Leeds (A) Match Thread

[yuomi]

Dominated against Wednesday - Didn't take chances and lost.

1-0 up against Wolves - Stupid and pointless substitution at half time, leaving our defence exposed, somewhat lucky to get a draw.

Dominated Leeds - Didn't take chances and got a draw.

Playing ok but need to buck our ideas up in games like the last three if we want to at least threaten the play offs.

Taking off Akpan against Wolves wasn't a bad move other than with hindsight. I can't be the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it happen. He was shite in the first half and gave the ball away a hell of allot with a crap first touch and poor distribution. Guthrie wasn't at fault for any of the Wolves goals but Akpan was responsible for the one-on-one that forced Fed to save. It was calamitous defending that cost us against Wolves, not the sub.

[JordCot]

Dominated against Wednesday - Didn't take chances and lost.

1-0 up against Wolves - Stupid and pointless substitution at half time, leaving our defence exposed, somewhat lucky to get a draw.

Dominated Leeds - Didn't take chances and got a draw.

Playing ok but need to buck our ideas up in games like the last three if we want to at least threaten the play offs.

Taking off Akpan against Wolves wasn't a bad move other than with hindsight. I can't be the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it happen. He was shite in the first half and gave the ball away a hell of allot with a crap first touch and poor distribution. Guthrie wasn't at fault for any of the Wolves goals but Akpan was responsible for the one-on-one that forced Fed to save. It was calamitous defending that cost us against Wolves, not the sub.

Guthrie gave the ball away cheaply for the 1st goal at wolves...

[leon]

Dominated against Wednesday - Didn't take chances and lost.

1-0 up against Wolves - Stupid and pointless substitution at half time, leaving our defence exposed, somewhat lucky to get a draw.

Dominated Leeds - Didn't take chances and got a draw.

Playing ok but need to buck our ideas up in games like the last three if we want to at least threaten the play offs.

Taking off Akpan against Wolves wasn't a bad move other than with hindsight. I can't be the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it happen. He was shite in the first half and gave the ball away a hell of allot with a crap first touch and poor distribution. Guthrie wasn't at fault for any of the Wolves goals but Akpan was responsible for the one-on-one that forced Fed to save. It was calamitous defending that cost us against Wolves, not the sub.

That logic only works if you think that defenders are the only ones in a team that contribute to defending.

As for tonight, I can't help but feel we should be winning these kind of games. ie the ones where we spend the game on top.

[gimmer]

Away point's decent though.

[genome]

Maybe should've won it but a clean sheet and a point away from home - we'll have worse nights. Looking forward to Saturday

[bcubed]

Dominated against Wednesday - Didn't take chances and lost.

1-0 up against Wolves - Stupid and pointless substitution at half time, leaving our defence exposed, somewhat lucky to get a draw.

Dominated Leeds - Didn't take chances and got a draw.

Playing ok but need to buck our ideas up in games like the last three if we want to at least threaten the play offs.

Taking off Akpan against Wolves wasn't a bad move other than with hindsight. I can't be the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it happen. He was shite in the first half and gave the ball away a hell of allot with a crap first touch and poor distribution. Guthrie wasn't at fault for any of the Wolves goals but Akpan was responsible for the one-on-one that forced Fed to save. It was calamitous defending that cost us against Wolves, not the sub.

Thought it ridiculous at the time just more so in hindsight

[Ian Royal]

Meh, probably should have won that, but it'll do. These sorts of results will be the difference between top 7 and mid-table and I'm fine with mid-table.

Stay in around the top 10 until January and then kick on with returning players and a couple of quality additions. That has to be the battle plan, and thus far we're doing it quite nicely.

Feeling increasingly positive about our chances this season, even sounds like Akpan is coming to the boil.

yeeeee-maybe.

I'd rather see a positive finish moving up the table but not really threatening promotion with a little more building over the summer for a big push next year. I just think our young uns need a little longer and we're a bit patchy and inexperienced right now to be able to build a team that has a chance next season at a higher level.

I kinda learnt my lesson from the last PL trip. You do not want to go up with loads of work to do.

Although it certainly has to be Adkins aim.

