The major difference between the Tranmere and Brentford match wasn’t the quality of opposition. If anything, Tranmere probably caused more of a threat than Brentford did, who simply came to Elland Road and parked the bus. The change from Saturday was quite simply what Leeds did with all the chances they created.

On Saturday Leeds squandered a ridiculous amount of chances. Brentford got a goal totally against the run of play and Leeds were left chasing the game. At that point the scoreline read 0-1, but it could quite easily have been 4-1 if Leeds had been a little more clinical infront of goal and showed more urgency to get ahead.

It was clear early on that there would be no such problems tonight as Leeds set out to right the wrongs of Brentford and get their promotion campaign back on track. Robert Snodgrass opened the scoring after just nine minutes and Beckford doubled the lead just seven minutes later from the spot.

Leeds had the momentum and looked confident once more, but Tranmere had other ideas and pulled one back just three minutes later after Leeds failed to clear their lines. Less than 20 minutes gone and already 2-1.

When confidence is so slow and everything is going against you, conceeding a goal at that stage could have led to a ten men behind the ball approach from a lot of teams, but Leeds pressed on and restored their two goal advantage ten minutes before the break. Luciano Becchio the scorer with a diving header from Jermaine Beckford’s cross.

The final goal of the game came midway through the second half sealing the three points for Leeds United courtesy of Jermaine Beckford. The confidence levels had clearly and visibly risen by this point, so much so that Beckford finished off Tranmere with a cheeky well-taken lob.

The ups

“Thankyou for your fantastic support” - The fans, as always, were brilliant.

Shooting practice – I know I’m stating the obvious a bit here, but getting four goals in one game is some achievement when you look back and consider the amount of chances we’ve squandered over the last few weeks.

Beckford - Gets a lot of stick whenever things are going badly. Tends to be the one singled out for the criticism of every fan up and down the country, so perhaps he should take all the praise when we win? Two goals and an assist, not a bad shift in my book.

The substitutions – Still can’t see what Paul Dickov’s bringing to the party, but the introduction of Max Gradel and Tresor Kandol late on was much more positive than we’ve seen in recent weeks.

The downs

Their goal – All that really sticks in mind is their goal which came after several amateurish attempts to clear the ball from Leeds. A bit of panic in the box, the ball flew around wildly and eventually someone stabbed it across the line. Poor, but we can afford the odd mistake when we’re scoring fluently. On another week, that goal would have probably cost us points.

Prior to the game, it was a no-brainer for the betting man amongst us. Southampton had just knocked ten past their previous two opponents, including a 5-0 demolition job on play-off chasing Huddersfield Town. In stark contrast, the fortunes of Tranmere couldn’t have been much different, who themselves had fallen to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the same Huddersfield side just days before.

This being League One, shock results don’t really tend to shock. What a team does one week rarely gives much indication of what they’ll do the next, but even by League One standards, the change in fortnnes for Tranmere was quite simply, unbelievable.

It stands to reason then that Leeds United would be their next opponents. We always seem to time things just right for an epic fail. Much like Tranmere’s fortunes seem to be changing, so too do that of Leeds. From having the title almost tied up just a couple of months ago, to desperately trying to avoid slipping into the play-off places, Leeds United are upto the same old tricks and insisting on doing things the hard way. Quite frankly, Tranmere couldn’t have timed this encounter much better.

If that wasn’t enough, Leeds United also seem to have another injury crisis brewing with Richard Naylor, Andrew Hughes, Shane Lowry and Mike Grella all doubts.

This weekend saw Leeds United drop another valuable two points to mid-table Brentford, who came and pretty much parked the bus. Perhaps unlucky when you take Michalik’s effort (which came back off the woodwork) into account, it still wasn’t the most inspired performance we’ve seen at Elland Road this season and there was a lot of room for improvement, not least in terms of applying pressure and urgency.

Even without that sense of urgency, Leeds dominated throughout and missed more chances than I care to recall. Earlier in the season, it’d have probably been quite a comfortable win, but things aren’t going for us at the minute and expecting the results to just come for us, won’t work.

The goal that put us behind was a bit of a sucker punch after we’d dominated the entire fixture and we did respond well to get the equaliser. Still, no matter how much Simon Grayson insists otherwise, it was by no means a great performance and the players know it was two points lost. Their confidence levels after recent performances and results must be a concern for the boss.

