Leeds United v Ipswich Town preview and matchday thread

[bluejacko]

Sounded like a really poor performance.
Plus a few injuries

Yep didn't sound at all good,grandson at the game said not playing well!

[hallamblue]

Sounds like a typical Mick performance tbh.

I know there will be knee jerk reactions everywhere tonight and I'm trying not to be one of them. But reading comments on twtd and previous comments from other games this season and last season especially, I think Town fans are just sick to the back teeth of the tactics being deployed. It's so bloody boring, predictable and frankly, not worth the money fans pay to watch.

SOMETHING has got to change. We can't surely continue like this??

I'll be interested to read Mikes post match report today/ tomorrow.

[patthegimp]

Brighton up next- given injuries and tactics likely loss at best draw. League table will be looking less than promising.
Starting to feel that our interest might lie at the wrong end of the table this season.

[Shed on tour]

Sounds like a typical Mick performance tbh.

I know there will be knee jerk reactions everywhere tonight and I'm trying not to be one of them. But reading comments on twtd and previous comments from other games this season and last season especially, I think Town fans are just sick to the back teeth of the tactics being deployed. It's so bloody boring, predictable and frankly, not worth the money fans pay to watch.

SOMETHING has got to change. We can't surely continue like this??

I'll be interested to read Mikes post match report today/ tomorrow.

Hallam
Do you honestly really think things will change though?
There is no chance of Mick going anywhere, the style of football will remain the same and we will probably be having the same discussion in 12-18 months time.

[hallamblue]

Shed, Town might be still doing the same thing under MM, but I seriously doubt I will be watch the games anymore, and I unfortunately have bought a 3 yr ST. If Evans is content to see Town continue to play in this mind blowing boring, negative fashion, then PR crowds will continue to drop. Fans ARE voting with their feet.

The players all like MM because he is true to his players, however they play. Otherwise why would a striker still be in the team having jot scored a goal for nearly a whole season? Or a right back continue to all crosses to come in from hus side and end up in the back of the net? The killer blow will come in January when Evans accepts a fee for Bart, as PL clubs are apparently monitoring him closely.

[Shed on tour]

Shed, Town might be still doing the same thing under MM, but I seriously doubt I will be watch the games anymore, and I unfortunately have bought a 3 yr ST. If Evans is content to see Town continue to play in this mind blowing boring, negative fashion, then PR crowds will continue to drop. Fans ARE voting with their feet.

The players all like MM because he is true to his players, however they play. Otherwise why would a striker still be in the team having jot scored a goal for nearly a whole season? Or a right back continue to all crosses to come in from hus side and end up in the back of the net? The killer blow will come in January when Evans accepts a fee for Bart, as PL clubs are apparently monitoring him closely.

I agree that crowds will continue to drop but I still don't think things will change. Unless we go into total free fall and relegation became a real prospect I don't see Evans even considering get rid of Mick and MM will always be cautious in his approach.

[marko69]

Keep checking in to read Mikes report. Want to know how Leon Best was, I know he was subbed on in the 25th minute. Obviously didn't score but did he put himself about any more than Pitman or Sears?

[marko69]

And I say it every week, but FFS, I'm staying the hell away from football bets for a few weeks. How the hell do Bristol City go to Craven Cottage and win 4-0? Craziness.

[hallamblue]

http://www.twtd.co.uk/forum/386232/its- ... ick.../#15

Hard to argue with much of what this fella says.

[herforder]

It's a god awful small affair.......!

[marko69]

Just read a few more things from the TWTD forum. After reading these comments from these obvious managerial candidates, I'll predict Ipswich are humped 4-0 by Brighton on Tuesday, and whipped 6-0 by Huddersfield next Saturday, with a spate of suicides to follow.

[ashfordblue]

Marco I hate saying this BUT, if we do get Tonked by Brighton & then Huddersfield, it might just be a blessing in disguise, hopefully it will wake up our owner, (of which I doubt very much) and get Mick moved out, we've played more bad games than good under Mick's tenure, the crowds have shown it with their feet, I know Mike will say I'm always downing Mick, but if he cant motivate a team to really put a shift in then its time he went, and bring in someone like Holloway who can motivate championship teams, BUT Marcus would have to back him, Mick always seems to make excuses about bringing in good players, settles for loans most times, I'm sure ME has said to Mick there's no money for quality players, so lets just cut the crap Marcus and sell the club please, get rid of Mick and start again, 16 fooking seasons in the Championship aint good enough.

