Yorkshire Evening Post 4/10/10
Whites fail to learn lessons
By Phil Hay
The postmortems held by Leeds United after Barnsley and Preston North End were grisly affairs; "cringe-worthy" according to the coach who ordered them.
Eleven concessions reviewed by a chastened squad of players included not a single clever, inventive or admirable goal.
The same complaint was audible at Portman Road where the coach in question candidly admitted that he was starting to mimic a broken record. It would not please Simon Grayson to blame league defeats on superior opposition but it would make a change from discussing them in terms of Leeds United's faults.
There was infinitely more to last week's disaster against Preston than a frail defence – indicted by that performance was the attitude, the leadership and the pride of Grayson's squad – but it was prevalent nonetheless in a game of no merit and serious tactical deficiency.
On Saturday, a 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town was professional enough for United's manager to refrain from asking his players to look in the mirror. "They showed a lot more passion and a lot more responsibility," he said.
But the most basic failing of their loss to Preston – the failure to protect their own net – is a deep-set weakness that video replays alone cannot heal.
"What I can't accept," Grayson complained, "is us contributing to our own downfall. We must learn."
There were no prizes for guessing what United's squad would be working on most diligently for the duration of the international break which began yesterday. Grayson plans to give his players a short period of time off after their 10th Championship fixture but he will feel a pressing need to eradicate the lapses which cost Leeds that game before they contest their 11th at Middlesbrough on October 16.
Ipswich's first goal, scored after 18 minutes and one attack, was the product of a simple pass threaded through their defence by a midfielder under no pressure. Their second, scored six minutes from time and eight after United had equalised through Robert Snodgrass, relied on the gift of a free header, a cardinal sin for players the world over. Tommy Smith lapped it up.
That Leeds were missing right-back Alex Bruce at the moment of Smith's goal, sent from the field after a second bookable offence, did not lead Grayson to blame mitigating circumstances.
"We've given a free header away when we shouldn't have done," he said. "We're finding out again and again that when you make mistakes in the Championship, you get punished." Soon, he hopes, the penny will drop.
Whether United's defensive record, showing 18 goals against, is the fault of their defensive line or their team as a whole, is a matter of some debate; Grayson believes the second theory to be true and will doubtless press that point at Thorp Arch during the coming 10 days. But continuity within that defence eludes him, more so after Bruce incurred a one-match ban and Shane Higgs strained a hamstring early in the second half.
Bruce, an ex-Ipswich player, was used as a right-back on Saturday to accommodate another ex-Portman Road employee, Richard Naylor, half of a line completed by Neill Collins and George McCartney. So depleted are Leeds by injuries that an experienced and potentially adequate unit was also the sum of their available options.
However pleased Grayson was with a defence which kept Ipswich relatively quiet until the start of the second half, he will not be free to use it against against Middlesbrough. Bruce is a certain absentee; Higgs already ranks as a serious doubt. His collapse to the ground in the 63rd minute was worryingly reminiscent of the debilitating thigh injury sustained by the goalkeeper last season.
Higgs had already been beaten by the time he left the field, though five times fewer than by Preston. He was helpless to intervene after Jake Livermore advanced unchallenged through midfield and asked Jason Scotland to wreak havoc by threading a pass between Grayson's centre-backs.
Scotland anticipated the through ball and spun away from Naylor, keeping his balance for long enough to skip around Higgs and side-foot the ball into a vacant net. It could not have been said that the goal had been coming; before it, Scotland – Ipswich's lone striker – had barely touched the ball.
Leeds, by a nominal margin, were the more creative team in a first half played out at a healthy pace but with limited purpose. Davide Somma's shot from close range was blocked after Jonathan Howson laid off Bradley Johnson's cross, and Naylor's header from Neil Kilkenny's cross hit Somma before it could reach Ipswich goalkeeper Marton Fulop.
Both Naylor and Kilkenny had been recalled to Grayson's starting line-up after the debacle of United's loss to Preston, and Snodgrass too. Amdy Faye, the last of four changes, was given the debut that many in Leeds felt he should have made five days earlier, lodged in United's team as a defensive midfielder. With that duty, it seemed fair for Faye to take a share of responsibility for the excessive freedom given to Livermore prior to Scotland's goal, but the Senegalese international fulfilled his brief in so far as Ipswich's chances to improve their lead were minimal before half-time. Howson and Somma looked more likely to score with shots from long range which failed to test Fulop.
There was, still, a sense that United's system was causing Ipswich less strife than it needed to. Grayson, as he had against Preston, saw no reason to mess with his line-up at half-time but tactical substitutions seemed essential some time before Luciano Becchio and Sanchez Watt entered the fray in the 74th minute.
While they sat on the bench, Scotland contrived to miss Higgs' goal from an unmissable range after Leeds allowed Grant Leadbitter's free-kick to bounce around inside their box. Gareth McAuley, Ipswich's centre-back, showed a similar lack of precision with a glancing header beyond a post. His miss was Higgs' cue to depart, making way in some distress for another debutant in Jason Brown.
The on-loan Blackburn Rovers keeper was liable to be rusty, seven months after his last senior game, but he reacted well to a shot from from Scotland that flew at him quickly in the 71st minute, another moment when Ipswich might have killed the contest. When Snodgrass scored out of nothing five minutes later, the value of Brown's save soared.
