Leeds 0-0 Ipswich Town ... Leeds out of ideas against determined Town

The post Swansea recovery mission saw Leeds take two wins from two and hurl themselves remarkably back into automatic promotion contention. Saturday's game against a resurgent Ipswich under Paul Jewell was undoubtedly earmarked as the toughest of our immediate opponents after the Liberty Stadium defeat, and this proved to be the case as the Tractor Boys managed to stifle and frustrate Leeds for the entire 90 minutes, leaving Jewell happy with the performance and Simon Grayson philosophical about what many saw as two points dropped amidst slip ups amongst our promotion rivals.

The game was characterised by periods of scrappy play with no team taking definitive advantage for much longer than a couple of long punts down field that constituted many attacks - it wasn't one for the neutral to enjoy, or any fan inside Elland Road for that matter. Jewell's side harried and closed down Leeds possession to a point where Leeds were devoid of any real movement or creative thinking, being forced time and again to punt long up field to the stranded Paynter who had little chance against their two old fashioned centre halves, who towered above him and others and were completely dominant all game.

For about twenty minutes of the first half in fact, Leeds were penned back and forced into counter-attacking football, struggling to get any of the ball and often beaten to the loose ball in midfield by livewire Bullard amongst others. Rather than a barrage of criticism that followed on post match phone ins regarding certain players, it was more managerial nous from Jewell that shut Leeds down, and we hardly deserved the win, despite many papers claiming we had a host of chances, they were nothing like as clear cut as they may have been portrayed.

It is surprising more sides haven't come to Elland Road and played in a similar fashion. Gradel and Snodgrass were dealt with effectively, with neither offered time or space to be able to deliver, the only success was as a result of Gradel's pace or real individual skill from one or both of them. Often they'd have two or three men to beat before being able to get a ball into the box or get a shot away on goal. When teams get in and around Leeds with urgency and afford no room, a panic seems to set in. Despite having absolutely no success punting up field, players remained almost stationary as if in the knowledge that any attempt to play the ball would be futile, such was the success of Town's determined hassling.

The Game

Simon opted to keep striker Billy Paynter in the eleven following a persistent performance on Tuesday night, where he grabbed his first goal in a Leeds shirt. Neil Kilkenny also did enough to earn himself a spot in the eleven, following on from what were his two best performances of the season in the Doncaster and Preston outings.

The first ten minutes of the game was all Ipswich as Leeds fruitlessly chased the ball and struggled to get a grip. Within 15 seconds Priskin was played in, through the left hand side of the Leeds back line - predictably where McCartney should have been, although the Hungarian striker contrived to drag the shot well wide. This did not provide the wakey wakey call it should have done.

Kieran Dyer also played a part in the early minutes, his pace surprisingly still evident and causing issue even for Lichaj at times. He managed to spin in midfield and carry the ball to get dangerous low cross in. Andy O'Brien met it with a stooping header to clear. 

The first key save of the game came from Marton Fulup in Town's goal. Gradel, who carried Leeds' main threat as per the past two months, came flying down the left hand side of the pitch gradually coming inside. Anybody who saw his strike to open the scoring against Doncaster knew what he had in mind. He hit the ball from thirty yards across Fulop who tipped the ball round the post at full stretch for a Leeds corner. Despite having little of the opening possession, we were again shown that we have the players with sufficient individual talent to open play up and create a chance for themselves.

Gradel was involved again when he got on the end of a well picked Lichaj cross, after good work from O'Brien with Lichaj playing a one-two down the right hand side. Max took the ball down expertly, showing good composure by not flashing at the cross first time. He proceeded to twist round his man towards the byline with his shot being blocked comfortably and a corner forced.

Billy Paynter had little luck with balls being pumped anywhere in his vague direction but when he did receive one that gave him a chance, he caught Gareth McAuley in the side of the head with a flailing arm. There was no malice in it, and the referee called it right, although McAuley was left needing five stitches in his ear. Annoyingly for Leeds, it was the only thing he called right all afternoon.

Billy was again involved after McCartney was released down the left hand side, striding past the pacey Carlos Edwards. His low ball towards the near post was met by Paynter sliding in, under the close attention of an Ipswich man, who forced Paynter further past the near post than he would have liked. The angle was too tight and the stab home only found the advertising hoardings, the wrong side of the near post for Leeds.

Perhaps Leeds' most glaring chance fell again to the lone man up top. The cross came in from the right and in a central position perhaps seven yards out, Paynter put the ball over with the goal at his mercy. His leap was mistimed and the ball therefore slightly out of reach. The most clear cut opportunity so far, where you would have certainly expected better.

Despite the Leeds half chances, Ipswich were still having a major say in the game and brought the best out of Schmeichel whose "better safe than sorry" style of keeping was serving us well. Lee Martin strode forward into the box after being played in and Schmeichel palmed the ball out for a corner. McAuley headed tamely towards goal via a bounce on the ground following the resulting ball in, although Schmeichel was still forced into a tip over the bar.

The referee then made a mystifying hash of a Priskin dive. A ball was played into Priskin and was getting away from the striker, who was being chased by O'Brien. Realising the ball was escaping his grasp, he took a tumble probably two yards in front of the Leeds centre back, after clipping his own heels. Sat right in front of the decision, I was fuming at referee Darren Deadman, again overdoing the language amongst the West Stand patrons. Even the Hungarian looked embarrassed at the yellow card awarded to Andy O'Brien. Priskin looked uncomfortable in front of the Kop from the ensuing freekick (which was in a very dangerous position, particularly with Bullard over it) amidst chants of "cheat" and "we only get s**t refs".

Andy O'Brien said after the game on Twitter: "I said I didn't touch you, he said I know but I was clever."

