the creativity to make our passing and possession count. Of course it all went badly wrong - and nobody is going to remember the good stuff - but how some people think a Tony Pulis, fresh from his latest conflict with owners over player transfers, would fit into the Leeds United model is beyond me. Similarly with Gary McAllister who was up there with some of the best midfielders but could, would and should never be a 'yes' man to anybody.

We are hurting but how do you think David Hockaday and his family are feeling? How are the vicious comments or double-edged statements possibly going to help him to prepare our team for Wednesday night? Ultimately he is dispensable and our loyalty remains with Leeds United but let's not forget that sooner or later we are going to have to bite the bullets and 'give peace a chance' or we will remain in the same no-hopers cell as Mark Chapman for at least as many years to come.

How long will Leeds United be a 'work-in-progress?'

2014-08-20T14:33:00.000+00:00

It has been a momentous few months, even by Leeds United's standards hasn't it?

When I started following the club in the late 1960's everything was about the team. Pre or post-match interviews with Don Revie were about the team selection, tactics, performances and results. That was all that mattered. I think I've only ever felt that way since then during Howard's time as manager. Headlines were less important than headers; verbal abuse described his unhappiness in the dressing room when players hadn't executed his well-researched plans...

There is no point (nor time or space) for me to go through all of the recent changes here. We all know what they are and we are where we are. I stood by Brian McDermott for as long as I possibly could until it became apparent that things were just not going to improve during his tenure. Even with the extra cash and new players I do not think that he was tactically good enough or a good enough coach to mould them into a single unit and I really lost patience with his team selections and insistence on playing his 'favourites' in the hope that they would come good. They didn't and he didn't and that is history now.

I have no problem with David Hockaday coming in or the management model being changed. We have failed for so long now that there is little to risk by taking a risk. Yes we could get relegated but that is no different to last season or the season before that. I know a lot of fans have had it in for Hockaday since he first joined because they felt that we should somehow have a big name to match our big club; they are now voicing their displeasure, if not downright nastiness, after two defeats out of three in the league. Incredibly they are also sharpening their knives for Cellino who, in my humble view, is a football man who is also putting his money where his passion is.

I do worry about some of the players who are selected but when I expressed this two seasons ago about the likes of Luke Varney I was hounded into silence. He was never good enough to play for our club and look what a character he turned out to be! I know that Rodolph Austin had a better game against Brighton last night but abrasion is only one part of the modern game. 'Dirty Leeds' also knew how to hold on to the ball and to pass it effectively and hurt other teams in other ways. Reckless tackles may look 'hard' but they have no place in a Championship winning team and would certainly let the team down big time in the Premier League. I'm sorry but he really isn't good enough. Luke Murphy needs to do a lot better as well. I was hoping that the emergence of more young players as well as the imports might inspire him to raise his game but not as yet. Seeing a midfield of Tongue, Austin and Murphy - with Norris on the bench - feels less like a new model than a patched up old banger.

We also have to get out of the habit of conceding early goals. This is not a new thing - it is a bad habit we have got into over the last season and a half. In the mid 'Nineties we had a terrible run of conceding late goals and that was eventually erased. Hockaday's coaching is not responsible for it but I am hoping he can coach the new and old defenders out of it.

I am concerned about this and lack of width and also that McDermott's favouritism may not have completely gone away, but this really is a work-in-progress. I believe that we do already have better quality players and a coach who relies on those players on the field to play according to the plan. I am pretty sure that he gets as furious as Howard did when they don't and I want to see that anger rather than McDermott's soft cooing or Warnock's 'I thought we had a right good go' apologies.

I think there will be many games like those against Middlesbrough and also Brighton to come. We are trying to not only build a new team but also a different way of playing - quality, passing football. I would have gone with Poleon or Ajose from the start last night and always think Smith is better coming on during a game when defences think they have seen us off. The temptation to go long will always be there, in my view, and, in any case, one shot on target and 33% possession proves the point.

But I am just a Leeds United fan. I am an optimistic fan and I have faith in David Hockaday's coaching abilities which I do not possess. I am sure that he does understand the tactics required and selects the players who will understand and carry out his football strategies. If they don't then he has to change things accordingly. I want him to play the best players and drop those who do not perform - that is why we have a bigger, better squad - thanks to Cellino.

I am more than happy for it take a season to get it right. After the summer we have had, anything more than this would be unreasonable in my view. We will know when we have progressed because all of the talk will be about goals and performances rather than coaches and presidents. If we do not give the new teams - on and off the pitch - time to make it work we will just remain a talking shop where bile and hatred substitute for understanding and faith.

Brian McDermott lets Leeds United down yet again and will surely follow David Moyes to the Job Centre?

2014-04-22T08:58:00.001+00:00

Nottingham Forest completed the double over Leeds United last night with a 2.0 win at Elland Road. You might say that they their players are really fighting to get into the Play-Offs and so were going to be really up for the game with Caretaker Manager, Gary Brazil's game plan perfectly executed and with him urging them on from the touchline.

That opening paragraph really says it all doesn't it? Yet another Home defeat - twenty one defeats in forty four league games this season; a worst away defeat in fifty years and one of the poorest FA Cup exits in recent history. Manchester United have endured a poor season by their standards - with all of the talk of restructuring after Ferguson in the background - and their manager, David Moyes, has paid the price. A proven manager who just could not hack it at a top club.

Were the LUFC players really fighting, as Billy always urged, whatever the odds? Brian McDermott said he couldn't fault their effort. In the second half they certainly tried but what was our game plan? I still do not understand why our defenders were pushed up so high that the centre-backs were exposed time and time again, having proved in many of those twenty one defeats that they are not comfortable on the ball and with that system. Pushing defenders forward is all very well if they have the speed to offer real width but they didn't have that either. As so many times this season we lost the game in the first few minutes. Brian said it was 'no accident.' Correct.

