The Scratching Shed

It’s through extremely blurred vision and with a very heavy head I write my final match report of the season. A season full of ups and downs, ended in a match many of us will be telling the next generation about in years to come. As the champagne flowed around Leeds City centre last night, the events of the day were celebrated and relived amongst thousands of ecstatic Leeds United fans, as the promotion party continued late into the night.

It could all have been so very different though. The match itself was as eventful as they come. Historically, Leeds United are well known for bottling the big games. You only have to look back to the drama of the play-off’s over the last few years to see Leeds United seldom do things the easy way, and this was to be no exception.

A sold-out and deafening Elland Road crowd sang their heroes onto the pitch for what we hoped would be the final game of the season. No Richard Naylor, Robert Snodgrass or Jonny Howson in the starting XI, Max Gradel moved out wide and Jermaine Beckford restored to the starting line-up as captain. Simon Grayson had hinted at changes, but few had seen this coming.

Leeds looked hungry and it seemed as though things would be simple. All we had to do was get in front, and with Leeds dominating as they were, it was unlikely that Bristol would be able to respond.

Controversy soon struck though; after Jermaine Beckford’s opener was ruled out by the linesman, Max Gradel sought retribution for an earlier foul and stomped on Rovers left-back Daniel Jones. Jones hit the floor like he’d been shot and feigned injury to his face. Chaos ensued, with Leeds and Bristol players clashing violently. Another dismal referee dismissed Max Gradel, but despite his part in escalating the situation, Jones escaped with just a yellow.

Marching orders for Gradel

The scale of the situation hadn’t escaped Gradel and he reacted furiously to the sending off. Jermaine Beckford in his new role as captain tried to play peace-keeper, but Gradel was a man possessed and determined to get his own back on Jones or the referee – whoever he could get to first. After several minutes of drama, Gradel was forcefully removed from the pitch by his team-mates, but he wasn’t finished yet and came back on for another go at whoever he could get to. This time, two pretty hefty security staff were sent on, finally managing to restore order.

The tense and nervous atmosphere inside Elland Road was replaced by one of anger and disbelief. To the on-looking Leeds fans, it seemed that we’d once again been the victim of a major injustice that could well have cost us our place in the Championship. The referee was subsequently ridiculed with chants of ‘this games too big for you’ and ‘you’re not fit to referee’ along with some more x-rated stuff towards half-time. Daniel Jones’ part in the incident hadn’t been forgotten either and he was booed every time he touched the ball from that point on.

After five minutes added time, an angry Leeds United crowd left for the break where the events of the first half would be analysed further. Most of the crowd were busy watching Beckford at the time, so few had actually seen the incident involving Gradel. There was much confusion as to what actually happened and many believed Gradel had punched the left-back, probably because of his exaggerated reaction. You have to wonder whether the referee had drawn a similar conclusion, but either way, the odds were now stacked against Leeds United and we were in for a roller-coaster 45 minutes that would ultimately decide our fate.

Such is the way with these things, the villain of the day Daniel Jones hadn’t finished tormenting Leeds United yet. Minutes into the second half, Hughes failed to close Jones down and his cross led to a soft goal conceded by the make-shift Leeds United defence. 1-0 down, and the news elsewhere was that Charlton were winning. Whilst Millwall and Swindon were level, I can only imagine the roar that came from both sets of fans on discovering Leeds United’s troubles.

Leeds were wounded and in total disarray. Fresh out of ideas and struggling with a numerical disadvantage, Simon Grayson was forced into his first change of the day. Jonny Howson was brought on in place of Shane Lowry in what would prove to be an inspired substitution from the gaffer.

Just six minutes after coming onto the pitch, Howson levelled the scores. For all his inconsistencies and lack of goals, Jonny has a habit of scoring when it matters. Few will have forgotten his brace that sent us into the play-off final a couple of years back, but even those goals weren’t as big as this one. From the edge of the area, Jonny found himself in space and struck sweetly to curl the ball past the Bristol keeper and restore parity for the Whites. The roof lifted off Elland Road once again, but this time, it was a roar of defiant brilliance – Leeds weren’t done yet!

Howson levels the scores

It was easy to forget Leeds were a man down as they pushed Bristol back and went in search of a winner. All out attack was what the crowd wanted, and that’s exactly what Leeds United delivered. Those that did remain on the pitch will have been fully aware of what another goal meant for Leeds, and it seemed only fitting that Jermaine Beckford would be the one to get it.

For all his flaws, Beckford’s goal tally is a big part of why we were in this situation to start with. Even his most hardened of critics couldn’t knock his performance today, he’d chased everything, battled hard and been an exemplary role-model for the younger fans in trying to resolve the sending-off situation peacefully. As Leeds United exits go, Jermaine Beckford’s is unlikely to be forgotten.

