twilightdawning

A writer's thoughts – mainly about music, sport and theatre. Shakespeare, Bob Dylan, live shows, New York Yankees

Live in Leeds

Posted on February 24, 2009 by twilightdawning

A periodic update on the fortunes of my football team, Leeds United

When I first visited Elland Road in 1972, Leeds were the best team in the old Division one of the English Football League (what we would now call the Premiership). At that time, Cheltenham Town were in the old Southern League Division One (a non-league team, in short). Somewhere along the line, history changes things and now both teams are in the Football League, League One (third division, when I was a boy). All these name changes make it very hard to describe historical development in the life of football teams but to cut a long story short, they got much better, we got much worse.

On Saturday, we met at Elland Road. Cheltenham are struggling to stay in League One without much success (they are bottom of the table). Leeds are fighting to get out of League One without much success (we are well out of the automatic promotion places and four points below playoff qualification at the time that the game kicked off). Both teams could have used a win but in the end Leeds came out on top by a two-nil advantage. Jonny Howson, a player that I would have left out of the starting line-up, scored both goals. I was there and I’ll take a moment to review the performance of the Leeds team, player by player, and look at what I think this means for the future.

Goalkeeper

1. Casper Ankergren. Leeds United’s Danish goalkeeper is hardly the safest pair of hands in the division. He seems to lack confidence and seemed to be anticipating losing control of the ball – which he did on a couple of occasions. He conceded a goal which was disallowed but the clean sheet he maintained probably had more to do with Cheltenham’s ambition to play for the draw. 4/10

Defence

22. Andy Hughes. Injury to club captain Frazer Richardson left midfielder, Hughes, playing out of position at right back. An innocuous performance which saw him withdrawn in the first half. Nothing wrong here but not much right. 5/10

5. Rui Marques. The African central defender seems to have lost confidence since he was a target for some Premiership teams a year or two ago but he is faring much better now than he was at the tail end of Gary McAllister’s time as manager. He marshalled the limited resources he had around him well and made few mistakes. 6/10

36. Richard Naylor. Recent signing, Naylor is club captain in Richardson’s absence and there are whispers that might become permanent. Despite this Marques seemed the more significant influence on those around him. Naylor produced a solid but decidedly unspectacular performance. 5/10

19. Ben Parker. Injury and the end of Carl Dickinson’s loan period has handed the left back slot to Parker who is 21 and has some promise. On Saturday, he did enough but no more. 5/10

Midfield

4. Jonathan Douglas. Douglas is probably capable of playing at a higher level but is temperament is a little suspect. He keeps the midfield organised allowing Delph room to roam and be creative. 6/10

15. Fabian Delph. Talk in the transfer window had Delph departing from the Premiership for anywhere from £2.5 million to £8 million and to anyone from Fulham to Arsenal. In the end, he went nowhere and to be honest, he is far from the finished article. His ball control is good and he is inventive and skilful but too many of his passes go astray. Having said this he is still far better than most of the meagre feast on display. 7/10

14. Jonny Howson. Two goal Howson skied a few other chances but didn’t seem to do very much else. A game to remember for him because of the goals but he will need much more than enthusiasm to stay in the team. 7/10

Attack

18. Andy Robinson. Ex-Swansea man, Robinson began wide on the left but moved to the right when Hughes left the field. Last time, I covered a Leeds game, I mentioned his suspect temperament and his tendency to drift out of the game. He has conquered the second of these. He looked like the most committed and dedicated man on the park on Saturday and he was involved in everything that was good about Leeds. However, he was also involved in a running battle with ex-Leeds man, Ian Westlake which saw him gain another yellow card. A player of real passion, skill and ability. 8/10

10. Lucian Becchio. The big Argentinian is at his best with his back to the goal, holding the ball and laying it off for his strike partner. Problem was that on Saturday, he was the only natural central attacker in the team. Options to partner him were Trundle and Grella who were on the bench for the majority of the game. Becchio though is determined and did well in less than ideal circumstances. 6/10

23. Robert Snodgrass. Better as a wideman, Snodgrass was drawn in a little to provide help for Becchio. This didn’t really work but Snodgrass still had a good game when he could use his speed and flair to good effect. 7/10

