Cheltenham

Pond Life · Cheltenham

Spring board to the great run?

Butts

With the great Lebowski awol I will attempt a report of my last game this season. To answer your question - not a chance.

Pond Life

smiling badger

Foo Whiter

I feel going through the message boards theres been a huge over reaction to t'other nights result. Not that i love Bates far from it. We just signed players who have come with reputations or potential, then they get here put there feet up on the coffee table & get comfy. Were the old Leeds RL before they fucked all the journey men off & reinvested in youth. The thing is Leeds RL were never gonna get relegated out of the RFL as they would just do enough most of the time.

A good performance on Sat & all will be forgotten i bet. We need to stick with whoever is in charge at the moment. I look at Doncaster started badly in the Championship but stuck with there manager he was given time to adjust to the new league & now there flying

sheeps

Foo Whiter

fartcatcher

I suspect tempers will fray at ER today if we don't get a win. We've become inured to mediocrity over the years and optimism has all but disappeared fom our vocabulary, but you can't go on paying £30 to watch a highly paid (by Div 1 standards) players go through the motions and then wave apologetically at the crowd as they traipse back to the safety of the dressing room, without eventually blowing a gasket.

Beckford apart, our forwards have scored one goal between them this year. SG (with Naylor's help) has improved the defence, but we seem bereft of ideas up front.

1-0 would be a great result.

Still at least Douglas is back.

Mick McCann

smiling badger

bearing

GOAL!

1-0 Howson

bearing

GOAL!

2-0 Howson

Sir Bulldog Craggwood

he's just got anothr from a delph pass 2-0!

Mick McCann

Go on Johnny Howson.

How kind were results elsewhere?

Millwall 0 - 1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Yeovil Town 2 – 2 Oldham
Crewe Alexandra 3 – 1 Huddersfield
Tranmere 1 - 1 MK Dons
Swindon 4 – 2 Scunthorpe

Sir Bulldog Craggwood

Mick McCann

bearing

Mick McCann

I was tempted to do stripes maths in 85 thread but its his gig really isn't it?

Call me sad old fart with nothing in my life but I'm looking forward to it.

Butts

As routine a home win as you could get, really. Cheltenham were never at the races ,and sat back in the first half so deep allowing Howson and Delph free rein to runat them at will. We had at least 4 or 5 clear cut chances to score in the first half but it was never a case of "we'll never score" more like "when", borne out by the fact that even though it was scoreless at half time there was only applause for the team and little displeasure.

Parker down the left was wonderfully direct and uninhibited, lets just hope he stays there for the rest of the season rather than the execrable Sheehan.

Second half it was more of the same with Robinson starting where he'd left off, amazingly energetic for a man of his bulk. I can only assume he has some kind of glandular disorder which doesn't sap his energy. His cross from the right was superbly nodded in by Howson and what remaining air that was in Cheltenham departed into the sunny Beeston atmosphere.

Delph dinked H through for the second and we could have had another couple after that.

The most comical moment was Robinson tussling with Alan Wright for the ball. Aside from about 2 feet in height and 9 stone in weight they are IDENTICAL!!

A win over Scunthorpe could put us in a play-off position, which on this performance is probably about right. For those going next week, the half-time cross bar challenge returns and there are bound to be more away fans than the 29 or so that turned up today.

Edited to add... and Ian Westlake got a nice reception ,which he acknowledged during the warm up

fartcatcher

thanks for the report Butts

Execrable is one of my favourite words.

Sir Bulldog Craggwood

cheltenham - races - its the obvious one but its still good

. interesting, like the robbo meeting with mini-me

- yet another one on leeds books in the past - we must hold some sort of record for players loan and perm in a season or two or three - everyone seemsto havebeen given a trial - remember Oster, Hignett, Olembe, Tony Agana, Cyril Chappattibread

- the list goes on.....

Forest

smiling badger

Good report, thanks Butts.

Foo Whiter

Great report Butts, i spent the 1st half mainly laughing at the amount of chances that came & went (i just thought it was gonna be one of those days again!). Also having an interesting conversation with Lebowski's kids about emailing Ken Bates about not running out of Bovril in the NE corner & having to make do with Soup instead. Also there seemed to be a skemish going on between the NE corner & Revie Stand which caught my eye, never a dull moment @ ER. I reckon we could of been at least 5-1 up at H/T as Casper nearly threw one in his own net. We started with a formation of 4-3-3

Casper
Hughes Rui Naylor Parker
Douglas
Howson Delph
Robinson Snodgrass
Becchio

Which worked well at home against poor opposition, but Hughes didn't last long & Douglas moved to right back where he was quite good (although he was marking Westlake) so not sure how he'd be against somebody decent. Kilkenny moved to the holding role which he coped quite well with again against poor opposition.

