What Bates said ... 9th Feb 2011

Ben Fry: Well, we’ll start by looking back on Saturday. A much-needed win and I suppose a clean sheet as well, you must be equally as delighted with both?

Ken Bates: Well what was nice was that the forwards had an off day for a change and they had their near misses without scoring but when all else fails, Somma pops up with a goal and the most important thing was we had a clean sheet. So that’s something that was very welcome and of course the result of the weekend games are that we are still three points behind second place. It’s a very tight competition and very exciting, which of course, is reflected in the gates.

BF: You mentioned Davide Somma, you must be delighted with the contribution he has made this season – 11 goals in 11 starts.

KB: I have just come back from South Africa as you know and he’s beginning to be talked about in South Africa because they are desperate for heroes overseas. And of course, he is theirs at the moment and long may it continue both for him and for the many, many people in South Africa to whom he’s a hero.

BF: And you mentioned how tight it is getting in the Championship, do you see things any differently now? I know you said at this stage you thought things would become a little bit clearer. Is that the situation?

KB: Well there are now six clubs that are now creeping away. I think it’s four or five points difference between sixth and seventh, which is a nice gap. Though of course, there are one or two games in hand but these are tending to equal themselves out. So as I say, we are sixth at the moment but there’s only three points between us and second. It should make for some very exciting games between now and the end of the season. It’s very, very close. I think it’s even closer this year than it was last year in League One.

BF: Do you think that’s partly because of the quality of sides that came down from the Premier League weren’t as strong as traditionally and therefore it’s almost anybody’s to take?

KB: Well I think we’re amazed aren’t we that the club’s that get relegated, who I had in my mind as front-runners, simply aren’t. In fact, with the exception of ourselves  I suppose you could say, not unkindly, that the majority of teams in the play-offs at the moment are the unfashionable clubs in the league. What you see as the established giants are at the other end of the table, with Preston being the outstanding surprise and disappointment.

BF: Now, the emergency loan window opened this week. It does include a 93-day rule which means any player that came on loan now wouldn’t actually be available if Leeds United were involved in the play-offs. Do you think that’s a fault in the system , the fact that you do have to wait to try make sure the 93 days carry you through until the end of May?

KB: No I don’t think so. I think that’s maybe why you find we don’t start signing players until next week. But we’ll see how it goes. It’s Simon’s job to judge the water and decide what he wants and it will be Simon’s decision. We will back him for whatever he wants.

BF: Now yesterday Jonny Howson got a run-out with the England Under-21s in Italy. He played the last 20 minutes of the second half. You must be delighted for him and also delighted that another academy product has had international recognition?

KB: I’m very pleased for him and I’m very pleased for the club. He’s a lovely boy, homegrown, loves Leeds and of course is the team captain at the moment. He’s having a good season. I’m very pleased for him and I’m sure everybody else is. And this week of course we have been interviewing candidates for the vacancy for Academy Director, which hopefully means we’ll be able to appoint somebody sooner rather than later. Susannah did apply but she was told by both manager and Shaun Harvey that she was over-qualified. If fact, she was warned that she was over-qualified for everything so please don’t apply for anything else either.

BF: Well taking Susannah’s application apart, are you pleased with the standard of 

candidates?

KB: I’m not really familiar with many of the names, but I’m entirely content to allowing Gwyn Williams, Shaun’s and Simon’s assessment. We had quite a lot of applications and they chose eight each, to cut it down to 24 but then what was interesting was that some of the names appeared on all three lists. So they were obviously regarded as prime candidates. It’s interesting now that the youth team have now returned to winning ways. At one time they were stuck at the foot of the table but at least they’re climbing off that now. We have make sure we have the right person in to look after our future and that’s what we’ll be doing this week.

BF: When we spoke last week, you talked about the need for Premier League clubs to respect the Football League when it comes to young players and there was a meeting taking place to try thrash this out this week. Has there been any outcome?