I do not understand why the system was changed and I have to say again here - having been really supportive of McDermott for a very long time - that I think there is a misplaced and unfounded self-assurance at play. His backhanded criticism suggests his players cannot play his system and therefore a summer 'clearout' is required. Surely you play to the strength of the players you have available at the time? Leicester and Burnley have got out of the league with a 4-4-2 their players are comfortable with and have drilled into them week in and week out. If our 'comfort zone' is to play three at the back then select a team that are happy with it; ditto with a 4-4-2. We may not have the biggest squad or best quality but Sean Dyche has managed it at Burnley without complaining about his players not being capable of understanding or worried about their salaries. Forest were missing key players such as Lansbury and Andy Reid who played so well against us at the City Ground, but they re-grouped and played to their strengths.

McDermott also has favourites which I think is hugely dangerous at any football club. Austin - surely little more than a burly pub player - can break up play and protect the defence. Murphy showed against Blackpool that he can create and score when pushed forward. So, as with Danny Welbeck, let's play them out of position and, in our case, the opposite way round: unfathomable. I don't think Austin or Hunt had bad games in the overall way of things but tactically, again, I was mystified and then really angry. When he did come on, Smith caused the usual panic with his height over a relatively average Forest defence but McDermott seems determined to prove that Hunt was a good signing at the expense of us winning matches.

McDermott brought in wingers with 'pace to burn.' Only one of them made the bench yesterday having proved that they don't - though I still have hopes for Stewart. The side was lacking in any kind of pace or energy. Is this because they have given up on the season now that we won't be relegated after all, or because they think Cellino will move them on anyway? Or is it because there is something wrong with the training regime under head coach Brian McDermott?

After Blackpool and Barnsley - two abject teams about to be relegated - a number of people were saying 'there we are: told you so. Give Brian stability and he'll turn it round.' Well he had stability yesterday and we played one-dimensional, pedestrian hoof ball - something we all hate and with little chance of any kind of penetration against Forest's blanket defence. McDermott said we needed more creativity. Murphy and Mowatt have shown they can do this and also that they cannot tackle in the manner of Austin or Brown. So, they were played in defensive roles and Michael Tonge - never forwards in going backwards - was expected to provide the guile until a hamstring pull enabled him to wander off for an early Horlicks.

I am just a loyal Leeds United fan and certainly no football expert. I have no doubt that off-the-field issues have been unsettling to downright corrosive at our club and I do admire McDermott for sticking it out thus far. But David Moyes never blamed the difficulties of starting a new dynasty - he just wasn't big enough for the club. McDermott has blamed everything - in a very nice way of course - but himself. We do have the chance to build a new regime at Leeds United but a big club needs a big, strong man (even a little bit frightening like Pearson or Dyche) and a decent coach at the helm. I'm sorry Brian but I am now certain that this man is not you.

Forza Leeds United

2014-04-06T11:08:00.000+00:00

I am a lifelong Leeds United supporter and I am feeling good this morning - really good. LUFC was my first love and I love the club as much now as in 1967 when I first met them as a seven-year-old. My journey through life is illustrated by our numerous 'ups and downs' together: winning the League Cup in Primary School and facing down the Arsenal fans; winning the League just before O' Levels started and again just days after our first son was born; proposing to my wife during the second Play-Off game against Charlton, celebrating getting to the Coca-Cola final resulting in the birth of our daughter...

The downs are numerous but merely the dates should suffice: 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1982, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007 (and many more) and definitely the first few months of 2014 where we seem to have been on the brink of financial and football disaster once again...

Not since Howard Wilkinson's time when he put a proper ten-year plan in place have we really seen a true and sustainable strategic connection between football club and football team. If convicted rapists have been deemed fit and proper to run clubs in the Football League, then none have raped our club more than GFH allegedly taking out the TV and Season Ticket money and bleeding the club dry until now. Any human being who thinks that Luke Varney is a better prospect than Ashley Barnes must have been on Prozac rather than Prozone. As I write this, there is a hot rumour that David Haigh has left the club and I hope that the Together Leeds consortium might still consider taking some or part of the 25% still held by GFH. I believe involving them in the governance of our club would be a good thing, now that the financial requirement of them is reduced. They are also open to true fan involvement in the running of the club and a far better communication channel would be a great start.

And so to Massimo Cellino. I was reading the written judgement last night of his appeal against the Football League decision to disqualify him (with 'The Football League's corrupt' still ringing in my ears from the Wigan game) and Rob Atkinson also talks about this in his excellent blog post. Like Rob, I am quite appalled at the lengths to which the Football League seemed to be trying to ban someone who has run a football club for 22 years and can provide the finances necessary to save and re-build the League's biggest brand.

As Tim Kerr QC says in point 50 on page 14 "all concerned in this process,including the League,would be expected in general terms to support the attempts of the club, with its illustrious history, to overcome its current financial difficulties, with or without Mr Cellino as a director." I think he was surprised that the League were so disinterested in looking after 'one of their own' that they did not take the specialist legal advice open to them at the outset - presuming PR and public opinion to validate their stance - and then tried to discredit the Italian legal expert they had been relying on when his evidence seemed to undermine rather than support their case. It all smacks of grubby men in grubby rooms with self-interest at heart in the case of the other club chairmen asked to rule on their greatest rival club and an incredibly destructive mentality from those expected to explore all feasible ways of supporting their members rather than seeking to annihilate them...

