Leeds’ injury crisis continues with news that Patrick Kisnorbo will be out for the rest of the season.

After missing almost the entirety of the 2009/10 campaign through injury, Kisnorbo returned this season and was later handed a two-year contract after proving his fitness to Simon Grayson.

Regardless, another injury follows some poor performances this season from the Australian leaving many to suspect Patrick Kisnorbo could have played his last game for The Whites.

Paddy’s name is added to an injury list that currently features the following players;

Defence

Ben Parker – perpetually injured. Currently lacking fitness following a series of injuries over the last two years.

Andy O’Brien – Not technically injured, but will never play again following a falling out with Simon Grayson. Rumoured to be leaving for Bristol City.

Tom Lees – Due to return following a concussion that sidelined him for the 4-1 loss at Barnsley and 2-1 win over Burnley.

Leigh Bromby – Calf problem, out for two to three weeks.

Alex Bruce – Another new addition to the list, Bruce has a hamstring problem which means Darren O’Dea is our only centre-back currently in training – Tom Lees is expected to return towards end of week.

Midfield

Robert Snodgrass – Appendix operation ruled him out of the last few games. May be back for Crystal Palace on the 14th, but could be longer.

Jonny Howson – A knee injury has left the Leeds United captain ruled out for the foreseeable future. “Months not weeks” to quote our chairman.

Strikers

Davide Somma – Returned to light training mid-December, but will still be out for some time following an injury to his cruciate ligament. Ahead of schedule, but it’s not the type of injury Leeds will want to rush.

I suspect the overwhelming amount of injuries we’re currently struggling with has forced Simon Grayson’s hand somewhat with regards to potential signings. The loss of Jonathan Howson for such a lengthy period demands we bring in a central midfielder, whilst our defence is incredibly threadbare and desperately needs addressing.

Luckily, the Leeds United boss has over a week to address the situation thanks to a pointless FA Cup match at The Emirates that we can afford to lose by several goals – The Whites simply can’t afford additional fixtures and must heed caution to avoid adding more names to the above list.

Leeds managed to escape with a point from a pretty drab encounter at Vicarage Road as Robert Snodgrass equalised from the spot with the last kick of the game.

Shortly before that, Alex McCarthy marked his final game in a Leeds United shirt by tipping a Watford penalty onto the post.

Watford had taken the lead through a Michael Kightly goal midway through the first half, and were undoubtedly the better team overall.

The Whites lacked presence going forward and made no real effort to play the ball around on the deck throughout the course of the 90 minutes.

However, Watford weren’t much better. The two sides share equal credit for a game in which the ball seemed to spend more time in the air than it did on the ground.

From a Leeds United standpoint, the most concerning thing was the inability to create anything particularly threatening. For me, Luciano Becchio, Patrick Kisnorbo and Lloyd Sam stood out as the biggest disappointments today, but they were only the worst of an almost exclusively bad bunch.

Simon Grayson had started 4-4-2 and tried to switch things around, but that didn’t make much of a difference. I’m sure some will look to the formation as reason for a disappointing display, but the formation was trivial in this instance – the performance just wasn’t good enough.

That said, we somehow snatched a point and Watford fans will be more disappointed than we are. Sometimes the performance matters more than the result and it’d have probably been easier to accept a 1-0 loss in which we played well, than a 1-1 draw where we played poorly.

But at the end of the season the points are all that matter, and today we added another one to that tally. A tough Christmas schedule lays ahead and we need to see an improvement on this display if we’re to come out on top (metaphorically speaking).

You can criticise Leeds United for a lot of things; for the lapses in concentration that cause shoddy defensive blunders, for their fascination with hoofball football, for the poor discipline record that already has us on five red cards for the season. You can even fault the manager at times for the wrong tactics or player signings.

But the one thing you cannot take away from Simon Grayson’s side is their spirit and resilience. I’ve spoken of a resilient Whites side picking points up on a number of occasions this season, but nothing speaks to that attribute quite like today’s win over Leicester City.

It wasn’t a pretty win, nor was it a particularly enthralling one. The game in truth was actually pretty dire. But Leeds arrived at the King Power Stadium with a determination that they would right the wrong of Wednesday night, and that’s exactly what they did.

Through sheer force of will, the Whites contained Leicester City better than they have any team in quite some time. On loan Alex McCarthy barely had a save to make as Leeds scrapped away, keeping Leicester City from breaking into the box and forcing them out wide to ensure they were never gifted a simple shooting angle.

It was containing football at it’s most basic from The Whites, but every player on the park worked hard to ensure the strategy succeeded and Leeds emerged deserving victors as a result.

Our own chances were as limited as Leicester City’s, but Adam Clayton once again proved his worth with an absolutely unstoppable goal-of-the-season contender that proved to be the difference.

