Leeds made it back to back home wins thanks to another late winner from in-form striker, Ross McCormack. Simon Grayson made two changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace with Adam Clayton and Aidy White returning to the starting eleven. The game also saw the return of Neil Kilkenny to Elland Road.

The whites got off to a perfect start thanks to a 3rd minute goal from Adam Clayton. Clayton, returning to the side from injury, fired Leeds ahead with a fierce left footed strike into the top corner, after some good work from Robert Snodgrass. Leeds threatened to double their lead moments later when Andy Keogh was put through on goal, only to be denied by ex England stopper, David James.

Leeds were made to pay and on 11 minutes, the inevitable happened. After some sloppy play in midfield, the ball was played to Neil Kilkenny, who uncharacteristally lashed the ball off the crossbar and past Andy Lonergan on his return to Elland Road. Kilkenny wasted no time in heading towards the West Stand to goad chairman Ken Bates. Leeds had the better of the chances towards the end of the second half with McCormack having a shot deflected wide and Keogh being inches away from scoring his first Leeds goal after a dangerous ball in from the lively McCormack.

The second half got off to a relatively slow start with a few half chances for Leeds, so on the hour mark, Simon Grayson decided to bring on Luciano Becchio for Ramon Nunez, hoping for the subsitute to have a similar impact to last week against Crystal Palace. Moments later though, the game took a turn for the worst when Paddy Kisnorbo saw red for a foul inside the area on Bristol striker Nicky Maynard. Maynard stepped up to take the penalty, which he hit straight down the middle, only to be saved by the legs of the impressive Andy Lonergan. This spurred on the crowd but Leeds were always going to be up against it with 10 men. Leigh Bromby was brought on to bolster the defence and then Simon Grayson brought on Finnish international, Mikael Forsell with the hope of grabbing all three points.

The game seem destined to end as a draw but with just over five minutes to go, Becchio headed a Leigh Bromby throw-in into the path of McCormack who poked his fifth goal in four games past David James. A nervy few minutes ensued as Bristol piled on the pressure, but Leeds held out for another unconvincing home win.

Yorkshire derbies seldom go to plan for The Whites and Bradford City came to Elland Road determined to continue that tradition.

There were starts for Ramon Nunez, Lloyd Sam and Ben Parker as several first team regulars were away on international duty, but it was those that remained which would give Leeds United fans the most cause for concern as the evening’s events unfolded.

The biggest problem area remains the defence which was all over the place when Bradford City took the lead through a Jack Compton goal just after the half hour mark. Through a crowded defence, Compton managed to pull away and find space for a shot that left Andy Lonergan with no chance.

The general reaction within the ground was that Ben Parker was at fault as he allowed Compton to pull away without giving chase. And it’s true that Parker should definitely share the blame, but the defence were so badly organised that our two centre-backs are nowhere near the centre of defence when the shot was fired almost dead centre. The lack of organisation meant both Patrick Kisnorbo and Andy O’Brien had been left clumsily scratching their heads at the left-hand side of goal, whilst Ben Parker – who in my opinion should be covering the far post in this situation – was caught in two minds as the only defender remaining. There’s no escaping the fact he should have chased, but had he done so, it would have been just as easy for Compton to lay the ball off to whoever was coming in at the back post and then we’d have complained he was out-of-position. The fact is, the entire defence was at fault.

After a disappointing first half, Leeds United came out on fire and Ramon Nunez equalised within 30 seconds. Lloyd Sam did incredibly well to somehow work his way through a crowd of Bradford City players to tee Nunez up for the equaliser and his first goal as a Leeds United player. What Lloyd Sam lacks in the skill and trickery department, he more than makes up for with an unrelenting determination.

Lapse defending was to blame once again however as Michael Flynn restored Bradford City’s lead on 57 minutes. Andy O’Brien will once again come in for criticism here, and it seems Simon Grayson agreed as he decided to replace O’Brien with Leigh Bromby just five minutes later. Tom Lees was also brought on to replace Paul Connolly. Two changes in defence when trailing by a goal tells you all you need to know about The Whites’ performance up to this point.

