The fact that my 'meeting' with fans from FCU Manchester was what I will remember most from today pretty much sums it up. First half was OK but the fact that Byram and Mowatt had our best 2 chances tells you all you need to know. A really clever passing move ended with Byram getting the ball on the edge of the box but his shot across the keeper was turned around the post. A lovely cross was met by a good header by Mowatt but the ball went just over. We had a couple of other half chances in a pretty boring first half. We played some nice intricate stuff at times but with no real purpose and it was all a bit lacking. They offered very little but there was always the feeling that they could up it a bit and cause us problems. Having said that one shot straight into the midriff of Silvestre towards the end of the half is all I can recall.I texted my son at half time and said it was the sort of game where either team could win 3 nil or it could end up at 0 0. The first goal was always going to be crucial The second half started in a similar vein to the first but then after ten minutes or so they carved us open and the ball was pulled back from the byline and slotted home. From that moment on Fulham showed us how to defend a lead away from home - I just hope we were paying attention - they kept us at arms length and we never really looked like breaking through , the opposite in fact, it was always more likely that they would sneak a second rather than us get an equaliser. Redfearn did try and change it, but it just showed up the paucity of our bench. First Sharp came on for the anonymous Doukara -what it is it with this lad ? He had alll the attributes of a footballer but without the character or confidence needed, today and not for the first time he stole his wages and yet he has enough that he should be unplayable at this level (reminds me of Heskey) Sharp worked hard and looked lively but never looked like changing things. Then Adryan was subbed, despite a few touches etc it was never his day, and on came Dawson I have seen enough clips of Dawson on LUTV etc to know that this lad can play but I am sorry he is just too small. I know about Messi and, closer to home, Collins, Bremner,and Strachan but they all had that something extra. At half time when they were warming up Dawson looked like a child and it was the same when he came on, twice he was just pushed off the ball and another time he had the ball and couple of yards on the defender but 4 strides later and the Fulham player was ahead of him and had taken the ball off him. Two decent passes will not make up for this deficiency. So the game petered out and we left to a chorus of boos - having, in the end,been soundly beaten by a team no better than we were on the day. Another lesson for the youngsters and new imports but a lesson they had better learn quickly. In some ways you could argue we deserved at least a draw if not a win - we had more and better chances than them but once they went in front we had no answer. Ross Mc got a mixed reception - ignored by most, cheered by a few and booed by a few more (especially when one run finsihed with him jumping the hoardings and ending up in the Revie Stand) I had told my mate I was ambivalent towards him - a fact he reminded me of when, with 10 minutes to go I did join in with the 'greedy bastard' chants. For anyone who cares, he played very deep and a lot of their play came through him but he was pretty subdued really And so to my highlight of the day - when my train got to Stalybridge a group of FC United of Manchester or whatever they are called, fans got on and started singing. Oddly their chants were about Busby and then Willie Morgan rather than their actual new team and players. They then spotted an oldish bloke in a Leeds shirt and gave it the 'we all hate Leeds' 'Leeds scum' etc chants. To be fair I did not see anything untoward as such, just a group of drunken lads having a sing song, and two of them managed to apologise to the Leeds bloke in between songs and made it clear it was just 'banter'. Next thing I know is some other Leeds fan behind me having a right pop at them and when I looked round he had his young (6 or 7 yr old) son with him in floods of tears. The Leeds fan had a right go at the FCUM lads and pretty much 'offered them out' - suggesting that 'the fat bastard' who was singing loudest come down the carriage a bit and 'have a go'. I was half laughing and half thinking (oh shit here we go, I will have to get involved here) but the FCUM lad did not want to know. The Leeds man and his son then went back to their own carriage (think the youngster had been to the toilet) and then the FCUM lads all started amongst themselves about who had upset the kid, and who could not behave etc and a couple of them even went nose to nose to 'discuss' it - it was very amusing and having left ER thinking I would never smile again it put a bit grin on my face So another bad day at the office and with our awful away form we cannot afford to lose at home, especially when the game was ours for the taking. We need a real leader and someone who can get stuck in in midfield but the transfer embargo could scupper that. We have the makings of a half decent team but unless things improve we could be in a relegation fight and one we may not win Dave _______________________________________________ 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
