By Mark Rasdall![]() Neil Warnock can count. He's worked out that Leeds United have nine games left and therefore "There's 27 points left and we're in a lot better situation than we were two months ago." Mathematically he's correct and, when you look at some of the performances from LUFC as a team in the last two months he's correct there too. We have certainly battled for every point but then so have other teams. Look at Billy 'job done' Davies's impact at Forest. Yes, Brighton - where injuries have played a huge part - and Boro' - where inexperience has shown - are currently doing a Cardiff, but they're still in with a realistic chance of promotion, and with sufficiently more points than we have to put them in that position and us in tenth place. In short, we have left it far too late to mount a realistic challenge and have left it far too late in games to make the correct tactical changes to hang on to winning leads which, again, the team has battled really hard to achieve. Some us us have recognised this - despite the secret hopes of every Leeds fan - for some time - and are planning ahead to next season. There seems to be a backlash on the various web forums whereby people aren't supposed to say things like this but tow the line instead and 'get behind the team.' Well, I get behind the team from kick-off until the final whistle in every single game I watch. I also look for the constructive at all times - sometimes when a sad reality is hitting me hard in the face like that game at Bolton all those years ago when Viduka threw in the towel early on but none of us did, even when we all knew we were doomed. We are Leeds after all they throw at us. But I am also a Leeds United fan of more than forty-five years' standing and I have every right to say what I think outside of matches and here it is again: We do not currently possess sufficient quality in enough players to take us to the next level; certain players are not good enough to play for us in the Championship, let alone the Premier League; the modern game has passed our current manager by in terms of tactics and proactive use of substitutes; our best players such as Sam Byram will be sold in the summer by owners who have shown themselves to be spineless, inconsistent and without access to the kinds of funds we all thought they did. The official site crows about Ryan Hall scoring for the Development Squad. We brought Dom Poleon back early from his loan stint. Have you seen them play for the first team? But, we can begin to turn this round now. We do have many good players who, with the right coaching could be very good indeed; we could try harder to hang on to them instead of allowing our corporate heads to be turned so easily; we could get a different, tactically much more astute manager, in now - one who better understands the modern game; we could do all of this and have a full pre-season with manager and those players who really are good enough to play for Leeds United. This won't happen, of course, any more than we will be in the Play Offs. Why? Because Warnock can count on GFH not wishing to get involved in severance/compensation at this late stage in the season when they (and we) know that Warnock will retire in the summer anyway. Warnock can count on a substantial salary until then. He can't lose whether Leeds win, lose or draw. So, once again we, the loyal, paying fans, are the losers. I do think we're in better shape as a team but, frustratingly, after yet another night of missing chances, Warnock patronises us with his "it's all still very much to play for" comments. He publicly puts pressure on McCormack to take his chances while still insisting that Becchio was holding us back as a team (how often was he the one who saved us in exactly the kinds of games as last night's in the past?) We'll always be there and, for Leeds United fans, there's always something to play for while the world keeps going round: it's called the next game that we all look forward to so much. But nothing's going to happen this season; not with Warnock. Yet another season has been squandered and battling on the pitch or battling through traffic, rain and snow to watch our beloved club is not enough to take us up. Money talks and money counts, apparently.
22 Comments
James
13/3/2013 04:43:36 am
Excellent post agree with everything written. Warnock should do the right thing for the club and leave now. Anyone reckon Brian Mcdermott could do a good job for us? I think so
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john charles
13/3/2013 04:56:58 am
Ive given up . like you Ive been a supporter for over 40 years, but after the trip to wolves a few weeks ago it dawned on me . They dont care if we win or loose because they know that 20,000 will turn up next week . they will sell our best players to pay their executive wages while we spend a 3rd of ours every week going to the games. We've had 10 years of this crap..... they cant lay straight in bed and want nothing more than to squeeze every drop of money out of us that they can ... Well im going to keep mine from now on ..
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Snowjoke
13/3/2013 12:21:59 pm
James, you are not alone. Perfect man for the job. Quietly-spoken but articulate; always persuasive and plausibble; a lucid thinker and communicator about our great game; and an astute, decisive tactician on matchdays, But, above all, a good man whose appointment would do much to repair LUFC's lousy image beyond the city gates. Okay - he's had a rough ride at Reading since rocketing them out of the Championship last season. The victim, apparently, of another impatient Russian owner. But he'll be the wiser for that exoerience. And doubly-motivated by it.
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BRIAN GRIFFITHS
13/3/2013 05:33:47 am
Agree completely.
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igiveup
13/3/2013 05:39:19 am
If Adkins doesn't get the Reading job he must be nailed on for ER next season. This summer is THE big one for Leeds/GFH, if there's no sign of intent then fans WILL turn there backs for good. My lad wants me to take him on Sat but I told him I am not paying £30+ to watch a under performing, non entertaining football team (or Leeds!!)
