Re: [LU] I went to Rochdale
Great balanced, sensible email Nick, thanks. (Better than most of the knee-jerk reaction bollox I've read of late!) ;-) I didn't go yesterday and although I'm disappointed we're out the cup, my glass is still half full. As a club (not a team!) we're still heading in the right direction - let's see what Jan brings. Keep the faith!!! McDermott IN!! Ted H ___ 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
Re: [LU] I went to Rochdale
GREAT report!! Definitely half the squad are the literal definition of journeymen: Pugh, Brown, Norris, Varney, Drury, Tonge, Warnock, EHD, Hunt - all of these are over thirty. Although I still like Green and Pearce. BMcD in his desperation with this lot is going through all the tactics - yesterday sounded terrible - but to sack him having inherited all of the above bar Hunt after just EIGHT months would be sheer lunacy. We're just gonna have to suck it up until the contracts of the above expire (this summer for most of them). BMW --- Original Message --- From: n...@6haroldplace.co.uk Sent: 5 January 2014 11:59 To: leedslist@gn.apc.org Subject: [LU] I went to Rochdale So I went to Rochdale yesterday…first the good things: - the drive over from our place is lovely, particularly the bit between Haworth and Hebden Bridge - the pies at Rochdale are cracking – only one option, meat potato, but hey when it is this good who needs choice - the DJ at the ground treated us to The Doors, Stone Roses, The Who, Happy Mondays (and The Smiths – I know some of you like that stuff) - Rochdale played some very attractive football that was great to watch - I’d have their numbers 11, 12 (Lund) and 40 (Henderson) in our first eleven straight away - Paddy Kenny kept us in the game… …and now everything else… There are so many problems apparent at the moment, but this is still more or less the team that was winning 4 or 5 out 6 only a month ago – so what has changed. In terms of man power, we’ve got Byram back (which is a plus), Pugh is in for Warnock and the fella we had from Forest (Tyson?) went and got injured – I think that he had a part in getting Ross on this roll, he was mobile, fast, and linked well. Other than that, it’s pretty much as was. There must be a confidence thing that has happened. Outside of Paddy, the only two Leeds players that gave it a real go were Byram and McCormack (although both became increasingly marginal as the game went on – probably just frustration on their part). At least they tried to move us forward. Yesterday’s defence of Pearce, Zak, and Wootton (I had to struggle to remember who Wootton was)…looked like they’d never met. Lees can feel hard done to being dropped for Wootton. But like Forest did, Rochdale, passed the ball quickly and accurately on the ground, into feet or into the space beyond the defence and had us turning all match. We had no answer to it and it was woeful to watch. Pearce is a heart on the sleeve kind of defender, which works pretty well most of the time, but if you treat everything as if you just have to go at it like a bull in a china shop, then those with a bit of brains will side-step you, and just generally run rings round you…they did – yesterday our left side was ripped apart time after time after time – Pearce and Pugh between them totally passed out of the game by lively, fast interplay and movement into space. Zak and Wootton – rarely seen such a level of misunderstanding or lack of communication since I left the Wrenthorpe U-11s The midfield is a huge problem – 5 guys in there and still Rochdale’s midfield had acres of space…the number 12 and 40…plus occasionally the 4 (Cavannagh)…ran it from the first minute. Byram on a sort of inside right detail ahead of Peltier, was the threat and twice they chopped him down in full flight – both professional, both cynical and both rightly booked. So what did we do? Stopped using Byram…nuts. I lost count of the number of times in the first half that Sam took a ball, laid it back 10 yards to Peltier or Wootton and spun and set off down the line…only to have to brake, double back, because Peltier, Wootton and Austin had got themselves into a little passing triangle just inside our half…6 passes later one of them hoofs it down the line – where it should have gone first time to Sam – and the ball is lost. Peltier and Pugh aren’t even playing the same game as wing backs – Peltier is a right back, playing 10 metres ahead of where a right back plays and terrified of going further upfield…Pugh is playing left midfield and not tracking back. Austin was dreadful yesterday – plain and simple. Murphy is odd, when we got him I thought we were getting a Hoddle type…long passes, conducting the game etc…we don’t appear to have got that yet, but what we have got is someone tracking back between the centre-halfs making crunching goal saving tackles (2 vs Forest and at least 2 yesterday). ..which at this moment in time is needed. Up front – Smith and Ross – simply not working – they are miles apart, do not play off each other – 3 or 4 times yesterday, Smith headed it to Ross…who headed it back…and Smith tried to head it back for a third time…moving nowhere…no understanding between them. Smith is immobile and lumbering, his one “strength” is getting onto crosses from the wing…but we’re not getting anyone to the by-line. So what is the point? Ross needs someone
