Yorkshire Evening Post 20/10/10
Leeds United v Leicester City: Inconsistent Whites outfoxed
By Phil Hay
Distant though it might have been, a Carling Cup tie staged in August told Leicester City that they should visit Elland Road last night expecting to win.
Likewise Preston North End's riotous victory at the same venue a month ago.
Leeds United like to think of their stadium as safe ground and, in Simon Grayson's days as manager, it has been; the scene of only six away wins in league fixtures staged there. But if Grayson feared that word of his club's fallibility was spreading, last night's reunion with Leicester confirmed his suspicions.
The display of strength he anticipated failed to materialise, and satisfactory recompense for Leeds' chaotic defeat to Preston will come at a later date.
For much of the evening, Grayson must have wondered if he was watching the same game, he cut a bewildered figure on the touchline as Leicester under the calm hand of Sven Goran Eriksson attacked United's goal fearlessly. The "unfinished business" Grayson spoke of beforehand remained incomplete once Kyle Naughton and Steve Howard confirmed Leicester's win.
The onslaught prior to Naughton's goal was so severe that Grayson's first substitution came inside half an hour, 15 minutes after Leicester had rattled the crossbar. At no point of the game did City give the impression of a team intimidated or unsettled by their surroundings, until Luciano Becchio reduced their lead to a single goal with seven minutes to play. It is not a reality that Grayson wants or likes.
Naughton's strike arrived on 64 minutes and required a deflection to carry it into the net but United's defeat was not a story of harsh misfortune, rather that of a team well beaten. Leicester at least had the guise of a more gifted team than Preston but the consolation was tenuous.
Bemusing, also, was the comparison with United's victory at Middlesbrough on Saturday. As Grayson himself remarked, the only consistent factor about his team and many others in the Championship is their thorough inconsistency. Leicester prevented Leeds from rising above it.
The injuries bothering Grayson on Monday afternoon did not prevent him from naming an unchanged line-up last night after George McCartney, Sanchez Watt and Amdy Faye were declared fit on the morning of the game.
United's organised defeat of Middlesbrough had invited continuity and Grayson was happy to embrace it once his bill of health arrived. Within minutes of the start of the game, he was wondering why he had.
Faye's involvement seemed particularly essential amid a Leicester midfield whose guile and experience made a mockery of the club's league position. It was, as the first half proved last night, a more capable midfield than that bullied by the Senegalese international at the Riverside; enough, certainly, for Eriksson to work with in the Championship.
The Swede stood where Paulo Sousa stood two months ago, on the evening of Leicester's win at Elland Road in the Carling Cup. That result – identical as it turned out – allowed Sousa's predecessor to travel to Leeds with measured confidence, in possession of a very similar squad. Any optimism he felt was well-founded.
Grayson, for his part, had failed to inspire a defeat of his former club in three previous attempts, and the docile mood of his players in the opening 10 minutes was a negative portent, contrasting with the purpose shown on Teesside. Urgings from the stands were audible before either team had broken sweat.
United were fortunate not to be trailing by three goals by the time Grayson added his voice to the flurry of complaints. Andy King slid a clever lay-off from Martyn Waghorn into the side-netting and both Waghorn and Paul Gallagher lashed volleys over Jason Brown's goal after being left unimpeded inside the box. Grayson was as unamused as the crowd.
Their combined anger grew immeasurably when Bruno Berner reacted to Robert Snodgrass losing possession by driving the ball against the underside of Brown's bar, a shot that beat the goalkeeper's desperate dive. There was no question of his shot crossing the line but every suggestion that a break in parity was coming.
It was, for a period of 20 minutes, as bad as the debacle against Preston North End, without the goals and against a more skilful team. Leicester's counter-attack which covered the length of Elland Road, ending with Brown clutching Franck Moussa's strike, epitomised their command of the pitch. The header from Neill Collins which bounced beyond Chris Weale's goal midway through the first half was blessed relief.
It was not enough, however, to restrain Grayson from a substitution before half-an-hour had passed. Watt's fitness raised doubts before kick-off but the introduction of Bradley Johnson was clearly tactical, and Grayson's consoling words to Watt as he left the field seemed to make that point. The on-loan Arsenal winger had been an unfortunate passenger.
The change allowed Faye to drop towards United's defence and fill a troublesome hole. Johnson's first act was to rise above Leicester's defence and nod McCartney's cross wide and he cleared Weale's net after meeting Luciano Becchio's lay-off on the edge of City's area. But Naylor's intervention was necessary to stop Andy King burying a shot in the last minute of the half.
Grayson needed the interval and succeeded in generating more purpose among his players. Leicester's flanks began to weakened slightly and Becchio might have scored at the end of Jonathan Howson's corner. But twice in the 62nd minute Leicester threatened Brown with lobs from King and Waghorn, the latter scraping the roof of Brown's net.
The second chance was the precursor to a goal which Leicester had been threatening all night. Naughton cut in front of Davide Somma and rode Snodgrass' tackle before attacking Brown with a shot which hit Collins and deflected into the net. City were worth their lead.Leeds, by then, had slipped into a strange formation which dangled Becchio alone up front, and Neil Kilkenny and Max Gradel took their cue from the bench with 20 minutes to play, a last throw of the dice.
