Sporting Life 26/8/08
McALLISTER HAILS TRIUMPHANT Leeds
By Wayne Gardiner, PA Sport
Leeds manager Gary McAllister lauded his side after they overpowered Championship outfit Crystal Palace 4-0 in the second-round of the Carling Cup at Elland Road.
The hosts had too much power in attack for Neil Warnock's faltering side with Jonathan Douglas, Jermaine Beckford, Luciano Becchio and Enoch Showumni all getting on the scoresheet.
The four-goal rout means that Leeds have posted nine goals in their two games in the competition so far following the 5-2 win at Chester and McAllister was delighted with the manner of the victory following two sub-standard showings in the league.
"I like the way that we got some rhythm and fluency to our play," he said. "The clean sheet was a good confidence booster for the whole club. We've scored nine goals and we're looking to play with flair and rhythm.
"The two performances against Oldham and Yeovil were not quite up to the standard we're trying to set here. I always had it in mind to make a few changes and play a slightly different formation.
"As much as there was no panic after the last two performances, I'm not going to go overboard with this, as it is still very early in the season and people are trying to find their form."
McAllister made eight changes from the side that drew 1-1 with Yeovil on Saturday and accepts that he has some difficult selection decisions to make ahead of three forthcoming home games, starting with Bristol Rovers on Saturday.
"I'm asking people to step up to the plate and when they get their chance to go and take it," he said. "I've got to say that from one to 11 tonight they all performed.
"It shows that we have a very strong squad of players here and competition brings out the quality in people.
"I thought Luciano led the line fantastically, and that some of the combinations in the middle of the park and some of the movement in the final third was excellent.
"We've got an important run of games here at Elland Road home now and we're looking to come out of it with no defeats.
"It shows that we have a very strong squad of players and the competition brings out the best in people."
Warnock admitted that he is keen to add at least one striker to his ranks before the transfer window shuts, after watching his side slip to a disappointing reverse.
Despite making six changes to the side that drew with Burnley on Saturday, Warnock made just one alteration to his defence and thought that they were bullied by Becchio and Beckford.
"I'm disappointed, obviously," he said.
"I made six changes but you'd expect one of my teams to cope better than that," he said. "Quite honestly we couldn't cope with the front lads. Once the second goal went in it was disappointing to say the least.
"This is a good challenge isn't it? I've just said that to the players. If you defend like that you're going to get beat against any level of opposition and I thought the two centre forwards bullied our defenders from start to finish.
"We've got to come up with the answers and that's the challenge. I was talking to Kevin (Blackwell) today at Sheffield and they've got six strikers, all of whom could get in our team.
"I'm looking for at least one striker and I'd like a couple in the next few days."I'm not used to coming to Leeds and losing. I usually enjoy coming here and putting one over on them but they thoroughly deserved it."
Yorkshire Evening Post 26/8/08
Deadly United rout sad Palace
By Phil Hay
Leeds United 4 Crystal Palace 0
The industry in which Gary McAllister and Neil Warnock work is so unforgiving that a dissatisfied manager need not look hard to find another worse off than himself.
The two men shared comparable concerns about early-season form which, before last night, was conspicuous by its mediocrity at both Leeds United and Crystal Palace, but a Carling Cup tie that deepened Warnock's scowl brought a smile instead to the face of McAllister.
Bothered though he is by United's present inconsistency, the defeat that McAllister's team inflicted on Palace at Elland Road last night gave perspective to the issue of their fluctuating results.
United, for all their ambitions and range of professionals, are still to settle into their second season in League One, but there are no underlying problems at Elland Road beyond the question of which 11 players will combine to provide the most coherent team.
Palace, by comparison, looked deeply troubled last night, to the extent that Warnock moved to confess that the situation will take all of his managerial skill to improve.