Re: [LU] I went to Rochdale
You're quite right about the DJ, I can honestly say that in all my years of watching football I haven't enjoyed the pre-match as much as that! My transfer targets during the window would definitely include the Rochdale DJ. Then of course the match started and the day went seriously downhill. A Rochdale fan has taken exception to the comment I put in the match report on my own site that Rochdale found it easy to cope with our tactic of lumping it up to Smith, because that is the sort of football they must face every week. He claims that most teams in League 2 play better football than that. In other words, we were even worse than League 2 standard! Tim W. From: n...@6haroldplace.co.uk n...@6haroldplace.co.uk To: leedslist@gn.apc.org leedslist@gn.apc.org Sent: Sunday, 5 January 2014, 10:58 Subject: [LU] I went to Rochdale So I went to Rochdale yesterday…first the good things: - the drive over from our place is lovely, particularly the bit between Haworth and Hebden Bridge - the pies at Rochdale are cracking – only one option, meat potato, but hey when it is this good who needs choice - the DJ at the ground treated us to The Doors, Stone Roses, The Who, Happy Mondays (and The Smiths – I know some of you like that stuff) - Rochdale played some very attractive football that was great to watch - I’d have their numbers 11, 12 (Lund) and 40 (Henderson) in our first eleven straight away - Paddy Kenny kept us in the game… …and now everything else… There are so many problems apparent at the moment, but this is still more or less the team that was winning 4 or 5 out 6 only a month ago – so what has changed. In terms of man power, we’ve got Byram back (which is a plus), Pugh is in for Warnock and the fella we had from Forest (Tyson?) went and got injured – I think that he had a part in getting Ross on this roll, he was mobile, fast, and linked well. Other than that, it’s pretty much as was. There must be a confidence thing that has happened. Outside of Paddy, the only two Leeds players that gave it a real go were Byram and McCormack (although both became increasingly marginal as the game went on – probably just frustration on their part). At least they tried to move us forward. Yesterday’s defence of Pearce, Zak, and Wootton (I had to struggle to remember who Wootton was)…looked like they’d never met. Lees can feel hard done to being dropped for Wootton. But like Forest did, Rochdale, passed the ball quickly and accurately on the ground, into feet or into the space beyond the defence and had us turning all match. We had no answer to it and it was woeful to watch. Pearce is a heart on the sleeve kind of defender, which works pretty well most of the time, but if you treat everything as if you just have to go at it like a bull in a china shop, then those with a bit of brains will side-step you, and just generally run rings round you…they did – yesterday our left side was ripped apart time after time after time – Pearce and Pugh between them totally passed out of the game by lively, fast interplay and movement into space. Zak and Wootton – rarely seen such a level of misunderstanding or lack of communication since I left the Wrenthorpe U-11s The midfield is a huge problem – 5 guys in there and still Rochdale’s midfield had acres of space…the number 12 and 40…plus occasionally the 4 (Cavannagh)…ran it from the first minute. Byram on a sort of inside right detail ahead of Peltier, was the threat and twice they chopped him down in full flight – both professional, both cynical and both rightly booked. So what did we do? Stopped using Byram…nuts. I lost count of the number of times in the first half that Sam took a ball, laid it back 10 yards to Peltier or Wootton and spun and set off down the line…only to have to brake, double back, because Peltier, Wootton and Austin had got themselves into a little passing triangle just inside our half…6 passes later one of them hoofs it down the line – where it should have gone first time to Sam – and the ball is lost. Peltier and Pugh aren’t even playing the same game as wing backs – Peltier is a right back, playing 10 metres ahead of where a right back plays and terrified of going further upfield…Pugh is playing left midfield and not tracking back. Austin was dreadful yesterday – plain and simple. Murphy is odd, when we got him I thought we were getting a Hoddle type…long passes, conducting the game etc…we don’t appear to have got that yet, but what we have got is someone tracking back between the centre-halfs making crunching goal saving tackles (2 vs Forest and at least 2 yesterday). ..which at this moment in time is needed. Up front – Smith and Ross – simply not working – they are miles apart, do not play off each other – 3 or 4 times yesterday, Smith headed it to Ross…who headed it back…and Smith tried to head it back for a third time…moving nowhere…no
