The defeat to Millwall may have been the greatest loss Leeds United have ever encountered. Massimo Cellino reached his stern hand into his pocket and came up with the money to make three signings, an extension in Matt Smith’s contract and two more possible signings to follow.
Following on from Eddie Gray’s comments after Saturday’s intense victory against Middlesborough who are obsessed with Leeds I must add. Leeds looked like a proper team, not a one-man team or half a team, a proper team. Who can challenge for the play-offs, rattle the big boys, prove the bookies wrong…and Don Goodman who claims he’s Leeds at heart, jog on Don! P.s Leeds are not your rivals nor is it a Yorkshire derby, Middlesborough fans.
The opening game at The Den sparked a cry of desperation from the away end as we came away empty handed. Millwall away isn’t the most appealing fixture to attend considering it’s a bogey ground for United. But was this time round even more disappointing than the previous visits? Well of course not, rarely any away day is filled with disappointment due to the spirit and tradition from the fans. Which is: lot’s of beer and party. Sometimes, I forget about the football leaving me lost in the immense atmosphere.
Guiseppe Bellusci from Catania, Liam Cooper from Chesterfield and Billy Sharp (being the most notable one) from Southampton all arrived days before our first home league game of the season however, Bellusci wasn’t granted international clearance in time. It was evident Leeds needed reinforcements and adding leaders and warriors at the back and a Sharp-shooter up top certainly did the trick. Leeds ran out 1-0 winners after Billy Sharp’s clinical finish in the 88th minute to send the Leeds fans wild. Sharp definitely gained plenty of lovers by celebrating just like Hulk Hogan would at Wrestlemania.
The result tells you everything you need to know, a clean sheet and one chance turned the game on it’s head. I’ll admit the performance wasn’t the prettiest but you can see Hockaday’s philosophy; get the ball down and play. Like many other manager’s would implement that strategy across to their players but Leeds tried a number of way’s to get at the Boro defenders and force them into making a mistake. Murphy purposely pumped a long ball towards Poleon on the edge of the box who took a few neat touches to set-up Tonge whose shot lead to Billy Sharp’s goal. I saw Liam Cooper and Jason Pearce play the ball forward’s to either Sharp, Ajose or Doukara on a number of occasions hoping they’d bring the oncoming midfielders into play and eventually, something came of it so well done David Hockaday. A decent strategy to play in a tricky formation to perfect.
I think we all agree Leeds need more width to pose more of an attacking threat on the opposition. An out-an-out winger would be perfect for this squad, the formation would likely alter depending on how key the player would be to Hockaday’s plans. I’m steadily content with Hockaday in charge, we definitely looked more of a team than we ever did last season so that’s one massive plus. Just a few more additions are needed before the transfer window shuts and then I can start to dream.
MOT
The Mighty Leeds 