[Archived] Leeds United preview

[RussP]

Just been reading some of the Leeds fans' thoughts on today.

A lot of the same comments I read on here....everyone can beat everyone, this league is there for the taking, etc. I think we just need to be positive & that means starting with a creative central midfielder (ie, Cairney).

Hope that even if Williamson is fit for Tuesday, we continue with Cairney in there. Think Rochina will start too, his style definitely suited to away games & counter attacking.

[Tom]

He went to his first match just before his 4th birthday. The 3-3 against Reading in the last game of the season. He got his first season ticket the following season so this is his 7th season as a season ticket holder (wow I hadn't realised it was that long!). Takes a while for them to get into it. My youngest (5) has had a season ticket since Kean left so this is his second (first full) season as a season ticket holder.

Any younger and they spend more time looking away from the pitch than at it, and you spend all your time watching them!

Nice one what age did he start playing?

[arbitro]

Anyone catch the half time penalty shoot out between the two school teams?

My lad was the one who scored his penalty, pulled his school football shirt over his head and ran over to the Blackburn End to milk the applause.

He got a great reception - even Gerald name-checked him - he was made up! "Best day of his life".

#prouddad

Quite a star in the making mate. I even saw him high fiving the players as they came out for the second half.

[Stuart]

Nice one what age did he start playing?

Not early enough really. He started at 8 playing for an U10s team, then started again at 9 for an U10s team.

Quite a star in the making mate. I even saw him high fiving the players as they came out for the second half.

Yep. High five for Kane, fist bump for Kean.

He's not short of confidence. I hope he doesn't get too much of it knocked out of him at secondary school,

Back on topic though. I really enjoyed the game today and my lad's experience just added to the day.

[LDRover]

Not early enough really. He started at 8 playing for an U10s team, then started again at 9 for an U10s team.

Yep. High five for Kane, fist bump for Kean.

He's not short of confidence. I hope he doesn't get too much of it knocked out of him at secondary school,

Back on topic though. I really enjoyed the game today and my lad's experience just added to the day.

What secondary school is he going to Stuart? My boy is off to Wilfs next year.

[West Yorks Rover]

Leeds manager Brian McDermott thought his side deserved a point.

Is he Steve Kean in disguise ?

[cesus]

Throughly enjoyed todays game, we had a rather slow start and I put this down to Leeds being buoyed by a large away following (can't bring myself to say good or loud following as when we picked up our game they fell silent) and it took us around 20 minutes to realise that they weren't actually that much cop. We played at times very good pass and move football and the switching of King, Dunn and Taylor who I thought was excellent really threw Leeds when the change happened and they didn't seem to pick up on it all half.

I thought the centre half pairing looked strong, as did full backs. I have to admit in the 1st 20 minutes I actually cringed when the ball went near to Kean, his confidence looked absolutely shot to pieces, I did hear Bowyer on Radio Rovers state that the fans shouldn't get on his back and I can totally appreciate this but the manager has to accept the fans concerns that the lad has made too many mistakes. Kean's save was first class but I have to say the rest of his game was pretty ropey, but another clean sheet added to 4 from the last 5 home games should help the confidence!

Can't help but think good performances like today will be completely overshadowed unless we can actually start showing up to away games.

Nearly forgot to mention Stuarts lad at half time had me and my family in stitches!! Loud and proud Rover, can't beat them!

[Amo]

Sounds like a good day for everyone at Ewood... y'know, apart from Leeds.

More performances and results like that and we could be dark horses for the playoffs. You never know.

[tonyoz]

Championship Trivia Quiz

1. Brunley, QPR and one other team have lost only 2 games all season. Which other?
2. How many of the top 6 teams have beaten us this season? Name them.
3. Are we doing better or worse than these Championship averages:
Percentage wins – 35.1 ?
Goals per game – 1.29 ?
Points per away game – 1.14 ?
4. Which 15 minute period is our best overall. We score the most goals here (6 so far) and concede the fewest (1).
5. Which player admitted recently that scoring his first goal at Ewood made the best day of his life?

Reading game:
6. What % of Championship games end 0-0?
7. Who was Man of the Match according to “whoscored.com”. He also made the week’s Championship Best 11. His performance also put him into the Season’s Best 11!