A push on Snodgrass as he knocked the ball past the Ipswich left back was not spotted by the ref and the majority of those inside Elland Road were quick to jump on the referee's poor decision making once more. Simon Grayson went spare, and Deadman was quick to warn the Leeds boss. Simon could hardly be blamed for his reaction to the latest howler.

The standoff continued, with no one having any "bankers" in front of goal. Gradel again tried his luck from distance, and again came extremely close to curling the ball past Fulop into the bottom left corner. Paynter also had a shot well blocked from ten yards out, on the turn, by the impressive Carlos Edwards in a packed penalty box.

The referee then amazed Elland Road once more when he waved away penalty appeals as O'Brien had a strike blocked by a raised arm in the box. Despite Jewell's claims that the Elland Road faithful want a penalty for anything inside the box, he must have been pleased with this let off from Deadman, who by now was all over the shop.

At half time, the stalemate was frustrating for the Elland Road crowd to take, so used to creative play and clear cut chances. Long ball and counter attacking play was the order of the day for both sides, and neither could stake a claim to be ahead after several half chances, bar maybe Paynter's flunked header. Deadman was escorted away to the tunnel by four suited men amidst fears Leeds fans wanted to see him living up to his name. That summed up his refereeing performance in the first 45.

Leeds started the better in a second half largely dominated in possession by the home side. Howson first ballooned a volley over the bar after good work from Snodgrass down the right. Leeds had got the ball down and started to play a little, to the relief of many, and Howson managed to pick out Snodgrass on the edge of the box, who curled inches past the far post with his left across the beaten Ipswich keeper.

The only real remaining clear shot in anger, with about twenty minutes remaining was after good work from Paynter, who showed strength to muscle through on goal, and get a low strike away that was well saved by Fulop to his left.

Leeds were perhaps the more threatening of the two sides for the remainder but it was still just a flurry of long balls forward for the most part, even when Simon brought Bannan on in place of Howson. Becchio replaced Paynter at the same time, on 75 minutes, and was a little more fruitful in the air, but neither side could get a foothold. It was testament to Ipswich and their continued threat that Grayson left Somma on the bench, after getting him ready to come on on 84 minutes. Its not often that Simon is dissuaded from making an attacking substitution.

To Sum Up

Leeds managed 61% of the possession, but it was mostly ineffective possession which mainly saw us being forced to hurl it forward in desperation as Ipswich closed down our avenues and constricted our creativity. The performance lacked a little movement, and Snodgrass in particular was looking jaded. Eddie Gray said Ipswich played Snodgrass and Gradel and the like out of the game. This was true. We didn't, however, give them a chance to ever really get into it as we rarely had the ability to break Ipswich down and play in our creative men in space, and resorted instead to idea-less hoof-ball.

Despite our chances, it can't be claimed that they were gilt edged enough to merit a goal - maybe Paynter's free header but other than that we were unusually limited.

Defensively, we were very pleasing. I predicted 2-2 before the game given the players Ipswich had at their disposal. Bullard, Priskin, Dyer, Wickham all looked threatening so in that regard, the result and clean sheet is somewhat pleasing.

Sheffield United on Saturday. It is a must win at this stage of the season, with them having Henderson and Williamson suspended, and being on such a poor run, bar a freak result on Tuesday night against faltering Forest.

The Players

Schmeichel firstly had a solid game, behind what was pleasingly a solid defence for the most part. O'Brien and Bromby followed a good performance away at Preston with another solid outing here. McCartney again was the man exploited, coming inside far too often, leaving defensive work to Johnson and Gradel entirely on occasions, in a position where you'd expect to see a left back. Whether Grayson tells him to tuck inside, literally right next to Bromby, you can't be sure, but either way what he does positionally is extremely frustrating, worrying, and to my eyes looks plain wrong.

Lichaj had a very good game, as per Tuesday night. He read the game expertly, and was quick to put Ipswich players under pressure. His link up play with Snodgrass was fantastic, on two or three occasions he managed to get right into their penalty area, just his delivery was lacking a little.

The midfield were forced out of the game for the majority so there isn't much to judge here. It wouldn't be fair to say they were bettered, but they were cancelled out. Kilkenny however managed to orchestrate a couple of counter attacks effectively, and again impressed me with his all round game, for the third game in a row. He seems to have stepped up a gear post Swansea and it is pleasing to see. 

It was surprising to see Howson taken off for Bannan, as he showed most of our impetus with the ball at feet. You would have thought the change would be for Kilkenny, adding mobility and ability. Howson was willing to drive on and create, and linked up well with Snodgrass and Paynter. Howson also did the dirtier side of the game admirably, competing in the air, chasing lost causes and sticking his foot in. No one can say he's been anonymous this season, he's come on leaps and bounds in his overall game. 

Snoddy looked tired. It would probably be an idea to rest him in the game at Bramall Lane, he's not performed as well as he did against the likes of Norwich a few weeks ago in recent games.

Gradel was our main threat and at times our best defender, forced into a lot of work in the left channel by the continually cowardly looking McCartney. As always, he worked his socks off.

Paynter: Criticism Unfounded

The past two games he's played he's been humped the ball from every direction and been expected to chase it down and head it on or hold it up. He doesn't have the pace to chase it down, and doesn't have the aerial presence to be as effective as Luciano is up there on his own. Despite having a powerful stature and a fair amount of strength, it doesn't automatically qualify him as the target man Grayson seems to view him as.

At Swindon, he forged a great understanding with Charlie Austin and they both managed a heady haul of goals. Paynter wasn't relied on as the foil for Austin's finishing brilliance, as Becchio was for Beckford in League One, they worked together and created for each other. Paynter isn't used to playing up top on his own, and it has shown here. 