We've seen it all before on many occasions of course, from dodgy FA Cup decisions against Chelsea in the 1960's, then being forced to play a ridiculous number of games in too short a period in 1970 which was guaranteed to destroy our chances and of course the apparently selfish and nasty campaign led by Brian Mawhinney seven years ago. None of this includes those notorious and blatant acts of corruption on a European scale in 1973 and 1975 and lack of real concern by the authorities after Galatasaray. If you're seriously looking for acts of dishonesty in Europe then there they are. Perhaps Chris and Kevin and their families will draw some crumbs of comfort that yesterday of all days should be a day when the tide may finally have turned for Leeds United...

There is some worry about whether the Football League will still try to make a comeback and try to annul this deal in the summer but surely even they can see beyond their silver cutlery and crystal glasses that legislation on a European and spectacularly expensive scale may not be advisable - and certainly too risky for a body with a responsibility for many football clubs and supposed 'duty of care.'

And so to the team. I think we all know the strengths and weaknesses of both players and manager. I have always hoped it might come right for Brian and part of me still does but I do worry about some of his tactical changes and player selections and am concerned that he might just not be big enough for our club and fans. Watching Uwe Rosler kicking off on the touchline yesterday and Brian wandering around with his notepad didn't and doesn't fill me with confidence. I am quiet, like Brian, and do things quietly but I wonder if we need more gravitas and maybe even a fear factor from players who have to face an angry rather than just disappointed or mystified manager?

I have had a difficult March with first my Mum suffering a stroke and then my Dad dying. The stress has not been helped by lack of communication about what has really been going on at our beloved club. Bill Shankly may have been wrong about football being more important than life and death but it is on the darkest of days that football offers us hope of sunnier times ahead. Go Leeds United; Strength to Leeds United; Forza Leeds United. It makes such a difference to all of our lives and the clue is in our name; the togetherness of Leeds United fans is something the Football League could learn so much from.

No takeover at Leeds United yet?

2014-02-22T18:00:00.000+00:00

In my last post I queried whether Brian McDermott's tenure at Leeds United was coming to an end. Like many LUFC fans I still really hope that he is the one to galvanise owners, fans and players and re-build our great club that we have been so passionately following for so many years. Brian is still there - perhaps it is because of the takeover not happening yet?

Today, after a ten day break which had given the team chance to 'recover' and with the promise of quick, attacking football on the 'front foot' and with 'lots of crosses into the box' more than three thousand faithful Leeds United fans went to the edge of the Tees with a true goal fest in mind. In the event the team were ponderous, at best pedestrian and always predictable - perhaps it is because of the takeover not happening yet?

Jack Butland was and is a fantastic prospect but, in true Leeds United style, we will let him return to the Midlands because we won't be prepared to pay for a player that Roy might yet take to the World Cup in Brazil in the summer - perhaps it is because of the takeover not happening yet?

Pearce and Murphy played their hearts out. Murphy may not yet be displaying the ingenuity we hoped of him but he tries so hard as does Ross McCormack. The problem is that, starved of any kind of service, McCormack comes so deep that his threat is diminished because of it - perhaps it is because of the takeover not happening yet?

Brian McDermott tells us that the side are now playing in the formation he favours. Surely that does not mean though that he cannot see when it is not working? Noel Hunt is also trying really hard and I absolutely applaud that, but what chance did he have against giant defenders such as Woodgate and Friend ( and make no mistake, If there is one Championship fixture Jonathan Woodgate will be up for every season it is this one)? Perhaps it is because of the takeover not happening yet?

Brian may once have seen that our wingers had 'pace to burn' but none of us have yet. Maybe they are still unfit or just frightened to play for Leeds United? Maybe they need more time and good pre-seasons behind them? Or maybe, as with Peltier at Leicester, Reading and Palace and Hull have all bitten Brian's hand off in offloading players that they could see would not be good enough to play for their teams? Or, perhaps it is because of the takeover not happening yet?

Austen was truly woeful today and he is a player who either seems to be on it or absolutely off his game. Why can Brian not see this and make changes? Why does he not see when energy levels have fallen and introduce fresh legs? Smith got eight minutes today and yet made a real impact. OK it was like watching Stoke City play but it was the only period in the match when we really looked like scoring. Maybe we really just don't have the quality players we need or perhaps it is because of the takeover not happening yet?

Brian was impressed with us producing a clean sheet today against a team that have less chance of scoring than a one-legged hooker. Maybe we should watch the clothes in the washing machine go round instead then? At least we'd have more movement and see different shapes at play. Or perhaps it is because of the takeover not happening yet?

You see the takeover I am talking about is not the club takeover that a belligerent and unsupportive Football League may still block. It is the one that Brian and his coaching team should have completed by now. Yes he inherited the pension fund pressure of Neil Warnock but we had no shots on target today (remember Hull and Barnsley away last season?). Yes he had to turn things around to avoid relegation at the end of last season and professed his faith in the amazing aerial ability of Luke Varney who then refused to play for him. Yes, his hands have been tied in terms of who to bring into the club but he has brought players in that he either sticks to like glue or simply lets them slide off of the bench and into obscurity.

Brian has to take over the minds of players and convince them that they are good enough to play for Leeds United because whereas too many were lazy under Warnock too many now look frightened under McDermott: frightened to take players on; to try something different; to actually make penetrating passes; to take risks. Maybe Brian needs someone at the club to convince him that he is really good enough and tactically astute enough to manage a club like Leeds United? It hasn't been easy and we loyal fans may not be easy to live with but football is not about an easy life unless you are Wayne Rooney.

Brown for Austen and Poleon for Kebe might have been wise replacements in the second half today but they never came. We used to hammer Warnock for his lack of technical nous and being behind the times. I still think Brian is on the way up and has much to learn himself. Everyone needs time to do that. I think he should blood younger players in our remaining games now that the Play-Offs are well and truly beyond us and if he really believes in 'taking the handbrake off' then convince the players - not us - that he really means it.