So what we have tomorrow night is a Leeds United team struggling for form, probably low on confidence, with nothing going for them at the minute and with injuries starting to pile-up, against a much improved and more confident Tranmere side determined to raise their game for the visit of the Whites and grab a surprise three points in their bid to stave off relegation. In my mind, we’re the underdogs!

Perhaps underdogs isn’t a bad thing though? With Leeds United I often worry more when we’re expected to win with ease. The three consecutive home games we had recently which the official site was dubbing “Operation Nine” inevitably turned into catastrophe as the players reached a whole new level of complacency and played the most dismal football of the season so far.

Manchester United meanwhile, no one expected us to win so that’s exactly what we did. Leeds have been doing the same thing for as long as I can remember. Cup finals that should have been all too easy (Sunderland) and League Championships with unsurpassable leads were blown, solely because we got overly confident (and the fixture pile-ups never helped). Then you look at the Champions League a few years back where everyone expected us to be out in the first match. We shocked Europe, because stubbornly and definatly, that’s what Leeds do.

In a roundabout way, by beating Southampton and raising the stakes of this game, Tranmere may have done us the ultimate favour. The players and management will have taken note, that this is a team capable of beating the big boys on their day and with that in mind, they’ll hopefully settle in quickly and focus on obtaining what has somehow become an unlikely three points.

Defiantly and stubbornly optimisic! On and on…

His personal vendetta with Ken Bates led to an unprecedented 25 point deduction for the same administration proceedings and the various involvements he’s had with Leeds United since have seldom been productive for our club.

 For me, the chair of a governing body like the Football League should have a background in law, or at least have some experience as head of a sporting institution. Mahwinney ticked neither box. What he did bring to the party was a Ph.D in physics and a career in politics. Hardly seems the kind of guy to address the issues of the working mans favourite sport.

It’s not that he didn’t have some successes, but on the whole he often looked like a fish out of water, trying to rule a crumbling financial mess of a football league by hindering them further and putting the very existance of these football clubs in the balance. For a man who was supposed to represent the members teams that made up the league, he did very little to help them. His points deductions and other penalties did nothing but push clubs closer to bankruptcy, all the while, Mahwinney was using his physics degree to see how exactly he could implement the much discussed “goal-line technology.”

Whilst the bigger issues of club ownership and financing were brushed under the carpet with his famous “fit and proper persons test” and points deductions, Mahwinney focused his efforts on being the celebrity football league chairman we’d all so desperately craved! At least, in his mind anyway.

New owners arrived at Notts County bigging up their Premier League ambitions and flashing imaginery cash at anyone gullible enough to believe they had any. Despite some questionable background checks made by the mass media, the owners passed Mahwinney’s fit and proper test with no problems whatsoever. A circus show involving Sol Campbell and Sven Goren Eriksson was to follow before it became clear that these mysterious owners couldn’t put their money where there mouth was, leaving County on the brink of doom. They survived – just, although the long-term implications of their estranged owners incompetence may be long and devastating for the club.

Meanwhile, Mahwinney was putting his Ph.D to good use by assessing the need for goal-line technology in the game. Refusing to allow his fit and proper persons catastrophe to be brought into question, he was much more interested in how the position of the ball could be monitored in relation to the goal-line… yawn…

To sum up, Lord Mahwinney’s reign at the top of the Football League should be remembered for his bulletproof ability to skirt over the major flaws in the game that are seeing club after club forced into administration. The owners of clubs are still allowed anonymity even after the Notts County catastrophe. Governing the members of the league was done so with an iron fist throughout. Attempts to help these member clubs in their time of need were non-existant. Instead, futher punishment would be given to them. Punishment that ultimately, only the supporters would really feel. He had two major problems to address when he started which were financing of football clubs and the transparency of their owners. He failed miserably at both. Good riddance.

So, where does the incoming chairman start? Well, remembering where your breads buttered would be a good start. Football clubs should be assisted when the financing has gone wrong and helped in every way possible to ensure their survival. Afterall, it’s the fans that fund the football league and they’ll be funding nothing if some idiot destroys their club. More to the point, it’s the football leagues fault for not curbing spending in the first place and allowing things to escalate to this level – not to mention the inept chairman they allow control!

