Completely outplayed and outclassed was my summary of
this match. West Brom were the best team to come to
Elland Road this season. Yes, in the second half we
had them on the back foot and we definitely knocked
them out of their stride but the fact is we struggled
to string more than two passes together and were
always a poor second best to Chaplow, Greening, Kamara
and Philips who are all lively and play great pass and
move football. Chaplow at this level is a great
player he is always there to receive the ball, he
then draws players towards him and then distributes
effectively. Its so simple but if you compare him to
Kevin Nichols you realise that he has a skill that our
captain can only dream of.
It all started so well with the three left footers
combining well to create a couple of good early
chances (Elliot, Thompson and Lewis) Flo converted
one of the chances with a good header from Elliots
cross (their keeper did make it fairly easy by coming
for a ball he was never going to get) and then Healy
should have converted after Lewis had managed to
muscle his way through and force a save. Healy had
another chance late on when he ballooned over with a
left foot volley. These are the sort of chances that
you need your strikers to put away. Unfortunately its
just not happening for Healy at the moment.
We were 1-0 up for about a minute when West Brom were
given a free-kick from a ridiculous challenge from
Thompson on the edge of the box. It was a kung fu
scissors kick which got the ball but almost
decapitated the baggies player. From the freekick the
wall did its job but unfortunately the ball came back
to Greening who drilled it in the bottom left hand
corner. Good goal and a bit unfortunate for Leeds.
Worse was to come as a ball was played through. Foxe
had a yard start on Kamara and still managed to fck
it up by not being strong and falling over to allow
Kamara to draw the keeper and slot home. It was a
really bad goal and one that spelt out what is wrong
with our defence. Yes Kamara is quick but Foxe should
have easily cleared the ball but because he is lacking
in confidence he dithered and thats all that a player
like Kamara needs. Kamara is the championship version
of Henry. Fast, good on the ball, floats in and out of
play and knows where the goal is. He was head and
shoulders above anyone on the pitch and we just didnt
know how to live with him. Wises frustrations got the
better of him as Kamara strolled off the pitch after
being subbed late on. To me that showed all you need
to know about Wise. He was an horrible footballer on
the pitch and you just cant go around pushing
opposition players when you're the manager of a club.
It was only a few weeks ago that he was telling one of
our players to walk as far away from the bench as
possible cos he was going to sub him. Classic
timewasting. Wise you are a tosspot !
To rub salt in Kamara made it 3-1 before the break
with a great strike but big questions over our
midfield players who were just standing off Kamara
(nichols) and letting him have a free shot. Also,
Sully. Now Im not blaming him for the goal but he
didnt even move, not a flinch, surely youve got to
at least move in the direction of the ball. I thought
Sully looked a bit slow today although he did make one
or two comfortable saves late on.
Second half Wise went for it by playing 4 strikers -
Flo, Moore, Healy and Kandol. Lewis was moved to left
back whilst Healy played at left wing (strange !!). It
didnt really work but we did cause them more problems
and when Thompson converted a free kick they began to
wobble. I always thought that if we did get an
equaliser that Kamara and co would just run down the
other end and get another. They just seem to be in
control of the game. We couldnt really hurt them.
Sullivan 5. A bit slow today first half.
Sa 6. I thought he did ok. He doesnt get forward
enough for my liking but thats probably because we
are totally unbalanced on the right hand side.
Foxe 4. At fault for the crucial second goal. 1.75
million for Killa and we get Hayden Foxe. It doesnt
make sense at all. Killa and Marquis would be
brilliant together.
Marquis 7. He looks good and I felt a bit sorry for
him today cos he was covering everywhere and putting
some great challenges in. He reminds me of Radebe and
I think he is the future.
Elliot 6. Good cross for the first goal but I think
hes a bit ponderous at times and also looks a few
pounds overweight.
Thompson 5. Great goal and showed glimpses of his
excellent left foot but the fact is that he was a
passenger for most of the game. Unfit.
Nichols 4. Terrible game. Completely outclassed. The
game also emphasised what a limited player he is. His
passing is dire and his general control is not good.
He looked like a real plodder today. A one off ? Im
not sure if this man is up to it ?
Blake 4. Wise has a dilemma with Blake. Where does
he play him ? He tries to play him on the right with
instructions to move inside but this didnt work
yesterday and we end up looking really unbalanced on
the right. Also, Blake wants to play football with the
ball on the ground but he cant do this on his own.
Lewis 6. Started like steam train on the left. He
looked sharp but he faded out of the game badly.
Flo 7. Good goal and showed one or two nice touches
for a big man. Needs to get fitter. Will be important
to us though.
Healy 4. Just didnt happen today. Plenty of effort
though.
Subs :-
Moore 5. Ran around but didnt influence the match.
Kandol 6. In his limited way he did ok.
Cant bloody remember who the 3rd sub was .
Wise hes brought some experience in but does he
have the time now to get them fit and make them gel.
Plus , is he going to go long ball with Flo or is he
going to try and play football with Blake and
Thompson. Big decisions. There was lots of effort
today and in the second half we really got stuck in
but the quality was lacking.
Crowd good response to Thompsons goal. Lots of boos
at half time but none at full time and realisation
that we had been beaten by a bloody good team.
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'I am in shock,' said Ferguson.