When Paynter receives a decent ball into his chest of feet then he is effective, in the same way Somma is, but anything other than that and he seems to struggle. After around twenty minutes, Schmeichel refused to single out Billy as the target of his long balls, such was their ineffectiveness. He instead chose Snodgrass and even Gradel at times, aiming to play Max in over the top. There isn't a clear advantage of having Billy up top on his own over Somma with the kind of service he has been getting.

With a ball into feet, it allows him to turn and bustle and cause issue with his strength and running. He drives forward and plays clever one two's, aiming to open up space to create something for himself. The impression is there that he'd be far more effective, in fact, playing off Becchio with Luciano also playing off of him, forging something similar to what he had at Swindon with Austin.

It is unfair to criticise Paynter for his play in the 4-5-1 setup. It is clear to me that the only striker we have at the club that can fulfill the lone striker role completely and effectively is Luciano Becchio, and Simon must realise this. With anybody else up top in that formation we look impotent in the air, don't win knock downs, and suffer in general link up play with the midfield, as with the type of ball we play when restricted to long ball football doesn't serve either Paynter or Somma well at all. 

It looks as if a square peg is being used in a round hole. This is no poor reflection on Paynter, who's doing the best he can in regards what he's been told to do, and managed to get himself a deserved goal against Preston, but only when he was fed the right kind of ball. Its as simple as saying he's not the type of player Grayson uses him as.

Saying this, he did miss perhaps our most glaring opportunity with a free header seven yards out right in the middle of goal...

Man of the Match

Lichaj. On perhaps his last appearance, he put in his best. Tough tackling, read the game well, bombed forward expertly and had a good understanding with Snoddy. He also coped with Dyer's threat admirably in the early stages. 

The Support

Better than in recent weeks buoyed by a shocking refereeing performance. Good encouraging support from the Leeds fans, although far from our best. 

Grayson 

"He (Deadman) told me he felt his decisions were right and that I was wrong,"

"Referees frustrate you at times. We had a really strong penalty claim. 

"One of their lads had his hands down by his side but when Andy O'Brien had a shot the lad's arms came up to prevent the ball being goalbound. 

"Refereeing is a difficult job but they have to be strong because it is a difficult place to referee at this club. 

"Paul Jewell will be happy and we were frustrated by a few of the decisions. 

"We passed he ball well and defended well but we didn't get the breaks in the 18 yard box." 

“It was frustrating on the attacking side, but I thought that we played well. We just didn’t quite get the breaks.’’

What Bates Said ... 9th March 2011

Ben Fry: First let’s talk about the Preston game which was our first win on a Tuesday night.

Ken Bates: Well, I think what’s important about Tuesday night is first of all, of course, as we know that was the first time we have won a midweek game this season. This is a pretty horrific record. But the other thing is, Preston of course haven’t won a game for so long and there’s always a chance for the worm to turn. We were of course a bit concerned it could have been us but we have beaten them. We have beaten our concerns. Another away game box ticked and Preston can now go wreak their fury on somebody else and hopefully they will be playing some of our other competitors.

BF: Simon called it a battling display compared to some of the champagne football we saw at Elland Road against Doncaster Rovers. I suppose between now and the end of the season the team are going to need every quality aren’t they?

KB: They are indeed because clubs are getting more and more desperate now. We only have Notts Forest and QPR to play above the contenders – oh, and Burnley, who are creeping up. Of course, we’re playing some clubs who are in relegation danger so they will also be fighting. But if we keep plugging away and we’ve got four players on 10 goals or more, which is obviously a good sign, and we’ve reduced our goal concession away to one goal, at least it’s not two or three. And of course Billy Paynter got his first goal, which was one of the most popular goals this season. Everybody wanted him to score. The goal itself was magnificent. Well done him. Let’s hope he gets a few more towards the end of the season.

BF: It’s a testament to the fans when it comes to Billy Paynter because at some clubs if you had a striker who had not hit the back of the net by March they might have turned on him. But the fans particularly on Saturday and last night were full of support.

KB: No, they’re desperate. They want him to score. He comes across as one of us so it’s better when one of your own scores. So good, he’s broken his duck and there’s a lot of goals in him which we’ll see over the next few seasons.

BF: Now some of the results also went for the club last night. Are you surprised how much things have changed since that defeat to Swansea?

KB: Well, one thing I have always been saying is that while I thought our strength would come through in the closing weeks of the season because we have a large squad, many of the other clubs are struggling and are now picking up injuries and suspensions and loss of form and it’s beginning to show through. So, I mean, some of the results las night were surprising or should I say unexpected – an unexpected bonus as far as we are concerned. We have to make sure we take full advantage of these. We are three points behind an automatic place, albeit with a worse goal difference. We have played Swansea and Cardiff so we can’t influence them but on the other hand, other clubs can. We must be sure that we take up the advantage of any slips. We are now fifth, which is good because that gives us another cushion from the point of view of making sure we are in the play-offs. Leicester lost last night, so that puts a gap between us again. We have got to keep our eye on Burnley but now Burnley will have to overtake Notts Forest before they can overtake Leeds. So let’s not get in the comfort zone. It’s looking good in the run-in.

BF: Now Barry Bannan came on for the last few moments of the game last night. Obviously, he’s the player who joined on loan from Aston Villa. Is he the final piece of the jigsaw or are you still on the lookout for more?

KB: No, we have been chasing Barry for some time. Aston Villa wouldn’t decide until they had their cup match against Manchester City. If you notice, if anybody watched that game when Bannan was their heart and soul, he was here there and everywhere. And of course, he has played with Snoddy in the Scottish team so they knew each other. Simon didn’t put him on at the start because he had only just joined us. But he has got training for the rest of the week and I have no doubt he will have a part to play. But his arrival sparked Kilkenny who got us a goal, which is encouraging. Going back to your question – no, it does not complete our searching. We are continuing to search but once again, as I have said before, we only want players from the Premiership and they are now becoming few and far between. We only want one or two and hopefully we’ll get them.

