A new coach , pretty much the same diamond formation but with completely different personnel in the middle of the park. This was our best performance of the season which ain't saying much but in terms of attitude and team work it was 50% better than what I've seen to date including Boro where to be honest I thought we were pretty dire.
So you've got to deduce that the changes made in the middle of the park have made the difference and pretty much highlighted our main problem. Tonge, Austin and Murphy dumped for youngsters Cook ( first start for Leeds) Mowatt ( first appearance of he season) and Sloth (debut). It was a brave selection and I did say that one of the Hock's downfalls was not to be brave enough to start with Lewis Cook. Cook today sat in front of the back four which was highly effective. He mopped up, started attacks, harried and got forward when he could. He enabled some good, simple effective pass and move football between Mowatt, Bianchi, Sloth and the 2 forwards in what for us was a great first half. Ok, we didn't create that many clear chances and the goal itself was a cross come shot which sneaked in but we were in control and we battled for every ball. We won the 50:50s and had good possession. Antenucci and Sharp are an unlikely partnership but they were both very lively especially Antenucci who showed good pace down the channels. He's a limited footballer and I'm not sure how many goals he will score but he really impressed today in the first half. Sharp has half a yard less pace but makes up for that with good body strength and complete commitment to the cause. He worked his arse off today and if there was ever an example of defending from the front then this was the master class. I'm not sure that these 2 can play together though, too similar and not really on the same wavelength. Bianchi pleasantly surprised me today and got me thinking why he had been so poor in the matches I have seen to date? I came to the conclusion that like a lot of players, when he has players around him who can pass a ball and then make themselves available to receive the ball suddenly the game becomes simple , you keep possession and you start to look for more adventurous passes. He linked up well today and also showed some good defensive qualities. Still a lot of backward passes at times though. Playing with Austin and Murphy there's not much interplay so he's been pretty restricted. With like minded players he definitely showed more. Bolton did have their moments in the first half. They targeted Wooton and most of their good play came down our right. Some of our defending was desperate and I thought Pearce and Bellusci were all over the shop at times. Pearce looked slow and was beaten convincingly on one occasion , the Bolton player's shot was parried on to the bar by Silvestri. Bellusci also seemed all at sea. He's an unorthodox centre half and I think he might get a lot of bookings / sendings off if he continues to play like this. At half-time we were worth the lead , maybe 2 but it was all about to change. Second half, we started to play deeper and deeper, like a team with no confidence. Even at 60 minutes when we got a corner there were only 3 players in the box. We were far too negative. Bolton took control but to our credit we battled like hell and restricted them to long shots and scraps. The last 10 minutes + 6 minutes injury time ( officially 5 but I had my stop watch on) were really hard to watch. We were hanging on, desperate defending, desperate goalkeeping and some blatant time wasting ( how Silvestri didn't get booked is beyond me). We kept breaking with the ball but kept squandering the opportunity, Atennucci being the main culprit showing that he needs to up his awareness and stop playing with his head down. Bolton brought on Beckford to a heroes welcome from the home fans. I didn't - he's had that already and he's history now ( who said that recently :) ?). He was lively and looked like he might have scored late on in a crazy goal mouth scramble. I haven't been this nervous at a match for ages and I'm not sure why ? I think it was down to having some young lads and a load of Italians that seemed to really care. They're not the greatest but they're not here just to pick up money and that really came through today. Bolton can consider themselves unlucky to not have got a point, footballing wise they outclassed us second half but when it came to fighting spirit they were second best to us all over the park. Today was a great day. As Ian Brown said 'I feel fantastic, you make me feel majestic'. My love for Leeds burns stronger than ever. Silvestri - 9. The ball seems to stick to him. His saves and there were many won us the game. He ran the length of the pitch at full time to the Kop to give his gloves and shirt to the fans. Real passion. Wootton - 6. Probably his best game for Leeds especially the second half where he doggedly kept to his task with some good clearances and headers. Maybe he is a better right back but ultimately he isn't good enough. Warnock - 7. Did well coming forward, could have had another. He got injured and had to go off. He really is an old war horse. Bellusci - 8. I thought he started really poorly but he got stronger and stronger and in the last 20 minutes he was a putting himself on the line time and time again. Some of his defending is not from the text book but it's effective, I do fear for his disciplinary record though. Pearce - 4. I thought he was the weak link today which is really weird because in the last few months he's probably been our most consistent performer. I think Bolton had a little more pace than usual today and he looked a yard slow on many occasions. He should have been sent off. After getting a yellow for hauling down someone on the edge of our box he then subsequently pulled a Bolton player's shirt. The ref had a word but was lenient , it was a blatant yellow. I'm just hoping he was ill ? Cook - 9. Brilliant performance and dare I say it but he has a touch of the Bremner and Giles in him. He's quick to the ball, he's got a quick mind and inventive with the ball. He will get snapped up soon.lets hope we can get a couple of seasons of him. Can't wait to see his next game. Bianchi - 7. Impressed and I will admit that I have rather hastily written this particular Italian off. I still think his game is lacking and he never looks to completely control a ball when passing but today he really gelled with he other midfielders. Off the ball which has been my main criticism, I thought he did well and defended really well second half. Sloth - 6. First half he did ok, showed some good control as also got stuck in. I think he tired second half and I was left wondering whether he has the pace to really impress. Definitely has he ability. Some of his passing had vision but the execution wasn't there. Hopefully will improve, he was playing at the top of the diamond just behind the front two which worked first half, Mowatt - 7. First half he was brilliant, linking up with Warnock, winning the ball and distributing intelligently. He has time on the ball and is a good player. My problem in the past was his weight and his stamina / pace. I think he did tire second half wasn't as effective but he kept going and I was impressed by his stamina. Much better than Austin / Murphy. Sharp - 8. Atack wise he had one or two moments , most created by himself. The 8 though is for pure work rate and passion for they game. Lead and defended from the front. Lion heart. Antenucci - 7. Very lively first half where he caused Bolton some real problems. He got into the channels and made things happen. Second half he was useful on the break but his distribution and awareness let him down. Subs: Taylor - 7 . This lad has a nice left foot. Benedicic - 6. He looks like a player but his arse is too big. Redfearn - 10 The Hock - 10 he laid the foundations for Redderstot take on. Crowd - great atmosphere, everyone wanted this desperately. . Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org John 'Grampa' Sykes Rest In Peace old lad 28th Oct 1938 - 12 Nov 2013 MARCHING ON TOGETHER