Secondly, the fans of every club throughout the nation deserve total transparency with regards to their owners. To understand the success of football, you have to understand who makes it pay. The fans are what matter and Notts County proved they have a right to be concerned. If a football clubs ultimate benefactors insist on hiding, then there’s probably something to hide!

“B-b-but, what about goal line technology?” Address the other issues and you can stick a camera on my head to judge where the ball is in relation to the goal for all I care.

The draw to Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield could only be seen as a good result at the time, given that we’d trailed to our promotion chasing neighbours and often fail miserably in such derbys. However, Southampton’s 5-0 demolition job on them shortly afterwards had set alarm bells ringing. The Saints, undeterred by their ten point handicap had bought well in January, determined to push on for a play-off spot and there’ll be very few betting against them. Leeds meanwhile did very little and have struggled to find the kind of flair and confidence Southampton have shown ever since.

Personal feelings aside, the lack of ambition the move for a 37-year-old journeyman striker shows sums up the kind of failure post-Christmas has been for the Whites. The implementation of the January transfer window has turned the game almost completely on it’s head. What you do before that date matters little if everyone else improves and you can’t keep up with the pace thereafter. Leeds, for me, failed big time in January and it’s going to be a much tougher slog to the end of the season than it perhaps should have been.

There’s no denying Leeds United were the better team yesterday. Brentford did very little to surprise anyone other than retain possession quite well. Unfortunately for any Brentford fans reading this, that was more a reflection of Leeds not bothering to close down as often as they should more than it was any Brazilian-style ball control on your part. The players were showing complacency once again and expecting the result to just come for them, rather than making any real effort to pressure Brentford into submission.

Leeds, quite simply, could destroy Brentford if they applied the same kind of effort they did against Huddersfield, but it was non-existant. The fact of the matter is, that when the players see Huddersfield on the fixture list they’ll likely take note of the date. Brentford however, is simply a name there to make the numbers up for most of the players, and it showed in the level of effort exerted.

Leading up to Brentford’s goal, all the real chances had gone to Leeds. We probably should have led with ease, but failed to take advantage of our opportunites. There was no real urgency from Leeds as the game seemed to be a bit of a precession. No one expected anything less than three points and it just seemed to be a matter of time until we turned one of our chances into a goal.

Then, the “unthinkable” happened (I use the term loosely, as there’s very little left that could happen to Leeds that would shock anyone). Brentford got a chance and buried it to leave Leeds United behind and looking at each other with total confusion, mystified as to how this kept happening on home soil.

If falling behind did anything, it gave the team a sense of urgency they’d lacked prior. Leeds United got the equaliser courtesy of Jermaine Beckford, but there’s no escaping how poor a result this is. Teams like Brentford don’t come to Elland Road expecting anything. More often than not, it’s damage limitation, but Leeds are just giving away points at the minute through complacency, inconsistency and a lack of determination and fight against these “lesser” teams. It’s starting to feel as though we need to go 1-0 down before everyone can be bothered playing football.

So, it’s all doom and gloom then?

Pretty much, yeah. There’s absolutely no positives I can take from this performance. The fans booing at full-time - however wrong that may be – sums up the kind of second rate, half arsed effort this was. My major concern is a quote from Simon Grayson afterwards who seemed to think it was a good performance. I aren’t saying it was a bad one, and we did dominate, but I’d hardly be praising anyone when they’ve just scraped a draw at home to Brentford.

You look at the list of fixtures still to come, keeping in mind Leeds’ tendancy to blow things at the last hurdle and you can’t help but worry about the final couple of months. Defiantely optimistic, I’m trying to assure myself that we’ll come good against the better teams, but there’s no escaping the fact we’ve blown a substancial lead and as the run of poor form continues, we’re getting very few answers.

The season ticket renewal prices for the 2010-11 season have been released and it comes as no surprise whatsoever that Leeds United have decided to increase them for next term. Counting their chickens before they hatch, Leeds United have admitted (via the official site) that they’ve based the price structure on us playing Championship football in August.

Prices based on early renewal start at £400 in the Family Stand and topping out at £560 in the East and West stands. If you leave it late and don’t take advantage of the early renewal prices, you could be set to pay up to £630 for next years season ticket with an outside possibility we’ll still be visited by such greats as Brighton and Yeovil.

