Crystal Palace fan Tom Neal gives us his views on the Leeds players performance after the London sides 1-0 win.
Goalkeeper
K.Schmeichel-6
Although he was unfortunate with the goal, especially as it came so early in the game, his performance was average and the shots he did have to save were tame. His kicking was always a good outlet for attacking down the wings quickly but he seemed a bit erratic at times.
Defence
E. Lichaj- 7
A. O`Brien-6
R. Naylor- 6
P. Connolly-5
I thought the defence was very commanding in the air but lacked a bit of pace and sometimes held the ball for too long. Lichaj performed well against one of our better players, Neil Danns, but Connolly didn`t really make any impact defensively or attacking wise and was sacrificed for a more attacking approach. The two centre halves, as I mentioned, seemed to always take a bit too long on the ball and a lot of the time they were only facing one centre forward so should have dealt with the ball better. Saying that, we didn`t really get a sniff all game so that`s always a good sign. An area you need to improve to have a really good chance of promotion.
Midfield
R. Snodgrass-6
J. Howson-7
B.Johnson-6
J.Livermore-5
M. Gradel-8
In the first half the midfield seemed frantic at times and I thought we were on top in that area. Livermore was poor in the centre of midfield and the game seemed to pass him by. I thought he was a bit rash with a few challenges as well. Johnson didn`t do much in the first half, and maybe can take some share of blame for the goal as Danns shot from where he, or Howson, was meant to be positioned. His shooting was terrible in some good areas. Howson had a bit more impact on the game and was the main reason you controlled our central midfield position in the second half. Decent distribution and not afraid to put a tackle in, I appreciate this wasn`t his best game but I felt he performed ok and managed to get on top of us. Snodgrass had a lot of space on the right wing that he didn`t utilise at times. He looked lively in the first 15 minutes but then seemed to fade away and his crossing didn`t seem to be as good as I have seen from him. He pinned our very attacking left back Dean Moxey into his rightful position though, and he did keep him occupied but it didn`t quite happen for him. Gradel was a real handful all afternoon and I thought his battle with Clyne was very intriguing. All the good stuff seemed to come from Gradel`s wing and in the second half I`d say he edged it against Clyne. Could have been a bit more composed at times but looks to be a very promising player.
Striker
B. Paynter- 5
You can plainly see that at this level he is too far out of his depth. Our two centre halves, who are far from calm, had a field day in the first half and he was lacklustre. He had quite a bit of support as well, so can`t blame that. It just seems the intensity of the game is too much for him.
Substitutes-
This is where I felt the game edged in your favour. You brought on a few attacking players and that pushed us back immensely. Kilkenny, mainly, dominated the midfield area and that resulted in us changing our central midfielder to cope with your very combative midfield. Sanchez Watt and Davide Somma didn`t really have a chance to do anything that would have turned the game but still they seemed to be lacking a bit of positional sense that would maybe see them score.
Summary
An extremely tough game for both sides, very physical, and I think the first half was in our favour with both sides creating a few chances. Our wingers were on top of your defence, as well. Second half though was an onslaught and you did everything except put the ball into the back of the net. That is where you lack, as well. Without Becchio no-one seems to be able to be that ‘right place, right time` sort of player, and I think it was a mistake starting with Paynter. I thought we were possibly lucky, but probably did enough to hold out for the win with you being restricted to shots outside the box and a lot of free kicks. A very hard working team with that bit of flair, one more top proven Championship striker and a ball playing centre half should see you promoted. A top turnout as usual from the Leeds fans and you really are a credit to your club. Will enjoy playing you again next year, if you don`t go up!
Thanks for your thought`s Tom, I can see where you are coming from with what we need but as a team we was very poor today and a fans view from a Leeds perspective will be marked very differently.
Vital Leeds offers everything that a Leeds United supporter could wish for. If you can think of something and suggest it, we`ll put it on the website!
With news and views, along with a forum, polls and article comments, everything you need in a fans site is right here!
You can even win prizes, by posting articles comments, posting on the message forum and voting on the polls.
The site is regularly updated with news and views regarding all the current events at Elland Road, alongside a fully interactive message forum.
With news and views, along with a forum, polls and article comments, everything you need in a fans site is right here!
You can even win prizes, by posting articles comments, posting on the message forum and voting on the polls.
Vital is also 100% interactive. Not only can you have your say on the articles and the forum but you can also suggest an article or a poll so you can air your views.
So why not join Vital today?
It’s easy to register here and enjoy getting involved
Message Board
To visit the message board, click here.
Get involved
This website is your website and we are looking for people to help run the site. Do you go to most of the games and have an opinion? Why not write a match report? Perhaps you are a budding journalist or even just someone who is very opinionated? Well why not join our team? If this interests you please contact Vital Leeds .
Vital Leeds is now available on both facebook and twitter, so if you are that way inclined and more importantly understand all this new fangled dangled stuff, feel free to watch us, poke us or whatever else you are meant to do there!
Vital Leeds on:
Vital Leeds on: