-



Popular posts from this blog

Leeds United CEO's traditional input absent as errors and relegation peril render words futile - YEP 3/5/22

-
Image
Angus Kinnear's matchday programme notes were conspicuous by their absence as Leeds United hosted Manchester City. By Graham Smyth It wasn't the first time this season that the club's official publication had gone without the CEO's input - there have been occasions when a tight turnaround between games and print deadlines has curbed his routine delve into the thesaurus to back the team or take potshots at the big six, the government, VAR or the fan-led review. On other occasions there has been a definite sense of keeping schtum and adopting a lower profile. When Spurs visited, on what turned out to be Marcelo Bielsa's last afternoon in charge of the Whites, with Jesse Marsch waiting in the wings, Kinnear's notes went missing. What could he have said, after all, in the knowledge that change was in the wind? On Saturday, when City visited Elland Road, with the tension rising and the Premier League table starting to look increasingly concerning, perhaps i
Read more

Forgetting the script - The Square Ball 9/5/22

-
Image
WHAT WOULD GANDHI DO? Written by: Rob Conlon During a recent pre-season, Leeds tweeted a clip of the defence and goalkeeper practising how to distribute the ball and start attacks. Over and over again they practised the same routine of short passes, leading to the goalkeeper chipping the ball out to a full-back. They practised it to the left-back, then to the right-back. The same combination of passes between defenders and goalkeeper, mirrored either side, so it became the kind of ‘scripted’ passage of play Scott Parker was once derided for pointing out. There were pros and cons to this routine. It asked a lot of either full-back, who needed to trust their chest control and ability to find a subsequent pass to a teammate when they were likely to be under pressure from the opposition winger. Sometimes it was going to go wrong, like at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, when Stuart Dallas’ touch was just off, allowing Marcos Alonso to steal the ball and create a goal for Mason Mo
Read more

Jesse Marsch on 'incredible' Joe Gelhardt skill and anti-board chants during big Leeds United draw - YEP 15/5/22

-
Image
Jesse Marsch said he didn't hear Marcelo Bielsa's name or anti-board messages chanted during a 1-1 draw with Brighton that keeps Leeds United's survival hopes alive. By Graham Smyth The American watched his side go a goal down in a desperately poor first half performance before a drastic improvement helped them stay in the game in the second half long enough to find an equaliser. Joe Gelhardt's skill and Pascal Struijk's stoppage time header sealed a point that took Leeds out of the drop zone and above Burnley, who earlier lost to Spurs. The Clarets have a game in hand on Thursday night at Aston Villa but Leeds' result has ensured the fight will go into the very last game next Sunday. Had Struijk not headed home the late chance, the atmosphere would likely have been very different at Elland Road. During the second half fans at each end of the ground were heard chanting against owner Andrea Radrizzani and singing Marsch's predecessor's name, before
Read more