Stockport Vs Leeds United

Leeds United came from behind today to beat bottom of the table Stockport County. Leeds took the lead after only two minutes with a goal from Robert Snodgrass. Stockport equalised ten minutes later and then took the lead from a corner after some bad defending by Leeds.

Leeds then equalised through Jermaine Beckford and then with only three minutes left Leigh Bromby scored his first goal for the club with a scorcher. Beckford scored again in injury time to make it 2 - 4 to Leeds at full time.

Leeds are now 11 points clear of third placed Norwich and 20 points clear of the sixth placed club. The League One season is now half way through and Leeds are looking good on 56 points and only one loss. The pressure is on the chasing teams but Leeds will never have a better chance of promotion than this season so I really hope that Leeds do it this season.

Next up is a trip to Old Trafford to play Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup. Now that will be an interesting game !

It's looking good so far for Leeds United

We are nearly half way through the League One season for 2009-2010 and I have been looking at the statistics so far. Leeds have lost only one game so far and if they can maintain the same form for the second half of the season then promotion is almost guaranteed. Last season Leeds lost 14 games all season and still finished in a play off place. The League One winners last season were Leicester and they lost only 4 times all season. The runners up were Peterborough and they lost 9 games all season.

So, it is looking good for Leeds providing that they don't suffer a drastic loss of form. January is a crucial month and looking at the fixture list Leeds have some easy games (on paper). If they can win most of their games in January then they could open up a gap that may prove too much for the other teams.

In my opinion the race is between Leeds, Charlton and Norwich with Norwich looking very strong. Charlton have lost a bit of form recently. This is the time when those teams with the big squads show how important a big squad is.

Another victory for Leeds United

Leeds United go marching on ! On Saturday 19 December 2009 Leeds beat inform Southampton 1 - 0 thanks to a Robert Snodgrass curling wonder goal. Southampton had been on a good run and if it wasn't for a 10 point deduction at the start of the season they would have been in the top 6 of League One.

Leeds had lost a bit of form recently and Jermaine Beckford has lost his scoring habit of late too. With the Leeds defence back to full strength with Kisnorbo and Naylor back the team yet again kept a clean sheet which is good to see as their defence has looked a bit suspect recently, especially when I saw them play Huddersfield recently when the Leeds defence was ripped to pieces.

The next few games for Leeds look on paper to be easier than the past few so it is a great opportunity for Leeds to get more points gained in their quest for promotion.

With Leeds on 50 points a week before Christmas that is probably more than the club expected.

Keep focused Leeds and keep working hard and you will get your reward !

The Kettering match in the FA Cup

I watched the Leeds V Kettering match on ITV4 last night.

Even though in the first half Leeds overpowered Kettering they lacked the killer punch and even after Becchio scored to make it one nil to Leeds I just knew that one goal was never going to be enough. Sure enough, in the second half Kettering were equal to Leeds and it was obvious that Leeds were rattled. I could see the Kettering goal coming and it was the ex Leeds player Anthony Elding who scored it. Leeds came back into it and they had a few more chances but Beckford up front continued his poor form amd missed several half chances and made wrong decisions in front of goal.

This FA Cup second round replay ended up going into extra time and it needed two substitutions to put Leeds back in front again. Grella was the player to do it, smashing in the ball from close range in a crowded penalty area.

After Leeds scored Kettering seemed to lose the legs to mount a significant attempt on goal and Leeds went on to score several more ending up 5 - 1 winners. Beckfords goal looked offside but that wasn't to matter as the score ended up relecting the dominance of the Leeds team overall.

The best goal of the night came from the lively Grella as he ran into the penalty area and curled the ball into the top corner of the net.

Next up is Manchester United in the FA Cup third round. The money will be good and Leeds could give them a good game. It's a few years since I last went to Old Trafford but it's at grounds like this that Leeds should be playing again. Before that though is the small matter of getting promotion from League One and that has to be the priority.

Leeds Vs Huddersfield

I was at the Leeds V Huddersfield game on Saturday and I was sitting in the upper tier of the East Stand. It's great up there.....what a view of the stadium and the train line behind the ground! The attendance was over 36,000 and the atmosphere was great.

I couldn't believe it when Snodgrass scored after 2 minutes, but my optimism was short lived as everytime Huddersfield attacked they carved up the Leeds' defence far too easily. The normally solid Leeds defence was cut to pieces by two good Huddersfield wingers and how they didn't manage to score I will never know.