[Ian Royal]

Dominated against Wednesday - Didn't take chances and lost.

1-0 up against Wolves - Stupid and pointless substitution at half time, leaving our defence exposed, somewhat lucky to get a draw.

Dominated Leeds - Didn't take chances and got a draw.

Playing ok but need to buck our ideas up in games like the last three if we want to at least threaten the play offs.

Taking off Akpan against Wolves wasn't a bad move other than with hindsight. I can't be the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it happen. He was shite in the first half and gave the ball away a hell of allot with a crap first touch and poor distribution. Guthrie wasn't at fault for any of the Wolves goals but Akpan was responsible for the one-on-one that forced Fed to save. It was calamitous defending that cost us against Wolves, not the sub.

Thought it ridiculous at the time just more so in hindsight

I was surprised, but pleased to be honest. I probably would have waited 10 minutes, but I completely understand the decision. Sometimes there isn't a good call or a good call goes wrong.

Yes Guthrie gave the ball away stupidly. But it still took individual poor defending from Gunter for the cross to come in, Pearce to avoid clearing it and Obita not to be tight to the attacker allowing him to tuck away easily. And we all know how capable Akpan is of giving the ball away cheaply, in fact it looked like Guthrie was doing an impression of him.

I also think it's a myth we were in control of the game. 1-0 is not enough. Wolves hadn't hurt us, but there's a goal to be conceded in us frequently and Wolves were always likely to up their game.

Cut out individual errors in defence and I think we'll have one of the best defences in the division. Which given individual errors aren't really about defensive training, is quite good given defence isn't Adkins strong point and we have such a young defence.

[P!ssed Off]

Dominated against Wednesday - Didn't take chances and lost.

1-0 up against Wolves - Stupid and pointless substitution at half time, leaving our defence exposed, somewhat lucky to get a draw.

Dominated Leeds - Didn't take chances and got a draw.

Playing ok but need to buck our ideas up in games like the last three if we want to at least threaten the play offs.

Taking off Akpan against Wolves wasn't a bad move other than with hindsight. I can't be the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it happen. He was shite in the first half and gave the ball away a hell of allot with a crap first touch and poor distribution. Guthrie wasn't at fault for any of the Wolves goals but Akpan was responsible for the one-on-one that forced Fed to save. It was calamitous defending that cost us against Wolves, not the sub.

Thought it ridiculous at the time just more so in hindsight

Yep. My Dad complained at the time it was a poor decision. I decided to give Adkins the benefit of the doubt; perhaps Akpan was injured.
A HT substitution is a bit drastic at the best of times. But when you're 1-0 up and in control of the game? A nonsense decision.
It was up to Jackett to make a change to halt our dominance, not Adkins.

[SCIAG]

Dominated against Wednesday - Didn't take chances and lost.

1-0 up against Wolves - Stupid and pointless substitution at half time, leaving our defence exposed, somewhat lucky to get a draw.

Dominated Leeds - Didn't take chances and got a draw.

Playing ok but need to buck our ideas up in games like the last three if we want to at least threaten the play offs.

Taking off Akpan against Wolves wasn't a bad move other than with hindsight. I can't be the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it happen. He was shite in the first half and gave the ball away a hell of allot with a crap first touch and poor distribution. Guthrie wasn't at fault for any of the Wolves goals but Akpan was responsible for the one-on-one that forced Fed to save. It was calamitous defending that cost us against Wolves, not the sub.

That logic only works if you think that defenders are the only ones in a team that contribute to defending.

The calamitous defending had nothing to do with Guthrie though. In any case, Akpan is a League One Yaya Touré, his strength is surging forward from midfield and getting in the opposition's box, he's actually quite weak defensively, particularly with his positioning. Taking off an attacking midfielder like Akpan for a more defensive one like Guthrie is a sensible move when you're looking to protect a lead, though I'd rather have seen us score another first.

[melonhead]

Guthrie is deeper lying but not.defensive in any way

[tidus_mi2]

The role in midfield we seem to be missing seems to be one that would be filled by either Karacan or Williams.

[Esteban]

Dominated against Wednesday - Didn't take chances and lost.

1-0 up against Wolves - Stupid and pointless substitution at half time, leaving our defence exposed, somewhat lucky to get a draw.

Dominated Leeds - Didn't take chances and got a draw.

Playing ok but need to buck our ideas up in games like the last three if we want to at least threaten the play offs.

Taking off Akpan against Wolves wasn't a bad move other than with hindsight. I can't be the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it happen. He was shite in the first half and gave the ball away a hell of allot with a crap first touch and poor distribution. Guthrie wasn't at fault for any of the Wolves goals but Akpan was responsible for the one-on-one that forced Fed to save. It was calamitous defending that cost us against Wolves, not the sub.

Adkins has said since day one that he wants us to control the game from midfield, which means whoever plays in there has to be comfortable on the ball and pass it well. Akpan has consistently had one of the lowest pass completion rates and gave the ball away cheaply too many times against Wolves. He shouldn't be surprised that he's not one of Adkins trusted midfield players. Having said that, he was doing a fairly decent job of breaking up play, which gave Norwood time on the ball. I thought the sub was too early, though I was expecting him to come off at some point.

I wasn't at the game last night, only heard on BBCRB, but I don't recall Akpan giving the ball away once and it certainly sounded like he was having a really good game. That said, Mick Gooding commented a number of times that Leeds weren't putting much pressure on us when we had the ball. To be fair to Akpan, I don't think I've ever heard him complain and he works hard in every game. If he can improve his passing, he'll still be around the match day squads once Karacan and Williams are back.

[No Fixed Abode]

I was listening to a bit of RADIO Berkshire last night. Although it was much improved without Tim Dellor in the 1st half, the after match bit was terrible.

Ady "I don't think it was a good point"
Tim "I think it was"
Ady "I don't think it was a good point"
Tim "Leeds is a tough place to go, it was a good point"
Ady "I don't think it was good point"
Mick (Sits on the fence)
Tim "That was a decent point"
Ady "I don't think it was a good point"

Continue for 30 mins.

[tidus_mi2]

I was listening to a bit of RADIO Berkshire last night. Although it was much improved without Tim Dellor in the 1st half, the after match bit was terrible.

Ady "I don't think it was a good point"
Tim "I think it was"
Ady "I don't think it was a good point"
Tim "Leeds is a tough place to go, it was a good point"
Ady "I don't think it was good point"
Mick (Sits on the fence)
Tim "That was a decent point"
Ady "I don't think it was a good point"

Continue for 30 mins.

He really should have just accepted Ady was not going to change his opinion on the result even if it was somewhat amusing hearing how worked up Ady was getting.

[Brum Royal]

Presumably no-one phoned in to interrupt this little deb8 then?

[floyd__streete]

Of course a 0-0 draw away at mediocrity like Leeds is a good result. We're pretty mediocre ourselves

[SCIAG]

Guthrie is deeper lying but not.defensive in any way

One does not have to be defensive to be more defensive than Akpan.

Guthrie is a strong tackler, and he is good at keeping possession. Last season his pass completion was 80% compared to Akpan's 75% - only Karacan and Drenthe did better than Guthrie, though Williams was very close, and Guthrie made more passes than any of them. At 2.4 tackles per game, Guthrie was our second leading tackler, again behind Karacan. Akpan makes less than half as many tackles per match as Guthrie (though this season he has closed that gap). Guthrie also comfortably beats Akpan for interceptions. I accept that statistics do not tell the whole story, but I do not think it is fair to say Guthrie is "not defensive in any way".

Having said that, currently Norwood is hugely outperforming last-season Guthrie statistically, both defensively and in pass completion. He isn't for key passes, but he is for accurate long passes. There may be many explanations for that, but if there were any doubt that he's earned his place in the side...

Sources: http://www.whoscored.com/Teams/94
http://www.whoscored.com/Teams/94/Archi ... nd-Reading

[genome]

Of course a 0-0 draw away at mediocrity like Leeds is a good result. We're pretty mediocre ourselves

I would just like to point out after matchday 10 in the 2011/12 season we were 15th and incredibly mediocre

[Royal Biscuitman]

Of course a 0-0 draw away at mediocrity like Leeds is a good result. We're pretty mediocre ourselves

I don't think it was a good point