BF: The last couple of results mean we’re now within three points off second – do you think that’s going to increase the appetite for the Ipswich game and how many are you expecting on Saturday?

KB: Well we have already got 24,000 tickets sold so I would think we are looking at 26-27,000, which is very encouraging as we budget 25,000. It’s exciting football. The team have clicked and it’s a great day out with all our facilities so hopefully we’ll get a good enthusiastic crowd again.

BF: Now while things are going well on the pitch, I know work continues off the pitch with the East Stand development. We’re going to start seeing some of that happening but I believe on Friday as well you are going to give fans the chance to see how it will be when it is finished and show them what facilities will be available. How important is this in the process?

KB: Well, last Friday we had a cocktail party reception for executive club members to give them an opportunity to see the new facilities we are planning and we are now getting on with. We can’t get them all in in one week so we’re having another one this week on Friday. Same thing, drinks, canapes and have a look around what we’re planning to do. I think everybody who came was suitably impressed – as they should be because it’s a great development and we’re very proud of it.

BF: Online memberships are now available as well until April 30th and of course just nine days is left on season tickets before the closing dates of March 18th. Do they continue to come in?

KB: Yep, we’re now on late renewals for season tickets and I think they close on… is it the 18th of March? But they are coming in steadily. We have got 10,700 already so there’s not a lot more to come in because we still have to process the 20-year season tickets, which haven’t gone on the total numbers yet as they don’t need to be renewed. On memberships yesterday, coming in nicely, I think we might just touch about 40,000 for this season and the way it’s looking for next year it should be even more than that. We are very pleased with our memberships. it’s a great tribute to a demonstration of intent and faith by our fans.

BF: One issue away from the club this week and Sepp Blatter is again running for the FIFA presidency but there are rumours that he might have it contested this time around. Would you support a change at the top of the FIFA hierarchy?

KB: I support a change of anybody. Even Prince Andrew would be better than Sepp Blatter. Blatter, I think is responsible for running an organisation which is totally corrupt. Blatter is boasting about the fact they made £750million profit out of South Africa. He did, but he didn’t say he had left South Africa £2billion in debt with five stadiums hardly being used. It was a complete waste of money, which could have been used to re-house an awful lot of people living in terrible conditions. The trouble is of course, FIFA hand out large dollops of money to certain national associations. What they do with it, God knows what. It’s like our aid projects overseas, I think. And that ensures Mr Blatter gets his votes. Somebody has got to shift him with the state his organisation is in. However, next Tuesday, I do my bit, my two penn’orth in front of the Parliamentary Select Committee looking into Football Governance. It should be interesting. Let’s see what the newspapers say about it on Wednesday.

BF: Before your comments, can we get a preview?

KB: Depends what the questions are. On Fit and Proper Persons, I presume that will be the same high standards that we apply to our MPs and Life Peers. I read yesterday about Lord Willis. For those who can’t remember that non-entity, he was a Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate who did everything possible to stop Leeds United’s redevelopment and resurgence. He was also responsible for rather serious expenses irregularities. So his reward? He’s made a Life Peer. As Richard Littlejohn would say, you couldn’t make it up.

Courtesy of WACCOE and TSB's Fax Man

PNE 1-2 Leeds Quick Thoughts ... Leeds grind out midweek victory at long last

Tuesday night saw Leeds manage to battle their way to their first three points on a Tuesday night this season against a dogged and determined Preston side in a game that couldn't have been more different to the corresponding fixture at Elland Road earlier this season. 

Neil Kilkenny continued his renaissance following on from his best performance of the season against Doncaster by scoring an absolute peach, while "Come On Billy" Paynter managed to score his first in a white shirt after several fruitless but unlucky attempts earlier in the season. Ian Hume replied in spectacular fashion for Preston from thirty yards.

The game was fraught and frantic with neither side truly managing to wrestle control. Phil Brown's managerial know-how did wonders for Preston this evening, a vast improvement on the Kamikaze style they'd seen prior to his appointment under Darren Ferguson. Their midfield offered much bite, and caused Leeds to think quickly on their feet, forcing mistakes and preventing large spells of United dominance. Preston's attacking ploy consisted most notably of playing quickly into the lively Hume for him to spin on the ball and run at Leeds' back line. This provided several instances of success as he managed to wearable his way in behind on several occasions, as well as turn and run into space to blast in their goal.

Kasper was first forced into action with a spectacular tip onto the bar from a Keith Treacy effort, as I was still running to the ground after setting off late from Leeds. At the other end, Gradel was the main threat as he was rolled into play on several occasions, let loose to run at their back line. Leeds managed to cause some panic but had no early clear cut chances in an end to end opening.

Up stepped the much maligned Kilkenny to set critical fans (myself included) straight for the second game in succession, with an absolute pearler from thirty yards. A controlled side foot curler, first time, sent the 5000 traveling Leeds fans barmy, not only for the quality of the goal, but the fact some control had been afforded on a game that was so bitty. 

What followed was a spell of Leeds pressure. Billy Paynter had struggled with long balls being fired in his vicinity from all quarters of the pitch, but when a long pass forward was played in behind for him to run onto, he looked able to cause issue with his power and strength, firing on a couple of occasions wide after bustling his way into the box. Howson also went close after nicking the ball and driving forward in his typical composed and picturesque stride.