But having come so far, Leicester were not inclined to give up a precious win, the likes of which they have seen infrequently and Elland Road is seeing too often. Howard's tap-in with nine minutes to play guarded it against Becchio's late reply.
Bradford Telegraph and Argus 19/10/10
Double whammy for home-sick Leeds United
By John Wray »
Leeds 1 Leicester 2
Sven Goran Eriksson toasted his first win as Leicester manager as below-par Leeds suffered their second successive home defeat.
Eriksson saw defender Kyle Naughton and substitute striker Steve Howard – who netted the late winner from the penalty spot in their Carling Cup win at Elland Road in August – score the second-half goals that gave the Foxes their first away win in the Championship.
Luciano Becchio pulled a goal back with a header but Leicester thoroughly deserved the points.
Leeds manager Simon Grayson kept the side which won at Middlesbrough, with George McCartney, Amdy Faye and Sanchez Watt passed fit shortly before the game.
Leicester could have been four goals up in the opening 15 minutes. Their running off the ball was swift and intelligent and after having a shot well saved, Andy King set up an excellent chance which Waghorn lifted over the bar.
The unmarked Paul Gallagher volleyed wide from Franck Moussa’s cut-back and Bruno Berner had a 20-yard drive palmed on to the bar by keeper Jason Brown.
Leeds had to wait until the 26th minute for their first opportunity, Neill Collins’ header passing just outside the right post.
Left winger Watt was replaced by Bradley Johnson on the half hour, with Faye dropping deeper to fill the gap between the defence and midfield.
Johnson had a licence to break forward and he had a header and a shot off target before the break but Leicester could feel much more satisfied than Leeds with their first-half performance.
Home fans in a crowd of 22,775 had a right to expect more composure from their team but there were too many hurried passes and aimless clearances.
Becchio wasn’t far off the target with a header from Jonny Howson’s corner but Leicester got the goal they deserved in the 64th minute.
Sheffield-born right back Naughton, on loan from Tottenham, shrugged off challenges by Davide Somma and Robert Snodgrass as he drifted in from the right and his shot was deflected off Collins and over keeper Brown into the net Grayson made a double substitution with 20 minutes left, Max Gradel replacing the ineffective Snodgrass while Neil Kilkenny came on for Faye.
However, Leicester broke swiftly in the 81st minute for King to release Howard, whose low shot found the far corner of the net. Leeds hit back just two minutes later, Becchio leaping above Curtis Davies to head home Gradel’s right wing cross and collect his third goal in four games.
Leeds United v Leicester City: Inconsistent Whites outfoxed
By Phil Hay
Distant though it might have been, a Carling Cup tie staged in August told Leicester City that they should visit Elland Road last night expecting to win.
Likewise Preston North End's riotous victory at the same venue a month ago.
Leeds United like to think of their stadium as safe ground and, in Simon Grayson's days as manager, it has been; the scene of only six away wins in league fixtures staged there. But if Grayson feared that word of his club's fallibility was spreading, last night's reunion with Leicester confirmed his suspicions.
The display of strength he anticipated failed to materialise, and satisfactory recompense for Leeds' chaotic defeat to Preston will come at a later date.
For much of the evening, Grayson must have wondered if he was watching the same game, he cut a bewildered figure on the touchline as Leicester under the calm hand of Sven Goran Eriksson attacked United's goal fearlessly. The "unfinished business" Grayson spoke of beforehand remained incomplete once Kyle Naughton and Steve Howard confirmed Leicester's win.
The onslaught prior to Naughton's goal was so severe that Grayson's first substitution came inside half an hour, 15 minutes after Leicester had rattled the crossbar. At no point of the game did City give the impression of a team intimidated or unsettled by their surroundings, until Luciano Becchio reduced their lead to a single goal with seven minutes to play. It is not a reality that Grayson wants or likes.
Naughton's strike arrived on 64 minutes and required a deflection to carry it into the net but United's defeat was not a story of harsh misfortune, rather that of a team well beaten. Leicester at least had the guise of a more gifted team than Preston but the consolation was tenuous.
Bemusing, also, was the comparison with United's victory at Middlesbrough on Saturday. As Grayson himself remarked, the only consistent factor about his team and many others in the Championship is their thorough inconsistency. Leicester prevented Leeds from rising above it.
The injuries bothering Grayson on Monday afternoon did not prevent him from naming an unchanged line-up last night after George McCartney, Sanchez Watt and Amdy Faye were declared fit on the morning of the game.
United's organised defeat of Middlesbrough had invited continuity and Grayson was happy to embrace it once his bill of health arrived. Within minutes of the start of the game, he was wondering why he had.
Faye's involvement seemed particularly essential amid a Leicester midfield whose guile and experience made a mockery of the club's league position. It was, as the first half proved last night, a more capable midfield than that bullied by the Senegalese international at the Riverside; enough, certainly, for Eriksson to work with in the Championship.
