Former Leeds United striker, Gary McSheffrey has performed a miraculous u-turn on his opinions of Leeds United following the boo’s he received during his return to Elland Road this weekend.

“I didn’t really say anything to offend anyone. I was asked the question ‘why didn’t you stay?’ and I said I didn’t really know because I hadn’t been told. It was misinterpreted and I’ve never said anything bad about Leeds. Little things can become a silly headline.

“I was expecting (the reception) but this is a decent club with good fans, and when it’s going good they’re great fans. I’ve always said that, so I don’t really know why they were booing me.”

After leaving Leeds United, McSheffrey told how he felt Simon Grayson’s decision to cut him loose was ‘unfair’ claiming that the Whites boss never gave him ‘a fair chance’, before going on to question the gaffer’s man management skills.

Ten appearances for the club would suggest Grayson gave him a very fair chance (even if he was used as sub for the majority of them). We have international players sitting on our bench that would kill for the amount of time McSheffrey had to prove himself.

Unfortunately for poor Gary, you either sink or swim at Elland Road. His début started well enough with a man of the match display against Colchester United, but it all went down hill thereafter with the 28-year-old failing to make the desired impression. So sink he did, and at the end of the season Simon Grayson cut him loose as he looked to build a squad capable of winning promotion to the Premier League.

The comments that followed his departure angered Leeds United fans who felt the striker had an incredibly unrealistic opinion of his own abilities. Simon Grayson meanwhile refused to get drawn into a war of words with McSheffrey, but the Whites boss was clearly unimpressed and refused to shake hands with the striker at the Ricoh late last year.

Whilst Gary McSheffrey’s own memory may be failing in his old age, the Leeds United fans don’t forget (or forgive) easily. You can back-track and use all the excuses you like Gary, but it won’t change a thing – aside from making you look like more of an idiot than you already did.

Form

Coventry sit 21st in the form table going into this game having accumulated just 2 points from their last six games. Simon Grayson also has cause for concern, with Leeds having managed just 7 points from their last six games, dropping them to 15th in the form table.

Goal scoring

Coventry haven’t struggled to create chances in 2010-11, having taken more shots than all but two other teams in the Championship. Despite the high shot count, Coventry have struggled to convert their chances and managed just 33 goals so far.

By contrast, Leeds United have had no trouble finding the back of the net and have now scored more goals than anyone else in the division with an impressive total of 54.

Coventry City’s goal-scoring chart is headed by three players; Gary McSheffrey, Marlon King and Freddy Eastwood who are all tied on 5 goals each. Leeds meanwhile have six players that have managed more than that – Luciano Becchio (14), Davide Somma (10), Max Gradel (9), Jonathan Howson (8), Robert Snodgrass (6) and Bradley Johnson (6).

An interesting stat is that these two sides have hit the woodwork more times this season than anyone else. Coventry have seen their shots bounce back 18 times, whilst Leeds haven’t had much better luck having struck the posts 17 times.

Defence

For Leeds United fans, the less said about the defence the better. Only two teams have conceded more goals than the Whites this season – bottom of the table Preston and 21st place Crystal Palace.

Coventry, despite having a negative goal difference have faired much better than Leeds having conceded 13 less goals in their 29 games so far.

Discipline

Leeds United continue to live up to the ‘Dirty Leeds’ stereotype with more fouls and yellow cards than anyone else in the division. Coventry’s discipline record isn’t much better either, and they too occupy the upper reaches of the named and shamed list.

Leeds United – One to watch

Such is the overwhelming quality of Leeds United’s attacking options, this week’s one to watch may not even start the game, but Davide Somma is a man everyone should be keeping an eye on. His goal per minutes ratio makes him the most consistent goal scorer in the Championship, averaging a goal every 91 minutes he’s played so far this season.

Coventry City – One to watch

Topping both Coventry City’s goal scoring and assist chart, and an ex-Leeds United player to boot, all eyes this week have to be on Gary McSheffrey. His whining antics when he wasn’t signed up by Simon Grayson – mainly because he was useless – have made him a target for ridicule amongst Leeds United fans as demonstrated brilliantly by MoscoWhite on The Square Ball’s new blog.