Phil Brown managed to re-instill Preston's self belief at half time and they came out in the spirited manner they started the first. A loose ball was hammered home from a few yards out after bobbling free from the aftermath of a corner, Sian Massey correctly raised her flag to rule it out, again proving just how much use Keys and Gray are on football coverage.

The danger of again throwing away control of a game we'd again had the best of seemed to act as a catalyst for Leeds who were doing their utmost to allay fears of another nail biter. 

Paynter was the man to extend the lead, much to the delight of the traveling support, who'd offered their undying backing of the striker despite his unfortunate lack of goals so far this season. Billy duly responded to the affections of the Leeds support, wriggling free on the edge of the box to fire home with a well struck effort across the keeper, 2-0 and what should have been a relaxed end to the game. 

The eleven Leeds men however contrived to make the game annoyingly interesting for the remainder, and Hume, who'd been a thorn in the side all night, turned and ran at a defence unwilling to close down, finishing with an arrowing drive into the top corner. It was hit with such definitive power that any keeper would have struggled. It was one to admire, and got Preston's kids giddy and taunting the 5000 traveling Leeds fans. Your guess is as good as mine as to why, with their side bottom, ours in the playoffs and them currently still losing. Chants of "you've got school in the morning" belittled their contributions off the field whenever they attempted to chime in.

The final third of the game was extremely uncomfortable as wave after wave of Preston attacks were dealt with by a scramble or last ditch header or block. It really was backs to the wall stuff, and left many querying why a change wasn't forthcoming in the midfield, which was lagging somewhat. Snodgrass in particular looked leggy.

Despite the Preston pressure, though, Paynter managed to steal in on a poor chest pass to the keeper only to see his trickling toe poke crawl painfully onto the inside of the post before being scrambled away. Billy really has upset the footballing gods with his move to Yorkshire this last summer.

Becchio replaced Paynter, Bannan replaced Kilkenny and Naylor made an appearance in place of Snodgrass who'd have been glad of the relief.

Becchio, Bromby, Naylor, O'Brien and Lichaj combined to act as an insurmountable blockade against the lofted barrage Preston offered, and with grit and determination Leeds managed to seal a narrow victory that proved oh so important once 5Live was switched on in the car and results from around the Championship came through.

Persistent Paynter

Billy capped a tireless performance with the least he deserved and the Leeds support loved it.

"Nice one Billy, nice one son, nice one Billy lets have another one..."

When he was given a chance with a ball played into him rather than into his vicinity he looked a threat and was ably playing the Becchio role up until the Argentinian's introduction.

Phil Brown commented:

"This will be Sean St Ledger and Craig Morgan's hardest game this season - Billy Paynter was exceptional."

"I was surprised Becchio wasn't starting but their manager deserves credit for that" 

The reaction of the players towards him, with them all going over to congratulate him, along with the 5000 fans going spare really does characterise the club's togetherness and was great to witness.

Kilkenny hushing critics, again

Kilkenny again silenced his critics with the second performance in two games that showed effort and effectiveness. Prior to this last week I'd been despairing at his inclusion in the side, he'd contributed pretty much the sum total of nothing to the side in regards product and effort, but since the Swansea game, his worst of the season, he's clearly been told he needs to buck up, and he's duly responded. Bannan's presence will only spur the Aussie on to keep his place in the side.

Back in the hunt

We have managed to come within three points of second, after being 8 adrift post Swansea two weeks ago - miraculous, our reprieve must be taken advantage of as the others continue to stutter. 

Leeds 5-2 Doncaster quick thoughts ... Leeds make it harder than it should have been

2nd Back On?

Take those nails out of that coffin lid, the second automatic promotion spot is still alive! Leeds got the three points today and Swansea contrived to lose their game 0-1 on a poor pitch at Glanford Park against struggling Scunthorpe, re-opening bidding for second place. 

A rare occasion where almost all results go Leeds' way leaves us right back in the hunt, and more importantly - two more points away from seventh. Forest lost for the first time in over a year at the City Ground. Norwich drew against bottom side Preston (who will be tough opponents on Tuesday night). Cardiff lost 0-2 to Ipswich. Leicester lost to hull. Glory be there's optimism once more:

Kilkenny Rant - An Apology

Saturday's performance away in Wales finally broke my unwillingness to have an all out rant at Neil Kilkenny's performances in general this season as well as in the Swansea game itself.

Today, happily and predictably after I'd laid my cards on the table in criticising him, Kilkenny put in probably his best performance of the season. Simon has surely been at Neil this week regarding that woeful performance a week ago and it seemed today that he'd taken criticism on board, as he put an admirable shift in. He tracked men, he ran the width of the pitch to keep balls in, he played higher up the pitch as well as just sitting deeper, he had efforts on goal, he tackled effectively, he shouted and directed players around him, he linked play high up the pitch with cute passing and vision. Most of all it was his effort that impressed. He has visibly not been arsed for want of a better phrase with anything in his game other than picking a simple pass but today he played with willingness to contribute more fully, so fair play to him.

If Kilkenny shows this in every game from now on, no-one can have any complaints because this is the Kilkenny of times past. And if he does indeed continue in the same fashion then Neil Kilkenny, for what its worth, I apologise - you do have a positive impact on our play.

Wasteful Again

Yes the scoreline in the end was comfortable, but it should frankly have been five before half time - without reply. In a similar way to the recent Norwich game and the Palace game at home, further to many others throughout the course of the season, Leeds fashioned dead cert openings, only to fail to convert.

It left the fans thinking after perhaps the sixth miss that Leeds would pay the price. Immediately before half time Donny drew level with their first chance and immediately after half time, they went 1-2 up through Moussa and Leeds had indeed paid the price - another game in which three goals would be needed to get the full haul out of, and at home against a struggling and depleted Doncaster.