KB: No, it wasn’t very satisfactory. Basically, the big clubs rejected it. At the moment, first of all they just want to pay for the player they take but the fact of the matter is, if you take a small club, Rochdale for example, maybe they have 10-15 kids in their centre of excellence and one comes through because that’s the average, it’s exceptional if there is more than one, and then a Premiership club likes him and takes him of them unfairly, sometimes illegally, and then they offer a pittance, say £50,000 for the player. But Rochdale, hard up as they are, may spend £200,000 a year on their academy, some clubs spend far more. The Premiership clubs steal the one good player of that year, the rest don’t make it but they all cost the same so Rochdale has now lost money in producing that youth player. They can’t afford to do it. Premiership clubs paying up to £50million for a player, you’d think they’d realise it’s in their own interests to invest in the future further down the food chain, which is quite ridiculous. Leeds have been aggressive and are fighting their corner. You may remember for example, that Manchester City took two of our players and offered us £70,000. We fought them and got £700,000. Everton took one, offered £200,000, we got £700,000 plus add-ons taking it to £1.3million. And finally, probably the most notorious case of all, was when Chelsea took Taiwo and Woods and offered us £200,000, we eventually got £4m. Now the Football League clubs spend about £40m a year on youth development, they can’t afford to do that to subsidise the Premier League. And the Premier League are only being stupid and greedy and in some cases thieving but it’s also very short-sighted because football is like a pyramid. All the little clubs, Championship, Leagues One and Two and even the Conference are doing in fact, their work for them. So they are crazy, short changing us. It’s a real battle and I do know in fact, having seen our submission to the inquiry that is taking place at the select committee into the Governance of Football that the Football League have made a very strong case for that to change. The other thing they want to ban, the Premier League, is the 90-minute rule. It used to be that you could only sign a player that lives within 90 minutes of the ground or training ground. They want to abolish that, which means that the Premiership’s big clubs will be able to scavenge throughout the country, which again isn’t fair. The trouble is of course there is a certain type of parent who see their son as a way to instant riches instead of thinking of their long-term future of the boy. Many kids are better off staying at their home club and learning and playing. They are just going to the abyss of a Premiership club and never being seen again. I mention the £4m for Taiwo and Woods – well where are they? We got £500,000 for Gordon and he has been loaned out to Scunthorpe. And so it goes on. I wonder where those two players would be today if they had stayed at Leeds. Anyway, time will tell.

BF: I was going to ask you your thoughts on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee Investigation into Football. I suppose then, you would welcome government intervention if in fact if did try solve this problem with academies?

KB: Well, I’m a bit wary of this inquiry because first of all, they have made three mistakes. We’ve had: Lord Triesman, I don’t know what his background is and I don’t know why he’s a Lord, he didn’t do very much at the FA. Then we’ve had a Civil Servant who walked out after six months or so because he wasn’t getting his own way whereas of course Civil Servants are used to getting their own way. Then of course, we’ve had Lord Mawhinney who now is our President but the less to say about him and 15 points the better. Then Geoff Hoon, the guy who was fiddling expenses, he was a former minister and angling for the job of chairman. The problem is, in my experience in football, with meeting other chairmen is that so many of them are in it for the wrong reasons. They like turning up at Wembley and making sure they get the best seat but since they don’t know anything about football, I don’t know what they have got to offer and I’m not sure what the government can deduce other than possible one or two regulations and then forget it. The idea of a permanent regulator would be a disaster. Maybe I’ve got a better idea, maybe the Football Association, the Premier League and the Football League should set up a independent inquiry into the governance of Britain. Maybe the country should regulated by the Premier League and at least then the country would be making money and wouldn’t have to be paying so many high taxes.

BF: I have got a list of what the inquiry is seeking to establish. I’ll read out the questions and see if any of these areas you would like looking at. Should football clubs in the United Kingdom be treated differently from other commercial organisations?

KB: That’s a very vague question isn’t it? But I suppose the answer would be no.

BF: The next one: are football governance rules in England and Wales and the governing bodies that set and apply them fit for purpose?

KB: Well, again, you see, they are being specifically vague. I think they could debate about anything and if they are not then the clubs themselves should put things right.

BF: Is there too much debt in the professional game?

KB: Well this I think was what Lord Triesman’s nadir when he made a speech at Stamford Bridge at a conference when he stated it was a disgrace that football club’s debts we £3billion or something or £2bn. That speech had obviously been written for him by a professional speech writer and in turn he didn’t do bugger all about it and it was totally in accurate. There are two kinds of debts. There’s what you might call the Ridsdale debt, which is bad, where money is just borrowed against assets and spent like water on players, so the club goes bust. Or there’s what you might call Arsenal debts where they have built a brand new 60,000 seater stadium, borrowed money by getting a mortgage which is obviously more debt but are paying it down on a regular basis. Meanwhile they have increased their capacity by 50%, they provide much better facilities for their supporters, and it showed for example when we played them that our share of the gate was £907,000. That’s what I’d call good debt. Now if we take all the members of the Select Committee – how many of them have got houses or apartments, some of course have got two without a mortgage, so that’s good debt. Most people in the country who own a house have got a mortgage, that’s good debt. People who have got loads of credit cards and are over the limit and are making financial repayments  – that’s bad debt. So it’s too simplistic to say they have got too much debt.

BF: And the final one… What are the pros and cons of the supporter trust shareholding model?

KB: Well, at the end of the day, I don’t know any club where it has been a success in the higher echelons. The trouble is, all the supporters I have met, and I have met a few over the years, at the end of the day they want to win matches and buy players. And I don’t think that a representative body should have a seat on a football club. It has nothing to offer. I think they have got one at the FA. He’s on his own and doesn’t have a particularly great time because most of his ideas are potty anyway. The present system hasn’t done badly for the last 100-odd years. Any change you want, evolution not revolution. It’s only one letter, R, and it takes a little longer.

BF: And finally today, I suppose the most important question of the week, are you a Rod Stewart fan?

