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Monday 20 May 2013

Reading's Plight is Food for Thought for Leeds Fans

Any Leeds fans getting carried away by the appointment of Brian McDermott might like to reflect on the final league position of Reading this season. The Premiership is, of course, a huge step up from the Championship, but Southampton and West Ham managed to survive, where-as the Team that Brian Built is heading straight back down. Champions last season, barely in the running this.

12 months ago, Reading came to Upton Park and murdered West Ham. At that stage, the team were high on adrenaline, their impossible run of victories - with one blip excepted - carrying on from week to week to week. McDermott was surfing a Tsunami and whatever team stood in Reading's path were flattened - West Ham included. Yesterday was different.

Apart from a ten minute spell in the first half and the first 20 minutes of the second, Reading were a shadow of the team that crushed all in their path from November 2011 to May 2012. In fact, they looked pretty much like the Reading team that stuttered and stumbled their way through the first quarter of last season.

The guy who made the difference yesterday was Le Fondre - Reading's player of the season and a guy who both McDermott and Adkins seemed reluctant to start. West Ham fans were enraged at times last season by Allardyce's insistence of playing 4-3-3 / 4-5-1 rather than 4-4-2, and, at Leeds, McDermott seems to be gripped by the same obsession.

The introduction of Le Fondre yesterday saw Reading revert to a good old fashioned 4-4-2, and suddenly West Ham were stretched right across the back four, with centre backs obliged to pick up a man each and so unavailable to cover the full backs. 2-0 became 2-2 in no time at all, and Reading looked favourites to win the game until their absurdly high line allowed Nolan - hardly a Ferrari - to race through one on one on young keeper McCarthy.

And the relevance to Leeds? Well, the Elland Road faithful should consider the following:

1. McDermott's success at Reading was short lived. The team won promotion on the back of an adrenaline pumped run the like of which comes along once in a blue moon. Repeating that is not impossible but is frankly unlikely.

2. The Reading team built by Nice Guy Brian isn't that good. Even if he does inspire a promotion charge next season, you have to fear for Leeds should they make it to the Prem.

3. McDermott is now a disciple of 4-3-3 and appears a rigid adherent to the latest fashion in footballing formations. The trouble is, 4-3-3 only works if you have the right personnel and, McCormack and Hell Hadji apart, Leeds don't have the personnel. Who plays down the middle and scores the goals? Morison aint up to it and Reg Varney, fitness drive or otherwise, would be like a number 37 bus in a Grand Prix.

4. The selection of McCarthy yesterday by Adkins indicates a conservative streak in Nice Guy Brian. The boy was badly at fault for West Ham's first goal but he is meant to be one of the best keepers in the country - and he pulled off one hell of a save to stop Nolan scoring. So why was McDermott reluctant to use him? Most Leeds fans are of the opinion that kids need to be given a chance to blossom - with young Poleon a prime example - but is McDermott the man to bring through young talent, or like the Warnock, will he favour a safety first policy?

26 comments:

  1. 4-3-3? Watched every game at Reading and getting him away from 4-4-2 was impossible... he's learning...

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  2. We will worry about that when we go up.
    all we need is to get out of this league.
    mot

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    1. Why do you persist in looking at the possible future shortcomings of a team in a division lower than your team?

      West Ham United have their own issues, concentrate on them.


      Leeds United can move forward with careful purchases and retaining the quality youths coming through.If Leeds do get promoted great but Leeds must not waste silly money on crap players, via transfer fees and wages.

      What odds on Leeds promoted and the Hammers getting relegated, very possible.

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  3. Oh it does make me laugh the way you actually believe you know wot you're on about hf.

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    1. No chance of that mate. I'm only here for the entertainment value!

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    2. you're as entertaining as a turd in a swimming pool

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  4. Why so obsessed with LUFC?

    Firstly, as any Leeds fan knows, Brian is unlikely to get anything like the sort of backing he got at Reading, nevermind the luxury big Sam has enjoyed for your lot.

    He's not here to build a sustainable premier league side, hell, he's possibly not even here to have a proper bash at getting us there. He's here to undo the damage to club infrastructure left by 8 years of neglect under Bates chairmanship - if that leads to promotion then great, but we're not likely to be targeting anything higher than creeping into 6th if we're being realistic - I just don't see us spending 10m+ this summer on new players and their wages.

    Who really knows how McDermott will get on as Leeds boss over the longer term, or if he'll be afforded the longer term, but he has experience from head scout to youth coaching to first team manager - if he can place his stamp on the club and achieve enough on the field to earn some time, then the best case for us is having the best all round manager we've had since Wilko - but it's way too early to suggest that's how he'll ultimately be remembered.

