Back to the Spotlight
Apologies that its been a while since my last blog… work commitments, a 13 month-old and general laziness have been keeping me very busy!
It has been a bit of a funny week to be honest, pivoting on the defeat at Derby on Tuesday night. Funny not in the sense that we lost but rather that out of a game where once again we failed to take our chances despite creating the national media finally picked up on two things; the positive football that Gary McAllister has brought to us and the centrepiece of that positive football, Fabian Delph.
The reports, both locally and nationally, coming out of the Carling Cup game at Pride Park were incredibly positive for Leeds, not least the gratifying sight of chunky bin-dipper Paul Jewell openly conceding our superiority for large portions of the of the game. And I want to see more of this of course, this is the type of publicity we have been sadly lacking throughout the hundreds of thousands of written words about Leeds since 2002-3 which frankly have been more akin to the tone of recent front pages in these turbulent economic times.
However it does continue to gloss over the outstanding fundamental issue at the heart of Leeds’ performances; the lack of penetration and ruthlessness in the final third. There is no doubt that the football we are playing is of a high quality, much higher than the third division deserves. McAllister is a great advocate of the patient passing game and I have to say I agree with his philosophy. However the strategy falls down when that patience is not rewarded with an end product.
In particular at home games the crowd have less patience than the players and this needs to be tempered. Under McAllister, Leeds will never be rampaging forward, it does not fit the philosophy. Passing the ball across the park, making the opposition work harder by chasing the ball, and stretching the play to create the opportunities in the final third does.
So where is it going wrong? Well let’s face it, it’s not really going wrong is it - Northampton at home and Derby away were examples of the issue I refer to but both of these were cup games of limited actual significance in the context of this season’s objectives – we are third in the table after all on a good run of form particularly at home. But this absence of ruthlessness and penetration has been a common feature of the season so far and it is this I think that makes the difference between where we are now and where ultimately this team is capable of being. Running away with the title.
All successful teams have inconsistencies during a season but always hit a point when everything clicks, the team finds its groove, creates momentum and pushes onwards and upwards. Finding this element to our game will I believe make everything fall into place. If we fail to find it there is a danger that the confidence in the final third could disappear completely over a period of time rendering the philosophy running through the midfield totally redundant. One will happen very quickly, the other more slowly over time. The Christmas period and Leeds’ transfer activity in January will suggest which way the club see it.
The other issue is of course the defence. This is perhaps food for another blog thought but it is also arguable that if the issue up front is resolved the issue at the back becomes less problematic.
So the other big piece of media spotlight this week, and in fact increasingly over the last few weeks, has been our star player, Fabian Delph. Let’s be completely honest. Delph is an unbelievable talent, perhaps potentially the greatest Leeds United-produced talent of my lifetime. His all-round game - passing, shooting, tackling, skill and pace - are supported by an incredible self-belief and this rightly puts him in the spotlight and, one suspects, ripe for the picking by a Premier League club.
But actually this raises a number of interesting questions about football, especially about financial power and individual short-term greed against longer-term impact, potential, and loyalty. I know, I know, there is no loyalty in football any more. Believe me, I view modern day footballers with utter contempt; they are pretty much all mercenaries who see the football profession as a ticket to personal extravagance first with professional integrity and success a distant, but intrinsically-linked second. A broad generalisation and of course every rule has its exceptions but actually the more one thinks about the anomaly that is Leeds United in League One, the more this may have a positive impact on the future of Fabian Delph.
Firstly, he plays for Leeds United. This actually means something. The interest generated at every away game I can remember, from the Premier League through to the depths of the Football League paints a clear picture. We have always been and will always be famous. This isn’t bragging, it is fact. It is infamy, borne out of hatred from outside and set against total devotion from within. Secondly, we appear to be on the cusp of something of a revival, a revival which Delph may well spearhead over the course of the next few years. If Leeds can be a mid-table Premier League side two years from now there is quite frankly no point in joining anyone outside the top four.
Thirdly, if the focus then is on the top four, should any of these pose an attraction at the current time, in terms of the player’s development? Of the top four, Arsenal would be the natural choice with an unbelievable ability to develop young players. But they have plenty, and if anyone has read the recent ridiculous questioning of Wenger’s tenure at the Emirates, it seems that Wenger will not be looking at Delph for a short term impact. This realigns Arsenal with the other three; Liverpool, Chelsea and Man United have all suggested an interest in Delph but any exposure to their first team would surely be extremely limited at this stage, limiting him to admiring the facilities and playing in the youth or reserve team.
Delph is at a League One club with Premier League facilities and is a fixture on the team sheet. In short, he is actually in his ideal place for his age and development. One can only hope therefore that he has good advisers around him. Rumours will continue and will hit fever pitch on 1st January. If Delph is still a Leeds player on 1st February that will perhaps be one of the most positive signs of the inner strength developing at our club.
And so it is late, the night before the Huddersfield game. The early kick-off, the promise of 35,000 inside Elland Road, the excitement. In short, the reason why we all fall in love with the game in the first place. One thing I have learned from the past few years is that football is a relative thing and can bring the same great things whether you are champions of Europe or pushing for promotion in League One. Bring it on…
TEAM PREDICTION
Ankegren
Richardson
White
Telfer
Michalik
Douglas
Kilkenny
Robinson
Delph
Beckford
Becchio
SCORE PREDICTION
Leeds United 3-1 Huddersfield
Marching on Together
It has been a bit of a funny week to be honest, pivoting on the defeat at Derby on Tuesday night. Funny not in the sense that we lost but rather that out of a game where once again we failed to take our chances despite creating the national media finally picked up on two things; the positive football that Gary McAllister has brought to us and the centrepiece of that positive football, Fabian Delph.