All the while games aren't killed off when Leeds are in the ascendency and in control, the opposition gleans encouragement from Leeds failures - feeling they have a chance - it has happened time and again this season, Leeds are made to pay.

Thankfully today, the great entertainers managed to pull the game back in our favour and got us what we deserved, thanks to Howson's defiance and encouragement to the rest of the squad. He equalised, and in effect said to the rest of the eleven with his brilliant individual goal: "do that". 

Defensive Lapses

Until the Football League Show appears, the defence will be spared criticism, but according to Eddie Gray on YR after the game their first was Bromby dealing poorly with Sharp, although where I was sat I have to admit I felt it was purely flat footed defending from the looped pass over the top. Both goals were however sloppy again and came from probably two of Doncaster's three clear cut chances. The other was a one on one save from Sharp by Schmeichel. There were times in the game where a long ball quickly played over the top caused the back four to disintegrate all too easily.

Bruce getting dropped is also worth a look at in the Match Review later.

Where from here?

Well, encouragingly, the next three games on paper seem win-able, although Cardiff have just lost to Ipswich and Preston held Norwich. The bottom side away on Tuesday, Ipswich at home on Saturday and Sheffield United the following week at Bramall Lane. Seven points from the nine available there would put us right back in the hunt and if today has showed anything it has reiterated just how unpredictable and exciting the Championship is.

Leeds - Doncaster Rovers ... Preview

Today sees the chance for Leeds to go some way towards rectifying a poor past week that saw two results go the oppositions way from the jaws of victory, as well as a Liberty Stadium lesson against Swansea. The first key week of this year on the way towards the run-in all but put pay to Leeds' automatic ambitions and now the club must focus on consolidating their current position inside the play-offs amidst challenges being mounted by Leicester, Burnley and possibly even Hull.

The visitors are Doncaster Rovers, currently decimated by injury problems and surely not hopeful of a trip to Elland Road despite a good result in midweek beating Derby 1-3 despite their extraordinary injury list. For most Leeds fans this fixture will mirror the Barnsley one of last week in regards expectations and the fact it is a derby. The expectations, however, may not follow through in the result as that game went a long way to showing after three points were thrown away, again.

The Return of Bradley Johnson

It took the Swansea game for the majority of Leeds fans to realise just how key Johnson is to our successes. He's consistently borne the brunt of criticism for the past couple of years for his lack of technical ability and his frustrating lack of intelligence in some of his play but the role he fulfills in the Leeds setup cannot be underestimated. He is the only player the club has that resembles a dogged midfielder that can put himself about and break up play - his athleticism is a massive asset. A 4-4-2 would not work without his inclusion, and was duly crippled by Kilkenny's presence or lack thereof last week as Leeds fans watched on in utter despair.

The Return of the 4-5-1?

Most will be expecting Simon to revert to this season's preferred formation, but it may not be what everyone sees as effective. In its recent incarnations it hasn't provided any improvement in defensive stability, against Norwich and Barnsley, although the 4-4-2 provided nothing in the way of creativity against Swansea, albeit against a very strong side and on an off day for most of the Leeds eleven.

With a return for Johnson in place of Kilkenny, and retaining Somma up top, the 4-4-2 can work - especially against a team that is up against it in the table and struggling with injury - one we'd be expected to beat.

Show some heart, please.

Hopefully the squad have had chance this week to have a glance over at what was probably the worst and most gutless performance of the season so far. Not only were Leeds outplayed, we were outrun and that can't be justified. If a side is being outclassed in terms of the football, it doesn't give anybody an excuse to sit back and accept it. Fighting spirit, effort and determination is something that should always be on show.

Jonny Howson reacted post match: 

"Any time a defeat is hard to take," 

"We weren't at it, we never got going and against a very good side. It can happen like it did on Saturday. They are a very good side, they played very well and some of their stuff you have to hold your hands up. 

"Some of our play at times was disappointing and not to the standards we know we can play. We'll have to have a look at it. You think about your own performance and think what could I have done? You can ask loads of questions. 

"But you have to take it on the chin, put it down as a bad performance and move on to Saturday."

Kilkenny was subject, rightly, to much criticism last week after his anaemic effort in midfield on Saturday. Grayson needs to have a good look at what he brings to the side, and after a performance like his last, it should be far from out of the question that he's dropped and the 4-4-2 is retained or someone else willing to put a full shift in is included in his place.

Sean O'Driscoll has reiterated his admirance of the Aussie this week, so he can't have watched our last outing too carefully... 

"We have always liked Neil and, unfortunately, we couldn’t quite get him,” 

“Every time he is out of the side, we always make a cheeky enquiry just in case. He is one of those who wants to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and make his team play.”

The other player who needs to show major signs of improvement to win back the Elland Road faithful is George McCartney. Since arriving for his second loan spell he has seemed far from gutsy in respect to the defensive side of his game, with his body language being worryingly bothered by errors, some his, that have cost the side sloppy goals. McCartney was brought in to add Premier League experience to a side challenging for promotion and it hasn't really been on show, notably against Swansea last week where Dyer made him look like a Sunday league player with his backing off, which got them a penalty in the end after Gradel was forced to make a challenge. Ben Parker is in the wings and in all honesty, couldn't have done any worse than McCartney did last week.

Rovers "Rivalry"

VivaRovers excellent preview of the fixture touches on something that I have personally noticed in Doncaster fans that I know. Our promotion push in 2008, which ended in both sides meeting at Wembley and ultimately Doncaster achieving promotion, has led to many Rovers fans adopting Leeds as the club they love to hate. Tuesday's game at Pride Park heard chants of "Bring on the Leeds scum" from Rovers supporters and frankly there's absolutely no reason for this hatred to be the case - Leeds fans find it inconsequential that it was Doncaster who beat us at Wembley. 