His club were ravaged by Leeds in a manner which Warnock is not known to accept from players under his wing and the fact that the 4-0 rout was inflicted on an individual who won so much acclaim as manager of Sheffield United merely increased the satisfaction for the 10,000 supporters who embraced last night's second-round match. There was no doubt that McAllister vacated the touchline the more content manager.
Palace, it transpired, were perfect opponents for Leeds – drawn from a division above United's but bereft of form in their own league and harnessed with a meagre appetite for last night's tie.
Their inability to score a goal in 270 minutes of league football is as concerning a statistic for Warnock as their failure to win any of their three Championship matches this season and Palace's attack was as impotent last night as the club's statistics suggested it might be.
David Lucas, Leeds' goalkeeper for the evening, was the one player who struggled to enhance his prospects of a regular start for United, but only because Palace did so little to involve him.
A free-kick from Ben Watson aside, Lucas reached half-time with gloves which were virtually clean and spoke in glowing terms of United's dominance. Leeds were two goals to the good and already anticipating the Carling Cup's third-round draw by the time the first half concluded.
Warnock's hands were restricted slightly by the untimely suspensions of Shaun Derry and James Scowcroft, two players who would have brought crucial qualities to the table at Elland Road, but there were few ways of explaining the timid nature of Palace's capitulation.
This, Warnock had stated openly before kick-off, was a competition he tentatively aimed to win and elimination before the end of August does not reflect well on a club who are taking slow strides through the first month of the season.
Last night's win will help to tackle McAllister's feeling that Leeds are doing the same.Beaten by Oldham Athletic 10 days ago and held to a draw at Yeovil Town on Saturday, the visit of Palace was not a game for Leeds to treat dismissively.
Eight changes to United's starting team raised obvious questions of how important McAllister considered the Carling Cup to be, but the heavily revised line-up worked to refresh a club who were not exactly bursting with inspiration at Huish Park. Their display against Palace was so convincing that McAllister will find a queue outside the door of his office if certain individuals are not allowed to retain their shirts against Bristol Rovers this weekend.
As an added bonus, McAllister was able to watch 16-year-old left-back Aidan White complete his senior debut with all the poise and natural ability that United's academy staff have spotted in him and Fabian Delph's performance in the centre of midfield was beyond his teenage years, as it so often seems to be.
The complication for McAllister, as demonstrated by Oldham and Yeovil, is not a shortage of talented players but deciding how best to fit those players into his regular line-up.
There are nine midfielders effective enough to warrant a start – perhaps too many for McAllister to keep happy – and it will take patience and good judgment on the part of United's boss to find the most suitable blend.But anyone who doubted that Leeds have the beating of League One could not have failed to have that opinion shifted by the rout of Palace last night.
A goal in the 11th minute put Warnock's players under immediate pressure, but Leeds did not rely on a slender lead to see them home as they had to their cost at Yeovil.
A second effort followed before the end of the first half and the remainder of the game already had an academic feel when Luciano Becchio scored 10 minutes after the break to increase United's lead to three goals. It was not a game McAllister wanted to lose, nor one he can have expected to after the first 45 minutes. Jonathan Douglas opened the scoring with what was United's first shot on goal, reacting more quickly than Palace's defence to a bouncing ball which asked to be stabbed beyond Darryl Flahavan and the failure of Warnock's backline was to become a familiar theme to the evening.
Delph brought a low parry from Flahavan after waltzing through two markers in the 27th minute and Palace's keeper produced a better save four minutes later when he palmed a low shot from Beckford away from his goalline. The reprieve was so brief as to be meaningless.
From the resulting corner, Jermaine Beckford timed his jump perfectly to nod Neil Kilkenny's corner back across Flahavan and beyond the keeper.
There was nothing for Palace's manager to cling to at half-time, other than Watson's free-kick and a header from Clint Hill which Lucas swallowed up.
Ten minutes into the second half, Becchio met a cross from Frazer Richardson and directed a header at Flahavan who got a hand to the ball but diverted it against the post and over the line. From there, the only question was how painfully Palace would suffer.