KB: I always have been yes. So I’m looking forward to him coming to Elland Road on June 3. Do you know, we announced it last Thursday, we put the tickets on sale on Monday morning and as of last night we had sold 5,500 tickets. Interestingly, the most expensive seats are going first. We are putting seats on the pitch, the stage will be in front of the South Stand, and it’s going to be a great day.

BF: And there are some hospitality packages as well and one section of those is already sold out so there seems to be a real appetite to see Rod strutting his stuff.

KB: The whole thing is going well. It means Elland Road will be open a little longer. Come back to what we have always said, we must use Elland Road for things other than just football. The other great thing is that, having got all the stages up, we’re now looking for two or three more acts to follow Rod Stewart which means it could turn into a festival of music which will be great, so watch this space.

Courtesy of WACCOE and TSB's Fax Man Fax Man on TheSquareBall

Bristol City - Leeds ... Preview

Tomorrow's game is an important one for us. We've had a succession of draws in the past few weeks and have struggled (particularly on the road) to keep the opponents at bay. The last two away games have each seen us leak two goals and this is too much of an ask if we want to get anything more than a draw from games on the road - Burnley away won't happen all to often. We've got no better chance to press on and build upon the good performance of Coventry than tomorrows game, with Bristol having lost the last two at home and they've struggled at Ashton Gate throughout the season. It's essential that we build some momentum as the season begins to build to its climax - with three hard games coming up - Norwich, Barnsley and Swansea round off our more than crucial February - so if we're to pick up points it likely has to be ASAP in case of emergency.

The bubbling undercurrent amongst Leeds fans this week has been the formation debate and whether we should revert to 4-5-1 and leave hot-shot Somma on the bench - despite scoring in his last five - including his debut goal for the Bafana Bafana, as he put one past Kenya within two minutes of his second South Africa start on Wednesday. My personal say on this debate is swayed by Davide's international involvement this week. For that reason, I'd suggest Simon will return to the season's 4-2-3-1/4-5-1/4-3-3 formation that has brought much of our success so far. This will mean Kilkenny returns in midfield, and Howson most importantly returns to his role behind Luciano up top. 

I'll repeat what I've said before about this formation. I don't think myself that it's success is due to Kilkenny's inclusion. Yes, he's good on the ball but offers very little defensively, despite being deep lying. He can't head, struggles in a tackle and hasn't got the pace or stamina to pressure or track runners effectively. The success this formation brings is largely due to the extra capable presence of Kilkenny lying deeper allowing Howson to push forward more, and there is where he's flourished this season so far. Playing in behind the striker has seen Howson shed, for the most part, his tendency to fade in and out of games. His inclusion in the hole seems his forte - much like Bradley Johnson seems to have found his calling lying further back down the pitch.

The international matches, and Davide having played a part for South Africa midweek, will have swayed Simon back to the 4-5-1 I believe, as well as the factor of us playing away from home and last time out in a 4-4-2 saw Hull knock two past us at the KC.

This also allows us to have one of the most efficient finishers at this level to come off the bench should we need added impetus at any time.

I'd like to see us utilise Gradel and Snoddy in the same way we did at home, as inexplicably sometimes we tend not to - sometimes I get the impression the players aren't always thinking "get the ball to Snoddy" for example, but this should be what we do - as our wingers are currently unstoppable. Becchio returning to the lone striker role may also have an effect on the role our wingers play. Becchio dropped deeper against Cov. allowing him to bring Snoddy and Gradel in to play. Somma also did this when Becchio was left higher up the pitch after an attack, so hopefully having only one striker up top doesn't impact our wingers' time on the ball.

Last time out against Bristol City, Luciano bagged his first hat-trick for the club in something like eighteen minutes. He won us the game single handedly as Somma struggled up front on his own for the majority of the game.

Bristol have conceded three to Wednesday, four to 'Boro and two to Swansea in their last three home games so they're struggling to hold teams back at Ashton Gate and with our attacking prowess of recent weeks then hopefully we can also take advantage.

Prediction

I'm not doing one. No chance. I'm not tempting any fate at all this week.

Team News

Bristol City

Nicky Maynard likely to return to be on the bench. He's yet to play this season after summer surgery, but was their top scorer last season and when fit and on form is a very dangerous player.

Leeds

Paul Connolly is out for 2-3 weeks with a hamstring strain received against Coventry. Very unfortunate as he's been a very solid piece of our defence this season. Aston Villa's Eric Lichaj has been brought in on loan for a month to cover. He's made 6 apps. for Villa this season in the Premier League and is a tall, hard working and highly regarded young American.

Sanchez Watt returned to training on Thursday and could feature on the bench.

Somma, Nunez and Snoddy all featured midweek - with Davide and Nunez needing to be assessed prior to the trip down to Bristol - Somma is likely to feature though.

Interview with Svend Karlsen... Norwegian Fanatic...