On a more positive note, Ramon Nunez always looked a threat, Lloyd Sam worked tirelessly throughout and Ross McCormack was constantly on the move trying to create space and chances for himself. And it was McCormack who leveled for The Whites on 69 minutes, latching on to an incredible cross from Tom Lees to head home his first goal of the season and restore parity at Elland Road.

Leeds were starting to look more and more threatening going forward with Ross McCormack and Ramon Nunez showing the potential to forge a strong partnership up front. On several occasions, McCormack showed his ability to create space for a shot and was unlucky not to get a second with a couple of well-struck long range efforts. Nunez meanwhile was at times let down by a bit of rustiness in his control, but was always giving Bradford something to think about. Neither can really be classed as an orthodox striker, McCormack for example was still working his way back from defence at one point whilst half The Whites squad were up the other end of the field attacking and he does have a tendency to drift back into central midfield, but between the two of them, we may just be on to something.

Leeds eventually sealed victory when a Lloyd Sam cross was spilled by the Bradford City keeper gifting Ramon Nunez his second Leeds United goal with just 15 minutes remaining. From there on out, Leeds United dominated and retained possession well. City did manage a couple more half chances, most notable of which was a hit-and-hope attempt from the wing that Andy Lonergan had to peddle back and save at full-stretch, but we came through in the end to progress to the second round.

Conclusions

Credit to Bradford City, they came fired up for the battle and gave a very good account of themselves making this a thrilling Yorkshire derby match. What I particularly like about City is that they aren’t a side who spends half the match complaining to the referee when a decision goes against them or he misses something. Case in point, Leigh Bromby shoved their forward to the ground in an off-the-ball situation, but instead of rolling around like most Premier League (and Championship for that matter) players would have done, he got up and went over to the referee playing down the incident with Bromby, shook hands and left it at that. They’re not a team who ruins the game with constant whinging and moaning, they simply get stuck in and get on with it. I admire that it any team.

As for Leeds, the defence is a still a total shambles. The only positives I can take from this is that Ben Parker got 90 minutes under his belt – he needs games to get back to his old self unfortunately – and that Simon Grayson identified Andy O’Brien as a weakness and gave Leigh Bromby and Tom Lees a chance to impress. Both Lees and Bromby looked an improvement to me and should be considered ahead of O’Brien who is clearly lacking fitness this weekend.

Micheal Brown looked a lot better than he did against Southampton and seemed to time his tackling a lot better too. Adam Clayton is an absolute warrior who I’m quickly falling in love with (he hasn’t got a bad shot on him either) and Lloyd Sam was an example every player should follow – absolutely tireless.

Other positives were Ramon Nunez and Ross McCormack, but I think I rattled on about them enough above?

Overall, we’re still not the finished article but in the second half we performed much better than we did last week against The Saints. Conceding two goals against a League Two side is a concern and one which needs to be addressed quickly, but at least we have some positives to take from this game unlike last week. On and on…

Leeds United	3	2	Bradford City
Ramon Nunez			Jack Compton
Ross McCormack			Michael Flynn
Ramon Nunez
Elland Road (Att. TBC)
League Cup 2011-12, August 9th 2011

Leeds were gifted a late equaliser to salvage a point against Watford in a match they should really have won.

Simon Grayson set his Leeds side out in what looked like a 4-4-2 with Davide Somma and Max Gradel up front. Luciano Becchio dropped to the bench alongside loanees Barry Bannan and Jake Livermore.

It was a frustrating first half, replicating much of what we’ve seen this season – the Whites reluctant to pass it around and instead hitting long balls up front to Max Gradel who was being marked by Watford’s Martin Taylor – an absolute giant of a man. My little brother turned to me after the game and said “it’s like we only want 45 minutes to try to win the game.” If a nine year old can see what we’re doing wrong, I’d hope Grayson and the players realise long balls to our smallest player probably isn’t the way forward.

Gradel was putting himself about and making a nuisance of himself while Davide Somma was adding to the frustration of the fans inside Elland Road with a surprising lack of movement. Aside from Neil Kilkenny shooting wide after a bit of head tennis, there were no real clear cut chances until right before half time when Snodgrass popped up on the left and flashed the ball across the area to be met by Max Gradel who, stretching, managed to divert the ball onto the bar when he should have scored.

