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Support Non League Day today.
Maybe they will open up the upper tier in the PL
Darragh nearly gets giddy.
Back to school this week and suddenly there is a huge shift in the way the football Season is viewed. In an exam year like this football is going to have to take a back seat and I’ll be expecting it to be a tough challenge as my expectations rise slowly as the Season progresses. As far as the Leeds United starting XI debate is concerned I feel I don’t really have a say as I’ve only followed most of the games online or else the odd TV game so I’m basing my opinion on the reports of others. I’ll get my first game in October and will adjudge for myself where I think the squad stands. To be honest though I really do think that if Naylor can get some sort of form together, and hopefully the goal at the weekend helped, then he can return to the way he was in his loan spell and his early days as a fully contracted player. It’s probably a long shot but hopefully he comes back next week to prove me right. Although once again, a long shot…
Talking about rising expectations it’s funny what a week can do. Last week I jumped the gun and asked what if we were promoted but admittedly I didn’t really expect us to be big contenders for a playoff place. In a week though that included a couple more signings, a scrappy away win against Watford and an inspirational speech from Peter Lorimer in the YEP describing how he thinks we are promotion candidates, I think a part of me has caught the bug. Realising how fickle I sound but I’d like to think it wasn’t just because we won away from home and currently stand in the playoffs ahead of Norwich even though that’s only because L comes before N in the alphabet! I’d like to think of it more as an epiphany. With all of Graysons radical spending similar to a kid in a candy store and looking at a division as a whole that lacked a bit of consistency I think I took somewhat the easy way out when asking for a Season of consolidation. Yes it’s still far more likely than a playoff place or as Lorimer suggested maybe even an automatic spit (although I’m not that optimistic!) but really as I said last week it’s a division where the general standard is rather mediocre or maybe a consistent/inconsistent level of form might be a better explanation but basically, anything can happen.
I must say that I haven’t really found time in the last few days to sit down and properly consider the starting XI argument and at the moment I am on the fence far too many positions for somebody who writes a blog. That’s probably just considered weak on my behalf but to be honest I have no problem taking that hit because there is a man who is paid good money to try and pick out this starting XI and he has the advantage of being with every player almost every day. Grayson has formed a squad, perhaps accidentally as was said by Michael on Wednesday, but he has given himself that brilliant dilemma that is spoken about from time to time, usually about a team with plenty of money. If anybody was worried about the depth of our squad last Season then I don’t think that should be the same this year with the amount of players of somewhat good quality that we gave on our books. A good team has strength in depth which rather annoyingly is mainly why our rivals across the Pennines have been so successful for the last 18 years or so. The only problem Grayson might have would be trying to keep players motivated but I’m sure that’s one of the skills Grayson has developed over time as all managers are supposed to. With such depth in a squad that I would consider better than the average Championship team I really do think that a top 10 minimum might soon become the bread and butter.
Having a look at the table it’s genuinely hard to see which way to go. The 3 promoted teams are challenging promotion again while pre-season favourites such as Boro, Forest and Reading have stuttered somewhat. Early days yet perhaps but those teams are going to be under serious pressure to perform while the promoted teams still have the excuse and the momentum of just being promoted. God only knows where we will be when this will where off but I hope much like last Season we make any potential form and momentum count by the time we get to Cardiff Away in January 2011. I will admit that any potential success would have a large amount of luck involved but God knows we deserve some after the last couple of years. In the same way if it is actually true that you make your own luck then hopefully earning points away to Forest and beating Millwall convincingly are signs that we might also be doing that as well?
I’m trying to figure out what brought on this wave of optimism but I suppose it’s a healthy break from the monotone of pessimism. I’m of the opinion that the break was better for us, even though it cut what little momentum we had short, because I think getting our injured players back is almost as important to us as creating a bit of form. Also I’d say the players need a slight mental rest after a busy yet successful 1st month. Hopefully with a healthy squad, for now, we can really attempt to take this division by storm before the rest of the teams come out of the blocks. The break this week will give us a time to rest and recuperate and hopefully come Swansea next week we won’t just be a consolidation team but a team that wants to make a statement in a league full of also rans.
Darragh Mullen.
Please note Teenage Kicks In will be moving to a new Thursday slot in the next few weeks.
The Starting XI that will get us promoted or so says James. Following on from the editors missive yesterday Mr Dielhenn gives us his take.
Unless Simon Grayson dips into the loan market to further bolster his big squad, our transfer activity this summer is finished. And the finished article is a pretty impressive improvement on the squad that got promoted last season, but will leave fans endlessly debating who the strongest eleven are. So, here goes.
Kasper Schmeichel should be the first name on the team-sheet. No arguments there, surely. He has been fantastic so far, and looks like a Premier League goalkeeper in the making. The defence in front of him is the main concern. Paul Connolly looks like a decent addition at right-back, and I think he could grow into an established player for us. At left-back, Federico Bessone has been shaky, but is still better than Andy Hughes, who I think should have been released this summer. Left-back is still a problem area for us. I would omit Richard Naylor from the starting eleven. I know he’s the captain, and I’m sure he can still have an influence in the dressing room and on the training pitch, but I think he’s past it now. We paid quite a bit of money for Alex Bruce, so let’s stick him in Naylor’s place alongside Neill Collins. Admittedly Collins hasn’t been great this season either, but there is a lack of competition in that position. Paddy Kisnorbo is injured, and Leigh Bromby is average, so it will be interesting if Callum Davenport can add anything to our squad if he is signed up.
I think Neil Kilkenny and Jonny Howson pick themselves in central midfield. They both have the technique for this division, although they lack physicality. I think Bradley Johnson is too erratic and Adam Clayton too untested, so Kilkenny and Howson will probably be the preferred pairing of the majority of fans. We have plenty of options on the wings though. Sanchez Watt and Lloyd Sam have been good thus far, but I don’t think they will keep their place when other players return to fitness. Robert Snodgrass, for me, is a surefire starter on either the left or right. When fit, I rate him as our best attacking player. On the other wing I’d choose between Ross McCormack or Max Gradel. Both are also comfortable up-front, but I think they are better suited to an attacking role from the wing. I think the pace of Sam and Watt can impact a match from the bench. It’s also impossible to assess how Ramon Nunez may fit in.
Up-front, Luciano Becchio would definitely start in my team. I’m critical of his finishing ability, but paired with another striker who feeds off him, I think his work-rate is important. Although I’d definitely have another striker alongside Becchio, I think that position is currently up for grabs. Billy Paynter would probably get the nod when fit, as he knows where the back of the net is, unlike the Argentine. I know a lot of fans want to see Davide Somma given a fair chance – as do I – but I think Grayson is doing the right thing by protecting him from the spotlight. His rise so far has been quick and it’s important that his confidence isn’t shattered. The likes of Sam, Watt, Gradel, Snodgrass or McCormack could also partner Becchio up-front if their form makes them impossible to leave out. Mike Grella, let’s face it, will never be a first-team striker, and should probably go out on loan somewhere.
Schmeichel
Connolly Bruce Collins Bessone
Snodgrass Howson Kilkenny McCormack
Paynter Becchio
It’s all about opinions. This is mine. If you agree or disagree, voice your opinion below.
James Dielhenn.
