How has Neil started?
The topic in this blog is how has Neil Warnock started as Leeds manager... Under Warnocks reign we have seen five points gained from four games. Five points out of a possible twelve points doesn't sound great for a promotion push but there is still time... There isn't much time but there still is time.
As Neil says we now need to win all of our games at home to make this unlikely promotion push look a bit more achievable.We now have ten games left to salvage something for this season. Personally I think we would have a better shot next year but while it's still mathematically possible we may as well give it a go. We have six home games and four away days to contend will before the season reaches it's climax. The fixtures we have are mixed, some are against big-shots like West Ham who have an impressive away form and visit Elland Road this Saturday. Then we have games such as Millwall away which is one of the away days some fans look forward to most. We also have away trips to Blackpool and Cardiff who are also flying high and could pose a huge threat on our play-off hopes.
All this is in the future though, what I am asking is how has Neil Warnock done so far and what have I seen, that I like the look of? The first obvious change we've seen is someone that can manage our defence and teach them how to play together. Darren O'Dea and Tom Lees worked very well together against Middlesbrough on Sunday. Paul Robinson and Paul Connolly also had a vital role to play in guarding Lonergans goal. Both centre-backs had a great game on Sunday and got to every ball and got it away from danger, and most of the time it didn't just go straight back to the oppositions midfield. The communication from Paul Robinson and the understanding between his new alliances in defence was great to see. After only a few days at the club he was making himself known and making everything very secure at the back. This meant that Lonergan had virtually nothing to do all afternoon.
With the well organised defence came the two central midfield players, Michael Brown and Adam Clayton who sat in front of the defence and blocked everything that came their way and intercepted passes through the defence. Michael Brown had been getting a lot of stick earlier in the season as his performances were poor to say the least and he didn't look sharp enough. However, Neil seems to have put his trust in his old friend and abviously told him what he wants from him. It seems to be working for the veteran and I hope he keeps his form going.
Attacking-wise Neil hasn't done much. We know were good at attacking and we got insanely unlucky in the Southampton game. Despite the lack of goals we've looked dangerous. Somehow we seem to have a great partnership between Ross McCormack and Luciano Becchio. There were some neat one-two's going on against Boro' which lead to our second goal. Often you will find that the best strike forces are when you have two strikers who are completely different. One to win all the balls in the air and a pacey one to get in and out of defences. They both causes Middlesbrough so many problems which they just couldn't handle. In the end I believe we should've had more goals but I'm not complaining with a solid three points at Middlesbrough. There is one thing that I believe needs to be adjusted and that's for Snodgrass and White to change wings. Snodgrass just isn't as dangerous on the left. He gave defenders a torrid time out on the right as he cut in and fired in a shot or cross. I'm sure that Aidan White would also be better suited to the other wing so he could also deliver some teasing balls into the box. White looked very sharp against Boro' considering he was supposidly injured.
That concludes this blog. Hopefully we can see a few more points on the board very soon, starting at West Ham this weekend.
On, on, on...
Adam
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