The second half started in a similar way and United had the first real scare as the visitors’ Don Cowie hit the woodwork but saw the ball fall safely into Kasper Schmeichel’s hands. The introduction of Luciano Becchio for Neil Kilkenny acted to lift the 30000 Elland Road crowd. Becchio made an immediate impact linking up play and winning free-kicks and suddenly Leeds looked much more dangerous. It wasn’t until Simon Grayson made another change though that we really kicked into gear. Barry Bannan came on for Davide Somma and it was the Aston Villa loanee’s excellent delivery from a free-kick that set up Leeds’ first goal. Bannan placed the ball right onto Becchio’s head three yards out and the Argentine duly obliged. Elland Road exploded in euphoric relief.

The crowd were doing their part to keep the energy up but there’s always danger that Leeds will switch off and make silly mistakes and, predictably – after Becchio had blazed a sitter over the bar – it happened just a few minutes later. Watford were passing the ball around the area and Leeds were standing off and failing to get a foot in. Eventually Cowie sent in a deep cross and it was met by the diminutive Lee Hodson who had been allowed to wander freely into the area and nod home unchallenged.

It was a nervy finish for all those inside Elland Road and there was a feeling the game could tip either way. Again, excellent delivery from Bannan led to another chance as Gradel was denied on the line and the ensuing scramble was eventually cleared. A few minutes before full time though it looked like we’d thrown it away as Andy O’Brien went to ground in the box but lost the ball to Danny Graham who squared for substitute Andreas Weimann who could hardly miss. It was a sickening blow and looked likely be a fatal in our play-off hopes.

Strangely though, luck seemed to be on our side briefly as another Barry Bannan delivery, this time from a corner, was inexplicably sliced into the net by Watford striker Troy Deeney. With two minutes left, spurred on by a noisy crowd, both sides seemed to want to go for the win and not settle for a point. The game ended abruptly and strangely as Leeds won a corner, the atmosphere again beginning to bubble with a sense of urgency and anticipation, only for the referee to blow for full-time before we could take it.

Generally you should be thankful for an 88^th minute equaliser but it definitely felt like we’d thrown away two points. It certainly puts added pressure on our remaining fixtures.

There weren’t many outstanding shouts for a man-of-the-match. Eric Lichaj and Leigh Bromby were the most assured of our defenders while Max Gradel was typically energetic and enthusiastic. Becchio looked hungry when he came on and grabbed his goal but had to be taken off injured after being on for less than half an hour. Bradley Johnson did his job well for the most part and can’t really be criticised for his performance but, for me, it would have to go to Barry Bannan – simply because he changed the game and we may not have scored if it hadn’t been for his outstanding delivery.

More dropped points means it’s looking a lot harder for us to retain our play-off place. It’s going to be a nervy few weeks.

Thanks to Mike Parkin for joining us this week. Mike is co-presenter on Watford podcast ‘From the Rookery End’ – you can hear the podcast or read more of Mike’s writing on Watford at www.fromtherookeryend.com and follow him on twitter at @rookerymike.

Ryan - It’s been nearly 8 months since we last met at Vicarage Road when Leeds were 1-0 winners. Has much changed for Watford since then?

Mike - Off the pitch, it looks like a takeover is virtually complete, which will hopefully bring some much needed financial stability to the club.  On the pitch, Watford found their scoring boots since your visit back in August and in Danny Graham we have the League’s leading scorer. We have however lost loanees Jordon Mutch and Andrew Taylor back to their parent clubs which has proved to be significant -  our form has fluctuated since they left.

The game at Vicarage Road in August has proved to be one of the poorest of the season involving Watford, I’d expect a much better diplay (from both sides!) at Elland Road on Saturday.

Ryan – How has your season turned out compared to your expectations at the start of the season?

Mike - Compared to what we expected, this season has been fantastic. Most Watford fans will admit that avoiding relegation was the primary target so to have been in and around the play-offs for most of the season has been as fun as it has been unexpected. We’ve played some great football too.

We’ve score a hatfull of goals which is always good to see, and we’ve had some memorable away wins, inluding the 6-1 demolition of Milwall and the 3-1 victory at Champions elect QPR. We were tipped my many to go down before the season began, so to register those sort of results and stay up with ease has been a source of great pride for us Hornets.