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Ropey Wyla
13/3/2013 05:39:43 am
Warnock has not the players at his disposal to be tactically astute in his substitutions as the bench is bereft of attacking threat, you could argue this is his fault for signing so many defensive minded players and not playing the likes of hall and white but on te flipside he didn't have the dough to get the players he wanted, the truth is we lack the investment to mount a promotioin push regardless of the manager as will be shown when west brom sign Byram in the summer.
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I agree. I dont think Warnock wants us to go up. Thats the only explanation for what he does with tactics, team selection, substitutes or lack of.etc. He's let us wallow mid table, now it's too late, he will push on for wins. Crazy theory I know, but thats what I think.
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gary hillman
13/3/2013 05:56:29 am
every body needs to boycott a perticular match , get flyers out obviousley not the last home game but maybe a televised one we can all watch it at home anyway , an empty stadium a couple of banners weve had enough we will come back when some decent money including our season ticket money is spent on 3 to 4 quality players, 10 years is enough, then they will shit themselves no income and have to act as they know 25,000 mean business it could be set for the next to last match of the season, what do you all say , after all not just our best players have been sold , mad max snods etc our bleeding season ticket money for two years was spent by that bearded tramp to do up the stadium to flog to line his pockets, its the only way vote with your feet they lose gate money and food and drink money, and know we mean real business and they will act big time, there a bloody bank are nt they telling me they cant get 10 investors from there client bank, please, what say you all, gary i will organise it myself through flyers if any ones interested, for the good of leeds utd i am !!!!
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Nigel Young
13/3/2013 06:23:18 am
I still believe in Warnock & promotion He has done a great job with the money available & we are afar better team than we were this time last year I think he is one player short a Snodgrass I hope all the doubters eat there words at the end come on Leeds MOT PS I am not deluded or mad!
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Richard Allen
13/3/2013 06:50:50 am
Go away Mr Warnock. This can only be you.
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Phil Brown
13/3/2013 06:25:13 am
Brilliant post....all so true...LUAFC laughing stock to the rest GFH sell bryam for £8m then get in load of loan crap....breaks my heart
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Kevin Painter
13/3/2013 06:28:10 am
51 years, myself and Leeds United, this says everything I feel well done
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brian trainor
13/3/2013 07:38:44 am
Unfortunately we are once again talking about a real lack of quality of giving us any chance of getting ourselves to the play offs never mind top 2. We now need a talented ,ambitious,organised manager who is prepared to embrace all aspects of achieving promotion and in particular creative footballers who fans will be willing to go and watch week in week out-always remember we are LEEDS we deserve the best-We are not going away-loud and proud in Derry City
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OzTyke
13/3/2013 08:12:41 am
Even "Redders" leaves Warnock's grasp of modern football for dead. Have a read of his summation of the Development Squad's win against Coventry. It reads like an Applied Chemistry dissertation alongside Warnock's Janet and John. Just imagine the impact of a manager coming in with coaching badges awarded this century!
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Chris
13/3/2013 08:30:40 am
Spot on mate. So glad someone is speaking the truth.
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dhsja
13/3/2013 09:21:09 am
why all the doom and gloom? We are 5 points off the play offs with 9 games to go, 2 tough games play but the rest are very winnable. Some of you are talking like its a formality, you're the kind of fans i expect to be booing the team off at half-time because its 0-0. Oh and "john charles", you shouldn't take his name, i am good friends with his son and he says his dad would be ashamed of fans like you. Mot.
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Ben
13/3/2013 10:05:09 am
We're not long out of the Bates regime, which was a torturous time for the club but we shouldn't expect GFH to just come in and buy us promotion because that's what we want.
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Mypo
13/3/2013 10:23:19 am
Shut up you knob. Tactics Tictacs
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Bob D
13/3/2013 05:37:39 pm
All this talk of the play-offs. Does anyone actually think we will win if ..IF we make them
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Too hard on Warnock and too soft on Bates. Bates is still here and the contractual terms that have been set means that he still has influence. He also has a big stake in the club if they get promoted within 4 years!!! GFH are playing their cards close to their chest and you would not expect them to do anything at the moment. I think that we are Championship bound for a few seasons to come yet. And, the gates are very low for Leeds United compated to even the Sheffield clubs!! I am not sure if Leeds will ever recover post Bates, without someone rich coming in. Finally, Leeds is too far North to be considered a good buy for wealthy people. They want the South!!
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jm
13/3/2013 08:23:24 pm
we are as far north as scum utd
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Welsh Al
14/3/2013 12:01:54 am
well written article. I am 60 and a supporter for almost 50 years. I fear that I may not see us play in the premier league again. I don't believe that withdrawing our support will help matters.
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