The 2nd half came & Lebowski's kids were happy the Bovril was in stock in the NE corner. We started as we finished the 1st half & a goal came eventually threw a glancing header through Howson. Then Cheltenham went up the other end realised they were playing Leeds United & put the ball in the back of the net only to be called offside thank fook. Luckily we never looked back then & Howson went on to finish a great goal stroking the ball home after a flowing move from just inside the box. I haven't seen the stats but we mullered em TBH. Now whether we made a great effort after Tuesdays poor result or Cheltenham are that poor only time will tell. But im not getting carried away theres been more false dawn's than ive changed nappies in the last 3&1/2 years.

MOT FW

Late Doors

Nothing is routine with Leeds United Butts, not even a win against the bottom club

Glad you could laugh about it Foo, i was tearing my hair out but you could sense we were going to get a goal

The second of a must win duo before we go into a trio of very demanding possible season defining games. The debacle on Tuesday night made the day hang on a thread with the safety net of indifference to catch the fall should the worst happen today. It should have been tense, it wasn’t. A sarny in the very excellent Riveresque café just up from the Adelphi, a couple in the Palace and my round in the Taps. Embarrassingly I found mesen at the bar with no money while he poured our drinks. Thankfully one of the others bailed me out but it wasn’t without penalty

. You can usually gauge the attendance by the density of the Taps crowd and the bus queue. There were periods when you would have thought there was no game on so we arrived at a 20,000 collective guess.

So Hughes back from injury surprisingly quickly and Douggy back in the center. Delph was the one of the central youngsters to be shifted wide when it could have been him or Howson. Robbo on the right and Snoddy partnering Becchio up front. This was the line up I was hoping for at Huddersfield so it got my thumbs up.

‘nam were the poorest side ive seen this season at their place (Tuesdays fiasco apart that is

) but that didn’t stop us struggling keep a precarious 1-0 lead down there. They didn’t start much better yesterday either. A combination of that, our apparent renewed spirit and a better balanced midfield ensured we dominated the opening spell of the game. There was some lovely interchanges in the last third involving all 4 midfielders but the precision of the final ball was missing. That final missing piece of artistry was the difference between 0-0 and 3-0 after 30 minutes.

Howson probed, Snoddy laying slightly deep busied around the box, Robbo making inroads down the right and Delph dragging the ball around the left made it constant pressure in front of the South Stand. Howson had a shot and finally we were getting some quality corners swinging in especially from the left. It seemed like it was scramble after scramble in the far 6 yard box and twice Snoddy and Howson were put through to squander the chances. Just after the Snoddy attempt Hughes limped off to be replaced by Kilkenny. Hopefully the lad has worked hard enough during his dropping out of favour to convince the new manager not to forget about him. He can bring close control and composure in tight situations but he can also prove to be a liability when disposed too easily.

In fact he made an immediate impact in the center when Douggy moved to full back. It was his initiative that led to yet another 6 yard box incident that saw a robbo effort hit the post. Somehow we gave away a free kick after the rebound which they took quickly and suddenly we were under pressure. Casper fumbled and we looked shaky. This must have inspired Cheltenham has they had another chance moments later. Rui made a hash of a clearance that had aspects of comedy in it if it wasn’t so agonizing. Robbo made a rash ferocious looking tackle immediately in front of the dugout to send their bench livid. It looked clean but if it wasn’t he could have done some real damage.

We came through that little period thankfully unscathed and continued our dominance. Howson showing everything he should have but didn’t on Tuesday as time and again he got hold of the ball and prompted attacks. When he wasn’t trying to find the killer pass he shot, once high and wide and one narrowly skimming pass the post. Becchio squandered another one on one chance with the keeper. Delph won a free kick with 2 minutes extra time to go. Robbo sent a great attempt just over the tp LH post corner. The half ended not quite as It should when Kilkenny showed his defensive inconsistency with a silly attempted headed back pass that was thankfully cleared.

Second half got under way in very much the same vein. Robbo foraging down the right ourleft as we looked at him, Becchio dropped short to receive the pass from him and set Snoddy up in a super move. Snoddy then shortly produced some trickery of his own to lay it back to Kilkenny who chose to over elaborate when a shot was called for to see another chance wasted.

Delph broke through the center to send a curling shot wide leaving Snoddy fuming as he was in a great position himself to receive the pass.
Finally some great interchange between Robbo and Snoddy on the right sent a superb cross for Howson to meet perfectly for a well taken goal to give as a much deserved lead. The attacks continued. Delph again in space but the ball took a bobble and possession was lost as Snoddy was wide of him waiting the pass that again never came.

Becchio did what he did best and held up a ball holding off three defenders to send Robbo through who unfortunately produced another tame harmless cross. It really was all Leeds and it was difficult to comprehend that Cheltenham were that poor because we played some superb stuff with every player looking hungry. Douglas was a very able full back and he too was getting forward regularly.