Ryan - Do you think you are still in with a shout of making the play-offs? Is Saturday the last throw of the dice?

Mike - Realistically we’ve got too much to do to make the top six now. It would take an extraordinary sequence of events to see us in the play-offs, so we’ll just sit back and enjoy our summer!

I always feel for the fans of clubs involved in the play-offs – it’s really hard to enjoy them if you are involved. Having said that, we had one of the most stress free experiences in the play-offs when we beat Crystal Palace 0-3 in the first leg away from home, meaning we were as good as in the Final already. We then had a similarly comfortable victory in the Final at Cardiff, although out of respect for you and your readers, I won’t dwell on that match!

Ryan - We had Danny Graham, the league’s top scorer, on loan at Elland Road a few years back and he’s been on red hot form this season. Do you think you’ll be able to keep hold of him in the summer?

Mike - We have to accept that if the right offer comes in for Danny, the likelihood is he will go. Of course we would love to keep him, but a big fee would go a long way to helping the club steady the financial ship. No Watford fan would want to see him go though, and deep down I’d be devastated if he left.

His finishing is excellent, but it is his work rate and movement that make him such a valuable asset. I’ll throw in an obscure fact for you too – Danny Graham is the reigning Watford FC table tenis champion. I’m not sure if that increases his value at all!

Ryan – Who else should we be looking out for in your team?

Mike - Martin Taylor has been immense at Centre Back. Watch out for his runs forward (he’s a big lad, so is hard to miss!), he can be a menace in the opposition box. Will Buckley is a tricky winger who has given most defences a hard time, whilst our midfield maestro Don Cowie is up there with the best assist statistics in the division. Oh, and Lloyd Doyley of course. Legend.

Ryan - If you could sign one current Leeds player for Watford, who would it be?

Mike - If we could turn back the clock, I’d take Tony Yeboah off your hands. I’d love to have seen him smashing a few in off the underside of the crossbar at Vicarage Road. Of the current crop, I wouldn’t mind us putting in a cheeky offer for Robert Snodgrass. He looks like the real deal. You can keep Leigh Bromby though.

Ryan - The Championship 2010/11: 3 up, 3 down?

Mike - Up: QPR, Cardiff and Swansea. Rangers have cracked it, whilst I can’t see Cardiff blowing it again. Swansea have been pretty consistent and play some decent stuff under Rodgers, so I’ll go with them to sneak up via the play-offs.

Down: Sheffield United, Preston and Scunny. All as good as gone already I think. Crystal Palace seem to be finding some form at the right time, so I think it will be the three currently occupying the relegation spots that disappear through the trapdoor.

Ryan - Finally, what’s your prediction for the game? I’m saying Leeds to edge it 2-1.

Mike - Leeds will be up for this in front of a noisy crowd, whilst Watford may be starting to think that the season is over. On the other hand, it’s a massive game for Leeds, whilst Watford have nothing to lose…anything could happen! I’ll go with my head and not my heart this time – Leeds to win 2-0.

No one likes a cliché so I’ll get it out of the way early: it was a game of two halves.

After the stumble against Sheffield United and the distraction of the international break, the Whites got their promotion push back on track with a vital 4-1 win over play-off rivals Nottingham Forest.

The game started in the way that’s been typical of Leeds this season. We were panicking all over the pitch, giving up possession easily and inviting Forest to attack us. Whenever we did have the ball we lacked any sort of invention or vision and resorted to long balls up to Becchio who was being outmuscled by both central defenders. We we’re lucky to hold on and last ditch defending saved us on a number of occasions.

The biggest talking point of the half and probably the game came about ten minutes before half time as Forest midfielder Chris Cohen went flying into George McCartney in an effort to get the ball. A mass brawl broke out as players from both sides flew into the melee. There’s been some debate about the dismissal as Cohen seemed to get a foot on the ball but it’s clear to see why he walked. Billy Davies can moan all he wants about Leeds players and staff getting Chris Cohen sent off but it was the Forest player who went flying into the challenge with both feet off the ground. It was one of those that was correct but Forest would say it was harsh.