[marko69]

I think a few fans might object to the Holloway suggestion!

[Shed on tour]

After seeing Mike's comments on FB about today's performance then I think all Town fans should be concerned.
Have to say have never heard him be so scathing about Town.

[marko69]

Hopefully his report makes its way here. I await it whilst sitting here wearing my BO infested, "NO IM NOT ON F*CKING FACEBOOK!" T shirt.

[Bluemike]

Just home from what for me was a totally inept and unacceptable performance. It is not often that I am scathing of the team but I find it hard to be anything else. This was a game where we pretty much created nothing in front of goal again until the dying seconds and even then it was p*ss poor. It was a game where we were second best almost from the first minute to the last, yes you will probably read reports saying up until they scored we had the upper hand, what crap !!!! We were woeful, we struggled to string two passes together, our workrate was nowhere near what we have come to expect from a MM team, usually we are in their faces and closing them down but today we stood off, gave them room and let them play at will, let's not forget this is a p*ss poor Leeds team, make no mistake about that, they are crap but somehow they looked quite handy.

We really lost battles all over the pitch, most notably our CB's against Chris Wood, I said before the game that Berra V Wood was only one winner, that was true but unfortunately it was Wood who won it hands down, we just couldnt deal with him, best player on the pitch for me. Our Two fullbacks were exposed time and time again and found wanting, I think Leeds had done their homework judging by the number of long angled balls they played in over the top of Chambers & Knudsen. Wood had already rattled the post with a super effort before rising way above Berra to head home what turned out to be the winner. Half time came I could not really recall any Town efforts of note, Ward maybe early doors seeing his shot deflected wide but that was it.

Just when you though it couldn't get any worse we had to endure a putrid second half with Leeds on top throughout the entire 45 minutes. Sears did his best to gift them a second by pissing around with it in a dangerous area but somehow Bart came to his rescue. Having lost Pitman in the first half even more worrying was seeing Webster hobble off holding the back of his thigh. Quite how we only lost this game 1-0 I do not know, it could and should have been more. Worse was to come on the injury front with the useless Ward following Pitman & Webster down the tunnel with what appears to be a knee injury. We flattered to deceive a bit in the dying minutes but honestly iof we were still playing now we wouldn't have scored. We failed to impose ourselves in Midfield and the usual tenacity of Skuse & Douglas was missing while the flair of Lawrence and co was nowhere to be seen, the whole lot of them were ineffective.

There has to be a bright spot and it came in the shape of Leon Best, he may not have set the world alight but he won header after header as he ploughed a lone furrow up front and work so hard, unfortunately nobody else had the nous or inclination to get on the end of his many flick ons, he really did do his part ok, with a decent partner up top I feel he will be a good addition. Webster had shown a few nice touches while he was on and Bart saved us on a couple of occasions that aside we were f**king awful.

Bart (6) Chambo (5) Berra (5) Webster (6) Knudsen (5) Skuse (5) Douglas (5) Lawrence (5) Ward (4) Sears (4) Pitman (5)

SUBS :- Emmanuel (6) Best (7) Bru (5)

I have no idea what has happened to Ward in the last Two games but again he was plain rank bad, hesitant when on the ball, instead of running at players he was stopping and going backwards, Tom Lawrence had the touch of a carthorse and created hardly anything while Sears !!! I would not care one bit if I never saw him in a Town shirt again, he looked a bit improved last week but this week back to being disinterested and bloody hopeless. This 4-3-3 or whatever the hell it is just isn't working, we need to get Two strikers on the pitch. Clearly we are down to the bare bones for Tuesday so I guess sears will partner Best if we do go with Two strikers, Conor Grant should surely come back into the team too as our delivery from set pieces etc was so bad it was funny.

