"I blame the players, not Brian. I'd like to support him, the players p****d me off because they didn't fight." With Brian McDermott out of the Italian's firing line for the time being, yesterday's result can be seen as a watershed moment for this season, the play-offs are nigh on impossible and a season plagued by off field events has made McDermott's job untenable.
Cast your mind back to February 1st. The full time whistle had just blown after an unanticipated and resounding 5-1 victory over our West Yorkshire rivals. Despite the equally unanticipated 'sacking' of Brian McDermott the previous day and the subsequent protests around the ground shortly afterwards, the spirits were East Stand high. Who, at that point, would have been at all disappointed if McDermott hadn't been given his job back? Because I personally felt like a kid who'd been given all his Christmas and Birthday presents at once, and someone had just taken one of them from me when I heard of McDermott's reappointment.
Admittedly, I was just as angered to hear of the conduct in which McDermott had been sacked, but after the knotted string of form we had all recently endured, I might not have been as angered if the man being linked to replace him wasn't Gianluca Festa. If it was someone with a proven record in that division who was hungry for success, I may not have been so sceptical of the decision to sack BM.
Now cast your mind back to January 4th. Rochdale away in the FA Cup. Humiliated I feel is the appropriate word there. The word I would use to describe the weekend after doesn't exist yet (but I'm thinking of one). How can you possibly field such a disorganised side with a clueless mentality, buy two wingers that you've been crying out for, and then play a formation that's reminiscent of something from the 60s in the following game.
That game was Sheffield Wednesday away (not that it matters who or where it is, but a LOT of pride was lost on that day, and an unforgivable amount of water was lost under the bridge).
That was the perfect game to restore the pride lost in the previous week against Rochdale. Now I'm not a manager of a team, nor do I have any experience of management whatsoever, but as soon as I saw the team line up and formation that was put out that day, the 6-0 drubbing didn't surprise me at all. And the opening exchanges of play reinforced my opinion. But as soon as everyone (except seemingly BM) noticed we were being outplayed in every department of the pitch, that's when the substitution(s) should have been made. It doesn't matter if we're only thirty minutes into the game, if it isn't working, put your hand up, accept you'd got it wrong, and do something about it before the result becomes irreversible. Matt Smith was the right substitution (although, with two new wingers in the team, it baffles me why neither he nor Luke Varney didn't start), but the game was already lost. We were chasing ghosts and getting nowhere. Another player who should have started was Sam Byram. That lad has got this club at heart and, no disrespect to Peltier, if he's fit, he should be starting every week.
The game which followed that was Leicester at Elland Road. I and many others may have been content with a 0-1 reversal compared to the previous week, but it was by no means acceptable. And were we not in a position of restoring some pride, the performance that day was worthy of a win. But then you need to ask yourself one question: why did Luke Varney (the man who was in my opinion MOM against Leicester) find himself being left out of the team the following game against Ipswich, when he is one of the few players who puts a shift in, regardless of his footballing capabilities.
McDermott said one thing and Varney said another, but the bottom line is Varney would have stayed at Leeds if he were in BM's plans, but you always feel that he was never going to jump the queue with Hunt and Smith before him (BM signings in other words).
Since that result against Huddersfield, we beat Yeovil (our only two wins in the last fourteen games) and every game has been away baring the result which is still fresh in our minds from yesterday (Saturday).
So the next questions I am going to ask is:
Why is it that BM can do nothing wrong?
Why do some fans continue to support him when anyone else would have already gone?
Who thinks we've actually made any improvement from last season?
And I think I know the answer. It's because there are too many stubborn Leeds fans who will not admit they were wrong when they wished for BM to be reinstated. They are too scared to hold their hand up and realise that something has to change (like BM against Wednesday). Now I'm not saying I'm an impatient fan, because I wouldn't still be going to games if that were the case, but I can see mistakes being made, and when those mistakes aren't being rectified it makes you wonder if they ever will. They're the same mistakes which ultimately cost Simon Grayson his job (and he was battling against the Ken Bates storm, watching players being sold like they were at a poor man's auction).
This season is over, as far as I am concerned. We've allowed too many opportunities to close the gap to the play-offs escape us, and our form and ability to play football doesn't suggest any imminent change, either.
But the remainder of the season leaves us with two options. We either keep hold of BM until the end of the season, allowing him an opportunity redeem himself by proving he has a future at this club. Or we let him go and give Nigel Gibbs a shot. After all, how did McDermott get his chance to manage in the first place. And at the end of the season, we evaluate what our options are and if neither of the candidates above show the sufficient attributes for the job, Mr Cellino gets to pull the trigger and find a new manager. We have nothing to lose.
If Cellino was to find a new manager in the summer, who do you go for then? McDermott noted yesterday that many of the Leeds players looked nervous to pull on the white shirt, with many seemingly daunted by the experience. But the same can be argued of McDermott. His only other spell was at Reading where he had a long time to get his feet under the table at a club with much lower expectations than Leeds. So what is the answer? Leeds United need an experienced manager who has seen it and done it. Leeds need a Sam Allardyce, a Steve Bruce or a Mick McCarthy, managers who are not afraid to say the unpleasant things to a player who is underperforming. Too many players at Leeds are either underperforming in a massive way or are just not good enough to pull on the white shirt. Leeds need a manager who can get the players to shape up and is not afraid to ship out the deadwood. But Leeds also need an experienced manager who is backed with reasonable money, Neil Warnock wasn't really backed and he brought in a whole load of overpaid journeymen, with Drury, Norris, Tonge, Green and Varney without a future at the club.