It was the perfect time to push ahead as we’d seen glimpses of Barry Bannan’s footwork and passing and with a man advantage we should have been spraying the ball about and making them chase it but no, in typical Leeds fashion it was going long up to Becchio and we were desperate to get inside for the break and regroup.

As the score-line suggests, the second half was completely different. Within five minutes we were one up through Jonny Howson who was anonymous in the first half but got better and better as the game went on. Snodgrass and Lichaj combined down the right to play in Howson who coolly took a touch to set himself before smashing past Forest ‘keeper, Lee Camp from six yards.

The goal seemed to give us confidence and it felt like we had another goal in us. Luciano Becchio, who was fighting hard but not getting much joy, was in the right place at the right time to nick a goal after Bromby’s header rebounded off the post. Minutes later we could have made it comfortable as Snodgrass cut inside on his left foot on the edge of the area and hit a fantastic curling effort against the bar.

Leeds looked to be playing with more confidence until Forest got one back. Forest man Garath McCleary scored a good curling effort but what drew most of the attention was Nathan Tyson grabbing hold of Leigh Bromby who began pushing and grabbing back as they ran a good twenty yards into the area and we’re practically squared up by the time McCleary hit his shot. Nerves were shaken inside Elland Road and the game could have potentially tipped either way as the game became a very scrappy affair with numerous physical battles and scuffles all over the pitch.

Luckily we managed to tip the balance our way when Max Gradel took one touch to set himself up before firing a brilliant volley into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. The man advantage was beginning to pay as Forest started to look tired. Simon Grayson brought on new man Jake Livermore for the impressive Barry Bannan and the Spurs loanee made an impact with some good passing and then a fantastic turn in the box before firing at the Forest ‘keeper. Becchio followed up but forced an impressive reaction save only for the ball to bounce out to Gradel to finish emphatically.

The exciting, free-flowing second half more than made up for dire first. The fact that Forest boss, Billy Davies, seemed so upset after the game and demonstrated one of his most ungracious post-match interviews probably suggests we were good for the win. However, there’s no doubt the sending off did affect the game though probably not as much as Billy Davies would like to think. Forest can feel as robbed as they just weren’t that good, neither we were but we managed to score four goals.

As far as a man-of-the-match is concerned, there are strong arguments for a few players and in truth it’s hard to decide. Barry Bannan looked classy in midfield, demonstrating an excellent first touch, great passing, good pace and strength in the tackle. Max Gradel would be an obvious choice for two well-taken goals but he also showed glimpses of the most frustrating Max we know, delaying passes and trying to take on one too many players. Jonny Howson imposed himself more on the game as it went on and Leigh Bromby was fantastic throughout, showing desire and defending well, and gave one of his best performances in a Leeds shirt.

Leeds headed down to Bramall Lane with hopes of an easy three points. Sheffield United are stuck in a relegation fight and it was a chance to really push on in our attempts to cement a play-off place.

In the end Leeds hardly turned up and may have been better off saving the petrol money for the sixty odd mile round trip to South Yorkshire as we went down 2-0 to the Blades.

The opening stages didn’t really hint at what was to come with Max Gradel heading just wide from an Eric Lichaj cross when he really should have scored. Still, we miss plenty of chances but usually make up for them with plenty of goals. However, it wasn’t to be and soon enough the Whites were on the back foot and should have been one down when Bogdanovic was found unmarked (the nearest Leeds defender was in a different time zone) seven yards out but his finish lacked conviction and was smothered by Kasper Schmeichel. It seems a recurring theme this season that Schmeichel has been there to mop up after catastrophic defending and yet again we were lucky to escape.

Again and again Kasper came to the rescue and was probably our best player, though the rest of the team left little to be desired. It was because of Schmeichel that we were able to hang on until half time and head in to regroup.

The Blades kept up the pressure in the second half though and took the lead ten minutes in through an Eric Lichaj own goal. Quinn and Montgomery were allowed to wander through the Leeds defence without coming across anything resembling a tackle and it was Montgomery’s low cross along the goal mouth that was diverted in by Lichaj. To be fair to the young American, he was stretching for it and it would have been tapped in at the far post had he not got a touch. 1-0 down.