The Swede stood where Paulo Sousa stood two months ago, on the evening of Leicester's win at Elland Road in the Carling Cup. That result – identical as it turned out – allowed Sousa's predecessor to travel to Leeds with measured confidence, in possession of a very similar squad. Any optimism he felt was well-founded.
Grayson, for his part, had failed to inspire a defeat of his former club in three previous attempts, and the docile mood of his players in the opening 10 minutes was a negative portent, contrasting with the purpose shown on Teesside. Urgings from the stands were audible before either team had broken sweat.
United were fortunate not to be trailing by three goals by the time Grayson added his voice to the flurry of complaints. Andy King slid a clever lay-off from Martyn Waghorn into the side-netting and both Waghorn and Paul Gallagher lashed volleys over Jason Brown's goal after being left unimpeded inside the box. Grayson was as unamused as the crowd.
Their combined anger grew immeasurably when Bruno Berner reacted to Robert Snodgrass losing possession by driving the ball against the underside of Brown's bar, a shot that beat the goalkeeper's desperate dive. There was no question of his shot crossing the line but every suggestion that a break in parity was coming.
It was, for a period of 20 minutes, as bad as the debacle against Preston North End, without the goals and against a more skilful team. Leicester's counter-attack which covered the length of Elland Road, ending with Brown clutching Franck Moussa's strike, epitomised their command of the pitch. The header from Neill Collins which bounced beyond Chris Weale's goal midway through the first half was blessed relief.
It was not enough, however, to restrain Grayson from a substitution before half-an-hour had passed. Watt's fitness raised doubts before kick-off but the introduction of Bradley Johnson was clearly tactical, and Grayson's consoling words to Watt as he left the field seemed to make that point. The on-loan Arsenal winger had been an unfortunate passenger.
The change allowed Faye to drop towards United's defence and fill a troublesome hole. Johnson's first act was to rise above Leicester's defence and nod McCartney's cross wide and he cleared Weale's net after meeting Luciano Becchio's lay-off on the edge of City's area. But Naylor's intervention was necessary to stop Andy King burying a shot in the last minute of the half.
Grayson needed the interval and succeeded in generating more purpose among his players. Leicester's flanks began to weakened slightly and Becchio might have scored at the end of Jonathan Howson's corner. But twice in the 62nd minute Leicester threatened Brown with lobs from King and Waghorn, the latter scraping the roof of Brown's net.
The second chance was the precursor to a goal which Leicester had been threatening all night. Naughton cut in front of Davide Somma and rode Snodgrass' tackle before attacking Brown with a shot which hit Collins and deflected into the net. City were worth their lead.Leeds, by then, had slipped into a strange formation which dangled Becchio alone up front, and Neil Kilkenny and Max Gradel took their cue from the bench with 20 minutes to play, a last throw of the dice.
But having come so far, Leicester were not inclined to give up a precious win, the likes of which they have seen infrequently and Elland Road is seeing too often. Howard's tap-in with nine minutes to play guarded it against Becchio's late reply.
Bradford Telegraph and Argus 19/10/10
Double whammy for home-sick Leeds United
By John Wray »
Leeds 1 Leicester 2
Sven Goran Eriksson toasted his first win as Leicester manager as below-par Leeds suffered their second successive home defeat.
Eriksson saw defender Kyle Naughton and substitute striker Steve Howard – who netted the late winner from the penalty spot in their Carling Cup win at Elland Road in August – score the second-half goals that gave the Foxes their first away win in the Championship.
Luciano Becchio pulled a goal back with a header but Leicester thoroughly deserved the points.
Leeds manager Simon Grayson kept the side which won at Middlesbrough, with George McCartney, Amdy Faye and Sanchez Watt passed fit shortly before the game.
Leicester could have been four goals up in the opening 15 minutes. Their running off the ball was swift and intelligent and after having a shot well saved, Andy King set up an excellent chance which Waghorn lifted over the bar.
The unmarked Paul Gallagher volleyed wide from Franck Moussa’s cut-back and Bruno Berner had a 20-yard drive palmed on to the bar by keeper Jason Brown.
Leeds had to wait until the 26th minute for their first opportunity, Neill Collins’ header passing just outside the right post.
Left winger Watt was replaced by Bradley Johnson on the half hour, with Faye dropping deeper to fill the gap between the defence and midfield.
Johnson had a licence to break forward and he had a header and a shot off target before the break but Leicester could feel much more satisfied than Leeds with their first-half performance.
Home fans in a crowd of 22,775 had a right to expect more composure from their team but there were too many hurried passes and aimless clearances.
Becchio wasn’t far off the target with a header from Jonny Howson’s corner but Leicester got the goal they deserved in the 64th minute.
Sheffield-born right back Naughton, on loan from Tottenham, shrugged off challenges by Davide Somma and Robert Snodgrass as he drifted in from the right and his shot was deflected off Collins and over keeper Brown into the net Grayson made a double substitution with 20 minutes left, Max Gradel replacing the ineffective Snodgrass while Neil Kilkenny came on for Faye.
However, Leicester broke swiftly in the 81st minute for King to release Howard, whose low shot found the far corner of the net. Leeds hit back just two minutes later, Becchio leaping above Curtis Davies to head home Gradel’s right wing cross and collect his third goal in four games.