It was the first time since December 2012 in a 4-2 win at Huddersfield that Leeds United have scored more than 2 goals in a league game, which suggests this goalscoring problem is nothing recent and it has taken a long time to get some sort of clinical instinct into the side.
It was another formation change as Brian McDermott elected to mirror Birmingham City’s 3-5-2 formation, playing with Sam Byram and Stephen Warnock as wing backs, and starting with Matt Smith and Ross McCormack as out and out strikers. The real genius in this formation is that because there are 3 centre backs, it leaves one always spare to cover when Birmingham attacked, while also freeing up a player for a pass from the wingbacks or the centre midfielders. And the midfield is where the match was won, with Rudy Austin’s commanding performance he allowed Mowatt and Murphy to exercise their flair and also displayed one of the best performances I’ve seen a Leeds United player put in for a very long time. His goal was one of real desire and great persistence, as he sprayed a 30 yard pass over to Ross McCormack, who held the ball up as Rudy Austin sprinted past the static Birmingham defence and nodded in an inch perfect cross from McCormack.
Goalscoring difficulties have meant that McCormack is now being employed in a striking role rather than in the hole, partnering numerous people up front, most prominently the under par Noel Hunt. Hunt’s effort and commitment cannot be questioned, but unfortunately his goalscoring prowess so far certainly can be, and McDermott acted upon this. Matt Smith has so far only been on the fringes of first team football, and when he has played he’s looked decent, bagging 3 goals in his few appearances. It was a risk to start him in this match, but he was fired up for it and showed that, and I apologise for the horrendous cliché, he’s pretty good with his feet for a big man. His aerial prowess meant there was always an option for the midfield, and his link up play with Ross McCormack was superb, showing that the traditional partnership of a target man and a quicker more skilful striker can still work.
Saying this, our options in the striking department don’t exactly fill you with confidence. Poleon is still quite inconsistent and his final ball needs some improvement, Noel Hunt looks out of confidence and desperately needs a goal and Luke Varney, while a viable option, isn’t a real top goalscorer. So, we are still really where we were a few weeks ago when I wrote a piece on our options in the loan market. Unfortunately, both Vaz Te and Berahino have hit form and are now in their respective club’s starting XI.
However, it appears that Dexter Blackstock (whom we were strongly linked with back in January when his contract had 6 months to run, before signing a new deal) may well be on his way to Elland Road. Now I haven’t seen a huge amount of his games, apart from those against us, and invariably he scores against us. (I know Paynter did too but we’re trying extremely hard to forget about that). His goalscoring record is okay, while not great, although his role at Forest has been limited over the past 18 months.
McDermott said today in his press conference that we should “Watch this space”, while several reports from Nottingham based press suggest the move is highly likely. What it does give is another option up front, perhaps a more experienced Championship striker and competition for places, and he offers a pretty good aerial presence, much like Matt Smith, meaning the formation can be kept much the same.