After the early pressure in the first half, Larry had changed from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 pushing Gradel up front and Howson dropping out wide. Gradel was as energetic as usual if not really effective while Howson really was a spare part, having little impact. Being a goal down in a game we were expected to win comfortably, fans were looking to Grayson to make changes and after a while he did – a straight swap, Paynter on for Becchio. I’m pleased for Paynter getting his first Leeds goal in midweek but I still can’t understand how he’s pushed ahead of Somma in the pecking order.

Micky Adams wasn’t afraid to make changes of his own and it was substitute Bjorn Helge Riise who, minutes after coming on, wandered into the penalty area and was able to drive his finish low through Schmeichel’s legs. It was Howson who let Riise wander away unmarked, compounding a miserable day for our captain.

The second goal finished it and Grayson bringing on Somma and Watt for McCartney and Snodgrass was far too little far too late. Neither sub was able to make any real impact and it was a tall order to try and claw back from two goals down with just fifteen minutes remaining.

It became evident it just wasn’t our day as a goal-line scrap saw both Gradel and Bromby attempt to stab the ball home but in the end it was cleared easily. Our miserably day was rounded off when Paynter was sent off right late on for an off the ball stamp. If you’re searching for a silver lining it may be that Somma should get a chance now Big Billy is suspended.

The worrying thing about the defeat was that, not only did it mean successive games not scoring – very unusual for this season but, we were completely outplayed by the lowest scorers in the whole Football League, currently in a relegation battle while we are pushing for promotion. As well as this, the performance seemed to lack any really fight or desire and it’s a big concern if the players are unable to get up for a Yorkshire derby while pushing for promotion to the Premier League.

As mentioned before Kasper was probably our best player but Barry Bannan also showed some promising glimpses. It may be that the players are pretty tired and couldn’t put in the sort of determined, dogged performance we saw earlier in the season away to Watford, where we ground out a 1-0. Let’s hope the international break serves as a good rest for the squad and they can bounce back against Forest in what is going to be a massive match in the promotion push for both teams.

It was Friday evening by the time everyone had finished messing around and we finally boarded a London-bound train for our trip to the Emirates. Whilst the excitement of this tie was nothing compared to the Old Trafford fixture twelve months previous, this was still a chance to remind the Premier League what they’re missing and the Leeds United fans were heading south in numbers to remind them of that.

Already pretty tipsy by the time we reached our hotel – which was somewhere in the middle of Chelsea and Fulham and a good six miles from the Emirates – the natural destination for such weary travellers was the hotel bar. Here we indulged ourselves further and by midnight I was on Twitter talking to the lad from The Chelsea Blog and seeking directions to nearby nightclubs. “I assume it’s cocktails you’re after?” brought the confused northerners response of “Like lager and lime?”

Anyway, we eventually found a bar in which we must have stood out like sore thumbs as we instantly attracted the attention of yet more Chelsea fans. Nice enough lads who made the Leeds United fans look like absolute amateurs when it comes to hating Bates and also guided us to a nearby nightclub.

I tell you this more as advice for anyone planning to attend away games in the future. When the majority of your group decide midnight is a good time to get some sleep so you can fully enjoy the next day, that is not some kind of mental prop-bet, but sound advice you probably should listen to. Instead, it was 5am by the time I passed out.

The next morning, a naked Tara Reid standing at a steam filled bathroom doorway trying to entice me in could not have motivated me to get out of bed such was my level of exhaustion and the pounding in my head. By the time I did pull myself together, took a shower and had breakfast it was about an hour before kick-off with six miles of London to cover – doesn’t sound like much, but London is like a permanent carpark.

Luckily, we made it to the Emirates in time for kick-off and were treated to another defiant FA Cup performance from Simon Grayson. Clearly, no one has told the Leeds United boss that the FA Cup has lost it’s magic as it was only a soft penalty late on that kept Arsenal from crashing out of the competition at the third round for the first time in Wenger’s 15 years.

Everything that can be said about this match has probably been written and re-written so many times by now that if you printed all the pages out you could create a trail from Leeds to London and back again. Rather than follow suit and cover every detail of a match we’ve all seen (three times in my case), I want to address some of the negative comments a couple of players have attracted despite an outstanding team effort that saw one of Europe’s best teams struggle to beat us.