Substitutes

8. Neil Kilkenny. Usually out of favour under new manager Grayson, Kilkenny had most of the game to impress. However, used out of position, he was little in evidence in this game. 5/10

35. Lee Trundle. After missing a penalty against Hereford, Trundle (on loan from Bristol City) was left out of the starting eleven. In the short time he was on the field, he had a couple of chances and gave the impression that things might have been better if he’d have partnered Becchio from the beginning and Snodgrass had been given more room to get out on the flank. But then Howson would have been left on the bench so who knows……. 6/10

13. Mike Grella. Grella entered the game in time added on and touched the ball once. A pointless substitution.

I really don’t think this team is good enough to get us into the playoffs. When Jermaine Beckford returns from suspension, and provided he can remain fit, we will have a better chance but it will still be an outside one.

Another season in the third division (I can’t get away from the old terminology) seems a dire prospect but most likely. Perhaps then Grayson can add some new faces – permanent signings, please – and better times might lie ahead.

Sereyna (my daughter) and Darren

Lee Trundle and Sereyna

To Ell and Back

Posted on November 16, 2008 by twilightdawning

I’ve spent the last two weekends in Leeds so now seems as good a time as any to update on the fortunes of my football (soccer, I don’t understand American Football) club, Leeds United. On Saturday, we played Huddersfield Town in Football League One (old third division) in a game which because of the geographical nearness of the two opposing teams drew over 32,000 fans, making it the 5th best attended game in England on the day and 6th best attended in the whole of the UK. Only 4 premiership games , none in the Championship and only Glasgow Rangers’ home game in Scotland, had a larger crowd. Football, then, is very much alive and kicking in Leeds but the team is not what they once were. But the hard times seem to be lifting. Prior to the game, we were third in the division, compared to Huddersfield’s standing in 16th. Despite this apparent advantage and the promise that a win, in this early kick-off, would take Leeds to the top of the division (at least until later in the day), we managed to lose 2-1 as Huddersfield scored in the last minute. Leeds had taken the lead through Snodgrass in the 4th minute but couldn’t hold on to the lead despite having the lion’s share of the quality individual performances.

What did this game reveal about the team?

Goalkeeper

1. Casper Ankergren. Ankergren has been sharing ownership of the goalkeeper’s jersey with David Lucas despite being the hot favourite to be the regular between the posts at the start of the season. His momentous error which led to the first Huddersfield goal undid an otherwise reasonably solid performance and did nothing to guarantee he will be in the side in a week’s time.

Defence

2. Frazer Richardson. Long serving captain, Richardson, looked more confident pressing forward than in his defensive duties. He provided a good overlapping presence on the right side with winger, Robert Snodgrass and the two gave the Huddersfield full-back a torrid time in the first half.

19. Ben Parker. Left back is a problem position for Leeds and Parker is the current incumbent. Again, better going forward than anything else and the Huddersfield attackers could have made more of the Leeds’ lack of enthusiasm to work on the left, particularly in the first half.

6. Lubo Michalik. The Slovakian central defender is good in the air and clears his lines well but doesn’t contribute much more than that. He will do at this level but it is hard to see him continuing in the team if they were promoted to the Championship.

26. Paul Telfer. The 37 year old central defender looked out-paced and wobbly on Saturday. There are more capable defenders in the squad and it is hard to see why McAllister is favouring him.

Midfield.

4. Jonathan Douglas. Douglas looked a class apart from most of the others on the field for most of the game. The manager replaced him and Delph just at the point when we seemed to have Huddersfield pinned in their own half. His maturity and vision were outstanding but he is let down by a suspect temperament. Our hopes of winning disappeared when he was removed.

15. Fabian Delph. Delph has silky skills and is fast developing into a great young player. I’m not sure who was meant to be playing on the leftside of midfield on Saturday but nobody seemed to fancy that role. Delph, particularly, had a tendency to cut inside when he received the ball rather than being tempted to explore the left side of the pitch. Good game otherwise, if a little too easily knocked off the ball and another regrettable substitution in the late stages.

