LUFC Leeds Fan View v Bolton Wanderers I made the trip to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday to watch Leeds United come away with a point in a 1-1 draw.
I give my view on the player performance in the game.
Silvestri 7
He went the correct way with their penalty but he could do little to stop a good penalty. He made a couple of good saves in the first half.
Berardi 7
He looked better with Byram in front of him. He was faced with a pacey winger but he stuck to his task well.
Bellusci 6
He worked hard in the centre with Liam Cooper and he kept Emile Heskey quiet. Another booking though and he is now close to suspension. He needs to sort out his discipline, as it was clear he was losing his head again near the break.
Cooper 7
Another solid performance and he has now cemented his place in the centre of defence. He would be my first choice centre back.
Taylor 7
Very good defensively and like last weekend at Sunderland, he is always wanting the ball of Silvestri. It is good that we have a player wanting to build from the back. His crossing was once again his Achilles heel similar to Sunderland last weekend.
Byram 8 Star Man
Finally given a go further forward and he revelled in the change. He helped Berardi when needed but he was a constant threat going forward for Leeds. He was so close to winning the game for Leeds late on.
Murphy 7
A much better performance this weekend but sometimes his passing lets him down. He worked hard in the middle with Rodolph Austin, closing down and breaking up play.
Austin 7
Like Murphy, he worked hard in closing down the opposition. He looks like he is playing for his Leeds future.
Cook 7
Like the rest of the midfield, he worked hard.
Sloth 5
Still not convinced and I thought he was our weakest player. His game was summed up in the first half when he allowed the ball to go under his foot.
Morison 5
He was only denied a goal by a great save by Andy Lonergan but he did little else.
My theory is, Redfearn was looking at how we play with a target man up front before going in for Luciano Becchio. Subs
Mowatt 5
He came on with five minutes remaining and he quickly got into the game. One disappointment was the gloves. Alex - You are supposed to be from Yorkshire!
Summary
Before the game, I would have been pleased with a point at Bolton, a side who are one of the form sides in the championship. When I saw the side, and probably like many other fans, I was thinking 'We will get nothing from this game with that line up`. To be fair, we have done little with those players who were dropped so Redfearn was right to give others a go but I am sure he would have got slaughtered had we lost.
The frustrating thing is, and it has been like it all season, we are not far away from being a decent side. We don`t have much run for us and I commented near the end, when balls drop in the penalty area, they never drop to a Leeds player. I suppose you earn your luck.We need to start controlling the game more and the only way we will do that is to retain the ball. Our passing at times is shocking. We are guilty of giving the ball away far too cheaply with wayward passing and aimless 'hoofs` up field. We have shown in spells this season that we can get the ball down and knock it around.
People around me were frustrated with the lack of substitutions. They made a fair point, the game was there for the taking but at the same time, we were trying to halt a poor run and in all honesty, we looked the most likely winners in the final fifteen minutes, so there was really no need to change things.
We have slipped closer to the bottom three and we must somehow take at least four points from the two home games coming up. It will not be easy against inform teams but we have to start winning.
Read more:
http://www.leeds.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=383898#ixzz3OWGYms5c