I decided to give a brief interview to a fan that should be synonymous with Leeds fans online firstly due to his fantastic video from Old Trafford (complete with Yorkshire singing accent)... Svend at Old Trafford FA Cup Video... and secondly due to his heavy involvement in the production of the Peacock News - the magazine for the Scandinavian Supporters Club (he informed me he was working day and night to finalise the publication for its production):

So, then, here are my questions to the man:

Sean: What do you think to our current squad? 

Svend: The current squad seems to be good enough to compete in the top half, but to get it working you need some luck with injuries, a good team spirit and consistency. If these points all match you're well out of the starting blocks. The good thing about the current squad is the strike-force. We have plenty of goalscorers, not just upfront. We do however, strongly need a commander in midfield, a position I know Grayson is looking to strengthen. This problem has been obvious from at least the moment Grayson decided Michael Doyle wasn't good enough, and it's surprising to see that we still haven't found anyone to do the job. A quality player here could very well make the difference between promotion or no promotion.

Sean: Who would you like to see come in to improve us?

Svend: If Andy O'Brien and Alex Bruce can get established as a central defending duo then I think we're quite solid at the back. However it's still likely we'll see another strong name added in that position. In midfield I'd like to see a midfield commander coming in, preferably someone who can understand the league, and I think we'll have to pay up here or offer players in exchange. If I could recommend a player to the club it would be someone I know very well from the Norwegian league: Celso Borges. He captains Costa Rica (who Ramon Nunez' Honduras recently beat in the Copa CentroAmericana final) only at the age of 22, is a central midfielder with qualities good enough for the Premiership.

Sean: How far do you think we've come this season, and where can you see us finishing up?

Svend: I feel Leeds have done quite well this season, which the league position obviously confirms. But this division is so tight, there's small differences between automatic promotion and not even being in the playoff-zone. On the positive side, I think the team and squad still have a lot more to show, and on good days we can beat anyone in the league. If the transfers Grayson is working on goes through [referring to January window, but now obviously the emergency loan window coming up] and we are OK with injuries, there's no reason why we shouldn't fight for promotion - automatic or through playoff.

Sean: Talk me through your trip to Old Trafford, and the match itself - your emotions. You clearly enjoyed it! As we all did...! 

Svend: The trip to Old Trafford was really an unforgettable Leeds United moment. Me and my mate Jon set off before sunrise, flying from Oslo to Manchester via Copenhagen. We had no intention of staying in that town longer than necessary so we had a flight back home to Gothenburg, Sweden in the evening. An incredible round-trip in 17 hours which included my Dad's 5 hour drive just to pick us up in Gothenburg so we could get back to Norway.

The match experience can hardly be described, as anyone who was there will sign off on. It felt as we all went there with the same expectations, the underdog, lets-have-a-go-feeling. I was interviewed by the biggest sports media in Norway, vg.no, on my way over and I told them we may not win the match, but we'd win the atmosphere for sure. When Beckford got us 1-0 I had a black-out, but in a self-defence kind of way, I refused to believe it would end up in a victory. It was just fun to have stirred up Ferguson's mind a bit. As we approached the final minutes I was just waiting for the home side to get a penalty or something lucky. But they didn't, and five minutes over time we realised this was going our way, and I wanted to capture the moment. I had no idea if I was even getting a good picture, but I think the video really did capture the moment: The 29 year wait since last win there, the rivalry, the raise from League One, the Bremner Spirit, the Beckford flair. Simply being Leeds and proud.

After that, I got a call from Viasat, the TV station showing the match in Norway, and they got me on line through the phone, reporting my thoughts as we waited to get out of the ground. The host, former Middlesborough-striker Jan Aage Fjortoft, asked me "Svend, what next now, for Leeds?". I said "now, we mess up against Wycombe"... And we did.

Other media obviously picked up, because my phone went red hot with media calls when victory was confirmed. The biggest newspaper in Norway had no less than five full pages on our victory the following day, and I think it's another proof of both the interest up here, and also where our club really belongs.

Sean: What's your favourite game you've ever attended?

Svend: The game at Old Trafford is so far the favourite game I've attended ever, and I think my summary above explains it. Unfortunately I couldn't go to the Bristol game last May, which would obviously have been be a good contender.

Sean: What did you think of the Arsenal ties this season? 

Svend: I'm a bit superstitious so I thought I had to do another one day round-trip for the Emirates game. I only managed to get a spare two days before and set off Saturday morning. When we got the 1-0 lead relatively late, I really thought we were going to make it, but Fabregas made the difference this year. Arsenal are a very good side but I thought the lads did us proud both home and away. I also think some of our players really proved they can play at Premiership level when we do go up.

Sean: Just how are Leeds seen in Scandinavia/Norway? 

Svend: Leeds United has a good following in Norway, and has ever since the Revie days. That's also why many of our fans are 40 years or older, compared to some other teams in reds who has a lot of the kids these days... There's more than 40 supporters clubs in Norway for English teams, and our branch is 4th. Man Utd and Liverpool are at about 25,000 plus each, Arsenal are just above 5,000, while our branch has just knocked the 4,000 mark. Obviously the far best supported club in the Championship, but also bigger than the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle, and so on.