Head-to-head

Coventry City fans may want to look away now as the head-to-head statistics won’t make pleasant reading for the Sky Blues. Of the 80 games played between these two sides, Leeds United have won 42, drawn 21 and lost just 17 times.

In the last 15 meetings between Coventry and Leeds, Coventry have won just once (1-0 at home in September 2006).

The last meeting

The last time Leeds United and Coventry met was back in November when the Whites finished up as 3-2 winners in a nail-biting attacking encounter. [Coventry 2-3 Leeds match report]

Thanks to Mark Egan (@CovFan) on Twitter who joins us once again.

Ryan – We last met in November at The Ricoh Arena, when Leeds were 3-2 winners. Has much changed for Coventry since then?

Mark – We haven’t won since the beginning of December in the league so things have gone downhill since then.

Ryan – What has your recent form been like? Should we be fearful of a reverse scoreline at Elland Road on Saturday?

Mark – Confidence is low and the team look like they don’t know where the next win is coming from. There are flashes of good play but it seems to be every time we either take the lead or concede we revert to hoofing it, look out for our second half performances as well, past few matches we’ve just given up after half time.

Ryan – At the Ricoh, Marlon King and Gary McSheffrey both got ‘warm’ receptions from the Leeds end and its likely they’ll get the same again on Saturday. What have they been like for you this season?

Mark – King has been nothing short of brilliant since he came to the club, the chants against him seem to motivate him to score so feel free to give him another ‘warm’ reception. McSheffrey has been a player that typifies our season so far, there have been flashes of the player he used to be for us before he left but 90% of what he has done the season has been useless.

Ryan – What did you make of Leeds’ performance back in November?

Mark – Very impressive, from what I remember of the game it was a cracking match and it could have been 3-3 at half time. Since then we’ve both gone opposite ways so it shows how crucial victory was for Leeds.

Ryan – Are there any new signings within the Coventry ranks that we should be looking out for on Saturday?

Mark – No new signings, we have to wait for the loan window to sign anyone apparently. Hopefully Ben Turner is back for the match (He has been injured since our match in November) as having him back in defence would be great.

Ryan – The league has proven so hard to predict this year but who are your bets for promotion & relegation from what you’ve seen so far?

Mark – I can’t see past QPR as champions, second place I think will be Norwich and the play off winners will be between Swansea and yourselves I think. Relegation is a lot more difficult to predict for me. With us dropping like a stone I do honestly fear for our survival but I think the bottom 3  will be the current bottom 3 (Preston, Sheffield United and Scunthorpe).

Ryan – Finally, what’s your prediction for the game? I’m going for a 2-1 home win!

Mark – 4-1 to Leeds, our form is pathetic and I don’t see Leeds doing us any favours.

Thanks for taking part, enjoy the game!

Kasper Schmeichel was given leave to attend the birth of his son, so Jason Brown was in goal. The only other change from the team that beat Scunthorpe last week was Neill Collins, who played in place of Alex Bruce.

Over six thousand Leeds fans had helped to give Coventry their biggest attendance of the season so far, and it took less than four minutes until the travelling army had something to shout about when Jonny Howson put Leeds in front with his fourth goal in two. Robert Snodgrass got the assist, pulling the ball back to set Howson up for a headed goal.

A couple of chances fell at either end, but it was Jonny Howson who came closest, once again provided for by Robest Snodgrass, but this time the captain couldn’t get his header on target.

Leeds doubled their advantage five minutes before the break in spectacular style as Robert Snodgrass picked the ball at the edge of the area and cut inside his man to create space before firing a beautifully curled shot beyond Coventry’s keeper.

Leeds were deservedly in front at half time and Coventry could have no complaints about the scoreline. Both teams had their chances in the first period, but Leeds always looked more threatening going forward and it was clear from the body language of former Leeds loanee Gary McSheffrey that he wasn’t impressed with the service he’d received so far.

