Player Ratings - Leeds

[Uncle Buck]

Is Smith's goals conceeded per game better than Mark Robinson's batting average was?

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Smith 4 - not his fault directly but very shaky performance and plenty of the crowd turning on him in the second half where I was. Get rid.

Whing 4 - typical Whing really - not embarrassed but basically talentless. Get rid.

Elphick 3 - needs to learn how to mark for 90 minutes, no good to us. Get rid.

Tunnicliffe 3 - very poor, and I don't know whether it was him or Elphick responsible for the second but whoever it is should be SHOT.

El Abd 4 - try as he might he just isn't a football. Get rid.

Elliott 2 - worst game for us by a mile, don't know what he was on today.

Dicker 2 - similar to Elliott.

Crofts 4 - best of a shocking midfield but still a million miles off Leeds' pace.

Cox 3 - not good enough, get rid.

Forster 1 - total joke of a performance from a great player.

Murray 4 - at least tried to make things happen, even if his teammates made it impossible.

Harsh ratings (personally I'd start at 3), but the comments are extremely accurate!

Crofts was our MOM for me and would only rate a 6.

 

[Knotty]

I think today also showed that if we are to mount any sort of promotion push, be it this season or certainly next, the board ( Blooms) are going to have to fund it.

Today just showed what it takes to get out of this division.....a strong and tall back four, energetic and skillfull midfield and strikers of undoubted quality.

We were trying to think of any of our players who would get into that Leeds team and on todays showing, none of them.

I don't think we will go down this year, however, I do not think we have the quality to be any more than mid table...Poyet or not.

I agree with all of that.

Some of the low marks and comments assume that those players could have done better. I don't think they could. We were comprehensively outclassed and that showed the gulf in the talent of each side.

If all of our players performed to the peak of their abilities, we are still nowhere near as good as Leeds. It's no good criticising and abusing our players. Most of them are just not of that standard - it's not a fault, it's a fact.

GW is right - none of our players would get in the Leeds side. No amount of coaching from Gus or anyone else is going to change that.

I'm sure Gus knew already, but yesterday was a reality check for those fans who harboured deluded views about what we have and what we can achieve with these players.
Sometimes your best is simply not good enough and, in general, superior players will have the measure of you and won't allow you to perform. That happened yesterday.

There's only one thing that can change this - money to buy superior players.

 

[Acker79]

If all of our players performed to the peak of their abilities, we are still nowhere near as good as Leeds. It's no good criticising and abusing our players. Most of them are just not of that standard - it's not a fault, it's a fact.

I have to disagree with that. If our players performed as well as they can we'd have been as good as leeds. The leeds players weren't unnaturally skilled, they were just more organised, more determined, more disciplined and played with more desire.

If Forster and Murray played as well as they did on sunday we'd have got a goal early in the game. Before leeds, we would have scored from one of the breaks we had (especially the one where murray lost the ball to easily instead of passing to forster, which resulted in the ball being played through for beckford to make it 2-0).

If Bennett played as well as he can his lick ons and crosses would have foud our men and we'd have had more chances.

Whing may not have natural talent, but his form towards the end of last season shows he can compensate for lack of natural talent with effort and energy, and could have handled anyone. Elphick and Tunnicliffe have the skills the lack the confidence and consistency, if the perform as well as the can, they're as good as any league one pairing, and would be enough to keep beckford quiet. El Abd lie whing is lacking in natural talent, but puts the effot in and with proper support can be a decent substitute left back

Cox, when on top form, will run any defence ragged. (unfortunatey his top form is becoming increasingly rare).

Dicker and Crofts are capable of dominating midfield.

Yesterday the entire team put in a poor shift. But to say that even if they are all performing their best we'd be no match for leeds is, imo, nonsense.

 

[Acker79]

Is Smith's goals conceeded per game better than Mark Robinson's batting average was?

Smith's goals conceded per game is 3.33. I have no idea what Mark Robinson's batting average was.

 

[1234andcounting]

A lot of exceptionally harsh ratings. There is no doubt that an exceptional Leeds side - probably by some distance the best side in this division as borne out by the table - exposed our limitations to the max. But let us get this in context, a team coming out of a very poor run were beaten by a team that has lost one league match this season. The only two conclusions I can draw from yesterday are:
- Smith is not going to make it as a goalkeeper;
- McCleod is not a professional footballer.

 

[SittingbourneSeagull]

The ratings are very harsh. The Leeds Manager has stated that yesterday was their best performance of the season. They were supremely well organised and a physically imposing team.
We did not play as well as we can, but I think that was more as a result of the way they bossed the match then any shortcomings on our part.