Sure enough Huddersfield equalised at the start of the second half and it wasn't until Gradel and Becchio came on as subs that Leeds started to play better.

Max Gradell scored a great goal to make it 2-1 to Leeds but 10 minutes from the end Huddersfield equalised which is only what they deserved.

Credit to Huddersfield as they played the better football and in my opinion Leeds were lucky to get a point.

Next up is Kettering Town on Tuesday in the FA Cup replay.

Kettering Town Vs Leeds United in the FA Cup

Well, here we are again...Leeds United are playing a non league team in the FA Cup just like they did last year when they got knocked out by non league Histon. What a terrible display that was. The weather was terrible but it was the same for both teams. Shortly after that game Gary McAllister was sacked and he was replaced by Simon Grayson.

Grayson has done a great job and I don't see Leeds suffering the same fate as last year, but you never know!

Leeds are top of League One and they have a much better team than they did last year. I'm betting on them for promotion but the FA Cup is too much of a long shot for me !

Leeds Utd Vs MK Dons

It was a great result today for Leeds. We won 2 nil with two great goals from Beckford. He is now up to 31 goals for the season, which is a great achievement. The game today was an important one as MK Dons are just above Leeds in the play-off places.

A 2 nil win is an important moral victory as well as Leeds may well have to face the same team again in the play-offs. Leeds are now on a great run and are coming into good form just at the right time in the season. An automatic promotion spot looks unlikely though so they will have to do it the hard way.

Into the League One top 6 !

Its 3 March and Leeds United are in sixth position in League One. That's a play off position but there are still 12 games left. The last two games for Leeds have been good ones. There was a win at Elland Road against high flying Scunthorpe and then a well deserved draw at Oldham on Monday night in front of the Sky TV cameras. I watched the Oldham game and I thought Leeds played well. They held the ball well in midfield and they were rarely troubled in defence.

There are plenty of games left for Leeds to put a good run of wins together. Leeds can't afford to be in League One next season. We must get promotion !

Leeds have highest number of away game supporters

The Football League have just announced that Leeds United have the highest away following of any of the 72 League clubs. The average number of Leeds fans at away games is just over 2,400. Many Premier League clubs will wish that they had similar numbers of travelling supporters. It is just a shame that the football played by Leeds does not merit a higher division. So, come on Leeds please start playing the type of football that we all know you can play and also start showing that you are proud to wear the Leeds shirt !

League One Play Offs

Leeds had a win yesterday. I won't say a good win, although I suppose any win is a good win. Leeds beat bottom of the table Cheltenham 2 nil with 2 goals from Johnnie Howson. The win moved Leeds onto 51 points and still within a play off place, despite a poor run of results recently. Anything other than a win yesterday would have been a disaster but at least Leeds can still get into the play offs and still have time to improve as a team. If they don't improve they are destined for another season in League One. Come on Leeds - get your act together and play like you know you can.

Leeds loss after 3 straight wins

Leeds United loss 1 nil away at Walsall last Saturday. Just as I thought that Leeds had turned the corner and were heading for the top 6 and a play off place. There are still plenty of games to go and all is not lost but the team needs to hit to consistent form, and soon.

I was glad to hear that Fabian Delph is still at Leeds and the transfer speculation during the January transfer window came to nothing. I think though that if Leeds don't get promotion this season, he will be on his way to bigger and better things. I would be happy to accept £5M for him !

A Good Away Win at Brighton

Leeds are back to winning ways with a good 2 nil win at Brighton. I watched the highlights on LUTV and I wasn't very impressed with the way Leeds played. It looked like they were lucky because Brighton missed some good chances and the Leeds defence still looks shaky despite two new on loan defenders in the team.

Fabian Delph added a few extra pounds to his valuation with a stunning goal for Leeds. He ran with the ball from just outside his own penalty area and then hit a beautiful left foot shot from distance, giving the keeper no chance.

Next week Leeds play Peterborough and we really do need a convincing victory.

Simon Grayson - New Leeds Manager

I have to say that I am very pleased with the appointment of Simon Grayson. I have seen some interviews with him and he looks and sounds smart and talks sense. He seems to have condidence in his abilities, whereas Gary McAllister didn't seem to have that. Leeds got off to a good start under Grayson's management so things are looking up again. With half the football season still left to play there is still plenty of time to get into a strong position to get promotion.

Good luck to Leeds United and Simon Grayson in 2009.