Perhaps it is because of the club takeover not happening yet that it is still too early to judge Brian but I hope we see a lot more evidence of his own tactical and motivational makeover if not takeover before the end of this season.

Is the life of Brian about to end at Leeds United?

2014-02-12T13:17:00.002+00:00

I am not a football manager and, no, I don't pretend to be by playing computer games. Neither do I think anyone should play games with people's minds when they are simply doing their best to play football or manage footballers.

I am a football fan though. I have supported Leeds United for more than forty five years and am loyal to the club despite so many 'ups and downs' over all those years. Two thousand LUFC fans went away to Brighton last night and many of them will also have made the five hundred and fifty mile round trip to Yeovil and back just three days earlier. No other team in the Championship and few in the country can command the level of continuing support that Leeds United do. The Leeds United label has come to mean many things to many people: 'dirty,' 'financially inept' and so on but the most applicable word for what it really means to be a Leeds United fan is loyalty.

Like so many others I have been refreshing various browser screens this morning to see if there any updates on the takeover and, even under GFH, it appears that financial mismanagement or brinkmanship at the very least has accompanied all of the good things the owners have done in terms of reducing or freezing admission prices and great outreach initiatives into the community.

Brian McDermott came in to try and harness fans' loyalty to an absolute requirement for owners, management and players to all pull in the same direction. Don Revie did much the same when he arrived fifty years ago and, yes, I guess each and every Leeds United fan craves for another glorious period of sustained success. Brian is a really nice guy and, has said the right things and I, like so many others, have been a true believer in what he has and is trying to do.

There is an impatience among LUFC fans too though and, although I thought a draw at Brighton last night would have been a really good result, I was disappointed that we simply didn't have enough ideas to compete with a side who are better than us, as were Leicester, Burnley, QPR, Derby, Forest and - in the end - Reading. Those teams also have more quality players than we do, as we all know, and more capable squads to make real promotion challenges.

I am not a football manager. I have seen Pugh do a job for us on occasions but have yet to see Kebe make a real difference - apart from fleetingly against Huddersfield. I do not know why Ariyibi does not get any game time at all when Brian is so keen on wingers. I do worry whether or not Tom Lees is really going to be able to make it at the highest level and whether Murphy is the real deal. Mostly I wonder what would happen if Ross got injured. I am not a football manager and do not have an insight into the ins and outs of financial requirements or injuries or other off-the-field problems.

I have just read the piece by James Brown where he questions whether Brian is the right man for Leeds United after all; there is of course the usual bickering on Facebook groups and other social channels. We are lifelong fans and have the right to ask these questions. I for one have always supported the view that the Bates/Warnock (and maybe also GFH) damage will take longer than one season to clear up. The 'better' clubs than us have had periods of continual growth and improvement and, let's face it, QPR have also benefited from the 'rich man's play thing' kind of investment that puts them in a different league to most of the rest of us to start with.

I do still really hope Brian will turn things around with a board that backs him and his decisions for the long-term. As with the England team though, I also worry about getting older and, with each passing year, not seeing Leeds really and fundamentally progress or get near to a major trophy again. I am still patient and still a believer in Brian but I do have to say that I worry when Leeds United players seem devoid of ideas or the management do not seem to be able to change things tactically. We had this with Simon Grayson in the end and Kevin Blackwell before him.

I don't ever want to attend another play-off game like that one in Cardiff against Watford but I would like to feel that if we got there again we'd know what to do to make the difference.

In Leeds United's defence

2014-01-12T11:33:00.000+00:00

Like many Leeds United fans I woke up yesterday morning with a fresh spring in my step. We had finally signed two genuine wingers with 'pace to burn' by all accounts and who would give us width and finally decent service to Matt Smith. I hadn't expected both of them to play from the start but did think they'd appear at Sheffield Wednesday at some point.

For fans of LUFC it is never dull and things rarely run according to the best-laid plans or expectations. Stewart and Kebe both started the game - despite some initial and understandable concerns about their fitness levels, familiarity with the team and so on - but Matt Smith was left on the bench. We were sort of playing a back three with Peltier and Pugh pushing on to give us width we should surely now have had in abundance?

I can't dwell on what happened next as the images are too stark and upsetting. Alcohol has helped to dull the pain but still the horror film rolls at the back of my mind...

I trust Brian McDermott implicitly. I like him and like the respect he shows for others but I didn't understand his tactics yesterday. To me it smacked of the terrible run of form we've had recently and him getting carried away with having not one but two wingers that we've all been crying out for since he arrived last season. I think he truly believed we would blow both Sheffield Wednesday away and also those lingering doubts that had formed during December and the early days of 2014.

For me, there are three things that need addressing:

1. We had resorted to playing a long ball game largely for two reasons: firstly, our defence were running scared and just wanted to clear their lines quickly each time and, secondly, we had a giant of a striker up front who surely would get on the end of something and magically make things happen for the team. I'll come back to the defense but just to say yet again that Matt Smith is learning the game and has much still to learn! The expectation and pressure that a long ball game puts on any target man is immense and I think he felt that keenly when he finally came on yesterday. Youthful naievety and aggression in the form of 'rough 'em up a bit Matt and grab us an early goal' proved disastrous and we'll never know whether an assumed 4-4-2 would have worked any better against the Owls or not. Smith won't be back for three games and I'm really hoping we can try a midfield passing approach with width and speed down the wings before he returns and we are tempted to slip back into a 'give it to Matt quickly' approach. Against Leicester and Ipswich, though they are tough games to follow the thrashing, we really have no alternative but to try something different but also less cavalier than yesterday.