8. Neil Kilkenny. I spent most of half time trying to remember who was the 11th player on the Leeds side (there is no scoreboard at Elland Road at the moment!). Kilkenny was that invisible presence and, thankfully, he was removed early in the second half, having contributed nothing I could remember.

Forwards

18. Andy Robinson. Robinson played wide on the left side of the forward line. He suffered from lack of support and got himself needlessly cautioned. He has a tendency to appear a little lazy when disposessed and didn’t chase back well on Saturday. Having said that going forward, he appeared to be one of the more solid Leeds players and can shoot from distance.

23. Robert Snograss. Wide on the right, Snodgrass was Leeds’ best player on the day. He scored Leeds’ only goal. Skilful, with a good touch and willing to run at opponents with vigour, he was our brightest hope – particularly in the first half.

10. Luciano Becchio. A lone central forward for most of the game, Becchio was persistent and solid. When Beckford was brought on, Becchio had more freedom, showed more flair and might have scored.

Substitutes

9. Jermaine Beckford. Top scorer, Beckford, entered the game very positively, early in the second half. In truth, he might have scored within minutes of his arrival. However, his contribution lessened after a couple of heavy challenges knocked him to the ground and the midfield line behind him was rearranged. The sooner he is fully match-fit and can start every game, the better.

7. David Prutton. Suffered by comparison with the players that he and Howson were required to replace, but in truth did well and looked sparky and bright. A poor free kick from him was our last scoring chance.

14. Jonathan Howson. Like Prutton, he was solid but not spectacular. Tried in difficult circumstances.

Unused substitutes: 12. David Lucas. 21 Enoch Showunmi

So a disappointing result before a large crowd. Danny Cadamarteri had something to prove when he came on as Huddersfield’s last substitute and he was responsible for single-handedly creating the chance which led to the second goal but the changes in midfield ended Leeds’ dominance and it wasn’t only the players on the field who had reason to blush.

This looks like another season when we will make the playoffs – and then anything can happen.

Maybe this lad could do a job for us – Lucas the Kop Kat turns away having slammed in a penalty during the warm-up

Darren & the late Billy Bremner

Leeds lead the way?

Posted on April 22, 2008 by twilightdawning

I can’t believe the mess that the Football League are making in League One.

Let me first put my cards on the table. I am a life long Leeds United supporter. Leeds at the moment have finally had their hour of appeal on the 15 point penalty they received for the way in which they came out of administration. I do, however, think that the way that the sale of the club which brought it out of its financial plight was strange and duplicitous and, consequently, I think they should have been penalised. I don’t know about the degree of the penalty (15 points) but it seems to me that there should have been some penalty.

I don’t understand, if the club were entitled to an appeal, why it took so long to hear. I don’t understand, beyond that. why now the appeal tribunal has seemingly come to a close that there seems no prospect of an announcement.

The outworking of this is that the Football League has announced today that Swansea who would be champions if Leeds do not win their appeal, will not be able to receive the trophy at their final home fixture. This is not because the FL are announcing that Leeds have won their appeal but rather because their solicitors have advised against the trophy being awarded to anyone.

Teams have played through the bulk of what will have been a 46 game season. At the moment because of this mess, teams do not know what they have to do to gain promotion, they do not know what they have to do to qualify for the playoffs.

This is meant to be a sport. It is meant to be a good experience for the supporters. It is meant to be something that is decided on the field and not in the courts. Leeds have created, by the mismanagement of their club, a situation which needs to be referred to the courts but that the Football League has allowed it to go to this point in the season and that they are then taking so much time to announce an outcome is ridiculous.

All of this provides another nail to be driven into the coffin of the credibility of this sport in the United Kingdom. We have an English Premiership in which only 4 teams can compete. We have a Scottish Premiership in which the only two teams that can compete seem to want to get out and join the great chase to see who finishes fifth in the English Premiership. Now, the old third division, where my team sadly have found themselves (a team who went 29 games undefeated in the old first division at their peak) have managed to concoct such a mess that no one can tell who will win, who will progress and who has what number of points.

I feel sorry for the likes of Swansea, Carlisle, Doncaster and the rest who are through no fault of their own being messed around by all of this.

How did it all come to this?

The way we were