Oh dear. Colour me Rich Walker, because having been as positive as I could be so far, this poor run means I'm coming round to many of his points.
First, the mathc. We started both halves brightly, snappy into the tackle and purposeful. But in the first half, we seemed to flag once the initial onslaught failed to deliver results and then we reverted to type. Our defence is officially woeful. The moment MK had any kind of probing attack, we seemed to lose shape, movement and confidence. A static, fearful defence is no defence at all, and horribly predictably we conceded from corners in relatively quick succession. About ten minutes from the end of the half, Ed texted me to say the BBC had us with 67% of possession, and while that seemed improbable based on what I was watching, it might well have been true. We did a lot of huffing and puffing, but nothing came off. The main tactic was long balls to Becchio, and while I like the lad, Rich Walker's view is now being borne out week after week. He won maybe two headers all game, neither of which found a stripey shirt, our of maybe... 20 launched at him? Maybe more. MK Dons, by contrast, had less possession but it felt like they were dominating because every attack looked dangerous. We should sign their No.8 - although he'd have to be some kind of masochist to want to come to Leeds for another season in Div.3 and the prospect of 4,500 fans chanting "What the f*** is going on?" at the top of their voices when you go two down. Second half - see above. This time, our early pressure was rewarded - Snodgrass's hooked half-volley crashing in to fire up the fans and his team-mates. But within five minutes, the passion was spent. We were back to our bumbling ways. So it was no surprise when they restored their lead shortly afterwards. Cue 35 minutes of ineffectual faffing. The announcer had Delph going off for Enoch, although it looked like Howson (well... it's an easy mistake to make...). And at least with a big guy up front the long ball stuff looks a bit more purposeful. But it was the same as Histon: too little, too late. The players? Delph - despite having forgotten that he was terrorising defenders by running at them just two months ago with the result that he almost never dribbled today - was still the pick of the bunch for me. Snodgrass is a grafter and his commitment delivers results. Becchio ran around a lot, but I now concede Rich W's point. Howson was my favourite player two years ago. He's disappeared. Sheehan (excepting a half-decent free-kick) showed why we won at Swindon when he got sent off. Lubo still can't play upright - for a tall lad, he doesn't half launch a lot of balls vertically into the stratosphere (at both ends, mind). Rui was game and got stuck into a few decent challenges, but is also a shadow of his former self. Who else? Oh, dodgy Dave between the sticks. And that new lad, Assoumani, was average - i.e. not really what we need from a new signing. At all. Douglas was pretty good, actually, but I think these rubbish performances across the team flatter him. Credit to Frazer for coming on and giving it a go. All in all, then, dispiriting. This defeat pretty much rules out automatic promotion, and notwithstanding the fact MK Dons are worth their standing in this league - oh, and it's a great stadium and their fans were pretty good for Johnny-come-lately franchise supporters - we may even struggle to make the play-offs. Confidence is shot, and it's hard to believe that the pass-and-move side that demolished Swindon despite being a man down is more-or-less the same side that has capitulated so readily during December. I don't buy the idea that Beckford makes everything happen - we are, man for man, better than these results. That means coaching and confidence have gone awry - and although I hope Macca brings back that decent football the side were showing at the start of the season, I'm starting to think a new broom might do as much good as harm. PS - fans were great. Again. The acoustics were excellent for singing, and one or two minutes of frustration aside, we sang them off the park. Shit. Can't believe I'm actually pleased we outsang MK Dons at theirs. Things must be grim... -------------------- Richard Young Freelance writer and editor _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist is Michel Kitabdjian dead yet?
