>>FLO - decent enough first half, one or two nice lay
>>offs and a good shot on goal. Was used up by half
>>time. Coming far too deep for the ball.
I don't subscribe to the Flo was treading water /
knackered bit. He was still doing an awful lot of
running about the time he went off. I completely agree
about him coming too deep but if he didn't I don't
think there would be anyone to pass to. The midfield
were completely anonymous. I think Flo needs people
around him that can do the basics and play pass and
move football. He hasn't got that in this team so he
does look at times like a fish out of water. He was a
never pacey player even in his hey day but he does
have skill. The way he ghosted past their defence in
the opening minutes only to shoot into the South Stand
was something that only he can do (in that Leeds
team). I'd still like to see him in there with
Beckford when Kilkenny comes back to play alongside
Prutton in the middle. Kandol is piss poor although
I'm very close to losing my bet that Kandol won't get
double figures this season although I think I'm still
safe. Opposition keepers don't make blunders like that
too often.
--- Nick Allen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Got home after this one and immediately went to
> check the league table because I had no idea
> whereabouts in the table (other than some where
> below us) the team that we'd just robbed of two
> points, were. In the relegation zone, pre-kick-off
> apparently. That didn't make me feel much better.
>
> Yesterday we were ever so lucky that Crewe were the
> same old Crewe - they play the game the right way
> (when they've got the ball, I don't mean all the
> bloody feigned injuries) short precise passing,
> always a man available, but true to form they are
> lightweight and pack no punch up front. If they had
> a big strapping old school centre forward they'd
> have got a bagful yesterday.
>
> We started with the same back 5, Fraser at
> RMidfield, Prutton and Howson in the middle and
> Sweeney at Left, with Flo and Kandol up front.
>
> In the first 10 minutes we had 6 or 7 presentable
> efforts on goal - Flo, Kandol, Michalik, Sheehan and
> Prutton all putting narrowly wide or producing
> decent saves/blocks from Crewe. When nothing came of
> the opening bluster it all faded away. Slowly
> Crewe's better footballing habits began to give them
> the upper hand and they were playing controlled
> precise football in our half, mainly, occassionally
> breaking through for a shot on goal. They had 2
> small fast forwards who seemed to really throw Lubo
> every time they ran at him. Fortunately they
> couldn't hit a barn door. For the rest of the half
> there were several half chances, we did have a few
> and several corners all of which led to very little.
> Fraser had a couple of half decent long range
> efforts. Right at the end of the half Prutton was
> adjudged to have fouled a Crewe player on the edge
> of our box - right where Donny scored from. Fella
> steps up and rattles the crossbar with Caspar
> nowhere. Unlucky.
>
> Straight after half time and we give them a goal
> from nothing. In their half of the field, a loose
> ball, banged away to where our left back might well
> have been, but wasn't. They had a bloke after it and
> another one coming through the middle, Rui had to go
> across to the man with the ball who is on the edge
> of the box, he slips it square to his mate who is
> more or less unmarked, he rolls it past Caspar with
> a first time shot. We are nowhere and have managed
> to commit hari-kari. An unbelievably bad schoolboy
> goal. For the next 30 minutes we ran around trying
> to get the ball off an increasingly confident Crewe,
> who began to believe they might actually win at ER.
> When we did get the ball, we gave it straight back.
> They had a couple more decent chances, bringing a
> good save from Caspar, and forced several scrambles.
> Meanwhile, in response to the goal we brought Carole
> on for the recently limping Kenton and moved Fraser
> to RBack. Carole immediately set about running up
> all the dead-ends we'd forgotten about. His main
> problem being that neither of the two lumps of wood
> we had playing up front ever showed for the ball, or
> got themselves in half decent positions. The only
> time we looked likely when going forward was when a
> midfielder ran beyond the man with the ball...then
> we sometimes got something going down, usually the
> right side - Prutton, Howson and later Johnson did
> at least make the Crewe defence turn and track back.
>
>
> With 20 minutes to go and still no real chances
> Sweeney - who was lightweight to say the least - was
> swapped for Johnson and Elding was to be brought on,
> the only question was whether for Flo or Kandol.