Leeds game:
8. Who had more touches than anyone else (64)? He also was dispossessed 10 times!!
9. We had 3 of the top 5 players on the pitch according to whoscored.com. Who were they and who was Mom?
10. Which player (not one of the 3 mentioned in Q9) made more passes than anyone else (46) with an impressive success rate of 96%?

Answers: 1. B’pool, 2. Two: NF LC, 3. (35.3) (1.24) (0.75), 4. 16-30 min, 5. Stuart’s lad, 6. 5.9%, 7. TC, 8. JKg, 9. TS Mom(8.3) CT (7.6) JKg (7.4), 10. TC.

[Mattie456]

Some things never change. If ever a fanbase was stuck in the 70's/80's then it's this lot. Always a classless club on and off the pitch, they and their hordes of scum are loathed the length of the country and beyond !

Yep. Had the misfortune of being on the train full of Leeds fans going into Manchester last night. Worst behaved fans I have seen in 30 years watching football.

Seems a good 90% of their songs are just spewing hate and confrontation. Dickheads

[Ricky]

Bought Molly to her first game at 11 months. Sat at the back of the family stand so it was nice and quiet. She had her ear protectors on just in case but she was fine. She's been a couple more times since then but hasn't been now for a couple of years. She's 4 1/2 now so it's probably about time we paid a visit. Obviously the 7 hour round trip in the car makes it more of an issue for me.

[RoyRover]

A very important win that keeps us in touch with the playoff places. It's just a shame that we can't find any consistency and string some victories together, as we'd be slap bang in the middle of the playoffs positions.

[Ossydave]

A very important win that keeps us in touch with the playoff places. It's just a shame that we can't find any consistency and string some victories together, as we'd be slap bang in the middle of the playoffs positions.

It seems a lot of teams are in the same boat this season though, anyone really can beat anyone, predicting results is becoming pretty much impossible!

[rovers11]

Good result yesterday and good performance. I was pleased when I saw the team sheet before hand that we had two genuine wingers playing and Cairney was moved to the middle. 3 central midfielders at home doesn't work so Willo being out was a blessing in disguise. Taylor's always impressed me when he's played this season so was pleased to see him start. He's not the most talented but he's very effective and works incredibly hard.

Even more promising for me is the defensive record at home, 5 clean sheets out of 6 is very impressive and is the kind of defensive record you can build a promotion push on. It's what got hull promoted last season.

With Rochina, Dunn and DJ all back, Gestede in on loan and Evans to come back shortly we have a very strong squad going into the new year.

Credit has to go.to Bowyer. The defensive solidity is credit to him and the coaching team.

[DE.]

Credit has to go.to Bowyer. The defensive solidity is credit to him and the coaching team.

Spot on there. Considering the damage Steve Kean caused to the defensive side of our game, Bowyer has done very well to fix those problems and make us a solid team whilst not reducing us to Appleton-style anti-football.

[jimlav]

The Rovers played well, looked in control of the game for the most of the time. Sitting back did look like it may get us in the end though.

Just a few little things caught my eye.

Firstly Scott Dann, anyone who is in any doubt about him just watch him carefully. He is constantly in Hanleys ear, talking him, and the others, through the game. There was an occasion in the first half when Hanley got dragged across from the left CB to the right. Dann was not fussed by this change and tried talking Hanley through it until the attack broke down. Hanley couldnt deal with it and got dragged back over to the left where Dann was already covering, leaving a massive hole that a better team than Leeds would punish.

Apart from that he is generally just a good leader at the back.

Secondly a possibly majorly unpopular opinion. Those that abuse Jason Lowe need to take a long look at themselves. I have always liked him as a player but I know he can become better. He is a vital part of our team. Someone mentioned he pulled out of a 50/50, well not strictly true from my angle. He seemed to concentrate on the man more than the ball, making sure that no matter what happened their player wouldnt have possession after the challenge, which he managed to do. He also played far above his weight in multiple challenges yesterday. He was strong in a lot of tackles and very surprisingly good in the air. What he does goes unnoticed.

I must confess that I am angered by a lot of our fans. They complain when Lowe passes the ball from one side of the field to the other. I thought it was plain to see that this is Lowes job. He is ALWAYS available to receive the ball, something almost all our other players could learn from. This is amazing for players like Cairney/Dunn because if there isnt an attacking pass on Lowe can have it, whilst they move into a better position and get it back from him. Also when we go down the left and nothing is on, Lowe gets it and moves it to the right. That is his job.

