Dead rubber games are for the most part boring and devoid of action, this game between two mid table teams lived up to the hype. Mathematically Leeds still had a chance of making the play-offs but its has been a season of 'what ifs' for both teams who took to the field in a sunny Birmingham.
As it was, the Blues ran out 1-0 winners with a goal from Hayden Mullins, his second of the season which secured the victory. The game was drab on the whole as neither keeper was troubled greatly. Future England international Jack Butland tipped a McCormack free-kick on to the bar and Luke Varney failed to hit the net with a half chance. The blues rarely troubled the Leeds goal, as it was, a long range Redmond effort was parried into the path of Mullins who duly bagged the winner.
As it so often is with these end of season games, there are things which are more interesting than the match itself, the first of which was the leakage of the Birmingham scout's report shown below.
As it was, the Blues ran out 1-0 winners with a goal from Hayden Mullins, his second of the season which secured the victory. The game was drab on the whole as neither keeper was troubled greatly. Future England international Jack Butland tipped a McCormack free-kick on to the bar and Luke Varney failed to hit the net with a half chance. The blues rarely troubled the Leeds goal, as it was, a long range Redmond effort was parried into the path of Mullins who duly bagged the winner.
As it so often is with these end of season games, there are things which are more interesting than the match itself, the first of which was the leakage of the Birmingham scout's report shown below.
So, were the Birmingham scouts right? Well, to start with they've got the front three nailed down quite well. Varney's aerial prowess came to the fore last weekend as he scored to headers to give us the win against the Wendies. Secondly as McCormack showed against Sheff Wed and Diouf showed against Burnley, bot are capable of dropping deep and becoming the provider. Next, Rodolph Austin, who is dangerous on the break, but the long range shots he takes from midfield hit the back of the stands more often than not (his goal against Burnley was only his second this season). The two full backs get forward well and at times this season, Byram has been our best attacking outlet, however, I feel that he sometimes lacks the composure to make the chances count. Composure is something that Tonge has in spades yet they got the fact that he is slow spot on. They also say he is a good passer which is true and it makes you wonder why under Warnock, we completely bypassed a good midfield in order to turn the opposition around quicker.
For their attack, they highlighted our slow defence, which isn't the quickest, but when you have Ravel Morrison and Nathan Redmond most people are slow. One person which I wouldn't describe as slow would be Stephen Warnock who was a first team regular at Villa up until the beginning of the season and as the official site crowed to us all when he signed, he did get picked in England's 2010 world cup squad. They also say Sam Byram is a poor defender. I would disagree on this point, this season, he has come up against the likes of Lennon, Jarvis, Bale, and Zaha and has kept them quiet all game. Particularly in the Spurs game when out of 90 minutes Bale only managed to get past him once and he is a man who regularly makes fools out of Premier League defenders. Finally Paddy Kenny won't come for crosses and they are right to an extent, as his main skills in my eyes are his shot stopping and his distribution.
For their attack, they highlighted our slow defence, which isn't the quickest, but when you have Ravel Morrison and Nathan Redmond most people are slow. One person which I wouldn't describe as slow would be Stephen Warnock who was a first team regular at Villa up until the beginning of the season and as the official site crowed to us all when he signed, he did get picked in England's 2010 world cup squad. They also say Sam Byram is a poor defender. I would disagree on this point, this season, he has come up against the likes of Lennon, Jarvis, Bale, and Zaha and has kept them quiet all game. Particularly in the Spurs game when out of 90 minutes Bale only managed to get past him once and he is a man who regularly makes fools out of Premier League defenders. Finally Paddy Kenny won't come for crosses and they are right to an extent, as his main skills in my eyes are his shot stopping and his distribution.
The second thing which I wanted to put forward were the fans who again showed that while we may not have the best team we have one of the best fan bases and a video was put up post match of Leeds fans singing their hearts out at half time. Leeds is also the man boob capital of England and t From all here at Yeboah Constrictor, we salute you.