> People around me booed when Kandol stayed on and Flo
> was subbed. Kandol is not a better player than Flo -
> never will be - but Flo was treading water, he's a
> sub, he can't do 90 minutes. Kandol did almost zip
> all match, he's not right good and his confidence is
> shot to pieces but he got us a goal that Flo would
> not have done. The only possible options for the
> next game to play alongside Beckford are Elding or
> Kandol. With Flo to come on for the last 20. myself
> I'd go for Kandol - for 2 reasons, he seems to blend
> better than any of the others with Beckford, as in
> creates space for him and wins some flicks
> (admittedly Elding has not really had chance to
> prove or disprove his credentials yet) and secondly,
> the argument of continuity. Which I realise also
> requires recalls for Heath, Thompson and Douglas
> when fit, but who said logic has anything to do with
> football. For what its worth, Douglas would walk (or
> limp) into this midfield at the moment.
>
> Its not a surprise that Kandol has no confidence if
> people are booing the fact that he isn't subbed
> off...for Christ sake, some pondlife behind me
> started giving it to Elding about 5 minutes after
> he'd come on - "you're fucking shit you are you
> bastard why don't you fuck off back to Stockport" -
> this poor guy has had what, maybe one full game all
> told in a Leeds shirt. No wonder the guys have no
> self belief with this level of "support".
>
> Despite these changes, little changed in our
> fortunes. Crewe looked odds on for the 3 points. 5
> minutes left. We got a free kick down near the
> corner flag on our left wing. Carole and Johnson
> stood over it. Seb clearly wanted to bend it
> goalwards with his right foot but Johnson wasn't
> having it and waved him away. Johnson took it left
> footed and predictably didn't get it beyond the
> first man. He headed it clear to Carole, still
> lurking out by the corner of the box on the left
> side, he turned the ball onto his right foot and
> swung in a beautiful cross that took out the CHalfs
> but left the goalie unable to come for it and Kandol
> really couldn't miss from 5 yards.
>
> At this point Crewe folded. 6 minutes of injury time
> were shown. We threw lots at them but couldn't force
> another decent chance on goal. In many ways this was
> robbery, but we'll have to take it and hope that we
> can start beating teams pretty damn sharpish.
>
> ANKERGREN - some decent saves - not sure about his
> positioning or reflexes for the goal but in truth it
> was more the fault of the 10 other numpties out
> there
>
> KENTON - solid defensively - willing if not
> particularly adept at getting forward
>
> SHEEHAN - to be honest I don't get this guy - at
> times he looks really sorted, comfortable on the
> ball and all the rest of it, but he is guaranteed to
> do some pretty stupid and rank bad defending at some
> point in every match - his positional sense is
> dubious, he looks OK in the air, but I've yet to see
> him make a proper tackle
>
> MARQUES - was pretty much up to his normal standard
> apart from a couple of wildly bad
> back-passes/clearances that put us under pressure.
>
> MICHALIK - was not what I expected at all - timid,
> slow and out of position - did not command at the
> back
>
> both Lubo and Rui were put under pressure by having
> no cover in front of them
>
> RICHARDSON - just isn't a midfield player - was game
> enough - had one really good long shot in the second
> half that the keeper had to get down to by his post
> pretty sharply - looked more comfortable at RBack
>
> PRUTTON - had one of his best games for us - driving
> forward, looking for the gaps and generally got
> stuck in - powder puff header at the back post after
> 5 minutes which it looked (from 100 yards away) that
> he should have buried
>
> HOWSON - quiet game - had a couple of good efforts
> in the second half, one of which bounced back off
> the post - came more to the fore in the last 20
> minutes when driving forward - pushing us into the
> box, unfortunately the man he always found was
> Kandol, who immediately stopped, put his foot on the
> ball, and went backwards.
>
> SWEENEY - a lightweight butterfly on the left -
> between him and Sheehan our left hand side has
> nothing to offer going forwards and the resistance
> of a souffle when defending
>
> FLO - decent enough first half, one or two nice lay
> offs and a good shot on goal. Was used up by half
> time. Coming far too deep for the ball.
>
> KANDOL - for 85 minutes really looked as if he'd
> rather be shopping than out on the pitch. Didn't
> give up, got us a goal and a point. Let's hope it
> rekindles his goalscoring form of the first 10
> games. We need it.
>
> Subs
>
> Carole - frustrating to say the least - but with two
> big strikers on it makes sense to have a winger on,
> and whatever else, he can cross a good ball, as he
> proved for the goal
>
> JOHNSON - came on and "put it about a bit" - he at
> least looked bothered that we were losing - which is
> a pretty good start - not sure that he brought much
> quality - but his physical presence made him an
> improvement on Sweeney
>
> ELDING - won a couple of headers, had one long shot
> was
=== message truncated ===
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