Maccas 17 første kamper

[Promotion 2010]

Maccas 17 første kamper ville også ha brakt oss opp i teten i League One fra starten.'''


Tabellen:
Wises Leeds     17k  41 poeng
Maccas Leeds 17k  32 poeng
Carlisle United  17k  32 poeng
Swansea City   17k  31 poeng
Leyton Orient   17k  31 poeng
Nottingham F   17k  30 poeng


Dette lover godt for fremtiden uansett! 

[sportcarl1]

tycker de skall ha credits bägge 2 plus spelartruppen och Bates med, hela leeds har gjort vad man kan kräva av dom, men hela denna säsongens kamp och slit är föga värt om vi inte vinner play off

[Asbjørn]

tycker de skall ha credits bägge 2 plus spelartruppen och Bates med, hela leeds har gjort vad man kan kräva av dom, men hela denna säsongens kamp och slit är föga värt om vi inte vinner play off

Du har helt rett i det, Carl...   

[Asbjørn]

..av alle *Macca-trådene' på forumet velger jerg meg mer & mindre tilfeldigvis denne.

Rutinerte Telfer forteller i YEP litt om hvordan det er i Macca-garderoben
Det forklarer nok også den noe 'spente atmosfæren* i å spille hjemme tidlig i sesongen...:


Telfer: Losing is not an option



Paul Telfer

Published Date: 23 September 2008
By Phil Hay

Placid and considered, Gary McAllister's understanding of good management does not involve smashed crockery or habitual dressing-room rants.
David Lucas described a more relaxed atmosphere on Leeds United's training ground when asked recently to compare McAllister's style to that of Dennis Wise, and it will surprise the Scot to hear an admission from Paul Telfer that a culture of fear has spread among the club's players.

United were the picture of progress on Saturday as they climbed to third position in the League One table after a win at Carlisle United which increased their sequence of successive victories to three and their run of games without defeat to seven.

The gathering momentum, Telfer claimed afterwards, was a positive consequence of the extreme importance that United's squad are placing on this season.

The defender can sense in his team-mates a fear of defeat and a fear of foregoing their places in McAllister's team.

Similar anxiety, he says, was a fundamental part of the consistent excellence shown by Scottish Premier League champions Celtic, Telfer's former club.

"When a club's benchmark for the season is to win the league or to win promotion, players develop a fear of losing," Telfer said.

"You get into a mindset where you tell yourself every week that there's absolutely no way you can afford to take a defeat, no matter how well the club is doing or how high they are in the league. Losing's not an option.

"The expectations of our fans and our coaching team are there for us to see, and I've found in my career that a fear of defeat pushes your standards up.

"You're only satisfied by winning games and even draws only feel like okay results. That's how this squad seems to be thinking.

"We've so many players that you can see how worried people are about losing their shirts. I know I am.
Poor performances let other guys into the team and I think that's a reason why we've been very consistent recently.

"The atmosphere's really healthy and it's starting to bring the best out of the players."

Two seasons with Celtic taught Telfer about the value of consistency and the pressure of meeting exacting standards, and his half of the Old Firm lost nine league matches during his time north of the border.

Last season's League One champions Swansea City took the title with only eight losses on their record â€" Leeds suffered nine on their way to 91 points â€" and Telfer's assessment of United's foundations is supported by their consistency since August 9 when their season began in Scunthorpe.

McAllister's players took until September 6 to follow up their defeat of Scunthorpe with a second league victory, but they have lost just one of their 10 matches this season, beaten 2-0 by League One leaders Oldham Athletic last month.

By constraining Carlisle's attack on Saturday, Leeds were also able to record their first clean sheet in a league game.

Primed for excellence by Celtic, Telfer then learned about the mood of a club fighting relegation when he spent six months with Bournemouth last season, and he believes United's improving league position will help to sustain the standard of their performances.

"Confidence lets you play the type of football you want," Telfer said.

"When you're at the bottom of the table all you care about is getting points on the board but a club a bit further up the league can concentrate on playing proper football.

"That's why you want to be in a good position early on â€" to get away from the pressure of having to chase everyone else.

"Teams do come from behind every season but it's not the way you'd have it if you were offered the choice. I don't think we want to do that.

"I've only been with Leeds since the summer but I've been so impressed by the attitude of some of the players here.

"They appreciate how crucial this season is for Leeds and they're facing up to that.

"The pressure is on us to win every week, just as it was at Celtic.

"The standards at that type of club are set so high that you can't consider anything less than a draw, and even that isn't what you're looking for.

"There's definitely fear about losing your place here because we've got so much quality on our bench.

"Then there are all the players who can't get on the bench.

"A lot of them would be good enough to grace most teams in this league and we've got them waiting and ready to be called on.

It’s a good position to be in.”

That patient throng will be let loose in tonight’s Carling Cup third-round tie against Hartlepool United, a low-key draw which will allow McAllister to give the furthest reaches of his squad match practice.

United’s manager offered encouragement to his fringe players by admitting the performance at Carlisle, while enough to bank an excellent win, had not been good enough to earn his complete seal of approval. And he insisted the club were still to reach their natural peak.

“We’re well aware that we’re on a decent run but we won’t get ahead of ourselves,” McAllister said.

“There’s more to come and we’ll keep striving to making ourselves better by cutting out the unforced errors.

“It’s still early in the season and we just want to keep it going. We look to Hartlepool, and then to Hereford on Saturday.

“But we’ve always got to be sending signals out from here.

“Last weekend, Leeds United winning (at Swindon Town) with 10 men for 80 minutes sent a message out, and Carlisle are a main competitor of ours. We came through the 90 minutes pretty comfortably.”

The full article contains 227 words and appears in EP Leeds First & County newspaper.