Flahavan kept out a shot from Enoch Showunmi on 72 minutes, though the substitute should not have given him the chance to reach the ball and Showunmi soon made amends with a fourth goal, squeezing a shot through a defender's legs and into the corner of the net.
Palace almost forced a consolation when Bradley Johnson appeared on the goalline to head away Calvin Andrew's shot, but while McAllister expressed delight at United's clean sheet, a goal at that late juncture would not have mattered.
Warnock departed Elland Road with much to contemplate and a squad to repair, a task which no manager would envy with the transfer window open for just five more days. McAllister, meanwhile, has players to disappoint when he names his team on Saturday, the sign of a club in good health. Not for him is the Carling Cup without value.
BBC 26/8/08
Leeds 4-0 Crystal Palace
Rampant League One Leeds crushed stuttering Championship side Crystal Palace at Elland Road to reach the third round of the Carling Cup.
Leeds took the lead with their first real attack when Jermaine Beckford flicked on a long ball for Jonathan Douglas to lob over Darryl Flahavan.
Neil Kilkenny then crossed for Beckford to head home and, soon after half-time, Luciano Becchio nodded past Flahavan.
The Argentinian was replaced by Enoch Showunmi who curled home the fourth.
Leeds manager Gary McAllister: "I'm asking people to step up to the plate and when they get their chance to go and take it. I've got to say that from one to 11 tonight they all performed.
"It shows that we have a very strong squad of players here and competition brings out the quality in people.
"I thought Luciano Becchio led the line fantastically, and that some of the combinations in the middle of the park and some of the movement in the final third was excellent.
Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock: "Quite honestly we couldn't cope with the front lads. Once the second goal went in it was disappointing to say the least.
"If you defend like that you're going to get beat against any level of opposition and I thought the two centre forwards bullied our defenders from start to finish. "I'm not used to coming to Leeds and losing. I usually enjoy coming here and putting one over on them but they thoroughly deserved it."
McALLISTER HAILS TRIUMPHANT Leeds
By Wayne Gardiner, PA Sport
Leeds manager Gary McAllister lauded his side after they overpowered Championship outfit Crystal Palace 4-0 in the second-round of the Carling Cup at Elland Road.
The hosts had too much power in attack for Neil Warnock's faltering side with Jonathan Douglas, Jermaine Beckford, Luciano Becchio and Enoch Showumni all getting on the scoresheet.
The four-goal rout means that Leeds have posted nine goals in their two games in the competition so far following the 5-2 win at Chester and McAllister was delighted with the manner of the victory following two sub-standard showings in the league.
"I like the way that we got some rhythm and fluency to our play," he said. "The clean sheet was a good confidence booster for the whole club. We've scored nine goals and we're looking to play with flair and rhythm.
"The two performances against Oldham and Yeovil were not quite up to the standard we're trying to set here. I always had it in mind to make a few changes and play a slightly different formation.
"As much as there was no panic after the last two performances, I'm not going to go overboard with this, as it is still very early in the season and people are trying to find their form."
McAllister made eight changes from the side that drew 1-1 with Yeovil on Saturday and accepts that he has some difficult selection decisions to make ahead of three forthcoming home games, starting with Bristol Rovers on Saturday.
"I'm asking people to step up to the plate and when they get their chance to go and take it," he said. "I've got to say that from one to 11 tonight they all performed.
"It shows that we have a very strong squad of players here and competition brings out the quality in people.
"I thought Luciano led the line fantastically, and that some of the combinations in the middle of the park and some of the movement in the final third was excellent.
"We've got an important run of games here at Elland Road home now and we're looking to come out of it with no defeats.
"It shows that we have a very strong squad of players and the competition brings out the best in people."
Warnock admitted that he is keen to add at least one striker to his ranks before the transfer window shuts, after watching his side slip to a disappointing reverse.