Seven minutes into the second half and Coventry were back in the game as Jutkiewicz headed home to lessen Leeds’ lead – I guess a clean sheet was beyond the realms of possibility?

Gary McSheffrey thought he’d levelled it for City, but was clearly offside and the linesman was quick to react. The frustration was clearly building for McSheffrey who had spent the week leading up to the match whining about Leeds not signing him permanently in the summer – the fact he impressed no one whilst on loan at Elland Road seems to have escaped him!

Leeds restored their two goal advantage courtesy of Richard Keogh who brought Max Gradel down in the box. Some dispute over who would take the penalty followed as it became apparent Leeds still didn’t have a first choice option, but it was Gradel who eventually stepped up and converted his second goal in two games.

The two goal cushion was short-lived though with Ben Turner making it 3-2 just minutes later. Leeds’ woeful defensive record continues, making us the only team in the top half of the Championship with a negative goal difference.

Just over 25 minutes remained and both teams were still going for it. Luciano Becchio thought he’d finished it after beating the home keeper, only to see his shot scuppered off the line by a defender. McSheffrey was a particular nuisance in the closing stages, but neither team could add another and Leeds left the Ricoh with all three points.

Ups and downs v Coventry City

Once again deployed as a lone striker, Luciano Becchio never posed much of a threat. Ultimately, he was unlucky not to be on the scoresheet after his shot was cleared from the line at 3-2, but that’s the only shot I can recall him having in the last two games – and he really should have scored!

Davide Somma must be considering his options after Grayson left our top goalscorer on the bench for the second game running? Minute for minute on the pitch, Somma has a vastly superior record to Becchio’s but Grayson keeps him out of the team for what I can only assume is the poor display v Cardiff – A game no one left with any real creditability!

Captain fantastic, Jonny Howson is a player transformed in this 4-5-1 formation. Simon Grayson finally took the captain off his leash before Scunthorpe and the result has been incredible.

The defence perhaps suffered from the absence of Kasper Schmeichel and yet another change from Simon Grayson, but the amount of goals we’re leaking continues to worry. Only two teams have conceded more than Leeds so far this season – one of  them are at the bottom of the table and the other not far off. It’s a good job we’re scoring for fun.

Despite the inconsistencies and lousy defensive record so far this season, the win takes Leeds up to eighth in the table with Hull City the visitors to Elland Road on Tuesday. Hull are really struggling at the minute and have managed just 10 goals in 15, so even our defence has a chance

TSS man of the match

Has to be Snodgrass. Gradel was once again lively and Howson had another good game, but Snoddy stole the show. A goal and an assist for the Scotsman signals a welcomed return to top form.

#01 – What a difference a week makes!

A 4-1 victory away to Scunthorpe United gave Leeds their first win in three. It also gave Simon Grayson some much needed breathing space after several heavy defeats had resulted in calls for a new manager.

#02 – Jonny Howson, the man, the God, the legend…

Another man who has come in for considerable criticism of late was Jonny Howson, but the midfielder was given license to attack against Scunthorpe and repaid Simon Grayson’s faith with a first career hattrick. Never doubted him for a second…

#03 – League One’s finest

Mike Grella dominated The Scratching Shed’s loan watch feature for the second week as he scored again at Carlisle to earn the Cumbrian’s a point. Davide Somma mark II perhaps?

#04 – McSheffrey unloved at Leeds

Former Elland Road loanee McSheffrey has spent the week whining ahead of this weekend’s visit to the Ricoh. McSheffrey arrogantly believes he deserved a contract in the summer after failing to impress pretty much everyone during his time at Leeds. Now scoring for fun at Coventry, you can pretty much guarantee he’ll come back to haunt us this weekend.

#05 – Hmmm…

Former Leeds United first team coach and now Coventry City boss, Aidy Boothroyd is the latest victim of Simon Grayson’s cunning. A mix of heavy defeats and free-scoring victories prompted Aidy to admit he didn’t have a clue what to expect from Leeds… Nor do most of the fans Aidy!