The most valuable goal of the season, probably Jermaine’s final one in a Leeds shirt and the one that sends Leeds United up was beautiful in it’s simplicity. A classic poachers goal which was started by Jermaine’s hassling of the Bristol keeper. His poor throw was deflected by Beckford into the path of Bradley Johnson who surged down the left and sent a cross into the box. The Bristol defence struggled to deal with the cross and when it spilled free, Jermaine Beckford was on hand to send Leeds into the Championship. Needless to say, the Leeds fans nearly took the roof off Elland Road once more.

Leeds continued to try and put the game beyond reach, and Bristol gave us a few scares as the final whistle agonisingly drew closer, but the poachers goal from Jermaine Beckford would prove to be decisive. The pitch invasion began before the referee could blow for full-time, but it didn’t matter. As the Leeds fans spilled onto the pitch to celebrate a historic win, the reality of it all began to sink in. The PA man’s attempts to get the fans off the pitch proved completely ineffective, and it took a plea from Simon Grayson to restore some order so the players could come out for a well-deserved lap of honour.

"Na na na na na na na na na na, Leeds are going up..."

As the players and the fans struggled to control their emotions, all order at Elland Road was lost once more. Some cheer-leading from TSS’ player of the season, Patrick Kisnorbo would follow and once Elland Road was finally vacated, the party spilled into the streets of Leeds. After six long years of demise, Leeds United have finally began to rise again.

TSS man of the match

Before I return to a state of slumber to recover from one of the most vicious hangovers I’ve had in years, I’m left with the final man of the match of the season decision, and perhaps, one of the easiest. In what is most likely to be his final game in a Leeds United shirt, Jermaine Beckford led by example. Not only did he score the winning goal, but he also assisted in Jonny Howson’s screamer. One of the most dramatic love/hate relationships I’ve ever seen between a player and fans ends in style. Whatever happens to Jermaine Beckford from here on in, I wish him well and thank him for the memories.

With the closure of the loan transfer market came Simon Grayson’s last throw of the dice for our promotion dreams. With injuries to key players Jermaine Beckford and Patrick Kisnorbo, Larry had one final chance to get things right to save Leeds United’s promotions dreams, and most probably his job.

However much I like Larry, the one thing he has to do this season is secure promotion. An incredible start meant it was ours to lose, and of course, we’re doing our best to make sure things aren’t easy. If he fails at the final hurdle, no matter how close he comes, it simply isn’t close enough. Tough as that may be, he’s in charge of one of the countries biggest clubs and with such a big job, comes big expectations.

The first area Larry addressed was the most obvious one. When Kis went off injured against Millwall, our defence fell to pieces. With Rui still injured, a replacement seemed the best way forward and for that, he turned to Preston North End and their out-of-favour centre-back Neill Collins.

Already, an unhappy and disillusioned Leeds United faithful have been quick to criticise this move due to his lack of success at Preston. I must admit, I have my own reservations too, but if you take a closer look at his history, you’ll see he’s been quite successful elsewhere; most notably, Wolves.

This could be an absolutely disastrous signing, as many of Simon Grayson’s loan signings have been. It’s a signing forged in desperation and adversity, so it’d be no major shock if Collins wasn’t the answer to our prayers. However, I’m feeling quite optimistic about his arrival. He’s a player with an established career at a higher level, desperate to prove his worth and undoubtedly looking to secure a future away from Preston. Only time will tell, but he’s definitely got a lot to play for so shouldn’t need much motivation.

Sticking with the defence, Shane Lowry returns from Aston Villa to fill the troublesome left-back vacancy that has been a constant weakness since Ben Parker was sidelined through injury.

I’ll probably take heavy criticism for this, but I was actually quite impressed with Lowry. He didn’t make the brightest of starts admittedly, but before he returned to Villa injured, he looked like he’d started to gel with the rest of the team and was certainly more successful than Andrew Hughes. Won’t be the most celebrated of signings, but he’s here to fill a void and it was a necessary move on Grayson’s part.

Finally we come to Sanchez Watt who joins us on loan from Arsenal. The Gunners are expecting great things from this youngster who Wenger brought in as a 15-year-old. When it comes to youngsters, no one has a better eye than Arsene Wenger so the young winger may be the one to watch as our season draws to a close.

Coming from Arsenal, he may be just what we need in that he’ll be familiar with passing the ball on the floor (something the rest of the team have clearly forgotten). Watt is also said to have electrifying pace and likes to run at players. Just the attacking threat we needed on the wing then?

A few months ago, the above three signings would have had my mouth watering, but after such incredible flops as Cardiff’s Capaldi, seeing will most definitely be believing as far as I’m concerned. It’s a shame the depth of the squad wasn’t used more when it should have been as a team of Leeds United’s size really shouldn’t have to resort to desperate last minute loan deals.