At this moment in time I am fed up to the max, losing I can take, I don't like it but I accept it IF we give our all and actually look like we are interested, today we didn't, apathy was the order of the day, too many players with bad body language and no desire to get stuck in, quite how we got the injuries we did god only knows cus most of the time we were nowhere near the bloody ball. Pitman left the stadium on crutches so he could be out for a while just to cap a fine afternoon. I am seriously wondering why the hell I have paid for my Blackburn ticket and my hotel in Newcastle on the Friday night, I expect I will bounce back in a day or two but at the moment I am pretty fed up with it.

[arana peligrosa]

Voted before time for the home team victory, and was not disappointed.

Took in the game report including assessment from the TWTD pages and unfortunately it was something approaching old territory. Lack of ideas, (lack of) creativity, not showing enough determination until too late in the game, not causing the opposing team enough problems etc. Seems we have players that are capable but they're being held back by some determining factors, namely McCarthy himself. You could berate certain individuals once again, but seriously, what's the f**king point ? Nobody from the club is going to read these pages, and what I could ascertain from today : (the performance) was nothing new.

So the club is some eighty million in debt right ? Who in their right mind would want to come in and take over Evans "responsibilities" and get things back on track ? Put it another way, suppose McCarthy was to vacate, what potential manager would be interested in joining up when there's such a restriction on funds available or money for potential purchases ?

There was talk - doubtless another bullshit rumor but we'll let it run - that McCarthy has three / four games to redeem himself in the games ahead and if results don't drastically improve, then a termination of employment may occur. Didn't allow it much time but tired of learning of another game where we've been toothless going forward, playing like the squad doesn't give a sh*t, looking lethargic and devoid of ideas. Something needs to be done, as it hasn't already.

The league table only provided further dismay when learning what had arrived at the summit.

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

This 4-3-3 or whatever the hell it is just isn't working, we need to get Two strikers on the pitch. Clearly we are down to the bare bones for Tuesday so I guess sears will partner Best if we do go with Two strikers, Conor Grant should surely come back into the team too as our delivery from set pieces etc was so bad it was funny.
At this moment in time I am fed up to the max, losing I can take, I don't like it but I accept it IF we give our all and actually look like we are interested, today we didn't, apathy was the order of the day, too many players with bad body language and no desire to get stuck in, quite how we got the injuries we did god only knows cus most of the time we were nowhere near the bloody ball. Pitman left the stadium on crutches so he could be out for a while just to cap a fine afternoon. I am seriously wondering why the hell I have paid for my Blackburn ticket and my hotel in Newcastle on the Friday night, I expect I will bounce back in a day or two but at the moment I am pretty fed up with it.

Well if Mike is fed up with it, what chance for the rest of us?
From what I heard of the last 2 games though, it's not 4-3-3 being played but 4-2-3-1. That's a really negative formation and one of the main reasons we're not scoring many goals.
Feel really sorry for the fans that travelled to Leeds - it's bad enough seeing a poor performance but then to hear the manager bleating that Leeds are a good team, well......
I only listened on the radio, but when an eternal optimist like Brenner Wally start saying that we were poor and had no ideas then I think things are really bad.
A few of us have been calling for MM to go for months and even years. Too many more performances like this and I suspect those ranks to swell considerably.

[Shed on tour]

Mike's report sums up pretty much from what I have read from people who attended the game.

I think even the most blue tinted Town supporters know we haven't got the most talented squad in the league but our game is based on trying to make up for this with our commitment and workrate. If we start to lose this then we will are in big trouble.

What I find difficult to understand is against Villa players were prepared to show this commitment by blocking shots in whatever way they could but yesterday it would appear it was too much trouble to even step out on the pitch. How often do we see the team come out and start on top in a match like we did against Norwich?

Feel really sorry for the fans who made the effort to go to Elland Road yesterday and then had to witness that. As the saying goes. "been there, done that and got the t-shirt". Like Mike I will be making the long trek up to Newcastle and after reading his report on yesterday's performance at this moment in time am asking myself why?

[derick_ipsw]

Needless to say, the cross came from Chambers side with him no where near it!! Agree with Bluemike 4-3-3 is not working. Must go 4-4-2. Team for Tuesday.

Bart
Emmanuel
Chambers
Berra

Bru
Skuse
Douglas
Grant

Best
Sears

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

Needless to say, the cross came from Chambers side with him no where near it!! Agree with Bluemike 4-3-3 is not working. Must go 4-4-2. Team for Tuesday.

