Is Rachubka part of a Blackpool masterplan to weaken their opposition so they can secure a return to the Premier League? Or was it Manchester United who trained him as a youngster so that he could humiliate Leeds United in years to come? And have we finally managed to sign a worse player than Tomas Brolin?

Whatever it was, I’m absolutely certain I don’t have the words to describe how bad his performance was last night. Only thirty minutes in and Leeds were 3-0 down, and all three goals were caused by Paul Rachubka’s dismal goalkeeping.

It was an absolute horrorshow of a performance; one which, in all my years of following this club, through all the highs and lows, I cannot compare to anything I’ve witnessed before. Make no mistake, Paul Rachubka made history last night.

It was like watching a complete breakdown happening right in front of you. Bemusement gave way to anger, anger gave way to booing, Paul Rachubka gave way to Alex Cairns. His career at Leeds United over in 45 minutes of football.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him personally. My reaction was one of stunned silence and pity, but those that booed did so justifiably. There was no other reaction for it – how else do you convey your frustrations after three amateurish errors?

Simon Grayson put Paul Rachubka out of his misery at half-time bringing on 18-year-old Alex Cairns to make his debut, but the damage was already done. Three goals down and with Tom Lees sent off for Paul Rachubka’s clumsiness, there was no way Leeds were going to get back into the game a man down.

It was the right move from Grayson. Paul Rachubka’s shattered confidence was only going to lead to further error, the defence had lost faith in him, the fans were on his back and it was an opportunity for Alex Cairns to make his debut free from any real pressure.

Leeds came out defiant and had Blackpool on the ropes for the first 15 minutes of the second half, but they quickly tired and the man advantage soon told with Blackpool knocking two further goals in to rub salt into our wounds.

Credit where it’s due, the two second half goals were quality from the Seasiders, with nothing young Alex Cairns could have done to stop them. But the writing was already on the wall, Leeds had beaten themselves. This wasn’t Blackpool coming to Elland Road and humiliating the Whites, the opposition were irrelevant. This was Leeds, or more specifically Rachubka humiliating Leeds.

Paul Rachubka made errors in his previous games and has been totally unconvincing dealing with balls into box, but there was no way anybody could have seen this coming. This is a goalkeeper whose pre-season displays impressed everyone, and who most felt would improve with a couple of games under his belt.

That wasn’t to be, and we’ve suffered a freak once-in-a-lifetime result as a consequence. His career at Leeds United is over, and that’s the end of it. Let’s not start calling for the head of our manager again and responding to defeat with the usual nonsense – we were on a seven game unbeaten run only a couple of games back after all, and that ability hasn’t just vanished over night.

We have to chalk this result up to a freak occurrence and concentrate on how we’re going to bounce back v Leicester City.

There’s some tough decisions to be made between now and then. Does Simon Grayson bring someone in or put his faith in young Alex Cairns, and who do we play in the centre of defence with Tom Lees suspended?

While Simon Grayson ponders those choices, Leeds fans should take solace in the fact we don’t get humiliated often, and when we do – we usually bounce back in style. Take the hammering at home to Cardiff City last season as an example which was followed by an unbeaten run that propelled us up the Championship.

Leeds will be looking to respond to this humiliation, and we have to believe that the lads are capable of doing so. All that matters now is how we respond on Sunday.

“No matter how hard the loss, defeat might serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out” Al Gore

Highlights of this match are available on The Revie Way. 

Leeds United 1 (Howson) Wycombe Wanderers 1 (Pittman) 
Elland Road, 09-01-2010

Not a vintage performance from Leeds, who, as usual insisted on doing things the hard way, but a great result to round off the year. Credit where it’s due for Stockport though who gave us a good game and attacked throughout.

Massive thanks to the fans of Stockport too who helped clear the pitch and stands so todays game could go ahead.

“I’ve had a brief chat with Jermaine and I will speak to him again on Monday. We will deal with it internally and get to the bottom of it but these things happen all the time”

Not sure this is the kind of thing I want happening all the time, but hopefully Grayson has made Beckford regret his actions. No word from Jermaine as yet and since he rarely does any interviews at all, I aren’t holding my breath for a public apology.

A lot has been said about the fans reaction to his antics, but the fans are well within their rights to boo a player who has shown such disregard to the management. This isn’t the kind of behaviour that will be tolerated by the Leeds fans, and whilst I accept the strop may have risen from passion and frustration, it doesn’t make it any more acceptable. Beckford isn’t bigger than the team. He needs to learn that.

Anyway, the highlights of yesterdays action are below, including Beckford’s reaction to his number coming up.

I was just browsing through the Leeds United section on BBC Sport and found a nice little audio clip from Simon Grayson’s interview with Radio Leeds included in the reaction page to yesterdays win.

The clip from Simon Grayson on BBC Radio Leeds is just the start of the BBC’s extended coverage this season. The Football League Show and Match of the Day are available on the brilliant BBC iPlayer which is undoubtedly the best addition to the BBC’s service in many years, whilst the goals from previous league fixtures are available on the site too. Here you can see the Jermaine Beckford brace that secured us three points against Exeter City on the opening day this season.

The BBC also continues to help those that can’t get to matches by publishing a live feed on their site with details of what’s going on. Add that to the news, stats and 606 features and the BBC have to be applauded for their efforts.

I know a lot of you think the license fee is unreasonable, and perhaps it is? £142.50 a year is a lot of money for a couple of TV channels, but when you consider everything else they’re spending it on these days I think they’re doing a good job. Sky Sports were the ones that made football more expensive when they came in and threw money at the game to capture the monopoly. On a much tighter budget that has to be spread across many services, the BBC has really delivered the goods in spite of Sky’s financial might and continued reign.

The BBC should be congratulated for the service they deliver to the millions of football fans across this nation. They take a lot of stick when they get something wrong but are rarely praised for the things they get right.