Firstly, Ben Parker seems to have come in for an inordinate amount of stick on the Leeds United forums and blogs. Very few have directly linked their critical comments to the soft penalty at the death, but I think it’s safe to say he wouldn’t be receiving 90% of what he has if that penalty had never happened.

I wholeheartedly agree that by the end of that game Ben Parker was struggling. I also agree that from the off, he wasn’t fully fit and he was probably the weakest link in the team. He did get beat time and time again, but so did Paul Connolly on the opposite wing, yet no one seems to have mentioned that? Of course Parker and Connolly got beaten several times – they are two full-backs worth a combined total that is equal to Cech Febregas’ right bollock.

Ben Parker has also spent the majority of his career injured, so it’s going to take time for him to get back to his best. Unfortunately, getting Parker back to his best requires playing him whilst he’s not at his best – this too seems to have drawn criticism. Apparently, it’s OK to play him… but not for Arsenal!

Say what? The same game we all felt players should be rested for to prevent our league campaign being affected? That Arsenal? Let’s at least attempt to have some consistency.

My other major gripe is the stick Bradley Johnson has received for one incident where he got crowded out very quickly by four Arsenal players. This, for some reason, seems to have been the only moment of the entire match used to assess Bradley Johnson’s performance by some fans.

Bradley Johnson – once again – had an excellent game. Both himself and Howson in centre midfield covered every blade of grass, closed down every player, forced mistakes and were alert enough to intercept passes. Yet, Howson was a hero and Bradley Johnson receives mixed reviews because he got caught out once in 90 minutes against a Champions League side. Probably best that we sack him then I suppose…

My problem with these knee-jerk comments is that this is typical Leeds United. We pull off a surprise result at the Emirates – a game we all expected to lose convincingly – and still find reasons to complain. This was one of those games where whatever happened, didn’t matter. Let’s leave it at that and rate the players accordingly;

Schmeichel 11, Parker 10, Bruce 10, O’Brien 10, Connolly 10, Watt 10, Johnson 10, Snodgrass 10, Howson 10, Gradel 10, Becchio 10. Subs: Bromby 10, Hughes 10, Somma 10.

TSS man of the match

Every single player did Leeds United proud on Saturday, but Kasper Schmeichel stood head and shoulders above everybody and pulled off a string of top-class saves to frustrate Arsenal’s team of internationals. Cesc Fabregas said he hoped Schmeichel got man of the match… who are we to argue?

McCormack is finding his scoring boots

Leeds played a behind closed doors friendly at Elland Road on Tuesday. The game finished 2-2 against visiting Rochdale who included ex-Leeds man Anthony Elding in their squad.

The match was originally scheduled for Thorp Arch but was moved to Elland Road due to the weather conditions.
The Leeds side was comprised of fringe players to give them some playing time going into the Christmas period. Ross McCormack netted both goals for the Whites, putting them ahead before equalising with a great long distance shot after Rochdale had hit back twice.

It was an attacking side including Lloyd Sam, Sanchez Watt, Ross McCormack, Davide Somma and Billy Paynter. Watt was effective, playing a part in McCormack’s first goal and it’ll be promising for Simon Grayson that the Arsenal loanee is recovering well from his recent injury while it’s good for all concerned to see that McCormack is finding his scoring boots going into a hectic fixture schedule.

Grayson had praised Leigh Bromby, who played in a reserve friendly last week, for his performance when he returned to the first team against QPR. Reserve team coach, Neil Redfearn, cited these behind closed door friendlies as important in players’ preparations for first team action.

The match also saw playing time for Ben Parker – another boost for Grayson who will want as many players fit and raring to go as the fixtures come thick and fast.

Gaining fitness

The news of Ben Parker and Billy Paynter completing 90 minutes for the reserves will be music to the ears of most Leeds United fans after the disappointing display against Leicester City on Tuesday night.

Ben Parker has had continuous injury problems since Simon Grayson took charge at Elland Road and the manager has had little luck trying to fill the void, with several failures brought in including Federico Bessone and the dreadful Tony Capaldi.

Meanwhile, summer signing Billy Paynter was injured shortly after joining Leeds United. The striker has had to wait over two months to make his Leeds United début after injuring his shin during the clubs pre-season tour of Slovakia.