Sean: Finally, Svend, tell us a little about your publication, the Peacock News.

Svend: The Peacock News is the magazine provided by LUSCOS, the Scandinavian supporters club. I'm proud to be the editor of the magazine, which has been out for 31 years now, and we publish six issues a season, all around 100 pages in A5 format. More or less everything is in Norwegian, we have a pro designer and I've got 10 years experience from journalism myself to set it up as professionally as possible. We have 10-15 contributors helping out, all unpaid, and we were all very proud to receive the award as Best Supporters Magazine in 2009, beating some really good competition.

I strive to get exclusive interviews and feature stories in every issue, and I'm grateful for the help and sporting attitude to us from the media department at the club as well as the coaches, players and staff personally. In our upcoming issue we have our own interviews with Andy O'Brien, Ben Parker and coach Ian Miller, and Squareball-writer Steve Firth has helped out with a solid Gary Sprake interview. Peter Lorimer, Eddie Gray and Gary Edwards all help put with personal columns and we've got our own writers who are also much appreciated by our readers.

Thanks very much Svend for that chat, I hope its of interest to fans across the internet - much appreciated and best of luck with the Peacock News and playing your football in the Norway's Division 5!

You can follow Svend on twitter @svendleeds

Leeds interested in free agent Michael Stewart and a French trialist... Howson gets called up to England U21's

Leeds have former Hearts skipper Michael Stewart on trial to play in a behind closed doors friendly today. I don't know much about him bar he's a tough tackling midfielder with a bit of an attitude.

*Edit* The game ended 0-0 against York City. Exciting stuff.

Sky Sports said:

Skysports.com understands Blackpool have been beaten by Leeds United to the signing of former Manchester United youngster Michael Stewart.

The 29-year-old joined Turkish club Genclerbirligi last summer but terminated his contract in January after a series of late and part payments of his salary.

He is now set to sign for Championship side Leeds on Monday after they were able to double the deal that was offered by Blackpool.

The Seasiders had appeared to be in pole position to land Stewart before Leeds stepped in for the midfielder, who left Hearts for Genclerbirligi last summer.

He joins on a week long trial. Its probably not the standard of player we all hoped for. He's made less appearances than Howson and is 29.

These Wikipedia quotes don't fill me with confidence:

Sir Alex Ferguson intimated that Stewart had no future at the club and he was free to leave. Rangers initially showed interest, but after a two week trial, he was sent back to Manchester.

Hearts allowed him to leave.

After two seasons with Hibs, the club announced in April 2007 that his contract would not be extended and he was free to leave the club.

Stewart spent a week training with Roy Keane's Sunderland, but he did not earn a contract. 

Stewart left the club by mutual consent on 13 May 2010.  

The amount of times Scottish clubs have let him go worries me. Look at Boro. Brought in some of Scotland's best league players and have achieved nothing. 

No idea who the French trialist is but he's a midfielder. 

No harm in trying them, but I'm not encouraged by January's lack of movement and now two free midfielders moving in... I really hope we don't "make do" - Grayson did say he was after players in January that can improve what we have.

Howson Call-up

Stuart Pearce has brought Jonny into the U21 squad for the game against Italy, following 8 withdrawals. YP Howson Call-up  

Leeds 1-0 Coventry ... wasteful Leeds saved again by Somma

Not bothering with a Hull write up, the time's passed.

A string of draws, a lack of wins, a concession of many goals. The last few weeks must have given our attacking players a massive headache as they strived to make up for what was lacking further down the pitch. Luckily, we've done this - when we concede we at least match what goes into our own net it seems. This'll do, but its not what we want to see too often. So everyone was expecting better at home against a team that hadn't won in their last nine in the league.

Luckily for us, we saw an elusive clean sheet and a wonderful creative display. It was a game I left thinking "why was it as close as that?" as we wasted an endless stream of tap-ins. We had plenty of attempts but so did Coventry - we were by no means the only team in the game despite what I've seen from a lot of national press... but our attempts were those that as they develop in your head you say to yourself "goal", such was the quality of the openings we created and tried our best to waste.

As the 90 approached though, I kept saying telling myself just how much we'd regret missing those chances as Coventry pushed. And on about the 86th minute Clive Platt who was absolutely immense as a target man all day, turned Bruce and strode into the box only to be foiled by another wonder-save from Schmeichel - who tipped the shot over. The two lads in front of me turned round and echoed what I was thinking "I thought it was in". We held on though and managed to miraculously achieve a 1-0 win despite our wastefulness.