Despite making six changes to the side that drew with Burnley on Saturday, Warnock made just one alteration to his defence and thought that they were bullied by Becchio and Beckford.
"I'm disappointed, obviously," he said.
"I made six changes but you'd expect one of my teams to cope better than that," he said. "Quite honestly we couldn't cope with the front lads. Once the second goal went in it was disappointing to say the least.
"This is a good challenge isn't it? I've just said that to the players. If you defend like that you're going to get beat against any level of opposition and I thought the two centre forwards bullied our defenders from start to finish.
"We've got to come up with the answers and that's the challenge. I was talking to Kevin (Blackwell) today at Sheffield and they've got six strikers, all of whom could get in our team.
"I'm looking for at least one striker and I'd like a couple in the next few days."I'm not used to coming to Leeds and losing. I usually enjoy coming here and putting one over on them but they thoroughly deserved it."
Yorkshire Evening Post 26/8/08
Deadly United rout sad Palace
By Phil Hay
Leeds United 4 Crystal Palace 0
The industry in which Gary McAllister and Neil Warnock work is so unforgiving that a dissatisfied manager need not look hard to find another worse off than himself.
The two men shared comparable concerns about early-season form which, before last night, was conspicuous by its mediocrity at both Leeds United and Crystal Palace, but a Carling Cup tie that deepened Warnock's scowl brought a smile instead to the face of McAllister.
Bothered though he is by United's present inconsistency, the defeat that McAllister's team inflicted on Palace at Elland Road last night gave perspective to the issue of their fluctuating results.
United, for all their ambitions and range of professionals, are still to settle into their second season in League One, but there are no underlying problems at Elland Road beyond the question of which 11 players will combine to provide the most coherent team.
Palace, by comparison, looked deeply troubled last night, to the extent that Warnock moved to confess that the situation will take all of his managerial skill to improve.
His club were ravaged by Leeds in a manner which Warnock is not known to accept from players under his wing and the fact that the 4-0 rout was inflicted on an individual who won so much acclaim as manager of Sheffield United merely increased the satisfaction for the 10,000 supporters who embraced last night's second-round match. There was no doubt that McAllister vacated the touchline the more content manager.
Palace, it transpired, were perfect opponents for Leeds – drawn from a division above United's but bereft of form in their own league and harnessed with a meagre appetite for last night's tie.
Their inability to score a goal in 270 minutes of league football is as concerning a statistic for Warnock as their failure to win any of their three Championship matches this season and Palace's attack was as impotent last night as the club's statistics suggested it might be.
David Lucas, Leeds' goalkeeper for the evening, was the one player who struggled to enhance his prospects of a regular start for United, but only because Palace did so little to involve him.
A free-kick from Ben Watson aside, Lucas reached half-time with gloves which were virtually clean and spoke in glowing terms of United's dominance. Leeds were two goals to the good and already anticipating the Carling Cup's third-round draw by the time the first half concluded.
Warnock's hands were restricted slightly by the untimely suspensions of Shaun Derry and James Scowcroft, two players who would have brought crucial qualities to the table at Elland Road, but there were few ways of explaining the timid nature of Palace's capitulation.
This, Warnock had stated openly before kick-off, was a competition he tentatively aimed to win and elimination before the end of August does not reflect well on a club who are taking slow strides through the first month of the season.
Last night's win will help to tackle McAllister's feeling that Leeds are doing the same.Beaten by Oldham Athletic 10 days ago and held to a draw at Yeovil Town on Saturday, the visit of Palace was not a game for Leeds to treat dismissively.
Eight changes to United's starting team raised obvious questions of how important McAllister considered the Carling Cup to be, but the heavily revised line-up worked to refresh a club who were not exactly bursting with inspiration at Huish Park. Their display against Palace was so convincing that McAllister will find a queue outside the door of his office if certain individuals are not allowed to retain their shirts against Bristol Rovers this weekend.