#06 – Bates: My cash cow is failing!

The lack of million-pound youngsters emerging from Thorp Arch over recent years left Ken Bates with no choice but to sack academy boss, Neil Thompson. His time in charge of the academy has been one of mass exodus with the majority of talent exiting for the Premier League reserve teams. Ken Bates has never been the sympathetic type though, and Thompson’s failure to produce a Fabian Delph every year was his ultimate downfall.

It’s believed Ken Bates’ restaurant and conference empire has been struggling without the aid of saleable youngsters to build new ones (on land we don’t own).

#07 – Thorp Arch – The sugar-coated reason

Of course, Ken Bates’ story is a little different from my own conclusions. The bearded maestro claims he wants to see a team of Yorkshire boys ruling the world and Thompson failed to produce the kind of talent he demanded.

#08 – Jay Bothroyd joins the ‘blame it on Leeds’ club

New president of the ‘blame everything on Leeds United society,’ Jay Bothroyd has been banned for the Cardiff and Swansea derby after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season. But it wasn’t his dangerous tackling or bad behaviour that earned him the ban – it was Leeds United. All the media attention following his horrendous lunge at Becchio forced the ref to book him! We’ve sent our sympathies.

#09 – Johnson wants more cash

We learnt this week that Bradley Johnson thinks he’s a superstar midfielder worthy of an over-inflated salary after talks for a three year contract extension broke down with the club. With only 29% of fans saying we should retain his services, it’s fair to say he won’t be missed.

#10 – New team required – August 2011 start!

If you’re one of the unfortunate people who has lost their job in these difficult financial times, you may be in luck. Leeds United will be looking for an entirely new team by August if they don’t agree new contracts soon with around a dozen players. All you need is a pair of football boots, a few years of spectating experience and a ‘he tries’ approach to the game. Crowd favourite guaranteed.

Obviously I’m joking. On paper, Harding’s goal was the difference, but in reality, it fails to show the reasons why theres such a difference in current form between these two sides.

The statistic that really tells it all about this game is that Leeds United had one shot on target throughout and very few chances besides. Southampton meanwhile were creating chances almost at will in the first half and were unlucky not to get the second when they had a goal ruled out by the ref.

Simon Grayson’s clearly irritated reaction after the match shows how frustrating it was for everyone that made the long journey south;

“The majority of the players didn’t turn up today and we didn’t play well, our passing was poor, as was our decision making.”

Southampton’s defence had no problems nullifying any Leeds attacking threat in the first half, which led to the increased use of the long ball, which was even less affective as the Saints two centre-backs cleared everything with ease.

Becchio and Beckford failed to cause any threat at all with the ball pumped long and high, rarely challenging for the headers and never winning them. No matter how much trouble we’re having getting through when the balls on the floor, it’s the only way Leeds should be using when we have two strikers with very little aerial presence.

For the reasons why Leeds’ defence started pumping the ball long and high, you have to look at the midfield. Time and time again possession was lost and given away cheaply by misplaced passes or poor control.

There were very few similarities between the team that destroyed Tranmere and the one that turned up here and Southampton thoroughly deserved the three points.

As bad as Leeds were, you can’t fail to acknowledge how well organised, hard-working and fluent in attack the Saints were. Alan Pardew is a very good manager that gets the basics right and leaves very little to chance. The strengthening he did in January should give Southampton an outside chance at the playoff positions, but if they fail to make the top six, they’ll walk this league with absolute ease next season.

You only have to look at the top goal-scorers list to see why Southampton are cruising and Leeds United are stuttering to the finishing line. Leeds have one player capable of 20+ a season, whilst Southampton have the top two in the league and plenty of others able to contribute.