The game

Onto the game then, as the team sheets were announced I was taken aback by Grayson choosing to stick with the 4-4-2 that was used on Tuesday night in the 2-2 at the KC Stadium. Everyone who had on opinion would have expected Simon to revert to this season's baby - the 4-5-1 - that's yielded more goals and less concessions as it flows between a defensive 4-5-1 and a 4-3-3 when on the front foot. We didn't though and Somma was again chosen to partner Becchio up top - which meant a return to the donkey work for Luciano.

We started the game a little slowly, and Clive Platt, the unfashionable but very effective target man set the tone for an afternoon where he would become a thorn in the side. He won almost everything against O'Brien and Bruce and was the best hold up player and winner of a long ball I've seen in a long time. This meant that the sum of Coventry's ideas was the long ball for the most part. The opening chance fell to them when they forced a corner and Schmeichel very unconvincingly punched out from a crowd with the ball falling straight to Richard Wood. A diving Becchio managed to slide in and block the shot which went narrowly wide in front of the Kop and that would be Cov's best chance for a while. Leeds wrestled control of the game with a mass of possession. 

Encouragingly, we didn't resort to the long ball as often as I've sometimes seen, with Somma on the field, it allowed Becchio to drop deep at times and link up with the midfield - this allowed us to be a little more patient in some of our buildup.

Our first effort came on 18 minutes when Snodgrass weaved an opening to cross and put a ball in the corridor of uncertainty. Becchio got on the end of it but with an odd piece of technique, prodded the ball wide from probably four yards out. Couldn't believe he'd missed that as it had "Becchio style goal" written all over it. 

Gradel was also in on the party. He and Snoddy made life a living hell all afternoon for their full backs and Jordan Clarke in particular, their right back, could not live with Max at all. He fashioned our second chance of the game all of his own doing. All he did was run at the defender, I love to see this it's a defenders worst nightmare and he managed to bypass Clarke and find his way deep inside the box, before firing wide of the near post - miraculously for him from such a distance. A couple of minutes later Gradel played in McCartney who overlapped beautifully to maraud into the box and supply a cross to Luciano, who pulled the ball wide of the far post from the corner of the 6 yard box. Again, the fans were mystified as to how we hadn't scored. Three absolute crackers of openings where it looked harder to miss.

Until Somma's tap in on 55 minutes, this had Palace at home written all over it. Hatfuls of chances, and I thought our wastefulness was a sign they'd nick one on a foray forward. If Platt had someone to run onto his excellent hold up play more often then more issues would have been caused. He was a mountain and we couldn't live with him. Too often for them though, his aerial presence was just wasted as no one was willing to break from midfield to gamble on the flick on - handily enough for us. You could sense they'd managed only six goals in their last eleven outings.

Snoddy's perseverance in midfield though instigated our break through. He excellently intercepted on his flank, carried the ball all the way across the pitch on the sprint, and popped off a pass to Gradel. The cross was a little deep, but Howson had read it and burst forward to be at the back post. He knocked it down with great composure, where others in the division may have flashed at goal - and found Somma who was again the right place right time man. The guy is a goalscoring machine. One every 91 minutes at the moment. Unfortunately for Simon, he just can't drop him in this vein of form no matter how much he wants to revert to the 4-5-1.

Snoddy continued making hell for their defence and snook into the box, past a couple of defenders to force a diving stop from Westwood.

Just after that though our earlier lack of clinical finishing did nearly cost us. I think it was McSheffrey who powered down the right hand side of the box and managed to pull one across, only for Aron Gunnarsson to fire wide of the near post on the slide. Should have scored as he got in front of Bruce and was only yards out.

The Whites desperately needed a cushion as I'm sure it wasn't just me thinking "we will concede". On 72 minutes we all thought this had come. Becchio flicked on and into the path of Somma who finished first time with a lob over Westwood from outside the area. It was exquisite. The offside decision however chalked it off of the records which for a goal of such quality and technique was harsh to say the least...

In the last five minutes Platt fashioned his own chance. He received the ball into his body and managed to turn Bruce and stride into the box. He struck with power across goal but Kasper produced another wonder-save to deny Coventry. What a let off. Its lucky we have him because he seems to produce one of those point winners almost every week.

The players

Okay a review of individual performances, starting with the defensive unit. Luckily for our back line, and us collectively (as we got the 3 points) Coventry weren't any real challenge to us. The only issue was Clive Platt who won everything - but had no one running onto whatever he won to make anything of it. We seemed solid enough, and Max Gradel was brilliant at providing extra cover for McCartney. Gradel again played like a man possessed.

In midfield I have read criticism of Howson as being anonymous. Firstly, he intelligently assisted our goal. And secondly, he put a massive shift in alongside the ever more effective Johnson - who continues to impress. Howson tackled effectively, hassled, tracked, harried, and used a wide range of passing to quickly switch play from wing to wing - the speed at which we switched was vital in keeping a counter attack effective and allowed Snoddy and Gradel on more than one occasion to rampage against a single full back and create dangerous openings.  The only complaint that you could have had at him, in my opinion, was he seemed burnt out with about 10 minutes left.