These prices are bad enough for Championship football, but if the worst does happen and we’re stuck in this dismal league for another season, there is a contingency plan. We (the long suffering idiots that pay these extortionate fees for no gain) will be given free access to “selected cup games.” Roughly translated, that means that when such giants like Accrington Stanley visit again and they struggle to get 10,000 in, we’ll be allowed in for free. Of course, when Liverpool and Tottenham are drawn, you can expect to be paying full whack.

It’s a clever ploy by the club to secure as much money now based on the likelihood of promotion just incase we don’t actually make it. Might as well rage and vent now, because at the end of the day, we’ll all be daft enough to pay it regardless of division and the club ripping us off is hardly anything new.

As for those of you that haven’t had a season ticket this season and were considering it for next term, well, you’ll have to wait til June to discover how much Ken Bates and co. wish to shake from your pockets.

Dickov signs in

An unwelcome addition to the wage bill arrives at Elland Road until the end of the season in the form of pension seeking Paul Dickov who has finally found the ideal retirement home here in Leeds. Not a big fan of the bloke as you’ll have probably guessed, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see what his thuggish brand of football brings to the promotion chasing party.

Awards galore for Leeds players

Luciano Becchio becomes the third Leeds United player of the season to scoop the PFA Fans Player of the Month award, following in the footsteps of three times winner, Jermaine Beckford and two times winner, Robert Snodgrass.

Meanwhile, Jonny Howson was named in the Coca-Cola League One Team of the Week, produced by the Press Association alongside former Elland Road favourite, Ian Harte.

Some of you will remember a poll that was run a while back to vote for the best League Cup goal in the competitions 50 year history. Two Leeds United players were nominated in the top 50 with Paul Robinson’s stoppage time header against Swindon coming second and Terry Cooper’s winner in the final coming eighth.

I probably should mention before continuing that I’ve always felt Wayne Bridge was massively overrated and wouldn’t have had half the success he has without conveniently being left-footed. Something we often have a shortage of when it comes to team selection in England. That said, no matter how it’s cut and diced and how important Terry is to England, no player should ever feel uncomfortable wearing the national shirt because of another and it’s indicative of Terry’s ‘f**k everyone elses feelings, I’m number one’ attitude that he’s shown little remorse and refused to drop from the squad as a result.

JT has built up such an unparallelled arrogance over the last ten years or so, that I wasn’t even slightly surprised to see him attempt to cling onto his captaincy throughout the entire drama. When you’ve gotten away with as many thuggish acts as he has and been forgiven by your wife, your club and everyone else, it’s only natural you’ll start to believe you’re untouchable. To Chelsea fans it’s only added to his popularity, but that won’t surprise anyone thats seen the kind of thugs this team has produced over the years. I bet Terry never thought for one second Capello would actually strip him of his captaincy.

The underlying problem with that decision however is that it changes nothing. Yes, Rio Ferdinand will wear the armband and fulfill the glorified figurehead role that the national captaincy is, but on the field John Terry’s arrogance still means he’ll feel the need to dictate everything, attempt to control the entire team and shout at others for his own mistakes. Essentially, nothings changed and the only reason JT is upset is because he liked the ego-massaging abilities the title brought with it (and no doubt the money).

Personally, I think all decisions within the England team should come down to football and Capello seems to be on the same page. That said, when it comes to a point where there’s this level of bad publicity and other players feel they can’t play for their country because of one mans actions, I think the culprit should be dropped. Terry is bringing nothing but negativity to the side as far as I’m concerned at the minute and for that reason, and that reason alone, he shouldn’t be in it.

In light of all this, it seems a good time to remember probably the worst transfer decision in the history of the Premier League and the various rumours that followed. That transfer is of course, Howard Wilkinson’s sale of Eric Cantona to Manchester United.

Howard Wilkinson had just guided Leeds United to their first league title since the 1970’s and 1992 seemed like the year we would rise again. Mr Wilkinson however had other ideas, deciding to sell footballs hottest prospect – one, Eric Cantona – to bitter rivals, Manchester United for the measly sum of just £1.2million.