Bart
Emmanuel
Chambers
Berra

Bru
Skuse
Douglas
Grant

Best
Sears

bloody hell Derick - we're not a lot of good with 11 players - what chance would we have with just 10?

[hallamblue]

Thanks for the report Mike. As usual very fair.

I think you are now finally at the same point I reached last season away at QPR!

1. McCarthy's tactics are based on %'s ie hoof it into opponents area and at some point one will go in : Fine if it works but when it doesn't it's awful

2. This style of "football" is antiquated and has minimal entertainment value.

3. Micks tactics are well and truly sussed by opponent managers and time and again nullified.

4. Micks stubborn nature means he will never change from his tactics therefore the squad of creative players we have are not and never will be fully utilised.

5. Evans has a clear choice now. continue with what we have and watch the fans vote with their feet.

or bite the bullet and get another manager in who has fresh ( modern , attacking ) ideas.

Something isn't right at the Club . Why else would this team be so lack lustre so early in.the season?

as for Chambers at right back . Don't get me started on this. It's a 1 goal lead to the opposition every game and EVERY team attacked us down that side.

[Bluemike]

Liz, I give my opinions on what I see at each and every game, each match is taken on that alone, up to yesterday I thought a lot of the criticism aimed at MM and the boys was unjust and that by and large we had done ok this season with luck not going our way, I still stand by that. However yesterday was not acceptable in my book, it's not even about losing or a bad day at the office cus we all have them, it is about players actually f**king caring after people like myself have pissed away the best part of £80 minimum, my usual level headed appraoch to football went out of the window yesterday.

In my job I am often having to do things that are not the norm and not even part of my job or what I am paid to do and every day I do it to the best of my ability, seeing f**king Sears wallow around in his own self pity while getting paid 1000's is finally making me crack, if you don't like it fella then p*ss off and stop subjecting me to it, poor hard done by guy that you are, and no yesterday he was not the only one by any means but with him it is going on far too long now. Having slept on it I feel even more hacked off than I was on the 4 and a half hour journey home yesterday.

[derick_ipsw]

Needless to say, the cross came from Chambers side with him no where near it!! Agree with Bluemike 4-3-3 is not working. Must go 4-4-2. Team for Tuesday.

Bart
Emmanuel
Chambers
Berra

Bru
Skuse
Douglas
Grant

Best
Sears

bloody hell Derick - we're not a lot of good with 11 players - what chance would we have with just 10?

I did not bother to put Knudson in the team because he goes missing during the game anyway.

[Shed on tour]

Liz, I give my opinions on what I see at each and every game, each match is taken on that alone, up to yesterday I thought a lot of the criticism aimed at MM and the boys was unjust and that by and large we had done ok this season with luck not going our way, I still stand by that. However yesterday was not acceptable in my book, it's not even about losing or a bad day at the office cus we all have them, it is about players actually f**king caring after people like myself have pissed away the best part of £80 minimum, my usual level headed appraoch to football went out of the window yesterday.

In my job I am often having to do things that are not the norm and not even part of my job or what I am paid to do and every day I do it to the best of my ability, seeing f**king Sears wallow around in his own self pity while getting paid 1000's is finally making me crack, if you don't like it fella then p*ss off and stop subjecting me to it, poor hard done by guy that you are, and no yesterday he was not the only one by any means but with him it is going on far too long now. Having slept on it I feel even more hacked off than I was on the 4 and a half hour journey home yesterday.

Mike
For me it is a case of not just players but also clubs themselves continuing to bank on the blind loyalty of the fans.
Whether it be the attitude of certain players, ticket prices, the way a team plays, there is this attitude that some fans will continue to fork out come what may so everything will be fine.

[Tangfastic]

Thanks for the report Mike. As usual very fair.

I think you are now finally at the same point I reached last season away at QPR!

1. McCarthy's tactics are based on %'s ie hoof it into opponents area and at some point one will go in : Fine if it works but when it doesn't it's awful

2. This style of "football" is antiquated and has minimal entertainment value.

3. Micks tactics are well and truly sussed by opponent managers and time and again nullified.

4. Micks stubborn nature means he will never change from his tactics therefore the squad of creative players we have are not and never will be fully utilised.

