We have the bonus of a fans perspective from the opposition this weekend as Reading fan Matt Brown gives me his view of the Leeds players.
Goalkeeper – Schmeichel 8
He denied us twice with two great saves in the second half. I think he was lucky that the Shane Long shot late on was straight at him.
Defence
Connolly 5
O`Brien 7
Bruce 7
McCartney 4
The two lads in the centre of defence held the side together. Reading`s two wide men regularly beat the full backs with McAnuff in the first half and Kebe and Antonio when they came off the bench beating McCartney with ease on a regular basis.
Midfield
Johnson 3
Kilkenny 3
Howson 5
Gradel 4
Snodgrass 3
I thought your midfield was really weak, you allowed Reading players far too much time on the ball and never looked like closing us down in the first half.
Probably a good job we was having an off day or we could have made Leeds pay.
I couldn`t work out whether you played a 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 as Gradel and Snodgrass both seemed to just stand out wide.
Was interested to see how Johnson played as I have seen him linked with Premiership clubs. If he`s Premiership quality then there is still hope for me and I`m 43.
Gradel should have got sent off near the end of the first half when he kicked out at Griffin.
The referee was inept all afternoon so wasn`t surprised to see him stay on.
Howson was probably the best midfielder but he rarely did anything to worry us until the last minute.
Forward – Becchio 3
Did little and seemed happy to throw himself to ground every time the ball came near him.
He did lack any support and was very isolated so was probably just trying to win free kicks in his defence but it was frustrating to watch from a Reading point of view.
Summary
Having seen your results pick up recently, especially your away form so was expecting a tough game.
Didn`t think you ever looked like scoring as Federici had a pretty easy afternoon until the shot in stoppage time.
I thought we was also below par but looked the more likely to score especially in the final ten minutes.
In the end, I think a point was probably a fair result as it was a poor game.
Daz assures me it was an off day after a recent run of good form. If you can play poorly and claim a point then it shows you have a bit about you to fight for points.
Can I see Leeds pushing form promotion? It`s a wide open division and I think you really need a bit more in midfield if you are to sustain a challenge.
As for Reading, I think our weak link is in defence so was happy to see us have an easy day today.
Both sides should finish in the top half this season but can`t see either of us getting promoted.
Good luck for the rest of the season except for when we come to Elland Road in April.
Thanks Matt for your honest and open remarks, I can`t disagree with any of what you have said and it`s good to get the views of someone without a Leeds connection.
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