Leeds fans around the world were in total disbelief having witnessed the players match-changing ability in our title winning season. Meanwhile, Manchester United fans were having the times of their lives celebrating what many knew would be a crucial signing by the soon to be knighted Alex Ferguson.

Whilst Leeds struggled to get anywhere near the standard of the 1991-92 season, Cantona’s signing proved to be a catalyst for Manchester United’s success who went on to dominate the top flight for what is now, nearly two decades.

In reaction to the move, those Leeds United fans that weren’t furious at Howard Wilkinson’s short-sightedness, began to coin theories of why he was sold so cheaply. Top of those theories was the one involving Leslie Ash, who is Lee Chapman’s missus. The rumour would have you believe that Eric Cantona had been sleeping with the fish-lipped WAG behind the back of Lee Chapman and that the animosity it had caused within the team left Sergeant Wilko with no other choice.

Of course, the rumour was a complete myth dreamt up by some Leeds United pranksters or Howard Wilkinson apologists, but it didn’t stop the majority of the country believing it. To this day, Manchester United fans still sing a song about that fateful “affair”. Terry won’t be living this down too quickly either, after all, mud sticks!

Leeds didn’t disappoint and were quick out of the traps. So too however, were the play-off chasing Huddersfield whose attacking movement was quick and direct. Unfortunately, so was their fouling ability and after several Leeds United players were upended by the Town players with no response from the referee, it started to feel like it was going to be one of those days. Leeds weren’t no angels either mind, and as the tackles became wilder, the tempo rose and the atmosphere inside the stadium intensified.

It was Huddersfield who struck first blood in what was becoming an end to end encounter, with neither team being allowed much time on the ball. Pilkington’s tame shot from the edge of the area took a fortuetous deflection off a Leeds player leaving Casper Ankergren stranded and the home side infront. 1-0

Huddersfield should have made it 2-0 after that when the Leeds United defence got it embarrassingly wrong leaving a Town forward with a free chance from six yards. With only one man on the line in his way and Casper at the wrong end of the goal completely, he fluffed what should have been a gift of a goal and given Huddersfield a massive advantage.

Leeds pressed for an equaliser with Snoddy forcing a save from Huddersfield’s keeper and Becchio heading over what was probably our best chance so far. Both teams were still fighting for everything with the sole focus of seemingly on attack. So far and despite trailing, it had been a thrilling encounter, no doubt fuelled by the occasion.

It got all the more interesting when Leeds United levelled the scores just after the hour with Jonny Howson scoring a nice header from a Robert Snodgrass cross to temporarily silence the home fans. 1-1

Leeds sensed victory after that and came out on top in the encounters that followed. Beckford looked to be through only to be thwarted by the referee’s decision making, which had been the only questionable performance of the day. It seemed as though it wouldn’t matter though as Snodgrass was once again the provider for Leeds’ second goal when an uncharacteristically good corner was met with an uncharacteristically good header from Luciano Becchio. Who said Snoddy can’t cross and our forwards are weak in the air? (Don’t answer that)

2-1 and it seemed like the Leeds of early season that could get a result under any circumstances. Neither team gave up at that point and the thrilling encounter continued in much the same style as it had started. The tackles were hard and fast, both teams attacked with purpose and the referee continued to try and learn his trade.

The game was to deal one more twist however when Huddersfield equalised with just five minutes left on the clock. I’d love to say you could see it coming and I’d braced myself for disappointment, but in all honesty, I was already celebrating victory. The game was so unpredictable throughout you really didn’t know what was going to happen next, but a voice inside me said that this was our day. That this was the Leeds United of August and that we’d be leaving with three points no matter what.

It wasn’t to be though and Huddersfield got was undoubtedly a fair share of the spoils. Both teams had contributed to what makes a great derby match and the most thrilling encounter I’ve witnessed in the league this season. Despite the late sucker punch, I wasn’t really too disappointed, as it seems we’re on the up again at the right time and are definitely capable of raising our game for the bigger teams. This game simply wet my appetite for a rematch in the CCC next season.

With a return to a more recognisable formation, Leeds looked more comfortable on the ball. Aidy White was brought in on the left-side of midfield and brought with him some pace and new ideas that Leeds have sorely needed of late. Upfront, Luciano Becchio was reinstated alongside Jermaine Beckford and the pairing proved much more of a threat together than they did playing alone. Despite a much better looking team and several first half opportunites, Leeds failed to capitalise and the scores were level at the break.

