The Opening Game and The Carling Cup Tie

Southampton


Call myself a Leeds fan, unfortunately I could neither go to the game in the south or get in-front of a television to watch it. Due to personal reasons I could not watch the game, however I'll do my best to rant about it.


Final score : Southampton 3-1 Leeds United 


A farce as far as I'm concerned, Southampton are a good side and I respect them a lot but there was no need for us to go down by two goals in the opening third of the game. I looked for the score online on a friends phone about 20 minutes in and was disappointed but optimistic that we would begin a fightback. Shortly afterwards checking around the hour mark I was stunned to see the score at 3-0. I knew there would be no coming back. From people I've spoken to and stats I've looked at it is easy to see that we were completely dominated. Since then I've looked at the goals that we conceded and I am not happy. Lonergan, the defence and the midfield could all have done better. No closing down and too much ball-watching instead of picking out the players that are making the runs behind our back-line. The goal we got shouldn't have even been a penalty. Most of all I feel incredibly sorry for the fans who travelled miles and miles to witness such awful football. We need to pick our game up fast, the only way we can do this is by getting a win in the next home game against Middlesbrough. 


Bradford


Leeds United 3-2 Bradford City


A game that was made very hard by some slack defending and in my eyes we were using the wrong formation against a League 2 club. Even though we were playing a 4-3-2-1 again as always nothing seemed to work. We couldn't attack properly because the lone striker (Ross McCormack) couldn't operate and ink up with anyone. Ross makes some of the best runs I've ever seen but no-one seems to pass it to him. We couldhave been winning at the break if there was better ink up pay. 


The defence wasn't great either and Lonergan is still looking a little shaky. He is a good keeper and we'll just have to wait for him to find his feet with a new club and a new defence. The applause and cheers when Andy O'Brien was substituted were a little harsh though. Sure he isn't playing the best football of his life and he is to blame for some of the goals we've conceded in the last two games but he didn't deserve to be booed off the field. I do however think it is time to bring in Leigh Bromby who played well last season. Bromby is pretty solid and plays well with Kisnorbo. That said Kisnorbo hasn't had the greatest games either. 


Michael Brown has been way too slow on the ball and off it. We have to remember he is 34 years old and can't keep up at times however his distribution of the ball is so slow that it may just cost us. If he were to get his head up and pass it earlier and more direct then I reckon we could have far more attacking play. The centre-mids should be supplying the wingers and lone striker with through balls and passes to latch on to. 


Where there is bad there are also signs of good. Paul Connolly is playing well and he is also very consistant. Tom Lees got his first competitive game and even got an assist. I tweeted before the game that I'd like him and Clayton to play. They both played and were the best performers in my eyes. Tom got down the wing well and also tracked back tremendously. I hope he gets more games. Adam Clayton is one of the best players I've seen in the opening two games. He has a great attitude and races round the pitch in all directions. All his movements and decisions are worthwhile and almost always paid off in the Bradford game. He will be a great asset for us this season. I did beg for him to have a go when he got to the edge of the box, which he got to a few times. It felt at times like we were trying to walk the ball into the back of the net. We need more efforts of goal and I'd like Clayton to be the man to have a go. Same with Howson, who turned out to be anonymous in the West-Yorkshire derby. Ramon also played well, scoring two goals and making a few other chances. He is a good player but he can be better! I'm sure that Ramon can get around 10 goals this Championship season, maybe even be another Gradel, who knows. 


Snodgrass also got his first Scotland international start this week and played well, he even got his first international goal. A cool diving header across the Denmark keeper who was beaten from when the ball came in. With all the wingers at Leeds I would like to maybe see Snodgrass play up-front. It hasn't been tested before but he has the pace, the skill and the finish to play there, and with players like Gradel, Nunez and Sam on the wing I think with the lack of strikers it could work out for us.


I'll end it there, what a rant. Marching on together!