McAuley and Smith played Ipswich into trouble by attacking a high ball together, and Somma brought possession under control before drilling a pass into Fulop's penalty area. Jaime Peters appeared to have the legs on Watt but the latter's ingenious sliding challenge knocked the ball across goal where Snodgrass was waiting to stab it into the net.
"The goal was shocking," said Roy Keane afterwards, proving that defensive problems exist outside Elland Road.
As quickly as optimism surged, Leeds found themselves numerically short when Bruce incurred a dismissal at the one stadium where he would have wished to avoid it. Booked already for a cynical foul on Andros Townsend he received a second after rashly fouling the same player near United's byline. Referee Keith Hill, though contentious in the main, could not forgive him that.
Grayson attempted to reorganise his remaining players but to no avail. A poor corner in the 84th minute tempted his defence out of position, and Carlos Edwards' high cross back into United's box found Smith waiting to aim a header down and beyond Brown.The presence of Ipswich's defender in such an advanced position was as much of a surprise as his appearance on the pitch; only because of an injury to Darren O'Dea had Keane promoted Smith from the bench minutes before kick-off.
Leeds will remember it as one of those weeks.

Yorkshire Evening Post 3/10/10
Whites can and will do better - Grayson
After a loss to Preston North End which broke records at Elland Road, Simon Grayson will be less inclined than ever to over-state Leeds United's potential as a newly-promoted Championship club.
But the club's manager has given the strongest hint yet that a squad like his might possess the stamina and ability to magic a top-six finish in a league which is in no rush to take shape.
Leeds' stunning 6-4 defeat against Preston on Tuesday – the first time a visiting team has scored six goals at Elland Road – swept away much of the optimism that grew on the back of one loss in seven league matches, sending United to Ipswich Town yesterday in 10th position when they might have been third.
Grayson's squad have hovered around the Championship's play-off places for much of a campaign which is 10 games old and he is not yet willing to write his club in or out of the fight for promotion.
Leeds entered the division with the priority of defending their Championship status on the back of three years in League One, an aim that Grayson insists is still at the forefront of his mind. But the club are in touch with the vast number of teams in the top half of the division, barring runaway leaders QPR.
Sheffield United manager Gary Speed said after his side's defeat at Elland Road last weekend that the Championship was "there for the taking" and the first 10 fixtures have failed to establish a definite collection of promotion candidates.
Leeds were beginning the second international break of the season today and their durability will be tested again this month during games against Middlesbrough, Cardiff City and a wounded Leicester City side.
Grayson has been careful to avoid declaring his squad as outright contenders for a play-off position, but he is as convinced as Speed that promotion could be achievable for numerous clubs over the next seven months.
"I talked before the season started about analysing blocks of games, and 10 games is maybe a good point to look how you've played, what you've done well and what you can do better," Grayson said.
"People would say we can do better and I think so as well. Everyone needs to realise that we've achieved very little so far this season – November and December onwards is where it counts.
"But the nature of the division is such that so many teams are so evenly balanced, in terms of what they can achieve. Getting promoted is about teams being consistent and I do believe that we can get out of the division, as most of the others surely do.
"I keep saying that there isn't one outstanding side in here. QPR have had a fantastic start and are the form team at this moment, but that can change quickly.
"Whereas last year you thought that West Brom and Newcastle were always going to be the top two, this year it could be anybody. You have to believe that you can do it."
Yesterday's clash with Ipswich was a difficult examination of Leeds, from a club who are widely expected to hold a play-off position this season and this month's meetings with Middlesbrough and Cardiff will be a clear indication of whether United's high league standing was an accurate reflection of the strength of their squad.
Grayson said: "We're still new to the division and I keep saying that. We were out of it for three years and we're doing okay. There's a lot more to come from the club.
"At times you have to be realistic and say 'are we going to finish (in the top six) at the end of the season?' We'd like to think we can do and I want us to give ourselves an opportunity to do that but, again, if we finish halfway up then it's been a period of consolidation.
"That's not being negative, because we want to finish as high as possible. My expectations haven't changed – I knew my squad would be good enough to win matches but I knew as well that the division would be tough."
United's manager has again be struck by the ceaseless commitment of the club's fanbase this term. Elland Road is presently averaging the biggest crowd in the Championship and an attendance of over 33,000 was recorded for last weekend's White Rose derby with Sheffield United.
"The fans have been outstanding and I have to keep praising them," Grayson said. "Sometimes I can't find the words to describe them. They do drive the players on and that's a reason why we score so many goals late on.
"We're a fit, strong team but the crowd demand that you keep going and run yourself into the ground."
Leeds have carried a sizeable injury list into the international break but Grayson is hopeful that first-choice goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel will make himself available for United's game at Middlesbrough on October 16.
A foot injury has kept the Dane on the sidelines since Leeds' 1-0 win at Watford in August and the club are treating his problem with caution in an effort to prevent any aggravation to a damaged tendon.
The former Manchester City keeper was one of United's outstanding players in the first month of the term and the current interlude in the season has given him a fortnight to reach full fitness and begin the fight to regain his first-team place from Shane Higgs. Grayson said: "Kasper's doing a little bit of goalkeeping work, but he's sore with his tendon."He still has a boot on and he's doing some handling work.
"The injury just needs time to heal. We had to be careful because if he'd continued playing, he could have had quite some time out.
"The injury isn't a serious thing but it could be a problem if we overload him with work."

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