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  5. You are so ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

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  6. I think you have written what we were all thinking......

    I wonder what you now think of Leicesters gamble of investing to go up?, now they are left with a big wage bill

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  7. it will be fantastic entertainment after next season when west ham get relegated and replaced by leeds,im preparing my ribs now because god they are going to hurt with all the laughing

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  8. The bus driven by Reg B
    Varney was the no.7 to the cemetery gates. Other than that nothing of interest in this article. Either buck up or shut up HF, you can do better than this.

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  9. Neville don't you have some knickers to sniff down at the academy

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  10. i did what you said hf,i 'considered the following'

    and i considered it to be a load of bollocks

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  11. I`ve shat out more interesting stuff than you write

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  12. Looks like the board of Leeds United were reading your last post HF as they made a statement.Leeds United Football Club Limited are pleased to announce that Mr Salah Nooruddin has been appointed as Vice Chairman with immediate effect and can also confirm that he is the holder of 3.33% of shares in LUFC Holding Limited. Not quite the cloak and dagger you were hoping for eh.

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  13. listen hammer,based on football alot of your points are true,and like me most proper leeds are dreamers,the rest are premier ship driven and obscessed with puting club down when things aint good, for that they aint proper support, proper support goes home and away to shite grounds up and down the country for the crack, for the day out,for the us against you pack mentality, so really i dont care whether prem or championship im leeds. we all know we aint going up with what we have, and dont want to go up and come straight back down having spent out. so simple hammer, yes young lads given time,a couple of signings that capable,support the manager,and be patient. then in 2/3 years promotion, 4/5 years proper investment and challenging, thats real, thats football, there only 1 team in yorkshire, 4 in front of you in cockney land, so for the record and future,leeds challanging in 5years, west ham always mid table at best.

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    1. Respect to you sir. A genuine fan. I doff my cap. Genuinely.

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  14. This is the first time I've seen you try to provide some tactical analysis, and I have to say that your football knowledge is feeble. Clearly you have no idea how intricate and nuanced different tactical setups can be. Stick to trolling, at least you have some success hooking people in.

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  15. So, let me get this straight.

    Leeds fans, as a sort of single minded entity (as rationalised by HF's very inadequate powers of reasoning) should not get carried away by the appointment of Brian McDermott.

    Reading used to be better than West Ham, and now they are not - despite a change of management but used to be when Brian McDermott was their manager.

    McDermott used to play 442 but now plays 443 but 442 is better according to a man who has patently never kicked a ball and talks about 442 and 443 like it matters.

    Based on an assessment of a relegated Reading against an average West Ham in an end of season nothing game, a team 200 miles away with different players adopting a different formation and managed by a different manager should, if promoted in 12 months time and without the knowledge of incoming or outgoing changes in personnel, be worried about relegation from the Premiership.

    Meanwhile, West Ham, saved by the Cameo performances of a player who doesn't belong to them should not worry. Why? Because, they can scrape enough points to act as also rans in a monotonous season of mediocrity. By avoiding the temptation of playing football they have avoided the drop. Oh, and they can beat a relegated team.

    Here's food for thought. an entry level Dildo costs about £20.00. Andy Carroll will cost West Ham about £15000000. That means that West Ham will have to sell 750,000 Dildos to the British public to fund the purchase of your future saviour. Food for thought!!!!!!!







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    1. And I guess you will be buying one to insert up your arse. What size sir?

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    2. Thank you for the well practised offer but not for me.

      Maybe, if you could remove your head from yours for a minute you might be able to give yourself a little treat instead and contribute toward team strengthening at the same time. Now there a win win if I ever heard one HF.

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    3. No Room up Hammersfan's arse...His friend Headmaster lives there, in a small Semi detatched, for just the cost of keeping it clean...

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  16. hammer, you doffed your cap to me on above comments i made about 5 years till we challenging again, thankyou. that is realistic for us,just hope proper leeds realise its that long and be patient now. i will say this,leeds away support is second to none,best days out, at home we need that old hostile atmosphere back which will help us,to much negativity some days,thats because of who we are.well we got to pull our heads out our arses and get behind whoever is wearing that shirt.by the way not licking arse but w ham away support best in london.spurs arsenal chelsea muppets with playground chanting.mick

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  17. i think this guy has bested you today hf! ouch

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  18. The sad thing is, HF is smart enough to know that this is realistic, however will continue to shit stir at every opportunity in order to wind up the Leeds masses. It's all he has left to keep his blogs going. Look at the number of his own club's supporters who comment on his blogs. He's irrrelevant to West Ham, so he needs Leeds

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