THE BEAUTY OF REFLECTION

Oldham captain Sean Gregan celebrates the opening of the new 24 hour Mr Kipling order hotline

The strangest thing about watching a Leeds defeat on a Saturday is the difference between the post-match rant you and your fellow supporters share on a Saturday night and the reflective, considered view you take on the Monday morning.

The expectation levels are now exceptionally high at Leeds. Despite the fact that Oldham are traditionally a bogey side for us, and despite the fact that we know them to be a good side, and despite the fact that they completely annihilated us at home last season, this was all utterly meaningless as we approached a game in which I, along with everyone else, fully expected us to turn them over and continue the consistent form we have shown throughout pre-season and of course in the opening league and cup game of the last seven days.

For those who rant after a defeat (and I tend to be one of them), the immediate post-match reaction is always the same; an outpouring of hefty criticism driven by highly charged emotional frustration. Being a Leeds supporter is like being in a long-term relationship which you can never get out of. So when the team promises so much achievement, you go in a right old mood with them when they don’t deliver what you feel you should rightly expect.

But, in the spirit of a long-term relationship, you ultimately justify the team’s failings on that occasion and forgive them, at the same time restoring the expectation levels for the next game. You’ll forgive the psycho-babble but it serves to make a point about being a Leeds supporter.

RANTERS & DEFENDERS

On the message boards after the game and into the next day the posts always have a stark divide between the “Ranters”; those who want to lash out at the team for the disappointment they have been forced to suffer, and the “Defenders”; those who hammer the Ranters for hammering the team.

The Ranters are generally the same; quick to judge the players, the management and the tactics. The Defenders are a little more diverse ranging from a minority who simply will not criticise the management, team or tactics under almost any circumstances, to the majority who are able to take a more balanced view and respond accordingly.

I always wondered to myself how there can be such diverse opinion on the same game from so many people watching from the same viewpoint and with the same interests. And then it dawned on me. Actually I think we are all Defenders; the final, settled opinion you take on a game is likely to be the same for pretty much all Leeds fans. The only real difference therefore is that for most people it is simply a matter of how long it takes you to get from being a Ranter to being a Defender.

In each case it is very different but the result is always the same; by the time the next game comes around we are all Defenders, filled with optimism, and this is the beauty of being a Leeds fan (and, I suppose, any football fan in general, but it feels like it is reserved for Leeds fans especially!). No matter what has gone before we always look on with optimism; it just takes some a little longer than others.

THE GAME

The purpose of the blog is not to get too much into match report territory; you can see these on the official site or in the newspapers. The Square Ball has some superbly detailed match reports.

There are however a couple of points worth making in general about Saturday’s game.

My overall feeling (I am a Defender now, remember) is that this was a blip; a continuation of Oldham being our bogey side and John Sheridan knowing how to motivate his team for a trip to Elland Road. It is important to keep perspective. Our squad is improved from last season and it is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, in the division. But we won’t win every game and we won’t play brilliantly in every game because, well, nobody ever does.

This is the last season where I think we can all justify to ourselves that we are guests (financially welcome, otherwise unwelcome) in this league before we end up feeling a sense of depressing belonging, so I know as much as anyone how vital it is that we go up. Both Swansea and Forest had average starts last season, both had wobbly periods throughout the season, but both went up. So there is a trend to follow and to keep us optimistic.

I am reminded of watching Howard Wilkinson get lambasted by supporters in the West Stand on the “Race for the Title” video during the early part of the season when we weren’t quite firing on all cylinders. When you think of what an absolutely amazing season that was in 1989-1990 its almost impossible to comprehend.

Ultimately though, being a Leeds fan, the optimism will always be tempered by pessimism. Saturday needs to be a wake up call for the manager and the players. We have been riding the crest of a wave of opinion amongst the media, the bookmakers, ourselves and also the personnel at the club. We controlled the game for an hour and really never looked in danger. But we also created nothing and this is a little concerning because over that period of time, against any team in this division, I would expect us to have at least one or two decent scoring chances.

The wingers are being used for the opposite flank that their footing would suggest. Though at first surprising, a tricky winger cutting in can be just as effective as a by-line cross so I have no problem with this. I was a little surprised at the continued bypassing of the central midfield by the full-backs; the use of a central midfield to feed wingers is in my view more effective than predictable balls down the line so I would like to see this more.

The most concerning thing for me though was the attitude of the players when we went 2-0 down. Utterly deflated and largely uninterested the last fifteen minutes were a total waste of time and this is the polar opposite of the type of attitude you would expect to see from divisional champions. McAllister was a champion, he will know this, he needs to get it across.

The management are human after all and not impervious to making mistakes. Making Frazer Richardson captain is a big, big mistake. Lacking a voice or any form of visible leadership on Saturday but more importantly lacking sufficient talent or ability to justify a regular place in the side on merit, McAllister's decision guarantees Richardson's place. Every week. Big mistake.

But enough of all this negativity. Like I say, I am a Defender again. It was a blip, it is gone, we move on.

From Ranter to Defender in 36 hours. What’s your turnaround time?

Marching on Together