I’ve said time and again that January was a massive failure for Leeds. I took some criticism at the time as people pointed towards McSheffrey and the permanent signing of Gradel, but the first was never likely to contribute many goals and the second we all knew would be an inconsistent bit-part player, capable of changing games one week, but having no influence the next. Neither were the second proven goalscorer we’ve missed all season that the best clubs in this league (including Southampton) have.

The clubs that did do well in January are now reaping the rewards, whilst those of us that didn’t do enough are struggling to match them. I don’t think it’s season over, and still believe we’ll go up automatically, but it could have been much, much easier and it’s games like these that show us what we could have achieved given one or two more astute signings.

Overall, what we witnessed was a well-oiled Saints side that could give every team in this league a good game. Pardew has built and developed an unstoppable force that will win this league outright next season if their dreams are shattered this time round and it won’t be long before they’re back in the hunt for a Premier League place.

Despite the result I’m quietly confident about the next few weeks. You take Norwich out of the list of upcoming fixtures and there’s a lot of winable games coming up starting on Monday when we host Millwall. The Southerners did destroy Charlton yesterday and are the form team at the minute so we’ll have to raise our game, but spurred on by a good crowd at Elland Road, I fancy we’ll take all three points. Keep fighting!

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.

Whilst I wanted to avoid a simple list of faults, there’s little else to focus on, so here goes;

1) The defence: Starting at the back and working my way forward then, I’ll start with the defence. Never has a team been so reliant on one player as we seem to be Patrick Kisnorbo. There’s no organisation without him, the closing down is slow and we look nervous under pressure.

I’ve always liked Richard Naylor, but I think this probably stems from his performances last season and the fact he’s a Leeds United fan. Being our captain, he’s unlikely to ever be replaced from the team and being a Leeds United fan, the fans are more tolerant of his poor displays than they would be Rui Marquis’ or Lubomir Michalik’s. The fact is however, age has caught up with him and he can no longer keep with the pace of League One. How he’d cope in the Championship is anyones guess, but I’m not too optimistic.

Clearly Kis has made the difference all season and that’s become blatently obvious by his absence. I’ve lost count of the amount of man of the match awards I’ve given him and I know others have always been of the same opinion. What I’d not realised was how much he was carrying Richard Naylor though. Looking back now, the best defensive pairing I’ve seen for Leeds this season was Rui and Kis early on. Ended by injury and the return of Naylor, but something I’d like to see reinstated as soon as possible.

It’s been too easy to make Lubo a scapegoat lately and we’ve all been guilty of it, but when the defence looks disorganised, sluggish and slow to close down, you can only turn to the captain to get it sorted and get them in gear. Nayls is failing miserably on that front at the minute.

The midfield: In an attacking sense we sometimes look OK. I’m willing to accept the new additions will take time to gel, but those thats been around longer don’t seem to be doing any better. Howson and Doyle have taken a lot of criticism from fans this season as they don’t play the pretty, attacking football like Snoddy and Johnson, but in their absence, it’s clear to see what they did do and that’s sure up the defence.

Doyle is an experienced player with a good head on his shoulders and is always there to get stuck in and win the ball before it becomes a defensive issue. He’s always back helping the defence when they are in danger too and the same can be said of Howson, which is why I’ve always been reluctant to criticise either players attacking play.

It’s all well and good having four attack minded players on the pitch when we’re in possession and moving forward, but as soon as the tables turn we’re looking weaker than ever and short on numbers as the opposition breaks. Whilst it’s good to see Simon using the squad more, I can’t help but feel he’s changing the dynamic of the squad with his changes, rather than the players for fresher ones.

Let’s take the introduction of Gradel as an example. Whilst I know the lads giving everything for Leeds and provides something different going forward, he isn’t Micky Doyle or Jonny Howson, who are both more defensive minded players in my mind. As a man for man replacement, we’re adding more players to one end of the park and losing them from the other changing the balance of the team entirely.

Now, I aren’t one of Andy Robinson’s biggest fans. It’s nothing personal, but I think the Leeds fans overrate him massively because ‘he tries’. However, the lad can mix it with the best of them, has a much more defensive nature to his game when needed and would be a much more suitable replacement when Doyle needs to be rested.

