Leeds suffers excruciating loss

Leeds suffered an excruciating 2-1 loss at Sixfields against Northhampton in League One action that was a by-product of both over-confidence and the lack of urgency in the attack. Being quite honest, the moment I saw midfield lineup with Jonny Howson and Robert Snodgrass on the bench with the club in a dowdy 4-4-2, the loss was a lock. Leeds lacked punch and came in with a puffed-up ego clattering about how they put up five goals against Northhampton and that they were shooting for six. Well, they fell five short of six goals and with three minutes remaining Nicholas Bignall headed-in Danny Jackman's corner to the back of the net to give Northhampton the victory. Leeds controlled most of the play but Liam Davis gave the home side the lead two minutes before the half-hour mark. Leeds was unable to draw the match level until Jermaine Beckford struck with twenty-one minutes remaining. Leeds fate was however sealed with Nicholas Bignall's goal and so went another three points towards promotion hopes. While redundant this is horrible loss for Leeds and Gary McAllister needs to accept that tactically massive errors are being made and this loss rests firmly on his shoulders. A club of this ability should be ten points clear of Leicester City but instead they are in seventh, six points behind.

Leeds returns to action this Saturday against Histon in the FA Cup.

Marching on Together - Northampton Town match preview

As Leeds takes to Sixfields today against Northhampton Town, they must put the dropped points behind them and reaffirm their promotion bid. Sitting at sixth place, three points behind Leicester City, the quality of the Leeds squad should have them riding high well in-front of the table but unfortunately all "should have's" in-the-world won't buy you a place in the Championship. Seventeen matches into the campaign the grading of Leeds' play is far from acceptable and while that does appear a morsel on the "tough love" side, it is a straight fact. This is a massive club, far beyond the majority of its competition and is losing out because of a lack of attacking spirit if not a killer instinct. If I say this before each match throughout the balance of the campaign then so be it but if Leeds does not win promotion this year they will be unable to retain or for that matter resist the sale of their younger players and the club will take root in League One. It is time for Gary McAllister to get a bit more forceful and demand a tenacious up-tempo attack or find the right player combination to do so.

Leeds will need to wipe memories of their recent 5-2 FA Cup victory over Northhampton and be aware that they are a radically different unit at home in league play. Stuart Gray will utilize a 3-5-2 and have his cobblers poised to counter on Leeds mental errors that have dotted their season. A old-name many will be familiar with, Andy Todd has resurfaced with the Cobblers and if he plays Leeds will need to deal with a very tough defender who won't make things so easy for Jermaine Beckford and Jermaine Beckford. Giles Coke is back for Northhampton but they will be without Adebayo Akinfenwa, Chris Doig, Colin Larkin and Abdul Osman. Leeds will be missing Malcolm Christie but is otherwise full-fit.

I will report on the match as it concludes but until then we're Marching on Together.

Leeds get through FA first round replay

After a dowdy draw against Northampton Town, Leeds got back on track with an overwhelming 5-2 victory in the replay. The vigor and spirit that Northhampton showed at Elland Road was absent and in its place was a lethargic, error prone contest that surely would leave their manager Stuart Gray fuming.

Man of the match, Jermaine Beckford scored the first of his three goals thirteen minutes after the start, with David Prutton providing a perfect set-up against what appeared to be a practice ground defense by the Cobblers. Two minutes before the half-hour mark Jonny Howson's drive took a heavy deflection past a diving Mark Hughes and into the goal to make it 2-0. The theme of the day seemed etched in stone as young Ben Parker sent a long-range effort that should have easily been handed, skipped into the net past Northhampton 'keeper Frank Fielding to bring the score 3-0. However the home crowd, cleverly disguised as empty seats, were rewarded with a brilliant header off a Danny Jackman's corner by Jason Crowe as he charged into the box. With the score 3-1, there was a glimmer of hope but that would disappear shortly as a long ball was sent down the left side towards Jermaine Beckford. In-fact it was a horrendous piece of defending by Northampton as was out-run in a situation that could have easily been handled by a academy prospect. Catching up to the ball, Jermaine circled to left of the goal and instead of Malcolm Christie, who had made his first start for Leeds, he hit a perfect curling drive that hit the inside of the far post and in. With the 4-1 Leeds the match was effectively done with the exception of Jermaine's third goal of the night ten minutes after the restart and Jason Crowe further exploiting of Leeds weakness against set-pieces as he headed-in Luke Guttridge's corner as time ran down.

Leeds will now face Histon in the next round of the FA Cup.

Leeds starts FA Cup with dowdy performance

Leeds started their FA Cup with dowdy 1-1 draw to Northampton Town. In considering the match, more shocking the the ineptitude that Gary McAllister accepts on the pitch but the cavernous Elland Road. Announced at 9,000 it seemed like far less and was at-times difficult to watch as a reminder of the great clubs fall from grace. For clubs in the higher ranks, presently going through troubled times, this match was a haunting tale of what can happen should you crash into the lower leagues.

To summarize the match simply, it was a case of Leeds consistently playing to the speed of their opposition and a very telling weakness of why many players don't make the jump to the next level. The core of Fabian Delph, Robert Snodgrass and Luciano Becchio were waiting for others to attack instead of letting the opposition re-group and wait for the next smash at the ball. This is Leeds weakness; a dowdy attack that sadly a number of fine players must be told to one-touch the ball-on and stop waiting to decide what to do. Should they continue to play as such I can assure you they will not be promoted and then need to deal with the exodus of young talent.

Returning to the match although Leeds was controlling the run of play, Scott McGleish got the visitors on the score-sheet first converting on a perfect cross by Ryan Gilligan. However after a bumbling yellow-card two minutes into the match, Giles Coke received his second at the twenty-seven minute mark and Northampton played the balance of the match a man down. Leeds continued to control possession of the ball but once it got in the attacking end it slowed for a standard fair of bashing a cross into the box. Eight minutes before the half Mark Hughes was adjudged to fouling Jonny Howson in the box with a resulting penalty awarded. Unfortunately it was a miserably embarrassing dive by Jonny and somewhat easy to spot as he took a step then swanned onto the ground. Andy Robinson tucked the ball into the net to bring the match level but Leeds couldn't find the winner in a horrible display.

The replay is set for Sixfields next Tuesday

Leeds kick off first round of FA Cup

The first round of the FA Cup gets underway at Elland Road against Northhampton. The Cobblers are winless in their last three league matches and are facing the match with Abdul Osman, Adebayo Akinfenwa and Luke Gutteridge out and Colin Larkin doubtful. Leeds are fully-fit with the exception of Rui Marques and Alan Sheehan. Judging from Gary McAllister's comments, they are anxious for the Cup:

"I love the FA Cup. I have to say I had a fantastic run late in my career in the cup competitions, including the FA Cup. As much as I came on for Liverpool against Arsenal in the final with not long to go, the FA Cup final for me has always been special. We didn't actually get the TV pictures in Scotland when I was growing up and we had to travel to the border towns to watch it, but the FA Cup has always been a big event. I'm a traditionalist. I like the history of it. I was involved at Cardiff, but it's nice to see it back at Wembley. It's a magical tournament. At Leicester I had six seasons and never won an FA Cup tie so it wasn't good to me. We always seemed to get tough draws when I was a player here as well. As much as the number one target is promotion, it is a respite from league business. We see the importance of getting to the third round. That's when the big boys come in and in some peoples eyes that is seen as when the cup proper starts. That's the target. We're not looking miles ahead, but that's what were looking for."