2. The defense is clearly shell-shocked, hence the 'get rid quick' approach. For me this began against Nottingham Forest. Halford should never have been allowed to ghost in behind three big centre-halfs and get to the ball, let alone a header on target. I don't think our defence has really recovered from this one aberration. In that game we suffered a bombardement, got back into it and still lost to a wonder strike. Our midfield went missing or failed to hold on to the ball time and time again. If you add all of that up in a defender's mind you get to a point of uncertainty and insecurity - certainly not a safe platform to build on.

3. If the defence is psychologically damaged, the midfield is struggling with existentialism. Austin has really struggled lately. Only he and Brian will know if the captaincy is too much for him. Whether it is or not, his form has been erratic. Mowatt is, like Smith, young and still learning. I really believe he will be a tremendous player but am also concerned that we'll overplay him like Byram last season and/or he will have too much responsibility too young and apparent disappointment apportioned to him will cause him to leave for a club that will truly nurture such a talent as happened with Lennon.

I personally would make Jason Pearce the captain. I think he and Paddy Kenny have been our most consistent performers this season. I also think captaincy from the back is always preferable in terms of reading the game and the players' performances. Pearce is playing with Zaliukas and Lees or Wootton. Zaliukas's confidence has clearly deserted him while Lees and Wootton are excellent prospects but need their confidence restoring.

To aid Pearce in his captaincy and the entire defense in their difficult period I would play a version of the diamond with a traditional back four comprising Byram on the right, Pearce and one from Lees, Wootton or Zaliukas in the centre, and Warnock on the left. We have Peltier and Pugh as alternatives and can be brought in or out according to injuries and/or changes required in the game when we need to push on or hold on.

I'd play two defensive midfielders in front of them from Austin, Tongue and Brown - or younger but experienced players bought to play in that same position. Our defense desperately needed additional protection yesterday and I think this would begin to address their confidence issues. They were just hopelessly exposed, quite apart from not operating as an organized unit. If Austen or Tongue need to support the attack then the defence still has some midfield presence in front of it. If either full back goes forward then one of the defensive midfielders fills the space. Again, it means we aren't left with an exposed back three fearing the worst.

Ahead of them I'd have three with Kebe and Stewart wide when they get fit and one from Murphy or Mowatt in the middle. Mowatt's confidence will improve from knowing their are two behind him and hopefully Murphy's creativity will finally flourish consistently. In the meantime both could play until our new wide men are ready, or can be mixed up during a match if we need injections of speed which Poleon could also supply.

I'd have Ross up front with an option of bringing Matt Smith in during a game and sacrificing a defensive midfielder if the game was running away from us.

There are no doubt lots of reasons why this might not work but I believe it would give the team a better balance and shape and buy time to get over the nightmares. We saw in the first part of the season that we have decent squad, now supplemented by width. I wonder if we don't still need better quality in midfield but also am a believer in developing the players we have - and I'm delighted that McDermott is trying to do this while not overplaying that youthful talent.

It's tough at the moment but we march on. Sacking the manager is absurd. Under Warnock and, in the later days, Grayson, I felt laziness and complacency had set in. I don't think that is the case here but I do think confidence (and I include Brian in this) had already gone before yesterday's mis-match and only patience and long-term planning is going to really make a difference. Yes there will be freak results from time to time but yesterday's is still thankfully consigned to a relatively small sample such as the 5.0 to Barnsley or the 3.7 to Forest or the 7.1 at Stoke...

White day at Blackburn

2013-11-28T17:16:00.000+00:00

Although I can't be there at Ewood Park with the 6,800 travelling Leeds United fans on Saturday I will be there in spirit as I was nearly ten years ago when we played Blackburn Rovers on 10th April 2004.

We got an early goal through Stephen Caldwell and then Mark Viduka scored just before the end. Being Leeds of course that wasn't the end. Craig Short got a goal back in injury time for Rovers to shred our nerves even further but we held on for a second consecutive Premier League win - for the first time in what was a miserable season for LUFC.

We all remember Viduka for the game at Bolton of course but on that April afternoon we and Eddie Gray thought he was going to repeat the heroics of the previous season (remember that goal against Arsenal?) and keep us up. He didn't and we were relegated with the same number of points (33) as Leicester and vile Dave Jones's Wolves. Our goal difference was a terrible -39: the same as Wolves.

Brad Friedel was in goal for Rovers that day and Paul Robinson for Leeds. We also had Alan Smith up front while they had Andy Cole. It all seems such a long while ago doesn't it and, when you look at the four teams just above us who narrowly avoided relegation themselves: Everton, Manchester City, Blackburn and Tottenham it is a stark reminder of how much has changed in football's top tier.

So here we are again except now we're in the Championship and fighting out for a promotion slot with Leicester again and possibly Blackburn if they became more consistent and kept Jordan Rhodes fit. They beat Middlesboro at home (who doesn't!) but also lost at Ewood to Charlton. None of these results against teams we've also faced will have any bearing on Saturday of course. We have hit form again and are scoring goals from many more chances created. The -39 goal difference is hopefully behind us forever but the ambition to repeat our 2004 win at one of the league's oldest grounds must be as high as ever.

That game in 2004 was played under tremendous pressure for both teams. We're not at the business end of the season yet but what an investment it would be in our future plans to come away with at least a point. Even if we lose I really hope the fickleness doesn't return with the tired and deflating knee-jerk reactions just undermining everyone again. Every Leeds United fan is entitled to their opinion but I hope we can start taking a longer view of things again now and rebuild the club properly.

I for one would not wish to go back ten years and be in the Premier League, listening to the game on 5 Live or watching it in person; it wasn't fun, it was painful. Even after we won that game I still worried that we might go down. I'd far rather be worrying about going up and being pretty confident that we'd have the club and squad to survive if we did. I think we're on our way again and who knows where we will be in 2024; it could be Ewood Park because, after all, chickens do fly...

