Just back in Munich after 1800 mile roundtrip in my little jeep to watch the Forest match.
My impressions: First half we were poor. Energetic (and very physically big) opponents and a strong swirling wind were big factors, but the key was that we did not work hard enough to keep the ball down. Early freekick...........Snoddy was livid with Max, who was obviously supposed to dummy it but actually took it (poorly.) Freekick awarded after play brought back when Johnson missed a great chance to give us a vital early lead. Bannan struggled to get involved as the ball flew over his head. I was sat directly opposite the red card incident, but obviously a long way away. All I can say is that it looked a bad challenge from where I was. At h-t, we were saying that we hoped Grayson would be telling them to get the ball down and pass it around a bit. Sure enough, within seconds of the restart, Schmiechel caught a ball and rolled it out to McC, who carried it a bit then played it in to Max's feet. A much better approach, and it soon paid dividends. 2-0 up against 10 men, and I turned to my mate and said "Surely not even we can blow it from here." Inevitably, they then scored and we had a very wobbly spell. One fantastic reaction save from Schmeichel from a corner. I too was crying out for Max to be replaced by Watt, but my mate said "You never know with Max." And he was right. By the end, it was carnival stuff, with even Becchio actually having a few touches and trying some fancy stuff. Joint m-o-m for me were Johnson & Bromby. I liked the look of Livermore. Not 100% sure about Bannan. He's obviously a skilful lad, but is he right for the hurly-burly of the Championship? I general, I am a firm believer in the need to play football and be creative in midfield, but then again, with our back 4, one surrender of possession in the middle third can prove to be lethal. Becchio...........what can you say about him? He can look such a donkey at times, but I noticed on Sat he was brilliant in defending corners and freekicks (which has been our weakness for years.) It looked like he is given a free role and told not to mark anyone but just get to the ball and head it out, and he must have done that 6 or 7 times. It is weird, because he really gets off the ground when he is defending, but up front he refuses to jump. Massive game again next week. Norwich are playing Swansea so there have to be pts dropped somewhere there. I still think 2nd is achievable.............don't fancy our chances in playoffs involving Welsh teams! _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] MARCHING ON TOGETHER (There's it)