Jermaine Beckford, who described his time at Leeds United as the best of his career in the programme was given a warm welcome by the Whites fans, but even he couldn’t break through Leeds’ determined defence to level the score and create an all too predictable finish to the game.

This was the kind of reaction I predicted after the humiliation at home to Blackpool midweek. We may not be the most consistent team in the league, and Christ knows we’re prone to the odd horror show, but there’s a determination in this squad that will see us over that all important play-off line come May – of that I have no doubts.

Whilst every player on the park deserves a huge pat on the back for their efforts today, I think Andy O’Brien and Patrick Kisnorbo are worthy of special mention. Much like Simon Grayson, they’ve been subject to a lot of disproportionate criticism, but both of them worked tirelessly today to ensure we kept the clean sheet and as such, fully deserve to share the match ball. On and on…

You can catch highlights of today’s win on The Revie Way.

Aside from the opening day horror show at Southampton, August has been a month of excellent performances failing to yield the desired result. 

Our final game of the month away to Ipswich Town sums August up quite well. In front from a Ross McCormack goal and cruising at half-time, Aidy White sees red early in the second half and the game is turned on it’s head. What should have been a comfortable victory ends in a 2-1 defeat.

It was a similar story v Middlesbrough too where red cards cost us dearly. Jonny Howson can have few complaints about his own sending off, whilst Max Gradel should have been taking a much more cautious approach after picking up an extremely soft yellow in the opening few minutes. With balanced teams, Leeds were far superior to a poor Boro side and this should have ended in victory. But with nine men left on the field, Leeds couldn’t hold Boro off despite the heroic goalkeeping of Andy Lonergan.

Add the six points we should have picked up from those two to the additional two we could easily have left Upton Park with had it not been for a missed Max Gradel penalty and a Patrick Kisnorbo own goal and Leeds would have ended the month tied for second place. Instead, we end August in 19th with just 4 points from the opening 5 fixtures.

“Coulda, woulda, shoulda” doesn’t wash with football fans though. The red cards were sloppy and unnecessary, penalties have been a problem now for far too long and our tendency to score own goals is worrying. These are all issues that need to be addressed.

There has been a lot of positives to take from this month however. As our goal of the month video shows, Leeds United are still a team capable of scoring from almost anywhere despite the absence of Luciano Becchio and Davide Somma.

Ramon Nunez has burst onto the scene with five goals already and still can’t make our first team, such is the strength of our midfield. Adam Clayton has been an absolute revelation in central midfield, forming a formidable partnership with Jonny Howson whilst Robert Snodgrass seems to be back to his best and Max Gradel is as unstoppable as ever.

The signing of Andy Keogh and a return to 4-4-2 seems to have resolved our striker crisis with Ross McCormack already on four for the season. With Ramon Nunez on five and already struggling to find a place, you have to wonder where Somma and Becchio would slot back in at this point.

Even the defence has shown signs of improvement. Patrick Kisnorbo and Darren O’Dea in the middle of Aidy White and the sensational Tom Lees is the strongest defensive back-line we’ve seen in some time. The inexperience of our two young wingers has been costly at times, but there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic about this set-up.

In the league, the only two games I left feeling the scorelines were worthy of the performance was Southampton away and Hull City at home. For me, the 4-1 demolition of the Tigers (ra, ra, ra) is the only true reflection of how good this team can be. Without the red cards, missed penalties and own goals we’d probably be fantasising about automatic promotion right about now.

And as difficult as that statement may be to swallow, it does offer some cause for optimism as we head into September. It’s all about ironing out the creases for The Whites – if we can do that, few teams are going to run us of the park this season.

Picture courtesy of MAMF

Leeds United twice came from behind to add a well-deserved point to the tally against a West Ham United side who will feel two missed penalty decisions cost them the game. 

In truth, both teams will have reason to feel they should have won this one. Max Gradel missed a first half penalty for The Whites and Aidy White also had what appeared to be a clear-cut penalty decision rejected by the referee.

As for the Hammers’ two calls; the first was undeniable – Patrick Kisnorbo seemed to be attempting to take the shirt from West Ham’s striker. The second however was much harder to call, and I think which ever way it went, one set of fans would have been complaining.

The questionable penalty decisions aside, Leeds will still feel they did enough to win this one, and perhaps would have had it not been for a sensational volley from Patrick Kisnorbo into his own net. Not the kind of error he makes regularly, so certainly forgiveable, but he’ll no doubt feel he cost his side two points with that blunder.

That goal came just minutes after Ross McCormack finished an excellent piece of passing play involving Robert Snodgrass and the back-heel of Andy Keogh. Snoddy had the opportunity to shoot himself, and I dare say most of our team would have, but he kept his head up and saw McCormack perfectly placed in the centre of the box and selflessly set him up for an easier finish.