Johnson was very good. He's looking more and more a key to our side and the scrapping in the deeper lying roles in midfield definitely suit his playing style. He competed physically very well and combined with Howson to snuff out most of the knockdowns that Platt fashioned and we notably won almost every second ball. This is why Coventry were stifled to the ineffective flick on - they couldn't get a ball won in midfield. I didn't see one occasion of note where a midfield player was able to run untracked at our centre backs. Rare for this season, and good to see.

Kilkenny came on and didn't really change anything, we looked no more "solid" in the 4-5-1 than the 4-4-2.

Out wide was where we had ridiculous success. Gradel was again "every f****** where" as he made their right back look something akin to what I look like defending - i.e. an embarrassed idiot. Time and again he'd pick the ball up and run at the full back, beating him with ease. The quickness he changes direction is his main asset. He can go either way on a sixpence and is impossible to defend against. He is as happy and effective using both feet for both finishing and crossing a ball. You can't predict Max. 

McCartney linked up seamlessly with Gradel and Max used deft flicks and backheels to disguise any passes to the overlapping left back. This allowed us to make something of the slower paced attacks where Coventry had men back. McCartney was a brilliant outlet on the overlap and is always willing to run and put a good ball in. He seems to pick his moment to join in very well too - not often leaving us short in his position if there could possibly be a counterattacking opportunity for the opposition.

Snoddy was giving a similar masterclass on the other wing. Many times he beat multiple men and we've seen it all season. He deserves his Scotland call-up. 

The wide play was the key to our success and we play a lot worse when we don't seem to want to utilise the wingers as often as we did on Saturday. We should constantly be spraying the ball out wide, as any side in this division will struggle to cope with them. Its been so long since the club has seen wingers of this quality and its very refreshing to see. It adds a whole new dimension to our play - which we hadn't seen for years prior to Snoddy and Gradel's arrival really.

Up front, Becchio looked far from his usual self. The chances he usually buries and thrives on went begging and this must have had an impact on him as he struggled the rest of the afternoon. He did link up well with the midfield but he's seen far better games being the focal point up top in the 4-5-1 setup.

Davide was again fantastic. He can hold the ball up and use it intelligently, he never rushes and when the ball is at his feet, you have a feeling he's calculating what to do with it next. He reminds me very much of Berbatov in the way he plays. He's methodical, skillful and predatory - with vision to score from anywhere and a finish that seems to find the net without needing a host of chances. (He isn't as lazy as Berbatov and he probably is in fact a more efficient scorer, at our level anyway)...

He has an ability to play in the wide men, give it back to Howson or Johnson when the chance is stifled or take a snap shot and finish when the ball arrives at his feet. He really is undroppable at the moment. If only he was better in the air and a touch stronger, we'd have one of the best strikers in the division. He's up there as it is. How he made it to age 25 before being "discovered" mystifies me.

To sum up, a good three points and an encouraging clean sheet. Bigger tests are to come, but this should spur us on nonetheless.

Grayson

"We know whenever we play against Adie's teams that they make it hard for you, but we showed a real professional performance, both in the way we defended as a team and with the way we utilised the ball."

"We started well, we were nice and bright and on another day we could have had three or four by half-time"

"You wonder if it's going to be one of those days. But we said at half-time they had to be patient and stick at it which we did. Then we saw it out well which was good because you're only one ball into the box away from that."

On Snoddy and Gradel:

"They were outstanding," 

"Eventually Coventry had to double up on them. They have quality and know how but they have a great work ethic and they have good relationships with the full backs."

"They can be unplayable sometimes because defenders don't know if they are going inside or outside. They were great but full praise for the whole team."

Somma:

"Davide scores goals," beamed the boss. "Luciano could have had a couple so could Max, but you have to give credit to Dave for the goals he scored."

"The players have worked hard for that and I don't just mean on Saturday," added the boss. "They've worked hard on the training pitch. All of them."

"They fully deserved the clean sheet. Hopefully now we can carry that forward and keep scoring the goals as well."

The Support

Not very good. I was in N7, the only part of the Kop from what I could tell was singing the majority of the time - mostly thanks to a southern mentalist singing WACCOE. The south stand looked good. I think I'm going to sit there next game, looks more entertaining.

A funny aside. Snoddy was lining up a corner kick whilst Becchio was receiving treatment and the Kop began singing "Snoddy, Snoddy, Snoddy... Oi, Oi, Oi" over and over again. You could see him looking shy and self conscious, he was faffing with the ball, putting his head down. It made me laugh. He eventually waved, albeit not looking at the crowd. Nice to see a humble footballer who doesn't crave the attention. Max was more than willing to respond on a couple of occasions to our singing!

McSheffrey also got a "You're too shit to play for Leeds" chant which made me laugh. He's had a cry about it today saying he didn't know why he got booed. He had a go at Grayson before the Cov. away game:

“They had first dabs on me to stay there,” “Michael Doyle played 55 games for them last year and I think the first two signings they should have made in the summer were me and Doyler."