Go west young men, say Leeds United

2013-10-31T11:01:00.000+00:00

Saturday sees the latest in a brief series of football encounters between Leeds United and Yeovil Town. There have been few meetings between these two clubs to date and, in the heyday of the great Leeds United teams, such a fixture would not only have been considered to be a mismatch but surely some kind of mistake by the schedulers.

We last played them away in April 2010 and won 2.1 on our way to promotion from League One. The only Football League team from Somerset, Yeovil were themselves promoted to the Championship for the first time in their history after beating Brentford 2.1 in last season's Play-Off Final. Their rise up the leagues has been spectacular in recent seasons though it took them 108 years to enter the Football League which they did in 2003.

Perhaps known best for FA Cup giant killing (notably Sunderland in 1949 - always good for LUFC supporters) and their former ground - Huish - which had a famous slope to the pitch, they are now seeking further league success and that mission continues at Elland Road this weekend.

Having taking time to adjust to the higher level, they beat Forest 3.1 last week which will have done their confidence no harm at all and manager Gary Johnson is suggesting that an early goal for them will silence the Leeds United fans. Well, your fans aren't going to silence us, Gary; no opposition supporters could ever even dream of doing that but you might just get an early goal.

Having got in front against Huddersfield Town so early in last week's derby game and then clawed our way back into it, there was no getting away from poor defending once again. The horrors of Millwall and Derby County are clearly not too far away and much has been talked about our defence again on Leeds United forums this week.

We all thought the 3-5-2 formation which demolished Birmingham City might just provide the strategic platform Brian McDermott has been looking for. It still might be but basic defending remains the bedrock of any team's consistent success and clearly this is still a work-in-progress. However, with good performances and especially wins, confidence will grow if we are all patient and stick with it. I imagine we might see the new Lithuanian international defender Marius Zaliukas playing some part on Saturday though. Apparently he had a storming match for the Development Squad against Barnsley in midweek and already seems more Lucas than Roque.

The real problem for me, though, is reputation. We assumed we would beat Huddersfield last week as no more than county neighbours on the fringes of a West Yorkshire we dominate. Many are already assuming a heavy defeat of the yokels from the countryside this weekend. We have to get away from this. I grew up with the great Leeds team as so many of us did. Even Wilkinson's and O'Leary's Leeds United football teams (let's not mention the management) suffered by comparison, often because of this same 'big club' reputation. It can only cause pressure for everyone at the club in trying to deliver 'certainty' in a game where uncertainty provides its biggest excitement for fans up and down the country. In turn we fans just become more stressed and disproportionately demoralised if things don't pan out the way we were assured they would.

Yes, Yeovil will be out to slay one of the great former giants of the game but we have to build and grow our club to become contemporary giants once again. Yeovil have every right to be playing at Elland Road and I am looking forward to a good, competitive match. I do think we will have too much for them but let Brian's team do the talking for us, especially from back to front (hope that doesn't sound too daft?).

Let's then hope that Yeovil's players return to the West Country with a point made but no points in their collective bag.

Brum glum or glee for Leeds United?

2013-10-14T15:51:00.000+00:00

Almost exactly a year ago I wrote a post in this blog and syndicated to the weallloveleeds site. It was entitled 'Leeds United edging past Birmingham City' and looked forward to the forthcoming match between LUFC and Birmingham and also previous games, including the famous FA Cup semi-final win in 1972.

On Sunday we face them again at Elland Road for the first time since narrowly losing at St Andrews towards the end of last season when Brian McDermott had already guided us to Championship safety. A lot has been made of our dismal run of form recently but let's think back to where the Warnock era had left us - on the brink of League One. Let's remember the way we started this campaign and our unbeaten run; I even saw us win at Ipswich!

It's been worrying, that's for sure, but Brian and the players do not go bad overnight. Had we won rather than lost in the dying seconds at Reading things may not have gone downhill so fast; confidence might not have crumbled and players like Noel Hunt may not have tried too hard to do what previously came naturally to him. Brian was a Chief Scout and we should all trust in his informed opinions of what the players in the Leeds United squad can and cannot do.

The international break probably came at a good time this time. I remember last season - having just scraped past Barnsley - it affected our rhythm and we struggled to recover. So, the whole team and coaching staff have had the opportunity to take an outside-of-the box approach without the pressure of immediate success that each next fixture brings. We will all be hoping they have managed to find new combinations of positions and maybe even a new team shape to try. That's what we trust them to do.

I dearly want to see us back in the top league and winning. What I don't want is to be going to places like St Andrews again having survived relegation by the skin of our goalposts. None of us need or deserve that kind of stress. So let's stick behind the youth and experience our squad provides and trust in Brian, Neil and the team to find that winning formula. Hurling abuse and expecting instant success is never going to work for any club in the long-term. It might get worse still before it gets better but I want Leeds United to be building a new legacy for us all to look back on, not just relying on these dips into our glorious past.

Joy for Leeds United in the North East?

2013-09-25T11:07:00.001+00:00

So tonight some 6,000 Leeds United fans will travel to St James Park for the Capital One Cup tie against Newcastle United. It's a game I'm sure all LUFC fans are looking forward to - another opportunity to test ourselves against a Premier League club, following recent seasons' encounters with both Manchester, Liverpool and North London clubs, oh, and Southampton.

It's also a no-win situation in many ways. If we do well it's another league cup fixture to fit in whereas if we get thumped we'll worry about the shaky recent confidence of the team being badly affected. How many times have we worried about cup runs ruining our league campaigns? We are not in the position yet to be able to accommodate both and it not have a negative net effect. However, this is a real opportunity for Brian McDermott to try out some new ideas and I hope some of the younger players in the first-team squad do get opportunities. We no longer seem to be under the Bates/Warnock cosh to earn cash wherever and whenever possible and I hope our longer-term approach to the club these days enables both Brian and the players to 'express themselves' tonight.