Going in the other direction is Liam Darville to Rotherham United and Andy Robinson leaves for Tranmere. I guess it was only a matter of time with Robbo, but his move highlights the kind of players we have available to us that have gone unused since Simon Grayson’s arrival. If the loan signings pay-off and we get automatic promotion then you can’t really question Larry’s judgement. However, if the season ends with Leeds United still in League One, the departure of Andy Robinson and David Prutton will be brought under intense scrutiny.  

So, the dice are rolled, jobs are on the line and tens of thousands of supporters expect. No pressure.

Another one of those games ear-marked as an easy three points looks set to be a lot harder than anticipated as we head to Tranmere tomorrow night who will be high in confidence after a 2-1 win over free-scoring Southampton.

Prior to the game, it was a no-brainer for the betting man amongst us. Southampton had just knocked ten past their previous two opponents, including a 5-0 demolition job on play-off chasing Huddersfield Town. In stark contrast, the fortunes of Tranmere couldn’t have been much different, who themselves had fallen to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the same Huddersfield side just days before.

This being League One, shock results don’t really tend to shock. What a team does one week rarely gives much indication of what they’ll do the next, but even by League One standards, the change in fortnnes for Tranmere was quite simply, unbelievable.

It stands to reason then that Leeds United would be their next opponents. We always seem to time things just right for an epic fail. Much like Tranmere’s fortunes seem to be changing, so too do that of Leeds. From having the title almost tied up just a couple of months ago, to desperately trying to avoid slipping into the play-off places, Leeds United are upto the same old tricks and insisting on doing things the hard way. Quite frankly, Tranmere couldn’t have timed this encounter much better.

If that wasn’t enough, Leeds United also seem to have another injury crisis brewing with Richard Naylor, Andrew Hughes, Shane Lowry and Mike Grella all doubts.

This weekend saw Leeds United drop another valuable two points to mid-table Brentford, who came and pretty much parked the bus. Perhaps unlucky when you take Michalik’s effort (which came back off the woodwork) into account, it still wasn’t the most inspired performance we’ve seen at Elland Road this season and there was a lot of room for improvement, not least in terms of applying pressure and urgency.

Even without that sense of urgency, Leeds dominated throughout and missed more chances than I care to recall. Earlier in the season, it’d have probably been quite a comfortable win, but things aren’t going for us at the minute and expecting the results to just come for us, won’t work.

The goal that put us behind was a bit of a sucker punch after we’d dominated the entire fixture and we did respond well to get the equaliser. Still, no matter how much Simon Grayson insists otherwise, it was by no means a great performance and the players know it was two points lost. Their confidence levels after recent performances and results must be a concern for the boss.

So what we have tomorrow night is a Leeds United team struggling for form, probably low on confidence, with nothing going for them at the minute and with injuries starting to pile-up, against a much improved and more confident Tranmere side determined to raise their game for the visit of the Whites and grab a surprise three points in their bid to stave off relegation. In my mind, we’re the underdogs!

Perhaps underdogs isn’t a bad thing though? With Leeds United I often worry more when we’re expected to win with ease. The three consecutive home games we had recently which the official site was dubbing “Operation Nine” inevitably turned into catastrophe as the players reached a whole new level of complacency and played the most dismal football of the season so far.

Manchester United meanwhile, no one expected us to win so that’s exactly what we did. Leeds have been doing the same thing for as long as I can remember. Cup finals that should have been all too easy (Sunderland) and League Championships with unsurpassable leads were blown, solely because we got overly confident (and the fixture pile-ups never helped). Then you look at the Champions League a few years back where everyone expected us to be out in the first match. We shocked Europe, because stubbornly and definatly, that’s what Leeds do.

In a roundabout way, by beating Southampton and raising the stakes of this game, Tranmere may have done us the ultimate favour. The players and management will have taken note, that this is a team capable of beating the big boys on their day and with that in mind, they’ll hopefully settle in quickly and focus on obtaining what has somehow become an unlikely three points.

Defiantly and stubbornly optimisic! On and on…

No wins now in the last four for Leeds after another below par performance at Elland Road. Three home games at Elland Road were ahead of us last Tuesday, from which we should have realistically been looking to take all nine points, but after disappointing results against Walsall and Brighton, we’re now looking at a maximum of four as the gap to the play-off places disappears.

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.

Jermaine Beckford

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.

It’s good to be a Leeds fan again this morning after our 2-0 victory over Colchester ended the dismal run of league form we’ve been experiencing lately. The frustrating run of results left many Leeds United fans pulling their hair out when taken into context with the brilliant FA Cup displays they were sandwiched between. Simon Grayson called for an improvement, and a reshuffled Leeds United delivered.