My other problem with the midfield is the final ball, or lack thereof. For the overwhelming amount of attacking players we have on the pitch, we’re producing very few clear cut chances in the oppositions half at the minute. Johnson resorted to shooting from anywhere and seemed to have brought his rugby boots with him and we never really looked all that much of a threat, despite dominating much of the game.

The attack: Finally we come to the attack, who can’t be blamed for anything as it all comes down to mismanagement for me. Luci gave everything but was replaced at half-time in favour of Grella, who also tried to get stuck in but the midfield created so few real chances that neither of them were ever likely to score.

Then there’s Beckford, and as much as we’ve missed him and need him back in the starting XI, he clearly wasn’t 100%. He just seemed a yard behind all the game and I was convinced he’d be replaced at half-time or around the sixty minute mark, but Luci was brought off instead.

So, do we no longer trust Grayson? I’ll support whoever Leeds’ manager is whilever they’re in the job and do believe Grayson will get it right again. Hopefully, he’ll do it sooner rather than later as failure to secure promotion will likely cost him his job. He’s a young manager whose team have hit a bad run and he needs to find a way to get them out of the rut. It’s that simple really and however much I criticise his decisions I still have faith in him and hope he can get us back on track.

…and that goal? The goal that didn’t look like a goal is irrelevant for me. Had Leeds performed well and lost to a dodgy decision I’d be calling for the linesman and referees head, but in truth it was no less than we deserved after failing to do anything with all the possession we had.

My biggest problem with it now is Casper is using it as an excuse for the defeat, as others in the team are no doubt doing too. It gives them an easy scapegoat to pin the blame on, but each and every one of them need to wake up and see the reality that they only have themselves to blame. Bemoaning your luck will get you nowhere. Getting your heads down, getting stuck in and giving the same kind of effort that we have for much of this season wins points, not pointing the finger and looking for someone else to blame.

I left Carlisle on Tuesday night feeling extremely bitter. The JPT for me was always a pointless competition I cared little about, but the opportunity to watch Leeds United play at Wembley once more was always tempting. My bitterness stemmed from quite possibly the worst referee I have ever seen. I usually try to ignore referee’s performances, because on the whole, the lower league ones are largely useless and both teams have to cope with their incompetence, but this referee was a special kind of moron.

Clearly, this ref had just got himself a new whistle and wanted to show it off to the 10,000 fans who he mistakenly believed had come to watch him. His whistle spent so much time in his mouth that the game hardly had a chance to flow early on, but he did seem to let up a little second half (presumably after a bollocking from someone) and the two teams were actually allowed to play football in small patches.

What was all the more irritating about this referee than the usual jobsworth was his inability to give a decision that actually mattered. If a player coughed near another one anywhere outside the penalty box then this was a definite free-kick in his mind. However, when a Leeds United player was fouled in the box for the most clear cut decision I saw all night, he gave nothing! The final blow for me though came at the very end when he decided to have the penalties taken infront of the Carlisle fans rather than at the opposite end which was split. The coin toss became a little more weighted in their direction at that point.

When the ref did stop to capture his breath, the game was actually a really good battle. The scoreline says it all really, but the comeback from Leeds United was magnificent. Both teams will be questioning some of the defending in the aftermath, most noticably Lubomir Michalik on our part who got himself two assists for Carlisle. Whenever it looked like it was over, Leeds United just didn’t give in and you could sense Mike Grella’s goal coming and just knew this was going down to the wire.

Carlisle for me didn’t deserve their place in the final, Leeds were the better team and but for some poor defending and a few dodgy decisions, we’d be playing in the most exciting JPT final the competition has ever seen infront of a capacity crowd at the national stadium. Without us, the final will hardly be thought of outside Carlisle, but we bow out of the competition with our heads held high and are now fully focused on what has been the number one priority all along. Promotion.