5. Evans has a clear choice now. continue with what we have and watch the fans vote with their feet.

or bite the bullet and get another manager in who has fresh ( modern , attacking ) ideas.

Something isn't right at the Club . Why else would this team be so lack lustre so early in.the season?

as for Chambers at right back . Don't get me started on this. It's a 1 goal lead to the opposition every game and EVERY team attacked us down that side.

Referring to 5..... can't see that happening with ME. Mick will do enough to avoid the sack and I have no clear idea what ME wants. He's probably more interested in saving his own skin at the moment anyway.

A greater likelihood is Mick is biding his time for a better offer elsewhere. The managerial sack-race will start soon. Mick seems devoid of any new ideas and is going through the motions.... and it's showing in the team. You can't keep on turning up just hoping to snatch a point or a winner by spoiling and preying on odd mistakes.
It would be great if we could approach a game with a bit of swagger and ambition to play to win games. I'm not just talking about end results.... just having that desire to go out and try and outplay the opposition. It's not us.

Nothing will change whilst Micks here. We will surely catch a team of their game and grab a three-pointer once in a while and there'll be a few draws along the way, but expect a few more of these performances / results. Without a result..... there's nothing to be positive about.

I'm hoping a 'bigger' club will come in for Mick, because Mick will not get sacked. A proven track record of turning around the club, I highly recommend his services . Derby or Villa perhaps.

[hallamblue]

I accept what you are saying Mike. My question is what's changed? Why do the players now appear not to care? Why wasn't the teams usual work ethic there? What you saw yesterday is what I see every game to one level or another and the the tactics deployed of "keep it tight, defend deep, hit on the occasional hoofed break ( 1st half) , go in 0-0 at ht, " job accomplished first half". Second half....keep it tight etc etc etc.....Last 5 mins if game start to push them back in the hope we "nick a goal". Great when it works. But boring as hell to watch and this game plan has well and truly here sussed.

Maybe the players are fed up of it? Slogging their guts out to " keep it to 0-0 "?

[marko69]

I did not bother to put Knudson in the team because he goes missing during the game anyway.

Clearly a mistake leaving out a player, but what a recovery!! That was funny as F! Nice one.

[marko69]

After reading other reports, was expecting discontent from you Mike, but the level of anger is slightly surprising. I am wondering if it was a 1-0 defeat at PR, the anger levels would've been the same. I'm merely trying to figure out if the 8 hour round trip is largely adding to the anger. Taking nothing away whatsoever from your comments regarding certain players, a severe shake up is definitely required, and that's been the case for a few weeks now.

Sears is reminding me of how Ivan Sproules time at Hibs turned. Awesome, eye opening, ----> lethargic lazy git. Maybe the player himself is sick of Mick? Like any job, if the boss annoys you, you under-perform.

Just one point regarding something you said Hallam....... Players slogging their guts out to get the 0-0..,,,..., I'd say it's actually more difficult to pull that off than actually relaxing a bit and going for the win. Unless of course it's the likes of Dumbarton or Ayr United at Easter Road. Piece of pi$$!

[Bluemike]

You know what Marko it's not even the journey really, I can do them no trouble, it's more when professional players find it hard to make a simple pass, tackle, run, you name it, we didn't close them down like we should, time and time again we couild maybe have caught them on the break but instead of the likes of Ward, Lawrence & Sears running at them they stop, cut back, let all the defenders get behind the ball and then start the laboured, clueless build up again which 99% of the time came to absolutely nothing !!

We all should know what we are as a team, we don't have great players but what we do have is as hard a working bunch as I can remember, however when they stop doing the basics like closing down and moving into space to be seen to be wanting the ball we know we have problems. I hope to god that yesterday will be the last time we see such an inept performance because if we don't Brighton & Huddersfield will hump us big time, some of it was so bad you have to have seen it, players unable to even take a legal f**king throw in, attempted passes being screwed so badly it cleared the first 20 rows of the stand (Chambers), free kicks in dangerous positions curled majestically into the corner of the bloody stand (Sears), I could go on and on and on but what's the sodding point. All I want for my money is the same level of commitment as I show to the overpaid fuckwits, not much to ask really.