On a popular social media site this morning (day after Blackburn) someone has posted a video entitled 'the reasons we love football' starting with the Aguero goal that won City the title a couple of season ago and goes on to show 20 last-minute winners from all over Europe over the past few years.
At the end of the video it says "these are the moments that keep us coming back week after week". Now as a Leeds United fan I feel I'm entitled to a few more of these moments. In the past 10 years (correct me if I'm wrong) only three spring to mind Beckford to get us promoted from league 1, Beckford again at Old Trafford and Jonny Howson in the playoff semis.
And Blackburn away could have been one of those moments, Antenucci's shot goes in and it would have been pandemonium from 7,000 fans but instead it was summed by someone on my train journey home – "You can always rely on Leeds to do a Leeds".
Which brings me onto my thoughts on the current team, I think the reason it hurt so much yesterday is, on the back of the Blackpool result (who let us not forget have 8 points), we have had 2 weeks of nearly every first team member in the media talking about a push for the top 6, 'Redders' influence and comparing Mowatt, Cook and Byram to Beckham, Scholes and Giggs and yet we lose again – the expectations were too high.
However, it must be the first time in about 12 years nearly every Leeds fan is in collective agreement about the first team (maybe Sharp over Doukara) and I personally think on paper it's the best 11 we've had since we've been back in the championship yet we are 2 points above the relegation zone… We all love to point fingers but please help as I don’t know where to point them anymore as there's no longer a Michael Brown, youth on the bench, Neil Warnock, Tom Lees or Ken Bates.
However, I expect these players to come in for some criticism next week with our mandatory Derby County defeat as it's the better players we moan at and something I have never quite understood. Take the aforementioned Beckford, scored every week for three seasons and yet I would still hear fans moan he was lazy and doesn’t bring much to the team, but someone like Andy Hughes was last week labelled a hero…Andy Hughes! he was a terrible footballer. Similar to the stick Wayne Rooney gets playing for England yet no one mentions players like Downing, Townsend and Jagielka.
I know every football fan around the country thinks their team "never has a dull moment" but Leeds really don’t and I'm starting to get fed up with it. Look at Blackburn for three seasons they were in turmoil, the abuse Steve Kean got in the Premier League made the news at 10 yet they've got through it and have a decent young manager, stability and a very good team yet our problems just go on season after season…
Dear footballing gods, please make me a Stoke City fanfor a season, a Charlton Athletic supporter or follow Leyton Orient week in week out as I am crying out for mediocrity because after yesterday I can't take the rollercoaster for much longer.
Stick us in mid-table far away from relegation and even further from the play offs, when we win lets win 1-0 with a scrappy finish in the first 10 minutes and then drab boring football afterwards. When the FA Cup 3rd round draw happens let Trevor Brooking pull out Leeds' number alongside Brentford away, Port Vale at home or let us go on to scrap out a laborious draw at home to Carlisle, because thinking all week about a trip to Ewood Park where 7,000 fans go mental when Adryan scores a 'worldy' or Lewis Cook belts a 30-yard 90 minute volleyand basically dreaming of other Aguero moments is not healthy when you're a Leeds United supporter.
Tom Newcombe
This is a weak 11, when we first came up from league 1 we had a much stronger team.
ReplyDelete