The ups

The fans – As always, the fans did Leeds United proud. We outsang the pitiful Carlisle fans throughout and even when our backs were to the wall facing a two goal mountain the songs just kept coming. MOT!

Never say die – The penalty shootout aside, this was a display from a spirited Leeds United who never gave up and carried on fighting no matter what the scoreline read and however stacked against us the odds were. This is the kind of display that will win Leeds United promotion, however bad the defence may be at times.

Attack, attack… attack, attack, attack! When the goals were needed and the referee kept his whistle out of his mouth for long enough and even without Jermaine Beckford (who would have probably got sent off with that ref) Leeds were good when on the front foot. Becchio should have done better with a couple of chances, but the build-up play from McSheffrey, Snoddy and Gradel was usually very good. Snoddy even managed to cross pretty well so long as the ball was moving. Corners on the other hand… Well, one step at a time…

The Downs

Luciano Becchio – Bitterly disappointed with Luci who bottled the penalty shoot-out, leaving our on-loan full-back to take the decisive penalty instead. Only one regular striker on the pitch in the absence of Beckford and he didn’t have the balls to step up and take a pen for Leeds. Whatever his reasons, he’s a striker and should always be taking them before the full-backs. Also could have done better infront of goal, but as a lone striker Grayson was asking a lot.

Max Gradel – Too much time with Jermaine Beckford has led to the youngster developing a serious attitude problem. The referee infuriated everyone, but shouting at him was never going to get you too far Max. There was one point where Kilkenny tried to calm him down only to receive a load of abuse too. His footballing display was good and he tried everything to give Leeds the edge, but his attitude overshadowed his performance. Lucky not to see a red card.

Lubomir Michalik – Dreadful. At times he made some good tackles and got the blocks in, but when taken into context with his mistakes, he was dreadful and cost us the game.

The tactics – Becchio as a lone striker? I know he’s found his shooting boots lately, but that was never a good idea. What on earth does Mike Grella have to do to get in the starting line-up at Leeds?

Can’t do a deadline day write-up without including the number one talking point of the last month or so. Some stories are still suggesting Beckford may leave today which I guess no one can rule out until the window closes, not least Leeds United.

If there’s no planned deal already – and some papers would have you believe he’ll be at Everton by tomorrow – then there’s always the possibility of a last second panic buy from any club who feel they haven’t quite brought in everyone they’d have liked. If that’s the case, and he does leave, then he leaves on the back of one of his finest displays against Colchester where he forged an instantly brilliant partnership with McSheffrey.

I’m torn as to whether I want him to stay or not. One part of me says no player can be fully commited with one eye on moving come May, whilst another part of me can’t help but think we need him to do what he does. Leaving today would be especially hard on Leeds as I doubt we have any replacement lined up, after Barnard snubbed us for Southampton.

Either way, whatever happens, I’ll hold no animosity towards Jermaine. He’s done well for Leeds United and no one should be criticised for wanting to excel in their career.

The signings so far

The only permanent addition thus far was that of Max Gradel, which will have delighted Leeds United fans after the youngster had an impressive loan spell with the club. He’ll now be fighting for a regular place in the first team and I wouldn’t bet against him after seeing him run the show away to Oldham earlier this season when he played for the entire 90 minutes.

Then there’s the loan signings, who in all fairness are easy to praise after their impressive contributions against Colchester. That said, I think if you’d have asked any Leeds United fan the areas we needed to strengthen in January, a lot would have suggested the full-backs needed sorting and I know many thought another attacking threat wouldn’t hurt. In Lowry and McSheffrey, Simon has delivered both. Whilst neither of them are permanent transfers, they’re both quality players who attracted a lot of interest from Championship clubs, and who Leeds have done well to acquire.

So, anyone else want to join the party?

Other than Simon Grayson suggesting he may be bringing others in, there’s very little been said about other possible additions. It’s hardly surprising really considering the way in which Leeds United have conducted business in recent years, but it does make TSS that little bit harder to write when no ones got a clue whats going on. I guess we’ll find out by the end of the day either way.