Leeds United v Burnley: McDermott’s Whites are quick to convince
YEP 17/4/13
By Phil Hay
A consistent mark of Brian McDermott’s Reading was their ability to finish each season strongly. So it might prove at Leeds United: two games, two wins and a crowd convinced after less than a week in his new job.
It took the 52-year-old two-and-a-half years to get Reading where he wanted them so McDermott will welcome the length of contract he signed at Elland Road, and he has seen himself the scope for rebuilding and long-term planning.
But he has found an ounce of encouragement too, with a full summer almost upon him.
There are signs of what McDermott intends to do with Leeds and the necessary break from direct, easy-to-read football has already been made, much to the approval of those who have seen both brands of performance this season.
The reasons for United’s position in the Championship are more deep-seated and fundamental than their ability to pass the ball – impossible to cure without money and time – but the evidence of Saturday’s derby against Sheffield Wednesday and a persistent defeat of Burnley is that the crowd will give him the latter. Transfer funds, on the other hand, are the responsibility of his club.
There was tolerance last night of a performance which in parts would have earned McDermott’s predecessor, Neil Warnock, no great credit.
There was noticeable appreciation too of the effort made to avoid route one, even when the match ran into its final half-hour without a goal to show for the effort.
It is far from certain that this squad are capable of doing what McDermott wants them to do but in this short window of fixtures, he is finding out.
And when the only goal of the evening came on 63 minutes, it was beautifully created by two exact passes from El-Hadji Diouf and Ross McCormack and finished on the run by Rodolph Austin 10 yards from goal.
“We’re passing the ball,” sang the Kop, a mark of how badly this season has annoyed them.
Ordinary results and ordinary football; two things McDermott expects to change.
There is only so much he can do in the winter of a season which ends in a fortnight but his blueprint was evident in the second half of Saturday’s win over Wednesday.
The surge in impetus inspired by Luke Varney’s goals and Diouf’s appearance as a substitute essentially picked last night’s team, with Varney playing as a striker and Diouf profiting from his influence at the weekend. Steve Morison’s absence from the squad was explained on the grounds of injury but could have been justified in other ways.
While Leeds replaced one out-of-form striker, Burnley were forced to compensate for the loss of the only player who regularly scores their goals. Charlie Austin, with 28 to his name, underwent emergency surgery to remove his Appendix yesterday and was a glaring omission from the Burnley teamsheet. It left Sean Dyche to duel at Elland Road without a pistol.
The lack of cordite was tangible in general. McDermott’s presence might have increased the gate slightly but a mid-table fixture at the end of a term when both Leeds and Burnley have fallen between two stools got the attendance it deserved, some 16,788. There were blue seats everywhere and a murmur in the air throughout the first half.
The game took the same sort of tone, with fleeting chances and immediate debate over the judgement of referee Fred Graham. His early booking of Sam Byram for handball as a throw-in dropped over his head was unforgiving and made to seem more so when Dean Marney went unpunished for a lazy foul on Diouf. Graham had no choice but to show his yellow card again when Ben Mee committed an identical foul on Rodolph Austin in the 13th minute.
Chris McCann made the first positive impression by curling a shot over United’s goal as Paul Green attempted to shield the edge of the box and Michael Tonge’s searching run into Burnley’s box was met by Jason Shackell’s anxious clearance.
McDermott tackled Burnley with a midfield diamond, using Green as the defensive tip and Diouf as the support for Varney and McCormack. In between, Michael Tonge and Rodolph Austin had the best of a first half but the first half did not display the best of Leeds, despite their concerted attempts to spread the ball around.
Their patience needed precision and even their manager – a calm, considered figure – showed minor pangs of frustration as promising situations petered out and Lee Grant went untested in Burnley’s goal. The solution to mediocrity at Elland Road will not be found overnight.
In their more dominant spells, McCormack sliced a volley wide and Varney was penalised for a foul as Diouf’s cross from the right caught Burnley’s backline stretched.
But it took until the 30th minute for United to come good and leave Grant relying on the woodwork to protect his clean sheet.
Stephen Warnock dribbled his way into space on the right wing and put up a cross which Jason Pearce headed against Shackell on the goalline. Varney met the rebound with a nodded finish, striking the top of the crossbar as Grant moved to guard his net. The goalkeeper would not have stopped a more accurate finish.
For Burnley, their opportunity of note did not materialise for another 12 minutes, though Paddy Kenny’s dive to his left was urgent enough to suggest that Ross Wallace’s low shot had him worried.
Replays appeared to show the effort clipping the outside of a post, the product of Burnley’s aggressive finish to the half.
After so much huffing and puffing, the ease with which Leeds cut Burnley open in the first 20 seconds after half-time caught the entire stadium by surprise. Diouf’s cross was an invitation for Varney who appeared unmarked but connected weakly with the ball, skewing it away from Grant’s net.
When Grant punched the forward goalbound header over the bar five minutes later, it was apparent that this would not be Varney’s night but Leeds began to turn the screw as they had on Sheffield Wednesday. Varney saw another shot blocked and Stephen Warnock’s deep, curling delivery was flicked away from under his own bar by the tireless Shackell. When McCormack’s pass to Diouf was lobbed with precision towards the penalty spot, even Shackell found himself a yard out of place as Austin buried the dropping ball with a sweet finish.
Like Wednesday three days earlier, Burnley rode a few more minutes of pressure and tried to spoil the scoreline. Danny Ings hammered a volley wide but came no closer to a goal than McCormack’s late free-kick which Grant appeared to tip around one post.