The 2-1 reserve defeat to Stoke City also saw Ramon Nunez score for Leeds United, whilst Simon Grayson said it was pleasing to see Leigh Bromby, Alex Bruce and Aidy White get some much needed time on the pitch.

It’s puzzling to see no mention of sidelined keeper Kasper Schmeichel who was said to be a possibility for Saturday’s clash against Middlesbrough on the BBC’s red button service. It will be interesting to see whether there’s any mention of the Dane before Monday nights clash against Cardiff City.

Overall, there’s a lot of welcomed good news for Leeds United fans. An inconsistent start to the season has no doubt been in part down to the injuries some key players have been suffering with. With twelve games gone, the Whites currently sit a very respectable 10th and with players returning all the time we should be able to build on that.

#01 – Revenge is sweet!

We’d waited a long time to avenge our play-off defeat against Watford, but a trip to Vicarage Road this week provided the ideal opportunity. A dismal display of hoof-ball football from both teams was won by Leeds, as the Whites recorded their first away win and first clean-sheet of the 2010-11 season.

#02 – Richard Naylor can defend after all?

We learnt this week that Richard Naylor isn’t so bad after all! Scoring the only goal (in the right net this time) and giving a decent defensive performance against Watford was enough to earn our ageing captain the man of the match. Unfortunately, the game was so slow that we could have pulled Jack Charlton out of retirement for an encore and had no trouble keeping up. It remains to be seen whether Naylor’s improved performance can carry over into a pacier match.

#03 – Premature end to Somma-time

We learnt this week that three goals in 110 minutes doesn’t guarantee you a game at Simon Grayson’s Leeds United. Davide Somma appears to be bursting with confidence and believes he can replace the goals Jermaine Beckford scored, but Simon Grayson moved quickly to quash our hopes and drag the striker back down to earth with an expectancy-lowering speech.

#04 – David Batty chooses appropriate career choice

Old news for some, but I learnt this week that David Batty has become a qualified butcher since retiring from football and now plans to open up a mega-butcher complex in Carlisle. An appropriate career choice for a man who could be absolutely brutal on the pitch. We wish Batts every success.

#05 – We don’t produce quality youngsters anymore

We learnt this week that the days of Aaron Lennon’s and James Milner’s teeming out of the Thorp Arch academy may well be over, as Simon Grayson told fans he’d signed Adam Clayton because the club doesn’t have many quality youngsters between the age of 18-21. A great motivational speech from the gaffer which the likes of Darville, Lees, Milne and Elliot are sure to take confidence from?

#06 – Goodbye deadwood…

A total of twelve players have left Elland Road over the summer as Simon Grayson attempts to clear the club of it’s deadwood. With the likes of Andy Robinson and Leigh Bromby still adding a touch of glamour to the reserve team though, there’s plenty of work still to be done.

#07 – …and hello quality replacements

Replacing the twelve departing players are eleven fresh and shiny ones. The general consensus is that Leeds United and Simon Grayson has had an excellent summer in the transfer market, providing the squad with a lot of attacking options and bringing in the best goalkeeper outside the Prem. It’s not all good news though, with huge question marks still hanging over the heads of Bessone, Bruce and Clayton.

#08 – “You don’t know what you’re doing!”

Another week, and another poor ref in the Championship. Both the Watford and Leeds fans were vocal in their disgust of the referee’s tireless whistle blowing, which left the game at Vicarage Road less exciting than the Jonathan Ross-less Friday night line-up on the BBC.

#09 – David O’Leary “I haven’t got a clue!”

David O’Leary confirmed this week that he hasn’t got a clue what he’s doing after his first match in the UAE ended in defeat. The former Leeds boss conceded that he didn’t know the league, didn’t know the players, didn’t know what he was paid to do, didn’t know where he was…

#10 – “…Leeds are going up, going up…”

It’s funny the difference a week can make to the confidence of fans, but after scoring against Watford last week our 09-10 anthem ‘Leeds are going up’ returned for an encore. From predictions of bottom-half/consolidation on opening day, to play-off’s and possibly more as we exited Vicarage Road, the Leeds fans certainly know how to keep our ambitions in check…