Newcastle are, of course, coming off of the back of a poor performance against Hull City at the weekend. Normally, I'd have expected them to be resting some of their more experienced players (or shielding them from more bad experiences?) but, given their stuttering league form, I think they will put out a strong side with the belief that a cup run for them could be exactly what they need to breathe the heart back into the Toon Army.

We're in a bit of a striking desert at the moment aren't we? I feel for the five strikers at the club who read the news, as we all do, and know that we are looking for the elusive 'golden striker' to come in and make everything better. At the same time, I think we all have to stay behind them and the Leeds United coaches in getting past what we all hope are short-term blips. I can't help thinking that Becchio was the one we relied on so much at times like this when his colleagues were misfiring but he's lost in a desert of his agent's own making in Norfolk...

Thinking about golden strikers and games against Newcastle it was interesting to see the piece on the official Leeds United site this morning when we last played them in the league cup in a two-legged affair in 1982. I remember this match well, especially as we lost a goal at St James's so early to go 2.0 down on aggregate. Coming back to win 4.1 on the night - and Terry Connor applying the finishing touch - was just fantastic.

However, when I think of games up there I always remember the game ten years earlier in September, 1972. We lost 3.2 but it was an amazing match as described on the Mighty Whites site, with one of the goals of the season scored by Allan Clarke - a true golden striker if ever there was on. He shot delicately past Iam McFaul but the wind helped the swerve so that it appeared he was hitting it way outside the post and it just curled back in. I watched it again and again on the opening credits of Match of the Day that season and, of course, tried to recreate it endlessly in the garden but an apple tree kept getting in the way. Malcolm Macdonald scored the winner that day but beauty was in the eye of the beholder and the season was far more ours than theirs.

Will history repeat itself? Who knows. It's still a beautiful game and we're still in love with Leeds.

Reading between the lines

2013-09-19T16:41:00.000+00:00

Like most Leeds United fans I was sickened by our defeat at Reading last night. To lose in the 96th minute of the game was devastating and I was inconsolable for a long time afterwards - such is the passion we all have for LUFC.

The first things I thought about when I woke up this morning were how we conceded that late goal, how Pearce's late header could have made such a difference, whether I could face breakfast yet or not...

I then started to read reports from Leeds fans and football reporters. Almost nobody could explain why there had been more than the four minutes of added time signalled by the officials. Almost everybody seemed to be blaming Warnock (where have we all heard that before?) and one or two long-standing fans like myself were urging caution.

I did think we would get something at Reading but also recognised that Nigel Adkins was going to be looking for a reaction from his team after another abject display at the weekend. We have narrowly lost to Reading and QPR - two of the teams who were in the Premier League last season. We weren't thrashed. We weren't played off of the park. We could easily have drawn these games and, let's face it, it's very unlikely we would have done so with the previous management in place.

Stephen Warnock made a mistake and, unlike his namesake, was honest enough to admit it. He will make errors again but he will more often show us what a great defender he is. Matt Smith is rusty and clumsy and lacking in confidence. With game time and great coaching from Brian and his team he will come good. Brian made his name as a scout: do not believe for one moment that he has suddenly and inexplicably lost his woggle. Noel Hunt is already frustrated by his lack of goals and is almost certainly trying that bit too hard because he is not relaxed. For most of us we can take our bad days to bed with a stiff drink. Leeds United players have to suffer from their own temporary lack of self-confidence in front of thousands of passionate fans, week in and week out. Yes we have a right to offer our opinions - we pay for all of this after all - but good players do not go bad overnight.

We can all see that there is a lack of pace in the team. Again, I have no doubt that efforts are being made to address this and it isn't just about money. I would like to see Ryan Hall at least get a chance. Remember when Poleon was recalled from his loan deal and then Warnock, quite inexplicably, still refused to play him? There must be some other reason why Hall does not even get on the first-team bench and yet does play for the Development Team. I also think White will get a chance on Saturday now. It may be the perfect opportunity to try a few things out. They may not work out but surely it is worth a try? We might lose but the Leeds United world will not end if we do. The world keeps going round. It didn't feel like it this morning but, of course, it does now.

Brian McDermott is trying to build something new and long-lasting for our club. The last person to try to do this was Howard Wilkinson and, of course, the great Don Revie before that. David O'Leary reaped the rewards of Howard's 10-year vision and investment in youth and it may be that Brian has moved on before his vision is fully realised at Elland Road. These things can take a long time and let us not forget the corporate damage that has been done to our club, ensuring that future investment is, like Brian's coaching decisions, made cautiously.

When I was young I used to play for hours with Lego. I built some fabulous houses with wall-to-wall windows but they were flimsy and often broke (usually at bedtime, causing untold childish rages especially if Leeds had also lost on the radio the same evening). My Grandad was a real builder and he showed me how to build solid foundations and strengthen walls. Once I learned to do that I was able to build even more fabulous buildings and with the added advantage that they lasted for as long as I wanted them to (sadly, I usually decided to build an aeroplane or marbles factory almost immediately after completion).

My laboured point is that of course we all want to see fabulous football in the Premier League but surely none of us wants to have a taste of that and then eat the humble pie of relegation once more because our new house is built on quicksand? We have to build this thing brick by brick. Brian cannot do it on his own. The owners need to help but so do we, the fans. Yes we can debate and criticize selections and performances but we have barely started on the re-building. I don't believe this will be our season but I'm pretty sure it will be next season. Let's not allow every crack in the rendering become a source of damp tears or destructive icy slagging off of everything and everyone who moves (or doesn't). We can do this and we will do this but only by marching on together.