As an added bonus, McAllister was able to watch 16-year-old left-back Aidan White complete his senior debut with all the poise and natural ability that United's academy staff have spotted in him and Fabian Delph's performance in the centre of midfield was beyond his teenage years, as it so often seems to be.
The complication for McAllister, as demonstrated by Oldham and Yeovil, is not a shortage of talented players but deciding how best to fit those players into his regular line-up.
There are nine midfielders effective enough to warrant a start – perhaps too many for McAllister to keep happy – and it will take patience and good judgment on the part of United's boss to find the most suitable blend.But anyone who doubted that Leeds have the beating of League One could not have failed to have that opinion shifted by the rout of Palace last night.
A goal in the 11th minute put Warnock's players under immediate pressure, but Leeds did not rely on a slender lead to see them home as they had to their cost at Yeovil.
A second effort followed before the end of the first half and the remainder of the game already had an academic feel when Luciano Becchio scored 10 minutes after the break to increase United's lead to three goals. It was not a game McAllister wanted to lose, nor one he can have expected to after the first 45 minutes. Jonathan Douglas opened the scoring with what was United's first shot on goal, reacting more quickly than Palace's defence to a bouncing ball which asked to be stabbed beyond Darryl Flahavan and the failure of Warnock's backline was to become a familiar theme to the evening.
Delph brought a low parry from Flahavan after waltzing through two markers in the 27th minute and Palace's keeper produced a better save four minutes later when he palmed a low shot from Beckford away from his goalline. The reprieve was so brief as to be meaningless.
From the resulting corner, Jermaine Beckford timed his jump perfectly to nod Neil Kilkenny's corner back across Flahavan and beyond the keeper.
There was nothing for Palace's manager to cling to at half-time, other than Watson's free-kick and a header from Clint Hill which Lucas swallowed up.
Ten minutes into the second half, Becchio met a cross from Frazer Richardson and directed a header at Flahavan who got a hand to the ball but diverted it against the post and over the line. From there, the only question was how painfully Palace would suffer.
Flahavan kept out a shot from Enoch Showunmi on 72 minutes, though the substitute should not have given him the chance to reach the ball and Showunmi soon made amends with a fourth goal, squeezing a shot through a defender's legs and into the corner of the net.
Palace almost forced a consolation when Bradley Johnson appeared on the goalline to head away Calvin Andrew's shot, but while McAllister expressed delight at United's clean sheet, a goal at that late juncture would not have mattered.
Warnock departed Elland Road with much to contemplate and a squad to repair, a task which no manager would envy with the transfer window open for just five more days. McAllister, meanwhile, has players to disappoint when he names his team on Saturday, the sign of a club in good health. Not for him is the Carling Cup without value.
BBC 26/8/08
Leeds 4-0 Crystal Palace
Rampant League One Leeds crushed stuttering Championship side Crystal Palace at Elland Road to reach the third round of the Carling Cup.
Leeds took the lead with their first real attack when Jermaine Beckford flicked on a long ball for Jonathan Douglas to lob over Darryl Flahavan.
Neil Kilkenny then crossed for Beckford to head home and, soon after half-time, Luciano Becchio nodded past Flahavan.
The Argentinian was replaced by Enoch Showunmi who curled home the fourth.
Leeds manager Gary McAllister: "I'm asking people to step up to the plate and when they get their chance to go and take it. I've got to say that from one to 11 tonight they all performed.
"It shows that we have a very strong squad of players here and competition brings out the quality in people.
"I thought Luciano Becchio led the line fantastically, and that some of the combinations in the middle of the park and some of the movement in the final third was excellent.
Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock: "Quite honestly we couldn't cope with the front lads. Once the second goal went in it was disappointing to say the least.
"If you defend like that you're going to get beat against any level of opposition and I thought the two centre forwards bullied our defenders from start to finish. "I'm not used to coming to Leeds and losing. I usually enjoy coming here and putting one over on them but they thoroughly deserved it."