"But Simon Grayson and his staff didn’t want me – it’s as simple as that."

“I haven’t spoken to him since I left, which I find a bit disappointing on a man-to-man basis.
You expect better man management really, a bit more respect, but that’s all in the past now and there are no sour grapes."

You weren't good enough Gary... Doyle possibly, but you - no. Don't question Grayson. Sam is better, Gradel is better, Watt is better - and all probably on a snip of the wages.

Man of the Match

For me its Gradel. Was unstoppable and did everything. Flying tackles, tracking back and made their full back look a prat. Match winning performance, again. The commitment is unquestionable with him - we could see that after 10 minutes of his loan debut and what a signing he's turning out to be. He can only get better - and he is doing just that.

Views on the week - the January window

Apologies for lack of content this week, I've missed the ability to write articles due to some very shoddy internet so I'll attempt a brief round-up of my views on what's gone on.

The let down

Firstly then, the deadline day failed to provide the players we all would have liked to have seen. Michael Johnson stayed at City and is now a part of their 25 man squad (unfortunately). Keith Southern it appears was a player Blackpool were willing to part with and we were after, but they were only willing to deal permanently in a bid to reduce their wage bill in a more definitive way. This was in fact the party line coming out of Elland Road, Simon Grayson stating we were only after "top" quality Premier League reserves only to be foiled by their current clubs holding out for permanent deals, which inevitably we can't afford at this time, such is the cost of quality in football. 

What is encouraging though is Simon states we are in for the same players when the emergency loan window is open for business in the coming days. The next best alternative to the sale of their players is getting a fair old proportion of their wages covered by us so the club seem confident of strengthening with players that improve what we have and will go straight into the squad - rather than bringing players in who don't offer something new or better than what we currently have available.

Somewhat strangely, we brought in a loan keeper - David Gonzalez from Manchester City. The deal is an end of season loan, with a view to a permanent transfer. He has quality, impressing many teams as City's reserve team number one in the Premier League's reserve league. I can only think he's being eyed as a Higgs replacement for when his contract runs out in the summer.

Simon's way

In a similar way to what occurred last season, he has chosen to stick by the group of players that have served him and the club well during the first half of the season. We've not been stale, they haven't seemed tired, we haven't ever been played off the park (bar Cardiff) and what we have has impressed. The difference between having faith in the current crop and wanting to add to "kick on" (as Simon likes to constantly say) is very fine and hopefully this season Simon will get it right.

"I don't want to disrupt the squad too much," he said as recently as last week, "because these players have done well. It was never going to be about bringing in wholesale numbers."  (YP)

With him planning to add in the emergency loan window, we'd have to wait 'till the end of February to be able to play any incoming players in a possible Play-off campaign. Frustrating to say the least, but if the reasons we heard for a lack of January action are true then we have no alternative. This could work terrifically - providing we can play through February and still keep in the top six, and in touch with 2nd if at all possible.

The clear out

A bonus from the window was the clear out of:

Alan Martin, Andy Hughes (nominal, Scunny), Fede Bessone (loan Charlton), Jason Crowe (mutual termination), Tom Elliott (mutual termination and happily, Neill Collins on a permanent transfer to Sheffield United. This offer was too good for the club according to Grayson, which suggest we've cut our losses on him nicely - more fool the Blades - who now have Shane Lowry and Collins in their back line...

The fans' reaction

Surprisingly, I've noticed a pretty measured response on the whole - we seem more accepting and realistic as of late and to be honest, I like that. This would all change though should Simon fail to improve us in the loan window, especially considering the wage budget trimming and Collins selling (hopefully offsetting the payment of mutual payoffs on all those terminations) that has just occurred we should have freed up a bit of leg room on the weekly wage budgets.

Whilst we're round and about where we are now and picking up draws and a few wins then we are going to be content on the whole, especially with the money floating about at Forest (signed Konchesky on loan as their latest flash of the cash), QPR (Ishmael Miller, Routledge etc), Cardiff (Keinan from Blackpool loan) and Leicester (too numerous to list but bloody hell they're spending it like water)...

I believe there is a new realisation that we cannot compete with these sides monetarily at this moment. We have hefty rent and a large wage bill to maintain. Forest's is around £6M ours is £9M apparently so for all their spending on names and fees our squad size and racking up of the cheaper quality available we still have a far greater wage bill to cover.

What we need to see

We need to see this quality that Simon and the club have been talking about. If we weren't moving for average players then we need the proof when we decide to loan any in the upcoming window. We need that midfielder we all crave - I like to call him the "better Kilkenny" as it doesn't even have to be an all action gritty player really, just someone who can do what Kilkenny does but also run, head and at least track. We also need either a right back or utility defender. We have no full time cover at right back, with Bruce and Bromby only able to "do a job". I think we'll have to make do with our current centre back's we've done the best we can and we need to improve as a defensive unit - the team as a whole - rather than just focusing on complaining at the two centre backs.