The two clubs aren't, and never have been long-term rivals. The game is a Yorkshire derby, but really doesn't mean much more to most fans (in the same vain as Barnsley, Huddersfield and Hull), bar those who are waiting in the wings to gloat to friends of the opposing side, should one or the other manage a win - though this is true of any game.

The widely perceived Leeds arrogance is also a subject in question. Leeds fans, on the whole, do not abide by this stereotyped view. The club has spent three seasons in League One, and the majority of the support is acutely aware of where we currently stand on the ladder of English football. Confusion between harking back on the club's history and arrogance is something that does annoy. Leeds throughout their past have not been used to playing at the same level as "TheLikesOfDoncaster" as VivaRovers likes to put it and this is unquestionably true. It doesn't, however, mean that Leeds expect to waltz past anyone seen to be "less illustrious" - although taking League position, form, injuries and current playing staff into account, Leeds would be posed as favourites for today's game.

Any tinge of arrogance that Leeds fans may have harbored have been quashed by recent experiences and realisation that we can't currently compete financially or on the pitch with some of our current divisional rivals let alone those widely regarded as our traditional rivals, such as Manchester United, in the Premier League. Our recent Ridsdale past continues to haunt us.

Doncaster

Being only one of three sides to concede more than Leeds this season (since the turn of the year they've shipped 25), Doncaster must be wary of our goal threat as we're currently the division's most prolific scorers. Defensively though they'll be encouraged and Leeds should themselves be wary with Billy Sharp in form but struggling with a hernia problem. 

Their injury list is extensive, and has at times ruled fourteen first team members out of action. As of now Neil Sullivan, Adam Lockwood, James O’Connor, James Chambers, Mustapha Dumbuya, Martin Woods, Steve Brooker and Jason Euell will all miss out on facing Leeds, while Sharp, Hayter and Coppinger are all still struggling to be fit in time.

Prediction: Leeds 3-1 Doncaster

Despite Leeds' current defensive suicidal tendencies, Doncaster's injury list should significantly reduce their competitiveness. Despite putting three past Derby in midweek, Leeds should be capable of putting on a more challenging display and with Snodgrass and Gradel both available and in form to torment them as opposed to earlier this season, Doncaster may unbuckle at the back with what Sean O'Driscoll has at his disposal given their current availability crisis.

Leeds need to be wary of Doncaster being as "up for it" as Barnsley were last Tuesday. Anything other than full effort from each of the players for the full 90 minutes won't be enough as Donny will be do their utmost to get a result out of this one.

Team News

Leeds

Connolly still out, but back in training - could return on Tuesday at Preston.

Sam out with a virus.

Doncaster

Neil Sullivan, Adam Lockwood, James O’Connor, James Chambers, Mustapha Dumbuya, Martin Woods, Steve Brooker and Jason Euell will all miss out on facing Leeds, while Sharp, Hayter and Coppinger are all still struggling to be fit in time.

Ben Alnwick, who came as cover for a month earlier this season to Elland Road, has joined this week as goalkeeping cover during Sullivan's absence.

What Bates Said... 2nd March 2011

Ben Fry: Chairman, we’ll start with the loan market. Does the search continue to bring in a couple of fresh faces as we go into the run-in?

Ken Bates: Yes, it is continuing. We hope to make one or two signings this week or next. But the problem is that you have to understand that we are only interested in signing players from the Premiership because nobody competing with us is going to let their players out, just as we are not going to let any of our players out to our competitors. So you now have a situation where we are trying to sign Premiership players and the question is, who is available? The other problem is that Premiership clubs themselves are now experiencing injuries and fixture congestion. The two or three targets that Simon has had in mind, we had provisionally agreed to take them. Their present clubs have now put them on hold because they are concerned that they may not have enough cover themselves. 

The second problem is that there is no point signing a player who is rusty and hasn’t been playing football reasonably regularly otherwise we’ve only got 12 games to go and it’s no good bringing a player in who needs three or four games to get fit. And the third issue is that some agents now are saying that because they know their players are out of contract at the end of the summer, they are saying that if they come on loan now they want a contract for next season. We’re naturally saying we’re not going to buy a pig a poke, especially a player on Premiership wages. So there’s a lot of negotiations going on and it isn’t as easy as the ordinary fan might think. There’s no point in us getting a player to give us a boost now and signing him at a very high price for the future, which again will hamstring the manager’s budget for 2011/12. In your phone-in, somebody said that without and knowledge or justification that he thought we hadn’t signed players because of Ken Bates’ wages policy. Well that maybe so, because Ken Bates’ wage policy is we’re not going to spend money we haven’t got. I think it was overemphasised by the fact that yesterday Aston Villa announced a £32M… £32M loss. And that’s because of their £19M turnover last year, they spent £18M of it on wages. Oldham hadn’t paid their February wages on time, Plymouth haven’t paid any of their staff for two months. This financial crisis, which has been on the horizon for some time, and some clubs have been blissfully ignoring it is now coming home to roost on a number of clubs. We are not going to get involved in that situation and there are one or two players at Leeds United who may be facing the same problem in May. 

What we’re saying is, if we get promoted this year then player’s salaries will get reviewed because we know we can afford but we are not making long-term commitments on a promise of future performance. And that is the only limit to Ken Bates’ wage policy. For the good and future of Leeds United. Having said that, we have 12 games to play and we’re looking forward to winning some of them. The first thing we have got to do is plug our leaky defence which has now conceded eight goals in three games. It isn’t acceptable. 

BF: You mention 12 games to go, do you see it as all still to play for or do you think second place is still a possibility? 