You could still sense the nerves around Elland Road despite Leeds United’s domination as the second half got underway. The weekends visit of Brighton had seen Leeds control the game almost totally, only to be punished by a controversial penalty late on after failing to make any of their chances pay. This time however, Leeds got the lead they so desperately needed and completely deserved when Oldham’s keeper failed to keep hold of Jermaine Beckford’s shot and Luciano Becchio was on hand to make him pay.

It didn’t take long for Leeds to double their advantage and put the game beyond the reach of Oldham. Just ten minutes after the first goal a good cross from Robert Snodgrass was met by the head of Luciano Becchio who grabbed his second of the night and gave Leeds United a much needed win. Also couldn’t help thinking that he was trying to prove me wrong by scoring with his head after I criticised the arial threat him and Jermaine Beckford collectively create.

Oldham knew they were beat and there was little effort made to try and get back in the game. Leeds had a couple more chances but saw out the game comfortably for a result that was never in doubt after the opening goal.

Corner turned?

I wouldn’t get too carried away just yet. Although Leeds United were much better than in recent weeks, Oldham represent the worst team I’ve seen us play all season. I think they’ve been resigned to relegation since the opening day of the season and are probably doing a little bit better than they ever imagined.

When we visited their three sided, sub-zero home earlier this season we walked them off the pitch with our reserve side and in all honesty, they haven’t improved since. I don’t want to undermine a much needed victory and a definite confidence boost for the players, but the big test will come this weekend in the local derby at the Galpharm.

Ups and downs…

Hard to really list any downs as the game was totally one-sided and Oldham probably made us look good. On the plus side however, it was nice to Aidy White get an hour on the pitch and he proved a useful addition on the left of midfield leaving the field in the second half to a standing ovation from the Leeds faithful.

The formation was massively improved too and it was nice to see Simon Grayson ditch his wild Christmas tree like formations and return to the 4-4-2 that’s done well for us so far this season (Mike Bassett anyone?). It was no surprise to see the two forwards look much more of a threat when played together than they did alone and it paid off as Luci did well to net a brace.

Always ready for a fight

The landmark court case could have a knock-on effect for many football chairman, not least, our very own cuddly Ken, who has been dodging tax for some years now with his millionaire lifestyle in Monaco. The loophole both he and Gaines-Cooper exploit allows them to spend 90 days in the UK tax-free running whatever businesses they like, whilst claiming citizenship in tax-free havens abroad.

Gaines-Cooper’s case will probably be appealed in the Supreme Court, but Ken Bates will be watching from afar, eagerly awaiting the outcome, which will likely bring a whole host of cases against millionaire tax-exiles living abroad from all walks of life, not just football.

Although each case will have to be ruled on an individual level, it’s likely each decision will come from where the majority of each defendants income comes from. In the case of Gaines-Cooper, the majority of his personal income comes from within the UK, so the court therefore decided he should be made to pay tax to the sum of £30,000,000 on this.

Ken Bates is likely to face a similar problem as Leeds United (to my knowledge) is his only remaining business interest so it would be impossible to argue his income comes from anywhere other than the United Kingdom.

So, what does this mean for Leeds United? Probably very little as it would be personal to Ken Bates’ own tax-bill. Whether he would increase the salary he takes from the club to continue funding his current lifestyle and to pay the back dated bill is probably our only concern. For Ken Bates however, it could be mean a massive tax bill, followed by 40% of earnings (soon to be 50%) thereafter.

I wouldn’t expect anything to happen too soon mind, as the legal world and HM Revenue & Customs will be waiting for the result of any Gaines-Cooper appeal whose landmark case will likely set a precedent for future ones. If the ruling does stand in the Supreme Court, HM Revenue & Customs will likely start action against people like Ken Bates, but are bound to face strong opposition from the million and billionaires teams of lawyers.

This was another below par performance from Leeds and the result is no more than they deserved. Although there was an improvement on Tuesday’s performance, there’s still several issues that need to be addressed;

“What the **** is going on?”

Formation

We’ll start with the ever changing line-up, which yesterday was as below at kick-off.