Shortly after and incredibly, Cheltenham had the ball in the net for what looked a good goal from our distant position in the Kop. From the free kick we too broke but a poor Douglas pass wasted the break. Becchio had a header just over the bar before Fab Delph deftly put Howson through for a very well taken second goal.

As the sun shone on the East Stand it all started to feel good again and the misery of Tuesday night lifted. Kilkenny was enjoying himself. He does make his fellow midfielders work never hesitating to find them with a pass when they are in closed positions. I don’t mind this, the midfielders need to be comfortable taking these passes if we are to develop as a football team.

There was a bizarre sight to our left as a host of coppers rushed Keystone cop style through the tunnel to the West Stand car park for some reason. While this was happening Snoddy broke forward and there was a handball. Robbo took the free kick but straight to the keeper. Next it was Robbo again to break through and produce a great diagonal ball to Snoddy whose poor control sent the chance begging. JD as mentioned earlier was getting plenty of possession to move forward and get crosses in. Kilkenny was at the end of one of them but his header missed the mark. There was a scare when JD mishit a back pass but the danger was rescued. The last chance we had to make it three was yet another chance with only the keeper to beat but a by now tired Snoddy could not produce the goods. He was immediately replaced By Trundle and he and Becchio continued their diametrically opposed link up play of Tuesday. I looked at them both closely and could actually see the mutual look of disdain as each one looked at each other. Trundle about Becchios lack of natural talent and Becchio about Trundles lack of athleticism and big time Charlie attitude.

For some bizarre reason the manger replaced Becchio with three seconds left on the clock with Grella who even then found time for one decent touch before the ref blew. It was only right the lads got warmly applauded off. Yes 2-0 should have been 6-0 if we had shown some class and composure in front of goal but with other results going for us and three big games in front of us it was a much needed win.

I cannot stand waiting for the buses back to town after the games so I usually walk if im going back there. Did it in a very respectable 25 minutes and beat most of the lads back to the Prince Of Wales for an excellent pint of Black Sheep. Met Mrs Doors there who was accosted for the twenty quid I owed before getting a full blown account of what a waste of space I am. Tragically she agreed with them when money is concerned but didn’t see fit to put the record straight on other things

. Me n Her then left and had another in Becketts and went to that seafood place Loch Fyne in city square across from the station to complete a very very decent day.

New Old Codger

Great reports chaps.

Good points - we never looked like losing / it was Comic Relief time in front of goal in the first half / it was a matter of when we'd score rather than 'if' / they def were the worst side to visit ER for quite some time I reckon / I thought all the lads 'put in a good shift' / Douglas did look at ease at right back and better there than in midfield / Kilkenny did well when he came on. four beers by kick off.

Bad pojnts - anti-Bates chants didnt last long or gain much support, at least from where I was standing.

Not a bad point as such but as has been said already, we were playing a v poor team so whilst Douglas and Kilkenny did play well, will they be as useful against better opposition? No. That's Kilkenny's main weakness which he needs to work on, cos he def has skill and is a good passer of the ball - he needs to battle harder when things aren't as easy for the team.

You can only beat what's in front of you and I thought Leeds did well enough - it genuinely could have been 5 or 6 - 1 by half time and their keeper deserves credit. Another keeper better than our own, imho.

i was happy, but not just cos of the beer, I think the whole squad worked hard at mending some of the damage of last week. hope it's not too late.

bearing

*makes note to check status of LD's finances on 28th*

Mick McCann

Two very good goals:

Leeds 2 v 0 Cheltenham
Uploaded by sparkyman2

New Old Codger

Thanks Mick. Would like to see all the misses as well, if there's anywhere showing them.

BTW much badge kissing and LLL salute from J Howson, who I understand took it quite badly at the end of the Hereford match when the fans were giving the players stick.

Can we assume that he'll be off then, at the end of the season?

Late Doors

Nahh, he wouldnt dare go there would he?

The number of chances we missed would amount to a complete Sunday morning show on its own. I took to taking notes with a pencil and note pad for this one. It seemed like every minute mi mates were saying have you got that one

JH was right to take it bad but he bounced back brilliantly.

Tank Girl

I am rather pleased with the idea that you have a reporting team now LD.

fartcatcher

Bodes well for Saturday - with Beckford back as well (I think).

Snoddy's not an out and out striker and Trundle and Becchio go together like peaches and bream.

Mick McCann

Pond Life

Fantastic reports from everyone again. Thanks for all the effort.

Mick McCann

Fantastic reports from everyone again. Thanks for all the effort.

Just echoing PLs words

Butts

ashthepash

Thanks for all the reports ppl.

Word of the week from Butts...had to look it up.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/execrable

Grind