The Scratching Shed

With Leeds United not in action until tomorrow, I thought we’d take a look at what happened elsewhere this weekend.

Millwall and QPR move level top of the Championship with consecutive wins that leave their goal margin at +7 each. It was a case of newly promoted vs newly demoted at the Den, with last years League One play-off winners destroying Hull City 4-0 in one of those games where it’s unfortunate that they both couldn’t lose. Meanwhile, QPR had things rapped up early against our Yorkshire rivals, Sheffield United with all three of their goals coming in the first 23 minutes of the match.

After a poor start to the campaign, Kevin Blackwell has been sacked by Sheffield United after a humiliating home defeat at the hands of former Blades manager, Neil Warnock.

Read the rest of this entry →

With Billy Paynter missing the friendly games against Bury and Hartlepool, there had been reports that our new summer signing was set to be out for a lengthy spell, leading to further concerns about the strength of our striking options.

Despite the reports however, Simon Grayson insists Billy Paynter’s absence was nothing more than a precaution after picking a knock up in Slovakia.

Read the rest of this entry →

Not quite the pre-season showing of strength we’d all hoped for last night as Leeds United crumbled away to Bury and left with an embarrassing scoreline of 4-0.

With just one seemingly disastrous result, any optimism the Leeds faithful may have had ahead of the 2010/11 season has vanished and it’s back to the drawing board as the “inadequate” defence, midfield and forwards are scrutinised.

But should we really be all that concerned? After all, this was only a friendly and on display was a team who still aren’t 100% after a lazy summer celebrating promotion. It’s only natural that it’ll take  a few games for Leeds United to get back into gear. We’ve had extremely poor friendly results in seasons past, and it’s had no effect once the real stuff got under way.

Anyone wanting further proof that friendlies give no indication as to how good the team are needs only to look at Newcastle United’s faltering pre-season campaign last year. Most of the country were writing Newcastle off after some terrible pre-season results, including a 6-1 hammering at the hands of Leyton Orient. But the Geordies turned it on when it mattered and stormed back into the Premier League as champions, as the friendly results were quickly forgotten.

To sum up, a 4-0 hammering to Bury wasn’t ideal, but at the same time it means absolutely nothing. Friendlies are for the sole purpose of gaining fitness and working the kinks out. It does seem that Leeds United have plenty of kinks to work out at the moment, but it’s better to find that out now with time to heal before Derby visit Elland Road on opening day.

Keep the faith!

Davide Somma ensured Lincoln City would be staying in League Two next season when his 80th minute goal against Bury proved to be the difference in a closely fought encounter.

Somma netted his eighth of the season after getting beyond Bury’s last man and volleying home to secure the three points and consolidation for Lincoln City.

Somma, who flew into England on a one-way ticket to pursue his dream of playing here was snapped up by Leeds United last year. After a spell out with injury and an unsuccessful loan spell in Chesterfield, Somma went to Lincoln desperate to prove his worth and secure a contract for next season. Twelve games and eight goals later, Somma got his wish as Leeds United announced they’d be extending his contract for another year.

Lincoln fans will no doubt be disappointed with the news as many of them had hoped he’d be joining them on a permanent basis next season. On arriving at Lincoln, Somma found himself at a club desperately struggling for goals and in the thick of a relegation battle, but his addition brought with it a change in fortune as Lincoln quickly turned things round and a dismal season ended well when they secured their status as a League Two club. Davide Somma’s eight goals meanwhile, made him Lincoln’s top goalscorer for 2009-10, showing just how much of a problem Lincoln really had.

Whilst I can only comment on the highlights I’ve seen of Lincoln’s game, Davide Somma seems to be a really good find. A strong and intelligent centre-forward with an incredibly powerful shot. With the impending departure of Jermaine Beckford, my only hope is that Davide Somma can produce the same goods at a higher level.