Ankergren

Hughes, Naylor, Kisnorbo, Lowry

Howson, Doyle, Kilkenny, Johnson, McSheffrey

Beckford

The midfield is in no particular order as it was hard to make sense of who was playing where to be totally honest, such was the lack of order it seemed to possess. The key thing to note here however is that Beckford is upfront on his own, whilst our bench harboured the likes of Becchio, Gradel and Snoddy.

More to the point, on the pitch was McSheffrey, who I was led to believe was a forward. Clearly not a natural midfielder, would probably benefit from playing alongside Beckford as he’d be a much better targetman for the long-ball Leeds are insisting on playing at the minute and can also hold the ball up and create chances, which is what Beckford needs to be of any benefit to the team.

Much like when Luciano Becchio was playing alone upfront, Beckford was massively ineffective as a lone striker with poor support from the midfield. Leeds’ final ball was so poor that the Brighton keeper could have probably taken the day off and the scoreline wouldn’t have changed too much. Beckford and Becchio need each other to produce the goods. They both bring something to the party and neither can play alone.

I’m starting to think we’re dropping a striker in order to accomodate McSheffrey who must have been promised first team football. I don’t mind that as McSheffrey is a good player, but he needs to be playing alongside Beckford to keep the balance of the team and give us any real threat going forward.

The penalty

It was never a penalty in a million years, but these things happen. The referee was totally useless throughout and both teams had to cope with him so no sour grapes from me in that respect. Leeds had all the possession and really should have walked it against a pathetically weak Brighton side who we battered 3-0 in the reverse fixture.

The long ball

It’s becoming really annoying seeing balls pumped long to players who can’t bring them down. The supporters were once again whinging at Beckford for failure to move and fight for the ball, but he’s so useless in the air there was probably little point. The team plays better when we have some sort of flow and pass about a bit, but they just don’t seem to have the confidence to try and play football at the minute.

The celebration

The players goading Gus Poyet after we scored was totally unacceptable in my mind. Whether it was deliberate or has been taken out of context, I aren’t entirely sure. Maybe they were intending to celebrate with their own bench? I know Grayson wasn’t pleased anyway and nor was Gus by the sounds of things and it’s hardly surprising really.

The positives

The substitutions

Once we’d made our three changes we were back to our normal shape with Luci and Becks upfront and four in midfield. Snoddy, who started on the bench for some reason, came on and had an instant impact and it was no surprise he got the goal. After falling one down, it was the only time we looked threatening, but since this coincided with going back to basics in terms of line-up and formation, I’d suggest this played more of a part than anything else.

The defence

A million times better than on Tuesday. Doyle and Howson in midfield were nullifying attacks before they became a threat, leaving Brighton with nothing but the long ball option and Paddy was there everytime to head clear. We look so much better with them three in the team from a defensive aspect that if the formation remains the same, I think the clean sheets will return soon.

Max Gradel

Max was the victim of an absolute horror challenge that saw Brighton reduced to ten men late on. I honestly couldn’t believe he got up and played on afterwards as he must have been in some pain, so credit to the youngster for his determination.

The fans

Unlike midweek, it was a good turn-out with 24,000 there to cheer the Whites on. Good to see such a sizable crowd despite things not going our way at the minute. That said, the patience is growing thin and the growing sighs around the ground reflects the times. Most notable chant of the day was a chorus of “What the …. is going on?” when Brighton scored. No booing at the end though thankfully.

Overall

Better but still with flaws. It didn’t surprise me at all to see us improve massively when we went back to 4-4-2 and got the regulars back on the field. I hope we start the next match with the line-up that’s served us well all season and if we are going to play McSheffrey, then hopefully it’ll be alongside Beckford rather than out of place in midfield.

Defensively we looked a different team from Tuesday night, but upfront we’re lacking in ideas, despite the vast array of attacking players at our disposal. Back to basics for me. The worrying thing is that the gap to the play-offs has closed massively so whatever the reasons behind the current slump, they need sorting sharpish.

Can’t deny I’m worried at the minute, but not entirely surprised. Years of supporting Leeds tells me that we never do things the easy way and this season looks to be no exception. I have full faith in Grayson’s ability to turn things round, but the longer this goes on, the more the fans will lose confidence and the more the morale of the support drops, the harder it will become.