Frustration and infuriation, Easy. This was A BAD DAY FOR LEEDS
The Blades match was like ...
Frustration and infuriation, Easy. This was A BAD DAY FOR LEEDS
The Blades match was like a mirror image of the two teams’ League standings: the relegation candidates, Sheffield United, being the better side! How could Leeds, chasing promotion, play so poorly in such an important game!
Larry’s excuses for Leeds failings are getting tiresome – “the players didn’t perform, they didn’t track, chase, or harry”; “individual errors cost us”; “the horrible, ‘bobbly’ pitch stopped us playing”; “the players played as individuals and not as a team”; “in this League, any team can beat any other”… After poor performances by Leeds, Larry trots out the same, or similar, excuses. None ever addresses his own failings.
Of course, no manager will say, publically, ‘I got it wrong’ but, privately, Larry has to look at his own failings if the Whites are now to recover from this ‘bad day for Leeds’.
IMO, Larry makes the same mistakes consistently. He is too predictable in his team selections and tactics, and this lets rival managers plan their strategy for taking Leeds apart. He does not do his homework on the strengths and weaknesses of rival teams and, consequently, has no plan to exploit opportunities or make the most of the threats we can pose. He is too conservative in his team selections and substitutions; usually sticking with his ‘favourites’, even when they are obviously tired, and not rotating the squad to ensure it is fresh for each match.
[FFS. Why use Snoddy when he has looked tired in his last three games! Why move Howson to the right! Why introduce Watt so late! Why put Paynter on ahead of Somma! Why even play McCartney! Jeeze, everything Larry did today looked as if he wanted us to lose!]
All these ‘mistakes’ link and lead to one, or all, of three conclusions: one, Larry is not a creative thinker; two, he is not in control of the squad; and three, he is scared of the Leeds Board and does not push to get the players he really needs.
Investment in personnel in the close season or during the January transfer window, to solve the team’s weaknesses in defence and midfield, that every fan could see that the side needed, did not happen. If fans can see the problems, it is a sure bet that the manager knew what needed changing. Yet, instead of demanding new signings, it seems that Larry kowtowed to the Leeds Board’s funny money restraints and now we are suffering the outcome.
The irony is that Doyle was brilliant for the Blunts -why did Larry get rid of him?