This was United’s evening; in all, it has been McDermott’s week.
A consistent mark of Brian McDermott’s Reading was their ability to finish each season strongly. So it might prove at Leeds United: two games, two wins and a crowd convinced after less than a week in his new job.
It took the 52-year-old two-and-a-half years to get Reading where he wanted them so McDermott will welcome the length of contract he signed at Elland Road, and he has seen himself the scope for rebuilding and long-term planning.
But he has found an ounce of encouragement too, with a full summer almost upon him.
There are signs of what McDermott intends to do with Leeds and the necessary break from direct, easy-to-read football has already been made, much to the approval of those who have seen both brands of performance this season.
The reasons for United’s position in the Championship are more deep-seated and fundamental than their ability to pass the ball – impossible to cure without money and time – but the evidence of Saturday’s derby against Sheffield Wednesday and a persistent defeat of Burnley is that the crowd will give him the latter. Transfer funds, on the other hand, are the responsibility of his club.
There was tolerance last night of a performance which in parts would have earned McDermott’s predecessor, Neil Warnock, no great credit.
There was noticeable appreciation too of the effort made to avoid route one, even when the match ran into its final half-hour without a goal to show for the effort.
It is far from certain that this squad are capable of doing what McDermott wants them to do but in this short window of fixtures, he is finding out.
And when the only goal of the evening came on 63 minutes, it was beautifully created by two exact passes from El-Hadji Diouf and Ross McCormack and finished on the run by Rodolph Austin 10 yards from goal.
“We’re passing the ball,” sang the Kop, a mark of how badly this season has annoyed them.
Ordinary results and ordinary football; two things McDermott expects to change.
There is only so much he can do in the winter of a season which ends in a fortnight but his blueprint was evident in the second half of Saturday’s win over Wednesday.
The surge in impetus inspired by Luke Varney’s goals and Diouf’s appearance as a substitute essentially picked last night’s team, with Varney playing as a striker and Diouf profiting from his influence at the weekend. Steve Morison’s absence from the squad was explained on the grounds of injury but could have been justified in other ways.
While Leeds replaced one out-of-form striker, Burnley were forced to compensate for the loss of the only player who regularly scores their goals. Charlie Austin, with 28 to his name, underwent emergency surgery to remove his Appendix yesterday and was a glaring omission from the Burnley teamsheet. It left Sean Dyche to duel at Elland Road without a pistol.
The lack of cordite was tangible in general. McDermott’s presence might have increased the gate slightly but a mid-table fixture at the end of a term when both Leeds and Burnley have fallen between two stools got the attendance it deserved, some 16,788. There were blue seats everywhere and a murmur in the air throughout the first half.
The game took the same sort of tone, with fleeting chances and immediate debate over the judgement of referee Fred Graham. His early booking of Sam Byram for handball as a throw-in dropped over his head was unforgiving and made to seem more so when Dean Marney went unpunished for a lazy foul on Diouf. Graham had no choice but to show his yellow card again when Ben Mee committed an identical foul on Rodolph Austin in the 13th minute.
Chris McCann made the first positive impression by curling a shot over United’s goal as Paul Green attempted to shield the edge of the box and Michael Tonge’s searching run into Burnley’s box was met by Jason Shackell’s anxious clearance.
McDermott tackled Burnley with a midfield diamond, using Green as the defensive tip and Diouf as the support for Varney and McCormack. In between, Michael Tonge and Rodolph Austin had the best of a first half but the first half did not display the best of Leeds, despite their concerted attempts to spread the ball around.
Their patience needed precision and even their manager – a calm, considered figure – showed minor pangs of frustration as promising situations petered out and Lee Grant went untested in Burnley’s goal. The solution to mediocrity at Elland Road will not be found overnight.
In their more dominant spells, McCormack sliced a volley wide and Varney was penalised for a foul as Diouf’s cross from the right caught Burnley’s backline stretched.
But it took until the 30th minute for United to come good and leave Grant relying on the woodwork to protect his clean sheet.
Stephen Warnock dribbled his way into space on the right wing and put up a cross which Jason Pearce headed against Shackell on the goalline. Varney met the rebound with a nodded finish, striking the top of the crossbar as Grant moved to guard his net. The goalkeeper would not have stopped a more accurate finish.
For Burnley, their opportunity of note did not materialise for another 12 minutes, though Paddy Kenny’s dive to his left was urgent enough to suggest that Ross Wallace’s low shot had him worried.
Replays appeared to show the effort clipping the outside of a post, the product of Burnley’s aggressive finish to the half.
After so much huffing and puffing, the ease with which Leeds cut Burnley open in the first 20 seconds after half-time caught the entire stadium by surprise. Diouf’s cross was an invitation for Varney who appeared unmarked but connected weakly with the ball, skewing it away from Grant’s net.
When Grant punched the forward goalbound header over the bar five minutes later, it was apparent that this would not be Varney’s night but Leeds began to turn the screw as they had on Sheffield Wednesday. Varney saw another shot blocked and Stephen Warnock’s deep, curling delivery was flicked away from under his own bar by the tireless Shackell. When McCormack’s pass to Diouf was lobbed with precision towards the penalty spot, even Shackell found himself a yard out of place as Austin buried the dropping ball with a sweet finish.
Like Wednesday three days earlier, Burnley rode a few more minutes of pressure and tried to spoil the scoreline. Danny Ings hammered a volley wide but came no closer to a goal than McCormack’s late free-kick which Grant appeared to tip around one post.
This was United’s evening; in all, it has been McDermott’s week.