There’s an old saying in football that it’s a game of two halves. This match however, was a tale of two halves of the first half. Leeds started looking a little panicked and shaky across the field, but slowly gained confidence as the scoreline remained level. On-loan signing, McSheffrey found his feet and started playing some excellent link-up play with the other attacking players. His ball holding skills proved valuable throughout and there’s no mistaking how good an addition he was.

The on-loan striker made his first real mark in a white shirt in the build-up to our opening goal. As Leeds found their feet and confidence, the sheer strength of our attacking options started to pay dividends with McSheffrey, Snodgrass, Becchio and Beckford all present to trouble the Colchester defence, forcing them to keep more players behind the ball than they probably would have liked. It was Becchio that was brought down inside the area for another one of those nervous penalty moments, but McSheffrey’s contribution to the build-up shouldn’t be overlooked.

Cue Beckford once more with the penalty. No nonsense from the Leeds United striker, struck firmly into the side of the net to send Leeds infront. Colchester’s keeper did guess the right way, but Beckford got the fundementals right by hitting it with enough pace to leave the U’s keeper with no chance. Before the Spurs game, we’d only scored one of our last seven penalties. Beckford has now buried the last two and our penalty woes may finally be at an end.

Meanwhile, our second new addition was a left-back from Villa called Lawry. Another great signing by Simon Grayson who has successfully identified the weak spot in our team once more. For the first time in as long as I can remember, the Leeds United manager seems to be reading from the same page as the rest of us. His arrival is a welcomed one and the youngster gave a very impressive performance for the 70 or so minutes he played before being forced off with what looked like cramp. That said, the last full-back we got on-loan from Villa got injured in the warm-up to his debut so I wouldn’t be surprised if lightning has struck twice. This is Leeds after all, we’re hardly the luckiest team in the world.

Both the new arrivals were involved with the next major Leeds United move which followed the opening goal and looked destined to make it 2-0. Lowry’s break fed Beckford who selflishly linked with McSheffrey who was massively unlucky not to score on his debut. Only an excellent one-handed save from the impressive Colchester United stopper spoilt the dream debut for McSheffrey who was realing starting to make his mark on the fixture.

The second half started much the same as the first ended with Leeds on top. The teams confidence had clearly built throughout and the vast supply of attacking options Leeds had was keeping Colchester’s defence extremely busy. Elsewhere, there was a massive improvement on recent weeks in Howson and Doyle’s display who ran the show in the centre of the park, battling hard throughout.

By this point, McSheffrey and Beckford were looking like the ultimate combination upfront, linking well and creating chances almost at will. However, the second, and ultimately final goal came ten minutes into the second period via Jonny Howson. Jonny brought the ball down neatly to create an nice shooting opportunity and struck sweetly, only to see his effort come back off the woodwork. Jermaine Beckford was as alert as ever inside the box though and pounced on the rebound to give Leeds a two goal lead and a much needed three points.

From there on in, we continued to create opportunites. Beckford was unlucky not to bag an hattrick when his third goal was ruled out for offside. Not sure on that one, but I’ll give the officials the benefit of the doubt since we won. McSheffrey received a well deserved standing ovation as he was replaced by Max Gradel who himself went on to nearly make it three after Beckford played him in and his shot was saved by the Colchester keeper.

Overall, and despite a shaky opening period, this was more like the Leeds United we’ve got used to this season. The new additions were integral to the performance bringing some much needed life to what had been a fading team. Colchester played well enough and won’t be too dishearted by the result, but Leeds’ attacking options proved the difference.

The tactics used by Grayson in this match showed a real belief in the manager who could have easily tried to iscolate any threats and hope Beckford gets lucky. Instead, he fielded a very attack minded team in what was at times a 4-2-4 formation. Howson looked much more comfortable in the centre of the park with Doyle alongside him doing what he does best in making the challenges and cleaning up the mess.

Aside from the three points we needed desperately, what makes this victory extra sweet is the satisfaction of silencing the anti-IGWT (In Grayson we trust) contingent. Whilst I was cynical of the decision to play the same team in the cups as we have in the league, changes in form will happen over the season and the main thing is that Grayson identified the problem, acted on it and resolved it before it became anything too serious. That’s what makes Simon different from the rest of the managers who have passed through Elland Road over the last decade or so and that’s what will take this football club forward.

And finally…

That just leaves the man of the match, which could easily go to McSheffrey as his contribution was excellent, but for me, it was Jermaine Beckford. Even without the two goals he delivered, he was brilliant. He linked well throughout with everyone, creating plenty of opportunities and seemed to enjoy every second of the game. Nice to see him smiling and enjoying life at Elland Road once more.