Difficult to know how to write a report on that match without sounding utterly negative and depressing.
Mark H noted we would have lost this 5-0 a few months ago. Well, we'd have lost 5-0 on Tuesday as well if Sunderland had played well. As I said to my Mackem mate at half time, as 2 useless teams trudged off - there were 2 sh1t teams out there, the difference is, one of them is clearly capable of playing better. And it wasn't us. Taking specifics, we went out with a centre back at right back, a left mid at left back and a right back at right mid and a I don't quite know what at left mid. Now whatever your squad's shortcomings (and by god there are plenty) you have to get the very basics right - get them fit (well done on that Wise), play them in their right positions (nope), get basic skills in place (nope) and play to a clear plan (nope). Now Richardson is not a magnificent footballer waiting to blossom. But he is good enough for this level. Let's just give him 10 games at right back and find out. Stop giving him one or two games there then dropping / moving him. Especially when you put a clod hopping joke of a centre back behind him who looks terrified when the ball arrives at his feet. Anyway, score on the doors: Warner: 6 - not to blame for either goal but never invoked confidence - handling always looked suspect. Foxe: 3 - basically a pity 3, as it isn't his fault he is being picked out of position and he tried. But he is an appalling full back. And one attempt he had at kicking a ball with his left foot was staggeringly embarrassing. How can a very highly paid footballer be entirely incapable of kicking a ball with one of his feet. What has he done in 10 years of training? Heath - 2 - a lump who lumps around lumping stuff. A Coventry reserve. Ehiogu - 7 - our MOTM for me. A couple of shocking passes but generally commanded the air, looked a class above the shower around him and looked perplexed at the ineptitude of others. Why oh why can we not see him and Killer together? Looked very unimpressed at being subbed and very hard to blame him. Lewis - 6 - our second best player. Coped pretty well with being targeted by Sunderland in first half by all their attacks (quite why they didn't switch to attacking the other wing was a mystery). Probably our best option at left back at present, but the cost is we lose our only creative option in midfield. Richardson: 3.5 - a full back playing in midfield. Not terribly good though tried. Would like to see him encouraged more to go on those runs and take people on but lacked the confidence to do it. Douglas: 1 - oh dear. Everyone else has said all there is to say already. Derry: 4 - any good moments that happened in our midfield tended to involve him - the odd perceptive pass or impressive interception. These were, however, very rare moments. Westlake: 2 - for trying. At one moment in the second half we had a great chance to break, with Westlake just inside our own half. He was on his own. Men were breaking either side ahead of him. Under no pressure at all he randomly passed the ball to a Sunderland player in the middle of the pitch when there was no Leeds player within 20 yards of where he kicked it. Everyone just looked bemused. Kandol & Beckford: 0 - take a punt on random lower league / non-league players and the odds are most of the time you will get lower / non-league performances. Both awful. If we sign Kandol I will cry. Devoid of intelligence, understanding and threat. Subs: Killer: 8 - made about 3 brilliant blocks in his brief spell on the pitch putting up a one man resistance to what could have become a massacre. Worryingly limped off. I despise the petty internal club politics that seem to be going on that means Healy, Killer and Kelly, probably our best 3 players, sit on the sidelines. We are in enough trouble as it is - why handicap ourselves still further? The only people being punished are the club and the fans. Healy and Moore - 6 - actually made their centre backs think and work in their brief spell on the pitch, and this when we were down to 10 men for the last few minutes after Killer limped off. Healy may be a lazy so and so, but frankly with Blake injured he is our only glimmer of class and poor work rate or not he simply has to be on the pitch. You don't win matches if you never look like scoring. It was the most inept Leeds performance in terms of inability to manage basic 10 yard passes I can remember in a long time. Confidence is obviously a massive factor but at the same time they have to be working on these basic things in training. Also, when Wise first came in we seemed to have a few innovative and interesting set piece routines. These have now dried up and whenever we got a freekick people just seemed to lumber up going through the motions rather than looking like they had a belief we could make anything happen. Our game plan basically seemed to consist of seeing how long we could go before we conceded. It was all a matter of when rather than if though, and we got exactly what we deserved. Come on Dennis, we need direction, purpose and a clear sense of players playing committed to, and believing in, a plan. You cannot just rely on new faces pepping it up, otherwise they will just quickly sink into the same morass as the existing rabble. And whatever you do, do not sign Kandol, Heath or Warner permanently. And on that cheery note I wish you a happy new year... DW ******* This message and any attachment are confidential and may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, please telephone or email the sender and delete this message and any attachment from your system. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy this message or attachment or disclose the contents to any other person. For further information about Clifford Chance please see our website at http://www.cliffordchance.com or refer to any Clifford Chance office. Clifford Chance LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England & Wales under number OC323571. The firm's registered office and principal place of business is at 10 Upper Bank Street, London, E14 5JJ. For further details, including a list of members and their professional qualifications, see our website at www.cliffordchance.com. The firm uses the word 'partner' to refer to a member of Clifford Chance LLP or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualifications. The firm is regulated by the Law Society of England & Wales. _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist 'I am in shock,' said Ferguson.
