Frazer’s Curse Strikes Again….!

Back in May I posted an article regarding the ill affects Frazer Richardson’s presence seems to have on the football clubs that he is contracted to - “Is Frazer Richardson Cursed?”

Following the article, Frazer secured a move to Southampton who were obviously unaware of the evil within. The move surprised many, but as part of ‘The League One Team of the Year’ Frazer’s stock was in high regard throughout the third tier. Richardson joined a team that narrowly missed out on a Play-off place the previous season despite a 10 point deficit from The Football League.

Over the course of last season Alan Pardew spent a small fortune assembling one of the best squads ever at League One level. Ricky Lambert and Lee Barnard were recruited to spearhead the attack and Jason Puncheon joined to compliment the already impressive Adam Lallana.

The current season had pundits and experts writing off any challenge to Southampton’s march to The League One title and Championship football, few could see past The Saints replacing their local rivals Portsmouth in next season’s second tier… They obviously don’t read this blog!

Three weeks into the season, manager Alan Pardew was relieved of his duties following an average start to the campaign and the clubs owner had tragically passed away! Since Pardew’s dismissal, St Mary’s has witnessed  a 3-0 reverse to Swindon in the dreaded JPT and a humbling 2-0 defeat to my home town club Rochdale (which incidentally won me a few pounds to boot!).

Southampton may well go onto achieve promotion come May but it’s not a great start by any stretch of the imagination. Should The Saints fail this time around, surely there can only be one person to blame…

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Frazer’s Curse Strikes Again….!

“What’s it like to be outclassed?!”

I’m not certain whether it was Leeds who were a class above or if Millwall were having an 'off day’, perhaps a bit of both. Maybe The Lions arrived at Elland Road anticipating the usual physical contest that has become synonymous with this fixture. Either way, United produced a performance that would have caused problems for every team in this division. Sanchez Watt strode around Millwall’s defensive third like he was the only player on the pitch, dropping into ‘the hole’ and neutralising any combative game plan that Kenny Jackett’s side had set out with.

His dribbling ability and willingness to get on the ball switched Leeds from defence into attack in the blink of an eye, complimented by excellent performances from Neil Kilkenny and Jonny Howson, the latter serving up his best attacking display in many a month. United’s midfield four were so good that Jackett switched his side to 4-5-1 after an hour with Jimmy Abdou trailing Watt across the park in an attempt to get a foothold in the game.

It was refreshing to see an opposition team come to Elland Road and have to worry about how they were going to contain The Whites. Too often in the last few seasons the better teams have come to LS11 and passed us off the park, with most of our fans biting their nails down to the knuckle every time they crossed the halfway line.

The fluidity in which United moved the ball in the final third was alien at times, content in previous seasons to hit high balls into the channels for Beckford to chase or Becchio to get underneath has now evolved into a high-tempo, passing game plan that looks for a killer pass to unlock defences. Failing that, we have two genuine wingers who enjoy beating the opposing fullbacks. It all makes for exciting match each time we take to the field.

Credit must go to Grayson who, unlike his predecessor Gary McAllister, seems to have more than one plan of action. Our 4-5-1 formation that we settled into during pre-season seamlessly snapped into a more familiar 4-4-2 after 20 torrid minutes at The City Ground and served us well in what was a ultimately a clinical dismantling of a Millwall side that had been leading The Championship prior to kick off. I’m not going to get overly excited just yet, if last season taught us anything; it’s that the season isn’t over until the final ball is kicked, and although Millwall’s excellent start speaks for itself I can’t help thinking that it was more down to the fact that Bristol and Hull weren’t prepared for their style of play and acute physical approach. However, after 8 encounters in the last 3 seasons Jackett’s men held few surprises for United.

After much fear over the last few weeks about the lack of investment into the playing staff and apparent lack of ambition, it was nice to see that, after all the dust of the narrow opening day defeat to Derby had settled, Grayson has assembled a team that can more than compete at this level. And all this without arguably our three best players…

Finally, it would be stupid of me to pass up an opportunity to gloat about a victory over Millwall. Not because they’re such great rivals, or that it was such a magnificent feat, but when a team continually gets the better of you for such a sustained period (except when it counted in May of course) it’s nice to put things right. Maybe because we’re such familiar foes, the ‘Cup final’ feel has evaporated for the Bermondsey boys, hence their inability to raise their game again… ‘aint that right Jackett?? … you dick!

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“What’s it like to be outclassed?!”

A Very Rare Mindset – Leeds United 2010/11

“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” – Bill Shankley

For as far back as I can remember, a match involving Leeds United has had the ability to dictate my immediate wellbeing. Entire weekends have been lost to depression and despair following adverse results, similarly the joy and elation of past and more recent triumphs have had me walking on air for days. The crippling, constant stress that last season’s promotion run-in brought upon me is not something I’d relish on an annual basis. I even developed a skin irritation that surfaced around early April, coincidence? probably not…

For years the pleasure of a bi-weekly trip to Elland Road has always been tempered by the thought of what the return journey across the M62 might bring. Would Eddie Gray still be as positive following another shambolic home defeat to the likes of Cheltenham Town?? Knowing that I’m at the mercy of a force that has the ability to destroy my entire weekend, and the worst thing? I’m powerless to stop it.

Now a Father, I’ve tried to limit the impact that Leeds United defeats or general disasters have on my life. By the same token, with our fixture against Nottingham Forest to be broadcast directly into my living room, I took the opportunity to stay at home and spend the time with my family. Having said that, it was only me watching Leeds!

One-nil down and probably only touched the ball a handful of times, it made for very difficult viewing. It was at this point I had something of an epiphany… Leeds United aren’t expected to get anything out of this game, we’re up against a side that only dropped points at home on five occasions last season. Meanwhile, we were making hard work of escaping the league below. As long as we reach the magic 50-point mark come February or March, I’ll be more than happy.

As much as our opening day defeat to Derby was difficult to stomach, it may actually have done us all a favour. Gone are the crazy optimists who were predicting The Whites to rampage through this league to the land of gold, sharp suits and inflated egos that is The Premiership. Instead we all pretty much accept that this will be a season of consolidation, a season to build foundations. Yes, our 20 year record of no opening day losses has gone, and was only made worse by the pantomime antics of Robbie Savage. Who incidentally, has threatened to retire from Twitter following the abuse he and his family received from some Leeds United themed usernames. Something to do with his ill Father, I'm not sure, I can’t fully remember…

Unfortunately, Robbie’s threat to abandon his online followers came at roughly the same time that David Beckham was publicly axed from the England National team. Alas, only 5Live took a mild interest in his plight, and he is still desperately living up to his childish Disney villain persona via the online network.

So here we are, about to embark on 9 months of football that will undoubtedly have more than a few ‘ups and downs’ but ultimately enjoyable and stress free. I think we’re steady enough that it shouldn’t be a matter of life and death come May. Having said that, with arguably our five best players set to return before Christmas… who knows?

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A Very Rare Mindset – Leeds United 2010/11