KB: Well it’s becoming increasingly difficult as the games trickle away. Same old story, too many draws. We’re drawing games that we should win. In the old days, years and years ago when it was two points for a win and one for a draw, when you got a draw you said “well we picked up a point” but with three points for a win and one for a draw you now regard a draw as not having gained a point but dropped two. And we’re dropping too many two points, which I think Simon and his backroom staff are addressing.  

BF: You mentioned the backroom staff, there has been an appointment this week to the backroom team – Chris Sulley has joined as the new academy manager. What pedigree does he bring to the role? 

KB: To start with, I think we have to go back to probably last year, when we decided the quality of players coming through and the fact that our youth team were bottom of the league, that changes had to be made. But there’s no point in replacing the then incumbents with somebody else just for the sake of making a change. I think it’s a significant tribute to the diligence of the manager and Gwyn Williams, the head of football, that they have taken over four months to make an appointment. That indicates their determination to get it right. A lot of youth team managers and so on and so forth are ex-players who sometimes they were assistant managers or first team coaches. Sometimes they were even managers and then they sort of take this job as academy director as a last resort because they are looking for a job. Chris Sulley is different. He started at Chelsea as a kid and Gwyn knew him of old so there is form there if you like. So we know a lot about his character. Secondly,  when he finished quite a reasonable journeyman’s footballing career, he had played over 400 games, he went straight into youth. So has been concentrating on youth for over 10 years now and his current position before he joined, he was in fact a freelance consultant to the FA and one or two other clubs. During that time he spent time at his own expense travelling Europe to see how other countries tackle their youth challenges, particularly Holland which is generally regarded as having the best system in Europe. So he comes in and he hits the ground running, knowing what he wants to do and having done it elsewhere. So we are very pleased to have him. He lives in Darwin in Lancashire, he joined us on Tuesday March 1 and he is already house hunting. He’s not going to commute from Lancashire, he’s going to move into Yorkshire, which again is a good positive sign. And I think we have laid the foundations for hopefully a very successful renaissance of our youth policy, which had stalled. We’re the biggest club in Yorkshire. Yorkshire is the biggest county, its population is bigger than Scotland , it’s bigger than Northern Ireland, there should be enough talent there to start building a homegrown team of Yorkshire boys at Leeds leavened with a few international quality stars and that’s our target.  

BF: On Friday, the deadline closed for the early renewal period on season tickets. How many renewals did you get in the end and were you pleased with the response? 

KB: I’m actually overwhelmed with the response. For this season, we have got 13,096 season tickets and that includes the 20-year season tickets which were honoured after the administration. As of Friday night, we actually sold 10,500. In fact, as of last night, we had so many season tickets coming in over the weekend we still had 1,740 season tickets left to process which is, well, amazing. I don’t know how else you can describe it. It’s a sign of the support and loyalty of our fans. Now season tickets for people who didn’t renew are the earlybird price, the season tickets go on sale from Saturday to the 18th of March. I’ll repeat that, from Saturday until the 18th of March. The 18th of March is the deadline for fans to claim their current seat. After the 18th of March, we will not be processing season tickets until further notice but we think until after the end of the season. And then we have to review which league we are in, whether we’re in the Championship or the Premiership.  

BF: Now whilst we’re talking about season tickets, fans can now renew their membership as well for 2011/12. And once again there is an early renewal price available. 

KB: Yep, the new prices are until the 30th of April. People can renew their memberships online only until the 30th of April. If people don’t renew before 30th of April, either because they can’t use computers or they don’t know anybody who can, then they will receive their renewals forms through the post from the 1st of May. Don’t forget people who joined the extra time memberships for 09/10 and 10/11, yours is also available until the 30th. Of course, anybody can still now take out an extra time membership for now and next season. And I have to say that as we speak, so far this season, we have 38,900 members which is a record. And it’s still climbing. Once again, we’re obviously very pleased. And we welcome another branch from Ireland, the Navan Whites from County Meath. They make our 61st regional member’s club, which is absolutely fantastic. There are now 18-20 people in the process of forming their club, which is tremendous. You’re going to have to work much harder next year with Leeds on the Road to make sure everybody gets their fair share.  

BF: Do you see 40,000 members as a realistic target for next season? 

KB: I would hope so yeah. We have got quite a few people in Norway who are not yet members because the application form was a bit difficult to translate into Norwegian so we are doing a simplified format for that because there are three or four thousand people over there who we can have a go at.   

BF: Now next up on the playing field, it’s Doncaster Rovers in another Yorkshire derby at Elland Road on Saturday. Are you enjoying the amount of Yorkshire derbies this season? 

KB: I love derbies because obviously because local derbies are great fun, a great atmosphere, we’re looking for 27,000-28,000 at the game this Saturday. Doncaster of course, had a crippling run of defeats and injuries so the fact they went to Derby last night and won 3-1 was very encouraging. Now they have broken their duck, maybe they can go back to losing ways.  

BF: And one final issue before we let you go today, the Football League have moved the last day of the season from Sunday the 8th of May to Saturday the 7th of May to suit the TV companies. Are you surprised, given how far in advance these things are planned, that the Football League made this decision? 

KB: I think that they probably [this bit makes no sense, presume it was an editing error by YR] ironed their parlours would come on thinking that ooh we are going to one lie. I’m not too bothered because we’re playing QPR so it’s Saturday instead of Sunday, it’s probably better for our fans who can go and enjoy Sunday off. But we are in danger of becoming a total slave to TV. We at Leeds are fighting to try keep it within reasonable consideration. Finally, our average gate this season before Saturday, we budgeted for 25,000 and it’s 26,920. Which again, is a sign that Leeds are back. So we’re getting there, step-by-step, brick-by-brick.

Courtesy of WACCOE and TSB's Fax Man