Love Leeds United internationals, hate the breaks

2013-09-05T16:50:00.001+00:00

I wrote a piece about Greg Dyke, Chairman of the Football Association, in my blog on thefootballground this afternoon. Greg has expressed aspirations for England to win the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Although this fits into a rather neat 10-year plan, which Greg is unlikely to see the end of, I fear he will also not see the end result he appears to desire.

All the same, Leeds United supporters like myself will be missing watching our club this weekend as a result of the 'international break.' We will instead be facing up to two crucial World Cup qualifiers on Friday and next Tuesday. Greg obviously thinks we have no chance of winning next year's World Cup in Brazil citing the fact that no European team have ever won the trophy in South America - not even Germany, on penalties... all the same I shall be getting behind all of the 'home' nations as I always do.

Football fans of my generation will remember some great World Cup games of the past, not all with the results our countries expected: England losing in Poland and at Wembley in 1973; Scotland beating Wales to qualify for the Mexico World Cup in 1986, only for the result being soured almost immediately by the untimely death of Jock Stein; the Republic of Ireland in Italia '90 including that penalty from David O'Leary and, of course, Northern Ireland in Spain in 1982.

I was always looking out at the international games through a Leeds United lens of course. I remember a thunderbolt from Norman Hunter against Wales in the 1974 qualifying campaign as well as his Wembley mistake and then Allan Clarke's penalty. I remember Peter Lorimer and Billy Bremner playing for Scotland in 1974 in Germany - especially a famous 0.0 against Brazil. Further back, Terry Cooper playing fantastically for England during that best of all World Cup tournaments in Brazil in 1970 and Big Jack holding England's defence together with brother Bobby in 1966 - which is pretty much when I first entered this fantastic world of football we all inhabit.

More recently I was thinking of some of our great midfield players such as Brian Flynn playing for Wales and Robert Snodgrass for Scotland. Currently Ross McCormack is on Gordon Strachan's (remember him and smile) Scotland radar and, of course, Rudy treks over to Jamaica and back. Similarly, who could forget Lucas Radebe's contribution as South African captain or Gary Speed's performances for Wales. There are many, many more and these are just some of the players and match memories that instantly came into my mind.

The memories do come flooding back, don't they? I always dreaded LUFC players coming back injured as, selfishly I know, even from a very young age, Leeds United meant the world to me (not the more appropriately titled World Cup) and club always came before country.

I suppose that's why Greg Dyke is now addressing the 'problem' in that club football dominates our countries these days to the detriment of our national teams and the development of young, home-grown players for club as well as country. I was thrilled at Sam Byram and Tom Lees being called up for England as I always am when any Leeds United player gets international recognition. For me, watching players like Dawson and Mowatt first making basecamp at Leeds before going on to attempt the international peaks, will hopefully make these weekend breaks all the more worthwhile.

Or Well, Leeds United cross the Ipswich river at last

2013-08-25T10:00:00.000+00:00

It was twelve years since Leeds United had beaten Ipswich Town away and the rain lashing the seemingly endless A14 yesterday did not augur well. LUFC fans were gathered outside the pub next to the railway station with the river on the other side of them. Spirits (and beer) were high but it was as though nobody quite dared to cross the bridge on to Portman Road itself. I've been at the last two games there and, honestly, it has always seemed a bridge too far (and no, I don't blame Tom Lees for his lack of civil engineering skill)

Unfortunately Tom did make a mistake for what was a fairly soft Ipswich opener and should have dealt with it better. In the four games of the league season so far he does look a bit less assured but I put that down to both youth and the huge desire to satisfy both Brian McDermott and the legion of Leeds fans who travel to the ends of the earth - and Ipswich certainly fits that description.

However, I thought that Lees and Pearce actually played pretty well for the most part, as did Green in front of them. We had to survive barrage after barrage in the second half with a seemingly non stop flow of corners from both sides but stood firm and had a much better (or more organised at least) shape about us in the second half. Ross scoring just after half-time clearly helped with confidence, though he didn't do ours much good with his muted celebration and despite our assuring anyone who would listen that he really wasn't for sale...

Varney went for everything again (including a paper and a bottle of milk) and you cannot question his commitment. He was too eager at times and got caught offside too often but, hey, when his first-half chance came he took it really well. Apart from one horribly mistimed tackle Austen was solid again but I do wonder about his fitness levels and the impending, obligatory trip to Jamaica must be a concern for Brian.

Murphy showed some great touches and at one point early in the second half we played some really slick passing football. I suppose nerves over finally being in touching distance of winning in the Suffolk desert were bound to play a part and the persistent rain did nothing to quench the dryness in all of our throats. We seemed unwilling to really go for it with a typical away, smash and grab, strategy and too often got to the halfway line and then simply were unsure whether to have and hold or move further forward.

Pace is still an issue. When Poleon came on for Varney we looked alive in a way we hadn't quite done for the most part of the match. Given he's been playing in the Development games I'm still not sure why Ryan Hall doesn't get a place on the bench. Either he's not really fit, has psychological problems thinking he's a fishing rod instead of a footballer or he makes follically-challenged jokes when he thinks Brian can't hear him?

All in all, we did cross the river together and we finally prevailed. We must surely draw confidence from days like this and it did remind me of Reading grinding out those wins two seasons ago. As for the Ipswich fans, I know we sang non-stop as usual but, really, they didn't get behind their team at all who were, frankly, as passive as everyone in blue deserved. If Ipswich did something daft like say damming the Orwell and diverting the water into the players' showers to save money and were made to play their matches behind closed doors, I honestly don't think anyone would really notice.