Over these last few games he has also made some good attacking runs forward. Something we didnt see from him earlier in the season. Its not often, but it keeps their CM honest.

Lowes job is extremely simple but many of our fans dont seem to get it. He keeps us ticking over. Especially playing next to someone like Cairney. He should NEVER have been paired with Williamson. Williamson should be a replacement for if Lowe and Evans are both injured.

Finally, people saying Rhodes is isolated are just kidding themselves. Yes he is a brilliant player, but we need to be honest when he plays poorly. Both me and my brother said after about 50mins Rhodes needed to come off. He was poor last week, not isolated, and the same again this week. We put many crosses into the box and he was no where to be seen, little to no movement. Dunn gave him some good service to which he either ran away from or wasted. I dont buy this notion that he needs someone around him. He should have been able to produce much better than he did yesterday, and that is on him, not the midfield. No one is beyond criticism.

Anyway, onto the next game, Id go with

Kean

Kane(although I want Henley back in when ever possible) Dann Hanley Spurr

Taylor Lowe Cairney King

Rochina (as long as he is fit enough, Doubt Dunn could do another start with another game next weekend)

Rhodes

We have a strong defensive record, I believe it may be beneficial to sacrifice a bit of this for more of an attacking threat (hence Cairney in the middle rather than another DM) after all wins are vital in this league. Its worth risking a loss to win a game rather than settling for draws.

[thenodrog]

Bloody good team though. A delight to watch.

Can't agree about them being a delight to watch. They had some really cynical, bully boy players. Hunter, Bremner et al really were a disgrace. Revie himself was a nasty piece of work, always looking for some underhand way to win games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvyJKWF5Q74

6.10 onwards.

Not a delight? I think you'll like this. Eddie Gray v Burnley... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkd3HWQu32Q

[Amo]

Thanks for your thoughts, jimlav. I agree with you about Dann & Lowe, both hugely underrated players, in my opinion.

[Sparky Marky]

Thanks for your thoughts, jimlav. I agree with you about Dann & Lowe, both hugely underrated players, in my opinion.

Not by me...I have be castigated for supporting SD for the last 18 months. ..in my opinion, he and Leon Best are our only premier league class players.

[DE.]

Not by me...I have be castigated for supporting SD for the last 18 months. ..in my opinion, he and Leon Best are our only premier league class players.

good one.

[Amo]

Not by me...I have be castigated for supporting SD for the last 18 months. ..in my opinion, he and Leon Best are our only premier league class players.

That's true, you have. Usually at the expense of Hanley, who you've been particularly scathing towards. Which is outrageous considering he's been our player of the season so far.

And lol @ the Leon Best comment.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvyJKWF5Q74

6.10 onwards.

Not a delight? I think you'll like this. Eddie Gray v Burnley... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkd3HWQu32Q

There was a nasty side to that great Leeds team but they could football most teams to death. Eddie Gray's goal against the Dingles is one of the best I've ever seen. Up there with the Bryan Douglas goal against West Brom in April 1963.

Not by me...I have be castigated for supporting SD for the last 18 months. ..in my opinion, he and Leon Best are our only premier league class players.

That's great news, I expect a Premier League club to be in for Best any day now.

[roversfan99]

That's true, you have. Usually at the expense of Hanley, who you've been particularly scathing towards. Which is outrageous considering he's been our player of the season so far.

And lol @ the Leon Best comment.

How many games have you seen? Hanley has not been our best player this season, he's very good and important but he has shown signs of rashness, I'd say Dann, King, Lowe and Cairney have all had better seasons. Plus maybe Rhodes and Spurr.

[chaddyrovers]

Not by me...I have be castigated for supporting SD for the last 18 months. ..in my opinion, he and Leon Best are our only premier league class players.

Best?

Sparky Marky, why is Best a PL player then in your view

[Amo]

How many games have you seen? Hanley has not been our best player this season, he's very good and important but he has shown signs of rashness, I'd say Dann, King, Lowe and Cairney have all had better seasons. Plus maybe Rhodes and Spurr.

Of those names, maybe Cairney & Spurr could compete for that title. Rhodes hasn't been on top form and King's improved but is still too inconsistent. Like I said, Dann is underrated but he does have his Darren Peacock moments, and Lowe is maturing into a fine DM but I don't think he's as integral to the midfield as Hanley is to the backline (Williamson & Evans can also do a holding role in midfield).