I must agree though that having Smith in goal worries me. He seems short for a goalkeeper and therefore cannot dominate his area. Also have seen him lobbed/beaten by a saveable high shot on two occasions this season.

 

[Acker79]

Is Smith's goals conceeded per game better than Mark Robinson's batting average was?

Smith's goals conceded per game is 3.33. I have no idea what Mark Robinson's batting average was.

I'm not a big cricket fan, so looked it up on google. Not sure what this means, but his batting average for FC is 4.01 His batting average for LA is 3.16.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

I think today also showed that if we are to mount any sort of promotion push, be it this season or certainly next, the board ( Blooms) are going to have to fund it.

Today just showed what it takes to get out of this division.....a strong and tall back four, energetic and skillfull midfield and strikers of undoubted quality.

We were trying to think of any of our players who would get into that Leeds team and on todays showing, none of them.

I don't think we will go down this year, however, I do not think we have the quality to be any more than mid table...Poyet or not.

Spot-on for me, Granny. If TB wants Championship football & decent sized crowds by the time we move to Falmer, he's gonna have to give Gus a healthy budget to bring in some quality during the close-season. If he thinks we can get there 'on the cheap', he's massively under-estimating what it's gonna take imo. Tick tock, tick tock..

 

[Uncle Buck]

I'm not a big cricket fan, so looked it up on google. Not sure what this means, but his batting average for FC is 4.01 His batting average for LA is 3.16.

It is not good when a professional goalkeepers goals conceeded per game is pretty much the same as a number 11 batsman's average...

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

Smith 4 - not his fault directly but very shaky performance and plenty of the crowd turning on him in the second half where I was. Get rid.

Whing 4 - typical Whing really - not embarrassed but basically talentless. Get rid.

Elphick 3 - needs to learn how to mark for 90 minutes, no good to us. Get rid.

Tunnicliffe 3 - very poor, and I don't know whether it was him or Elphick responsible for the second but whoever it is should be SHOT.

El Abd 4 - try as he might he just isn't a football. Get rid.

Elliott 2 - worst game for us by a mile, don't know what he was on today.

Dicker 2 - similar to Elliott.

Crofts 4 - best of a shocking midfield but still a million miles off Leeds' pace.

Cox 3 - not good enough, get rid.

Forster 1 - total joke of a performance from a great player.

Murray 4 - at least tried to make things happen, even if his teammates made it impossible.

Do you get some sort of perverted gratification from posting bollocks?

 

[Don Quixote]

Bloom just really needs to spend an absolute ton to get out this division. He knows that next season we are going to have to spend a few million on players. If we would have bought Billy Sharp thing may have been different but oh well Bloom is still learning.

 

[Silent Bob]

Smith - 5 Not sure you could blame him for any of the goals, though the third looked fairly close to him, but either his communication is dire or the defence don't trust him.

Whing - 4
Elphick - 4
Tunnicliffe - 5
El-Abd - 4

We conceded three goals so you can't say the defence was great, but they had a lot to cope with. El-Abd can't be criticised too much because there hasn't been anyone else to play at leftback, but he isn't very good there - get Hoyte in there on Tuesday please.

Bennett - 4 Worked hard but I thought another disappointing performance from him on the ball, as it was at Southampton.
Crofts, Dicker - 4 Outfought and outplayed in the middle.
Cox - 4 Started out very brightly but Leeds got on top and he seemed to lose all confidence, took the easy option far too much. Disappointing.

Forster - 5 Seems to be getting a lot of stick, he wasn't great (no one was) but he did seem to be the only player ever capable of getting past a Leeds player with the ball.
Murray - 5 Feeding on scraps

All in all a slightly disappointing day but we were just hustled out of the game by a team who looked fitter, stronger, quicker, and more organised. A better team, in other words. I don't necessarily think this is all down to the players being good enough, it's just a reminder than one great performance doesn't mean we've put all the problems of this season so far being us in just over a week.

 

[griff9]

any team can beat any other no matter who they have playing for them, we looked shite on saturday but look at both times we played scunny in the league last year, they wiped the floor with us when they played us at home... its not the end of the world, we got beaten by an inform team, weren't the first this year by a long shot and certainly wont be the last...

 

[Knotty]

I have to disagree with that. If our players performed as well as they can we'd have been as good as leeds.

I agree with a lot of what you say on numerous subjects, mate, and I wish I agreed with you here! But I can't.

I just don't see how our set of players can be as good as Leeds. In my opinion, most of our lads just don't have that ability, no matter how much effort they put in.

However, I'd be very happy for you to be right and me wrong!