The passing play from Leeds United, as demonstrated perfectly with McCormack’s equalising goal, was at times incredible to watch. You really had to slap yourself round the face a couple of times as you struggled to believe this was the same team that surrendered to Southampton on opening day.

But we hadn’t slipped off into some beautiful dream where Leeds United looked like a team capable of doing well this season. Over the last three games, things have really started to come together and if we can play like we did against West Ham and Hull City for the next 42 games, we won’t be too far off come May.

But I digress. Had it not been for a well-struck stoppage time goal from Adam Clayton (his first for the club) we’d all still be talking about positive signs and potential, as opposed to positive results and a little bad fortune.

The fact both teams feel disappointed that they didn’t take all three points makes the draw seem somewhat justified. Neither Leeds or West Ham were playing for one point, both attacked from the first kick of the game and neither side deserved to lose.

Aside from the dubious penalty decisions, you have to credit the ref for allowing the game to flow. He reached into his pocket only once throughout the entire game to book Darren O’Dea and James Tomkins for an off-the-ball incident that started a game of handbags between the two sides. A game Leeds did well to walk away from before John Carew started eating people.

At this point I’d generally pick out the players who impressed most, but I don’t think that would be fair on this occasion. It was a team performance and not one where you can single out individuals for a game-changing contribution. Max Gradel and Robert Snodgrass for example were uncontainable on the wings, but was their contribution more worthy of mention than Andy Lonergan’s fine saves or the box-to-box performances of Jonny Howson and Adam Clayton?

Each and every player has good reason to pat themselves on the back after this one.

As ever, the travelling support were fantastic too. Our truly disgusting new away shirt prompted the chant “we’re Leeds United, we glow in the dark” whilst Carlton Cole was branded “a **** Tresor Kandol” and his replacement, John Carew was subsequently branded “a **** Carlton Cole”.

There was also the slightly tasteless chant of “you should be out robbing tellies” in reference to the recent London Riots. Made me laugh, but the bloke alongside us was not amused.

Four points from the last two leaves plenty to smile about as we head to an out-of-sorts Ipswich Town next week who will be without two first team regulars and could struggle to pick up the pieces in time after a humiliating 7-1 defeat to newly promoted Peterborough. On and on…

Simon Grayson post-match interview

Courtesy of @MojoLUAFC

Leeds United ended their pre-season campaign with a 3-2 victory over Premier League side Newcastle United at Elland Road. 

The Whites took an early lead after a Robert Snodgrass free-kick was spilled by Newcastle United goalkeeper Frazer Forster allowing Patrick Kisnorbo an easy tap-in.

Leeds kept up the pressure and dominated much of the first half but The Magpies got back on level terms when Steven Taylor was left unmarked to head home from a corner kick.

By half-time, Leeds United had undoubtedly been the better team. The Whites were creating plenty of chances going forward whilst the defensive partnership of Andy O’Brien and Patrick Kisnorbo was looking much stronger than anything we saw last season.

That partnership however was broken up for the second half with Leigh Bromby coming on for Andy O’Brien who is no doubt some way from match fitness following his recent injury.

Other substitutes followed throughout the second half as Simon Grayson started to break-up what is likely to be his opening day line-up.

And it was one of those substitutes that would restore Leeds United’s lead. Lloyd Sam somehow managed to win the ball on the by-line before slotting home from an incredibly tight angle to make it 2-1 and give Newcastle United fans more reason to worry about their defence.

The lead was short-lived however as a good move from Newcastle United finished with a powerful strike from Haris Vuckic who left Leeds’ new keeper Andy Lonergan with no chance.

But Leeds United weren’t done yet, and it was another second half substitute, Billy Paynter who would seal victory for the Whites and bring his Leeds United goal drought to an end. The relief was almost palpable as Billy celebrated a rare goal.

Conclusions

Overall, this was a very encouraging display from Leeds. The Geordies will be furious with the defending on display, but to put Leeds United’s victory down to Newcastle’s incompetence would be unfair on the players who, to a man, performed very well.

The squad looked sharp and eager throughout the game. Recent injury concerns Robert Snodgrass and Andy O’Brien both looked in good shape to start the new season whilst the returning Patrick Kisnorbo has transformed the defence completely.

Jonny Howson put in an excellent shift and clearly enjoys the attacking freedom he’s afforded with Michael Brown and Adam Clayton alongside him in central midfield.

Despite conceding two goals, I also think Andy Lonergan will improve our defensive fortunes. He showed he had the shot-stopping ability on a couple of occasions, but more importantly for me was that he just appeared calmer and more in control than Kasper Schmeichel ever was.