Brian McDermott is too nice a man for the Leeds United job. The good and great managers need to know when to get low down mean and nasty with their players who aren't performing, it's what separates them from the bad and mediocre ones.
Reporters: Alex Williams and Chris Gell
Cast your mind back to February 1st. The full time whistle had just blown after an unanticipated and resounding 5-1 victory over our West Yorkshire rivals. Despite the equally unanticipated 'sacking' of Brian McDermott the previous day and the subsequent protests around the ground shortly afterwards, the spirits were East Stand high. Who, at that point, would have been at all disappointed if McDermott hadn't been given his job back? Because I personally felt like a kid who'd been given all his Christmas and Birthday presents at once, and someone had just taken one of them from me when I heard of McDermott's reappointment.
Admittedly, I was just as angered to hear of the conduct in which McDermott had been sacked, but after the knotted string of form we had all recently endured, I might not have been as angered if the man being linked to replace him wasn't Gianluca Festa. If it was someone with a proven record in that division who was hungry for success, I may not have been so sceptical of the decision to sack BM.
Now cast your mind back to January 4th. Rochdale away in the FA Cup. Humiliated I feel is the appropriate word there. The word I would use to describe the weekend after doesn't exist yet (but I'm thinking of one). How can you possibly field such a disorganised side with a clueless mentality, buy two wingers that you've been crying out for, and then play a formation that's reminiscent of something from the 60s in the following game.
That game was Sheffield Wednesday away (not that it matters who or where it is, but a LOT of pride was lost on that day, and an unforgivable amount of water was lost under the bridge).
That was the perfect game to restore the pride lost in the previous week against Rochdale. Now I'm not a manager of a team, nor do I have any experience of management whatsoever, but as soon as I saw the team line up and formation that was put out that day, the 6-0 drubbing didn't surprise me at all. And the opening exchanges of play reinforced my opinion. But as soon as everyone (except seemingly BM) noticed we were being outplayed in every department of the pitch, that's when the substitution(s) should have been made. It doesn't matter if we're only thirty minutes into the game, if it isn't working, put your hand up, accept you'd got it wrong, and do something about it before the result becomes irreversible. Matt Smith was the right substitution (although, with two new wingers in the team, it baffles me why neither he nor Luke Varney didn't start), but the game was already lost. We were chasing ghosts and getting nowhere. Another player who should have started was Sam Byram. That lad has got this club at heart and, no disrespect to Peltier, if he's fit, he should be starting every week.
The game which followed that was Leicester at Elland Road. I and many others may have been content with a 0-1 reversal compared to the previous week, but it was by no means acceptable. And were we not in a position of restoring some pride, the performance that day was worthy of a win. But then you need to ask yourself one question: why did Luke Varney (the man who was in my opinion MOM against Leicester) find himself being left out of the team the following game against Ipswich, when he is one of the few players who puts a shift in, regardless of his footballing capabilities.
McDermott said one thing and Varney said another, but the bottom line is Varney would have stayed at Leeds if he were in BM's plans, but you always feel that he was never going to jump the queue with Hunt and Smith before him (BM signings in other words).
Since that result against Huddersfield, we beat Yeovil (our only two wins in the last fourteen games) and every game has been away baring the result which is still fresh in our minds from yesterday (Saturday).
So the next questions I am going to ask is:
Why is it that BM can do nothing wrong?
Why do some fans continue to support him when anyone else would have already gone?
Who thinks we've actually made any improvement from last season?
And I think I know the answer. It's because there are too many stubborn Leeds fans who will not admit they were wrong when they wished for BM to be reinstated. They are too scared to hold their hand up and realise that something has to change (like BM against Wednesday). Now I'm not saying I'm an impatient fan, because I wouldn't still be going to games if that were the case, but I can see mistakes being made, and when those mistakes aren't being rectified it makes you wonder if they ever will. They're the same mistakes which ultimately cost Simon Grayson his job (and he was battling against the Ken Bates storm, watching players being sold like they were at a poor man's auction).
This season is over, as far as I am concerned. We've allowed too many opportunities to close the gap to the play-offs escape us, and our form and ability to play football doesn't suggest any imminent change, either.
But the remainder of the season leaves us with two options. We either keep hold of BM until the end of the season, allowing him an opportunity redeem himself by proving he has a future at this club. Or we let him go and give Nigel Gibbs a shot. After all, how did McDermott get his chance to manage in the first place. And at the end of the season, we evaluate what our options are and if neither of the candidates above show the sufficient attributes for the job, Mr Cellino gets to pull the trigger and find a new manager. We have nothing to lose.
If Cellino was to find a new manager in the summer, who do you go for then? McDermott noted yesterday that many of the Leeds players looked nervous to pull on the white shirt, with many seemingly daunted by the experience. But the same can be argued of McDermott. His only other spell was at Reading where he had a long time to get his feet under the table at a club with much lower expectations than Leeds. So what is the answer? Leeds United need an experienced manager who has seen it and done it. Leeds need a Sam Allardyce, a Steve Bruce or a Mick McCarthy, managers who are not afraid to say the unpleasant things to a player who is underperforming. Too many players at Leeds are either underperforming in a massive way or are just not good enough to pull on the white shirt. Leeds need a manager who can get the players to shape up and is not afraid to ship out the deadwood. But Leeds also need an experienced manager who is backed with reasonable money, Neil Warnock wasn't really backed and he brought in a whole load of overpaid journeymen, with Drury, Norris, Tonge, Green and Varney without a future at the club.
Brian McDermott is too nice a man for the Leeds United job. The good and great managers need to know when to get low down mean and nasty with their players who aren't performing, it's what separates them from the bad and mediocre ones.
Reporters: Alex Williams and Chris Gell