Match Day Miracle?
So I called it wrong again - there's a theme brewing folks. First leg v Norwich was supposed to be a great big flop, but it wasn't. The second leg was supposed to be a cruel nailbiter going into extra time before we lost out - but it wasn't.
So here we are. Wembley. Home of heartache and failure for Leeds Utd decade after decade. What better place for our team to break our hearts if they insist on dragging our pain out through the playoffs.
Since we beat Liverpool in the Charity Shield in 92 (needed that kung fu loving traitor to help us out) we've fallen short v Aston Villa, Watford and Doncaster. Who better to come up against than the one team that's done the double over us this season. Ace. 0-3 Armstrong hattrick and abject misery incoming.
Now that's that out of the way....
Sunday is quite simply the richest game in sport - £136M is the least you get for winning, but it could lead to much more. Leeds are now a well run and stable club, something we're not used to since Leslie Silver's time so this feels like a massive sliding doors moment for us - victory and we could be watching European football in a 55,000 Elland Road by 2030. Defeat and we could find ourselves being the new Burnley bobbing up and down with talented kids and untried young managers.
We all know Sunday will be a one-off - roll the dice and let's see who has the minerals for the big occasion.
My Team is not a surprise - even if others are fit, we stick by the ones we know.
Meslier
Gray Rodon Ampadu Firpo
Gruev Kamara
Gnonto Rutter Summerville
Piroe
Weather: again it's perfect for M'Lud, warm and wet
This time Leeds. This time.
I can't even be bothered to pick over that game, I won't be watching it back either. I thought we would lose, too many young, inexperienced and probably overrated players.
The club has so much to sort out this summer regarding players. I think the start to the next campaign will be similar to this one.
Time to forget about it all for a bit now. Time for a bit of cricket and the euros.
Unlucky Soopa.
Out we go with a whimper then!😡
A gutless performance for the best part of it, in our most important game of the season! FFS!
Southampton weren’t better than us, they were simply better managed and better organised than we were.
They had a task, a purpose, a game plan and they stuck to it and executed it well and for the 3rd time this season, Farke was unable to work out how to beat them.
Conclusion….Martin is a better manager than Farke!
Apart from the opening 10 minutes, where we looked like we were actually trying to score, we showed little sense of urgency to equalise or win the game, until the last 10 minutes! WTF is that all about?
We spent the last 35 minutes of the first half passing the ball back to Meslier, so how the fook does that help us equalise or win the fookin’ game???
Just seen Graham Smiths’ player ratings and apart from Dan James, I would suggest they are over rated by around 50%!!
By my reckoning, DJ excluded, most ratings would have been between 3 and 5 max!! Not good enough and wholly unacceptable!
Several of our ‘top players’ should hang their heads in shame at their lacklustre performance in such an important game, but then these players began bottling it 8 or 9 games ago, didn’t they?!!
I feel sorry for our loyal fans that spent fortunes going down to Wembley, to be greeted by a group of players that simply didn’t want to win enough!
Anyway, rant over, it is the result I expected, as once we blew automatic promotion, I had resigned myself to the fact that we would be playing Championship football again next season….It’s still fookin’ annoying though and it still fookin’ hurts….But hey, I should be used to it by now, Leeds have been doing this to me since I was about 5 years old!!!
On on on!
So sat and watch it with a Liverpool and Newcastle fan.
5 minutes in they both said Leeds will lose this game as the keep passing backwards slowly which is inviting Southampton forward into a easy press.
I was disappointed with Farkes today as our side did not seem to have a tactic to beat Southampton...
We go again!
Well that was crap
The possession we had in the 2nd half was actually going no where apart from across the face of their penalty area. Some of our decision making today was poor to say the least and not for the first time, our strongest player was also our weakest link, Little Jimmy. Terrible free kicks and useless corners.
In the end, the team that showed composure, control and some incisive passing won the game and in my mind deservedly so. DF and the 49'ers have some real decisions to make as regards who is here in the summer.
My only saving grace is that the last time we lost in the play-offs, the following season we won the league by 10 points, who knows!
Just got back but didn't think we did that bad.... totally controlled 2nd half but possession doesn't win games.
We just didn't really start going for it until it was too late!
Farke STILL keeps playing 2 holding midfielders in front of a back 4 when the opposition don't cross the halfway line.... put 4 attackers behind the lone fkn striker and force them back or stretch them more! Especially with Piroe dropping deep!
What's happened to a lone striker playing on the shoulder of their last defender!?
Joseph and James changed the game when they came on....
Play more 'old school' without this fkn lone striker dropping deep to link play.... it's the same with Harry Kane somehow thinking he's Messi. If he played further forward he'd score 10 goals a season more!
Fkn 'false 9' bollox.... you don't ask CBs to pop up on the right wing helping out
That's what happens when you let me loose on a MDT.
Couldn't even keep 7 blokes happy for a short time. I apologise.
May be controversial but I think we were sabotaged by lots of things.
Farke was too slow with changes, too predictable in our approach but more importantly (because he doesn't kick a ball):
We were sunk by players not committed to Leeds. Gnonto - did nothing, Summerville was garbage, Roberts cameo was a disgrace.
Gray, Ampadu, Rutter and Gruev are committed but inexperienced and faltered.
Kamara back to waltzing about in a daze. Meslier not good enough again. Firpo hid.
James - the only guy who looked like he could change it.
Rodon is a damn shame because he worked hard and really tried - but we won't get him now.
And for the big striker debate - Piroe did nothing, Joseph did no more. We missed Bamford, but we have to get used to it because he's a lame duck too.
Next season we will lose most of this lot - some probably for the better - but it's going to be a group of talented youth players trying to play in a man's league.
Klaasen
Gray Cresswell Struijk ????
Gruev Ampadu
???? Rutter ????
Piroe and Joseph
Bench - god knows....
Elland Road - remains over subscribed, badly out of date and still limited to 37,000.
Maybe we won't have to wait another 15 years like last time.
Have a great Summer. We go again in August.
We were out-managered.
Janes and Joseph should have been brought on, earlier.
Rutter as the creative midfielder did too little.
Next season without Summerville, Meslier, Rodon, Gnonto, but hopefully with Ampadu, Gray, Joseph, Gruev. MOT
Well, we didn’t really turn up today, did we?
Struggling to give pass marks to anyone
What has farke got against Joseph?
Right - pull your socks up gents. 45 mins left, if we lose let's not go out like this.
Come on Farke. Make us play faster.
Been rubbish so far.
Piroe not in the game,Gnonto been poor & soton are doubling up on Jimmy.if it's the same pattern in first 15 mins of 2nd half we need Joseph & James on
That was hard to watch after the goal. Little shape, defence run ragged by Armstrong.
Her young Joseph on.
Sorry. The wrong F&^**% Leeds have shown up.
Terrible defending, now playing catchup. Not a good place to be.
Come on Soop - get her in.
If Ampadu, Kamara, Rutter and Piroe through the spine of the team all perform we are premier bound.
There can't be any under achievers or passengers today.
Firpo needs defending head on.
Jimmy and Willy need blinkers off.
Illan needs a confident first 10 minutes for a 90 minute shut out.
An early goal is massive (either way).
Two nil Piroe and MoM Archie.
Bedlam. I predict a riot.
...but probably not
OK - Now I'm nervous!
Keep seeing the team all in white walking onto the Wembley turf in just 4 hours.
MOT 💙💛💙💛💙💛