The reports, both locally and nationally, coming out of the Carling Cup game at Pride Park were incredibly positive for Leeds, not least the gratifying sight of chunky bin-dipper Paul Jewell openly conceding our superiority for large portions of the of the game. And I want to see more of this of course, this is the type of publicity we have been sadly lacking throughout the hundreds of thousands of written words about Leeds since 2002-3 which frankly have been more akin to the tone of recent front pages in these turbulent economic times.
However it does continue to gloss over the outstanding fundamental issue at the heart of Leeds’ performances; the lack of penetration and ruthlessness in the final third. There is no doubt that the football we are playing is of a high quality, much higher than the third division deserves. McAllister is a great advocate of the patient passing game and I have to say I agree with his philosophy. However the strategy falls down when that patience is not rewarded with an end product.
In particular at home games the crowd have less patience than the players and this needs to be tempered. Under McAllister, Leeds will never be rampaging forward, it does not fit the philosophy. Passing the ball across the park, making the opposition work harder by chasing the ball, and stretching the play to create the opportunities in the final third does.
So where is it going wrong? Well let’s face it, it’s not really going wrong is it - Northampton at home and Derby away were examples of the issue I refer to but both of these were cup games of limited actual significance in the context of this season’s objectives – we are third in the table after all on a good run of form particularly at home. But this absence of ruthlessness and penetration has been a common feature of the season so far and it is this I think that makes the difference between where we are now and where ultimately this team is capable of being. Running away with the title.
All successful teams have inconsistencies during a season but always hit a point when everything clicks, the team finds its groove, creates momentum and pushes onwards and upwards. Finding this element to our game will I believe make everything fall into place. If we fail to find it there is a danger that the confidence in the final third could disappear completely over a period of time rendering the philosophy running through the midfield totally redundant. One will happen very quickly, the other more slowly over time. The Christmas period and Leeds’ transfer activity in January will suggest which way the club see it.
The other issue is of course the defence. This is perhaps food for another blog thought but it is also arguable that if the issue up front is resolved the issue at the back becomes less problematic.
So the other big piece of media spotlight this week, and in fact increasingly over the last few weeks, has been our star player, Fabian Delph. Let’s be completely honest. Delph is an unbelievable talent, perhaps potentially the greatest Leeds United-produced talent of my lifetime. His all-round game - passing, shooting, tackling, skill and pace - are supported by an incredible self-belief and this rightly puts him in the spotlight and, one suspects, ripe for the picking by a Premier League club.
But actually this raises a number of interesting questions about football, especially about financial power and individual short-term greed against longer-term impact, potential, and loyalty. I know, I know, there is no loyalty in football any more. Believe me, I view modern day footballers with utter contempt; they are pretty much all mercenaries who see the football profession as a ticket to personal extravagance first with professional integrity and success a distant, but intrinsically-linked second. A broad generalisation and of course every rule has its exceptions but actually the more one thinks about the anomaly that is Leeds United in League One, the more this may have a positive impact on the future of Fabian Delph.
Firstly, he plays for Leeds United. This actually means something. The interest generated at every away game I can remember, from the Premier League through to the depths of the Football League paints a clear picture. We have always been and will always be famous. This isn’t bragging, it is fact. It is infamy, borne out of hatred from outside and set against total devotion from within. Secondly, we appear to be on the cusp of something of a revival, a revival which Delph may well spearhead over the course of the next few years. If Leeds can be a mid-table Premier League side two years from now there is quite frankly no point in joining anyone outside the top four.
Thirdly, if the focus then is on the top four, should any of these pose an attraction at the current time, in terms of the player’s development? Of the top four, Arsenal would be the natural choice with an unbelievable ability to develop young players. But they have plenty, and if anyone has read the recent ridiculous questioning of Wenger’s tenure at the Emirates, it seems that Wenger will not be looking at Delph for a short term impact. This realigns Arsenal with the other three; Liverpool, Chelsea and Man United have all suggested an interest in Delph but any exposure to their first team would surely be extremely limited at this stage, limiting him to admiring the facilities and playing in the youth or reserve team.
Delph is at a League One club with Premier League facilities and is a fixture on the team sheet. In short, he is actually in his ideal place for his age and development. One can only hope therefore that he has good advisers around him. Rumours will continue and will hit fever pitch on 1st January. If Delph is still a Leeds player on 1st February that will perhaps be one of the most positive signs of the inner strength developing at our club.
And so it is late, the night before the Huddersfield game. The early kick-off, the promise of 35,000 inside Elland Road, the excitement. In short, the reason why we all fall in love with the game in the first place. One thing I have learned from the past few years is that football is a relative thing and can bring the same great things whether you are champions of Europe or pushing for promotion in League One. Bring it on…
TEAM PREDICTION
Ankegren
Richardson
White
Telfer
Michalik
Douglas
Kilkenny
Robinson
Delph
Beckford
Becchio
SCORE PREDICTION
Leeds United 3-1 Huddersfield
Marching on Together
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