What was particularly encouraging was seeing the cover available to us. Lloyd Sam put in a tireless display when he came on and constantly looked a threat, whilst Ramon Nunez and Alex Mendy both look like capable squad players with the ability to change a game.

Up front remains a bit of a concern despite Billy Paynter’s late winner and a positive display from Ross McCormack. The big question mark for me personally, is whether McCormack can play the lone striker role – he displays excellent movement and does find the space you’d expect from a seasoned pro like Ross, but I’m convinced he’d be better with a target man alongside him.

Leeds United	3	2	Newcastle United
Patrick Kisnorbo (5)			Taylor (35)
Lloyd Sam (67)			Vuckic (76)
Billy Paynter (85)
Elland Road (Att. 20,457)
Pre-season friendly, July 31st 2011

It’s quite likely that Jonny Howson will continue on as club captain this season. A home-grown lad and the longest serving member of our current side, he’s an excellent choice for the job and someone the Leeds fans all love.

But would a more experienced player be better suited to the leadership role the captaincy requires? With the arrival of Michael Brown and the return of Patrick Kisnorbo, you have to wonder whether Simon Grayson will reassess and relieve Jonny of his duties this season?

With at least three viable candidates for 2011/12 club captaincy, we thought a poll was in order to see who the fans think is best suited to the position.

A Max Gradel goal was all that separated Rochdale and Leeds United in another drab pre-season friendly encounter.

Simon Grayson once again made good use of the players available making nine changes throughout the course of the fixture.

There was more injury concerns too for Whites fans with Patrick Kisnorbo, Robert Snodgrass and Lloyd Sam all absent. It appears they were rested mainly as a precautionary measure after picking up minor knocks against Motherwell last Saturday, but with Luciano Becchio and Davide Somma already set to miss the start of the campaign, Leeds fans have some cause for concern.

Worried fans will doubtless point to the secrecy surrounding Davide Somma’s injury (which the striker leaked on Twitter) as reason enough to be sceptical of any injury news coming from the club. There was no explanation given for Somma’s absence from the recent trip to Scotland and it was only when Whites fans saw him on crutches in Leeds we really knew he had problems.

The only other news to come from the game was the three trialists Leeds United played. Alongside former Aston Villa players Isaiah Osbourne and JLloyd Samuel, Leeds United also fielded a mysterious French midfielder who they refused to name – following an investigation amongst Whites fans on Twitter, we’re pretty sure it was Alexandre Mendy. For those of you that like to judge players based solely on a carefully edited YouTube best bits compilation, click here.

So, a pretty uneventful encounter overall but Leeds United continue their pre-season form with three wins from three.

Leeds United ran out 2-0 winners in their first pre-season friendly against a makeshift Falkirk side in Scotland.

Leading 1-0 through an own goal at half-time, Robert Snodgrass added the second after the break with a close range header.

The highlight of the evening was an announcement over the PA system midway through the second half that the pies in the stands had been reduced to half price – thus awaking the masses and leading to a mass exodus. Incidentally, a search for Billy Paynter soon followed.

Like most pre-season friendlies, the game offered little in terms of entertainment but did give Simon Grayson a chance to assess the fitness of his players and give some of the younger lads a game.

Crucially for Leeds, long-term injury victims Patrick Kisnorbo and Ben Parker managed 60 and 45 minutes respectively with no reported problems. Aidy White also got a run out replacing Parker at half time.

New signings Michael Brown and Paul Rachubka made their first appearances for the Whites, whilst Ramon Nunez also started the game providing the cross that the first goal was deflected in off.

With just short of half an hour remaining, Simon Grayson introduced youngsters Lewis and Nathan Turner, Zac Thompson and Alex Cairns. Unfortunately, none of the younger players had the chance to make much of an impact.

Aside from Barcelona joining a long list of clubs that have poached our youngsters just as they become eligible for a professional contract, Leeds United news is so scarce at the minute the national rags have simply decided to make it up.

Today’s story, courtesy of the ever-reliable (ha) Daily Star claims Simon Grayson is preparing a swoop for former Elland Road centre back, Jonathan Woodgate. Once considered one of the world’s greatest central defenders, Woodgate has been ravaged by injuries and now finds himself almost unemployable.

The Daily Star claim that Simon Grayson sees Jonathan Woodgate as the ideal partner for Patrick Kisnorbo. One can only assume that the Daily Star think Kis and Woody will get on like a house on fire and provide ideal company for one another while they lay around on injury tables.

I’m not one to panic before a ball has been kicked, but if we really are pinning our defensive hopes on a partnership that is unlikely to manage a dozen combined appearances, then we really are doomed. I suspect there’ll be a few people reading this who’ve gotten all nostalgic and are romanticising over the idea of these two overcoming their injury problems to guide Leeds United to an almost flawless  Championship title, but the reality is, it’s never going to happen.